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Sunday, April 6, 2008

Spring Break: Science Museum

I was so glad when we went to the Museum on Friday with Andra and cousins that we happened to meet up in the parking lot. No confusion that day! We all had a great time. The kids really liked the special exhibit on Dinosaurs that we saw.

Audrey is getting to be such a big girl!

Digging for dinosaur bones.

Making our own dinosaurs.

Here's Robby's creation

On the way in and out of the exhibit we passed by this dinosaur. When we first walked in James and Jenna were seriously freaked out by this guy because he was moving and making noise. By the time we left they were okay with it, and went and stood nearby to watch. They didn't realize that it was going to turn its head to them and roar (is that what you would call it, do dinosaurs roar?). I cracked up when they all jumped.

Jenna was so eager to try everything.

I thought it was cute that Audrey wanted to help me feed Olivia.

Working hard!

Aunt Andra was happy to have a minute to hold Olivia.

And lastly, this is my little show off, Jenna. She has gotten to the age where she really wants to impress me with all the "big" things she can do.

Spring Break: Zoo

Spring Break has been over for more than a week, and I am finally getting caught up on the blog. On Wednesday of that week we took a trip to the zoo. Our intention was to meet up with Andra at the entrance, but that proved to be more difficult than we thought. Wednesday was a very popluar day to go to the zoo, and amid the crowd at the entrance we never found each other. I know it's surprising, but there were THAT MANY PEOPLE! When Andra and I talked after we got home we discovered that we had both waited about 45 minutes for each other before we decided that our kids would not wait any longer. As we cruised through the zoo, I kept an eye out in hopes that we would find Andra, Matthew, James, and Audrey, but we were not that lucky. I think it was because we both took similar paths through the zoo and she ended up just far enough ahead of me that we never crossed paths. It was disappointing, but we each still had fun with our kids. Here are our highlights...

Look out for Jenna, the tractor driver.

Olivia just hung out in the stroller and watched the world go by.

Now I realize that I didn't have to go to the zoo to see a monkey because my own monkey likes to climb trees.

Li'l Robby had to convince Jenna to get in this clam because at first she was very apprehensive. After he got her in there he told her to look scared, so this is Jenna "looking scared."

After Jenna did it, she insisted that brother had to get in, too! (He really didn't want to, but I told him that he had to since he made Jenna do it.)

Throughout most of our zoo trip, Chap had control of the camera. You can see him in the reflection on this shot. When we got home he proudly informed Dad that he had taken a picture of every animal we saw.

Nice self-portrait. What do you think he is thinking?

Spring Break: St. Patrick's Day

Continuing in the tradition of last year's green eggs and ham, we present our annual St. Patrick's Day breakfast with the cousins.

The eager participants

The mixing

The cooking

The hired help

Add a little bacon...

...and delicious! The leprechauns were pleased.

(Sharon - Thankfully, things looked a little more appetizing this year!)

Spring Break: Fishing Festival

Assistant blogger Little Robby:

We went to a fishing festival at Tempe Kiwanis Park on March 15th about 10am. We went to a little registration booth. I guy there gave us Easter baskets filled with miscellaneous stuff like a mini-fan, fishing lures, bobbers, Easter eggs, etc. Below, Miss Photogenic with her new sunglasses:

Then the man told us to go to the next booth. There we got a paper; we were supposed to go to the other booths and get it stamped. Once we got them all stamped, we came back. Then he gave us a coupon for a free hamburger at Outback Steakhouse. (They were catering there.)

Yummy hamburgers!

After that, we went to borrow some fishing poles. You could go catch fish in a tank or the lake.

Here's Jenna trying to catch a fish.

The tent Jenna was fishing in.

Then we went over to the mobile tent area where they were giving away prizes. There was one guy who had an iguana. It was as long as his leg. You can only see its head here.

I won a Lego Exo-force Aero Booster. At first, they tried to give me a very mean-looking Pirates of the Caribbean guy. Then they held out a purple bat-and-ball to me. Then I pointed to the Lego set and they handed it to me. The announcer guy made some comment like, "Some of the parents in this crowd are teaching good negotiation skills."

Mom's reaction when she saw my Lego set.

The main bot (sorry it's sideways).

The whole thing.

It was really fun. Jenna caught a fish but we couldn't get a picture of it.

More about Olivia

Time for an Olivia update...

I took her in a week ago for her 2 month well check and she measured (according to the nurse's very inaccurate measurements) 23 1/2 inches (90%) and weighed 10lb. 10oz. (the nurse didn't mess up the weight, but she did mess up on the percentile for weight which she told me was 80% - not really Olivia is more like the 45% for weight). Even so, she has grown considerably! She is no longer the petite little baby she was. I guess she decided she needed to get growing fast so she could catch up with Li'l Robby and Jenna.

Here are some cute pics...

I love the baby chub she is getting on her thighs.

I was lucky to catch her actually looking at the camera. Normally, she will avoid eye contact with the camera (I think it's because she knows it will flash in her face.)

This was taken at bedtime. I was so proud of her last night, she ate at 10:15pm and then slept till 7:15am! Woo hoo! Go Olivia! (Can you tell I love sleep?!)

I tried so hard to get her to look at the camera, but again she avoided it.

Things that are going on for her right now are:

She gives great big smiles (mostly for Mom) usually right after she eats.
She is already getting into girl talk and will coo back and forth with Mom.
She has decided that she does not like to be left alone in the swing, carseat, or bouncy chair. If someone is in the room with her she is usually okay, but if you leave she will protest. She wants to be where the action is.
She wants to stand now, and will arch her back and stretch out her legs until you hold her upright as if she was standing. She's still getting the hang of this, but the desire is definitely there.
We got our our high chair (it has a reclining seat) and she was very pleased to sit in it the first time and be part of the family at dinner. She appeared to be very fascinated watching us eat our food.
And last, we are pretty sure she is going to have blue eyes.

Princess Mama and other 2 year-old moments

The other day Jenna dressed up in one of her princess dresses and told us, "I'm a princess mama!"

Other funny things she has said recently are:

Conversation in the car:
Jenna - I'm a Jenna, I'm a girl.
Mom - That's right, you're a girl.
Jenna - No, I'm Robby, and I'm a boy.
Mom - You're not Robby, that's silly.
Jenna - No, I'm 39 cents!
Mom - Okay...? (I'm thinking that's random)

Said to me:
Jenna - Olivia's a big girl and I'm the baby.

The other day:
Li'l Robby - Mom, can I have a P-O-P-S-I-C-L-E?
(He was trying to be stealthy so that Jenna wouldn't know what he was asking.)
Mom - Sure.
Jenna (comes up to Mom) - Mom, can I have a P-S-I-C-L?
(She had no idea what a P-S-C-I-L was, but she figured that if Li'l Robby wanted one, it must be good.)

Jenna was hovering near me while I was putting on make-up one day:
Dad (sitting near-by) - Jenna, how old did Mommy say you have to be before you can wear make-up?
Jenna - 4 months

Li'l Robby and Mom came home the other day from karate and were showing Dad how they learned to use a stick in karate (a 4-5 ft staff that you use as a weapon.) Jenna wanted to participate, too, but we wouldn't let her use our stick (that would be dangerous!) Next thing we know she reappears in the room brandishing her princess wand swinging it wildly around like a mini stick. Don't mess with Jenna, she's our Princess Mama with a little pink belt!

At bedtime a week ago:
Dad was reading to Jenna from the Book of Mormon scriptures stories at bedtime. They were reading about Christ asking the 12 apostles what they wanted most, and about the three who asked for the same promise that was given to John the Beloved in the New Testament. To liken the scriptures to us, Dad decided to ask Jenna a related question.
Dad - If you could ask Jesus for anything, what would you ask for?
Jenna - A snack.

School Carnival Fun

About 2 1/2 weeks ago we had the fun of going to our local elementary school carnival. Little Robby used to go to this school until his new school opened in the district, and so we thought it would be fun to go and see a lot of our old friends. Big Robby was very busy with his school work, so this was my first solo outing with all three. Just getting out the door these days makes me feel like super-mom (I know there are many mothers with more children than me, but getting us all together and in the car just feels like a big accomplishment.)

When we got to the carnival, Li'l Robby promptly disappeared with his friends and only reappeared occasionally just long enough to get more tickets to do more activities. That was okay because Jenna, Olivia, and I enjoyed our girl time together. Here's what we did (or rather, what Jenna did)...

played in the bounce house a few times...

rode a motorized train...

and took a ride on the kiddie ferris wheel.

I think this was her favorite part.

Olivia is two months old!

Another month has passed so incredibly fast! You know it's funny how when you are a kid that time seems to pass so slowly, but now that I am adult, I just can't figure out what happens to the time! Has it really been two months already?! To commemorate today, we decided to take a few pics of two month old Olivia to share with everyone...

"No smiles for that silly camera of yours, Mom. Instead, I will stick out my tongue!"

(This was taken after about 4 not-so-flattering shots)
"Okay Mom, I've had enough of the camera!"

"Me and my friend teddy! I think teddy is shrinking, don't you?!"

"It's hard work being cute!"

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Olivia made her church debut!

I was so excited to take Olivia to church for the first time today. We waited extra long to bring her to church because she was so petite when she was born, and because she had been very congested the last week and a half. I was so glad that her congestion cleared up because I kind of enjoy bringing my new babies to church for the first time. It was especially fun this time because I had one sister who I don't know that well very puzzled when she came up to me. She said, "Is she yours?" I said, "Yes, we adopted her 7 weeks ago." "Oh," she replied, "That makes me feel better because I was thinking I don't remember seeing you pregnant. How could you have been pregnant and I not noticed?!"

I also had a friend who came up and complimented me on looking so good for just having had a baby (she knew Olivia is adopted, but I did wonder if there was anyone within earshot that heard her and didn't know Olivia is adopted.) They did announce Olivia adoption in our ward the first week end after placement, but our ward is still so new that I don't think many people knew by name who we were.

Anyhow, it was so good to go back to my ward today!

Here is Olivia worn out from her adventures at church.

Flashback - For comparison, here is Olivia from our very first night with her. This was taken even before we left the LDSFS office. Hasn't she grown!

Back to today...

Jenna just can't resist a photo op with her sister.

This isn't a great picture (sorry about the shadows, that is me), but I took it so you can see how cute Olivia was in her first Sunday dress. I bought this dress the first week we had Olivia, and she couldn't even wear it then because she was so tiny. Today it fit perfectly. Too bad I know it won't fit for long!

BTW, this is my 200th blog post!

Science Fair

Li'l Robby and his team had the joy of winning 5th place in the team category of the school science fair! He was so excited to win something. I won't go into the whole story of science fair torture... oh, did I just say that? I mean science fair adventure. Let's just say that I am already thinking... And I have to suffer through this how many more times?! Three kids times how many science fair projects?! And I want more children, so it will be more than three kids times how many more science fair projects?! Actually we got the easy end of the stick because the boy pictured below is the one who assembled the display board with his mom till 1 in the morning. So a BIG thanks goes to Daniel and his mom! That was the silver lining to doing a group project. But to be honest, we would rather not do a group science fair project again so we don't have to coordinate with others to make it happen. I know we will have plenty group projects in the future. Anyway, I do want to wish Li'l Robby many congrats on his science fair success!

There was one other boy named Jeffery who was part of the team, but he was unable to attend the award ceremony.

The Olivia Update

Since I didn't get to post anything about Olivia last week I thought I would give a brief update and a picture for you to enjoy. She is a little angel! On Friday, I weighed her and she weighed 9lbs 11oz! She has almost gained 4lbs since birth! Wow! It's a good thing we don't keep up that growth rate through our whole lives or else we would all be massive! Although this is a sleeping picture, Olivia has been more and more alert during the day, and she even seems to complain now when she wants to be held. It's amazing how little babies learn to communicate their desires when they are so young. Olivia had been very congested in the last week and a half or so, but fortunately she seems to be over it now. Li'l Robby was sick from Sunday to Wednesday of this last week and he was forbidden to be anywhere near Olivia because I certainly don't want her sick with an upper resperitory illness. So far no one else has come down with it (not even Jenna who could not stay away from brother despite being warned over and over that she would get sick if she got too close!) Back to Olivia, she is doing pretty well with sleeping... at night we have reached the point that she will go about 5 hours between feedings during one period of the night. If I time things right, then she only wakes me once at night. It's so nice. (But, of course I have to admit that I am still looking forward to the day when she really sleeps through the night!) Well, enough talk, here's our little angel baby...