Nicknames...

We purposely chose names for our kids that are hard to shorten or make into nicknames. I just never wanted my kids to have a childish version of their given name. For example... I like the name Mike- but hate the version Mikey. I like Jim- but not Jimmy. You get the idea...
Despite our best efforts, our kids have adopted some alternate names, and ironically enough, we are the ones who started them. I recently used one of these endearments in public the other day and got some weird glances.
Oh, what have I done to my kids? :)

AARON: When Aaron was born he was extra noisy fussy and was waking up all the other babies in the nursery.  His sweet nurse had to keep him with her when he wasn't with me so the other babies would rest. She kept snuggling him to keep him quiet and referred to him as her "sweet little teddy bear" when she told us about his behavior in the nursery. Thus his nickname AARON BEAR was born.
Also, his Uncle Jordan coined the term Double A for him. (Like the battery) Although not used as frequently, he has been called this on occasion too.

CALEB: We named Caleb before he was born. Aaron was not quite 3 and would come hug my big tummy. He would try to say Caleb, but since he was still learning to talk it would frequently come out simply CUB. This has stuck. I frequently find myself referring to Caleb as CUB, CUBS, CUBBY BEAR, CUBBY, CUB MAN, etc.

KELLIE: Kellie doesn't really have a great story with her nick names. She is sometimes called Kellie-girl, MISS Kellie or Girly. Lately she has simply been called WOMAN. I guess those names are appropriate, seeing whereas she is the only girl around here. :) Also, as a baby I affectionately called her my little FUSS- BUTT. Fortunately for her that name has seemed to drop off with age.

LEVI: Levi is frequently called BABY Levi by his siblings, spoken as if the "baby" part were his title, like Mr or Mrs. My nickname for him is a bit odder...  
JUNIOR BACON CRAB CAKES, or JUNIOR BACON for short. Let me explain. It just kind of slipped out one day. Matt sometimes calls him Junior, since he is the littlest around here. What goes with Junior? Why Bacon of course! (I've been to Wendy's a bit too frequently, I suppose) and the Crab part came in because he was fussy with his teething. Crab logically then gets expanded to Crab Cakes, which is also appropriate since Cake is sweet and so is Levi. I know it sounds crazy, but silly as it is the nickname stuck. I suppose I could try to replace it with something better, but I'm kind of attached to it now...

SO, while other people may look at me funny, at least I KNOW that JUNIOR BACON CRAB CAKES is really a sign of great affection for my baby. Here's hoping this one will wear off before he's an adult,or he may have some uncomfortable explaining to do... :)

33 (a day late...)

Matt turned 33 yesterday, but unfortunately was in El Paso on a business trip so the partying got delayed until today. We spent a lot of time cleaning up the garage today (which is not much fun) but I made it up to him at the end of the day by making one of his favorite dinners, pork chops.
One tradition we've adopted the last few years is to take a few minutes to reflect and remember why I love each person on their special day. Here's some thoughts on Matt... )
MATT IS AGREEABLE.
Matt is so easy to get along with. He typically adopts a go-with-the flow kind of attitude, which probably helps when life gets crazy chasing out 4 little kiddos. I sometimes wonder if he isn't too agreeable... because sometimes it's hard to get his real opinion out of him. He genuinely enjoys trying to please the kids and I and frequently tells me, "Don't worry about me... I want what ever you want!"  (A girl's gotta love that!) He is typically putting our feelings first, though, which is very sweet of him.
MATT IS A GREAT DAD.
I love watching Matt with our little family. I remember watching in the delivery room as Matt picked up Aaron for the first time. I wasn't sure if Matt would be nervous since he had never really been around babies, but I was pleasantly surprised. He reached for Aaron right away and started dancing him around the room. He was so full of joy.
Caleb and Matt have a great relationship too. Matt really "gets" Caleb. They enjoy a loving, humorous banter and when Matt's had a rough day, Caleb is typically the first to cheer him up with his witty remarks.
Matt has a special relationship with Little Miss Kellie. She is convinced the world rises and sets with Matt. He tends to spoil her (just a bit) and I don't mind really mind being replaced by the "other woman" in his life. There is just something special about that Daddy-daughter relationship that is beautiful to watch.
I love his endless patience with little Levi. He is so gentle and sweet to that little guy and it fun to watch how secure Levi is in Matt's arms. Levi really loves him.
I couldn't ask for a better father for our kids.
MATT MAKES ME LAUGH.
I love that we still find things to laugh about. It is kind of fun to have been in a relationship long enough to have countless inside jokes. I especially love that we both enjoy watching silly shows like The Muppet Show, or PSYCH, and that we both laugh endlessly at the witty songs form Brad Paisley. It's really nice to have a best friend to giggle with.

I love you, sweetheart. Hope you had a great 33rd birthday. You deserve it!

SNAP!

Our kids are pretty good sleepers but very rarely one of them will wake up screaming, which usually means one of  a few things.

1. They've had a nightmare and need some snuggles
2. They've had an accident and need to go to the bathroom and some dry sheets
3. They are sick and are about to vomit

None of these are things we look forward to, but part of being a parent is dealing with whatever late night emergencies come up. Here was our most recent experience...

3 am.
Caleb screaming.
Matt groggily jumps out of bed to go calm him down before he wakes up the baby.

MATT (whispering): Caleb... What's wrong?
CALEB: My underwear is all wrong!
MATT: What?!?
CALEB: It's itchy. My strap isn't right.
At this point Matt investigates and finds that his elastic waistband is, in fact, folded over on itself. He then proceeds to right this problem by pulling on it and giving it a good snap so it would lay flat.
CALEB (1/2 asleep): Thanks dad.
He then promptly fell back asleep.

Matt and I had a good chuckle over this. Who knew someone could be so grateful for having their underwear snapped?

Foxes

A family of foxes has moved in to our back yard and is living under our shed. We have spotted two adult and six kits. Unfortunately, they tend to be a bit aggressive and have been chasing the neighbors cats and have been tormenting our poor dog, so we have made a call to come and have them removed and relocated. Foxes are typically nocturnal, but you can see how brazen they are, as they are out in full daylight. Thought you might enjoy the photos...

Conversations with Caleb...

CALEB: I am going to make a movie when I grow up!
ME: Well, if that's what you want to do Caleb...what kind of movie are you going to be in?
( I admit I was only 1/2 listening, seeing whereas he makes announcements like this every day- yesterday he wanted to be an astronaut... and because I was driving the car..)
CALEB,  (after a long, thoughtful pause...) : What do you do if you want to be a train in a movie, but you just don't look like one? I think I'd liked to be Thomas!

Just because we're cute...

People say Caleb and Levi look a lot alike. What do you think?

  

Miss Kellie was at a friend's house playing dress up and fell in love with this Easter Marshmallow Peeps dress. She  let us borrow it for the day so Kellie could enjoy it a little longer! (So cute- Thanks Alisha!)

Loving on my Levi Bear. (I love the grins he gives!)

Rolling... rolling... rolling...

Scooters and Sidewalk Chalk...

What better way to spend the first few days of Spring than to be outside in the sunshine, riding scooters and drawing pictures? Happy Spring!

Teddy Bear Picnic

Caleb's preschool class has been learning about families. To practice being good "Mommies and Daddies" the kids got to bring a special fuzzy friend to school for the day. They spent all day taking care of their bear guests and then before the end of the day the class had a teddy bear picnic, followed by a big buddy read-a-thon. 

It also happened to be St. Patrick's Day, which would explain all the green clothing. I unfortunately had a stomach bug, so Matt got to go in my place and read to Caleb and Teddy. It was a warm beautiful day, and I know everyone had fun!

Baby 'Hawk

I frequently have to laugh at Levi's crazy hair! It may be a little hard to see because his hair is still so fine, (click on the photo to enlarge it) but Levi 's hair is growing in thicker on top than on the sides and he is sporting quite the baby mo-hawk right now. Makes me laugh!

PS If you look closely in the top picture you can kind of spot his new teeth (bottom front)

Relatives...

Caleb has been learning to spell and write his last name in Preschool. He thinks it's pretty unfair to have to learn 12 whole letters when most kids get by with 5-6 letters in their last name. Anyway, I got a real kick out of him when he looked at the church logo on the hymn book on our piano.
CALEB:What's that say, Mom?
ME: It says The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
CALEB: Jesus Christ? He has the same letters in his last name as I have in mine. DO YOU THINK WE COULD BE RELATED?
ME: Well, as a matter of fact...

I just Love him!

You Think You Know Someone...The Geat Mayo Debate Continued...

Last week I wrote a post praising my loving husband for selflessly giving up Mayo, which he grew up with,  in favor of my preference, Miracle Whip. After reading such post my husband laughs and tells me that he really wasn't sacrificing much for me. (which is just what every girl wants to hear.) As it turns out- my husband doesn't really like either one.   

Shocking, I know.

I then questioned his occasional use of my Miracle Whip on his sandwiches- surely that means he likes it at least a little bit, doesn't it?

Actually, he told me, he uses it so infrequently that he doesn't have a taste for either one.

So much for selfless gestures, I guess.

I still love my husband very much. I do have to kind of question his motives a bit- I mean all these years he let me believe that he was being a peacemaker and making some huge sacrifice in the name of establishing a happy home, when it turns out he wasn't really giving up much.

I suppose instead of praising his selfless attitude, I will now praise his ability to make me laugh. (Just like I am absolutely sure he is praising my ability to be sarcastic right about now...) What can I say, but after 10 years, you think you'd know someone... :)

The Story of a Blue Lemon Cupcake...

 I associate lemon with bright, "buttery" yellow colors from the crayon box, tart lemonade in a tall glass, sunshine, warmth, and lazy summer days. That is probably why I found my son's request for BLUE frosting so unsettling.

Yesterday Caleb didn't want to get dressed for church. I admit I did the "bribery thing" and promised to make cupcakes with him after church if he got dressed with out a fuss. Little did I realize that my stubborn little Caleb would agree to get dressed but would absolutely refuse to go to his Primary class. About 10 minutes after class should have started Matt brought me a hysterical tear stained boy to "deal with." On a side note, why is it that THE DAD never seems to handle the hysterical meltdowns and always passes them off to THE MOM? I don't always know how to handle it either... Anyways, I digress.

So what do you do with a sobbing child while at church?
Why, the only thing to do is up the ante.

I promised him that not only would we make cupcakes when we got home, but that HE could pick the color of the frosting. That seemed to calm him down and I quickly marched him back into class, where he was fine. 

Later, at home, I let Caleb pick his choice of cake mix. I was a bit surprised he chose the lemon cake, but I was game. When I went to make the frosting he insisted on making it blue. OK now, I admit I had a hard time putting blue frosting on a lemon cupcake, seems to go against nature or something. Especially since I made lemon flavored icing for the lemon flavored cake. (Tasted absolutely wonderful  by the way!) But when I saw Caleb's happy eyes, it made it all worth it. 

 

I feel slightly guilty for bribing my children to behave. In my defense though, it ended up being a very tasty decision, and the real secret is: (SHHHH!) I was planning on making cupcakes anyway... :) (Don't tell Caleb!)

 

PS to make lemon flavored icing use a regular butter cream recipe, but instead of using milk, substitute lemon juice. It is slightly tart, but oh so yummy!

The Great Mayo Debate...

The world is divided. Mayonnaise lovers vs. Miracle Whip devotees. Seems like everyone has an opinion... and seems like most people are genuinely devoted to their choice.

It seems kind of silly now, but when we first got married I was so nervous about having to go grocery shopping. I had always lived at home or in the dorms on a meal plan, so I had never done shopping for my own kitchen before. Being the loving wife that I am  I wanted to make sure Matt was happy with all of my cooking and that we had all of his favorite foods in the house. I worried about it for weeks before we got married and when the time finally came for that dreaded shopping trip I took the easy way out and ended up taking Matt with me. That way, I reasoned, he could show me exactly what he liked. Things were going smoothly until we reached the condiment aisle. Being newly married with an empty refrigerator at home, we were stocking up on all the basics too. We were whizzing through the aisles when...

Ketchup? check!
Mustard? check!
Miracle Whip? ....silence

It was then that I knew there was going to be a problem. We stopped in the aisle and looked at each other.  I realized that I had unknowingly  married one from the "other side." This was a defining moment in our marriage for me. I wonder if Matt even remembers this seemingly insignificant event.

Was I willing to give up zingy sandwich tastiness for the man that I married? Could I really be happy with plain old Mayo, which I had always found to be a bit oily and tasteless? Just how much was I willing to compromise for Matt? The thought briefly passed through my mind that we could buy both, but being nearly broke at that time, that seemed a bit extravagant..

Luckily for me, my husband caved first. He must have seen that deer in the headlights look in my eyes and quickly pronounced that he was neutral territory. He had grown up with Mayo, but was sure he could eat Miracle Whip just as well.

Ever since, we have been planted firmly in the Miracle Whip column in this debate, I make exceptions when his family comes to visit and I try to remember to pick up a tiny jar of Mayo for them when I know they're coming. (I sometimes forget...)

I am amazed ar how the littlest things can stir up great contention, even amongst those that really love each other. I am grateful every day that I married someone who is willing to compromise in areas where I am stubborn.

There are times that I wish I was more adaptable and less rigid in my opinions. I suppose I really can overlook the fact that Matt squeezes the toothpaste from the top of the tube, or that he consistently steals all my covers, even after 10 years. I should really ignore the fact that he doesn't line up the corners just right when he folds the towels. (At least he's folding them, right?) ;)

Anyway, I guess the point of this is a reminder to myself:  SELF- be happy! Don't let the little things bug you and remember that Matt gave you a great gift 10 years ago... tasty sandwiches for the rest of your life. Bless him.

(PS I love you Matt! Thanks for all we share and all you've given me... you really are the best...)

Good Morning...Sunshine?

There are things you just don't know about a person until AFTER you get married and are living with them full time. For instance... WHO KNEW my husband was a (gasp) MORNING PERSON? It's not something I even thought about asking him about before we got married. Not that the answer would have changed my mind about marrying him, it just would have been nice to know what I was getting into.

We couldn't be more different. The alarm goes off and he jumps up out of bed- ready to go just like that. For me, it doesn't matter if it's 7am or 9am- I need a minute or two to adjust to the new day and be ready to get out of my nice cozy bed and greet the sunshine.

In one of the more ironic twists of fate, it turns out that most of our kids take after their father. Aaron is normally up by 6:30, and enjoys eating breakfast with Matt before he heads off to work for the day. Caleb and Kellie are typically up by 7. So far Levi has been waking up at about 6 for his first round of morning "breakfasts." Matt is gracious enough to take him from me at 6:30 so I can catch another 1/2 hour of ZZZ's before he leaves.

Most of the time I am grateful my kids tend to like waking up early. Their lives will be a lot easier if they wake up and are productive with their days, and I am glad I never have to force them out the door to go to school. They are always up and rarin' to go. But...

When they have a day off from school, like they do today and tomorrow, it might be nice if they would sleep in, just a little. Can't someone explain to them about days off and holidays? The mommy in this house would have liked to snooze a bit more, but unfortunately the early risers dictate the schedule and so I have to comply with their demands for attention.

So good morning , Mr. Sun. I'm up. Reluctantly, perhaps, but up is up.Would you mind turning down the shiny brightness a little, just for a bit? I'm still a little sleepy... (yawn)

Levi's Face Mask

It seems like we can't turn around this winter for somebody being sick. Luckily, none of us have been seriously ill, but we've had just enough crud to keep us busier than I'd like. From an outsiders perspective it would seem like we are constantly sick, which isn't really the case. No ONE of us is constantly sick, but at least ONE of us in generally in the midst of fighting something off. I half wish we'd get it all at the same time and be done with it, but no, we share with each other, taking turns being sick. (I wish my kids were that good sharing their toys!)

Anyway, for weeks we've traded sinus infections, pink eye and ear infections, and now Levi has come down with a respiratory virus (similar, if not RSV). Luckily he is managing fairly well, but he is on round the clock tylenol for the fever, continuous snot sucking with the bulb syringe, a humidifier in our room, as well as getting breathing treatments every few hours.

I was surprised at how tiny his little face mask is that goes with his nebulizer treatments and couldn't help posting a picture of it. Kind of sad that something so cute is used for something not so fun. (In case you can't tell it's a little turtle mask...)  Anyway, Pray for his speedy recovery, and that he doesn't pass it along to anyone else, as the rest of us are currently healthy.  Feel better soon Levi...

Basketball...

Aaron just finished another season of basketball. He is continuing to improve and had a great team this year. I am consistently amazed at the amount of skill and coordination these younger kids have. It has been a joy to watch these last 2 months. Go Aaron! We are so proud of you.

 

 

Cute Kids!

 

I couldn't resist sharing these sweet pictures. 

I love that my kiddos love each other. 

(We'll have to get Aaron in on the next "photo shoot")

:)

LEVI ROLLS OVER!

It has been a terribly long week. Sometimes I think motherhood is more like a huge wrestling match, pitting your will against theirs. Yes, I'm older, hopefully wiser, and bigger- but my kids are louder, possibly more stubborn, and well, just generally louder.

Matt has been gone a lot lately for business and I am feeling a bit run over. 4 young kids is not easy with 2 adults in the picture, but 4 kids alone is really not much fun.

I have to keep reminding myself that they will someday outgrow the  needy, clingy, whiny" stage and eventually enter the "ignoring me" stage (which I probably won't like any better, but which sounds heavenly right about now.) I  keep praying for some relief from the chaos and occasionally I do get tossed a tender mercy.

This week's positive event: LEVI ROLLED OVER for the first time on Tuesday, the 9th. He seems so surprised at this new skill, and he keeps trying to get his knees up under his belly too, as if ready to crawl. He reminded me what a miracle my kids are. Just 5 1/2  months ago he was completely helpless and look at him now, rolling over and on the verge of crawling. How blessed I am to get to watch them grow. It is so exciting (albeit noisy) to be their mother. I love it.

Levi's Onesie

 

This is a photo of Levi wearing one of his gifts from a friend at church. She painted his name onto a onesie. This picture doesn't really do him justice, because the baby blue paint didn't show up in the photo very well, but the onesie really is adorable! Thank you Natalie!