Let's continue with the report on birthday parties even though it will knock things out of chronological order, shall we? I can't believe it, but the time has come for N's first birthday. Typing that just hurt my heart. I get actual, physical pain every time I allow myself to think about it. The year has just gone by too fast and I'm not ready to say farewell to my last baby. What a joy this surprise baby has been. I am so grateful I get to be her mommy. She is sassy like K, active like D and sweet like M. Don't know how she could be a perfect mix of the other 3 to tie them together, but she is. At her check up this morning she was in the 91st percentile for height and 38th for weight. Tall and skinny like her daddy, just as I suspected. She has 3 teeth, can wave bye bye and says words like Mama, Dada, Hi, and Owie. That last one came in handy after receiving 3 shots today. Poor thing. Way better than getting those awful illnesses, though. Dr. I also commented that she seems pretty mellow. I replied that she is pretty quiet. I personally think she's a bit high maintenance, but that's probably b/c I'm the one who is up with her in the middle of the night. lol.
We celebrated a few days early since Dan's parents were in town for our spring break. This was the first time his parents met N due to serving their second mission when she was born. I only seem to be able to birth children while they are full time missionaries! N really took to her grandparents, which is really saying something because she is certainly not the most outgoing child of mine. We are grateful they could be here for the party (and simply to be here). We had a Curious George themed party and had her two little friends closest to her age and their families, my mom (my dad was feeling sick) and our former neighbor Marshon. If my children had a Godmother, it would be her... which fits because she's Catholic. (:
F, me, and K holding C, N, and M.
Opening of the gifts -- every single one was terrific!
Since Natalie is so active, I honestly thought she would smash this cake to smithereens. I thought it would be the highlight of the party. Alas, she knew something was fishy when she was the only one getting the cake and cried! Eventually she "dug in" but it was pretty girly. lol. And yes, those are monkey ears that even make money noises.
Now back to the beginning of spring break. We had lots of fun with neighbors. At one point these 4 were laughing their heads off while playing with sidewalk chalk. Even though the chalk is fun, it's usually not hilarious, so I went to investigate. K had written a whole bunch of potty words on the sidewalk and they though it was quite funny. I, knowing my in-laws would be there the next day, did not find it as comical. When I suggested she write something like "Welcome Grandma & Grandpa" on the driveway instead, she didn't take me up on it. lol.
On Tuesday Dan took all three older children skiing while I took N with me on errands. We got home about the same time! Yes, I'm an errand procrastinator. For one thing, most of those errands were a 45 minute drive away from home. Anyhow, this was Michelle's first time skiing and she was so excited. We had told her she couldn't go skiing until she was 4 and she reminded us that she got to go because she did indeed have that birthday. Dan signed her up for ski school and took K & D with him. This was the first time he had taken both of them but he decided they were good enough that he could handle both. He says they are ready for ski poles next year! Congrats to them! And, I'm sure you're wondering, did Michelle like skiing? Nope. Not a bit. She's adamant she is "never going skiing again. Not even when I'm a grown up!"
On Wednesday we met Kim and A. at the DMNS and saw the traveling Mayan exhibit together. Boy, that one is large. We were in there for almost 2 hours. There were a few things that the children could enjoy, like this picture of D turning himself into a soldier or the dioramas they had. There was also a 3D puzzle of trying to put pottery shards back together, a Mayan name chooser. I thought their names fit pretty well: K = White Sky, D = Fire Bat and M = Princess Flower. After exploring some of the wildlife halls we met Dan (who had been at work) at our neighbor's new restaurant. It's so good! I ate a ton -- all the left overs. I am almost always hungry, but not that night. This was Dan's parents' first time eating red bean ice cream. Poor things always get an education when they come to my house. lol.
Thursday we spent just around our house hanging out. A neighbor's mother had explained it's good to have restful days during visits, so this was it in the middle. Dan and his dad did install a sink in the laundry room for me, which is excellent. That was one of my high priority items from last summer. Wink wink. At night we all watched the new Tinkerbell movie "The Pirate Fairy" and it was quite fun and relaxing. Friday was the birthday party I wrote about above and K's piano lesson (which Nita helped her practice for) and M's soccer practice and then Dan and I got to go on a date while his parents did a great job babysitting. He and I ate at the sushi place we've been meaning to try for years & watched "Captain America: The Winter Soldier." The food was delicious but the movie -- my first time watching an action film in 3D -- almost made me nauseous a couple of times due to the violence. Boy, Captain America is my favorite Avenger, but golly.
Saturday was soccer day. D and M both had a game at 10am and we lucked out by having them on fields right next to each other. This way we could sit and watch both games at the same time. It was terrific. I especially enjoyed watching my husband out there on the field trying his best to get M to play. He's such a good dad. And D rocked the game, making at least half a dozen goals. He will always be better at sports than I was because he has a competitive streak I never could produce. I also enjoyed watching N bond with her grandmother. It was so great to have them visit. They left after the soccer games and by Sunday night, as Dan and I cleaned the kitchen after the children were asleep we wanted them back. They had done all the cleaning up from all the meals we ate and even bought us a new scrub brush to do the dishes with. I also noticed today they bought hangers for the guest bedroom closet. That thought hadn't even occurred to me. These two sure do know how to help others and make a place better than when they came. The Easter presents they left helped my children cope with the fact they were gone already.
Saturday was soccer day. D and M both had a game at 10am and we lucked out by having them on fields right next to each other. This way we could sit and watch both games at the same time. It was terrific. I especially enjoyed watching my husband out there on the field trying his best to get M to play. He's such a good dad. And D rocked the game, making at least half a dozen goals. He will always be better at sports than I was because he has a competitive streak I never could produce. I also enjoyed watching N bond with her grandmother. It was so great to have them visit. They left after the soccer games and by Sunday night, as Dan and I cleaned the kitchen after the children were asleep we wanted them back. They had done all the cleaning up from all the meals we ate and even bought us a new scrub brush to do the dishes with. I also noticed today they bought hangers for the guest bedroom closet. That thought hadn't even occurred to me. These two sure do know how to help others and make a place better than when they came. The Easter presents they left helped my children cope with the fact they were gone already.
This was also conference weekend, and look below to see what hubby did while he listened to the talks. Yes, everybody, we now have porch furniture and it is lovely! His youngest girls were more than willing to snuggle with him to try it out. And while we were out there we got to tell the neighbors about General Conference and the talk about the winter olympics and Noelle Pikus-Pace. I hope to have many a nice memory made on this front porch. So far we are doing a pretty good job.
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