In the Blink of an Eye

Roland turned two years old on Saturday. I no longer have any babies, only toddlers and crazy boys. I find this both sad and exhilirating. Roley is the sweetheart of the family, although he has recently discovered the joys of screaming for no reason. He adores his older brothers and is completely infatuated with our dog, Bella. He is even sweet to Mom & Dad most of the time & will give kisses. Ro-Ro loves balls and cars and anything train related. I swear he could watch Thomas for hours. He's still pretty attached to his Minky-Moo blanket and holds it while he sucks his thumb. He's been a little bit slower on the talking that his brothers, but his vocabulary is increasing steadily and we're starting to understand what he's saying most of the time.

Here he is the morning of his birthday. The brothers often sit with their blankets, sucking their thumbs, and watching cartoons early in the morning. You can see his sippy cup of milk, which he calls "cars." He always asks for "cars" and could go through 8 cups a day if we let him. All the sippy cups we use for his milk have pictures from the Pixar Cars movie. So he never says milk, just "cars."

Saturday was also moving day for Roley's Autie Candice & family, so we had Jaycee over to play all morning. These two love & hate each other. Just like siblings. I think they will be very close growing up and it was fun to see them ride on the glider together - that's a new skill for Ro.

After an early nap - we started Roley's birthday party. We planned a fun-filled afternoon for our family of five to enjoy. We started with a late lunch at Chick-Fil-A, which is everyone's favorite. Roley followed the cow mascot around the restaurant, loved the play place, got balloons & cow presents, and ate tons of chicken & Oreo shake.

From there we drove to McCormick Ranch Railroad Park, where Roland was in heaven and just ran around crazy saying, "choo choo! choo choo!" We rode the big train (Alden & Emmett rode in the cattle car!), and the carousel, and checked out the extensive playground for a while. All the boys really liked to room full of model trains too. Then we had Roley's birthday cupcakes and gave him his present - a new lawnmower! He was always running around the backyard with the old, garage-sale one we had, even though it had lost two wheels. We figured it was time to upgrade.

For a final treat, we took all three boys to the dollar theater to see Planet 51. It was Roland's first time in a theater and he did pretty well. We got home just in time for bed and to exclaim what a fun family day it was. I'm really glad we chose to do this rather than a more traditional birthday party for Roley. We love him so!

First First Day of School

Alden started kindergarten. Hooray! and sigh. but no cries. He's only four, and we did have him signed up for pre-K, but that program was cut with the budget crunch. So full day kindergarten, here we come. He loves it so much and can't stop talking about it when we pick him up every day. He goes to MacArthur, which is where I spent seven years of my childhood. He loves his teacher, Mrs. Harvey, and is making new friends in his class every day. He is always telling me about a new kid that he knows now. We were happy to have Hailey Bastian in his class, from Miss Peggy's preschool - so at least he had one friend on the first day. His buddy Kaleb Rasmussen is in the class next to him and they see each other often.

Movie-time Thursday

The old Superstition Springs dollar theater has been closed for a year or so but was bought out and refurbished. They re-opened today but had a special free pre-screening yesterday in conjunction with the kid's club at the mall. I took Alden & Emmett to see Tales of Despereaux. The boys were pretty good while we waited in line for 45 minutes. Emmett only pushed other kids twice. And they didn't even fall down. The theater even gave out free kids packs (popcorn/soda/candy) to everyone. Alden was perfect during the movie, but I think we need to wait another year for Emmett. He did okay, but left by himself twice. He wanted to play the video games in the lobby. It was fun though - even with Emmett's meltdown as we walked to the car about leaving his (empty) soda in the theater. That's what I get for thinking he can skip his naptime. (He fell asleep on the way home and napped for an hour when we got back.)

Emmy's a big boy

I'm just going to write this post and totally ignore the fact that I haven't posted to this blog in 2 1/2 months. More on that later.

This week Emmett and I are working on potty training. And it seems to be going pretty well. He finally started acting interested and ready in the last few weeks. He's been taking his diaper off when he's wet. And he even insisted he needed to go potty one night last week (after we put him to bed, of course). And he actually did. Miracle.

I worry that things have gone so well because he's been a bit sick and not drinking nearly as much as usual. So while we go sit on the potty 20 times a day, he only goes 3 or 4. Not many accidents though. He's learned that when the kitchen timer goes off - it's time to head into the bathroom.

Yesterday was good and Emmett filled up the rest of his potty chart. It has 15 circles on it and he gets to choose a sticker every time he goes. He's filled up 2 charts now and somehow he decided he was getting gum for this one. We've never really let the boys have gum, so it's the mystery of the thing I guess. All three boys and I were dressed and at the store before 8am this morning. Emmett picked out some watermelon Hubba Bubba and I let Alden get something sugar free. Here is our big boy showing off his accomplishments.

Our Little Bob the Builders

My friend, Jody, gave out the cutest gifts this year. They were gingerbread house kits. There were foil covered boards, graham crackers, royal icing in ready-to-squeeze bags, and plenty of candies for decorating. And it was all wrapped up in plastic and tied with a gorgous bow. Such a great idea!

We had Jody's son, Kaleb, over to play a few days after Christmas and decided to occupy the boys with a little building. We built the houses and started out like this:





Poor Emmett's house quickly deteriorated to this:





And then this:





And finally this:





But Alden and Kaleb were very meticulous and did a bang up job on their houses. Thanks for the kits, Jody. And thanks for letting Kaleb come to play and show us how to decorate.

After our little builders finished we met up with the Rasmussens & the Eggers at the park for a little picnic and playfest. We were happy to get a little time to spend with Jeanna & Jason, who were visiting from California. We miss them!

Visiting the House of the Lord

Aaron and wanted to attend the temple during his time off work and finally harangued someone into babysitting the morning after Christmas. (Thanks, Candice!) We have been out of the habit a bit and are really enjoying the temple again, especially together.

As I sat in the session, I paid strict attention to every word, wanting to learn and grow. I know the temple is full of symbolism and I was racking my brain, trying to gain more insights and figure out all the pieces of the puzzle. Then I realized that gospel answers don't come that way, through the brain. Although studying is a big part of learning, I remembered that all understanding comes through the Spirit and that I needed to sit back and listen with different ears.

As I realized this and began to soak up the words with all my senses, I did gain a little understanding. I was very touched to see an elderly woman in a wheelchair helped by her companion and a sweet temple worker. This woman could not physically do the things required of her in the temple and these other two women did everything for her. I was suddenly overcome with the realization that that's a huge part of what the temple is about. Doing something for others who can not physically do it for themselves. This little thought made my day and left me feeling refreshed and anxious to go to The House of the Lord again soon.

Who wants to babysit in January?

A Long & Lovely Christmas Day

Our Christmas was wonderful and jam-packed with family and fun. Santa Claus found our house and apparently the boys had been good this year. (Who am I to argue with Santa?) Here are a few pre-shots. Roley got new bath toys. Don't look too closely at the year on his My First Christmas stocking. He will have his own by next year. Luckily I finished Emmett's last week so Santa could fill it with lots of goodies. His is the burgandy one next to the cool new pirate ship. Alden Bear got a cool new Disney video game from Santa.

And here are some after shots of everyone playing with their new toys. We had lots of fun just being together as a family and enjoying the gifts. I know my boys are growing up and I'm trying to treasure this time together while they are small. Roley is 11 months and could sense the excitement but will really be getting in on the fun next year.

We had a big, yummy breakfast planned, but decided to save it for later and just grazed on whatever we could find to prolong the fun of Christmas morning. Suddenly it was time to get dressed and head to Ma'am and Grandpa's for some time with the Blasneks.


We loved spending a few hours with my parents and Tami's family. The cousins always get along so well. My Gramma Blasnek was there too - she is content to sit in the corner and quietly watch all the action. My mom made all our favorites - crepes (really blintzes), blueberry muffins, and a breakfast casserole. Everyone took turns opening the mountain of presents, with Grandpa handing them out as usual. Here he is with all of his grandkids. Some look happier than others to be with him.

My Dad always saves his own, small stack of presents until the end. I had spent a lot of time making him a special book and we all enjoyed watching him open it - then cry a bit as he read it. It was all about why his children and grandchildren love him, complete with pictures of him and all of us over the years. I was so thankful to my Mom and Tami for helping me complete it.

I love this picture of our family, despite the blurriness. I am not loving my new camera, a Sony Cybershot. There is a distinct possibility that I am an idiot and just don't know how to use it, but my pictures are just not turning out well & I miss my Cannon PowerShot.

We returned home in time to get Emmett and Roland down for naps and tried to get a little rest ourselves. Aaron made a delicious pork roast in the crock pot and we enjoyed the aroma all day. We watched a little football and had a fabulous dinner. Then Nana & Papa (Carpenter) came to visit and exchange a few presents. They got Aaron and I a digital thermostat, which I am eager to install. Candice and Jaycee made it over right after that and more gifts changed hands. Candice made the cutest wooden blocks for the boys - she Mod Podged pictures of the boys on the fronts. Even Roley loves playing with them.

We are blessed to have so much family around us during the holidays. We were happy to see many of them on Christmas day, and still save some time for just the five of us. I hope everyone else had as lovely a day as we did.

Pre-Christmas Parties

We had a long round of Holiday parties this year, with both sides of the family. We started with the Pollock party the Saturday before Christmas. When we drove up my Dad was loading up this sleigh and I jumped on with all my boys. Then we were a little suprised when he drove us all the way to Kathy & Lester Pearce's house and we all had to squish in the car to get home. It was pretty fun though & we sang carols down the street.

My Papa came down from Pima for the party and every living decendant of my grandparents was in attendance. It was full of good food as always, this year featuring my Aunt Susan's delicious soups, mom's rolls, and a plethora of other yummies. My mom had presents for all the kids (Transformers for our boys) and then banished them all downstairs to play while the adults had their gift exchange. This was the first year the Pollocks tried a white elephant exchange, and the gifts were supposed to be something that reminded you of the family, or Pima, or something. Aaron started out with a big camping/fishing stool, but ended up with one of the MANY camper/fisher/hunter in a bottle gifts that Susan brought. I ended up with the new shovel that Preston brought and tried his hardest to take home himself. And Susan got back the honey pot that she bought Papa for Christmas a few years ago that he has never used.

Aaron wasn't feeling well and went home after a few hours, but the boys and I stayed all afternoon to play with cousins. They play especially well with Preston & Melanie's boys: Bradley, Carter, and Jackson. We don't see them often now that they live in Florence and we sure miss them. Melanie is due in a couple months with their 4th boy.

Aaron was sick all weekend and ended up calling in sick to work Mon. & Tues. And since he had Wed. thru Fri. off for the holiday - that meant he was home for an entire week with us! He was a huge help with the boys and took them out for part of every day to let me get things done at home. And then he stayed home with them so I could finish shopping and go to the gym a few times. I signed up for a 30 day free pass at Pure Fitness (the old Goldens) and Aaron is joining too. We are determined to get in shape next year.

We also want to be better at writing thank you notes this year, so Sunday morning they boys made awesome Transformer cards and we took them to my parents before church. Aaron was home sick & kept the baby but Alden & Emmett looked so handsome in their blazers and we took these pictures. We ended up staying at my parents for pancakes too and still made it to church only a few minutes late.

The Carpenter family party was on Monday night and we ate shrimp cocktail, soups in breadbowls, and Aunt Bev's jello knox blocks. We had the traditional white elephant exchange, separated for the kids and adults. Alden got a coloring book & crayons, Emmett got a talking Elmo, Aaron stole one of Candice's homemade tote bags and gave it to me, and I got a container of Ghiradelli baking chocolate - we had a great year! It's always fun to see all the Carpenter cousins. Bob & CJ's condo is a bit crowded, but they are in the process of buying a new house here in Mesa. We were supposed to have the adult fondue party Tuesday night, but it was cancelled because CJ was not feeling well. I guess you don't feel like hosting dozens of people just days after you get out of the hospital where you received multiple blood transfusions. Go figure. We are sure hoping that the doctors can find out what's wrong with her soon.

We spent Christmas Eve at my parents for the Blasnek party, where we were again fed very well. It was really nice to spend a little time with my Gramma Blasnek and Aunt Cheryl - I wish we saw them more often. (It's my own fault.) Alden also made fast friends with his 2nd cousin, Tyler Colby, Patrick & Sheila's son. Tami and her family came too and we are loving seeing them so often over the holidays. There was another white elephant exchange and we got a great Land o Lakes hot chocolate set and a cool clock/picture frame that Aaron is going to take to his office. The only bad part of the evening was that my mom had a terrible migraine and was pretty much in bed the whole evening. Everyone pitched in to clean up, since my parents were still expecting Tami & I with our families on Christmas day. Then Aaron & I headed home to tuck our boys in so Santa Claus could visit us.