Diaper Changing 101

K - I lied. But here's the REAL last post of the month! lol Today Amber was enrolled into Diaper Changing 101. She wasn't too thrilled about it, but tough bananas. I figure as a 10 year old, she'd better start learning how to change diapers so I can send her out into the world of babysitting in a couple years and she can earn her own spending money instead of always asking for mine. She actually did a pretty decent job - though it was only pee. She only pulled a handful of faces which was impressive - but again, it was only pee. I did get a pretty mean glare after I snapped pics though.... haha

Today for dessert we had chocolate-dipped strawberries. We discovered everyone likes them while we were in Flagstaff and that's what we ate for dinner along with french bread. Towards the end, Amber and Jade were having a contest who could get the most chocolate on their strawberries. I think Jaders won.

February Randoms

Last post of the month. Here's a gathering of my random pics thus far unblogged:

This is from Amber's talent show at school. She did wonderfully!

Cute girl playing with dollhouse furniture.

Shyla cooing at Amber.

Dessert!

Fun Family Day

Most Saturdays we try to do something fun as a family since everyone is home and we pretty much drive each other crazy when we're all stuck at home together all day. I'm pretty sure most families are like that....and even if they're not, I'm going to pretend they are. =) This last Saturday we went to the Phoenix Swap Meet. Which is funny cause it was 2 years ago almost to the day we went last. The weather was much nicer this year (2 years ago it was cold and rainy) and we had a good time walking around. I bought Amber a mood ring, Jade and Paisley sparkly headbands, and all of us fry bread. David bought himself a watch and both of us sunglasses. And all of us had burgers or hot dogs for lunch. Jade and Paisley decided to use the money my mom sent them for Valentine's Day on pony rides. I was surprised Paisley wanted to ride the pony, but she had a blast! She kept giving me this funny smug face like "I'm such a big girl. Just look." And I'm surprised Amber didn't want to ride....but I guess she feels too old to ride a pony going around in circles. Can't blame her.

Tiny the Weirdo

Apparently David and Amber's heads smell good enough to eat! lol Or they are not very clean and Tiny feels the need to help them.... Haven't decided which. Anyways, it was pretty funny watching her cause if David or Amber moved at all, she would smack their heads with her paw then get a better grip on them before continuing with her cleaning. Amber got smacked a lot. What a naughty little kitty she is! (Amber, not Tiny...)

Shyla's 2 Month Stats

I took Shyla to her 2mo check-up this morning. In fact, I just got back home for a little breather before taking Amber to her appt and lunch. And yup, it's been confirmed - I have a chunky baby. lol Here's her stats:

Weight - 12lbs 7oz (75%)

Length - 24.25in (97%)

The biggest percentile in weight my other three ever were was 50% and that was at birth. By 2 months, all of them dropped down to under 20%. And by 6 months, they were all under 10% in weight. I guess poor Shyla got more of my genes than David's. At least she's still taller than she is chubby! haha

We sure love this chunky baby! She's a very happy little thing - always smiling and cooing at us. Shyla sleeps 8 hours straight and then another 4 at night now which I LOVE. She also likes sticking her tongue out at us and rewards us with coos and smiles if we reciprocate. Such a sweet girl!

Our Fabulous February Getaway

This past weekend was a three-day weekend for David and the girls from work and school. We had planned on heading north to my dad's cabin, but those plans fell through. I was somewhat upset because we'd been promising Amber and Jade a snow trip for the past 3 years and it never worked out and I didn't know how much longer snow would last this year. So David, being the sweet guy he is, surprised us all - including me - with a trip to Flagstaff for two nights! He found a motel we could afford to stay in, booked it, packed our warmest clothes, and as soon as Amber and Jade got home from school (it was a 1/2 day so they were home at 10am) we left. After a quick stop at Joann's for ribbon and zippers, and lunch at a yummy Hawaiian restaraunt, we headed north. With a movie to watch and plenty of snacks, the older three were prefectly fine. When we started seeing patches of snow on the side of the road, I told David to pull over and pretend that was the surprise. He did. Amber and Jade had fun playing in the "snow" while I fed Shyla in the van. Paisley did not like the snow. When I was done, we got the girls back in the car and said we were going home. Amber and Jade were not happy about that. lol Their eyes sure got big once we were far enough north to see lots and lots of snow. =)

The motel David booked for us had 2 rooms which was great since the girls go to bed eariler than David and I.  Paisley had fun "helping" unpack while Amber and Jade quickly found cartoons on the tv. We found a Safeway and got some basic groceries for the weekend. And while we were eating Little Caesar's in the motel room watching some Disney channel show, David and I just laughed that that's what we drove 2 hours to do.

Saturday morning we packed a lunch and drove up to the Grand Canyon. I'm actually surprised David agreed to go there as he has a very hard time with heights. He was very quick to remind the girls - expecially Bouncy Jade - to be careful near the railing. And even took Shyla away from me when he thought I was too close to the edge. lol We planned to stop at Snow Bowl on the way back to the motel, but Amber got carsick and barfed all over the backseat. So after getting that cleaned up, we went for a walk around Flagstaff. There were a lot of snowball fights and even a family of snowpeople built in a parking lot. Paisley decided she did like the snow after all and had fun throwing it at all of us as well. She even spent quite a long time giving David's snowman a "hat". Our dinner that night consisted of fresh bakery bread, strawberries, and dipping chocolate. It was a hit! And there's no doubt about it.....we are a VERY loud family! Hahaha! Even David and I were getting pretty loud playing games at night with Amber and Jade.

 Sunday morning we packed up our stuff and as David loaded the car, it started to snow! What perfect timing! We drove to Snow Bowl but the road to the park was closed unless you had chains or 4-wheel drive. So we just parked at the bottom and played near the van. Paisley kept giggling and telling us the snow was tickling her. =) Since Amber had barfed on her warm jacket, she just had a fleece hoodie left so I donated my warm jacket to her to keep her warm. Yeah, I froze my butt off. I think snow would be a whole lot funner in proper snow attire. But living in places with no snow my entire life, I didn't have one article of weather-proof clothing. Neither did any of my girls. David was the only one with a real snow jacket and waterproof boots. Lucky. But that didn't stop Amber and Jade from rolling around in the snow making snow angels! We were all pretty wet by the time we got back in the van to head home. I think Shyla was probably the warmest - she was wrapped up in a blanket tucked inside David's jacket. Her face was the only skin exposed and her poor cheeks were pretty rosey and chapped from the wind. We got lucky though cause she decided to sleep the entire way home. =)

We all had such a great time together! My kids got to see and play in the snow for the first time ever, and we all got to see it falling. It's very beautiful coming down. For sure next time we spend any length of time in it though, we'll definately have at least some weather-proof gear!

What Amber's Been Reading

Since the beginning of the school year, Amber has been allowed to stay up later than Jade to read before bed. It started out as 1 chapter per night, and she started a couple books but wasn't interested so didn't finish them, but I think our new system works: I choose a book, then she chooses. And she reads till 8pm. Here are the books she's actually finished so far.

This was actually the first "real" book she's finished. It took her quite awhile, but she did it - and loved it! The day after she finished it, she wanted to watch the movie. And she pointed out a lot of the differences between the book and movie.

Amber asked her teacher for advice on a good book and was steered to Beverly Cleary. We have a several Ramona books here, but the ones where Ramona is younger. In this one, she's a 4th grader like Amber.

Amber chose this one. I LOVED the Magic Shop Books as a kid so of course we have a couple now. While reading this book, Amber felt the need to tell me every little detail after her time was up. I had to remind her several times that I've read the book and it's time for bed already. lol I was impressed with how much she was retaining though.

This is the latest book - in fact, she just finished it tonight! That means tomorrow it's her turn to choose again. I asked her who her favorite character is and she said, "Gylfie! She's so smart." =)

In school, Amber's teacher asked if she'd be willing to make a "sample" cereal box book report for the class. I'm not sure what it all entails, something about the ingredients list being the characters or something? But Amber is excited to do it and is pretty proud to be making it for the class to see what to do.

Playing Catch-Up

Though it's only been 2 weeks since my last post, we've done a lot of fun stuff I need to blog about before I forget. So be prepared for lots of pics.

David took his nursing board exam on February 2nd and passed! And just two days later, he got his RN license in the mail. Hooray!

Amber was super bored and begged to "fix" my hair. I wasn't doing anything requiring my hair, so I let her. I think it looks nice - don't you?

Before church, Paisley watched tv. Only it wasn't a tv she was watching - it was our big mirror in the living room. And I love how she's using pillowcases like sleeping bags. Even her baby has one! This girl has such a big imagination!

Jami came to see us a week after Amber's birthday to give Amber her present and also to meet Shyla. It's always so nice to spend time with family!

One evening while David and I were watching a show, Tiny must have thought David's head wasn't clean enough and took it upon herself to change that. She gave his whole head a cat-tongue bath!

K - these next several pics demonstrate Paisley's BIG heart. She's just so full of love!

Smoochies for the baby!

Can you see Crook?

LOVE Shyla's face in this one. "Mom? Can you help me out here? Please??"

And a cute picture of the cute chunky baby:

Now I am caught up through today. Today is Valentine's Day! My mom sent the girls handmade Valentines to open. They are adorable and my older three (cause let's be honest....Shyla didn't really care) were so excited to open them this morning. When Paisley opened hers and saw the $5, she shouted, "A dollar for ME???" I so gave them heart necklaces and made pink heart(ish) pancakes for breakfast. David took Paisley, Shyla, and I to Pete's Fish n' Chips for lunch after doing court runs with him. It was his bribe for me to come along. haha Tonight we're having heart-shaped grilled cheese - it's what Amber has chosen for dinner - and girl scout cookies for dessert.

Fun stuff we've done this month I have no pictures of:

     - took the girls to see Journey 2

     - also saw Big Miracle

     - and also One For The Money (just David and I)

     - bought a new laptop for David

     - I finished sewing Jade's baptism dress, Shyla's blessing dress, and a flower girl dress

     - we tried a new pizza take-and-bake place. I like it, David doesn't. Go figure....

     - the older girls have been going with David to do serves with him the past few days

     - Amber and Jade had dental work done. Amber had a tooth extraction and 3 cavities filled while Jade had a baby root canal, cap, and 2 cavities filled. Good grief! They were both sedated for their procedures and got a free day off from school to "recover".

I think that's it. Hopefully I'll stay more on top of blogging so I don't forget so much. lol