Lovin my time with these babies!

  Leslie went back to work the week before Thanksgiving (too bad for her, lucky for me!)  So, I added Emri to my little nursery.  So far, everyone can cast their fears aside - it's a breeze!  It doesn't hurt to have 40 years experience with children.

Here's the latest:

Emri is 3 months old and sleeps like a newborn.  Seriously!  She is up for an hour, sleeps 3 or 4 hours, is up for (maybe) and hour and a half, sleeps another 2-4 hours!  When she's up she, eats and smiles and talks to you.  She is a darling baby, and so tiny!  If I wasn't having so much fun with the others, I would be sad she sleeps so long.

    Talan is 13 months old and absolutely delightful!  Really!  He's perfect.  He walks all over, and explores.  When he opens a drawer, he checks out what's in there and then closes it.  He just does his own thing all day, without bothering anyone.  When he needs something (hungry, tired or diaper change) he comes to me and hangs on my legs.  I love watching his personality emerge.  He knows what he wants, and lets you know in his 'Talan' way.

    Cashe is 18 months old.  He's so funny!  He's at the age where I need to know where he is at all times.  He escaped from the doggy door a few months ago (which freaked me out).  He's the kind of kid who will play long enough for you to feel comfortable about not watching him, and as soon as you take your eyes off him, he's doing something he shouldn't.  Today he dumped sugar all over the kitchen floor (3 times), broke two ornaments (he thought they were balls), dumped his lunch on the floor (Moses looked hungry), dumped out Moses food and water (Cashe already fed him), ummm, that's about it for the day.  He entertains us with new vocabulary every day.  He actually says a lot of words, but most of them sound the same.  He already can sing a tune (I think that's amazing).  He loves playing with his uncle Cam.

Brenden is 3 years old.  He has changed a lot the past month.  He shares easily, doesn't cry or have tantrums with me, and gets along with all of the kids.  He was so funny today.  He SAT on my stair, but his feet weren't flat on the floor, he was on his toes.  He says "Look, my legs are moving by themselves."  He didn't have a shirt on and his legs were shaking like they were extremely fatigued or he was very cold.  He was so amazed that they would move by themselves.  He quickly found out when he put his feet flat on the floor, they didn't do it, but he liked it the other way.  He found my doll I bought in Australia and asked me if it was Tarzan when he was little.  (It's a Aborigeni Doll, a little black dude with nothing on but undies).

Ayvri is 4 years old.  She wanted Brenden to drink her (pretend) wine today.  He refused over and over again.  She said it was just water, but he wouldn't touch it.  She got a little upset with me when Nicole left.  I didn't walk her to the door, Ayvri did.  I said goodbye to her several times, but stayed in my chair (I was tired!)  After Nicole left, Ayvri came up to me and said "You didn't say goodbye to Matol."  I told her I said goodbye several times, but she gave me that "look", and I knew what she meant.  I didn't say goodbye to her properly!  She found her doll (the one Leslie bought on her honeymoon in the Virgin Islands) and took it home.  I slowly gave away my doll collection to my granddaughters.  I think these two were the last to go.

Sadly, Sharis hours have changed for work, so Jaxon isn't coming anymore.  It really does make me sad.  I love watching the way Brenden, Ayvri and Jaxon interact together.  they're like having triplets, without the work, just all the fun.  We only had a few more months before he and Ayvri start kindergarten anyway, but, it just makes me sad!  Last Thursday Ayvri said "now I'm never going to see Jaxon again."  When we took him to her dance recital on Saturday, she couldn't stop hugging and dancing with him.  It was so cute.

Cashe fell asleep sitting up. His head was bobbing like an apple!

Talan wouldn't leave Emri on Thursday.  Wherever she was, he wanted to be (unless it was bed).

Emri has the cutest grin.  She's such a sweetheart.

The Three Musketeers

Quiet time begins at 1:00.  

I put the babies down and let 

the older kids watch Rugrats 

for about an hour.  Brenden

has a hard time staying awake.

YEA!  I FINALLY GOT A VIDEO TO WORK

A Very Long Walk

I forgot to take my camera today, so I'll have to create a picture with words.

The day started out slow.  I was at Kims house (happy birthday Jon) tending Jaxon, Brenden and Talan.  Ayvri showed up about ten.  The kids were playing well together until 11:00.  Then Brenden and Jaxon got into it.

Brenden was playing with his GI Joe stuff and wouldn't share with Jaxon.  Jaxon went after one and Brenden grabbed it yelling "It's Mine!  I'ts MINE!"

Jaxon walked over to him, and with his hands on his hips he screamed "YOU CAN"T SAY THAT!"  He then lowered his voice and with great expression said "You can't go live with Heavenly Father if you say that."  Of course he repeated that sentence three times.  I think it caught Brenden off guard.  He had to think about that one.

I decided it was time to divert them, so I suggested going to the park.  I discovered we didn't have enough car seats to drive, so we would have to walk.  Brenden was sure there was a park close to their house and would lead the way.  He rode his bike and Jaxon rode the trike.  Ayvri stayed close to the stroller as we talked about how silly boys were.  Forty five minutes later and five fire hydrants we found a little park.  It had to be at least a mile away.

The kids had a ball playing FIREMEN (we talked about the fire hydrants everytime we passed one and had to inspect them).  There was a climbing toy they made into a fire truck, a firemans pole (which Brenden went down by himself after the third try, Jaxon did it with help several times and Ayvir tried it once), and a big puddle of water to run through and jump in to put out the pretend grass fires.

I thought we would take a shortcut home, but it ended up being longer.  Jaxons trike no longer would pedal (because it was uphill), so Ayvri asked him is he could use a little help.  She gave him a big push every few feet, and then stayed behind him pushing him till she was exhausted.  I suggested he push her for a while.  He did that gladly.  They traded off most of the way home, then they both pooped out.  They complained they were thirsty and hungry.  Since I thought we were just going around the block, I didn't bring anything.  So, I told them the story of Hansel and Gretel and we pretended we were them, poor abandoned children, hungry and thirsty, looking for a place to stay.  It worked.

The last three blocks the kids were so tired!  I ended up putting one bike on top of the stroller, carrying the trike, pushing the stroller with Talan in the seat, Ayvri sitting on the tray, Jaxon curled up in the basket on the bottom, and Brenden walking next to me (he was the only one that wasn't tired of walking).  Too bad I didn't get a picture of that.

The picture I will always have in my mind is little Ayvri being so kind and offering to push her cousin up the hill on his trike.  What a thoughtful little girl.

Happy 62nd Birthday Grandpa!

This was a "grandkids only" birthday party. Sorry.

Grandpa doesn't like getting presents and he knew he

would have nothing to worry about with his guests.

We grabbed hotdogs (forgot the buns), veggies, chips, the cake and ran.

Oh yeah, and some KFC for the hot dog haters. We headed north to the

adventure and learning park. We took a hike and realized the park

has all but dried up. the waterfall is gone, everything looks dead, including

the fish!

We enjoyed our lunch and the kids sang to grandpa 3 times. Talan wouldn't take

his bottle until Brett gave him a pickle, which he is devouring in the picture above.

When we got home grandma was tired - but not the kids! No way! I put the baby down and told Brenden it was naptime.

He ran (I thought to the bed). No, he ran and hid. I found him a few minutes later under the bed where the girls were playing house.

He was in the middle, where I couldn't reach him. So, I left him there, checking on him every few minutes. He just stayed there until

he fell fast asleep. Boy, did he pull a good one on grandma!

Answer to "What is Ayvri Pointing At"

The Marching Band!

As soon as we heard the beat of the drums, Moses and Brenden ran in the house and wouldn't come out.  When the band got right in front of the house, Brenden came tearing out.  I don't know what he thought it was before.  They then followed them to the park.

My camera is on a motorcycle a few hundred miles away.  I hope Doug breaks it.  Then I can get a new one!  I missed getting a great video of Talan jumping on the trampoline.

You know how he moves.  Imagine that on a trampoline.  It was pretty funny, and he loved it.  He refused his bottle and his baby food today, but loved beans, beef and blueberries.

The bigger kids are getting pretty dang easy to tend.  They make a mess, but sure have fun doing it.  It's too late to be creative, so check in next week.  Luv ya all!

Did I go to the zoo to see the animals, or did I take the animals to the zoo?

Road Trip

Ok.  I see nobody is really interested in this site.  So, I'm not going to waste my time with it.

Ok.  Maybe I'll give you guys one more chance to redeem yourselves.

Ok.  Maybe it really is a time waster, for you and myself.

Ok.  One more time.

My zoo pass is expires next monday.  So I thought it would be a dandy idea to take the kids to the zoo.  Cashe hasn't been since he was 4 months old.  I doubt if he remembers much.  Jaxon just went with his mom (I found out after we were at the zoo).  So anyways, I think I'm being a generous grandparent, giving of my time and ENERGY to take a van load 35 miles away.  I stress Kim out to the max the night before, trying to arrange it.  Then one thing after another happens this morning (Shari forgets it's Tuesday and takes Jaxon to school in Orem, Kip wakes up as Kaleigh is leaving and wants the car, an accident on the freeway), and I end up being 20 minutes late meeting Jon and Leslie.  they were both very gracious about it and I felt pretty good it was only 20 minutes late.

With five kids, It was a good thing we had 4 eyes watching them.  Granted, we should have had five eyes for five kids, but no one makes sunglasses for an extra eye.  Kaleigh was a big help. We didn't go too far when Ayvri announced she had to go to the bathroom, NOW!  We were just at the bottom of the hill, so we had to all climb up the hill again.  I forced them all to pee, and we were good for the day.

Lets see, we saw the elephants, a monkey, the elephants, a mountain lion (which Brenden corrected me and said it was a cougar), a Rhino, and the elephants.  YUP.  thats about it.  In other words we didn't get too far.

As you can tell by the picture Talan was thrilled!  Cashe was feeling like crap - no smiles today!

But, I had a ball!  I loved watching the kids interact with each other.  I loved watching the elephant roll around in the mud.  I loved that I could put three car seats in my back seat and have a hand small enough to buckle the last one in.

What did I learn today?

1.  It doesn't matter where you are, these kids love being together.  Even riding in the back seat for an hour they fantisized  about being The Incredibles, all tied up.  Or ghosts haunting each other.  I hauled Super Boy, Super Girl, and Super Man in my humble van.  I was honored and left with cheerios and gold fish all over my back seat and floor, to remember this day.

2.  Never, ever buy three kids meals.  Buy one kids meal and two extra toys!

The Real Sleeping Beauty!

See Les, I do what I'm told sometimes!

What is Ayvri pointing at?

Here's a clue:  Brenden was scared and wouldn't come out of the house.  So was Moses.

Meet Mr. Personality!

Ok, he may not be a hit on the entertainment arena, but he's a smash with his grandma.  Besides that, did you ever hear of the Smothers Brothers?  In every duo comics there's a funny one and a serious one.  Guess which one Talan is.  I mean just look at him.  Take a long, hard look.  Stare at him for 60 second and you will burst out laughing.  Promise!

Really, he is the sweetest, most peaceful, easy baby to tend.  I adore him.

Howdy Partner, I'm  Sorroman.  And this here is my little lady.  Smile honey, you're on the web."

Have ya ever been to a circus?  Chances are you enjoyed every minute of it, but when it was over you couldn't remember what you experienced.  It was a whirlwind.  That's what Tuesdays are like at my house.  

Tuesdays with Grandma.  I'm the grandma.  The five ring circus right now features: Jaxon, four years old - the ring leader, Ayvri, three and a half - the main event, Brenden, three - the Master of Ceremonies, Cashe, twelve months - the destroyer, Talan, seven months - the observer.

Todays events featured Superman (Brenden) trying to destroy Batman (Jaxon).

"Hey, I'm a good guy!"  Batman kept repeating, but to an avail.  Superman ran him out of town.  There happened to be a pretty cute kitten in town (Ayvri).  She trashed her ears, but was very proud of her tail.  She swished, swayed, and twirled, oblivious to the chaos around her.

I missed the afternoon entertainment. Kaleigh, my sub took my place while I was attempting to scrapbook moments from 2006!  She was assisted by a very competent worker (Kiana), who cleaned the playhouse, pulled the hard to reach toys down for the kids, and bounced the babies.

Talan made up his mind not to drink from a bottle today.  He was a determined little guy as he pushed the bottle away and kept his mouth shut tight.  What's with that?  No bottles the whole day!

Cashe played the disappearing act.  One second he's there, the next he's not!  Wowsers, he is hard to keep up with!

I'm going to try and keep current each week, and maybe even thrown in a few past shows.