Baby in the House...

I'm going to be watching this cute baby for the next two months until school is out. She comes on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. The girls LOVE her! They fight over who gets to feed her and hold her. When we were getting ready for the baby to go home yesterday, Sage was really sad. "Why does she have to leave?"

As soon as she was gone, she said, "I miss the baby."

During the day yesterday, baby Catherine was lying on a blanket. The girls were playing around her calling her "Queen Catherine". I think they like having a baby around!

Flip or Fort...

The girls have been asking to build a fort for a couple of days. For our part-family FHE tonight I asked Allie and Caden to help the girls build a fort (I was cleaning the kitchen, Parker was playing basketball outside and Bob was working late.) The big kids were acting like HGTV stars in the process. "Do you want high ceilings or more space?" "That's a load bearing wall. If we rip that down, the whole thing will fall down and we won't have any profit on this house." "Girls, we're going to give you an open-concept kitchen."

Allie told Sage that the addition they were working on was going to be expensive. With a worried look Sage asked, "How much? Am I going to have to pay for it?" 

"Yes. It's going to be 50 dollars," responded Allie. 

Sage ran upstairs and returned with a stack of fake money to pay for her new house. 

Allie lead them through a reveal when they were done.

They had a great time together and built an impressive fort. My heart was happy seeing them play and be creative together. Those big kids of mine had some pretty clever comments and tie-ins with all the HGTV shows we watch!

Park Lovers...

These two don't feel like their day is complete unless it includes a trip to the park. Luckily we've had a beautiful mild winter so we get to go a lot.

At dinner Sage likes to do Rose, Bud and Thorn. If we aren't able to go to the park, either Sydney or Sage will exclaim that their thorn for the day was not going to the park. The parks are pretty empty when the temps are in the 40s or 50s but sometimes you'll find us there anyway.

It is 48 degrees, sunny and a bit windy today...

They love the parks!

Footie Pajamas...

The girls had a little money they got from grandparents for Christmas. We strongly encouraged them to buy new bike helmets with their Target gift cards which they did (Frozen helmet for Sage and a unicorn helmet for Sydney).

Sage was adamant that she buy footie pajamas with the rest of her money. We found a cute pair at OshKosh online and ordered them. She couldn't wait for them to come in the mail. When they finally arrive, she put them on immediately! She was so happy and excited and soft!

Sydney had some money leftover from buying her helmet and a pair of slippers (her favorite presents along with her new bike). When she saw Sage's footies, she decided she wanted some too. She ended up talking me into taking her to Carter's to look for some that night. We found the last cute pair of size 5s and happily took them home.

Both girls have been in their new pajamas as much as possible since they got them. They will put clothes on to go to the store and then come home and put on their pjs. They love them! 

One day Sage was being Sage and got a wild idea to draw on her sleeve with a marker. I had her take her footies off immediately so I could put stain remover on them. It took a day or two for them to get washed and it was agony for her (hopefully she learned her lesson about drawing on her new clothes!) The favored pjs I made for Christmas are chop suey, now that they have their footies!

Merry Christmas!

The girls picked out festive outfits for their preschool Christmas program last week. We found most of these treasures in Allie's hand-me-downs. They both looked so pretty after having a bath and letting me braid and straighten their hair.

Both girls were cute on stage. You could tell Sage knew the words to the songs and was singing along but with no hand motions. Sydney sang and did the motions for her songs. She was shy at first when she saw us in the audience but then she warmed up and performed with her class.

I thought Sydney looked so grown up in these pictures. They were the first I have noticed of her losing her baby face and really looking older.

Sweet sisters and good friends!

Sydney - age 5

Sydney is a very sweet, tender girl. She loves going to school. She is in a bridge class at the preschool with other young 5 year olds that didn't go to kindergarten this year. She goes twice a week. (Neither she nor I were ready for the commitment of daily public school this year.) At home, she is learning to read and do addition. We have a reading program that we work on once a week or so and the older kids teach her math facts. She LOVES coloring pictures, doing workbook pages and other activities. She enjoys drawing and playing with her sisters and brothers. She is learning to read and do addition. Sydney is cautious and brave. She knows what she is comfortable with but is willing to try new things. She likes to swing at a moderate level on the swings. On the merry-go-round, she sits vs. stands, and closes her eyes if it gets going fast. She loves going to the park as often as possible. She loves to run. Sydney loves to cuddle and give kisses. She is very particular about what she wears and how her hair is done (although she is less picky that she was a year ago). Some days she will tell me I can do something fancy to her hair. I will do a really pretty french braid only to have her take it out because she decides she doesn't like it or doesn't want extra attention from her teachers because of her pretty hair. She likes to have her hair brushed and gets frustrated if it is tangly first thing in the morning when she goes to brush it. She loves to eat bagels with cream cheese, oatmeal, pizza and beef tacos. She is a sweetheart and joy to have around!

Real Life...Primary Program 2015

So the good news is that both Parker and Sydney said their parts in the Primary program this year. They stood up for every song and helped make a great sacrament meeting program.

Here are the behind the scenes details that kept us smiling. Sydney has been very nervous about the program this year. When we offered to practice her part with her she flat out told us she was NOT going to say it. We never practiced at home with her. All week she was nervous and kept telling us she was not going to church this week. On Sunday morning she asked both Bob and I, "Don't you want to stay home from church today?" hoping she could find someone to stay home with her. I figured she would end up sitting with us during the program because she was so nervous. Bob had a different idea and once we got to church he offered her some rewards/bribes if she would do her part and participate. She ended up getting a movie date with just she and Bob (they went to see Inside Out at the dollar movie on Tuesday night) and an entire bottle of whipped cream for herself.

During the program Sydney would either cover her mouth or turn her back to us so that we wouldn't see her singing. We tried to ignore her and occasionally we would see her face and see her singing. We saw a lot of the braid on the back of her head and her two hands covering her mouth. Her class was one of the first to speak. The member of the Primary presidency that was helping the kids is a good friend of ours. Sydney told her she was nervous and Lindsey offered to say her part with her. They started together and Sydney finished her cute little part, "I know Jesus loves me because he gave me my parents."

Parker was also nervous. He practiced his part at home a few times on Sunday morning and was prepared. Parker hates singing. He would be happy to never sing and never hear his sisters sing. He stood up for every song and mouthed the words or pretended to be mouthing the words. During a lot of the program one of our kids had her mouth covered and the other was (reverently) singing "BaBaBaBa" or something like unto it. And you know what? We were thrilled about it. After some of the things we went through last year with Parker (weeks where we couldn't even get him to church), we couldn't have been prouder of what he did on Sunday. He overcame any anxiety he had, tried to participate in something that he really does not like and said his part with clarity, conviction and practice. I love our kids, quirks and all!

5 year old texts...

Everyday lately Sydney has been writing messages to Daddy. She carefully picks out each picture and then signs it. When writing she always chooses "Bob" over "Dad". She's a lovey.

Growing Up...

Sydney: "I want to be an artist and a home mom when I grow up."

5 year old convo...

Sydney woke up before Sage this morning. She told us, "Sage is SO cute when she's sleeping. She's so warm when she's warm. That's when I like her the best!"

Sydney is FIVE!

It's hard to believe our little girl is 5 today. That's a whole new realm of oldness! We are trying to make the most of her special day. We started out with birthday muffins and decorations. She's been playing with balloons and swimming this morning. Tonight we'll make pizzas, eat mint chocolate cake and watch a movie.

Quirky Sydney...

I wanted to write about some of the funny, cute and quirky things is doing right now.

She only has a handful of things she will wear right now. She will wear 2 dresses - one we found at Walmart for $2 and the other at Goodwill for $5. They are both mostly knit with ruffles. She has a pair of yellow shorts she likes and a couple of new knit shorts with 2 new shirts. She also has two pairs of pajamas she likes - both blue pants with yellow shirts. Everything else in her drawers just sits. She has certain underwear that she prefers that have princesses on them.

 She LOVED her swimsuit this year. It is faded and stretched now and lived a good life. I ordered her a new suit a couple of weeks ago and put her old one in the trash in my room. One day during rest time, she found it and rescued it from the trash. She refused to wear her new suit this week when we went swimming. I told her it was the last time for the old one and now it is gone. She doesn't understand why she can't still wear it.

She has issues with her bottom being wet after using the restroom. She uses so much toilet paper that she doesn't put it in the toilet because she has clogged it up before. Now she puts her mounds of paper in the trash. We are working on teaching her to use a reasonable amount of tp. Sometimes she will also put some pieces of toilet paper in her panties for absorption.

Since she falls asleep in our bed most nights and them gets moved, she always asks us to sleep with her for a little while. We don't usually do it but she asks anyway.

She likes to cuddle but on her terms. Most mornings she asks me to cuddle with her on the "black couch" (actually dark brown leather).

She doesn't mind doing her own thing in a group. She doesn't necessarily follow what the crowd is doing. Today at a birthday party she played on the playset while the other kids played Red Light, Green Light. Later when they let the kids adopt a stuffed puppy she kindly said she didn't want to and didn't take one.

She loves fruity drinks. At home we only have milk, orange juice and water but if we go somewhere and they have punch or juice boxes or crystal light she loves it!

 

She put these stickers on before falling asleep.

Happy Birthday Sydney!

I wanted to make this sweet girl's 4th birthday as special as I could. All of our best friends were out of town that week so I knew it would be a family-only affair. The night before the birthday, Allie and I decorated the kitchen and living area for Sydney. Balloons, pink streamers and signs greeted her when she woke up.

For breakfast I bought donuts for the kids. Always a hit around here!

Then we packed a lunch and our swimming things and headed to JCP for my haircut. From the haircut we drove down to my friend Tiffany's house for a day of swimming and catching up. The kids loved swimming at their pool, playing with their dog, and eating their treats. When I asked Sydney what her favorite part of her birthday was she said it was the grape juice (aka crystal light) that Tiffany served at lunch. Renee (Tiffany's daughter) sent the girls home with some of her old ponies which made the day extra special. 

Then we went home to rest. Sydney wanted chicken nuggets for her birthday dinner so we went to Chick-fil-A for dinner. Grammy met us there as she was just flying home from California and close by at the airport. The kids had a great time playing together in the play area before we headed home for the party. 

Cake (she wanted chocolate, strawberry and banana cake but settled on chocolate), ice cream, presents, games and a FaceTime call to Grandma and Grandpa Smith rounded out the night.

Right now...

We are moved in. We can find most of the things we need. I am loving the change so far. So many beautiful trees, walking trails and we are so close to everything we do/need.

My kids are giving me fits. Sage's favorite thing to say right is "You are stupid, (name of person she is mad at)!" She says it over and over again and hurts all of our feelings. Not sure how to deal with this/stop it. She poops in the potty by herself which is good except for when she gets off without wiping or puts her poo in the sink. Yesterday she went in her diaper at the pool - that's always fun!

Sydney is having clothing issues. She would be happiest to run around nude. Her panties bother her because they move so she'd rather go without them. She doesn't want to wear shorts, sometimes doesn't want shirts. She is making me crazy. I really don't care what she wears as long as she is covered!

The boys are picking on each other and their sisters. They aren't being very obedient when asked to do things. They enjoy dropping things off the staircase on top of people's heads. They are happy when active so we have been running or biking most mornings.

Allie is probably the easiest though she keeps butting in with snide comments when I am working with the boys. 

I really want to enjoy the summer with them but sometimes it is really hard to do.

Joy in Her Heart...

Sydney was having a fun time playing with Allie upstairs while Sage was sleeping and the rest of us were working. She came downstairs and I asked her if she wanted me or Allie to put her down for a nap.
"I don't want to take a nap!"
"Well, you need to take a nap."
"Mom, you just ruined my whole day!"
As I finished what I was doing she added, "You took all the joy out of my heart!"

Where are you Daddy?

"Where did the heck of my Daddy go?" - Sydney upon waking up and not finding Bob.

Which holiday is it?

Sydney had a Valentines Day party at school today. She came home with a sack of treats and cards. She wanted to know if we could get more.

"Mom, can we go trick-or-treating to get more valentines?"

:)

Funny Conversation...

Bob was reading scriptures with Sydney one night. (She likes him to lay in bed with her and read from his phone.) Here is the conversation they had:

Bob: Sydney, you sure have a soft little spirit don't you?

Sydney: Yep. Jesus is in my heart.

She points to her heart and then shows Bob her recently injured finger.

Sydney: Dad, this is what blood looks like.

Then she sticks out her tongue so Bob can look inside.

Sydney: Dad, can you see my skeleton?

Then she asks him to open his mouth for inspection.

Sydney: Dad, I can't see your skeleton in there!

Where does it come from?

Sydney has learned recently that milk comes from cows and eggs come from chickens.She also thinks monkeys make bananas.

This morning at breakfast:
Sydney: Mom, where do chocolate cheerios come from?
Me: I don't know.
Sydney: Maybe they come from a panda bear.
Me: Maybe?

Temple Couches...

Yesterday Bob and I left the kids at home with Allie and a babysitting friend so that we could go to the temple and then to IKEA. (It was wonderful to be in the temple on the Saturday before Christmas.) We took out all the back seats in the van so that we could get a new couch for upstairs at IKEA. (Our old one from the first days of our marriage was falling apart.) The main part of the couch came brilliantly packed in a large box. The fabric slipcover came in a separate small box. Bob assembled it last night.

The little girls woke up early this morning and we went upstairs to see the new charcoal gray couch. I excitedly asked Sydney if she liked it. She said, "No. I think you should take it back to the temple and get a new one!"