The Nelson Insanity

2010-01-18T09:17:00.001-08:00

Since my 2 month hiatus, not much has happened. We had Emma's birthday, Christmas, New Years...all pretty uneventful though. We did get a dog for Christmas, though he has become the bane of my existence. But I am assured that things will get better!!! Anyways, I just thought I'd let you all know (those of you wqho still manage to check your blogs :) ) that we ARE still alive, and that I'll try to make some more regular visits here.

The kids Christmas Day

New Years Eve, getting ready for their first midnighter!

Halloween 09

2009-11-16T16:33:00.001-08:00

I thought I'd finally post a Halloween pic!

In keeping with tradition, we bought Seth's costume, made Emma's costume and already had Grace's costume. Seth was a monkey, Grace was Snow White and Emma was Mulan pretending to be a soldier. They got way too much candy, which I am now eating, and had a great time!!!

LIFE

2009-10-19T21:47:00.000-07:00

Things in the Nelson household are as crazy as ever!

Seth is 18 months old tomorrow, and such a boy! His favorite pasttime is hitting people with sticks. Any kind of stick will do. A bat, a pole, a shovel, pretty much anything. We're attempting to learn "gentle", but so far, that's not going so well. But he sure is enthusiastic! He's currently gaining 2 more teeth, to make it a total of 14.

Grace started preschool a few months ago, and absolutely loves it! After the haircutting incident, she's turned into wuite the little impulsive 4 year old. She loves to stick her fingers in whatever dessert is sitting out on the counter. And in this house, you know that there's always dessert out. A few weeks ago in preschool, she made a porcupine with toothpicks. She kept taking them out and rearranging them. I asked her why she took the sticks out, and she said, "Mom, those aren't sticks, those are quills." And then she gave me the DUH look. Also, we had out Primary presentation yesterday. I unfotunately had to miss it, but I heard that she was the loudest one there!

Emma is several months into second grade. She has none of the problems in previous years and absolutely loves her teacher. She started after school reading a few weeks ago and is greatly improving her oral reading. She's also started reading...voluntarily. Shocking, I know.

Jon is working...hard...still. Nothing much has changed. Hopefully, within the next few months, we'll have some new news.

I am going to school fulltime for Health Care Information Services. Which is just Administrative Medical Assisting. One more clarification, Medical Receptionist. So far, things are going great! The class has really stimulated my brain, and since I really like school, going doesn't really bother me. Other than being gone 3 nights a week and about 20-30 hours of homework every week.

That's how things are going here!

How about you?

Adventures In the Backyard

2009-10-02T09:31:00.000-07:00

So, it's been about a month, I know. School has kept me sooooooooo busy! But now that fall, or as we like to call it here, winter, has arrived, I feel like posting pictures!

2009-08-30T09:45:00.000-07:00

Since I have class on Tuesday night, and the weekend after her birthday is Labor Day weekend, we decided to do ALL of her parties on Saturday! First off, Grace wanted a Candy Land birthday. So, that meant a cake too. Here it is!

That also meant playing Candy Land DVD with all her friends

No matter how bored they got.

Grace blowing out the candle!

Sorry, Brigette. I couldn't resist!

Balloons were more interesting!

Some kids liked the cake.

They put that puzzle together all afternoon!

More dolls!

Playtime afterwards

Later that night, we had family over. The girls discovered that the balloons could stick to the walls.

Grandma trying to have Seth meet Alana.

Grandpa and Seth

Grace got music for her own room. SHe hasn't stopped playing it since.

She got a Vet play set. They love it!

Her very own princess dress and shoes, with matching storage container/chair.

A Wonder Pets backpack stuffed with stuff!

Thank you everyone for making Grace's day great!

First Day of School!!! (Finally)

2009-08-30T09:37:00.000-07:00

And what I mean by finally is that I'm finally posting the pictures. It's only been 2 weeks. Things have been so busy here!!!! Emma went back to school, the 2nd grade with Mrs. Brookins. So far, she LOVES it! I haven't had almost any complaints out of her at all. She was really nervous about it until she got her Pokemon backpack. Apparently, that was all that she needed to get excited!

Sarah's 3rd birthday

2009-08-03T13:12:00.000-07:00

In an effort to find things to do over summer vacation (which is almost over!!!), we celebrated our cat Sarah's 3rd birthday. This was her cake!

She was kind of afraid of it, with the fire and all, so I had to hold her still to sing to her.

All three cats enjoying "cake and ice cream", a really rare treat.

The kids having the REAL cake, apple cheesecake.

Sarah, the birthday girl.

Happy Birthday Sarah!!!

Peach Festival

2009-07-25T08:40:00.000-07:00

Yes, we were the smart people who went to the Peach Festival in th 106+ degree heat. But the girls had a blast! WE rode the dorky rides and everything. Grace got to "drive" the car...

...here they go!

Sweaty Seth

Guzzling the water bottle, which wasn't all that cold by that point.

Grace returns!

They rode the "bumpy" cars. I thought they'd be scared, but they weren't

Then the mini Drop Zone, they loved it!

Inside the mini wacky house. They look better behind bars...:)

1 year

2009-07-14T18:23:00.000-07:00

I'm finally posting Seth's 1 year old pictures from 3 months ago!

Emma's Earrings

2009-06-25T06:18:00.000-07:00

Emma is the ultimate girl! She has evolved past the dressup clothes of princess and ballerina, and her dressup playtime has turned into, "how pretty can i look as an everyday girl?" She wears church clothes, and her favorite church shoes, as much jewelry as she can find and a hat. But the BEST part are her earrings. I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but her "earrings" are really hair ties that she has looped around her ears. Just another example of her creativity at work!

Father's Day

2009-06-22T10:39:00.000-07:00

Following the best Mother's Day ever, was the best Father's Day! Jon got the day off, and got a lunch (breakfast) in bed. Then hours of uninterrupted, quiet video game playing. Then time with the kids, dinner (steak, baked potatoes, green bean casserole and German chocolate cake), bedtime for kids and some fun (yes, fun!) time with the wife. I think he really enjoyed it. And I know that I did!

Nature Photography Day

2009-06-16T08:30:00.000-07:00

For lack of any other ideas for summer vacation, I looked up online this National Holiday calendar. There are TONS of National Holidays that I have never heard of. So, using that, I have planned out things to do (for free!) every day this summer. Yesterday was Nature Photography Day. We took a walk around the neighborhood and the girls took pictures of flowers and trees.

Grace's picture

Emma's picture

Yosemite

2009-06-13T08:28:00.000-07:00

We went to Yosemite this week! I had my hands so full, that I didn't take all of the pictures that I wanted to. But here are some of them!

We ALL climbed Vernal Falls, about a 3 mile round trip hike. I carried Seth about half the way too! It was so wet, partly because it always is, but it had also really rained the day before. But we made it all the way up safely!

This is Vernal Falls from the bridge, about half the way up.

The girls at the base of Lower Yosemite Falls.

Inspiration Point

Bridalveil Falls from Inspiration Point

The giant sequoias were giant compared to Grace

Only Emma could make a burned out sequoia look good.

Grace with her namesake trees, "The Bachelor and the Three Graces". The Bachelor is to the far left, and the Grace's are right behind Grace.

Emma looking tiny.

Upper Yosemite Falls.

Half Dome

I love going in June cause these informal waterfalls spring up with the snow melting

A deer in the campground

Seth eating strawberry marshmallows

We went out bear searching. And only found a raccoon.

Tball is over!!!!!

2009-05-24T08:53:00.000-07:00

Tball officially ended this week. Emma had her party on Thursday and her final game on Saturday. For the party, we went to Shanghai Bend Park. There was pizza and soda and the water park was turned on!

Emma and her teammate wondering when the bucket of water is gonna drop!

I took this picture of Grace to show her hesitency with the cold water. But now that I'm looking at it, you see Emma jumping a foot and a half off the ground!

The coach handed out the trophies and certificates. Emma won the "fastest runner on the team" award for running around the bases in 10.9 seconds.

Emma and Grace, the honorary teammate, way proud of the trophy.

Seth covered in frosting.

There was even a baseball pinata!

Since we missed picture day, we got a shot of all the kids and coaches! Yea! We're done!

Fine Arts Festival

2009-05-15T08:18:00.001-07:00

Emma had her final field trip to the Fine arts Festival at Yuba City High School yesterday. The high schoolers in the arts programs put on this arts and crafts kind of fair for all the elementaryy students.

The first thing we did was make newspaper hats.

There was face painting...

...and chalk drawing.

Auntie Leah's final year in school was the first year she took an arts class. We saw her one handedly trying to make newspaper hats.

Refrigerator magnets

A LONG one and a half hours!!!!

Emma had a great time! I can't believe that first grade is almost over!!!!!

Mother's Day

2009-05-11T06:56:00.000-07:00

I hope you all had a Happy Mother's Day!! For the first year EVER mine was actually pretty good! I have been waking up pretty early lately (totally unintentionally), so when I got up Jon was getting up and starting to clean the kitchen and make breakfast. When Seth got up, I got to just sit and hold him. I didn't have to do anything else. Then I got to eat breakfast, FIRST and ALONE. After that, I won't tell you about. But later on the kids and I got ready for church, had a great time at church, went to my parents for dinner (steak and chicken fajitas) and ate cherry cheesecake for dessert. Then we got to talk to my brother Cole who is on his mission in Chile. And then, we just hung out, talking about our camping trip coming up. My parents got me a new camping chair for Mother's Day. And then I came home, watched Iron Chef and went to bed. It was a fantastic day!!!!!!!

Seth's New Obsession

2009-05-08T07:51:00.000-07:00

Seth has decided that he is old enough to watch TV. Not by himself, but in order to be just like his sisters!!! All you have to do is set him down in the Dora chair, and he just snuggles right in and really watches whatever cartoon is on. None of the other kids did this, and I gotta admit, despite the Pediatric warning that no child under the age of 2 should watch TV, it gives me a few more non-stress moments in the day!

Seth's mobility

2009-04-29T07:42:00.000-07:00

Seth has become a climber lately! The couch, the fireplace...Today I walked into the kitchen and found him...in the dishwasher. At least it was clean!!!

Seth's 1st Birthday!!!!!

2009-04-24T12:50:00.001-07:00

It took a few day, but here are the pics from Seth's birthday!

This was Seth's monkey cupcake!

And all his follower monkey cupcakes

We played pin the butterfly on George. This was the blindfold. Seth's turn first!

Then Jacob's turn!

Grace's turn...

Emma's turn...

and even Auntie Leah took a turn!

The final result: Leah won, but they were all darn close!

Our second and final game was hot banana. We played it like musical chairs, and tossed the banana around to the music and when the music stopped, whoever had the banana was out. It was a tie between mommy/Seth and Emma. It was really gross by the end because it had opened. Yuck!

Seth got tons of present! This one was from Auntie Michelle, Uncle Daniel and Jacob: a remote control car!

Seth thoroughly enjoyed ripping the wrapping paper!

This present was big enough to stand up to open!

It was a...bead rollercoaster!

THE AFTERMATH

Seth blowing out the candle

Seth eating the monkey. (Sorry it's sideways!)

Mmmm, a chocolate mess!

Our first 1 year old milk!

National Chocolate Day

2009-04-20T07:54:00.000-07:00

I found this list of all the national little holidays, like Root Beer day and such. So I decided to check out some family birthdays, see what was there. AND...October 28 is National Chocolate Day. That's my birthday. I thought it was pretty funny!!! An even better reason to celebrate.

To: lilprincess015

2009-04-19T10:03:00.001-07:00

I have been trying to figure out who you are! Tell me!!!

Peeps Sunflower Cake

2009-04-18T08:16:00.000-07:00

It's not a cupcake, but it was a fun and easy one to make! Michelle, this is what we do with our Peeps!

Perfect Easter Children!!!

2009-04-14T09:27:00.000-07:00

I love Easter pictures. The dressup ones. It's the only time of year I advocate wearing dresses in pictures.

Easter Eve and Morning

2009-04-12T09:32:00.000-07:00

I think that the day before Easter was much busier than Easter actually will be. First we had the annual Egg Hunt at Sam Brannan Park. Despite the lack of money for prizes, the kids still had a good time and NO ONE CRIED!!!!

I decided that Seth was too young to egg hunt, and I would be the only one eating the candy anyways, so he hung out with Cam and Grandma. And he never succeeded in getting that hat off his head.

Emma had a full basket!!!

And so did Grace, even though she was the turtle of the story. I guess slow and steady gets the eggs!

Later on that day we went to Grandma Nelson's to egg hunt. The kids really had a great time.

Seth observed the hunt from the saucer. And someone took pity on him and brought him an egg. Which he promptly threw.

The girls looked everywhere for eggs. And they were everywhere. I had to stop Emma lots of times and get her to help her sister and cousin. That girl was just too fast!

Our first Nelson family grandchildren picture. We were only missing one. But all the little ones were here.

Baby Alana in her bunny outfit. I wish Seth was small enough to get away with that...

Easter morning arrived...with sick kids. Emma had been throwing up that night, and Grace had a headache. But they both managed to drag themselves out of bed for Easter baskets.

Grace holding the HUMONGOUS chocolate bunny

Emma was most excited about the new sunglasses the Easter Bunny had brought her. Probably because her tummy was still rebelling

Seth was just intrigues by the schedule upheaval. Eggs that rattle? Stuff on the floor? Sisters opening things? Great!!

Easter Dress Pics to follow...sometime.

Bagels and Lox

2009-04-06T10:46:00.000-07:00

Cupcake Recipe #3: Bagels and Lox! For those of you that don't know (cause I didn't) Lox is salmon fillet thinly sliced and cured. The little green things on the bagels are scallions, which are commonly known as green onions. Yes, people really do eat these in real life. But I think mine might taste better!!!

I have discovered...

2009-04-04T20:53:00.000-07:00

...that Harry Potter is way too scary for a 6 year old. Or maybe just my 6 year old. I have terrible taste in what I let her watch. Arachnaphobia, Hocus Pocus. Maybe I should try Jaws next and see how much therapy she needs...

THE BRITS HAVE TAKEN OVER!!!!!

2009-04-01T22:08:00.000-07:00

Ok. I know it's been a few weeks. But I've been very blah. I've gotten some huge jolts lately. One is music. I am in love, and I don't know why...

The Ting Tings - New Music - More Music Videos

Maybe I'm crazy...but it makes me happy! :)

St Pattys Day

2009-03-17T17:14:00.001-07:00

As far as holidays go, St Patrick's Day is as far from a real one as possible. There is no point! But I still by cute green shirts every year and make the kids wear them. (And I wear one too!) So here they are, adorable as usual.

It's amazing how happy they can look at 8 am

We were singing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" to make him smile. But he looked at Grace instead.
Grace trying to be sweet

Emma with only a little attitude

Alien Invasion

2009-03-16T07:27:00.000-07:00

I have attempted my second batch of cupcakes from the new cookbook! They were much less time consuming, but a lot more difficult.

Cat Recuperation

2009-03-14T17:35:00.000-07:00

Max got her cast off a few weeks ago, and is much happier. The vet said that her cast was the cleanest cast he had ever seen, and he was really surprised that she never had to have it replaced. Other than the occasional limp, she's doing great, and so excited to go back outside again, just in time for the warm weather.

She must be feeling better. She even let Seth next to her!

Tball

2009-03-13T07:37:00.000-07:00

We are the A's! We started Tball this week and Emma's having a great time. So far.

Hello, Cupcake!

2009-03-09T09:32:00.000-07:00

At the book fair at Emma's school this year, I got a new cookbook. I went in thinking, "Rachel Ray 30 minute Meals", but then I ran into "Hello, Cupcake!" It looked like sooooo much fun, plus it had tons of pictures. So I walked out with that instead. This is my first attempt at making something. These are the Baby Shower cupcakes, and they it took me 2 hours to make 12 of them. But I must say, they turned out OK. There were 3 different babies, but I only made 2. One is screaming and the other has a bottle. Enjoy!

The screaming baby

The baby with the bottle

Meet John Doe

2009-03-06T14:41:00.000-08:00

I recently watched a movie called "Meet John Doe". It was alright, but it had a few monologues in it that really made me think. The first one was made by John Doe.

"I’m going to talk about us. The average guys. The John Does. If anybody should ask you what the average John Doe is like, you couldn’t tell him because he’s a million and one things. He’s Mr. Big and Mr. Small. He’s simple and he’s wise. He’s inherently honest, but he’s got a streak of larceny in his heart. He seldom walks up to a public telephone without shoving his finger into the slot to see if somebody left a nickel there. He’s the man the ads are written for. He’s the fella everybody sells things to. He’s Joe Doakes, the world’s greatest stooge and the world’s greatest strength. Yes sir, we’re a great family, the John Does. We are the meek who are supposed to inherit the earth. You’ll find us everywhere. We raise the crops, we dig the mines, work the factories, keep the books, fly the planes and drive the buses. And when a cop yells stand back there you, he means us. The John Does. We’ve existed since time began. We built the pyramids, saw Christ crucified, pulled the oars for Roman emperors, sailed the boats for Columbus, retreated from Moscow with Napoleon, and froze with Washington at Valley Forge. Yes, sir, we’ve been in there dodging left hooks since before history began to walk. In our struggle for freedom, we’ve hit the canvas many a time, but we always bounce back because we’re the people and we’re tough. They’ve started a lot of talk about free people goin soft, that we can’t take it. That’s a lot of Hooey. A free people can beat the world at anything, from war to tiddlywinks if we all pull in the same direction. I know a lot of you are saying, what can I do? I’m just a little punk. I don’t count. Well you’re dead wrong. The little punks have always counted because in the long run the character of a country is the sum character of it little punks. But we’ve all got to get in there and pitch. We can’t win the old ballgame unless we have teamwork. And that’s where every John Doe comes in. It’s up to him to get together with his teammate. And your teammate, my friend, is the guy next door to you. Your neighbor, he’s a terribly important guy, that guy next door. You’re gonna need him and he’s gonna need you. So look him up! If he’s sick, call on him. If he’s hungry, feed him. If he’s out of a job, find him one. To most of you, your neighbor is a stranger. A guy with a barking dog and a high fence around him. Now you can’t be a stranger to any guy who’s on your own team. So tear down the fence that separates you, tear down the fence, and you’ll tear down a lot of hates and prejudices. Tear down all the fences in the country and you’ll really have teamwork. I know a lot of you are sayin to yourself, “He’s askin for a miracle to happen. He’s expectin people to change all of a sudden.” Well you’re wrong. It’s no miracle. It’s no miracle because I see it happen once every year. And so do you. At Christmastime. There’s something swell about the spirit of Christmas. To see what it does to people. All kinds of people. Now why can’t that spirit, that same warm Christmas spirit, last the whole year round? Gosh, it ever did, if each and every John Doe would make that spirit last 365 days out of the year, we’d develop such a strength, we’d create such a tidal wave of goodwill that no human force could stand against it. Yes sir, my friends, the meek can only inherit the earth when the John Does start loving their neighbors. You better start right now. Don’t wait til the game is called on account of darkness. Wake up, John Doe; you’re the hope of the world."

The second one was from another guy in the movie. It's pretty funny, but this is kind of how I feel about money!

What Is a Heelot?

"Listen, sucker, you ever been broke? You’re walking along, not a nickel in your jeans, you’re free as the wind, nobody bothers you. Hundreds of people pass you by in every line of business. Shoes, hats, automobiles, radios, furniture, everything. And they’re all nice loveable people. And they let you alone. Is that right? Then you get ahold of some dough and what happens? All those nice, sweet, loveable people become Heelots. A lot of heels! They begin creepin up on you, tryin to sell ya something. They get long claws, and they get a stranglehold on you. And you squirm and you duck and you holler and you try to push them away but you haven’t got a chance, they got ya! First thing you know, you own things, a car for instance. Now your whole life is messed up with a lot more stuff. You got license fees, and number plates, and gas, and oil, and taxes, and insurance, and identification cards, and letters, and bills, and flat tires, and dents, and traffic tickets, and motorcycle cops, and courtrooms, and lawyers, and fines, and a million and one other things. And what happens? You’re not the free and happy guy you used to be. You got to have money to pay for all those things. So you go after what the other fella’s got. And there you are. You’re a Heelot yourself."

AAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGH!!!!

2009-03-06T09:08:00.000-08:00

Have you ever known someone who is incredibly persistant and won't take a hint? Well, my Home Teacher is one of them. He wants to come and visit, which is fine, I have no problem with that. But he just HAS to come when Jon is home. He won't come any other time. Refuses. And Jon isn't a member, and doesn't want to visit with him. And I don't really blame him. And I'm certainly not going to push him to do it. So, when I keep telling my Home Teacher that he's busy, and can't visit, why doesn't he just take a hint to come a different time? Last night he just shows up at the door at 7:30 at night, because he knows it's Jons day off. So I don't answer the door. I hate confrontation. You'd think he'd take the hint then. But then we get this phone call from him at home saying, "Hey, we saw you guys in the house and we don't know why you didn't answer the door" blah blah blah. So now what? I have to deal with him at church, and his son is in Emma's class at school and I see his wife everyday, who I'm sure knows ALL about this. Is it time to just be blunt? Say, he doesn't want to visit. No, he doesn't want to "just talk". Please come a different time, or don't at all. It is permeating all of my thoughts and I can't get it out of my head until I fix it. HELP!!!!!!

Mario

2009-03-01T09:51:00.001-08:00

We discovered how muh Seth looks like Mario! A total fluke that he was dressed like that!

I Can Feel...

2009-02-28T17:19:00.000-08:00

"So Unsexy"

Oh these little rejections how they add up quickly
One small sideways look and I feel so ungood
Somewhere along the way I think I gave you the power to make
Me feel the way I thought only my father could
Oh these little rejections how they seem so real to me
One forgotten birthday I'm all but cooked
How these little abandonments seem to sting so easily
I'm 13 again am I 13 for good?
I can feel so unsexy for someone so beautiful
So unloved for someone so fine
I can feel so boring for someone so interesting
So ignorant for someone of sound mind
Oh these little protections how they fail to serve me
One forgotten phone call and I'm deflated
Oh these little defenses how they fail to comfort me
Your hand pulling away and I'm devastated
I can feel so unsexy for someone so beautiful
So unloved for someone so fine
I can feel so boring for someone so interesting
So ignorant for someone of sound mindWhen will you stop leaving baby?
When will I stop deserting baby?
When will I start staying with myself?
Oh these little projections how they keep springing from me
I jump my ship as I take it personally
Oh these little rejections how they disappear quickly
The moment I decide not to abandon me
I can feel so unsexy for someone so beautiful
So unloved for someone so fine
I can feel so boring for someone so interesting
So ignorant for someone of sound mind
I can feel so unsexy for someone so beautiful
So unloved for someone so fine
I can feel so boring for someone so interesting
So ignorant for someone of sound mind

Valentines Day

2009-02-14T21:01:00.000-08:00

Valentines Day! Yea! Things take on so much more meaning when you have kids. Valentines Day has ceased to become a day about romance and what you're going to get. Kids are happy for anything you can do with them! Starting with french toast and caramel syrup with whipped cream, pizza, the play Tortoise and the Hare, staying up late watching a movie with popcorn. Sometimes I really love my kids. Ok, maybe more than sometimes...

It is so hard to get Seth to take a picture because he blinks ALMOST EVERY TIME! He hates the flash. This was like the tenth picture. Thank goodness for digital cameras.

Emma, my model. Had to show off her magic wand for the camera.

Grace didn't even want to wait for the syrup. She picked it up with just butter on it and started at it.

Attestment to Prayer

2009-02-11T19:31:00.000-08:00

Ok, I am NOT a very spiritual person. And I am not going into detail here. Suffice it to say things have been rough at home the last couple weeks. And its all (mostly) me. I had kinda given up, and honestly didn't care to make it any better. But I realized last night that if I didn't do something, I was going to end up institutionalized and divorced. So I prayed. Yeah, I said it. Prayed. Now, I say my prayers every now and then, but not like this. I like to think of my prayers as telephone calls, and so I just start talking. And as I did so, I came up with a few ways to help things along. But I had no idea what to do. Basically, I had to make me feel better. And I had run out of options. I went to bed very defeated. The defeatment increased throughout the night. And in the morning, I didn't feel any better. I got Emma off to school, got kids dressed and fed. I even managed to do the same myself. And then, He stepped in. He gave me clear and immediate insight into someone else, and all of a sudden I started to feel. Like I hadn't felt in a long time. Some people take these moments and chalk it up to their own ingenuity. I couldn't overlook who this came from. I just couldn't. I wish I had remembered this Primary answer earlier. Prayer and Scripture Study work miracles.

Sleep Deprivation

2009-02-04T15:14:00.000-08:00

I am at a loss of what to do, so all you mothers out there, HELP! Seth has not slept through the night in at least a month, if not two. I can't even remember anymore. I can't tell if it's a combination of teeth, and learning how to crawl and stand. And he did have an ear infection a week ago, but has since recovered. I'm not sure I can take another sleepless night. He usually goes back to sleep but I have to physically get up and lay him back down and turn his music box/night light on. And then at 5 like clockwork, he wakes up and DEMANDS to get up. My rule is 6. So he screams bloody murder for an hour. I am a devout Ferberizer (yes, I do let my kids cry, with some limited parental interaction), but I've NEVER had it drag out like this. I know he can sleep alone and put himself back to sleep. He used to do it all the time, and he still does it during the day, all the time! What am I supposed to do?

9 months

2009-01-30T09:03:00.000-08:00

Today Seth had his 9 month check up! The best part about the checkup is that the only shot he had was the iron test. Of course, the iron test came back low and he's on iron drops now. But that's ok, because these drops don't stain your teeth. He also needs more baby cereal. He is 17 pounds, which is only the 5th percentile. But he is also 28 inches long, which is the 40th percentile. So at least he's growing longer, if nothing else. The worst part about the appointment was finding out why he wouldn't sleep at night. He has a double ear infection, and has had one since his cold went away, like 2 weeks ago! Thank goodness for bubblegum amoxicillan.

Cat vs. Car

2009-01-24T10:35:00.001-08:00

On Sunday afternoon, we came home from church and called our cat to come in the house before it started to get dark. We called for a while before I heard her and I went to go find her. She was in the backyard, just sitting there. I thought it was odd that she hadn't just jumped the fence to get to the front door. Later on that night I realized that she was limping around. Over the next couple days, she refused to put any weight on it, and it was getting really swollen. I gave in and took her to the vet. (Those of you with pets know what a painful process this can be because vets so take advantage of the fact that pets don't have insurance and you really love your pet.) 3 tranquilizers, 1 xray and 400 dollars later, we found out that Max had dislocated her hind leg. This injury, along with all her claws being ground down, suggested that she had been hit by a car. So now she's walking around in a splint for a month. She's turned out to be more expensive than all of my kids combined.

Growing Up

2009-01-24T10:15:00.000-08:00

Seth has grown up so much these last few weeks. He's crawling after everything, picking the most miniscule things up off the floor, and starting to pull himself up on things. It's a good thing he also learned to say mama or I might cry!

Park Day

2009-01-24T10:10:00.000-08:00

Martin Luther King Jr. day turned into park day. Since Emma is never home when we go to the park, I decided that we should go. While Grace was on other parts of the playground, Emma stayed on that tire swing the entire hour and a half we were there.

I think I fixed it this time!

2009-01-23T15:46:00.000-08:00

My blog let me leave a comment to myself, so let me know if it lets you do it!!!!

What the heck is that?

2009-01-21T21:59:00.001-08:00

Can anyone tell me what is on Beyonce's hand? It feels like diva Michael Jackson has arrived. Or Darth Vadar.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mVEGfH4s5g

Blog Comments

2009-01-19T08:18:00.001-08:00

I was recently made aware that my blog wasn't allowing comments to be made. So I changed a few settings. Hopefully this made a difference! If I don't hear from anyone, then I'll assume it didn't and try again.

This might be good...but it might not be...

2009-01-17T09:25:00.000-08:00

Major milestone alert: Seth is crawling! Well, mostly. He does get up on his hands and knees, but he substitutes the army crawl if he's in a real big hurry. More pictures later!

The Great Park Adventure!

2009-01-11T10:43:00.000-08:00

My brother Chris and his wife Michelle came to visit this week from Utah and they brought their twin almost 8 month boys! Our house has been chaos because we've all been trying to get over there as much as possible. So yesterday, Chris and Michelle took some much needed time off (lucky) and went to visit her sister in Sacramento. We got to take Owen and Ben to the park!!! Here's our fun day!

Seth enjoying his first solo swing ride!

Ben was giggling up something crazy!!!!

Owen, on the opposite side of Ben, took a little longer to get happy. All he needed was his Auntie....

Grandpa and Owen going down the slide together

Ben and his solo slide ride. Weeeeeeee!

2009-01-11T10:27:00.000-08:00

Jon and I were watching the Dark Knight out in his "lair" (the garage) on Thursday. We had a fun time, other than the fact that it's freezing out there. I came in about 11:30 and was getting ready for bed, so I checked the kids, made sure no one had died or froze. I checked Emma, I checked Seth, and by the time I got to Grace I burst out laughing.

Alana Cherie Johnson

2009-01-05T08:38:00.000-08:00

I have my first neice! She was born on Sunday December 28, 2008 and just went home on January 3.
She spent 5 days in the NICU, but everything is great now and her and mommy are both safe at home!

New Year, New Weight?

2009-01-05T08:26:00.000-08:00

I'll tell you this now: I'm a boring blogger. Most of the time I can't figure out what to say and when something exciting does happen, I forget to write about it. But I'll try! My biggest New Years Resolution happens to coincide with 10 million other peoples: lose that weight! I have a good excuse to have the weight in the first place: Seth. But I have no excuse not to lose it. So I've been trying to come up with ways to get away from the food. Blogging is supposed to be one of them. We'll have to see how that goes...