December 14, 2008 - Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!
This morning it started snowing, after Malaki and Lillie got up I showed them the snow through our living room window. Lillie proclaimed it pretty then went on her merry way getting ready for church. Malaki was so excited though. He stood watching and talking excitedly. He notice a truck parked across the street at the fire station getting covered in the snow and yelled "oh no! It's a truck in a snow, get out of there HIDE!!!" to which the truck offered no response... go figure! Malaki really wanted to go out and play but I told him he needed to get ready for church first.
Once ready we bundled up everyone as warm as we could and headed off to church, we live very close (a few blocks) and so we walk every Sunday, I think we may have drove once, but that is all. Everyone at church was suprised that we made the walk in the snow, but I enjoyed it, as did the kids, though I am not sure Jereme shared our joy in the cold white walk.
We made the kids ride in the stroller so we wouldn't be late on the way to church, but after church we let them walk... we slowly headed towards home with the kids eating snow and stomping foot prints the whole way. We got a picture in front of the church and one in front of the house.
 Malaki is trying to catch snowflakes on his tongue
 The snow makes our house look really dirty!!!
When we got home the kids played in the snow for just a couple minutes and then headed inside for a nap (we had lunch at church). Malaki was so excited when he got up because he remembered that I told him he could play in the snow after nap time. It was already starting to get dark when they got up, but we bundled them up anyhow and headed outside, Kori was up before them and ready for another nap while we all went outside.
The first thing Malaki did was make a Snow Angel... then they chased me and tried to throw snow at Jereme and I. Jereme and Lillie came inside after awhile, while Malaki and I stayed out a bit longer. Then I headed in to make dinner and hot cocoa while Malaki played in the backyard. He eventually came in for dinner and hot cocoa, but he wanted to go right back outside. However since it was late I told him he would have to wait till tomorrow. We are supposed to get more snow throughout the week so I am sure Malaki will be very excited!
 All the above pictures are my Snow Angels
Jereme is laughing because he just swiped snow off the car at the kids
The kids get revenge
 Twice
 Smiling after getting daddy
COLD SNOW!!!
Getting mommy  Run away!!!
 Throwing snow into the water
December 12, 2008 - A Little Snack and a Long Nap
Korinthia started eating solids a little over a month ago. She almost always eats, then falls asleep. She also somehow manages to turn around her bib and get food all over her clothes everytime!
 December 11, 2008 - Comfy, Cozy, Nice-N-Toasty
With the weather outside being so cold lately the kids love to get pillows, blankets, toys and books and cuddle up by the fireplace where it is warm.
 Getting Ready
Tired kids  Being silly
  Blowing kisses "Bye Bye"
December 8, 2008 - Attack of the Adorable Thumb Suckers
When Malaki was born we had a lot of people visiting us in the hospital. At one such time ther person was there for only a few moments and Malaki was hungry. However I knew that our visitor would soon be gone, so I gave him a pacifier which I had bought and brought with me to keep him from crying. Our nurse walked in and took it out of his mouth, informed me that he was not allowed to have it, and threw it in the trash. Slightly shocked and wandering if I had not actually just given birth to a child I thought was my own, I blinked and said ok. Thus begun Malaki's love of the thumb, which he would pass (with force) down to his sisters.
Fast forward 13 months. Lillie (just born in the same hospital, but with a different set of doctors and nurses (first we had Kiezer, then we used the Salem womens clinic)) is crying and the nurse offers to bring in a pacifier. Shocked that this hospital now allows that I agree. For the first month or so she is content with her pacifier, then comes the day when she is crying and I am busy. Malaki walked over to her and stuck her fist in her face, at which time she found her thumb and has been sucking it ever since.
 Then about 2 more years later he did the same thing with Korinthia, so I now have three thumb suckers. And while it is so sweet looking when they do it, as they get older it looses it's sweetness. But unlike a pacifier you can't just break it, or get rid of it, or cut little bits of it off every week, no no, the thumb is there to stay... we have not tried to break them of it yet, but on both sides of our familes we have had people who suck their thumbs for many years, so I am sure it will be a battle when we decide it is time to stop. For the record though, I never sucked my thumb or had a pacifier.... or a special blanket, mom how did you survive!!!
 
December 6, 2008 - Moving in
So this is a really busy time of year for us, and I think my poor parents probably think we have moved in seeing as how we seem to be here more than we are home these days. They probably thought they were rid of me when I got married, bet they didn't relize I was just going to add 4 more people to the mix! We are very grateful for their hospitality and all of there help with the kids while we are here. I honestly think they are some of the greatest people I know. Of course I am going to love them, they are my parents, but they are also so much more than that. They are my friends and my mentors. I always wanted to be a mom, not an easy job, and I always knew I wanted to be as good of a mom to my kids as my mom was to me, an even harder job. Now that I have my own kids, I see what I put my parents through, and I am amazed that they were alaways able to handle things so well, I pray I am able to do as well. But they don't just care for family, all my growing up they were always volunteering for this, helping with that, and showing love to people who didn't know what a real love really is. I am honered to call themmy parents, and I hope my children can see what wonderful granparents they have (on both sides of the family).
So this weekend we are going to a wedding, hopefully I will get some pictures for tomorrow, but for today I will share LAST weekend for you, the one where I my stubborn sister didn't have a baby like she should have... hehe (he isn't due till December 9 but it would be so much easier for her to have him while we are already here)
While we were here last week we did the tradtional Thanksgiving stuff, then Friday adter noon I got to do a little shopping with just my mom and my sister (which we haven't done since I had Malaki 3 1/2 years ago) for a couple hours. Saturday mom and dad took me and the kids to see my grandma Wilson. She hadn't got to see Korinthia yet so she was very glad to see us, and we enjoyed spending time with her!
Pictures of our time with granparents:
(coming soon - I left the pictures on my moms computer, so the weekend of the 20th I should be able to get them and put them on here)
December 5, 2008 - Bright Lights, Big City... Welcome to the Fabulous Las Vegas
We stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel while in Vegas. This is where Jereme had his classes, so of course that is where his work would pay for him to stay. The hotel is only about a mile off the strip, but if you are as directionally challenged as our group you will skip the direct route, and take the long way, which turns 1 mile into about 2 miles. When we got there we went and checked out our rooms, they were really nice and even had a view of the pool. The stupid pool that was closed for the season (hello it was 84 degrees, that is summer in Oregon!) Anyhow, we decided we were all to excited to go to bed, even though it was like, 10:30 or 11... so we went for a walk to figure out where the strip was. Asking for directions would have been smart, listening to "we can figure it out on our own" was not so so smart! So we walk, Kori in the sling, Keira in the front back. Korinthia went right to sleep, no fussing or anything much to my surprise, Keira was not finding it to be so easy. She was pretty fussy and Breanna couldn't figure out what was wrong. We were just about to the strip when Breanna figured out what was wrong. Keira had just peed all over her, apparently her diaper was VERY full! So we turned around and headed back. The next morning (my birthday) Jereme had class. After he left I took a shower and got dressed, watched TV, then Kori woke up and I took a few pictures of her. We spent the day with Levi and Breanna hanging out around the hotel and taking a shuttle to the strip to do a little shopping. We went back to the hotel so the girls could get a good nap and so that we were there when Jereme got out of class. That night we all went to the strip and walked up and down, I was super smart and wore my flip flops... we walked around 10 miles and I got really bad shin splints. I got ran over by both strollers, so I was unable to put my tennis shoes on the next day.
Some of the highlights of the strip were: The Sirens of TI (the pirate show outside of Treasure Island hotel) The water fountains (at Bellagio hotel) Seeing all the work that they put in to the hotels New York New York (where Levi and Breanna braved the roller coaster) Jereme and I went to the buffet at Excalibur on Thursday (Levi and Breanna left on Wednesday) and they had every type of food you can think of! Mostly we just walked around and looked at stuff while were there (no gambling with babies) and we each got a chance to do at least one slot machine (for free) while switching off babies, but no one won anything. I suppose you have to spend money to make money... Pictures:  *yawn* Morning Princess
  Crazy mom   I got one more smile out of her and then she was DONE with pictures!   Levi and Breanna
In front of the canal with the Gondolas - and New York New York with the roller coaster they went on.
 Waiting to watch "The Sirens of TI"Right before I realized she had a blow out diaper!
    
Breanna and I enjoying Vegas Rainforest Cafe Lizard - Water show - Excalibur - Paris - Taking a break to feed the girls at Caesar's Palace
  Kori enjoyed everything with big eyes, and then when she was tired she would just fall asleep in her car seat. She was so good!
       Jereme and I hanging out, mostly on the grounds of a hotel I believe was called the Flamingo.
(In order pictures appear starting at top left)
Sitting by the pond, there was some HUGE koi in there! - True Love - Scary Lion - Having fun - Relaxing by the waterfall - Flamingos at the Flamingo - some weird Bunny thing in the airport, waiting to board our flight and head home.
December 4, 2008 - Babies on Planes
November was a busy month, a lot happened, but I didn't have much time to put it all up here... so it is time to play catch up, even though a lot is going on this month as well, but one of these days I will catch up.
First of all we are STILL waiting on Mandi to hurry up and let us meet Kaden... I am excited to be an aunt for the first time, I have only gotten to be the one in the hospital bed (or my own bed) having babies, now I get to be on the other side!
Now a little background...
As you may already know, Jereme had to go to Las Vegas for some training. The dates of his class were November 17th - 20th... the 17th happens to be my Birthday. So we worked it out so that he and I could both go, his work paid for everything for him, so we just had to pay for my plane ticket and my food... and then we had to figure out what to do with the kids.
My mom had that week off, so she and dad offered to watch Malaki and Lillie, Korinthia is still nursing so she had to come with us. Our friends Levi and Breanna found a good deal and decided to come with us as well, they brought their daughter Keira (9 months old at the time) with us.
Ok, so on to Babies on Planes...
This was to be the first flight for both girls. Our plan was to get to the airport early so that we could be sure to get through security and everything without being rushed. We were going to have lunch and be there 2 hours early, but 2 hours early ended up being 3 hours early. It took us maybe half an hour to check our bags, use the restroom, get through security and find our gate. Then we had 2 and a half hours to kill. We walked around a little; laid a blanket on the floor and let the girls stretch out a little, and waited.
Breanna and I were told not to nurse the girls till we got on the plane and were taking off. Well that didn't work out so well. By the time we got on the plane Korinthia was VERY hungry. She was extremely upset as we boarded the plane, which felt like it must be about 90 degrees or more, and didn't want to calm down to nurse. So I gave her a small bottle, and then got her to nurse, both of which she was done doing before we even started taxing. However when she was done she let out a big burp, cuddled up and started sucking her thumb. From that point on she just looked around and then fell asleep... no fussing whatsoever.
Keira, who was also very hungry, fussed a little, but she wasn't loud... she just wanted to be able to get down and play. However she did pretty good once she had a couple bottles and nursed, and Breanna and I ended up sitting next to each other with the babies for the last part of the flight. That way the guys could talk without leaning around their seats.
Over all the flight was not anywhere near as bad as I had expected to be, it was actually pretty easy. We had the baby convention going on though, Levi and Breanna were in front of us with 9 month old Keira, the lady across the aisle from them also had a little girl the same age, and then Jereme and I with 4 month old Kori. All the flight attendants were mommies, so they were very helpful to us.
Pictures
  The girls looking worried when we first got to the airport
 Just hanging out and playing, waiting for our flight to board
Hello Las Vegas, we have arrived!
 Kori stayed asleep through landing and putting her back in her carseat she was so tired
 This was our "welcome to Vegas" and our first sign we were NOT in Oregon anymore
 Waiting to collect our bags and catch a shuttle to the hotel, not so sleepy now! |
December of 2008 |
