Liam

Liam asked about a birthmark he has. "What is that color on me?" I said, "Just a birthmark." He asked, "Is it from Heavenly Father and Jesus?" I replied, "Yes, Heavenly Father made you that way." "So he just made a little boop with a crayon!" I think Liam at three is my favorite age.

Yummy Recipes

I tried two yummy and mostly healthy recipes recently. We were BBQing and looking for a dessert we could put on the grill. Grilled Peaches. Yum!

Cut peaches in half. Put frozen blueberries in the middle. If they fall out, it really doesn't matter. Sprinkle brown sugar (I did 1 tsp., the recipes calls for 2) and lemon juice (1 tsp.). Wrap it up in tinfoil and put on the grill 15-18 minutes. It really does take a long time to get cooked. We ate ours with vanilla ice cream.

Another recipe is low fat artichoke dip. Mix 1 15 oz. jar of artichokes, rinsed if in oil, 1 cup of plain yogurt (it's supposed to be greek. I didn't have any so I just used regular and it was a little runny.), 3/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese. Top with bread crumbs (I didn't). Bake at 375 for 20-25 min. I just made mine in our toaster oven since I was only making it for myself and didn't want to heat the house up for just that.

Cute kids

First Lost Tooth

Whitney lost her first tooth a few weeks before her 6th birthday. I don't think she knew what to think when it first happened. The first thing she said once the smile came on her face was that she would now be able to write her name on the board of kids with lost teeth at school!

Trying to fill the frames

I still have empty frames hanging out on our walls. It is finally nice weather to get outside and take pictures. Liam actually sat still for one picture, which was the test shot and the rest of the time I had to literally chase him. He would turn around to see if I was still chasing him and laugh when he would see that I was. That is when I snapped my pics, so I was lucky if the focus was anywhere near his face. Does it matter that Whitney has pizza in her teeth? I was going to ask if they are frame worthy, but chasing toddlers and pizza all over 5 year olds is real life, and real life is definitely frame worthy.

Girly dance and a boy funny

Brooke and Whitney have been in ballet since the beginning of the school year. All of their hard work is culminating in their performance this Friday! I watched Brooke's dress rehearsal today and am quite impressed with the grace she has acquired. I am sure I will be equally impressed with Whitney's. The girls have loved dance and let me snap a few pictures in their costumes, despite the freezing weather.

Liam was wiggling as always while I was trying to get him dressed. Lately, if I ask him not to wiggle, he will wiggle more. So, in an effort to distract the wiggle-monster, I handed him a plastic dog, pretending like it was the most fantastic thing we had seen all day. To further the distraction, I asked, "Liam, what does the dog say." He answered me, "He don't talk, Mom." Yeah, my baby is getting old and will no longer fall for my little tricks. We also now have two children that we can't spell around when we don't want them to know something. I was on the phone with my mom and spelled E-A-S-T-E-R really fast in hopes that it would go over the majority's head. Whitney comes back with, "What are we getting for Easter?" Life was easier when they were ignorant.

Start working Mom

Liam is getting smarter and smarter and can express himself well. Sometimes a little too well. I had just made muffins and altered the recipe so much that it no longer resembled the recipe I was following. I wanted to write it down quickly so that if I want to repeat the recipe I made up, I can. Liam was asking for something and I kept telling him to wait until I am finished and then I would get it for him. He said, "Mom, why you coloring?" I answered and then he said, "Mom, why you not doing your job?" I guess he knows that he is the most important job I have (along with his sisters). Sometimes I need the reminder.

Surgery

Cute Whitney had surgery yesterday. She had an adenoidectomy and a bilateral myringotomy with insertion of ventilation tubes - or her adenoids removed and tubes put in her ears. There is a HUGE difference in her hearing!!! Hooray! She was such a trooper. She was never nervous and was giggling the whole time at the hospital. The only negative thing she ever said was she didn't like how long we had to wait for the doctor and when I told her Brooke was going to want to have surgery because of all the fun Whitney was having (she got a new stuffed animal, flowers from Baka and Bakamama, earrings - they drew on her ears, funny slipper socks, a mug she got to bring home, etc.), Whitney replied, "She wouldn't like it." She is right, but the doctors and nurses and of course her mom really tried to make it a positive experience. Even when she had the anesthesia, they told her she got to blow up a balloon for a party. Have you ever seen the movie, "Life is Beautiful"? It reminds me of that movie, turning a traumatizing experience into something wonderful. Of course with that comes ignorance, but she didn't need to know I ever left her during the surgery. She thinks I was there. I wish I could have been.

I know this was a minor surgery, but I hated giving up that control and leaving everything in the hands of the doctors. Although, they were fantastic doctors with great bedside manner, especially for Peds, and the results are fantastic. Whitney can hear now and won't be left out of life anymore and she's feeling great and very special. She is very special. We love you Whitty Bitty.

Funny Monster

Adam volunteered at the Bratfest for Boy Scouts and has done it for quite a few years. I'm not even sure how we got this idea, but we made the family into a funny monster. This was such a fun activity. Every time Liam sees these shirts, he says, "Funny Monster!!!"

First day of school

Kindy and second grade. It was hard to say good bye to Whitney, just like it was to Brooke for Kindergarten. But, Whitney seriously had THE best teacher ever. She has her class running like a machine and is always calm and kind to the children. They both love their classes. Liam loves staying home too. He has now gotten into asking me to do something with him constantly, all day long, never stopping. But I love it, and he does take a nap. A pretty good one!

Mermaid and Fairy

I made these costumes for Halloween and we decided to take some pictures in character.

First Half Marathon

I ran my first half marathon with my sisters-in-law in Utah. I certainly didn't break any records with my slow pace, but I finished and that is ALL I was going for. It was so great to do it with some of my best friends and the kids were so proud. They were very involved in the training with me, which included them sitting in a jogging stroller and/or on a bike for miles at a time. Whitney even ran a full mile with me at a decent pace. In a couple of years, she'll whip my bum. I plan to run another this year (2011). Someone hold me to it!

Aspen Grove

We had a Nielsen family reunion at Aspen Grove in July. There were close to eighty people there. It was so fun to spend time with everyone in such a no-stress environment. We even had babysitters take care of our children for a good portion of the day. They took the kids swimming, had lessons, did arts and crafts, etc. There were also plenty of whole family activities, so it was a good mix, but overall very low stress.

Painting the basement and Eating cherries

While the adults painted the basement (in June), the kids painted the floor, with water. I need to post a pic of the finished basement. We LOVE it, especially during the winter. My dad always used to sit outside with his grandfather and eat cherries, so my parents got cherries to eat in the backyard with their grandkids!

NO WAY - Its back!!!!!!!!

I lost my Google account at the beginning of July. I tried and tried and emailed them a million times, but to no avail. I just decided to try it randomly today and tad-ah! Yay! I was dreading setting up another blog. Now to play catch up....