Saying "Hello"

"Hello"

So I am officially behind on posting about summer AND fall. I'm still stuck at Lake Powell (editing and selecting from the hundreds of pictures there), and now I am behind on posting about several big current events, like a camping trip last weekend, and a fun trip to Prescott this weekend. On top of that, I hosted Gourmet Group at my house last Sat. and am preparing for Trenton's b-day party this Sat. (All the details from the GG luncheon and b-day party will be posted on My Insanity blog soon). So needless to say, I won't be getting caught up this week. The calendar eases up a bit after this weekend, so we'll see what I can get done then.

In the meantime, we are well. We ate dinner outside for the first time, this "fall" and it was almost pleasant. It gives me hope that fall really will come and that I won't have to live in a state of constant sweatiness! On that pleasant note...I'll be back as soon as I can.

Tessa @ ten months

Ten new tricks @ ten months:

1. Walking (she's starting to get good)
2. Peek-a-boo
3. "Talking" lots--mostly gibberish, but unlike the time she said "polka" I think she understands what she means when she says "mum", "dad", and even "Tessa."
4. Hand clapping
5. Seeing how loud she can make mom yell when she bites instead of nursing.
6. Spitting food everywhere at most every feeding...not because she doesn't like it, but because it is fun to see how far it will go.
7. Deceiving her parents...i.e. crawling in the other direction until she is out of Mom's reach and then turning and making a bee-line for the stairs.
8. Climbing--stairs, in and out of bathtub, into the dishwasher...you name it.
9. Shaking her head "no" vigorously. Sometimes contradicting what Mom is saying, or other times answering questions in primary (i.e. "would you feel good if you stole something?" Tessa head shakes "no" vigorously. Primary president declares Tessa to be a genius.)
10. Showing off--doing as many of the above at the same time as she can, to captivate strangers and make new friends.

Sometime in the last month or two, my sweet baby has developed her own will and is displaying a determined spirit to achieve her goals. It is fun to see this personality bloom, but heaven help us...it looks as though she is going to have a lot in common with her big brother and sister...extroverted, determined, stubborn, curious, highly social, verbal (my house will never be quiet), etc. But still so squeezable when she will slow down for a snuggle!

What kind of a mother am I?

My mother-in-law is here for a couple of days helping with the kids and the settling in. Yesterday morning after breakfast she said to Trenton, "why don't we go get our clothes on and brush our teeth?" Trenton, sounding truly confused replied, "why, is it Sunday?"

Our Other Blogs

We interrupt this barrage of posts about summer fun to bring you a public service announcement...
Meet the newest blogger! After some relentless begging, I have agreed to let Kira start her own blog (under close supervision). She likes to write poetry and make artwork and she told me she wanted it "published." So I figure this is the best way to do that. I am actually kind of excited about it though. If I can scan in her best artwork, writing, homework, etc. and post it on her blog, then I can slurp it to blurb and make a book of her stuff (and get rid of all of the clutter in my home!!! Yea!).

This is the header I designed for her. It uses all of her own artwork (except for the purple paper with the funky tree--mine, and the fonts). She came up with the name on her own, too. I guess at school they do a time capsule at the beginning of the year. They put in samples of their work, so at the end of the year, they can pull it out and see how far they have come. In that context, I think this is a perfect name for her blog.

She's excited and has posted her first poem. We'll see if this is a passing phase or not, but if you get the chance to leave her a little love, over there, I'm sure she would be thrilled!

In other news, I have done a redesign of my blog called my insanity. The main reason for the redo was that I wanted to use my own designs and things on it, so I didn't have to worry about crediting anyone...especially if I am ever able to make any money off of the blog, or do anything that could be deemed "commercial." I don't want to step on any copywritten toes! I'm not sure if I am in love with it yet, so I am open to feedback. If you don't know about that blog, that is where I dump all of my creative ideas and projects, so I can free up my brain for daily life. I have lots of parties and things coming up in the next little bit, so it should be a happening site.

...We now return you to your regularly scheduled blogging.

*Catching Up* What happens when you are the only boy at babysitting group...--June '08

*Catching Up*--Summer Swimming Lessons--'08

Michael Phelps has nothing on Trenton (except maybe a few trifling gold medals).

We took swimming lessons pretty seriously this year, in preparation for Lake Powell. We started the season with semi-private lessons with my friend, Erin at AquaBabes. Kira and Trenton both really progressed a lot there. Then we took a session of lessons at the city pool. They didn't learn as much there, but at least they got to keep practicing before Powell, and Tessa and I got to get in the water, too.
Here's Trenton.
Swimming on his own.
Mermaid Kira.
There is a reason they tell you to wear your hair in a pony tail!

Here he comes!

The big accomplishment for Kira, this year, is that she no longer has any issues with swimming with her face in the water! Go Kira!
Learning to dive.
Making a splash!

*Catching Up* Crazy Kira--June '08

We went to the dollar store one day and let the kids pick out a reward. Kira chose these goofy glasses. I don't think she ever got them to stay on right.

*Catching Up*--Peek-a-Boo--I see you!--June '08

Is it a ghost?
No! It's a Tessa Roo!
Tessa beginning to find all kinds of places to hide and get into mischief.

*Catching Up* Marvelously Messy Mud Pies--May '08

Actually, I believe I was told that these are cookies, not mudpies. But I was amazed at the diligence of my children in making so many of these in Grandma's backyard.


They also build an ant village. If only they were this industrious when it came to housework.

*Catching Up*--Pretty in Polka Dots--Memorial Day Weekend '08

Tessa & Kira at Grandma's house in polka dot pajamas.

*Catching Up*--SUPER COUSINS--Memorial Day Weekend '08

We had to take pictures of Jackson and Trenton in their superhero jammies. And I had to mess with the picture.
*Update*--I found this picture of a super Trenton with a super hair-do and a super-aunt, Kristin.

*Catching Up*--Getting to know Grandpa's--Summer '08

I'll be honest and say that lighting and such wasn't the best on these photos, but I loved these moments, so I aged them to look antique. Maybe I will rework them more before printing or anything. But it is so fun to watch Tessa interact with people. She stares them down, like she is studying every feature.
This is with her grandpa (Barry's dad).
And here she is getting to know Granddad (Barry's Grandpa).

*Catching Up*--Barry's Chocolate Cake Creation--Memorial Day Weekend '08

As kind of an early Father's Day/Birthday celebration for his dad, Barry concocted this ridiculously rich chocolate layer cake.

(Notice the apron?).
It was very yummy, but very rich and dark. If any of you are brave enough, I'll get Barry to type up the recipe and I'll post it on my other blog.
GOT MILK? You'll need it!

*Catching Up*--Grandma's Garden--Memorial Day Weekend '08

Kira loved discovering the flowers at Grandma's house, and I had fun photographing them.

Week in Review (Aug. 3-9)

I have been getting serious about getting caught-up on blogging/pictures from this summer. The trouble is, I took an awful lot of pictures this summer, and several are for other people. (Jared, I will try and have Lake Powell pictures posted/emailed by the end of the week--I am still editing them). In the meantime, I don't want to get behind on what is going on here and now. Maybe I will do a weekly review of what is going on now, and do catch-up posts during the week. (Ah! The best laid plans...we'll see if Tessa and the rest of them want to cooperate).Here are the three monkeys, now! It is amazing to me how fast Tessa is becoming one of the kids, instead of just a baby. You should have seen her laughing as she attacked me tonight. First she tried to eat/slime my nose, and then she would stick her fingers up my nostrils. Ouch! (Time to cut those nails). She thought she was hilarious. Particularly because I was laughing too hard, I was too slimey, and in too much pain to effectively stop her. Anyhow, I don't know what is on Trenton's mind in this picture or why he is playing with scissors. I don't think I noticed them until after I had taken the picture. I was in too big of a hurry to capture this fleeting moment of sibling love and harmony, before it dissolved into tears or discord.

So here's my wrap-up of the week:

MONDAY: The first day of school (see previous post). We were also invited to a Diamondbacks game that night, by our Realtors, Tyler & Sarah Whitmore of O48 realty (btw, they love referrals, so tell them we sent you, if you are in need of a realtor).
It was fun to go see the game as a family and to hang out with so many of our friends. Thanks Whitmores!
Kira picked out this t-shirt for Tessa to wear to the game.

TUESDAY: Our anniversary (see previous post), but not the day we celebrated it. I took Tessa in for her 9 mo. check-up (see previous post) and then met up with Barry's mom, Mikelle, & Jackson, since Jackson had just gone to see Dr. Struble, too. Jackson is trying to catch-up with Tessa, but she still has him by a good 3 lbs. We went to lunch and then found a lesser-known fabric store in Tempe, that has a lot of decorator fabrics, some as cheap as $1 or $3/yard. Hard to shop at though, since the swamp cooler doesn't work well. I left with lots of swatches to play
with.

WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY: Kind of a blur. I made Alicia's yummy salad for our behind-the- back-fence neighbors, who just had a baby. For our anniversary, I had requested that we get the electrical issues in the bathroom fixed, so we could enjoy our jetted tub. Barry had the thought to call the original electric contractor who had done the work on the house. They sent someone out the same day, and didn't charge us to fix it. Yea!
Trenton got to be the first to try it out. I think Tessa was jealous. And just to clarify, Yes, I know he needs a haircut (it's on the list), that is a sucker in his mouth (lap of luxury for a kid) and the tattoo on his arm is temporary.

FRIDAY: We got word that Milo, had been born, early that morning. I spent the day cleaning, moving furniture and boxes, and unpacking candles in an attempt to turn our master bedroom into a resort for the weekend. It wasn't quite perfect by the time I had to give-up and get ready for our anniversary date. But it was a huge improvement over the chaos it had been. We took the kids to Amber's place and went to Carrabbas for dinner. Amber had given us a gift certificate for Christmas (which included babysitting). If you go, the pollo rosa maria is fantastic! And I am still mourning the fact that I left my doggie box at the restaurant. :-(

We returned to Amber's and picked-up Tessa, but left the other two to spend the night at Amber's. After we got Tessa down, we enjoyed our "free resort" with a jacuzzi tub, fireplace (like we needed that!), and in-room movie.

SATURDAY: We would have had an even lazier morning, if Tessa would have let us, but it was still nice to sleep in little and not have so many responsibilities. Barry did spend a bit of time doing yard work. We met Amber and the kids in the early afternoon after they saw "Space Chimps" They had a fantastic weekend with Amber and weren't too excited for it to end. We all went to IKEA for a new computer table for Barry and let the kids play in the play center while we decided what we wanted, and I pitched many of my other decorating/organizing needs/wants to Barry. A couple of other errands, put us getting home not too long before bedtime. We did get to watch some of the Olympics before bed.

SUNDAY: I've been dragging today as Tessa had a difficult night. We taught primary and I have been working on blogging. We heard from our renter that the washing machine over there is leaking. It did one time for us, too. So we probably had better replace that asap. Anyone have a reliable cheap washing machine they want to get rid of?

So I'm not sure if this week in review format is going to work, if I continue to be this long- winded. Maybe this will be a nice boring week. When was the last time we had one of those?

Oh Baby!

Look who's started taking a few steps on her own!!! Tessa also had her 9mo. check-up on Tuesday. She weighed in at 21lbs. 10.5oz (90%) and measured 30inches tall (off the charts). Tooth #2 has just about cut through. She just keeps growing up and getting into more trouble.

In other baby news, Shanda's baby boy, Milo, was born yesterday. 08-07-08 (her b-day is 07-08-80). Mother and son are doing well! And since we're talking babies, we are excited that Jared and Suzy will be having a baby boy around Christmas time! Baby, baby, baby!

9 for 9!

We have officially been married for 9 years today! (I have big plans for next year...I guess we'll see!)

Last year I made a slide show to commemorate the occasion (click here to see our love story in photos). This year I am going to brainstorm 9 things I still love about Barry!

1. His testimony and earnest attitude about living the gospel.

2. His stature (gotta love a man you can wear high heels with, who also has broad shoulders).

3. His ability to learn new skills. Particularly anything to do with his hands. He can figure out how to make most anything!

4. His respect for his parents and other great examples.

5. How seriously he takes his responsibility to protect and keep us safe (this one can drive me batty, sometimes, but it is so nice to know that someone is there watching out for you, and I really miss it when he is gone).

6. Let's face it. He's a good looking guy! I think that more so now than when we first got married (partly because he can benefit now from my fashion advice :-)).

7. The way he looks at me when he is thinking that he loves me!

8. His willingness to help me and care for me. My favorite examples: bringing me water to drink when I am nursing, getting up with kids in the night since he has no trouble going right back to sleep, and caring for me through my pregnancies (especially with Kira!).

9. His desire to keep learning and willingness to keep growing.

I love you!

Back to School '08-'09

Kira was acting nervous about school starting this year until we went to meet the teacher on Friday morning. Something about those 5 mins. with her teacher got her really jazzed about coming to school.
Even though school doesn't start until 9:00, she was up and ready to go by about 6:30am, Monday morning.
She wanted us to come with her to school on the first day, but wasn't patient enough to wait for us to catch up with her. When she came home, she reported she had a good day and made a new friend. I have high hopes for a smooth start to 2nd Grade!

As for Trenton, his educational endeavors for the year, are still up in the air. That is OK, for now. Hopefully we will get into some sort of routine (which ever that may be) by Sept. For now, we are just enjoying things being a little quieter around the house.

Sunday Devotional

I took this photo on the way back from Utah and was experimenting with it as artwork. I love seeing this kind of sky!

They are dedicating our new chapel today! Happy Sunday everyone!

Current Events and a Big Hallelujah!

I keep thinking that I will get caught up with all I want to post from the Summer, but there are too many updates I need to do now.  After Monday, when Kira starts school, (and I post the obligatory first day of school shots), I plan to get serious about getting caught up.  So watch out!

As of this evening, I have in my hot little hands, a signed lease and a cashier's check from our new tenant!  It is hard to be 100% confident that things will go smoothly, until they actually do. And although the process wasn't completely smooth, we met our goal of Aug. 1, without a ridiculous amount of stress or headache.  Hallelujah!

I also have to post about our biggest helper in all of our moving in projects. Here is Daddy's big helper.

Here's Barry working on our new (used--Craigslist) washer & dryer--a huge saga that I won't go into, except to say that they are beautiful and the dryer works great, and the washer works great about 40% of the time.  Does anyone have front loaders (ours is Samsung SilverCare) and have dealt successfully with excessive vibration issues???  Barry has spent a lot of time in the laundry room lately, and I am sure, that Tessa was helping him out tremendously.

But this is the best...

Barry was reassembling my IKEA shelf for the loft, this week.  He put the little dowels in the holes and gently "hammered" them in place so they wouldn't slip out.    Well, look at what we caught Little Miss Smarty Pants doing!  She took one of his tools and carefully started "hammering" the dowels, just like Daddy!

And this is what happens when you let Big Sister (Kira) help dress Tessa.

Barry's dad is making good progress after his surgery and they came to see us after his post-op appointment.  It was his first time to see the new house.  Among other things, they brought the kids these fun new t-shirts.  You can't really see it in the picture, but Trenton and Tessa's shirts actually light up!  Hers says social butterfly, which is perfect, since she gets (demands) attention where ever we go.  You should see the way she flirts and stares people down!  Her mama's going to have to teach her some manners! 
  

They also brought us this fun wicker bench that used to be in the girls' room in Prescott.  A little sprucing up, and it will be perfect for these girls' room in Phoenix!