Sylvie is in the exersaucer making all sorts of noise.

Mike: "Sylvie is talking up a storm!"
Jens: "Yeah she is. She's talkin' up a storm."
Mike: "What does that mean?"
Jens: "It means she's talkin' Spanish."

March 27th

Hi All--

Another week has flown past. A week from today we will be driving to Utah--that is a crazy thought! I can't believe Easter is almost here.

Here is Sunday's fashion look:

Jens continues to be excited about wearing a white shirt and tie, although this week he did complain about buttoning the top button--it was choking him.

Monday was book club--after staying out until 1am on Friday, we all decided we needed to go home earlyish, so I was actually home by 10:30. I think Mike was shocked. It was fun, though. We read Room with a View this past month. Next month, The Book Thief--Loren, maybe I can borrow your copy while I am in Utah. I got home just in time for a huge emotional explosion from Jens, who had been sleeping peacefully but got up to use the bathroom. He had an accident and the resulting tantrum lasted for an hour. Sylvie smiled happily through the whole thing, so Mike and I traded off children so we could enjoy a few smiles in between the tantrum.

Tuesday we visited our friend Michelle at the hospital. She just had a baby girl, Ruth. It was amazing to walk back into the hospital and see Michelle and such a tiny new baby, who is very cute, by the way, and looks just like their other kids. It seems like Sylvie should still be a newborn, but she is clearly huge and can do all sorts of tricks, and it feels like so long ago that we were there ourselves!

We have been enjoying beautiful weather here, so I have been out sifting through the soil of our front yard and enjoying the sunshine. Wednesday Jens and I spent the afternoon at the park with the Littles. It was a beautiful day, and I enjoyed being out, but Sylvie was kind of a crank, which is so unlike her. Also on Wednesday I purchased our plane tickets to NC. Yay beach! We are counting down.

Yesterday was music makers and a ladies' lunch set up by a neighbor for a neighbor. It is always nice to get to know someone new and have a nice lunch with grown ups. The kids played happily and I got to visit.

Today I spent more time outside and Sylvie and I went for a walk. All of the wildflowers are blooming which makes the bike path very scenic!

In kid news, Sylvie is still cute and continues to find Jens amusing.

Jens is getting very good at writing. In fact, he wrote his name in pencil on our windowsill this week. Why is pencil so hard to remove?

Today we had a friend over. Jens and Nathaniel played pretty well and worked on thinking up rhyming words while they ate snack. Some of Nathaniel's were "cheese please" and "mouse house." Jens's were "cracker please" and "sam mat". I think we need to work on the whole rhyming thing some more. After Nathaniel left, Jens announced we was sweaty and needed to take off his shirt. He must be related to Peter.

Sylvie was playing "Fat Dog" (a game where you sit on the couch and think about how full you are). I thought her belly looked so cute and round. Too bad round bellies aren't considered cute on adults. In Sylvie news, she seems to be developing a finger sucking preference--the first two fingers on her right hand. We'll see if she becomes devoted to it.

That's all from us.

March 21

Hi Everyone.

Nothing earth shattering around here this week. We have been doing the regular routine and enjoying spring time. The flowers are in bloom and the trees are especially beautiful right now. Jens has been pretty funny--he picks up the flower petals that have blown off the trees and says "Look Mom, it's turning into popcorn!" I think the 'Popcorn Popping' song was getting him a little confused. So yesterday I popped real popcorn and we made popcorn balls. Jens was a good helper, stirring and forming his own popcorn ball, which he rolled in sprinkles. Yummy for him! He has figured out that what we have in our back yard are not puffy pine cones, but rather puffy flowers. He is very excited about them and can't seem to figure out why we don't match his enthusiasm.

Jens has been very much a daddy's boy lately, for obvious reasons, I guess. He is pretty attached to Mike--this week he cried one morning when Mike left for work. He usually asks if he can go to work, too, so on Wednesday I took him down to visit Mike at Intel. That night Natalie came to dinner and asked about his day. "I goed to work," he said, in a grown up, nonchalant voice. When Natalie asked what he did there he told her he drank Sprite and ran around outside. No wonder he always wants to go with Mike! Work is fun!

We continue working on the yard--Mike dug out more stumps including a tree stump last week! I am starting the arduous task of removing all of the rock from the yard, one foot at a time. We figured out the someone put down rock, put down weed cloth, put down more rock, and then later someone else dumped a load of dirt and mulch on top of it all. So before we can plant anything we have to remove all of the rock. I am moving it to the other side of the drive way where we have no irrigation and lots of weeds.

Sylvie is so cute (I know, shocking news).

Her hair is growing longer but the back continues to stick straight up.

She is finally starting to find Jens amusing, although only when he isn't trying to scare or mangle her. She has been having a rough time getting to sleep this week--she has figured out how to get her hands to her mouth, but can't seem to master sticking one digit in at a time, so it is frustrating her. She is crying more at bedtime as a result. But she is so cheerful during the day, and is starting to like her toys and talk to them in a very alto voice. Plus, she is going 12 hours between feedings at night. She is a super star!

Last night our friend Laura came for dinner and she and I went to our friend Jennifer's to watch the BBC version of Persuasion, which was very good. We lost track of time a little bit and I didn't get home until almost 1. Ahh! I have been fighting off a cold and I think I did myself in, staying out so late, but it was fun. They showed me the funniest blog--cakewrecks.com. The Plaid Wedding Cake is my favorite. If you need a little laugh, you can check it out. Some of the cakes are so bizarre and so awful that you have to laugh out loud.

Also, March Madness is upon us. Who will win the bracket this year? So far since 2001 the score is Alison: 8, Mike :0. Maybe this will be Mike's year at last! He is only behind by one so far . . .

That's it from us this week.

Nature Lover

Jens has started collecting all things outdoors. While I walk and he rides his bike, his eyes are always hunting for a new treasure. So far in the stroller we have many pine cones, a couple of large sticks, some seed pods, and some dandelions. Yesterday he was collecting petals that had blown off the flowering trees. "Look Mom, it is turning into popcorn," he said.

Today while Jens was in the back yard he noticed a dandelion gone to seed. "Look guys! It's a puffy pine cone growing in the grass!"

So Much to Love

Have you ever seen such chubby legs? They really are very squishy and squeezable.


Here's the rest of her. That part is pretty nice, too.

March 13th

Since I already posted about Sylvie's blessing, I don't have much to tell about this week. We have been quiet, I have been doing the regular endless tasks--laundry, cleaning, cooking, more laundry, more cleaning, and more cooking. So I am just going to put up pictures to show you our week.

After washing Casey's old bed and feeling that it was still about as dirty after as it was before, I decided the time had come for a new one. It is easier for her to cover herself up because it is a little bigger.

We went somewhere. I don't recall where, but it is obvious that Mike and Sylvie are both wearing coats.

Jens got a haircut. He stopped letting me brush it, and when I finally forced the issue, it was so ratty and there was something sticky in it, and I decided it was time for a big time trim. I have to say, I think I did a pretty decent job. He looks handsome, as always.

I pushed the big brush pile onto the street, added a whole bunch of other stuff, and had the city come pick it up. The pile is as tall as me, although it is hard to tell that from the picture. I was sort of afraid the city would show up and say it was too much stuff. I wish I could report that our yard looks amazing as a result, but really, now it is just bare and weedy, which is an improvement, but we still have a LOOONG way to go. But, notice along the bottom of the picture I have a little azalea that is blooming its heart out. It is so pretty.

Jens made Sylvie a hat out of a napkin he used to wipe water off the floor. I know, delightful, but he was actually playing nicely with her for once, so I let it happen.

I am trying to think if there is anything else. I had my first YW meeting with ALL the new presidency. It is a lot of leaders, let me tell you. I think there are 12 of us for 10 girls. It will be fun working with everyone, though, and I am excited about that. Sylvie came to the meeting and was very good except for about 2 minutes, which happened to fall during the opening prayer and spiritual thought. I felt terrible because I am sure no one heard that part.

Mike visited the preschool we are eying for Jens for next year and really liked it. We are now crossing our fingers that Jens will get in. They are pretty small and give preference to current students, then siblings, then children of alumni, and then they take new comers. Oh. I forgot to tell about Jens's parent teacher conference from last week. Basically, he is doing really well, learning a lot, has mastered a lot of jobs, especially considering his age, and is doing really well with reading. We have certainly been happy with his academic progress this year.

Sylvie is as sweet as ever. She "fatted" out of the little white shoes I wanted her to wear on Sunday with her blessing dress. I sort of forced them on for a few pictures, but once you go past her toes, her foot puffs up like a little balloon and won't go into the ends of her shoes. So even though the shoes are long enough, they aren't wide enough. Even when I removed the inside soles they don't fit. I noticed that even her shins are quite plump. Her skin is very soft, and this week she laughed! That is big news. She laughed several times while I was practicing consonant sounds with her. Apparently "ssss" is a funny sound. Sadly, we have not had a repeat of that yet, so Mike still doesn't believe me, but it was really cute. I took her to a doctor's appointment with me and all of the nurses and receptionists just loved her. They held her during my appointment and I have to admit, I loved hearing them talk about how cute she was--I could hear them through the door.

Yesterday was music makers. Jens sang a "spotlight song" which means he did a little solo. He sang the planet song he learned at school and did an awesome job. Then we went to the park where it was gorgeous and sunny. Yay spring!

Jensisms

A while ago I was helping Jens get into his pajamas. I noticed he had purple pen scribbles all over both legs.
Me: "Jens, who wrote on you?"
J: "Dad did it."
Me: "I am going to ask him. Mike, did you write on Jens's legs?"
Mike: "Nope."
Me: "Dad says he didn't do it."
Jens: "Sylvie did it."

* * * *

We were sitting at the dinner table and Jens tooted pretty loudly. Mike and I sat in silence and Jens looked around for a minute. Usually he says excuse me, but this time he looked down and said "CASEY!!!"

* * * *

Jens says "Hoggy pog oh ba. That means 'see you later' in Spanish."

Feel free to substitute any gibberish sounds with any phrase or noun you like.

* * * *

Sylvie's Blessing Day

At last, Sylvie has been blessed. We blessed her after church in the bishop's office. We missed having many of you there, but our "California family" was there in force. Natalie and JP, the Littles, and the Harrisons were there as well as Bishop Kroff and Loren Smith, our home teacher. Mike did a beautiful job and Sylvie slept like an angel through the whole thing.

Here is Jens, being the big brother. He really wanted to get dressed up today. He insisted on wearing a white shirt, then he went in where Mike was getting ready. I heard him say "Dad, my white shirt needs somethin." He wanted a tie. We don't have any little ones, so Mike sacrificed one of his and tied it just like a grown up wears.



Natalie came and took some family pictures for us afterwords, and I got some of Sylvie feeling pretty cheerful. She sure is cute!


In the evening we had the Harrisons and the Littles over for dinner. The cutest thing was when Mike spotted the kids, who finished eating way before us, "blessing" Jens's little lamb stuffed animal. Jens was the daddy, Cassie was the mommy, and Scott was standing with Jens. They had the baby bounce down! It was very sweet.

Yard Work

Just to show off our progress.

Jens's face is a combination of Popsicle (from our next door neighbor, whom Jens now speaks of in reverent tones) and dirt. And yes, his pants are on backwards.

Mike has been digging up all the rootballs. It is not easy work!

Another Side by Side

I do these for myself, I decided. I really like looking at the side by side. It helps me appreciate their uniqueness! Plus, it is fun to remember Jens when he was so small.

March 6th

Hi Everyone

Our biggest thing this week has been the work we have done on our front yard. Saturday was primary activity day, so Mike and Jens went to that. Sylvie went down for a nap and I could hear our neighbors doing yard work, so I decided I needed to go out and show that I was making some sort of effort on our disgusting, weedy yard. So i went out with my gloves and clippers and started hacking away. I had been out for maybe 15 minutes when the neighbors came over to chat, then the mother and daughter grabbed some tools and pitched in. They helped me for TWO AND A HALF HOURS! I couldn't believe how hard they worked and how much they helped us. It was so nice, and we really made visible progress, which is encouraging. We still have maybe 15 feet of juniper along the side of our yard, which we are hoping to tackle this Saturday. Sadly, we have realized that the whole yard is covered in white rock, so now we need to figure out how to get rid of that.

Sunday Sylvie was a champ at church. She ate and then I was able to stay in Sunday school the rest of the time, and she slept during YWs. The YW presidency has been switched around, but I am still an adviser, but with the Laurels now. There is only one, and she is graduating this spring, so I am not sure what will happen after that. Sunday night the Littles came for dinner, which was fun. The kids played happily and we ignored them until I realized they were filling up cups of water and taking them to the front room. Sadly, we realized this after Jens dumped water on both girls. It looked like they had been swimming.

This week I have been working on catching up with house cleaning. I am finally making progress.

Jens has been really excited about reading this week--he wants to read books all of the time, and at night he "reads" to his race cars in bed. He comes in to our room in the morning with a few books in his hands, ready to start the day. It is fun to see him so excited about books. Today we are meeting with his teacher for Parent/Teacher Conference. I am interested to hear what Ms. Dina has to say about Jens. On the down side, Jens has decided that following directions is optional and that tantrums should happen every day. He is driving me nuts.

Sylvie continues to be our little angel. She is so sweet and chubby. She smiles when she sees me and is getting good at controlling her arms. She can reach for and hit specific toys. She always does the hugest stretches when I get her out of bed--she reaches her arms way out and arches her back and pulls her legs way up. It is so cute.

I have been giving her baths in the kitchen this week--it is easier on my back, and she is really enjoying the water now.

Last night we went to the road show. Jens loved it. We stayed for four shows, and they were cute and fun. They are preforming again tonight, so Jens and Mike might go again for a repeat. I don't think I will go again, though. Every time the curtain would close, Jens would say "One more?" Sylvie fell asleep in my arms in spite of the loud applause. All I can say about that is, man she is heavy. I think we are finally blessing her on Sunday. I got her a dress this week, and it is so darling. It is short sleeved, though, so I need to find her a sweater to wear with it.

Today I am going to try and touch up the paint in the bathroom with hopes that tomorrow we will finish doing the baseboard trim and call it good until we can hire someone to install the crown molding.

Have a good week, everyone.

Our Little Beauty

Isn't she just gorgeous? She was having a bad hair day today, so we decided to try out a headband to smooth everything down. She is going for the flapper look. And yes, I know that this headband doesn't match--she is wearing it because it was on the counter and it was handy. If you click on the picture it will open to a big size and you can see up close the awesomeness of our new camera lens--how her face is in full focus but the background is blurred. And check out those baby blues!