A VERY belated post

Way back in October, Garth's brother Keith got married. Karyna (his new wife) asked our kids to be in the wedding party. Sydney was elated to be a flower girl and Carter was equally excited to be a "ring burrier" He knew what his job was, but he insisted the title was burrier, NOT bearer. Of course, when I got to the wedding I took out my camera and the batteries were dead. Here are some pictures I got from Garth's dad and also some Karyna passed on from her amazing photographer.There were two days of fancy festivities so naturally Syd had to have two fancy hair do's. Day one.

Day two.

Grandpa John and Grandpa Norm brought suckers for the kids. A little messy but it kept Derek quiet during the ceremony.

Syd and the other girls in the wedding party.

Fong (the photographer) loved Sydney. She got some really fun pictures of her.

The rings.

Ooh, flowers.

The rings take two.

Sydney and her new Aunt Karyna.

Carter pulled out his first tooth right after the ceremony. We were just glad he didn't get any blood on his white shirt and new tie!

The Hamilton crew (yes Derek is missing. At this point he was in the back of our car in a porta crib taking a much needed nap!)

Like I said, an amazing photographer. So many of her pictures are like artwork. It made me realize how crappy my wedding photographer was. Oh well, not much I can do about it now.

Congratulations to Keith and Karyna Hamilton!

February Book Club

I had a wonderful time at book club a couple nights ago. We read "Angle of Repose" by Wallace Stegner. It's a classic, a pulitzer winner, and NOT my favorite book. As always though, the company, the food, and the discussion made the suffering through 600ish pages all worth it.

After most of the group had left, Nicole and I got into a conversation about "Arrested Development" an extremely funny yet terribly inappropriate show. We were laughing so hard I was crying. The other ladies that were still there had not seen the show and I'm sure they thought I was completely crazy. I spend all day with little kids. I needed the comedic relief I suppose. Anyway, Nicole posted a very funny video from You Tube on her blog. I don't know how to do that so I'll send you to her blog. This is probably only funny to those who have seen the show. Thanks for the laughs Nicole!

False Alarm

In an earlier post, I mentioned Sydney's stomach problems. The nurse at our wonderful pediatrician's office (I really do LOVE our pediatrician) thought she might be manifesting an intolerance for milk. First we took her completely off all milk products. She seemed miraculously healed so then they told me to add back one small diary serving a day. After a week or so with one piece of cheese or one container of yogurt, she was fine. Next we added back small glasses of milk. Still fine. After all this experimenting, we just put her back on her normal diet full of lasagna, mac & cheese, chocolate milk, and all the other dairy she loves. Totally fine. What a pain the past few weeks have been and what a waste of stress. She apparently just had a stomach bug and needed extra time to get over it. I really am glad she isn't lactose intolerant, but I'm a little annoyed at the fiasco we just went through.

Valentine Fun

We don't usually do much for Valentine's Day. (stupid Hallmark holiday says Garth). The kids had lots of fun at their little parties though. Syd got all dolled up in red for her Kindermusik party.

I learned how to do this adorable hair do on my favorite hair blog "She Does Hair." She pointed out the heart in her hair to people all day.

Carter had a little party in Kindergarten as well. They didn't do much but hand out and open Valentines, but there was lots of candy involved so he had a great time! Notice the bright new kindergarten room he is in! They finished phase one of the construction and they got this great new classroom. Carter loves that they have their very own bathroom inside their class!

I had to smile when I saw Carter's Valentine bag. Notice how well the girls on either side decorated their bags. Carter. . .not so much. It's the inside that counts!

On Valentine's day, Garth's brother and wife came over for dinner. Garth made some really yummy ribs and Karyna made an awesome chocolate cake. That's all I need on V-day, a little chocolate. Since I'm pregnant, I didn't even allow myself to feel guilty for the cake I ate that night and the leftover cake we had the following two days. Happy Valentine's Day!

Beautiful

The other day, we were driving home from Kindermusik and the old country song "She Don't Know She's Beautiful" by Sammy Kershaw came on. (Kailee is my brother Jordan's 21 year old girlfriend). Out of the blue Sydney says,

"Kailee is beautifuller than mom."

Carter pipes up and I think he's going to defend me but he says,

"Well she's definitely more H-O-T!"

How am I supposed to compete with a girl that looks this good after a day of skiing? I'm afraid it's a lost cause.

Laker Assembly

Carter got this award at the most recent Laker Assembly at his school. He got one at the first assembly in October and I wondered if maybe his teacher didn't really know him very well yet. But, a few months later, she chose him again. If he really is "doing what he's supposed to do, doing his best, using self-control, thinking before he acts, etc" then I am the proudest mom ever! I wish that he could be that responsible at home too!

"Holey" Cow

Carter has an amazing ability to ruin any and every pair of jeans/pants that we buy him. He left for school one day last week in good Levis and came home looking like this.

Yikes I just realized that it looks like he is flipping us all off in this picture. I got him these jeans for his birthday only 3 months ago. Boys are so hard on things. I have tried Old Navy, Levis, Wrangler, Unionbay, Arizona, some Fred Meyer brand, Oshkosh, etc. and they all end up exactly the same. What to do?

Then the other day, he came home from school and his perfectly new cords were falling off him. He told me that he lost the button when he went to the bathroom. This was our conversation:

Carter: I know I'm not supposed to touch things on the bathroom floor, but I saw it fall and thought I would pick it up so the "Sewing Queen" could fix it.

Mom: That's sweet, do you think I'm the "Sewing Queen?"

Carter: No mom, Grandma Ele is.

Believe it or not, I can sew on a button!

Ultrasound

We got to have our 20 week ultrasound this week and find out the gender of our baby!

Sydney is super excited to have a sister. Carter told me it was very "unexciting" news. He really wanted another brother. Garth says it doesn't really matter if it's a girl or boy, he'll fight with it either way (Carter, not Garth.) I am happy for Sydney because I love having a sister. Since my family has two girls and two boys, this really feels right. We are so done! Here is one of the 3D ultrasound pictures of our little girl!

Gym Therapy

The best way to unwind from a rough day with kids? Do something you enjoy. . .without them. For me, judging gymnastics has been very theraputic the past 6 weeks or so.

Okay, I judge High School gymnastics so they are nowhere near the caliber of gymnast that this little Shawn Johnson is (she is my current fave!) Even though the gymnasts don't WOW me, it is still a lot of fun!

I'm not sure exactly what I love about judging. I guess I miss the gym a lot. Is it silly that it takes me back to my "glory days" as a Ferris gymnast? I miss the smell of chalk, the anxiety before a competition, feeling like I was really good at something, the satisfaction I got from winning a meet (because I had worked so hard to get there but also because it boosted my ego a little.)

Since there is no chance that I could do the stuff I used to do ever again, judging is a way of staying involved in the sport without committing tons of time away from my family to be a coach. Although I miss that too!

I remember the first time I saw the new vaulting table on a competition on TV. It looked so crazy to me. Not too long after that, I went back to coaching and got to play around on one a little. They are way more fun and way more safe than the old vaults. I wish I could have used one when I was good and not post-baby.

Part of me hopes Sydney becomes a gymnast so I can be invovled again. Then I think of all the time and money it takes and I think I won't put her in it unless she really begs me!

"Uh-Oh"

Garth would argue that Derek's first word was Dada. Okay, it's probably true, but totally unfair! Why won't they say Mama first? I think the first word that he says, and understands what he is saying is "uh-oh." He has been saying it a lot the past few days. The other day at the store, he would say "uh-oh" then throw his toy on the floor. The older kids thought he was hilarious so Derek did it over and over.

Climb Every Mountain

My kids have all been fairly slow to be mobile. Carter walked at 13 months, Sydney at 16 and Derek has no interest yet. He has, however, started to climb the stairs. For the longest time, he would make it up one or two stairs, lay flat, and start to cry. I loved that he was afraid because I didn't have to worry about him. A couple of weeks ago, Carter and Syd ran upstairs to play and Derek followed right after them. It took him quite a while to make it up all 17 stairs but he did it!
He still doesn't chose to climb them very often but when he does, there is nothing stopping him!