Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all my wonderful family and friends. We love you!

Amazing new discoveries

Heidi has recently started rolling tummy to back, back to tummy, she has discovered her hands and most recently, her voice. Here is a little video of her "talking". She went on for another five minutes after I stopped recording. It was hillarious. She does it all the time too!

Oh the weather outside is frightful...

A tree branch in our front yard weighed down to the ground with ice.
Pine needles coated with ice

Our plant out front

Our grass

Everything had an inch of ice on it

Well, Leah's winter break started a week early. School was canceled every day last week. She was very excited until Friday when she realized there would be no holiday party and sing-along. We missed church again, but this time for a true fear of never making it home. We've had snow and ice and rain with random freezings and thawings in there. Now, growing up in Iowa I consider myself to be a competent driver in these conditions. The difference here is that I don't think this town (or the one next to it) owns a snow plow. Only a few people venture out each day so the snow on the streets gets packed down just enough to make it pure ice, but never enough to wear it off down to the pavement. So even I have been avoiding driving as much as possible. We have been planning on going up to Portland for Christmas, but we may have to revise our plans...I guess we'll see. Here are a few pictures of our latest ice storm. Enjoy!

Just noticing..

We've been so puzzled about who Heidi looks like and then I just saw this picture of Yaya...they are practically twins! Take a look. Who's who?

And the eggnog wasn't even spiked...

It all started with some christmas music, and then a three year old in a pretty dress...some ballerina twirls gone wrong and her head met with the corner of the fridge. But don't worry...she didn't get a drop of blood on her dress and was very happy to wear a butterfly bandage until we got it glued shut. Yaya thought I was putting a real butterfly on her head. She kept asking, "Where are the wings?"

Where are we?

The little town we live in has a "limited selection" of stores shall we say. The ones we frequent most often are WareMart, Bi Mart and Wal Mart. One night we ordered pizza for dinner and as we pulled into the parking lot to pick it up, Leah asked from the back of the van, "Where are we, Pizza Mart?" Not a bad guess!

Seriously?

We awoke this morning to a surprise "snowfall". Having spent the last winter in Iowa this was more of a "light dusting" in our book. Nonetheless...church was canceled even though all the snow had melted by the time it would have started at 11:30!

If at first you don't succeed...

Well, today was a milestone in little Heidi's life. She rolled over for the first time. She has become the new source of entertainment for her sisters. They find great pleasure in rolling her onto her stomach and watching her roll to her back. Then they all squeal with delight, laugh hysterically and then roll her onto her stomach again (repeat twelve hundred times). I was able to capture this glorious moment on film...enjoy.

In case you ever wondered about flubber...

If anyone out there in the blobbing world would like to read a completely pointless yet entertaining article...http://home.nycap.rr.com/useless/flubber/flubber.html

Was that a "b" or a "g"?

Due to a typographical error, my blog has been referred to as a bloggity blob blog. I must admit this threw me into a fit of uncontrollable laughter! From this day forth, I shall refer to this method of communication, as blobbing...i need to update my blob...oh my gosh did you see her blob?...you get the idea!) And just to back up my decision with more than fourth grade silliness, Wiki says: Blobs were originally just amorphous chunks of data. So there you have it. Blob.

are you talkin' to me?

Yaya has three imaginary friends; Izzy, Tinky and Limey, or more affectionately referred to as "my maginaries". At first I was pleased with this new invention not only because it entertains her for hours on end but also because I've heard having imaginary friends is a sign of genious! (Don't ask me to site my source...i'm sure it's completely credible. Ahem...) Anyway, Yaya has been referring to them with increasing frequency lately and usually in the context of something like this..."Shut up!" "Mooommm, Yaya just told me to shut up." "No I didn't. I told my maginary friends to shut up." or "pttttttttthhhhhhht" "Mooommm, Yaya just spit at me." "No I didn't. I spit at my maginary friends." I'm not so sure they'll want to be your friends for much longer.

I'm Dreaming of a Gold Christmas

I asked the girls to tell me what to write on their Christmas lists for Santa. Emilia just started listing off toys she already has. Naomi rattled off every toy she had seen the last time we went to Costco with frightening accuracy. And what did Leah want? Oh, the usual for a six year old, "a shiny, big, golden rock". That's my girl, skip the ponies and the nailpolish and go for the gold!

Bribery

Since we got home from this trip Emilia has picked up a new tactic to get her way. Bribery. Yaya really wanted to take a bath, but I didn't want to start one for her at the moment. When I said no, she responded with, "I'll give you some candy if you start the bath." When that didn't work, she tried again, "I'll give you some money." And where, I asked, are you going to get some money? "Leah's piggy bank!"

The End

Heidi and Miles




It started snowing saturday night and Sunday the girls went out and played with their uncles in the snow. Then we loaded up and drove back down to Kansas City (four more hours) with my sister and her family. We stayed there monday and got back on the plane tuesday. Everyone was a bit more exhausted this time, so the flight didn't go quite as smoothly. Why is it when kids are the most tired, they fight going to sleep? Give it up and pass out already! Eventually Naomi and Heidi fell asleep...as did I. When I woke up, Emilia had gotten a pen and colored both her feet and legs up to her knees. I really couldn't have cared less! My mother in law picked us up from the airport in Portland and we hung out at her house until Lars got off work and came up to get us. We drove back down to Monmouth (one hour), transferred sleeping girlies to their beds and dropped all our luggage where it remains to this day. Still working on that one!

The Reception

Jackson and Miles, the only two male cousins!

Sydney and Leah dancing.

Uncle Andrew dancing with Leah, Sydney and Emilia.

Bree and the photographer's daughter Abbey.

Ben, Joe and Jacob singing the song they made up for Matt and Becca.

It was basically the funniest thing I have ever heard. If I can get a hold of a video, i'll post it.

Pictures of the Wedding

Uncle Joe babysitting Miles during the wedding.

Becca's dress and flowers.

Andrew keeping Heidi warm and Norm keeping Miles warm.

Matt and Becca

All the kiddos, both families...but only two from Matt's.

The Fagersten Kids

Ben, Jacob, Andrew (who is standing one step lower than the other boys) and Joe

Amy, Shar, Becca, Elizabeth and Stephanie

The Big Day

Friday was the wedding. We drove back down to Nauvoo, took pictures, attended the ceremony, had a nice dinner put on by Matt's family at the church and came back up to Cedar Falls (six more hours in the car).

Girls Night Out

Wednesday Elizabeth and her family arrived from Maryland. We took Becca out for a "bachelorette party". We called it that, but beside the fact that none of us drink anyway, all of us (beside Becca) were either pregnant or nursing, so it was pretty low key!
Thursday was Thanksgiving of course. We kicked Mom out of the kitchen and made dinner for her. Ok ok, she did cook the turkey, and made the gravy, and answered one thousand questions since we used all of her recipies, but we like to think we contributed in some way!

The Craziest Week - Travel Log

My sister Steph picked us up in Kansas City friday afternoon and Saturday morning we drove up to Nauvoo, Illinois (four hours) to meet my sister Becca, my parents and my grandma at the temple. It was a lovely day which of course included a trip to the Nauvoo Fudge Factory. One of my favorite quotes is displayed in there..."Family...mostly sweet with a few nuts." Nothing so refreshing as the truth! My girls rode back up to Cedar Falls, Iowa (three hours) that evening with my parents and I took Heidi and rode with Matt (her fiance') and Becca to drop some stuff off at their apartment in Muscatine. We took a little detour and went out to eat. I've realized that having a baby strapped to you will get you alot of unwanted attention. No one likes to be stared at while they are eating, but it seemed to be my fate that night. It's hard enough to eat over my baby without spilling on her without an audience, but we made it through the meal with only a few crumbs in her ears.

Sunday was church and visiting with friends.
Monday was shopping and prepping for Becca's bridal shower.
Tuesday was Becca's shower.

How many kids do you have?!?

The girls and I just returned from a little jaunt across the country to celebrate Thanksgiving and my sister's wedding with my family in Iowa. Lars dropped us off at the airport where he sat with the girls in the car while I did curbside check in with my three bags and two carseats. I gave the man my name and flashed him my photo ID while he printed off my boarding pass. "Will there be an infant riding on your lap?" Yes. "And anyone else flying with you?" Yes. Three more kids. "You have three kids?" Four. "You're flying alone with four kids?" Yes. No. That didn't make sense, but yes, I have four kids flying with me. "Same last name?" Yes, same last name. A chuckle and a "Good luck" and we were off.

Thankfully we were able to get two rows of seats across from each other and the ride remained new and exciting for the duration of our four hour flight to Kansas City. The barf bags were used as puppets and the evacuation instuctions as napkins, but all in all everything went well.

Gender Bias

I was cooking grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch. I gave Naomi her sandwich and she looked at me and asked, "What is Dad going to eat?" Confused, I told her that Dad could have a sandwich too. "But he's a boy." Naomi responded. So...I still wasn't following. Naomi clarified, "So these are girl cheese sandwiches. Does Dad get a boy cheese sandwich?"

The Cheesiest

Yaya was standing on the toilet looking into the mirror behind it. When I walked into the bathroom to find her, she looked at me and said, "This is my best smile!" and flashed me a big 'ol cheesy grin.

May the luck be with you...

Leah, like her father, LOVES Star Wars. She is still not so familiar with the storyline that she still gets nervous when she watches it. Last night Luke was fighting with "Dark Vader" and Leah's little face was looking pretty concerned. So I asked her how she was doing and without taking her eyes off the movie said, "I'm crossing my fingers for Luke Skywalker to win."

My Favorite Pastime

I am always amazed and sometimes humored at how freely people speak their minds. I am referring specifically to comments made towards pregnant women and new babies, since this is still fresh in my mind and life.

At the beginning of a pregnancy I hear alot of, "When are you due?" "Is it a boy or a girl?" "Is this your first?" (I always lie and say yes when it's a stranger because do they really care and I know when I announce it's actually my fourth there is the inevitable "Wait, how old are you?") Then as the pregnancy progresses, the comments change to, "Can't be too much longer now!" (Still have eight weeks thank you.) "Another girl huh...are you going to try for a boy?" "Your fourth! Are you Catholic or Mormon?" (Jokes on you... I'm Mormon) "Don't you know how to use birth control?" And my personal favorite, "WOW! You look like you're going to POP!" (What a self esteem boost! Thanks!)

But despite it all, my sweet baby is born and then the comments start on her. Now these comments are hillarious to me because I have made it my new favorite pastime to imagine that the comments are directed toward an adult, rather than a speechless, drooling infant. Let's be honest, people say things about babies that they would never say to another adult. For example..."Look at the rolls on those thighs!" "She has such fat cheeks!" "What happened to her hair?" "Wow! You're a chunky one!" But my very favorite comment that I have never heard before, and i would be very surprised to ever hear again came from a sweet old woman who was also waiting to pick up a prescription at the drug store..."Does she have a paper route yet?" What?

Sooooo strong

I came home from grocery shopping and Naomi was very eager to help me put them away. I had to take a break and feed the baby first so I told her she needed to wait. She continued to tell me she could do it herself and I continued to tell her how heavy the bags were and to please wait. In a desperate attempt to get me to understand just how strong she was, she came up with this..."Mom, I am so strong I can lift the table up with one hand. Well, not the big table, just the little one. But I bet I could lift up a car. Well, maybe not when I'm four, but probably when I am six!"

Quote of the day...by Naomi

I want to eat some mustachios....spistacios...those nuts Yaya is eating.

The Culprits

Disclaimer: I tell this story knowing that in ten years when Leah reads it she will respond with, "Mom! Why would you tell that to other people? That is so embarrassing. You're ruining my life! Agh!" I fully accept responsibilty for publishing this humiliating event. Please forgive me.


Leah loves school. So much, in fact, that she doesn't want to miss a minute of it, even to use the bathroom. She can make it through the whole day, but getting home is quite the event. We just live across the field from the school so it's not a long walk in distance. Now, depending on just how badly she needs to use the facilities covering this distance can take up to half an hour depending on how many times she needs to "sit and wait a minute" or walk with her legs crossed. Anyway, the point of this story is not to embarrass Leah, just set up the scene for the trophy event of the day. Today was a day that Leah made it all the way home and quickly. It seems if she does this successfully, then she forgets to use the bathroom right when she gets home. Well, about an hour after her arrival Naomi runs up to me and yells, "Leah just wet her pants!" Fine, she gets to clean it up is my automated response. So she does and announces she is taking a shower. Two minutes later..."Mom! Yaya just wet her pants!" I walk into the bathroom and Yaya is standing on the stool, directly in front of the potty, with a puddle around her feet. "Why?" was all I could manage calmly. "I just wanted to take a shower with Leah. Can I? (Big sweet grin, batting eyes)" Whatever.

Adapting

There are two circumstances completely out of my control that I have decided to learn to love.

The first thing is the darkness that settles in at 5:30 every evening. My internal programming tells me that darkness = night and therefore I can no longer go anywhere or do anything. If that were indeed true I would be missing out on several usable hours each day. However, this has been working to my advantage in some ways, as my children also have the same internal programming. When the sun sets, they declare, "It's midnight!" and run off to brush their teeth for bed. On Sunday, neither Lars nor I looked at the clock. We just did our Sunday evening routine and put the girls to bed. Then we went into the kitchen to finish cleaning up from dinner and realized we had just put our offspring to bed at 6:30! Oops...oh well!

The second thing is the rain. Now rain, in and of itself, I have no problem with. In fact, I really do enjoy it...the sound, the smell, the site of it. But there is no denying that I am far from being a true Oregonian. I don't get seasonal depression when it is sunny. I don't grumble when I am driving and the sun gets in my eyes. I don't start cursing when I have to turn on the hose to water the lawn. But the thing that makes me look most like "a tourist" (sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me) are my lovely polka dot rain boots. I can't help it...I just love them; and I love that the rain gives me an opportunity to wear them EVERY day.

No, the effects of rain that I need to learn to love, or at least tolerate, are the daily tasks that I don't even blink at when it is sunny, or cloudy, day or night. For example...getting kids into the car. In the rain, this task takes on another level of difficulty. It is not just the usual struggle to get four kids buckled into their respective cars seats ("I want to sit in Leah's car seat." "Do I have to wear a seatbelt every time?") but now their car seats get wet when they stand on them and the backs of all my seats will have size 6, 10 and 11 muddy footprints on them until June.

Another challenge is loading groceries from my shopping cart into the car in the pouring rain. I know paper bags are more eco-friendly and since I live in Oregon I am now required to be "green", but really...soaking wet paper bags don't really help the environment when they are wilted on the bottom of my shopping cart and all the lables from my canned goods have slipped off ensuring yet another night of "Guess what's for dinner". Sorry my dear Oregonian friends, but I still use plastic (and I don't recycle Peanut Butter jars either).

Thank goodness for digital...

The girls love to take pictures. I usually let them when they ask. Yesterday Naomi ran off with the camera, then I saw Emilia with it a while later. When I finally got it back I found quite the random assortment of masterpieces. Naomi had taken pictures of the movie they were watching (this is a sample photo of her collection). Emilia, however, had taken thirteen pictures of her pink pants.

Above Average

Little Miss Heidi weighed in at 13 pounds 5 oz during her two month check up. She grins at anyone who smiles at her, showing off her spectacular double chin. She is starting to "coo" and make all those sweet baby sounds. Her charm is helpful in overlooking the constant stream of drool and spit bubbles. But I guess that's just what babies do...

Random

*Lars came down the hallway singing a song. Leah didn't recognize it so she said to me, "I wonder where Dad got that song. Probably from Reading Rainbow."*

*I was making dinner which among other things consisted of noodles and green beans. Leah walked into the kitchen, took a dramatic sniff and said, "Noodles and beans together make the smell of Great Grandma's house."*

Who's in charge here?

*As we were sitting in church on Sunday, Emilia was playing with a little boy about a year younger than her. She paused, looked up at Lars and said, "I want you (pointd at Lars) to have one of them (and pointed at the little boy)."*

*Emilia found a piece of candy and asked me if she could have it. I told her no. So she walked down the hall, handed it to Lars and said, "Will you open this 'cause my mom said no."*

*Emilia has been dealing with her baby sister pretty well. She will just walk around speaking positive affirmations to herself. You can hear her walking down around the house saying, "I'm so nice. I'm such a good sister." So one day she came up to me as I was holding the baby and said, "You're being nice to the baby Mom and you're just a fine fine fine girl."*

Learning the Language

In conversation with Naomi, I told her we would do an activity later and in the mean time, she needed to eat her lunch. She just looked at me and asked, "Why is it the mean time? When is it the nice time?"

Naomi asked me what a "human" was. I explained to her that humans are people; all kinds of people old and young. A look of understanding came over her and she said, "So grandmas and babies are humans, but not teenagers!" You are absolutely right.

Take Two

This is officially my second attempt to keep in contact with the world via a blog. I think my first attempt lasted approximately two to four months...so here we go again!