The Beardsley Family

Mr. Responsible

2012-01-30T13:51:00.000-08:00

I teach Sunday school at church, and one time Barrett and I went to a teacher appreciation activity at a friend's house. On the walls were little drawings and notes by the children saying what they liked about their teachers. Behind our seats was one that caught my eye. It read "My tether is smort."

"Well that's incredibly ironic," said Barrett. We are not above laughing at little children, and had a good chuckle at this one before turning over the paper to see who had written the note. You know where this is going. It was Henry, of course.

We got a kick out of that, and I can share it here because I know that Henry at 7 is probably much smarter than I will ever be.

What really cracks me up is that he keeps getting awards at school for being responsible. Two years running I've gotten a note inviting me to one of the school's monthly assemblies where they award kids for demonstrating various character traits. This year's award came on the same day he 1) lost his new Nintendo DS; 2) lost his glasses; and 3) lost the pedometer he brought home from school to record how much he walks in a day. I accept that Henry must have more important things on his mind than putting on shoes before leaving for the bus, and find it endearing when he slips into his dad's jeans in the morning because they were next to the ones I laid out for him.

So is it wrong that I sort of wanted to make a rebuttal when I found out he was getting yet another pat on the back for being responsible. "But you should see how many things he lost today!" I wanted to shout. "I sent him into the bathroom to brush his teeth THREE times before he remembered to BRUSH HIS TEETH when he got there!" Still, I know that Henry is a remarkable young man, an excellent student, and a pleasure to have in class (as at home). The truth is, I am so so proud of him. So I chose to give him a big hug and congratulate him like I didn't see any irony in the situation at all. Who's the smort one now?

Snowlympia!!!

2012-01-21T19:56:00.000-08:00

This week's giant snowstorm resulted in four cancelled school days, three cancelled Army days, cancelled dance, basketball, church, 30 hours of lost power, and almost as many hours of Wii in pajamas. Our neighbor said he hasn't seen this much snow in the 40 years he's lived here.

Charlie loved playing in the snow until the additional foot we got on Wednesday. Then it was too deep and he was sad.

The big kids got to go sledding with their dad and had a ball.

Violet failed to notice the storm.

We had to borrow a shovel for Barrett to clear the driveway. Luckily when the power went out the roads were good enough for us to go stock up on firewood and flashlights. We were expecting 3 to 4 days of powerless pioneer fun, so we were especially celebratory when the power came on after just one night.

The house was pretty cold by bedtime, so we all shut ourselves into the living room and had a camp out by the fire. We were toasty roasty, and it would have been a lot of fun if Charlie wasn't such a maniac. He kept running over everybody and getting into everything, and nobody could go to sleep until Barrett finally took him for a drive. He crashed in the car at 11.

For dinner we roasted hot dogs, warmed up leftovers on the fireplace, and made s'mores.

We all played games together until bedtime - here the children are playing Guess Who with the aid of headlamps.

The next day we were packing for Portland (camp out was fun. For one night. Then we were stinky and cold and the house was dirty and we wanted out) when the power came on. Oh how grateful I am that I live in a world with electricity.

We loaded up the car and took a drive to survey the damage. Lots of fallen trees. Lots.

No wonder a quarter of a million homes lost power. Most of the power lines around town looked a bit like this.

Today (Monday) is my first full day alone with four kiddos, and I have this storm to thank for it. I love being shut up with my family for a good cozy snowfall!

Spoiled Rotten

2012-01-17T15:31:00.000-08:00

I just drove Barrett's parents to the airport. Or rather the hotel down the road where a shuttle was waiting to take them to the airport. They wouldn't let me drive them to the airport in the snow. The same way they wouldn't let me clean my house, wake up with my kids (except the little one of course), do the laundry, pick up Charlie, get my own donuts, or prepare meals for the last 2 weeks. Now that they're gone I figured I had two options: 1) cry (some more) because I'm terrified of being alone with the gang of midgets I've made (today is also Barrett's first day back at work - spoiled, I know), or 2) write down how grateful I am for the world's best in-laws a person could have.

Laine finishes her daily dose of hot chocolate. Rick and Terri kept the house quiet in the morning by taking the kids on their traditional donut and hot chocolate runs.

Rick and Terri got here with enough time before baby came to help Barrett move the furniture about for a more baby/company friendly house and send us on a date. The kids weren't sure if they were more excited to see Grandpa and Grandma or meet their new sister. On the 3rd I took Henry to the bus stop and drove Laine to school one final time before leaving for the hospital. I plastered the fridge with lists containing school schedules, lunch contents, times and places of activities... and Rick and Terri took over seamlessly, keeping everyone loved, happy, fed, and entertained while we were in the hospital and over the next two weeks. They also kept the house clean and the laundry done.

Henry loves Monopoly. Here he is with Grandpa and Grandma playing the electronic version they gave him for Christmas.

I, on the other hand, have spent the last two weeks in the over sized recliner we bought for Christmas and put in our undersized bedroom. There I sat watching TV, reading, breastfeeding, and percocet napping. That's where I slept at night and where I kept my phone so I could call Barrett and boss him around (ps I also have the best husband in the whole wide world). I emerged from my cave occasionally to hug my kids and give Charlie his bottles, not wanting to disappear on them completely. But let's face it, they didn't really care. Even Charlie. I have often complained about how long a c-section recovery takes. Man, that's because I never did it this way.

Why I'm so afraid of being the only one in charge. Here is Charlie in the front yard where we found him heading for the street. Three of us were watching him play in the backyard, and I found him here after losing a visual on him for seriously less than 2 minutes. He is unbelievably adorable, but he is a wrecking ball.

*Like I said, I spent the last two weeks in a chair. Not taking pictures, so these are the only shots, along with the one from the last post, that I got of both Rick and Terri.

** I am also spoiled because this weekend my sister-in-law Britain came to take pictures of Violet. I love what I've seen of them and will post some when they're ready!

Meet Violet Lynn

2012-01-07T15:11:00.001-08:00

7 lbs 4 oz

20 inches long

I've been wanting to post pictures since we got home on Thursday, but I've been dealing with a sweet spinal headache that makes the computer screen painfully uninviting. It is starting to abate a bit, though, so I'm going to try to quickly get up some photos.

We are madly in love with our Violet. She hardly cried, even when she was first born. She has just been a quiet, cooing, sweet little dream baby, taking it all in stride.

Smiles

We are grateful that the surgery went really smoothly (with the exception of the spinal which took forever and resulted in the aforementioned headache). Here I am undergoing the knife, and then so happy with my little gal.

Barrett's mom got to be in the operating room this time.

our family of six

Henry and Laine named her Violet. I wasn't too worried about names this time around because there were a few Barrett and I both liked (Violet included), so when she was so small and feminine looking (even Laine was quite robust when she was born) we went with it. If it surprises you Henry liked Violet it is because you forgot it's a Lakers color.

Charlie has been very sweet with his little sister and is taking the transition like a champ so far.

Getting my snuggles

proud grandparents for the eighth time-Rick and Terri

Ready to go home.

Love Her

A Happy New Year to You!

2012-01-02T12:48:00.001-08:00

Tonight before bed: one final photo as a family of five

My goal is to do a post a week this year so that this family record called blog will actually record our family.

Barrett's parents are here and sent us on a final date before we meet our young lady.

This week is baby week at the Beardsleys. We are so excited to meet our girl, and welcome all prayers and positive thoughts at noon tomorrow when my OB comes at me with a scalpel. I don't love the scalpel, but boy do we love our babies!

California! Thanksgiving! Collier's Farewell!

2011-12-17T10:24:00.001-08:00

I took very few pics of our recent trip to California. Oops. It was pretty awesome, though. We got there the Saturday before Thanksgiving and spent Monday at Disneyland with Ashlyn and the Earls. My kids were so happy to be back there, with the exception of Charlie, who threw an extended and exhausted fit until we had Grandpa and Grandma pick him up. Laine was, as always, in heaven with cousins and best friends Anna, Maddie, and Avery.

Henry was finally tall enough to go on all the rides, including CA Screaming. He hopped on all excited, but right before it went upside down he told Barrett "I don't think I'm ready for this." Still when it was done he decided to go again as a single rider. They put him next to a 7 year old girl. Barrett said even he was afraid Henry would fly out, so I'm really glad I wasn't there to watch (only Barrett and Henry went to CA Adventure).

It was super packed and I'm super pregnant. So I mostly hung out with whoever wasn't riding or took kiddos on the carousel. Everyone had a grand time, and Henry and Anna made it until the park closed at midnight. I went home with Jason and the littler girls, all of whom were out cold before we got out of the park.

Thursday Barrett's mom put on a beautiful Thanksgiving dinner for all the family that was in town (always a lot). It was delicious, and wonderful to see everyone. Sunday was Collier's mission farewell (he went into the MTC on Dec. 14th, bound for the Paris, France mission. Go Collier!) Barrett's parents hosted yet another fabulous get together in his honor.

I really took almost no pictures, but I had to capture this refined move of Henry's - that's him laying on the rug amidst minglers playing games on Corbynn's phone - and this sweet idea Laine had to watch TV draped over the arm of the couch. My kids are weirdos. The other picture is of all the kids previewing Uncle Ian's Aquabats Super Show.

By Monday morning everyone else had gone, and Barrett and I put the icing on our vacation cake by driving Terri's convertible to Laguna Beach for a sunset meal and walk on the beach followed by a night with no kids, except the one in my womb (I swear I haven't been truly alone for years). It really was perfect. I have the best in-laws in the world.

Luckily cousin Erin was taking pictures - she took this lovely shot of the 5.5 of us.

Fall Sports

2011-12-17T09:06:00.000-08:00

This fall Laine decided to try soccer. They play the kids three at a time, so she spent a lot of time on the sidelines, but she made up for it when she played with lots of smiling, dancing about, and occasionally running across the field at top speed wearing her aggressive face. The location of the ball was of little importance to her, but boy did she have fun.

And Henry tried on flag football. He loves all sports all the time, so it was fun for him to get a taste of something new. He ran the ball in for a 2 point conversion in one game, and, like Laine, spent a good amount of time dancing about with excitement in between plays. I'm not sure that football is really his thing, but he loved every minute nonetheless.

In more sports news, Charlie looks like he may be a lefty. Dad and Grandpa are already making plans for their all star pitcher.

Halloween!

2011-11-01T14:47:00.000-07:00

Before going trick-or-treating we finally carved the kids' pumpkins.

Laine wanted:

Eyes - heart

Eyebrows - pretty

Nose - square

Lips - pretty

Henry spent the majority of his time sorting the seeds into piles of ten. He wanted to know if our two small pumpkins would have as many seeds as his class's one large one. He didn't have time to get his answer before we had to go.

These pictures are from our church trunk-or-treat. I didn't take any on Halloween. Oops. I was lazy about costumes this year anyway and ordered them all online. Barrett and I didn't even join in the dressing up fun. At least not much (see below).

Charlie and his little sister.

Trick-or-treating went about how it did last year. Laine got cold after a half an hour, so I took the little kids home to pass out candy to all 8 trick-or-treaters who rang our doorbell. Eight. Do you know how long it's going to take me to eat the 4 large bags of candy we bought? Not that long.

Back to school 2011

2011-10-15T16:10:00.001-07:00

Henry's first day of first grade.

And Laine's first day of (her second year of) preschool. This lineup depicts a typical effort to get a normal pic of Laine smiling. By normal I mean looking at the camera, smiling, and without the "cute" head tilt.

This year we decided to try a Joy School type set up where Laine and a few of her friends rotate houses each week for school. She's loving it!

Henry meets the girl of his dreams

2011-09-27T14:14:00.000-07:00

But he still thinks girls are gross. Our friends came for a visit over Labor Day, most of which I missed (boo!) due to a trip to CA with girlfriends (yay!). I came home to find that Henry and River had spent the entire weekend playing Monopoly and Lego Star Wars on the Wii. Henry doesn't even know he's in love.

my smarts

2011-09-27T13:54:00.000-07:00

I grabbed Charlie's shoes and tossed them in my purse on my way out the door on Saturday. When I got to Laine's soccer game I found these three right shoes, sizes 4, 5, and 6. Man, am I dumb.

Vacation Part 2

2011-09-11T12:01:00.000-07:00

Grandpa Rick and Grandma Terri with all their grandkids.

I was so relieved that I wouldn't have to drive 18 hours by myself to McCall this year that I decided to drive 18 hours by myself from McCall to CA, and then 18 back up to Olympia. So glad I did, though. Britain and Jason came down from AZ with their kids, and we had a lovely time.

On the way down I got to see a few people I treasure. Like Jasmine and Pamy,

Charlie and Laine with Jasmine's Thomas and Astrid

Cousin Kiki with Leila and Jude,

Einstein's Bagels Dance Off

And Grandma Beth.

Look at Henry's content face as he hugs his Grandma. They have always had an extra special bond.

In California we enjoyed a lot of beach time. Charlie ate a tremendous amount of sand and an untold number of unidentified objects. One lady approached me to let me know that my baby was "putting things in his mouth." This seemed kind of obvious and wholly unavoidable, and the only response I could come up with was to move him so maybe she wouldn't see his greedy feasting.

Avery

I laughed at this photo because I have no memory of Laine being buried up to her armpits.

Anna

Industrious

Some beach pairings:

Brothers

Laine and Maddie were delighted to learn they'd brought matching suits.

Laine and her mom

Henry and Anna

Laine and a boy called Angus. Apparently kindred spirits.

One day we took the kids to Balboa so Britain could take some photos (so cute - will post some when I get them), and then headed over to the Fun Zone. For some fun. That's why the top picture is so well coordinated wardrobe wise (the photos is the reason, not the fun).

Henry's cousins try to spend time with him by watching him play Hang Time.

I finally got to meet sweet baby Colin. See the family resemblance?

Charlie and Colin also brought matching outfits.

Maybe Charlie ate too much sand, because one day on the beach he had a major blowout and had to come home in Laine's clothes. Turns out he is not a very feminine looking baby.

All clean

Before we left we got to spend a little time with some more people we love.

The Redmans,

and the Cuevases. Henry and Luke picked up like no time has passed at all.

Always love our visits to California. Can't wait to get back for another long trip over Thanksgiving!

McCall

2011-09-09T16:30:00.000-07:00

Here are a bunch of photos from our recent vacation. We (even Barrett! Have I mentioned how glad I am he is done with dental school?) went for about 10 days, and then I dropped B off at the airport and continued down to So Cal to hang out on the beach while B went to San Antonio for an oral surgery conference. CA pictures to follow.

Jack (pictured) and Miles sharpened sticks in hopes of spearing some suckers.

The famous double dive by Olivia and me. Also an excellent opportunity to show off my tan.

Roasting marshmallows. Then we all went to bed, leaving Laine to put out the fire.

Brady and Catherine

Ice Cream Alley

Charlie was not the biggest fan of the boat. He didn't want to be restrained or wear a life jacket, but the disapproval on his face looked more like control. Like he's the captain.

Laine holds her nose so the boat ride won't feel so windy

Uncle Schuyler

Liv and puppy Charles

On Cougar Island. I watched Henry gather this bouquet of wildflowers with Laine's help, excited for him to present it to me. Instead I got "it's money. Bair's charging a million dollars to get on the bridge." Later he gave it to me anyway, and lest my heart be unwarrentedly warmed disclaimed "Bair won't take it anymore."

All of us except Aryn, Mike, and Linda on our dear friends and neighbors' dock.

Oliver, Charlie, and Tiffany

Courtney on her birthday

Bump

Brady and Bair

Thumb suckers
The children enjoy some fireworks.

A flaming bee (top right) beelines for Raelynn's face

Charlie's spot.

Charlie chews his Grandpa's watch.

Laine geared up and excited for tennis. The trip turned into Barrett or I watching Charlie while the other played with the big kids. This didn't feel like much of a family vacation, so one day I made us all go play tennis together.

Sad upon realizing she's bad at tennis

Handsome.

Bair, Cal, Laine, Henry

The fours. Laine: "I had a cute face. But Cal didn't, right?" By this she means that she is actually making a designated "cute face" not that she thinks she looks cuter than Cal, with chose to display his "disgruntled face".
The sixes. These four were born within a year of one another, so there is a short time each year when they're all the same age. Here they are about a week after Paige's sixth and a week before Henry's seventh. Youngest to oldest Paige, Bair, Ava, Henry.
I swear this wasn't intentional.
Aunt Aryn, Paige, and Miles on Paige's sixth.

Laine in her element.

Anyone have movie casting connections? Doesn't Raelynn make the perfect "ugly" girl in weird glasses (fake from the thrift store) and braids who becomes suddenly hot in the right clothes and makeup? You know, the girl on screen at the beginning of the movie who has you thinking, "let me guess, I'm supposed to think that obviously gorgeous girl is ugly." Also she's only 11.

Dad.

Raelynn and her short shadow.

Bair and Cal

Laine

Henry

Cal

Laine sunning herself

Charlie is 1

2011-08-28T16:45:00.000-07:00

To me there is nothing like a one year old. I expect a one year old to be ambitious but bad at stuff, and still small enough to be good natured about all the failing. I expect him to be round, pink, squishy, smiley, and preferably dimply. Charlie delivers and then some. When Charlie's around (and when is he not?) I am squishing and squeezing and kissing like a maniac.

Tummy

He pulls some annoying stunts too, of course. Like his diaper changing etiquette. I've had to pin him with my feet enough times for him to learn, for the most part, that it's better not to try to get away while being changed. This doesn't stop him from arching his back and kicking his legs furiously though. If I wasn't very careful this could really get the poop flying. Also he has started getting a mad glint in his eye on occasion, yelling "op!", and hitting me on the face or chest. I can't figure out if he is saying "stop" or "up" or possibly even "up high," because he thinks the popular high fiving game is funny, even when he's too slow. Or maybe this is just his own personal battle cry, but he doesn't do it to anyone else and I don't like it.

At church Charlie is kind of a player. There are several little girls his age, and when you put them together he starts to stroke their faces and administer sloppy open mouth kisses.

He is working on the talking quite a bit. His most used words are: hi, mom, dad, doggy, baby and thank you. His thank you has won my heart the most, as it is his clearest and most appropriately and consistently used phrase. It is a little shocking and always delightful when I hand him a goldfish or his bottle and hear "thank you" back. I love him. Yesterday I handed him his Snoopy stuffed animal and he said "thank you. Doggy." It was all so clear and appropriate I wanted to eat him on the spot.

Charlie found this baby and yelled "hi" at it several times. When it didn't respond he discarded it in disgust and moved on to something more interesting.

He has four teeth, the two bottom centers and the vampires on top. His hair still curls in the back--something I love but know from the two biggies is temporary. He loves his "walk along" device (a walker that plays a song about how the baby pushing it should "walk along." When he passes me with it he grins in a bragging fashion, which causes him to fall. This causes him to shriek with laughter and start to walk along all over again. He is becoming more independent and more involved in the games the children play. He sleeps like a champion. He sucks his thumb. He transitioned beautifully to solid foods and a bottle of whole milk. He makes me love his baby sister more because of how much I love him.

Vampire

All of this chubby perfection on his part inspired a really lame first birthday celebration. Store bought cake, which he methodically destroyed and devoured, and one gift that he picked out himself at Toys R Us (or as Laine would say "We Are Toys and We Are Babies").

Happy Birthday Baby. Maybe when you're 2 you'll stick to cake instead of repeatedly going back in for more candle.

I know everyone says this about their babies, but I really mean it; I love that child to pieces.

Henry is 7

2011-08-22T15:41:00.000-07:00

A space where the first of three teeth lost so far abandoned ship.

Henry's birthday was on August 5th. I asked him if he wanted a friend party, but he opted to celebrate with his family because "I don't think my friends want to play Monopoly." As usual, we did our traditional dragging out of the birthday. We celebrated early when Barrett's parents came up to watch our kids for our half marathon the last weekend in June, then again when I ended up taking the kids to CA the first week of August, and finally on Henry's real birthday back in Olympia. He decided that in lieu of a party he wanted 1) to go the thee-ate-er, 2) to play family Monopoly (I won); 3) to go to Charlie's Safari (indoor play place with bouncy things and a big climbing structure); 4) family bowling (have yet to do this - the alley was closed until recently); and 5) to play family basketball.

Cake with cousins in California.

Oh how I love this child and his analytical brain. Sometimes it seems to be exclusively reserved for numbers. So much that he's not allowed to have a clock in his room because he will start to watch the numbers change when he goes to bed at 8, and then upon waking up announce that he fell asleep at 11:27.

This is how it sounds to watch a movie with Henry that is based on a book he's read: "this is chapter 12! I can't wait for chapter 16!"

I also hear things like this a lot: "Mom, is it page 358 that says how much Harry's wand weighs?" He genuinely expects me to know the answer to these questions. Speaking of reading Harry Potter and Henry's compulsive calculating, quick funny story. Yesterday we read about the second task in the Triwizard Tournament. You know, the one where Harry has to rescue Ron from the merpeople, but sticks around to make sure the other champions' hostages are ok too. As I was reading about Harry struggling to the surface with Ron and Fleur Delacour's sister in tow, and how he doesn't know if he can make it with both of them, Henry suddenly shouted "drop the girl!" Oh how I laughed. And then felt a bit concerned as I explained that Harry thought dropping the girl would lead to her death. Henry responded that she wasn't Harry's hostage anyway, and that he was going to lose points if it took him too long. Oh dear.

Still, Henry is the reason my kids are best friends. When Laine was born he never questioned even for a second that she was here to be his best friend. He defends her always and takes care of her when he can. He is no different with Charlie. His aunt recently told him that one day Charlie would be big enough for the two of them to play together. Henry replied "well, he's almost one." As in, he's been one of my best friends for a while now. Laine treats Charlie the same way, and I'm confident that Charlie will welcome the newbie in kind - they all learned from Henry.

Henry and his new bike. Also see how he supports his sister; though he doesn't share her passion for art, he helped her plaster this entire wall with her work.

His sense of justice is kind of hilarious. If he feels he's been wronged he will act wronged until the perpetrator apologies. At which point all is forgiven and forgotten in an instant. If the "perpetrator" feels she is not wrong, she explains her point of view sympathetically, but does not apologize. In this case all is neither forgiven nor forgotten, and the acting wronged continues.

Henry cannot lie. He also cannot let it go if I say it is 8 when it's 7:57. He can't even let it go if I say "almost 8." Not only can Henry not lie, but he can't detect a lie, or even an exaggeration, in others. Once he told me he had to really get going if he wanted to catch up to a friend (another kindergartner) who had likely had enough of Henry's favorite topic of conversation and told Henry he was doing 10th grade math. This of course led to another installment of my ever popular "your friends don't want to talk about math" lecture.

You will never hear Henry saying anything negative about anybody. Ever. Once his teacher told me to ask him if some 4 year old in another class was annoying (apparently some kind of super spazzy super genius). She just thought it was amusing, but Henry got so uncomfortable I thought he would cry. I felt terrible and learned my lesson. I will never again ask him to put someone else down.

In sum, it is 2:30 and Henry is starving because he is unwilling to pay the price of today's lunch: one kiss on the cheek. He'll hug till the cows come home though. Oh how I love my Henry Fitz.

not a mistake; just a horrible accident.

2011-08-14T13:42:00.000-07:00

Other titles I considered for this post:

Oops, I did it again
Did we skip a chapter in health class?
Seeing a 50% prevention rate as "half full" (Barrett bragged his face off the first time this happened; there'll be no living with him after this)
Charlie becomes half of "the twins" (note to parents of multiples: I say this playfully and understand that referring to kids who are 16 months apart as twins is like having you compare my baby to your dog)
Nesting: it's not just for the birds
How to get your money's worth from a good nursing bra
A sister for Laine

Fourth of July

2011-07-15T16:09:00.000-07:00

I really love the 4th of July. Really bad. Last year I went to San Antonio to see Barrett during his training, so this year it was nice to have all my babies again to make things extra festive. We started our day at the city parade. I love a good small town parade! At least usually I do. This one was terrible. A no energy crowd watched people drive by in SUVs. Occasionally someone campaigned or protested. Where were the marching bands? The high school cheerleaders? The candy? The festive atmosphere? Laine was the only one I heard chanting "USA!" She didn't seem to notice the lack of excitement and faithfully waved her flag until the final car crept past. To be fair, we were late, so maybe the first half had all the cool stuff.

Henry was festive too, and did manage to get a few pieces of candy from the one person who passed it out, so he was jazzed about that. Charlie was there too. He loves America!

We picked up some firecrackers (that we still have yet to use) and headed to 7/11 for some slurpees. Of course there was much singing all the way. Grand Old Flag is always a favorite, plus I made the kids learn the Army song, about how it's always rolling along. The Johnsons invited us over for some delicious barbecue before heading over to the fireworks show. Here are Henry and Connor, and Laine and Sadie enjoying some ice cream. Yum.

Next it was off to the local celebration and fireworks show where we met up with some more friends. There were lots of bouncy play things for the kids (Laine destroyed a really big obstacle course to the amusement of mom and dad, who were both ready to come to her rescue ) and skydivers too!

My favorite thing on the 4th is the fireworks show set to music. Patriotic tunes always make me cry, and these fireworks were lovely. The music was...odd. It seemed to be assembled by a 15 year old girl - lots of bad pop songs and one AC/DC song (her dad probably made her include it), which we decided to count as patriotic. I had to laugh at the randomness when the Beatles song "You Say it's Your Birthday" came on (British invasion sound all too relevant?), and then laugh even more when the grand finale went down about 20 seconds into it. Cut music, show over. It gets dark really late here—the show started at 10:15—but the kids were great all night long. Even Charlie, who didn't fall asleep until I put him in the stroller to walk back to the car.

The children settle in for some fireworks.

Fine citizens.

I am proud my husband has decided to serve his country, and proud to be an American. God bless the USA!

I tawt I taw a sunny day

2011-07-13T15:34:00.000-07:00

We live in NW Washington. It's really beautiful here, but it's also really wet and chilly most of the time. My normally very fair family has reached new heights of pastiness. I'm told this was an especially bad winter, so maybe summer won't always be delayed until...who knows, it's not here yet. But even though today (July 13th) is 60 and rainy, we have had a few really amazing days, and this is what we did with some of them.

The day before Easter was gorgeous! Perfect, really. Henry had a baseball game, then I went for a run with a friend and came back home to dye eggs. Heaven.

Easter? Rainy and cold.

The next warm spell came the first weekend of June. Temperatures soared into the 70s. Henry thought it felt "like the desert." He wanted me to read Harry Potter to him, and I was more than happy to oblige. On the condition that I sit in the sun while I read. Henry tried sitting a few feet away in the shade, but he can't stand not to see the words, so this is what he came up with to endure it:

One otter pop and one umbrella to beat the heat. Don't forget shades.

Last week it actually got "hot" for a couple of days. We spent them like this:

I got so excited I went out straightaway to purchase a slip 'n slide. Next day? Rain. In the box sits the slide, waiting quietly for Olympia to once again become the paradise I remember from last summer. I can't really complain. Come Saturday we will be relaxing in McCall (with Barrett!!). Forecast: sunburns, cousins, and Kool Aid.

Spring Sports Wrap Up

2011-07-08T15:02:00.000-07:00

Henry recently played his last game for the Dragons, coached by Dad. It was really fun to watch him actually play baseball. No more yelling "throw it to first!" or "run the other way!" He and his friends threw kids out, made great catches, and really hit that ball. What a difference a year makes!

Laine's end of the year performance for her creative movement class was last month. She loved every second she was on stage and remembered all her little moves. The girl loves to dance!

She loves Henry's trophies so much--I don't know why it never occurred to me before to order her one for dance.

I have tried and tried to upload a video or two but it doesn't seem to be happening for me. Too bad, it was a pretty good show.

The Big Picture

2011-07-07T22:34:00.000-07:00

Just updated our family picture. Now Charlie's in it. Thumbs up. But it is really ginormous. Anyone know how to make it smaller? Anyone still check my blog?

Charlie: 9 months

2011-06-05T11:13:00.000-07:00

Charles enjoys a wedgie administered by his Grandpa Fitz

I'm feeling like I need to chronicle our life better on this blog. I'll start with this post I began writing more than a month ago.

My little Charlie Tom had his 9 month apt. in May. These were his stats:

Weight: 19 lbs 12 oz (37%)

Height: 29 in (75% ish)

Head: "getting bigger"

It's a good thing I've gotten so much practice having babies who don't do anything; otherwise I might be concerned. Crawling? No. Pulling himself up? No. Rolling over? He can. In his defense, he has been working pretty hard on the crawling lately. First he goes up on his hands and feet, then carefully tucks his knees underneath one by one. Next he is stuck and flops onto his stomach, pushing himself backward. Yesterday he managed to move one little hand forward before he flopped so I know he's close. He is an expert pivoter though, and always does a preliminary 360 to inventory his immediate surroundings. No use wasting energy getting all grabby on the wrong (far) object if there is something closer.

(July update: C is crawling like a pro, getting into plenty of trouble, and pulling himself to his feet from time to time)

When Laine was learning to crawl I posted a picture of her getting mad because she could only go backward, landing her under this chair. Charlie did the same, but I had to laugh because I was unable to capture his frustration. Every time he saw the camera he'd wipe off the smirk and pose for me.

The boy loves his brother and sister. When he sees them he screams and lunges. It sounds like he's sucking in really hard and making a super excited screamy wheeze. Sometimes I think he will pass out. When Laine snuggles up to him he reaches out and starts to grope and smack her like crazy. She eats it up with spoon. Henry is perfecting his instructional technique and spends a lot of time in front of Charlie patting his legs in an effort to get Charlie to crawl on over. Like he's calling a dog. He also preforms for that baby tirelessly, mostly dancing. Charlie digs it. He also digs rough housing with his dad.

Charlie has been a superb sleeper, pretty much since birth. He still wants two long naps a day and then sleeps from 9:30pm-7:30amish. Yesterday he slept in until 10. He gets up occasionally in the night, but there have been maybe 4 times in his life he hasn't gone right down after nursing. He doesn't fall asleep nursing much, but when he does I love holding him for a bit before I put him down. He is as sweet as he can be, but isn't much of a snuggler.

Despite it's puniness, Charlie still finds his thumb most satisfactory. Often when I feed him I have to pull his thumb out of his mouth between bites. This can be irritating because he eats a lot. Of anything at all. He eats more than either of the other kids at most meals. I am looking forward to weening this little beast at a year. He's a pincher. Both hands reaching for the tiniest bit of my underarm or side fat or chest his little fingers can hold on to. Ouch. And if I succeed at getting him to stop (usually I don't) he reaches for my hair and pulls. Stinker.

He is a mellow little charmer with dimples that I'm over the moon for. Can't imagine our family without our Charlie.

Party!

2011-05-11T14:53:00.003-07:00

Laine chose to have her birthday party at this cute children's salon, Jack and Jill's. Each girl gets a hairdo, a "manicure" (painted nails), makes a tiara and bracelet, and plays games. Her friend Sadie's birthday is so close that the girls decided to have a combined party, which worked out perfectly.

Having her hair done.

Laine is kind of the definition of feminine - she is all sunshine and smiles, loves nature and babies, does not walk or run, but dances everywhere she goes. She can't help it. And if I try to put her in a dress that doesn't twirl for church she looks me in the eye and says very politely "no fanks." That's why I was amused when I asked her if she wanted to wear a dress up dress (like Cinderella) or a party dress, and her response was "Princess Jasmine." The only princess in pants. We didn't even have that costume. I thought she might change her mind, but this girl knows what she wants, and that's that. Before the party I made sure she understood most of the other girls would be in dresses, and as expected she wasn't concerned about that at all. It's one of my favorite things about her. She felt just right in Jasmine.

Princess Jasmine. I did alter this a bit for the party so she wouldn't be quite so tummy-rific.

Princess Bingo

Kiss the Frog

Barefoot and sitting like one might on a magic carpet.

Laine requested a purple mermaid cake. Ariel-esque but not Ariel. Like I said, she can be quite particular.

Sadie and her Cinderella cake

Friends!

The Party Girls

I forgot to get a picture, but Johanna found the perfect favor bag/purse online and I attempted to copy it for the partiers - Laine is holding hers above.

Just Four Fun

2011-04-11T17:23:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday to my Lainie! For some reason I have struggled with this birthday more than the others. She has been the most pleasant squeezable three year old and I just wanted so badly to freeze her there. But she is four and so we celebrated our brains out. So much that today at the store Laine suggested we pick up cupcakes for her next party.

Grandpa Rick and Grandma Terri came into town the Wednesday before Laine's birthday. There really is no bigger treat for my kids - they love their people so much and have really felt the distance since we moved last summer. This is what car time looks like on their visits. Notice the linked arms and Henry laughing with Terri in the back. I can't remember a time before these four became two couples.

Thursday I went to school with Laine.

She chose her outfit and then wisely added snow boots because it still feels like winter here (this picture was taken during their indoor recess).

The rest of the family joined us for her special birthday snack. I saw these cute cupcake ice cream cones on a friend's blog and Terri helped me make them. She also put together this adorable box to transport them. They were a hit!

Friday we headed up to Seattle for Laine's second annual birthday acquarium trip. Last year was Long Beach. Laine loves sea life, and we all had a delightful time seeing fish and otters and such.

Rick and Terri:

Autumn and Barrett:

Henry and Laine:

Charlie and Mom - flash didn't go off but I still really enjoy the Charlie of this picture:

Saturday was the big day. Laine awoke to a brand new bike!

And a pancake 4 dripping with strawberries and whipped cream!

Presents! Cake!

Laine received Tangled, so the day concluded with a pizza picnic double date (+ Charlie) while Mama and Dad went to dinner and a movie.

The rest of Rick and Terri's trip was wonderful but too short. They ended up staying just over a week and we are already campaining for another visit.

Next up: The Friend Party

Happy St. Pat's and more (another lazy themeless post of random pics)

2011-03-17T16:01:00.000-07:00

This time change has been hard on Henry. Even his chocolate cheerios in green milk (it's been hard on me, too) couldn't get him moving this morning.

Laine - chipper as always.

Chipper Charlie. This was not today, of course. I just like this picture. Today he sported a four leaf clover sleeper that said something about how lucky he is. Of course.

Love.

Barrett and I got to go on a real date recently that lasted for more than an hour and a half when the Army Dental Corp celebrated its one hundredth birthday. It was boring. BUT we left young Charles with some great friends, expecting him to scream at them when dinner time rolled around. Instead he actually took a bottle (high five Johnsons - we totally owe you)! Which means increased freedom and good times ahead when Grandma and Grandpa come for a visit. So that was exciting, and it was nice to be grown-ups together and eat a good meal, even if it meant listening to 3 1/2 hours of dentists with very short hair talking about dentistry.

More love.

I made baby food! Not a task I would typically undertake, but friends Johanna and Jill insisted it was cheap and easy (it was!) Behold our spoils.

In case that baby food thing had you getting the wrong idea about me.

February 11th

2011-03-01T10:50:00.000-08:00

my baby looks like an old man

2011-01-19T17:43:00.000-08:00

Charlie is an extremely sweet but pretty serious child. Never cries, but you also have to work for his laughs. He has always had the face of a man, with wise old eyes. This has earned him such nicknames as "Mr. Baby" and "Pa" after Charles Ingalls from Little House on the Prairie. Recently one of Barrett's siblings suggested Charles looks like Anthony Hopkins.

What do you think?

Beardsley Family Christmas Tree Campout VIII

2010-12-09T13:15:00.000-08:00

We pigged out, watched Elf, and I fell asleep before anyone else. Guess that makes me a mom.

some recent firsts

2010-10-20T12:46:00.001-07:00

In no particular order:

Laine's first day of dance class in Olympia.

First trip to a pumpkin patch where pumpkins are grown instead of trucked in and strategically placed.

Charlie's first date. She is two weeks older and thought he was a real cry baby.

Henry making it across all the rings for the first time at one of our favorite parks. Today he did it 20 times out of 20 attempts. He has turned his athletic feats into math since he was very small and wanted to do things like play basketball to 150 counting by 7s.

Henry's first day of school in WA. This is the picture smile he has decided looks natural. He loves school and rides the bus, which is a little weird for me but nice since it picks him up and drops him off at the stop right outside my door.
Laine's first day of preschool. Loves it. Her teachers are the sweetest ladies ever. Even the receipt for her monthly tuition comes back with little hearts drawn on it.
Charlie getting teased for the first time. One of his siblings asked for water and as I was fetching it, the rest of the family put cheese on Charlie's head and started calling him Chuck E. Cheese. I think this was very wrong of them. Notice the 31 year old man who was their ring leader. He is a doctor ("doctor") and a captain in the United States Army. For Shame.Laine's first haircut by someone other than me. She got to have her hair washed in chocolate scented shampoo, sit in a Barbie car and watch Dora before having her hair styled and dusted with glitter. Then she got a "treasure" and a treat for having to endure it all.
Charlie's first time at church. Here he is relaxing after kicking off his Sunday shoes. Doesn't he look handsome?

how laine is so great

2010-10-17T12:27:00.000-07:00

I can't say enough about how key Laine has been in making our transition to life with Charlie smooth. Easy even. So far she loves being a big girl/sister and loves her baby brother even more. Henry is also very sweet with him, which is no surprise...this isn't his first rodeo. But when Laine sees Charlie she draws in her breath in delight and says something like "awww...what a cute little chubster" or "awww...hi Charlie little Chubby Chubster!" She has never acted jealous or been rough with him, just wants to love him. The most negativity I've seen from her was once when she patted his head and then screwed up her face a bit before saying "awww....he's still...crazy." I'm not totally sure what she meant, but I think it had to do with his hair.

She's already babysitting for me. I'll put Charlie down to make dinner or shower and tell the kids he needs company. They both come running and start chatting him up, smiling and generally loving him. Henry bores eventually, but Laine is tireless in her affections. I always return to find Charlie in tact and happily soaking up the attention. Henry and Laine are very best friends (Henry recently told me "I wish Laine was in my kindergarten class. That would be so fun"), and Charlie has been seamlessly accepted into the club.

I learned when we had Laine that impersonating the baby helped Henry bond with her before she was actually interactive. This time around Laine loves to chew the fat with Charlie. I admit that I occasionally revert to my big sister self and abuse this power to try to start fights. Like the other day when Charlie was telling Laine about how he smells like poo because he poops his pants. Then he asked Laine why she smells like poo. I waited for her to get mad, but bless her little heart she just responded in a matter of fact tone and with a little pat on her pull-up (she'd just woken up), "I smell like pee." Much of what she says right now is surprising and delightful in this way.

Laine and Charlie playing princesses.

Why do little girls think they will love changing diapers?

Laine sharing her most prized possession, her blue blankie, with her most prized baby brother.

Oh how I love you Lainie.

Smile

2010-10-13T09:57:00.000-07:00

At 7 weeks and 1 day old, Charlie finally started wide awake looking right at me smiling. It was well worth the wait.

He promised he'd try to stay five.

2010-09-28T16:05:00.000-07:00

He didn't try hard enough. But we did have fun celebrating our sweet boy's sixth. So much that we did it twice. I knew we would only be in WA for a couple of weeks before Henry's birthday, so we had his big party in June before we left CA. Lakers themed, of course. We held the bash at Hillcrest Park, one of our favorite Fullerton locations. There were races, pizza, a pinata, and a cake with a big orange frosting basketball that became imprinted on Henry's face when he folded to the pressure of all his peers chanting for him to "do it...do it...do it" (sink his face into the cake). All my pictures of the event are on our old computer, but Henry's Aunt Britty documented it well here.

Henry's real birthday was low key. Here he is with his breakfast in bed...a huge pancake in the shape of a six loaded with strawberries and whipped cream. Notice how he's not actually in bed. That's because when we burst into his room singing a merry birthday tune he smiled drowsily and asked if we would please hold his breakfast while he got a little more shut eye. He ended up just following us downstairs, but bless his heart for trying.

Henry's birthday wishes were to 1) go to a movie in the thee-ATE-er (I hope he never stops saying it that way). He chose to see Toy Story 3 for the fourth time; 2) drink orange juice; and 3) have an ice cream cake. I couldn't even get him to tell me what he wanted in the way of gifts so we ended up giving him cash. He played all the Megaman he could handle with his dad and then his friend Connor joined us for pizza (Henry's favorite) and cake.

Please look at Laine's face in this next picture.

I am so proud of the young man who will always be my baby boy. I couldn't ask for a sweeter or more patient son and big brother. Henry has a contagious laugh and a remarkable sense of humor. He soaks up information like a sponge and loves to learn. It's a good thing he is so mild tempered, too, because when Barrett told him he can be or do anything he wants, Henry responded after a moment's thought with "I'm going to build an army of robots for fighting." I really really love this boy.

Rewind

2010-09-26T13:47:00.000-07:00

Here is Barrett reuniting with the kids at the airport after his six week absence. He brought Henry a cowboy hat and Laine a pink pony. Everyone missed Dad.

Because I'm already starting to forget, this is what those six weeks looked like for the kids and me.

Week 1: We move out of our house in Fullerton and attend Collier's graduation. Stay a night at Grandpa and Grandma's house.

Week 2: I leave the kids with Barrett's parents and drive Barrett's car to our new house in WA where I oversee the movers unloading our belongings. Then I fly back to CA. While I'm gone, Barrett's parents drop my kids off with Tiffany in Las Vegas on their way to Collier's orientation in UT. The kids swim and have a ball and go back to CA with Barrett's parents, who pick them up on their way back home. We are reunited in CA Wednesday night, and Thursday I pack up the kids and drive back to Las Vegas so I can swim. We spend a day in St. George with my Grandma. Laine is already crying to go home every day. My heart breaks every time she says it...six weeks is an eternity for a 3 year old.

Week 3: We drive back to Barrett's parents' house and stay a couple of nights before I fly to San Antonio to see Barrett for his time off during the 4th of July. We wanted him to be able to see the kids, but flying me there was less expensive and bought us more than two additional days together.

Week 4: I fly back to Orange County and get the kids. We stay a night or two and then head towards our new home in WA, taking a couple of nights in Sacramento to visit with the Wonnacotts.

Week 5: Settling into the new house. We meet lots of neighbors and ward members who volunteer to babysit, help me unpack, hook up my washer and dryer, and mow my lawn. My earlier hunch that we will like it here is confirmed, and I am grateful to have chosen a home in our neighborhood. Laine stops asking to go home and starts asking for Dad. Both kids seem a little disappointed that with such a major house upgrade all their stuff is the same.

Week 6: Schuyler comes to visit and help his big fat prego of a sister move in. I am so grateful to have him here, especially at night when I feel lonely and exposed in a big old house with no curtains. By the time he leaves we only have 5 nights left without Barrett and I know we'll make it.

Finally Barrett gets home and everyone gets happier. The fog that is my survival mode begins to lift, and the kids have someone to rough house with again. Barrett has a lot of time off before he starts work (even now his schedule is awesome) so we do a lot of furniture shopping, organizing, and unpacking in the few weeks before our four becomes five.

We LOVE Olympia. It is beautiful and green here and smells like McCall. I love that we all need rain boots. We can't stop meeting nice people who want to be friends with us. We'll see how I fare in 9 months of cloud cover and 4pm sundown, but for now we are just really grateful to have been stationed at Fort Lewis. Barrett loves his job, and we all love his schedule. Thanks to everyone who helped us make it through this summer!

More Charlie!

2010-09-13T13:51:00.001-07:00

We love our Charlie. The boy is super mellow and so sweet. Henry and Laine adore him - especially Laine, who shares her most precious possessions with him along with A LOT of kisses. Henry will be more interested when Charlie has more skills, but he still likes to fight him and rock out with him. Occasionally Charlie fires up the spank machine and chases Henry around the house. Luckily Henry hasn't noticed how short his little brother's arms are (reaching even his own bottom is out of the question) or he'd probably stop running and ruin all the fun.

At two weeks:

9 lbs 12 oz

21 inches

Charlie (Charles Thomas)

2010-08-28T14:21:00.000-07:00

Born August 22nd

9 lbs, 20 1/4 inches

Ten toes, ten fingers

As per my instructions, Charlie came a day early. My water broke when I woke up at 6:30 Sunday morning. I was standing next the the bed and Barrett woke up looking around to see which child was peeing where. It was me, and it was gross. But exciting. We kissed the kiddos and headed to the hospital. I was NERVOUS for another c-section. Things did not go super smooth when I had Laine. I was really sick and couldn't hold or nurse her for awhile, so I was scared that's how it would go down again.

Happily everything was really fast and smooth. I had my first spinal instead of epidural and it was so so much better. They pulled out my 9 pound baby (I could feel the pressure this time...turns out 9 pounds of baby don't come out that easily any way you do it - the Dr. even used the vacuum). I was not sick and they brought his fat little self over right away so I could hold him. He cried when they first pulled him out for a second and then he just went right to sleep. I had Barrett count his fingers and toes. Ten of each, and a little brown birthmark on his right knee. He is just perfect. All the doctors oohed and ahhed over his size and then I started to get sick. My blood pressure dropped and I thought I would pass out but the anesthesiologist put some stuff in my IV and I perked up pretty quickly. I was wheeled back to my room where they handed me my baby and we just lay there for like an hour while he nursed. It was amazing.

My sister Tiffany was here with her Ava watching my kids, and she brought them in to the hospital a few hours later. Laine was, and is, enamored with all things baby. Also I thought I might have to arm wrestle Ava to get the baby back from her every time they left the hospital. Also I'm pretty sure she would have beat me. She really loved "that chubber." Henry wanted to hold him, but mostly to show how strong he was.

Tuesday we came home from the hospital and have loved having the whole family home before Barrett goes back to work this Thursday. Charlie is so far a very mellow baby, with a face and temperament reminiscent of his big brother.

I'm sorry, ma'am, but I hurt just looking at you.

2010-08-20T08:22:00.000-07:00

That's what a woman said to me in Joann's yesterday. I think my little boy is trying to do a headstand on the actual ground. He's sticking straight out and he's low and I am UNcomfortable. Laine is standing next to me right now rubbing my side and saying "I want to snuggle you! And hug you! And smooch you!" Those are her favorite things to do.

We just finished an episode of Voltron on Netflix. I had Laine under my right arm, Henry under my left, and baby three on my lap. Laine alternated between holding my hand and rubbing and kissing my tummy. She's very excited, even though sometimes she asks me if the baby is born yet, so maybe she doesn't have that great a grasp on what is about to happen. Henry is reading me a baby name book some friends lent us. He pronounced Damon like damn-un. He likes Ash, Ben, Leo. "Henry!" he shouts. "I'm on 'cool'! I thought I was going to be on 'uncool.'

I'd like to propose that this Monday at noon when I'm scheduled to go under the knife (boo! hiss! down with the knife!) maybe there should be some people out there playing the soft firm game at once for luck. Maybe you'd like to be one of them? Today I will go for a long walk (longer than the mailbox) and go up the stairs a bunch and maybe I can get under the knife sooner. Then I can really put Tiffany, my sister who gets here tomorrow, to work for me.

I'll have to post about how much we love Washington and having Barrett back as part of the family sometime, because we really love those things. For now I will leave you with my pre-baby ramblings and the few pics I took on my cell phone while Barrett was in Texas and I was in a pregnant single mother travelling moving stupor. Six weeks and I never once brought out my camera.

Five of the seven kids who came to California Pizza Kitchen with just three moms before we left CA.

In the Army now! I got to spend a weekend with B in San Antonio and this is the resulting photo. This is what Barrett got to wear in 110 degree heat and 85% humidity.

Lounging in Aunt Tiffany's new pool.

The chain we made to count down the days until Daddy came home. Laine's prayers still sound like this: Hendy Fadder, thank you for the prayer, please bless the food, please bless Daddy will come home, in the name of Jesus Christ amen."

Treats on the road.

Finally home in Olympia.

This is moving on drugs.

2010-06-16T15:13:00.000-07:00

I was well into labor with Henry when the Dr. recommended I get an epidural because I'd probably need a c-section. I remember looking at the monitor when the drugs kicked in and after all that pain practically singing "look everyone, I'm having a contraction!"

That's a bit how I feel right now. Sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall and blogging while three strong men take away everything in my house. Yesterday I sold stuff on craigslist while two patient men (three if you count Henry) packed all my belongings for 12 hours. I haven't seen my kids for days because their grandparents and Aunt Britty have uncomplaining picked them up at my house every morning and kept them all day. My plans for tomorrow are to run errands, leaving a lovely gal named Mary to clean my house before someone else shampoos my carpets. Look everyone, I'm moving!

Ok I just read that back and I sound awfully lazy and privileged. I should mention that I did have to paint, organize, clean, and pack the van myself while Barrett is away at six week Army summer camp. There, now you can add whiny to the list.

Back on the Blogwagon (I'm probably lying)

2010-04-08T09:01:00.000-07:00

I know I need to write down my life because otherwise I won't remember. But not now. So here are some things I should probably post in the hopes that putting them out there will make me actually do it.

1. We're 19 weeks pregnant with a boy! Name suggestions please.
2. Laine turns 3! Celebrates with the sharks and the Dodgers.
3. Army sends the Beardsleys to Ft. Lewis, WA.
4. Henry finishes basketball and moves on to Little League.
5. Laine loves dance class.
6. Barrett passes his National Boards! To graduate in May.
7. Henry gets glasses.
8. Coming up: spring break in Colorado Springs, sisters weekend in Laguna Beach, househunting in WA.

More to come. Hopefully.

Shout out to Britain Earl Photography

2010-02-10T10:18:00.000-08:00

Maybe you noticed and admired our new header photo? My skilled sister-in-law Britain did a photo shoot with us over Thanksgiving. She has recently taken her talent public, so if you live in the Gilbert, AZ area and like great pictures (at a steal while she builds her portfolio), check her out here!

one of those weeks

2010-02-05T18:45:00.000-08:00

Henry on his hospital bed playing Megaman on the X-Box (photo taken with my cell). We called the oxygen monitor on his finger a light saber. When asked what he liked best about his stay he responded excitedly, "spending the night!"

I was less enthusiastic about 3 days at the Children's Hospital with my RSV-induced-pneumonia-ridden youngster. Breathing has never been Henry's forte. But he's home now and much improved.

Laine, on the other hand, is asleep on my lap with snot flowing, fever spiking, and breath wheezing. The good news is her x-ray today (2 year old x-rays are awfully cute, by the way. Her insides are just as small as her outsides!) showed only mild bronchitis from RSV. The doctor sent her home with a little inhaler, and now I don't have to spend the weekend worrying whether she's gone critical. Or putting her in a basketball game like we did with Henry before we knew how sick he was. Oops.

Sick kids is one of my least favorite parts of parenting. They look up at me with these miserable red eyes and beg me to make it better, and all I can do is pull out the popsicles and Tylenol and wipe boogers from chafed noses. Also I clean the puke.

To top it off we were supposed to leave for Park City today for Barrett's college roommates' annual Superbowl celebration - something he's been looking forward to "more than Thanksgiving and Christmas." His words, not mine (though I'm pretty bummed about it too).

Still, I'm glad to know my kids will soon be on the mend...here's to a brighter tomorrow.

Who gets to work at Disneyland AND be mean to 2 year olds?

2010-02-04T15:59:00.001-08:00

Cruella was fabulous and spoke to Laine with blatant disdain, all the while heckling passers by. See how she would only poke Laine's head with one finger for the photo? Laine had no idea what to make of her.

This is how she usually feels about Disney characters:

Viva DeVille.

looking back through this year's pictures I was reminded of time when Laine wouldn't sleep in pants

2009-11-11T16:09:00.000-08:00

Who doesn't like a well-aired bum? She did!

Same shirt, different day.

I'd put her down in clothes and find her bare bottomed almost every time. Of course, completely nude is always more fun when you're one.

Once she managed to wriggle out of a zipped sleeper. Probably too exhausted by the struggle to move on to the diaper.

Eventually she realized I got annoyed when I found her like that; always pee-soaked, sometimes worse. That's when she started to take her clothes off, remove the diaper, and put the clothes back on to appease me (that ruffle on the "front" of her shirt - right underneath the tag - is her sleeve. Her arm is shoved through the little hole underneath the button that goes in back). Whether she thought that would solve the problem or hoped I'd never know (or why she needed her shirt off to lose the diaper) I can't say.

Weirdo.

jo

2009-11-11T16:02:00.000-08:00

H-A-double L-O-W-double E-N

2009-11-02T19:05:00.000-08:00

Henry asked to be Megaman this year. If you are like 99% of the people we saw on Halloween you don't know who Megaman is. If you are like the one guy (that night) who did recognize Henry you know the Nintendo hero looks like this:

Obviously Megaman costumes weren't lining the shelves at Target this year, so I made Henry's costume and was delighted with the outcome.Barrett was Megaman's nemesis, Dr. Wily.

We spend way too much time at Disneyland for Laine to want to be anything but a princess. So Sleeping Beauty it was. Sadly, the night before Halloween she faceplanted in her rush to enter Grandpa and Grandma's house. She got a scab above her lip that added a little Hitler to her Sleeping Beauty.Princess Aurora and MaleficentAt 5 Henry is no stranger to trick-or-treating, but Laine was way into it this year. She's a total people person and offered her hearty "trick-or treat!"s and "thank you"s without prompting from us. She displayed her shoes, dress, crown, or fingernails at most houses for people to admire and loved turning her head on her way back down the driveway to call out "Halloween!" (she heard us say Happy Halloween a few times and missed the idea a little bit but not the festive spirit).

Luke, Henry, and the twins at school. Later that night at a pumpkin carving party Luke's dad found these four in a closet. Probably best we're moving before these guys are teenagers.
All the kids at the pumpkin party hosted by our friends Roxanne and Juan (Luke's parents). Henry randomly decided to go as Robin.

And finally, because it so funny, I will leave you with a picture of Laine, in her Halloween tutu after dance class, stuck trying to climb the fence at Henry's school. I think she looks like a spider.

for the love

2009-10-27T17:16:00.000-07:00

When I found out I was pregnant with Henry, I showed up at Barrett's class to tell him the unexpected/exciting/devastating news. He saw my face and thought he was in trouble for playing video games so late the night before.

It's true I am not partial to video games. I guess that's why it was a sure bet that Henry would come out an addict. He loves to play and comments how special it is that he plays with Barrett "just like Daddy played with Grandpa." Please.

This painting was waiting for me when I picked Henry up from his first day of Kindergarten. Oh boy I thought. Henry painted something in school (usually Henry paints paint). It looked like rolling luggage to me, but when Henry said it was himself playing X-Box I realized he had put a lot of thought into getting the details of the thing just right-the cord, the controller, the green X, the glazed eyes.

I felt like I needed to defend myself to Henry's teacher. Tell her how opposed I am, and how rarely Henry gets to play Barrett's modded (mod-ed? modified.) X-Box. Yeah, she chuckled knowingly, but sometimes that just makes them obsess even more.

She may have been on to something.

how laine calls stuff other stuff

2009-10-27T16:22:00.001-07:00

When Laine hears a word that is unfamiliar she turns it into one she knows. Like when Henry called Barrett punkin instead of punk when they'd play basketball together. Here are some of my favorite Laineisms:

"Let go of the carpet!!!" - on the ramp that leads from the grocery store to the parking lot, where I am in the habit of taking my hands off the cart (carpet) and hollering about being out of control.

"Mom, where's my helmet?" - looking for her baseball mitt

"This is a giant stomach!" - holding up a broccoli stem (we were calling it a stump)

"I need a life jacket!" - when she's chilly

She calls something else a hammer but I can't think of what right now.

St. George Marathoners!

2009-10-05T17:40:00.000-07:00

BARRETT N BEARDSLEY #2423

FULLERTON, CA, USA

Age: 30 Gender: M

clockFromString("4:44:20");

AUTUMN D BEARDSLEY #7068

FULLERTON, CA, USA

Age: 29 Gender: F

clockFromString("4:58:00");

Barrett's Gift to the Happy Couple

2009-09-14T15:46:00.000-07:00

More from Ash and Ian's wedding, because it was really beautiful

2009-09-14T11:15:00.000-07:00

August in Love (them)

2009-09-08T19:26:00.001-07:00

August 15th: Ian and Ashlyn Fowles

August 29th: Jeff and Julie Sage-Lauck

Two amazing couples. We loved being part of their very special days.

August in Love (us)

2009-09-08T19:15:00.000-07:00

August 30th, 2003-forever

Bobby at Bentley's Salon and Day Spa

2009-09-08T19:05:00.000-07:00

saved the day. If you're anywhere near Tustin and looking for a killer haircut, look him up. Sorry no pictures; my camera has been taken for ransom.

growing up...the part where he turned 5

2009-09-04T13:23:00.000-07:00

Henry and I spent some time looking at the stars the night before his birthday. I just wanted to hold on to four as long as possible.

His last night as a four year old and breakfast in bed for my big five year old.

I was prepared to throw Henry a big bash, but what he asked for was a day of fun with Luke. We filled my purse with candy at the dollar store, ate it at the movies, then enjoyed pizza and bowling before stopping for ice cream on the way home.
That night the youth at church had a swim party, which Henry considered the perfect way to end the night (along with practicing some moves on his new skateboard).

Dear Henry,

You are the sweetest little boy I could ever hope for. You know how to make people laugh and to laugh with them. I might cry if you ever outgrow your giggle. You are easy to and eager to please. Aside from a few well placed swings at Laine when you think I'm not looking, you would never hurt anybody intentionally and are never the source or target of conflict among your peers.

With Laine you are protective and inclusive. You play together like buddies but like to baby her sometimes too. You are too obedient to break the rules often, but like to encourage Laine to misbehave so you can rebel vicariously. If you hear her engage in potty talk you respond with a heartfelt "Yeah, Laine! Boo yeah!"

Your dad remarks frequently that you must have been custom made for him. Yesterday you told me you want to be Megaman for Halloween and Daddy beamed. You both love watching and playing sports, Star Wars, and old school 80's video games. Your favorite songs are of the Rock n Roll variety. Currently Social Distortion's "Story of My Life" tops your list of tunes to play on repeat. Two days ago you decided you could trust Luke with the truth about who you really are: Superman. You and I aren't a bad match either. Our senses of humor are remarkably similar (remarkably twisted), though you are much quicker to laugh at yourself than I will ever be. We both like to rock out and shake it and pester your dad for attention.

You are Smart. You're reading now and asking me questions like

What goes faster than the speed of light?
Could an elephant and an alligator defeat a bear, a giraffe, and a beaver?
Where are my science books? (when getting your backpack ready for the first day of school)
What are all the different kinds of doctors?

You want answers, too.

I love you with my whole heart, and even though I want to keep you small and with me always, I am proud of the fine young gentleman you are becoming.

Love, Mom

help

2009-09-03T09:55:00.000-07:00

I don't believe in crying over haircuts. And Vicki from The Haircutters thinks I look like Jamie Presley. But the thing is I'd put money down that HER stylist did more than cut a straight line around her head at a chinish length, chop at the front some, and then offer to wash the whole mess of a cut before sending her home (as if that would turn it good). Also I didn't ask for Jamie Presley's haircut.

So my question is this: do you know somebody in Southern California with the skills to get my hair out of pigtails and turn it into the sassy fall coif I was hoping for? My go-to girl is in Utah and I don't have enough hair left for another round of roulette.

P.S. In case it sounds risky to ask for a big change at a place called The Haircutters (you raise a valid point, Brit), I should mention that this salon, while not high end, is still a step up from Supercuts or Great Clips. It is also where I got my best haircut (and color and style!) in Southern California last year. Sadly, Celia wasn't there anymore. Vicki was.

growing up...the part where he started school

2009-09-01T21:40:00.000-07:00

In the same class as best buddy Luke!

With Dad (who also attended Golden Hill for kindergarten) and Mom.

Celebrating a successful first day at Rite Aid. Laine and Henry cracked me up by ordering different flavors of ice cream and trading any time one of them felt like a change.

Dear Henry, I love you and am as proud as can be. Stop growing up so fast.

We never found the dog.

2009-08-06T09:06:00.000-07:00

I bought a new one on ebay. When he arrived I knew he'd never do. He was so soft, and somehow bigger. His stuffing was still where it started, not compacted by years of embrace or shifted to conform to Henry's favorite holds. He was. Different. There was no love in his eyes. Four years worth wiped clean (love looks like no eyeballs).

While he spun in the wash I debated whether to put GD2 in a box and never speak of him or present him to Henry with gentle but honest disclosure and let the chips fall (he still didn't know the original was MIA). Something like "we'll find your best friend, and his cousin came to keep you company while we look!"

I presented too clean and too fluffy Go Dog 2 to Henry, and before I said a word they had assumed this position.

Turns out the differences were a lot more important to me than to Henry.

P.S. Henry left Go Dog 2 in McCall. Go Dog 3 is in the mail.

Has anybody seen our little man's best friend?

2009-06-28T17:29:00.000-07:00

Henry asks for him almost every night. I can't bear to tell him his Go Dog is missing.

Cool Rider

2009-06-09T09:41:00.000-07:00

These are Henry's toughest looks. Intimidating, no?

Look...no training wheels! It only took him two days to learn. The first day Barrett and I took turns running with him and decided he may not be ready. The next day Henry said he wanted to try again and pretty much just started riding. We rode to the park - Barrett was at school and Henry would crash if I wasn't next to him, so I'd leave the stroller on the sidewalk and run with Henry until he stopped or fell then run back for Laine. Barrett came home to this:

Epilogue: This was in April. Henry is now turning, stopping, and starting on his own. When I fix the alignment on my jogging stroller I think we'll be able to go for family runs with Laine in the stroller and Henry on his bike. A very exciting prospect, since Barrett rarely gets home before dark and I am unwilling to push both kids in the double. We are very proud of our little man!

Two Fun

2009-05-22T10:15:00.000-07:00

Lainie,

I still call you "Baby" most of the time, but somehow you turned two. And you welcomed your third year with complete sentences. "Look at me, Mom. I'm playing basketball with Henry!" "Watch this! I climbed on this chair and now I'm falling off!" Suddenly there's no limit to what you can say. I don't remember teaching you, but you know your numbers, letters, and colors (mostly).

Shopping and twirling both seem as deeply embedded in your DNA as babies and horsies. Grandma recently took you shopping for three hours. Her eyes shone as she described how you walked the whole time, chose the most expensive shoes to try on, and loved every second of it. Daddy will love that. You still wear that Sea Monsters bucket as a hat, even in public, and love to accessorize with shoes and purses. Still you do a mean light saber and run with Henry's t-ball team when you can get away with it.

I've practically seen the wheels in your head turning when you want something you're not sure you can have, calculating whether it is to your greatest advantage to deliver the stink eye or the high beam smile. Both are pretty irresistible. You're a people person who wants to play. You love butterflies and are one, socially. You're not afraid to join the boys playing cars in Henry's class or have long chats on the phone - your conversations sound like this: "Hi Daddy!...Good...gibberish gibberish go to the beach...chatter chatter play in the water..." Then you hang up. You desperately love Henry's best friend Luke (Woo-kie).

Before bed we "read it book" and then you join me in Barney's I Love You song, usually belted more than sung. Once in bed we take inventory - to sleep you need your blankie, baba, book, and baby. Oh, and speaking of that Barney song, when you sing the ABC's it ends like this: "Now I know my ABC's, next time won't you love me too." I secretly hope that never changes.

Here are some pictures of your party. Celebrating with us were Grandpa and Grandma Beardsley, Britain with Anna, Maddie, and Avery, Austin and Holly, Tashy and Ian, Collie, Lori, and Leila.

*I stole two of these picture from Britain's blog. Thanks, Brit! Oh yeah, and Laine's birthday was April 2nd. So I know I know...I'm way behind.

bringing back the blog

2009-04-16T19:12:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter to anyone who still checks my blog! We had a lovely one. In the morning the kids deftly, and in Laine's case nudely, located the eggs we'd dyed the night before. I had to speak at church so was too nervous to really enjoy Easter morning the way I'd like, but I'm actually glad I got to do it. Because as stressed as speaking gets me it was nice to spend the week before Easter actually contemplating Christ's last week. After church we did some top notch relaxing and then went over to the Rick Beardsley house for a delicious Easter dinner.

Laine started this chant on the way over to "Grandma's House!" Our next move will not be easy on anyone.

A More Thorough Post on Bleach as Mouthwash

2009-02-04T10:38:00.000-08:00

One part bleach to about 25 parts water. According to Barrett it "kind of burns but leaves you feeling like you just left the dentist." I have not done it and don't recommend it.

Barrett uses bleach because he was blessed with breath that is naturally really really really bad. I feel okay saying this because long before I came into the picture he had earned the name Dragon Breath in his family. Or maybe just the breath had. Or maybe Dragon Breath was what happened to a brother or sister who needed to learn a lesson. Instead of a good pounding Barrett found that holding down the offender and breathing at close range was far more effective.

Before bleach Barrett used the strongest Listerine paired with the strongest toothpaste then added like five or six of those Listerine strips for good measure. Then he'd be minty fresh for about five minutes. Does the bleach work, you wonder? Like magic. In bleach the breath has met its match. We make out all the time - just like before we had kids (but less smelly).

Happy Birthday Bubbo

2009-01-26T15:27:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Barrett turned 30. Here are that many of the many reasons I love him.

1) He is really really smart.

2) He loves his children.

3) He is handsome; old women and gay guys pick up on him regularly.

4) His favorite chore is dishes (my least favorite).

5) He knows everything about everything. Seriously. Just ask him something about something and I'll bet he knows the answer.

6) His favorite movie is Bird on a Wire.

7) He doesn't say mean things about people he knows.

8) He says really hilarious generalized things that he doesn't really believe about people he doesn't know. Like when I wonder out loud why our kitchen floor feels greasy and he says there must have been some I-talians here. Or the "Canada's a piece" thing. My response is generally to threaten that "I'm bloggin' it." And look - I am!

9) He doesn't make me be the bad guy with our kids.

10) He calls me from school every day.

11) He is thankful.

12) His kids greet him at the door every day with an excited "daddy, daddy, daddy!!!!" and instead of sitting down and resting for a while like he deserves, he drops his backpack and starts wrestling with them.

13) He has a jacked sense of humor.

14) He's up for anything.

15) He likes dentistry.

16) He will love having his own business and will know how to be smart with our money. He is frugal but tips well.

17) He uses bleach as mouthwash.

18) He is athletic.

19) He can't wait to help our kids in school.

20) He does that thing where he laughs with both hands over his mouth.

21) He twirls his hair.

22) He is loyal.

23) He wants me to pursue things that make me happy.

24) He loves his friends and mine.

25) He is thoughtful and hard working.

26) He takes me seriously.

27) He is especially loving and attentive after church.

28) He watches ESPN and listens to NPR.

29) He loves learning and reads constantly - I rarely tell him anything he didn't already know.

30) He is all mine forever.

I promise I'll get around to posting Christmas soon

2009-01-17T14:05:00.000-08:00

but until then here are a few amusing things that recently escaped the mouths of my babes.

Laine in the car today:
"One, two, fee, fu, five, six, senen, eight, nine, Wall-E!"

She is a TV junkie and whines all day when she's not watching "DoraBoots" aka "DoraBootsBackpack" aka Dora the Explorer or "A Gabba" aka Yo Gabba Gabba. She is constantly asking for a movie or a bath. She also calls Henry "Laine." He seems to have no problem with this.

Henry: Dad, what's Canada?
Barrett: Canada's a P.O.S.
Henry (doesn't even look up): Okay.

When I told Henry he can't have a bath everyday anymore because his eczema is flaring up he asked if Laine can. Barrett said she can because her skin is okay and because she's a baby and babies smear food all over their face and hair (boy howdy does she ever).
Henry: "Yeah, and they poop their pants...just like the Celtics."

Sixth Annual Beardsley Family Christmas Tree Campout

2009-01-03T22:52:00.000-08:00

Having neglected to transfer photographs from my Fujifilm to my laptop since well before Christmas, I'll update with a peek at this year's Christmas Tree Campout.

When Barrett and I got married we knew we'd be splitting holidays between our families for a while, but we also wanted to start traditions of our own. We would spend Thanksgiving at one of our homes and Christmas at another. In between we would be Home. So began Christmas tree campout (CTC).

CTC happens the day after Thanksgiving when we buy and decorate our tree. We eat a bunch of junk and drink eggnog (eggnog is vile in my opinion, but has become integral to CTC), watch Elf, which actually hadn't come out yet the year we were married. That year we watched...? And then sleep all together in the living room. We've had one childless CTC, and technically Henry's been there for all of them; I just didn't know I was pregnant yet that first year. So far the more the merrier.

Climbing up the air mattress.

Rough housing pre CTC.Yes, we are all wearing matching zebra pants. Because one day I went to the fabric store to pick up the makings of a baby blanket for Henry's teacher and three hours later had achieved the pants instead. I still haven't made Miss Mickey that blanket.

Some of the junk we ate.

we're really getting stuff done around here

2009-01-02T14:19:00.000-08:00

A Very Vegas Thanksgiving

2008-12-11T12:47:00.000-08:00

So I know I haven't posted in a long time, and come to think of it I should probably be doing other things right now, but I'm tired of looking at my last post, so here are a few pics of our Thanksgiving in Las Vegas. It was, as always 1) fun; 2) relaxing; 3) shoppy. We drove to the mountains for a little hike in the snow, watched movies, went to the Wynn, walked through the cactus gardens, and I even scored my Christmas tree at 5am on Black Friday. Not as always, my dad and grandma were there, making it extra super special.

ta-diddly-agged

2008-11-24T18:47:00.000-08:00

8 Favorite TV Shows:
1. Arrested Development
2. The Office
3. Lost
4. Heroes
5. Pushing Daisies
6. 24
7. House
8. Scrubs

8 Things I did yesterday
1. Tore my house apart looking for Laine's other black shoe
2. Changed Laine's dress to match her blue shoes
3. Went to church
4. Watched Henry in his black suit at church trying to sit exactly like Barrett - with his right foot bobbing up and down on his left knee
5. Ate delicious food prepared by Barrett's mom
6. Snuggled my three babies
7. Watched 24
8. I feel like I should say I watched Lifetime movies, since we love them and the best ones are on on Sundays, but I don't think we did

8 Things I'm Looking Forward to:
1. Thanksgiving
2. Making an ottoman with my big sister
3. Pulling out the Christmas decor and listening to Harry Connick Jr.'s Christmas album
4. Christmas tree campout
5. Christmas
6. Finding out where I will live in two years
7. Barrett graduating school and being a dentist
8. Cold(er) weather

8 Favorite Restaurants
1. Los Cabos
2. Cafe Rio
3. Zupas
4. Outback
5. Red Robin
6. Chick Fil-A
7. Del Taco
8. California Pizza Kitchen

8 Things on my Wish List
1. A new couch
2. Overhead lighting in my living room
3. Seeing Twilight 10 more times without having to tell anyone
4. Paying off all my debts
5. Visiting with Fitzwaters and their offspring more often
6. A big dog
7. Playing outside more
8. Living close to more of my favorite people

8 Pet Peeves
1. People I don't know calling me pet names like Sweetheart or Honey. Or ma'am.
2. My quiet voice that no one can hear no matter how loud I try to talk
3. Having my time unapologetically wasted (eg: I go to someone's house to tutor at 5 as arranged. They show up at 5:45 and still expect me to stay an hour)
4. When no one knows I made a joke
5. Bad drivers
6. Being misunderstood or lied to
7. When Laine puts food on her head
8. Adding 3 hours to the time Barrett's at school for the commute

8 Things you would like to be remembered for:
1. Never dying
2. My rapist wit
3. The soft-firm game
4. Curing stuff
5. Donating money to stuff
6. Giving stuff to people who needed that stuff
7. Being super hot but not knowing it
8. Inventing something everyone needed

8 things to ask and tag people about
1. I don't get it

8 People I tag:
1. Jerome
2. Maud
3. Janice
4. Lars
5. Doug
6. Warren
7. my dad
8. DJ

PC

2008-11-20T12:10:00.000-08:00

Two things.

1) The other day I was perusing the aisles at Target when I heard Henry next to me holler out loud and clear "hi, Chocolate Baby!" My head snapped up to see a young lady smiling back at Henry as she passed. I could only hope she saw my face and understood that he was talking about actual chocolate. Henry maintains that he was talking to Laine.

2) I was just looking at old posts with Henry and came across a shot of all the cousins in McCall. I was musing over how puny Henry was. He was doing some musing of his own.

"Who's the black one?" was what he asked, eliciting a chortle from me. I've never heard Henry refer to anyone as black or white or anything else (except chocolate, of course). I guess Raelynn did have a kickin' tan.

Don't forget to leave your email address below if I don't already have it - we're going private this weekend.

Going Private

2008-11-15T18:37:00.000-08:00

We have really tried to avoid making our blog private, but lately it just feels like time. We don't want to shut you out though, so please comment with your email address... we'll see how this goes.

Family Pictures by Erin T

2008-11-13T15:50:00.000-08:00

Although I prefer more natural looking pictures, I have always ended up getting family photos at Sears or JC Penny or Target...cheap and quick. (With the exception of Christmas card photos, now that I think about it, which have been taken by various friends and family members.) And while the Targets and Pennys generally do a good job, this year I was feeling over it. As luck would have it, Barrett's cousin Erin lives close and has recently started taking pictures professionally. I look at her photography blog regularly, love her pictures, and when I saw the beautiful shots on this post I knew it was time to hire her for our family pictures.

So Glad I Did. Seriously. We had a blast. She met us at the beach and pretty much just told us to play and then snapped continuous pictures over the next 2.5 hours. I had these concerns regarding a photo shoot at the beach: 1) my children will run into the ocean the minute they see it and then be wet and sandy and crying because they want to be in the ocean; and 2) I feel AWKWARD in front of a camera unless I am looking straight at it and smiling.

No problem. Erin took a few posed family shots and then let us loose and sort of faded into the background, giving very minimal direction but always being in the right place to get fantastic shots. We all actually had FUN the entire time, and before long I almost forgot there was a camera there at all.

So if you are looking for a fantastic photographer in Southern California, I recommend you look here first. We had access to all our photos online just a few days after the shoot, and I got my eagerly awaited CD with all 480 shots today. I will try to just post a few of my (hundreds of) favorites.

Thanks, Erin!

This is Halloween

2008-11-02T08:47:00.000-08:00

Trunk-or-treating with gal pal Adriana.
Henry and his best buddy Luke at his preschool's Halloween parade.

Ward party.

Like father like son.

My babes.

Mini monster bash at the museum.

At the museum there were lots of kids running around and screaming. Every time they approached Laine took this defensive position and waited for the chaos to pass.

Why I am Voting in Favor of Proposition 8

2008-10-27T20:50:00.000-07:00

There are material differences between the traditional model of a family and the model established by the union of a same-sex couple. The union of a man and a woman is essentially self-sustaining and perpetuating. The mechanisms of creating and nurturing human beings continue unaided as everyone fulfills their familial roles. Decisions are made and needs met at the closest possible level. The government or some other third party only intervenes when an individual fails to meet his obligations within the unit.

A same-sex union is essentially a self-terminating one. The unit is only perpetuated if a third party (private, commercial or governmental) intervenes. This is a model of creating and nurturing human beings that is fundamentally different from the first. To broadly equivocate the two gives government and/or biotechnology corporations an indispensible role in the survival of the family that neither has ever before occupied. Instead of family decisions being made at the closest possible level, they must be infused with the efficiency of government bureaucracy and the compassion of biotechnology markets.

A functional and civilized government cannot exist without the traditional family model. A same-sex union capable of perpetuating itself cannot exist without the government. I find these differences to be important and worthy of thoughtful, deliberate investigation as we move forward in dealing with this complex issue.

It could be that our hyper-enlightened 21st century society has no need for such stodgy, confining concepts like marriage and gender. But there is still an off-chance we can learn from these concepts. Before we make it illegal for public policy to address the differences between two obviously divergent models of the fundamental unit of society, it seems prudent that we preserve the definition of marriage as it has stood for the last few millenia. Preserving the traditional definition allows us to grant comparable rights to same-sex couples without having to conflate the two institutions. As we use our federal system to our advantage and gather data on gay marriages performed elsewhere, we may find that there is no functional difference between the two models. In that case we may then legally equivocate the two based on sound data rather than antecdotes and name-calling.

A “Yes” vote on Proposition 8 is a reasoned, pragmatic and thoughtful vote. A “No” vote strikes me as hasty, ideologically rigid and unwilling to explore what the consequences of these changes might mean. I will be voting “Yes” on Proposition 8.

Prop 8

2008-10-24T21:04:00.000-07:00

Barrett has been working on writing out his feelings regarding CA's proposed constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. He will post it when he's finished. In the meantime, I like this video's simple and concise explanation of the issue.

I want a...beer

2008-10-21T21:29:00.000-07:00

The last word was whispered, like a secret.

I look at Henry with my best poker face, waiting for him to retract/revise his statement, replaying it to see if maybe I heard him wrong. His gaze remains steady.

"You want what?"

"Beer."

I cock my head, think it over, explain briefly why he might want to reconsider, including the fact that it tastes bad.

"Yesterday* my dad gave me some. I liked it."

It is true that Barrett likes the taste of near beer, and that I have seen him drink it once or twice when the occasion calls for it, but not since Henry was born. I am reasonably certain he never gave Henry near beer.

"Yesterday at dinner we had noodles and Dad gave me and Lainie some beer."

Hmm...we DID have noodles yesterday. And the kids drank...ginger ale.

Not beer.

*In Henry time "yesterday" means sometime before this moment and is synonymous with "last week" and "last year".

Gorgeous

2008-10-21T11:10:00.000-07:00

Thanks for the link, Mo. This dress is sort of (totally) jaw dropping.

Grosgrain: Marie-Thérèse Gown GIVEAWAY!!!!

What a week I'm having!

2008-10-13T20:41:00.000-07:00

I really loved last weekend. Really. Barrett had Friday off, so we had a nice relaxed morning. Then Barrett's parents watched the kids while Barrett and I played nine holes of golf in the evening. We had so much fun. Oh yeah, and I found a great deal on Craigslist on some brand new women's clubs. I have enjoyed swinging my grandma's Big Bertha around from time to time, but for the most part my very limited golf career has been made possible by various men's clubs. So this time I got to use my very own women's clubs. And I sucked with them. Still, we had fun and even got to go to our favorite restaurant before picking up L and H.

I am making an effort towards documenting Barrett and I together (mostly just the kids get photographed), but so far it has resulted only in outstretched arm shots, like this one at the golf course.

Saturday we saw Wall-E at a dollar theater. This is VERY exciting because I didn't think such a thing existed near our house. I was bummed they weren't showing it at the $4 matinee theater and decided to find the next cheapest theater, prepared to shell out the big bucks. Turns out there is a theater that show $1.50 matinees and is $2.00 after 6 not to far from us. Henry was as happy as can be with his tray of popcorn, Sprite, and candy, and Laine was actually very attentive for most of the movie. Anytime something loud happened she would say a very serious "uh-oh" and then look up at Barrett or I and tell us in her most solemn babble about the scene. We had a delightful time.

Next we tried to feed the ducks, but instead ended up trying to keep Laine from feeding herself to the ducks. She is seriously stubborn and got sooo mad at us every time we prevented her from climbing into the pond. After the ducks we left for Barrett's folks' house. Barrett had left his phone there the night before, which gave us the perfect excuse to head back over there and slip out for a run together. I love that Barrett and I choose each other's company first and love doing the same things.

Barrett should know by now that there is no such thing as putting the fear into Laine - this move just made her want in more.

I also want to take this opportunity to say how extremely grateful we are to have Barrett's parents here. Henry and Laine adore them, and the feeling seems to be mutual. Rick and Terri took both kids to look at Halloween decorations while we were gone and then took Henry for one of his favorite outings with Gramps and Grams (along with the standard morning drive for donuts and hot chocolate) - owling (aka walking up and down their street looking for owls, which have yet to be spotted). We have made such wonderful memories at the Beardsley house and are very appreciative of the love they show us and especially the babes. Their house feels as much like home as my own. When we pull up both kids practically leap from their car seats and bound inside without so much as a knock.

Sunday was a day of freedom - Laine started nursery. I walked in with her, she struggled out of my arms, proceeded to take a toy from a three year old, and never looked back my way. Then during primary Barrett came in with the much anticipated announcement that Britain had delivered a healthy baby girl - Avery Nicole. I'm dying to give her a squeeze but will have to wait a few weeks until her blessing.

Laine's first day of nursery.

5k Running

2008-10-04T10:16:00.000-07:00

This morning Barrett and I ran our 5k. I have a cold and was worried about my ability to run three miles - I felt awful yesterday and this bug totally wiped Barrett out last weekend, but this morning wasn't too bad. Last night's Nyquil induced 10 hour sleep certainly did not hurt. I wanted to come in under 27 minutes and did, so I was happy. I met my goal with plenty of room for improvement. Barrett ran it exactly a minute faster than I did after an intense training regime of spraining an ankle and then getting sick. He is a natural distance runner - when we were skinny and single he ran these in 20 minutes. Thanks to Austin for sleeping at our house so we wouldn't have to wake the kids up super early and take them to Barrett's parents' house. It was lovely to do something fun and active without our kiddos along.

Because otherwise you wouldn't know how much Laine likes dirt

2008-09-30T11:08:00.000-07:00

Her favorite corner of our yard.Delicious!

Dirt makes the backpack unecessary

When the kids play outside Henry knows to holler for me if (when) Laine gets in the dirt. For a few days they'd go and play with no hollering and Laine would still come in like this. We finally discovered she kept a secret stash in the back of her tricycle.

Now you know how much Laine likes dirt.

A Run in the Rain

2008-09-29T11:03:00.000-07:00

This morning Laine and I went for a run while Henry was at school, and it rained. For like 15 whole minutes. I miss rain. And snow, and thunderstorms, changing leaves, and weather in general. My kids think seasons are a myth. When it's cloudy Henry steps outside and says "ahhh, smells like rain." This of course because I explained about rain and how it smells good, not because it actually rains here. So this rain was a welcome friend, and I found out that running with Laine is not nearly as bad as running with both kids. Pair that with the combo my ipod shuffle served up of Jack Johnson, Simon and Garfunkel, Van Morrison, Frente, Modest Mouse, Sublime...it was a lovely run.

I have been trying to get in decent shape for a 5k Barrett and I are running on Oct. 4th. I run 5ks from time to time, but have not bothered to train for one, well ever really, but haven't even been in shape for one since before I got married. Here's a fun little game to play - Google "Autumn Beardsley" and then "Autumn Fitzwater" and compare the random race times that come up. I tend to sign up and run races on a whim when I'm ready to get back into shape instead of after shape has been achieved. I felt so pathetic after the last one that I'm ready to actually try so I can knock a few minutes off my time. Now it looks like we may not run this race at all for the best reason of all, which is that Barrett's sister Britain may not be pregnant much longer. Go Britain! We're pulling for you!

Here's Henry rolling around in a pathetic little pile of leaves. I told him about playing in the leaves when I was little and he jumped right in.

Laine's leash (safety harness). She loves it and wears it often as a backpack - the leash part hooks onto the monkey's tail and is optional.

That kid

2008-09-23T11:36:00.000-07:00

Henry participated in his first ever Primary program last Sunday. Every fall the kids showcase for the rest of the congregation what they've learned throughout the year. They sing songs and deliver lines or talks. Barrett's parents have a lot of friends in our ward, and they brought the family to support the Hank. To get the show started the kids came walking in from the foyers singing "I Am a Child of God." One little sunbeam named Natalie came walking in with her hands over her ears because the child in line behind her was singing so loudly. All eyes turned to see where the noise was coming from. The noise was Henry. Who ever thought he would be that kid? Henry is quite shy around people he doesn't know, but for some reason that did not transfer to singing in front of 300 strangers. He wailed his way through the 9 or so songs in the program, delivered his line into the mic like a pro ("The scriptures teach me about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and how to return to Them."). Every once in a while he lost interest for a few minutes and poked the girl next to him for a while.

Highlights include Natalie - who was next to Henry and not getting poked - covering her ears for most of the program trying to block out the drone coming from Henry (I wouldn't exactly credit him with perfect pitch) and when she couldn't take it any more signaling him with her hands to keep it down over there; then there was the name tag that found its way to the back of Henry's head and stuck there until I noticed it and removed it. As part of the presidency I had to sit on the stand with the kids. So I didn't get to see the show as the congregation saw it, but I got to see the congregation see the show, which is almost as good. The kids did great, put on a good show, and I couldn't be more proud of my Henry Fitz.

Then there's Laine. I just spent some time trying to describe Laine's unruly behavior in public, but am not doing it right. I'll just tell you that if she has what she wants she is happy and if what she wants is out of reach she is twisting, arching, and screaming to get out of my arms. If I put her down she is immediately out of sight destroying the thing she wants - probably a computer. After a particularly trying trip to the library this week I went to Target and bought something I thought I'd own even less than I thought I'd own a mini van. A baby leash. For the record, baby leashes have always made me laugh, but I'm a safety girl (different from how Julia Roberts is a safety girl), and I always support products that keep babies safe. So I have been too embarrassed to go out much with the leash, but now you know. Laine is that kid.

PS Laine can also be very charming in public. She says "hi" or "mornin'" to everyone we approach, and "bye" or "see ya" as they walk away. She thanks the bagger for each bag he puts in the cart. She also told one man in the grocery store about her surgery. I swear. After the casts came off we were at Stater Bros. and an old man stopped at her "hi" and asked how she was doing today. Laine started chattering away, looking this man in the eye, and pointing to each foot. I think she was just so glad to be wearing shoes again. Very amusing.

Henry's quotes of the week:

"Mom, what's a virgin?"

And later that same day:
"Mom, what's repent?"

Should I be concerned?

never forget

2008-09-11T20:36:00.001-07:00

My family has spent today remembering those affected by the events of September 11th. We've been watching stories of courage, friendship, sacrifice, and bravery in the face of fear. We have seen how ordinary men and women, unexpectedly given the opportunity to behave in extraordinary ways, came through without a moment's thought. I am overwhelmed by the good that rises up in the face of devastation.

I listened to the Indigo Girls song "Let It Be Me" in the car today. This song makes me cry on a good day, but I think that particularly the last verse and chorus express better than I can what touches us most seven years after a tragedy like 9/11.

(If anyone knows how I can put a link to this song on here tell me and I'll do it. It is worth hearing.)

In the kind word you speak
In the turn of the cheek
When your vision stays clear
In the face of your fear
Then you see turning out a light switch
Is their only power
When we stand like spotlights
In a mighty tower
All for one and one for all
Then we sing the common call

Let it be me
(this is not a fighting song)
Let it be me
(not a wrong for a wrong)
Let it be me
If the world is night
Shine my life like a light

The Results Are In

2008-09-11T13:56:00.000-07:00

Barrett passed his first dental Boards! I know this is no surprise to anyone who knows Barrett, but I would also like you to know how seriously good under pressure this man is. Barrett planned to schedule his test for August 27th. As luck would have it, the only available testing date was August 19th, which gave him about 3 more days to study. I would have freaked out. My lid would have been flipped big time. But Barrett just holed up for those 3 days and took his test and then enjoyed his extra free time. No tears, not even a hint of panic. He got his score in the mail a couple of days ago and he did great. We are so so proud of him!

Note: Barrett has been studying for this test for a long long time, so though I feel he is no less than genius, I am not trying to make you think he only studied for 3 days for this monstrous test. But seriously, he's a genius.

Also of note but totally unrelated to Barrett's test is the fact that today Henry had his very first opinion about what he wanted to wear. He brought me these puzzle pieces and said "I already have the yellow hair, now I just need these clothes."

Utah

2008-09-06T09:32:00.000-07:00

After Barrett took his Boards last month, we had almost two weeks to play, so we headed up to Utah. Here are the highlights. (Note: sorry if everyone tires of so many pictures. I do not scrapbook. I don't know how to scrapbook, and I don't want to learn. But boy can I upload, and that's why I try to capture our activities on this here blog.)

We got to see:
The Bourgeois Family,
the Fauxes,
some of my old roommates (and Erin),
and real life Jem and Scout. Henry snuck away with these neighbors of Jasmine and Arthur (we'll call him Boo here) to have a hit of their Caffeine Free Diet Dr. Pepper.
We also saw the Tanners (at Cafe Rio. Mmm.). Here we are at Thanksgiving Point where Kiki shared some news with Terri and then Rick.

The Streadbecks are sadly not pictured. Actually, that's not totally true because Brooke is pushing the stroller in the background of this photo of Laine and me. But Henry spent LOTS of time with Emma, and I got a girls night with Brooke and Caitlin.
Laine's hand is all the way in this cow's mouth. It was gross.
More Thanksgiving Point - Leila, Henry, and Laine. Special thanks to:

The Streadbecks for keeping Henry for not one but two nights; he fell asleep on the way to their house for a sleepover and woke up the next morning thinking the fun was yet to come.

Hotel Bourgeois.

Shirlee (and Josh).

Rick and Terri for letting Barrett and I go golfing. I hadn't been since before Henry was born and had almost forgotten how much I like it. We even got to walk around campus afterwards and have lunch in the Cougar Eat just like old times.

Gary. You know who you are. I just cracked myself up thinking that Gary - Austin's buddy who let us sleep on the floor of his condo one night so we wouldn't have to drive back and forth to Salt Lake needlessly - would be reading my blog.

You asked for it, you got it...

2008-09-05T12:44:00.000-07:00

No DNA test needed. Henry is my child. Here are some quotes from him in the last few days to show he has inherited my susceptibility to advertising. He pulls out random things from commercials all the time - these are the few that come to mind at the moment.

"Is there no lingering odor?" To Barrett, who was spraying ants outside with Raid.

Mom singing under breath: "F-R-E-E that spells free"
Henry from behind: "credit report dot com baby"

"Zyrtec is a lot faster than Claritin." (I laugh.) "It keeps working for 24 hours." No context. He walked up to me and that was his opener. Also the TV was off.

Then last night I was watching the RNC and Henry asked if he could watch a movie. I told him not right now, that this was very important and that it's time to decide who the next president will be.

Mom: We're watching this right now.
Henry: What are the choices?
Mom: That is the only choice.
Henry: Just John McCain?

It is so funny to hear my kids know things they shouldn't. I never dreamed Henry knew there was an election, much less who the candidates are, but apparently he's all about the the Maverick.

Ain't Nothing Gonna Break Her Stride

2008-09-03T12:59:00.000-07:00

In case you wondered if Laine would have to relearn how to walk...

Twelve-toed Laine around the time she first started walking (July 26th - Go Laine!):

Ten-toed Laine in casts:

Ten-toed Laine immediately following cast removal:

P.S. I just posted before and after shots of the toes...see below.

She finally fits in (to her shoes).

2008-09-03T11:03:00.000-07:00

Today Laine's casts came off and I saw her feet with "the right number of toes." That's how the surgeon put it. I personally think 12 would be an okay number for toes if only it weren't so darn inconvenient trying to cram them all into shoes built for 10. It was actually pretty nice to not have to worry about trying to keep shoes on her while she had the casts on. Here she is before her appointment this morning.

I thought it'd be a good idea to write down how the surgery went before I forget, so that Laine will know what to expect when she takes her daughter in for her routine toe removal (no, this gene does not only strike females, it just happens to like the girls in my family best).

Laine's surgery was scheduled for early on the morning of August 15th. I was terrified of letting her go under general anesthesia and had nightmares for about two weeks leading up to the big day. Henry got to spend the night at Barrett's parents house Tuesday night, and Wednesday morning Barrett and I woke Laine up to get to the hospital by 6:15am. Laine chattered happily in the car, though as the morning progressed with no bottle or snacks (she couldn't eat for 8 hours before surgery) her enthusiasm waned. The surgery was scheduled for 7:45. While we waited, various doctors and nurses checked Laine out and talked to us. They looked at a rash she had that we thought might delay the surgery and said it was not a problem. They gave Laine some Pepsid for nausea and an oral sedative they called happy juice that was supposed to make it easier to take her away. By 7:45 Laine had figured out that something was off and was pretty nervous and clingy. She screamed when the nurse took her out of my arms in a warm blanket and carried her to the operating room.

I made it until they were out of sight and then crumpled into Barrett and had a good cry before telling myself to "be...strong" and heading out to the waiting room. As we walked out of the room, a nurse saw my red eyes and said "don't worry, she's already out by now." This made me feel sick.

Laine's last night with twelve toes.

Dr. Weinert had told me to expect it to take 45 minutes for each toe, so I figured with prep time and time to sew her up I would wait 2.5 hours before freaking out and making a scene. I sat in the waiting room pretending to read Robinson Crusoe (incidentally, this book took me like a month and a half to get through - not sure why I wasn't that into it, and usually if it's easy for me to put a book down I don't waste my time picking it back up. But Robinson Crusoe is a classic, after all, and I was determined to get through it. I digress). So I had Robinson Crusoe but I kept picturing my baby all opened up on the operating table and I'd tear up all over again. I spent most of the time turned around "looking out the window" so no one would see me cry. Maybe I shouldn't admit what a boob I was, but I was. I was a boob, boobing it big time. After 45 minutes I allowed myself to look at the screen that tells you by number if your child is in the operating room or the recovery room. I knew there wasn't a special code for "in the OR, but something has gone terribly wrong" but I checked anyway.

Only twice did I check before I looked up and saw the surgeon walking towards us. He was the first Dr. I'd seen out there - usually a nurse comes in and says you can go see your child in recovery. I gulped when I saw him, but he was smiling and had just come to tell us the surgery went well and that he thought we would "be pleased." I thought that was funny that he thought we'd be thinking about how her feet were going to look. Maybe it's funny that that has never really been an issue for me. They're just feet. The surgery started promptly at 7:45 and was done by about 8. So speedy, and I was very pleasantly surprised and relieved to have it done.

Home from the hospital, watching the Olympics and chanting "USA!"

Barrett and I were summoned to the recovery room when Laine was already awake and screaming hoarsely (from the breathing tube they put in her throat during surgery). She was obviously out of it, and I hurried to pick her up. She stopped crying as soon as I took her from the nurse. I sat down and the nurse handed me a bottle of glucose water, which Laine started drinking and then fell asleep. That dear nurse let Laine sleep peacefully on my lap for more than an hour even though they probably needed the room, and when we finally woke her up it was clear she felt much better. The nurse wanted to make sure Laine could drink liquids, which she did no problem, and we were free to go. I had asked if Laine could have milk and the wise nurse told me I could give her anything I was willing to clean up, then stole us some milk from the Dr.'s lounge. Laine drank the milk on the way home and had lunch and a nap when we got home. I was surprised how quickly everything just went back to normal - no fever, no change in sleeping or eating habits. It was like Laine took a look at those casts and just figured this was the natural next step to being human.

Getting the casts off was super easy. The nurse zipped them off with a little saw and the doctor came in and said there were no restrictions in her activities and she is good to go. I am relieved to have this whole business behind us and am just as proud of my regular kid as I was my polydactyl.

Before and After (still gunky from the casts)

Right:

Left:
:

First tubbin' in 3 weeks.

McCall 2008; Part II (warning: MANY pictures below)

2008-08-29T19:37:00.000-07:00

Get ready for a lot of pictures from the second half of our trip to McCall.

Laine cried the whole time. She was seriously out of sorts. She took one nap on the boat, and I was thrilled that I could finally relax and read a book on the boat for a while. This is, after all, my favorite McCall activity. I won't embarrass Henry by telling you that as soon as I opened my book he said he had to poop (which requires going up to the cabin), or that once we got back down to the boat I sniffed out that maybe he didn't quite make it the first time so that we had to go back up to the cabin to clean up. That might embarrass Henry so I'll just tell you that I got to relax with Robinson Crusoe.
Despite this accident, Henry definitely gets trip MVP for playing by himself and loving McCall, which made me beam with pride. Laine, on the other hand, spent her time crying for me or trying to drown. If I put her down on the dock, for example, she would crawl over the edge and attempt to lower herself into the lake. If I put her down in the boat she tried to climb out between the boat and dock like this

or this.Once I thought I had the perfect setup. I tethered Laine's yellow blow-up ring to the dock so she could be in the water without me holding her. I thought I could read on a towel right next to her. It took less than five minutes for me to have to jump in the water and pull her out from under the red raft pictured below. She coughed and sputtered and I waited for her to cry, but instead she lunged again for the water. How do you put some fear into your child so they will stop acting like a moron?We were truly so so sad to see everyone leave halfway through our trip, but it was also nice to have some quiet time on the lake with Grandpa Fitz and Grandma Beth.

Going to Ice Cream Alley.Eating their ice cream on the boat.

Henry said he wanted to try tubing. Sadly the tube filled with water and started to go under as soon as the boat started to move. This freaked Henry out of his mind.My dad watched Laine scream for four days and then offered to babysit her anyway while Henry and I picked huckleberries. It was so nice to spend some time loving my Henry, who was such a sport about being largely ignored by me. We returned to find Laine out cold after screaming her guts out while my dad read her Three Cups of Tea.
Does your 88 year old grandmother set her hair and then put on bright pink lipstick before her morning hike? Mine does.

Laine finally started to relax the last day or so of our trip. Listening to the banjo:

Like mother like son.

Double thumbs up to a good time in McCall.

McCall 2008 Part I: Cousins

2008-08-28T11:55:00.000-07:00

This year I took the kids to McCall by myself again, but at least I had the brains to fly this time. I tried to overlap with all my siblings and their kids but ended up only having a few days there with the Wonnacotts, the Fitzwaters, and Schuyler, and missing the Pancheris and Aryn altogether. I don't know what it is about McCall, but every minute I spend there I feel life seeping back into me where I didn't know it was lacking. Is that weird to feel more and less whole at the same time? Laine let me put her down for about 3.5 minutes total (and screamed for their duration), but it was completely worth it to get a start on giving my kids the feeling of ownership and homeness that I've enjoyed in McCall for 28 years.
I finally got to meet Brady and Catherine's Cal...What. A. Doll.

Laine and Cal.

Henry and Miles began a club. It was not exclusive, and the membership list Miles kept included such names as Bear and Cow (Bair and Cal).
Miles, Paige, Henry, and Bair hunting minnows with Grandpa Fitz. I laughed to see I didn't get many good pictures of Paige because they are all literally just flashes of yellow hair. She is one on the go girl.
Henry and Miles with various weapons: a bow and arrow and a supersoaker.

Miles took Laine on a ride after the very astute observation "you look like you're out of gas, baby girl."

Henry and Bair were fast friends.

Grandma and her Fitzwater boys (minus my dad and Uncle Scott).

Henry and Brady.

Courtney and Raelynn.

I love my McCall.

2008-08-18T17:18:00.000-07:00

We have LOTS going on right now, and our computer battery pooped out and then took a couple of weeks to replace, but today I'm back and in the process of uploading 938 pictures and videos from my camera while I attempt to catch up on all of your lovely blogs. Not to worry, I won't be posting 938 pictures. At least not right now. Where to start? How about here:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HENRY!!!

Henry turned four on August Fifth and had the best kind of birthday - one that spans eight days and three cities in two states and takes very minimal planning on Mom's part. Here are 1) his last picture at age three before going to bed (in McCall - more to come), and 2) his first picture at age four, just sitting down to an ice cream and marshmallow breakfast before getting on the plane to go home.

Over the next week he opened some presents in the mail and from us - like this big boy sleeping bag, just in time for Barrett's mom's family reunion...camping in Santa Barbara (more to come).Barrett's parents took him to a toy store to pick out a gift - he saw this boogie board and got tunnel vision...wouldn't let his Gramps and Grams buy him anything else (even additionally).

I was prepared to have a party with Henry's buddies from church and school, but every time I asked who he wanted to invite I got this response:

H: Grandpa.

Me: Who else?

H: Me.

Me: Anyone else?

H: No.

Sometimes he threw Barrett's mom and various siblings into the mix, and once he requested his Uncle Oliver in Las Vegas, but other than that it was a pretty standard list. I love first children like Henry - he still doesn't know what Chuck E. Cheese's is, and I intend to keep it that way for as long as possible. So for the grand finale to Henry's birthday extravaganza we brought Star Wars balloons, plates, masks, etc. to Barrett's parents' house, ate cake and ice cream, and opened the presents Henry hadn't opened or found yet.

Looking content with his cake.

Looking cross-eyed at her cake.

Then we did Henry's favorite thing of all and left him there overnight, since Laine's surgery was early the next morning (went well - more to come).

My boy is four. How is that possible? With every passing day I realize how lucky we are to have him here, as healthy and as sweet as a little boy can be. Laine has yet to find out about the word "mine" because her brother does not use it at her. I know every parent says this about their kid, but Henry is truly hilarious - just this minute he jumped up from a somersault, leaned back and put two thumbs up, saying "ha ha...yeah." But not excited, more like the Fonz would say it. Real smooth. Then he looked at me and said "I won Mom. I won a fair square." He is a joy to everyone who knows him, and there are not enough words that I'm good at using to communicate how much I love my handsome little man.

We love you Hanky Pank. Happy Birthday, big buddy.

the watervan

2008-07-17T16:07:00.000-07:00

I have been terrible about blogging lately. Awful. You heard it first from me. I don't know if it's because there's too much going on, or nothing going on, or if it's because I don't look good blogging. Barrett used to ask me what was wrong when I was writing a post. He said I looked angry. Now I'll sit composing my next post in my head (which will never get written, by the way, they never do) and Barrett will say "you have blogging face." I think the real reasons for my vacation from www are twofold: 1) I am too lazy; and 2) blogging makes me ignore my kids and my obligations the same way reading does, and I'd rather be reading. Which is why I don't read or blog like I'd like to. Guess it's time I got back into the habit.

So we bought a car. A real live grown up one that nobody gave us for free. I never thought I would hear myself say the words "I love my minivan" in that order and all in the same sentence. Barrett's cousin works for a dealer and got it at a steal for us at a dealer's auction. If you are looking to make such a purchase, I highly recommend the Toyota Sienna. Roomy and attractive (for a minivan), and handles like a dream. My friend David would say it turns on a dime and gives you nine cents change. It seats eight in case you plan on siring a basketball team, and we plan on using and abusing it well into Henry's teenage years.
To celebrate our purchase, Barrett and I jumped up in the air with our knees bent and our arms raised high the way people used to celebrate buying a Toyota on TV when I was a kid. Laine and Henry jumped like that too when we got a 13" screen installed for them to watch movies on trips. I just laughed out loud at the thought of Laine, who still refuses to walk without help, doing a Toyota jump.

Speaking of Laine, and as a side note, toes 6 and 12 come off next month. I am (terrified and) desperate to document them as well as possible before they leave us for toe heaven (they have been very good toes, after all). Actually I think they have to go to the lab, though what role they will play there I can't say. Anyway, we've got molds of the toes, pictures of the toes, footprints...suggestions anyone?

Why the Fourth of July is my favorite

2008-07-08T10:35:00.001-07:00

Red, white, and blue.

Fireworks. Laine loved them. She kept reaching out to grab them. Henry took a minute warming up to the noise and then enjoyed the show.

Family.

America. It seems that as my sentimental old heart gets older it gets more sentimental. While the rest of the congregation is singing America the Beautiful in church, I am blinking furiously so as not to start weeping. I get through the first two verses okay, and unfailingly when I have to start singing about soldiers I lose it. This is embarrassing, because I'm not too good at getting misty eyed. Either I win the fight against the tears or they have to run their course and I find a place to sit alone and boob for a while. I guess I am just more capable of understanding the sacrifices that good men and women I don't even know have made to protect my family's safety and happiness. God bless the USA!

Let Freedom Ring

2008-07-04T22:26:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th, to one and all!

Two

2008-06-12T20:24:00.001-07:00

2. Just look at these babies. The baby in pink belongs to one of my best friends since kindergarten, Adriane (awesome that I can say ONE of my best friends since kindergarten). Adriane and Jamie live in Colorado, so I love that their baby came to be pictured with my baby at a Chilis in San Diego wearing tutus. Adriane and Jamie came to San Diego where Jamie ran a marathon (go Jim!). I know Adriane is still my girlfriend because when she called from San Diego to plan a rendezvous, I was in the middle of randomly making a tutu. She was shocked and delighted, having randomly made a tutu only days before - a tutu that flew with her to San Diego. I packed up Laine's new tutu and white strappy tank and that's when the magic happened. What's more is that Adriane actually knew what she was doing when she made her tutu (instead of winging it like me), and with her instructions I'm well on my way to a respectable tutu collection for my princess.