and now for my final TRICK: 12/01/2011

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Funny Story

Oh, Ian....

Not sure if these billboards are everywhere, but here in Denver these have been popping up everywhere.

One Saturday afternoon we were cruising along Sheridan Boulevard and Ian shakes his head at the billboard.

I am all, "What?"

Ian says, "I have to go to that website and find out what that is all about."

Forehead furrowed in confusion, I said, "What, Mormonism?"

6 second pause, then I actually see the light bulb go off above his head.

"OOOHHHHHH, Mormon....not Moron."

Jeesh

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Christmas Wishes

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2011 Christmas Card

2011 Family letter

Friday, December 16, 2011

The party was last Saturday and after his crying fit when 5 of us sang Happy Birthday to Everett, we were a bit nervous about what a big party would do to him. We tried to keep it as small as possible and I really think it worked, he had a BLAST!

We had a train theme-surprise, surprise. I made a big felt train for the kids to play with, take apart, and put back together.

The goodie bags were in an old suitcase and everyone got a conductor hat and train whistle.

I also got super sappy and printed out about 50 photos of Everett and strung them as banners all over the house (they are still up-he is too cute to take down).

I used Nichole's train puzzle cake cupcake kit and made a cute cake.

The table was covered with black paper and we drew trains with chalk...in between eating of course.

So no singing was allowed and everything went smoothly. Jeeze, Ev is Mr. Sensitive!

We {heart} you buddy!

Monday, December 12, 2011

A 3 Year Old

"Scoutie my best friend. take our picture, Mommy!"

Not sure how it can be that little man is 3. The blink of an eye and he is a kid. However, he definitely still has some toddler tendencies...and is a BIG mama's boy. Mr. Sensitive really enjoyed his birthday at our family dinner on December 7th.

He really did have a nice day though. At school the kids made him a GIANT heart card with all of their hand prints on it and he proudly hung it on the living room wall. He had an entire bag of pistachios (his FAVE) for a snack, enjoyed a very messy spaghetti dinner (also a fave), and went nuts with his new trains.

This is my absolute favorite photo and it captures him so well.

Thanks for the great photo shoot Nichole and this little gem is also on our Christmas cards this year! Like his long messy hair? Me too! Well guess what, I "accidentally" cut it off:( I was cutting Ian's hair and Ev jumped into the seat and demanded, "cut my hair!" On a whim I did, so not like me, and now I am waiting for it to grow again. I feel like he just doesn't look like him with the short hair.

Dear Everett,

"Ohhhhh Everett," I say that a lot these days. You have endless energy, and are a 3 year old boy to nth degree. You scream, jump, pounce, run, destroy, annihilate, and are a little tornado. You go from elation to despair in seconds when someone moves your train track or you discover your juice cup is empty. Your main mission in life is to torture Holden and make her crazy. But at the end of the day you are really just in love with her.

Photo Credit: Ian Hanou

You are a sensitive, sweet, and unbelievable cuddly and loving boy. You adore being smothered with kisses and give the fiercest hugs and snuggles imaginable. You always say, "come snuggle me, please snuggle me mommy." You sleep with your trains, train tracks, and your Frog and Toad hardback book. You "read" to me every day and will talk for hours. The boy who didn't talk forever is now a verbal machine.

Just lounging on the arm of the couch

"Tine Up"= Time Out

"pasgheti" = spaghetti
"What are we going to DOOOOOO?'
"Chase me!" (197 times each day)
"Get cozy with me."
"blanklet"-blanket

The cutest is- Instead of "I" you always say "my."

"My uv (love) you."

Who wants a treat? "My do!"

"My want pink gum"

Man, I love you kid...you wear me out! But I couldn't possibly love you more...especially now that you are potty trained!

Recent Reads

Honolulu by Alan Brennert- 4 Stars
A lovely tale told by a Korean woman who came to America as a "picture bride." We learn of her challenging and oppressive childhood in Korea, her journey away from all she knew, learning the new culture in Hawaii, escaping an abusive husband, becoming an entrepreneur, finding love, becoming a mother, and living a fulfilling life. I previously read Molokai by the same author and loved it, which is why I snatched this one up as soon as I heard of it. I think I enjoyed this one even more! The writing is smooth and easy, the tales are gripping, and the experiences are harrowing which keep you wanting more of this woman's incredible story.

The Book of Awesome by Neil Pasricha- 2 1/2 stars
This book is a collection of vignettes celebrating the awesome things in life. The cold side of your pillow on a hot night, finding money in your coat pocket, popping bubble wrap, when cashiers open up a new line at the grocery store, and watching Price is Right when you were home sick from school. This guy also has a blog where people can submit more awesomness. It was fun to read, but not as great as I was hoping. I will probably read his blog though, because he is pretty witty and definitely made me chuckle and remember to appreciate the small things in life.

Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson- 3 stars
PAGE TURNER! I read this in 1 1/2 days. The story begins with a woman waking up in a bed, next to a man, in a house and she recognizes none of it. Over the next few minutes she learns that she has amnesia and every night when she goes to be she forgets most of her life. She begins working with a psychiatrist who convinces her to write in a journal, so she can reread it each morning and hopefully begin to build memories. The mysteries of how she ended up in this condition and her relationships with friends and loved ones kept me on the edge of my seat.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet - 4 1/2 Stars
Another winner here folks. This book was AWESOME (and a bit shorter than Cutting for Stone). This was a new perspective on World War II for me. The story follows a boy growing up in a Chinese household in Seattle during the war. He befriends a Japanese girl, which is STRICTLY forbidden by his domineering and emotionless father. He realizes he is in love with her just as her family is removed to a Japanese Internment camp for the remainder of the war. The stay in touch through letters and his enormous risks to visit her . I don't want to give away any more, but you simply HAVE to read this book. The relationships between the children and their families and even the public during these war years was an interesting perspective for me. The twists and turns kept me up till midnight and the ending was wonderful!

Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese- 5 Stars
Oh my! I LOVED LOVED LOVED it. It was long and delicious and I did not want it to end. The premise is a nun working at a clinic in Ethiopia dies while giving birth to twin boys. The story explores the people and relationships in these boys' lives through the eyes of Marion, one of the twins. He grows up in the clinic in Ethiopia with amazing adoptive parents who were friends with his parents and gives us a taste of the culture, food, and everyday life of an Ethiopian. He heads to America to pursue a medical career and his birth father. We read this for book club and had wonderful and rich discussions...I wish there was a part 2!

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton- 3 stars
This was pretty darn good. It took me about 100 pages to really get into it and the ending was a bit too quick, neat, and tidy. But not nearly as terrible as the ending of Handle with Care by Jodi Piccoult (I threw that book across the room and into a wall as I read the last word). I was hooked and couldn't stop myself once I was into it. It was a book club choice and there was more discussion than I remember in 3 years of book club. We were talking over each other and jumping into other conversations. I couldn't even keep up. This story centered around the lives of three sisters who grew up in a castle in England from World War II to the present. They had an eccentric family and extremely odd and famous author father. The mysteries weave through history and the walls of the castle, revealing themselves to the woman chosen to write a piece about the famed play written by the father. It was very good and I would highly recommend it.