california kids in 25-degree weather...

last less than half an hour.

it's christmas time, so we decided to "go see snow." i know, it sounds ridiculous. and it kind of was. but anyway, here we have reed in the same snow clothes he wore two years ago when we went to utah for christmas. they were a bit snug. i couldn't stop laughing whenever i looked at him. max and dean are on the left in the back.

this picture is rather deceptive. brynn looks almost happy in this shot. she was most displeased that we would bring her outside in such appalling temperatures.

see my hand? i don't think i could feel it. also, be glad you cannot hear brynn.

max the snow ninja

this is how reed spent most of his time. he had a really hard time moving in his snow pants that were made for an 18-month-old. while he was down, he would usually snack on a little snow. then, "mom, help!"

the adventurers. max wrote a book about it after we got home.

again, be glad there is no sound with these pictures. by now about 15 minutes have elapsed since we got everybody dressed for the snow, and reed and brynn (and mommy) are done.

"m-mom, it's t-too c-coooooold!"
"my hot chocolate spilled in the snooooooooooow"

okay, boys. say, "i'm warm!" (turns out our car has a heating function that magically changes the mood of our children!)

then troy turned on us.

and so did dean.

but we were safe in the car. best snowball fight ever.

oh, you rascals. :)

so. let's take stock of how we spent our time today.
driving to the snow: 120 minutes
donning gear: 15 minutes
actually playing outside in the snow: 20 minutes
weeping and wailing about the cold: at least 15 minutes
removing gear: 10 minutes
driving home from the snow: 140 minutes (there was traffic)

i'm not saying it wasn't worth it. and dean has really toughened up. last time we went to the snow he was the first to break down, i think. and once everybody was warm, they reported a really awesome time in the snow. also, the drive down the mountain sounded like a roller coaster ride! we'll probably do it again next year. :) 

the best part was that i got a NAP when we got home! troy is the best husband ever. he even fed brynn a bottle so he wouldn't have to disturb me. 

merry christmas!

butterfly reserve and the sticks

here's how we spent the second half of our day in santa barbara. see? i told you linda was there! here we are before taking the trail to the butterfly reserve.

isn't the sunlight glorious? that's max on the left. he found his stick. it will figure prominently later.

the boys are looking up at the butterflies. troy told them it was best to look straight up.

and here is what they were looking at. those dark clumps are all monarch butterflies, hanging out here for the winter.

you can see better that they are butterflies as opposed to dead leaves here.

this one was all by itself, and right next to you on the trail. we walked right by it at first. i love the sun shining through its wings. good shot, troy!

say, "butterflies!"

here's dean, looking epic.

max requested that troy take a picture of his stick.

and then, so did dean.

here's max looking epic. with his stick.

reed didn't want to be left out.

dean tried to drive home. maybe when your feet can touch the pedals, pal. :)

santa barbara mission

https://picasaweb.google.com/107208655884324651674/SantaBarbaraMission?authkey=Gv1sRgCOfG-siN9onICg

we finally made it to santa barbara to visit troy's aunt linda (who, for some reason, is not included in the pictures, but she really was there--see next post about the butterflies). we met linda at the mission, and then everybody waited around so i could feed the baby (hence the Heroic Entrance of Mom picture).

there was a lovely creche outside the mission on the lawn with live animals--and no baby Jesus. linda said they don't leave him out in the manger because he has disappeared in times past.

the cactus are in the courtyard inside the mission. aren't they beautiful? :)

i've been on a mission kick lately. i have seen signs for historic missions on the freeway for years and we're finally going to see them. we went to see the san gabriel mission a couple weeks ago (but forgot the camera). turns out "mission style" architecture is pretty faithful to actual missions. the cool thing about the missions we've seen so far is that they are currently functioning churches. it's fun to see california history. :)

Dean and Max worked together to build a "Concert" one day last week. 

A diverse crowd including off-duty clone troopers, robots, and a short-legged dude.

That's Dean at the guitar.

We had to lift the roof to get a good look at Max's drums and Reed on the cello.

I love crowded events!

I went to Dean's school concert today. Each grade sang a holiday song. I got there maybe 3 minutes before it was set to start, and this was my view. Can you see anything? Me neither. It made it feel really necessary to leave right after you watched your kid perform, so you could make room for other parents to see theirs. Awesome.

After many excuse-mes, someone to hold my baby, and one eye on Reed who was trying to escape, I found where Dean was sitting.

It's time for the second-graders to take the stage! I'm close enough! Surely he will see me! I'm yelling his name by now. But no.

See that girl in the red-and-green striped hat? She finally tapped Dean on the shoulder and said, "your mom is waving to you!" Thanks, Dean's friend! This shot makes the whole trip worth it.

And there he is on stage (sort of). They sang a variation on "I know an old lady who swallowed a fly," called, "I know an old lady who swallowed a bell." There were groups of kids holding things like bells, bows, gifts, a sack, a sleigh, and they would hold them up at the appropriate time. And then the principal, wearing a Santa hat, appeared and said, "ho, ho, ho!" but I kind of lost the words at the end. The kids were in charge of the song by then. (I'll have to get the words and post them. I'm curious now.)

(At Dean's old school, the kids perform for each other on one day as kind of a dress rehearsal. Then they perform for the parents, and the kids just come in when it's their turn, perform, and then head back to class. Sometimes that makes for a longish wait between acts, but at least the parents have a place to sit. I said something to that effect to the lady next to me and she suggested I chair the event next year!)

That is how I spent my morning. Also, I parked in a permit-only zone out of desperation. But wouldn't you know it? No ticket! It was a Christmas miracle! So the whole venture cost less that $65! (yes, I know the amount you get fined for parking in a no-parking zone. That is all I will say about that.)

I wonder what the third-graders did...

our christmas tree!

Here are my precious little gifts under our newly decorated Christmas tree. Yes, it was this week--December 12--that we finally had it up, straight, and decorated. We had things going on!

Dean, and his newly perfected "I'm-getting-my-picture-taken" smile.

Max dubbed one ornament "planet Max." You can't see which one he's holding, but I think that is what is going on here. He found it on the floor and had to have it just so.

This is an ornament Dean made in school, "so long ago," according to him. I love seven-year-old nostalgia. :)

Merry Christmas, everyone!

the tally

number of items i found actually in the laundry basket: 5
number of items i found on the floor or in the closet of dean's room: 15
number of items i found full of *poop that had molded, necessitating their removal from our house: 3

i love laundry day.

*this poopy group of items was hidden in the laundry basket, not by my almost-five-year-old, who gets my wrath every time he poops in the wrong place, but by my seven-year-old, who is going to hear it from me when he gets home from school today. hope he's saving up for a new pair of shorts.

airing of grievances

dear person in charge of mandating lo-flow toilets:

is it really more environmentally responsible to make people flush FIVE TIMES and STILL have poop stuck in the toilet? why are we gently cajoling our waste to the sewer and letting it stay if it doesn't want to go right now? i'm not worried about the self-esteem of the lump of waste that is making itself comfortable in my toilet right now.

i thought part of the point of having indoor plumbing was making the gross stuff disappear--on the first flush--so the bathroom doesn't smell. and not attracting flies. and being all sanitary and stuff.

i just wanted you to know that, thanks to you, i'm "saving the environment," one gratuitous flush at a time.

poopocalypse

lest ye think that everything is peaches and cream around here all the time, let me tell you about my night. dean and i were on our way back to the car after piano lessons. i called troy to find out how things were going at home, to gauge whether we could afford a little trip to mcd's. troy said, roughly, "there's been a disaster. max exploded. and i don't have the constitution to clean it up. i need your help." he had stayed home from work today because his constitution was compromised.

our trip to mcdonald's became a drive-thru visit, and we got home as quickly as we could. i told dean to stay outside with his ice cream so his brothers wouldn't be jealous, said hi to troy, and then headed upstairs to assess the damage. i don't have pictures to post of this event (you're welcome), but it was a doozy. as my pile of wipes began to grow, i re-vowed to myself that i will never, EVER have a dog in the house.

max was in the bathtub, directing my efforts, and making observations like, "mom, when i make a toot in the bathtub, it makes a bubble!" and, "i made a poop trail." how i love raising boys.

strength training

since giving birth for the fourth time, my body has shown signs of weakness (go figure). my back goes out with the slightest provocation. one morning i had to ask for assistance putting my pants on--too much bending and twisting, i guess. anyway, the pain finally prompted troy to find me some back exercises. they have helped tremendously even in the short time since that morning i couldn't get dressed by myself.

well i don't have them all memorized yet, so i needed someone to read through them for me the other day. troy was gone, so dean was my only choice if i didn't want to read them myself. i got the website i wanted and handed my laptop to dean. max was on the floor with me--he wanted to do them too.

watching max attempt to pull his legs onto his chest was quite hilarious. he kept grunting, and had a hard time reaching under his legs for some reason. by the time we were pulling both legs up, we were both laughing so hard that i could hardly do it myself.

then we came to the exercise where you lift up your backside to make a straight line from your knees to you shoulders. i had to hold the position for three deep breaths, then relax and do it again. well it was just too tempting: before i knew it, i had two boys dive rolling under me while i tried to take three deep breaths. so relaxing. i counted my breaths aloud so they knew when the drawbridge was closing. it was the source of much drama. ("max! hurry! the bridge is coming down!" "dean! i can't make it!")

then dean got creative with his reading. he started editorializing on the descriptions of the cat stretch: "Position yourself on your hands and knees. Very slowly, act like a baby." dean and max were overcome with giggles. max ended up under me as i did the "cat stretch," which involves sagging one's back and then arching it like a cat's. i sagged enough that my tummy touched him every time. another wave of giggles ensued.

it was quite the event. i don't know how much actual stretching or strengthening went on, but we sure had fun. it's refreshing to just be silly with my boys sometimes.

sweet children

there are things i don't want to remember about this time in my life. most of those stories are starring a recurring character called Monster Mom, who steps in when Well Rested Mom or Patient Mom takes a break. the thing is, i will remember those stories with great clarity. i just don't want to share them.
but there are some things i do want to remember, and i know i will forget them if i don't record them somewhere. and rather than try to keep them all in my head and write a big long post, i've decided to just write down whatever i remember right now and post it. there's a better chance that i'll post something this way.
so here's one that comes to mind:

the other day, i went into max and reed's room while brynn was sleeping to see what they were up to. i ended up lying down on the vacant bunk bed.

reed: mom, are you taking a nap?
me: yes, i'm taking a nap. i'm very tired.

max climbs up to his bed, throws down his quilt, climbs down, and puts his quilt on top of me.

max: mom, do you need a blanket?
me: thank you max! you got me your blanket from your bed?
max: yeah. i just want to make sure you're warm for your nap.

reed sits next to me on the bed with a book.

reed: mommy, do you want me to read you a story?
me: yes please.
reed: once upon a time, there was a good knight. and he went to the park, and played on the slide, and the swings, and he went to church, and went to primary. the end.

at this point, i had to look at what book had such a similar plot to his life. it was a book about a motorcycle policeman named max. go figure.

me: thanks for reading to me, reed. do you want to read me another book?
reed, in his best mom voice: no, not right now. you go to sleep, mommy.

they take such good care of me. :)
and then they left me alone!
i think i got to sleep for a good 20 minutes before we had to go pick up dean from school.

birthday boys

 

 

very funny, dad! i think i can handle a bigger piece than that!

 

 

happy birthday, troy and dean! hope you like your biggest present this year--the baby. :)

...and here she is!

 

 

 

brynn mei
born: 1 july 2011 at 12:54 am
weight: 8 lbs
length: 20 in

 

 

 

 

her big brothers still adore her after two whole weeks. we're all adjusting pretty well to the new addition, although "normal life" hasn't really begun in earnest yet. we'll see how things go when i'm the only adult in the house with all the little people. :)

a little late...

 

certain of you asked me for a "belly picture," and so i'm giving it to you. this was taken on my birthday, june 9, roughly four weeks before the baby was born. does it count as a belly picture if i am no longer pregnant when i post it?

an update

well folks, it's been a while, as usual. i thought it might be time for an update. biggest news: we moved to a lovely house with lots of space and a yard. and it's ours. other biggest news: we're having a baby girl next month.

troy is still happy in his job at google--and will continue to be happy for at least the next five years (remember how we just bought a house?). his main complaint is too many meetings and not enough coding. and short weeks are rough, such as the week of memorial day...

my belly continues to grow, and the baby (a girl!) continues to be very active, especially when i am winding down. although, to be fair, i feel like winding down several times in a day. i hit the five-week mark today, but no guarantees. i just hope she doesn't come on the seventh--anytime after that would be fine with me (dean, troy, and troy's dad were all born on the 7th). i'm due on the 9th.

the kids are growing and becoming their own little selves. dean is almost done with his first grade year. we switched schools when we moved, and it turned out just fine. he came home from his first day and said, "everyone is my friend, mom!" so that was a big relief. in fact, when we went to the school openhouse, a couple of moms were excited to meet "dean's mom" because their kids talked about him all the time. so apparently he's quite the big man on campus. for that openhouse, dean had to be in costume. his class has been learning about the rain forest, and everyone had picked an animal to write a report on. dean picked a gecko. good thing it's so close to halloween and we could just buy a ready-made gecko costume... here are some pictures of him in his awesome costume: https://picasaweb.google.com/kmaurine/20110527TheGecko?authkey=Gv1sRgCL6D-IvM9OeBXQ#5611548470943289394 mostly, i was glad that it was acceptable to him. my friend came and helped me make all the pieces the night before. gotta love parent-homework. :) also new in dean's life is a piano teacher. we've had a few lessons now, and so far it's "soo boring--why can't i play the guitar?" i think we've made some strides this week though (getting him to actually practice two days in a row may have something to do with that), so we'll see how far we get. i've heard the music program at his new school is pretty great, so he may decide to branch out in a couple years. meanwhile, we're twinkling little stars on the piano.

max continues to prompt bursts of laughter from his mother. he came inside one morning recently, shortly after attending a pirate-themed birthday party, looking like this: https://picasaweb.google.com/kmaurine/20110505EasterAndEarlyMay?authkey=Gv1sRgCNDaut6vnIXlLg#5614953664350700706 good thing he's around to protect me from bad guys. whew! also new on the max behavior list is hiding himself in dark places so he can snack in peace. two nights ago i was downstairs talking to troy when i noticed a tortilla chip peeking out from under the door of the closet under the stairs. i didn't remember it peeking out five minutes before. i thought that was odd because the light wasn't on in there, but i opened the door anyway, and there was max, chillin' in the dark with a bag of tortilla chips he had filched from the kitchen. it was one of those he-probably-should-be-scolded-but-it's-too-funny-not-to-laugh moments. any advice on how to laugh later? it was just such a surprise! anyway, he has another year before kindergarten since his birthday is in january, and dean is excited to be a third-grader when his little brother joins him at school.

reed is a charmer. everywhere we go, he says, "hi," to people, often several times until they realize he's speaking to them. but he always gets a warm response from people. i've gotten so used to it that i wonder why nobody looks at me when i'm out without the kids. he seems to be pretty empathetic for a two-year-old. today at church a lady was speaking and got emotional, and reed said, "oh, i'm sorry!" in response. he has to wear his shoes all the time, so he's ready to go at a moment's notice. just in case it's time to go to the park, you know. he likes to share--most of the time--and lately i've been encouraged at how he treats other people's babies. i don't know how he'll respond when he realizes our baby will not be leaving and may even compete for toys someday, but he's very gentle with them right now, and will go get a toy when he sees a baby crying. here's a current picture of reed, to be fair:

https://picasaweb.google.com/kmaurine/20110505EasterAndEarlyMay?authkey=Gv1sRgCNDaut6vnIXlLg#5614966467562698418

that's not to say that i'm not utterly spent by the end of every day. or that all three of the angelic creatures i've just described aren't likely to be running wild, screaming, spreading dirt and destruction. their favorite games to play now involve guns, good guys and bad guys, bows and arrows, tanks, terrorists, aliens, and mostly lots of screaming. so you can imagine how quiet and peaceful it is pretty regularly at our house. but now i can send them outside and have a minute to myself before someone comes in with a scrape or a grievance. they do play together well, whether it's a crazy running game outside or legos in someone's bedroom (hopefully not mine), and we have a mostly harmonious home life, for which i am very grateful. time to add more chaos to the mix! bring on the baby!

this feels more like a christmas letter than a regular update kind of thing, but i guess that's about how regularly i've been updating. sorry about that. mostly our summer plans are: have a baby, and then get used to having a baby again. the end. i'm looking forward to seeing my mom when she comes out to help with the kids and the new baby, and troy's sister is coming for a couple days, and then his mom and dad will be here to see the baby and help out. so we're excited! lots of changes in the walker family this year.

moving day!

well, folks, it's finally happened. we bought a house. and yesterday, we moved in.

hooray!

status so far:

the downstairs is looking pretty good. kitchen, dining and family rooms are functional, and we lack the furniture for the living room (so excited for a new couch!)

the boys' room is slowly getting less treacherous for those of us carrying a basketball around the middle.

our new washer and dryer are getting a workout (i keep finding more pee-soaked items to wash).

there are empty shelves in the kitchen cupboards, and i think we have unpacked all the kitchen stuff. whoa.

so we're probably halfway done with the unpacking, and troy is going back to work tomorrow, having rebuilt a bunkbed and crib, and unpacked and found homes for countless items in the kitchen. good head start! pictures when it looks presentable (after i find the camera).

thank you. that is all.

the many beards of santa

we found max in his bed, under the covers. at 6:15 pm. anytime a kid is voluntarily in his bed before bedtime is an occasion for further investigation.

me: are you going to sleep?

max: no, i'm just relaxing and thinking.

me: relaxing and thinking?

max: yeah. i'm thinking what santa looks like.

troy: does santa have a brown beard?

max: no, he has a white beard! a white beard on his shirt. and he has a white beard on his hat.

since we last left our heroes

many things have happened. i think it all kind of started when we discovered that baby #4 will be joining us in july (no, it was not a surprise, and yes, we are finally having a girl:), necessitating a bigger place to live.

this bit of news brought up The Big Question (TBQ) about where exactly we would be settling down in our bigger place to live (i.e., somewhere with more than one bathroom and a kitchen that would admit more than one person at a time--oh, and at least another bedroom, and a yard). then troy got a raise, which broadened our search to include (much to my dismay at the time) our current neck of the woods. so before actually answering TBQ, i started looking around here, sort of half-heartedly, but with a realtor, so sort of seriously too. i say half-heartedly because i was holding out for exiting the golden state in favor of greener (read: cheaper, more seasonal) pastures. friends of ours (who also work for google) recently moved to Colorado and have found it to perfectly suit their needs and desires. we went to visit them sans fils (thanks to a well-timed visit from Grandma Corinne--you're the best!) and came home feeling that, while our friends' move to CO was the perfect thing for them, it was not the perfect thing for us at this juncture.

so that's how we spent january--looking for a house. in february, we found a house, made an offer, got accepted, and then proceeded to agonize over a lender, choose a lender, and sign at least 4,000 documents (i wish i were exaggerating more). we closed escrow on time, and this month we've been making arrangements for the move, and now moving day is almost upon us! we are scheduled to move on tuesday next.

meanwhile, we're still living our lives and enjoying the cuteness that belongs to parenthood. reed is our greeter. he says, "hi!" and "bye!" to everyone we pass--he even asks me to open his window so he can say hi to people as we're driving. he talks and sings all the time. my favorite is when he leaves my room, closing the door as he leaves, and says, "goo' night, mommy. i yeh you!" (in case that was too cryptic: "good night, mommy. i love you!") this is in the middle of the day, and sometimes while he is still eating his breakfast.

max has become something of a philosopher over the past few months. he really thinks about things, and then lets us in on his process.

this morning max said, "is it morning?"

"yes, it's morning."

"yeah, it's not time for dessert."

other funny max quotes that come to mind: "mom, when something is too hot, i lose my muscles."

"are these sunday socks?"

"no, sunday socks are dark."

"yeah, these are my wednesday socks! they give me running power!"

in case you didn't already know, max is a superhero. he zooms around with his complex lego creations (usually spaceships), singing his theme music (usually star wars), complete with sound effects. he even dreams it. i hear him in the middle of the night making light saber noises or some other kind of dramatic sound. here is a kid who has no trouble entertaining himself. :) he is also very aware of his brothers. he always wants to save part of his snacks for dean when he comes home from school, which i find very sweet.

dean is coming to grips with switching schools and houses, but had a total breakdown when we initially told him we were moving. he is reading like a pro now, even in the scriptures. his current obsession is a computer game that is amazingly motivating. he gets to play in the morning before school if he can get all ready beforehand. and for the past few weeks, he has been ready to go to school, shoes on, teeth brushed, bag packed, by 7:20 (go time is 8:00). he also knows how to start a load of laundry. he's turning into quite the big man.

next week dean will start formal piano lessons with a lady in our ward. he showed interest in playing and Grandma Corinne taught him some while troy and i were in CO, and since then i've tried to give him a lesson or two, but he rolls his eyes and sighs a lot, and nothing i say seems to change anything, so i figure we'll give it a shot with a third party and see how he does.

baby #4 is treating me well, but i'm really grateful that we are hiring movers this time to pack us. my back gives out at the slightest provocation. the boys have gotten really good at leaving me alone when i tell them i need to lie down. i just have to deal with differing levels of destruction when i emerge. troy is happy at work. his boss is thrilled that we're staying in the area. we will see where our final destination takes us. :)