Family Vacation 2009

I know... it's been a while. It's a long story so let's skip it! Here are some photos from our family vacation last week to California. We loved Sea World!! Lots of fun kid rides and animals. Allie's favorite was the penguins, we went through 3 times! Here we are in a polar bear cave! We tease Allie about being a "polar bear" like her dad because they both seem to be impervious to cold! It was very icy and chilly in the cave! Cooper and I had to hurry out!

They had a pet show and all kinds of animals at Sea World... the kids loved it! They had Clydesdale horses which were a big hit with the kids, here we are as a family



We also went to Disneyland and California Adventures. Lots of fun for the younger two, not so much for Chelsie! Here's Allie with Woody. She LOVED the Toy Story ride! So did Cooper!! Again, not so much for Chelsie.

We did Disneyland for two days. There was so much excitement and stuff to see that Cooper was exhausted!! Here's a funny photo of him completely zonked out, face down!! The only way to get him to rest was to immobilize him and put him in the back pack! It worked great, but he is heavy!! Lugging that kid around for 2 hours on my back, pushing Chelsie around in her wheelchair... what a workout!!! Looks like I need a nap too!

We didn't get to the beach as often as we had hoped, but it was still a good time!

Zip Your Prograsity...

Yep, that's right folks! That's what I got told by my four year old. "Mom, you need to zip your prograsity"!! What does it mean exactly? I haven't really figured that out yet, but I think it has to do with my occasional cranky attitude! She likes to make up words, and they make sense to her! The other day we were at Grandma Crockett's house playing in the pool. She sprinkled some water on Grandma's hand and told her that was going to "geminate" her hand. What does geminate mean? Apparently it means that if she sprinkles the water on your hand, your fingers disappear! She also likes to make up words in Spanish. When I tell her the correct way to say something in Spanish, she tells me I'm wrong and continues to use her word! She's a funny kid!

It begins in preschool...

Allie is so excited to be in school. She was ready for preschool last year, but there were some things I didn't want her to learn yet. Sure enough... it's begun. Yesterday as I was making dinner she said, "Mom, you know what Grace Cutler said to me while we were waiting in line for History? She said- 'you're kind of fat' to me". "How did that make you feel?" I asked. "Not very good" was Allie's response. On a funnier note, a couple days ago Jack Ownen (she has two Jack's in her class) said he wanted to kiss her! So boys want to kiss her and girls want to call her fat already, in preschool. Now, I'm sure it was all innocent enough and little miss Grace didn't intend to be mean.

I guess it brings back all kinds of feelings for me. I was a chubby kid, I was also always taller than most everyone. In 5th grade I was 5'7" and began to shop in the same section as my mom. Looking back at my pictures now, I was not fat- not even close. It was too late, the damage was done. By that I mean I had already decided, from feedback of others, that I was fat and they were right. Every time I looked in the mirror I saw what others said, not the truth. Sometimes even still I struggle with it.

I knew it would happen to Allie as well. I guess I just hoped it wouldn't happen in preschool. She's going to be tall and in a few years, she'll hit her growth spurt and stretch right out. Until then, I hope we can help her to have a better perception of herself than I had. She has the right parents to help her with this challenge. We both have had our struggles with being ostracized for size. Eventually it worked out to our favor (for boys more than girls) with sports and such. I hope to be able to help her see her value, that she is precious to us and that different is just different, not an indicator of worth.

Cooper at 18 Months

I can't believe he's 18 months already!!! He is so much fun/trouble these days! He watches everything Allie does and thinks he can do the same! She is swimming with no life jacket. He's in one still, but he'll put his face down in the water and kick his legs and paddle his arms! He jumps off the side and the diving board just like Allie! Playing outside is a lot of fun! During our "soccer" games he'll run and chase/kick the ball with Allie and me. He's pretty good about putting things away when asked. He climbs much better than Allie ever did. I probably didn't let her... whenever it's too quiet I go looking for "Mr. Trouble", as we call him! He's not much of a talker. He only has about 5 words right now. He is pretty good about communicating non-verbally. He's 36 inches tall and 32 pounds. His doctor noted that out of 100 boys, he's the tallest. We'd have to go to 1000 boys to find some as tall, or taller! No surprise there! He is a mama's boy and a snuggler... I hope that never changes! I imagine it will at some point!! He is such a joy!!! Here's some recent photos of our boy!

One to remember...

Because I intend to print my blog out, into a book to double as "scrapbooking/journaling" for kids- I had to put this entry in! We are going swimming today. So Allie got undressed and brought me her swimsuit to help her get dressed. She was leaning against the bed, watching me fold laundry. Cooper comes up behind her. He's looking at her naked bum and I can see the wheels turning in his little brain! He's looking at her crack and suddenly- sticks his fingers in there! Allie squeals, of course! Who wouldn't with unexpected wet, cold fingers in your crack! Her squeals spur him on! She's trying to get away from him and he's chasing after her to do it again! We were all laughing hysterically! While not the most sanitary means of entertainment... it sure was funny this morning!