Mommy, I like branches!

So, Owen, who is 3 years & 3 months old, is getting into everything these days: candy on top of the fridge, or in the cupboard, playdough in the pantry that he was throwing on the livingroom floor today, cups of water, which he dumped on the kitchen floor yesterday and was splashing in with bare feet, CDs and DVDs which we've found hiding behind our TV, paint which was found decorating our bathroom sink, cereal which has been found covering the kitchen table & floor, oh! and juice, which he poured on his sister's head yesterday. Wow! And that's only a partial list!

But there are those times where you just say to yourself, "He's definitely a keeper!" The other day we were sitting at the kitchen table eating dinner and Owen decided against his chicken, but was okay with eating the spinach leaves with that yummy poppyseed dressing on top. He was eating them happily, when he spouts, "Mmm, mommy, I yike banches!" "Did you say branches? Oh, you mean, leaves...spinach leaves", I piped in. Too cute. And tonight, when watching the Olympic closing ceremony, he says to me, "Mom, so many people in that house!" He meant all the Olympians walking into the stadium. He comes up with the most clever way to state things sometimes. He's also my most lovey child...always saying, "I wuv you, Mommy," and giving me big hugs & kisses...so sweet.

So despite his craziness at this age, his sweetness & funny sayings make up for it all. I'm enjoying having him all to myself during the week these days!

Our Experience With The Wii

Momo & Papa gave our family the Wii for Christmas this year, and boy has it been an adventure! We left for CA the day after Christmas, so we had to leave the Wii at home, but luckily my sister got one for Christmas too, and Ian's sister, who we also stayed with, has one as well! We quickly learned which games we enjoy playing, and had a blast playing them all with many different family members. The night after we got home though, was a night to be remembered.

Ian took out the Wii Fit Plus he had given me, and decided to figure it all out. I was upstairs getting the kids ready for bed. As I came down the stairs I noticed Ian was laying on his back in the fetal position, holding the top of his head. I thought he had broken something, because there seemed to be pieces of something on the carpet, but seconds later, I realized it was not something broken...it was blood! Coming from his HEAD! I panicked..."What happened?!" I yelled. I quickly looked over at the Wii Fit board on the floor, directly under the ceiling fan, which by the way he had already hit his hands on a couple of times earlier in the evening. I could not believe he placed that board right under the fan. When he stands on it, he is only about an inch & a half from the little decorative prongs that protrude from underneath the light fixture.

So, he's bleeding quite a bit...and we decide we better call 911. The 911 lady tells me to put pressure on the wound and do not let up until the paramedics get there. Minutes later, they are pounding on our door. Luckily, the bleeding slowed down soon after they got there, and I was able to clean the carpet with half a bottle of hydrogen peroxide...which actually works wonders, in case you ever have to get blood out of carpet someday. The paramedics said it looked like he'd need 2-3 staples put in his head. And we're of course freaking out because of how much money we're imagining this will cost us. Luckily, they were able to stop the ambulance from coming, so we saved a lot there. We asked our neighbor, Sandra, to come and watch the kids for us while I drove Ian to the ER. He ended up only needing one staple, thank goodness. They had to wrap him up like a war patient because the bleeding wouldn't stop after they took the gauze out (they had stuffed it in the wound with meds to prevent infection.) It was quite comical seeing him wrapped up like that. On the drive home, all I could say was, "What we're you thinking?"

Poor Eli was a bit shaken up seeing Daddy get hurt like that. He was hiding behind our bar stools almost in tears after the paramedics came. Abbi was the only one present when Ian actually hit the fan and didn't even call for me or say anything when I came down, but she seemed to take it all okay. Maybe she was in shock. Owen was just talking up a storm after it happened. It was so interesting to see how all 3 kids handled it so differently. I asked Abbi as I was putting her to bed how she was doing, and she said, "I just don't like to think about it." She's so her mother's child.

Ian took the Wii Fit back by the end of the week. It just wasn't quite what we needed. He got the staple out a week later and all is good now. But Eli...now, that's a whole other post. He's so addicted to this thing...it's really starting to drive me a bit CRAZY. But, it's late...I'll tell you more about that another time:)

Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas Everyone! We never found time to get any cards out this year, but we love you all, and wish you a very Merry Day! Here is a photo taken tonight, Christmas Eve. We let them each open one gift...TRADITION:)

I told Abbi that she could take the gifts back that I got her tonight if she wanted to go back and get these boots that she found at JC Penny yesterday. She decided to keep her gifts and forget about the boots. Good girl:) I told her we'd get some Mary Jane's sometime soon anyway since all she has is tennis shoes that fit her right now.

Eli has already received 3 new sweatshirts this week, one from each grandma, and one from me & daddy. He likes them all though, and this way we'll have extras when one is dirty or if one gets lost:( Owen was happy with the little Diego bath set he received. He already put on one of the tatoos!

Happy Birthday, Jesus! We love you!

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays! Will I ever get into the habit of writing in a blog? Life just gets in the way sometimes, and I cannot keep up. Or maybe it just had to do with Owen chucking an egg-shaker at my laptop screen, breaking it beyond use! At least we had Ian's old one still, so I am in the process of getting it set up just how I like it.

Abbi was just in her first Nutcracker performance last weekend...4 shows in 3 days! It was a big time commit- ment, but she really enjoyed getting to know all the girls she dances with and it was a great experience for her, to see all that goes into making a show like that happen. She made a beautiful angel, and we were so proud of her!




Owen turned 3 three days after Thanks-giving, and he is now potty-trained, during the day at least...well, mostly (except for his 3 accidents today!) For some reason he thought it would be fun to climb into our dryer the other day...I was just praying he would be accident free while he was in there! Just couldn't pass up on the photo op though:)



We went to get our Christmas tree on Sunday, after Abbi's final performance, down at the Rock Quarry. It was about 25 degrees that night...SO COLD. We picked out our tree in a record 3 minutes flat. It has been in the 20's and low 30's all week! At least it has been dry, although my hands are about to crack because of it.

When we got back to decorate the tree, Ian realized that we only had 2 strands of lights that were working, and they didn't match, so he took Owen to the store to get some more. When he was leaving, I started putting the 2 strands on the tree, just to see how it would look. The kids tried to catch Ian before he left because I told them I thought it would work okay, but he was already gone, without his phone. Eli, Abbi & I ended up decorating the tree without Daddy & Owen...oops! They got back & we were almost done. We saved a few ornaments for them to do. I didn't want the kids to be up 'til 10, so we just did it...sorry, Babe:( Ian was a good sport about it though. He said it looked nice & wasn't too upset that we went on without them. Owen was a little sad until we let him put the final touch on the treetop...so it was all good in the end:)

We wish you all a very MERRY CHRISTMAS, and may God bless you & your families in the New Year! 2010 already!? Wow!

Our First Real Post! Finally!!

After reading my friends' blogs, I decided to finally write something in the one my hubby started months ago! Owen is now about to turn 3, and the twins will be 6 1/2 a day or 2 later (they were born on the 31st...so they technically don't have a half birthday). Owen is potty-training, which of course is loads of fun, but now that he's actually taking some initiative with it (he just took his diaper off about 3 or 4 times in the last hour because he had to 'pee aden') it's becoming a little more enjoyable.



Abbi & Eli have become reading fools! They are in first grade, and already are reading whole chapter books in less than a day!! It truly amazes me! Abbi is going to be in the Vancouver Dance Theatre's Nutcracker this year. She will play the part of an angel! Eli is finishing up with Karate and will start another basketball league in January...his true passion.


I started working this Fall as a pre-K teacher at a small preschool in Vancouver. Owen goes there every day with me, and enjoys his class with all the 3 year olds. He has another friend there who is also named Owen. He likes playing with playdough, firetrucks, & of course painting. I have a class full of girls...8 of them, and they are lots of fun to work with.

Hopefully, I will be able to keep up with writing in this blog. I love all the little stories my friends write about their kiddos, and it's a great way to archive all the fun, and challenging, stuff they do everyday.