Happy Holidays

We've had a wonderful month or so. First, we headed down to St. George for a little pre-holiday chill out time. The kids got to play with their cousins who happened to be down there at the same time, and they particularly enjoyed a little red-rock hike together. Emerson did a four-mile bike ride with dad, I did some good running, and we visited our wonderful friends the Moores.

When we came home, Tad's siblings got in town from California and Washington state. Emerson and Ethan discovered hours of mutual lego-building bliss and went to a Jazz game, Stella got her fill of Sullivan and Karina, and Karina got to play with both of the babies almost as much as she wanted. Afton is truly an amazingly cute little girl and it was so fun to see more of her. Of course it goes without saying that we had an absolutely delicious Thanksgiving dinner at Cheryll's, followed by some great pie at my mom's house. We had some darling family pictures taken, thanks to Cheryll's thoughtful gift of matching sweaters and dresses for all the grandkids and to her neighbor, Roseanne's skills with a camera.

The following week, Stella had her first preschool program. I showed up to watch and noticed a peculiar pinkish tint to her hands as the kids all waved during their first song. Then as Stella took the mic (completely unabashedly as the first kid up), I realized that her face and hair were purplish. My darling little girl had decided on the program day to smear her face and hair with paint during class and despite the teachers' best efforts at scrubbing, she remained pigmented. What more fitting way to capture this stage of her life than to show her covered in paint, singing her heart out and eagerly jabbering into the microphone?

Earlier this week we got our largest Christmas tree yet -- too bad our front room doesn't grow with our trees. After we'd trekked to the lot in sub-freezing temperatures, dragged the tree inside and gotten it standing, we decorated it as a family. For the first time ever, our kids (the older two, anyway) were actually more of a help than a hindrance. They loved decorating and seeing the ornaments they hadn't since last year. And today we got to see Emerson's kindergarten Christmas program. It was one of the most adorable things I've ever seen, all those kids singing, reciting poems, and playing instruments in unison while wearing hats they'd personally made. Emerson really enjoyed it and was so proud of himself.

Atticus has decided crawling isn't really his thing, except for very short distances. He's more of a walking man and he's decided to work on it for hours each day, much to my back's detriment. He has two little teeth and loves to make this little scrunched smile face to show them off. When I scratch his back or tickle his neck, he goes completely mellow and just soaks it up.

We hope you all enjoy this Christmas season and want you to know that we know He is our savior and redeemer. We are so grateful for his life and his sacrifice for us and enjoy this time of year when we can reflect on our blessings. Merry Christmas!

Halloween Birthday Mountain Fun

As you can see, the kids have had a fun month. Halloween was just absolute fun craziness resulting in ridiculous amounts of candy. Stella was Tinkerbell/Fairy Princess/Fairy/A Fairy Tale depending on how she felt. She got so into the character, twirling and striking a pose at preschool when it was her turn to tell about her costume. Emerson was Optimus Prime, but this picture represents the only time he was willing to wear his mask. His parade at school was so fun to see, especially since little sister paraded with his class, holding the hands of several classmates. Atticus was a reluctant Yoda who was more than happy to attend all of the chaotic celebrations.

Emerson turned SIX -- ahhhhh! He had a really fun party at the pool where he and his buddies wrestled energentically on an inner tube. He's reading like a champ, loving kindergarten, and absolutely exploding with energy at all times.

Stella had her first parent-teacher conference (hillarious since it's preschool) and it was a pure delight for Tad to attend. Her teacher basically told Tad that Stella is just pure joy, that she plays with boys and girls equally, participates in every activity, and makes everyone feel good. Seeing her in action in class definitely brings a smile to our faces.

Atticus is on the verge of crawling and is truly frustrated by it; he's constantly trying to reach things and bonking his head and face as he throws himself toward them. He truly is a bottomless pit when it comes to eating and he babbles and babbles all day long. His latest joy is grabbing Emerson (the long-suffering big brother) by either side of the face and literally sucking on his nose, cheeks, etc. as he squeals delightedly.

Disneyland Bonanza

Thanks to Grandma and Aunt Caroline, we just enjoyed a fun and crazy trip to Disneyland with the extended May family. We had two fun-packed days in Disneyland, including a character breakfast at which Stella nearly dissolved when she met both Snow White and Jasmine. The kids loved Splash Mountain (which Stella got to ride with a little help from some rolled-up socks crammed in her shoes), the Monorail, Buzz Lightyear, Star Tours, and the Jungle Cruise. Here is where we edit out Stella's disastrous first day which included a shiner from a tumble off the hotel's bunk bed, a scratched other eye due to blowing debris, a bloody nose from rubbing said irritated eye and face, and a three-hour nap in the stroller amidst Disneyland chaos. Why did it take us several hours to request Tylenol at the first aid station and thereby return our little girl to normal? I have no excuse.

But back to the good stuff. Tied with Disneyland for cool-ness is the beach we visited thanks to Aunt Caroline's super planning. Little Corona beach was perfect -- great waves, sand, tide pools, scenic beauty, and very few people. Emerson fearlessly picked up sea snails while Stella

fearlessly dodged waves with Tad. The kids

had so much fun with their cousins and aunts and uncles that they were literally in tears as we left California for home. Shortly thereafter we parents were nearly in tears as we realized our flight home was delayed three hours and we wouldn't get home until nearly two a.m.. But traveling with Tad and Cheryll was truly a blessing and between stair-racing games and good storytelling we somehow made it through with relatively few freak-outs.

Biker Bonanza

Two weeks ago Emerson was miles away from being able to ride his bike without training wheels. He hardly even rode well with training wheels a month ago. Then he decided to take off the trainers and one day we were out in the front yard when I looked up to see him riding like a pro. Less than two weeks later he's cruising so fast it's unbelievable. We spend hours each day on his

new bike (an early birthday present). Stella also got a new little cruiser bike but has yet to catch the biking bug.

Back to School

A month of firsts! Tad did his first bike race, a 10-mile course that rose 3,300 feet in elevation. He had an awesome time of 1 hr 6 min and is already looking forward to his next race in October.

Stella started preschool, loving that it's finally her turn to stay and enjoying special lunch dates with Grandma Baker. I can't believe she's this big -- how did that happen? She also started her second session of dance lessons and is either a shining star or a puddle on the floor as she awaits her turn.

Emerson started kindergarten and the evidence that he loves it is that he now wakes up at 6:30 a.m. and bolts out the door when it's finally time to leave. He's informed us that he's already building his new "team" of friends. It still doesn't seem right that he has to be at school each morning, that he's actually doing assignments, and that I can just drop him off and he'll go in by himself.

Atticus has been a rolling fiend this past month, moving across the floor or down the aisle at Sunday school.

He started solid foods and so far seems to enjoy pumpkin and smearing his face with the new medium.

I ran a 5K on Monday and finished in 25 minutes, finishing 3rd overall (2nd for women) with my friend. Of course it was a VERY small field of runners, but I'll take what I can get these days. I'm loving this harvest time and coming up with fun new ways to prepare squash and tomatoes. But my head and heart are still aching over the fact that Emerson and Stella are now at school. I want to scream, cling to this special phase I've been in, stop the clock from moving any further, and yet I love to see them growing and blossoming. I suppose that pretty much sums up what motherhood is all about.

Best kid argument this month happened as we were getting in the car to head to school. Stella commented on a potent and funny smell. "That's my fart," said Emerson. "No it's not," countered Stella. "Yes, it's my fart! It is! It is!" Emerson insisted. Don't try to limit his dreams, little sister.