Patience

I think I know why Adora is so good at puzzles. It came from her baby blessing. With Naomi, Andy blessed her with the ability to make friends easily. Oops. Now we have a child who won't stop talking, has trouble paying attention in school, and has to be separated from the other girls in her class. :) At least she has friends. Sabian is the typical pesky brother like any boy should be. Andy had foresight into what Adora would really need to cope with her older brother and sister. He blessed her with patience. She started doing puzzles very early, at 15 months, to give her something to do while Naomi and Sabian did gymnastics. She took far more interest in them than Sabian ever did. She's also my child that enjoys books the most. She can sit in my lap while I read through a full story. She also sits and reads to her baby doll. Granted, she can still throw a tantrum like any toddler, but all in all I think that baby blessing did her some good.

Naomi is determined to get one of her creations published in Lego Brickmaster Magazine. Just in case that doesn't work out, I published it here for the world to see. I like this one.

Happy Birthday to ME

I took the kids to the Easter Egg Hunt at my work today. They all filled their buckets to the brim, without any help. Sabian won 2 big prizes. Adora got the last egg. When all the other kids decided they had all been found, Adora was crawling under the eaves to reach the last egg.

After the egg hunt we all came back to my house for my birthday party. Hooray!

Andy gave me wii fit for my birthday. We all had fun playing on it. My mom made me a fun wrap around skirt. My brother Robby even made me an apple pie! Naomi made my german chocolate birthday cake with only a little guidance from my mom. Robby and Steven say they have something else for me too, but they left it home, so I am to remain in suspense until it is delivered to me. Oh, well, I like surprises. I'm feeling the love. I don't see why anyone dreads birthdays. Time passes reguardless, but birthdays to me are a time when I am reminded people love me and they are glad I'm still around.

Adora the unstoppable

Adora had a big day Saturday. I tried the potty training in a day method, but didn't get the full day without distractions, and though she has some trouble getting her pants pulled back up, she is doing very well. She tells me when she has to go if she needs help. I'm impressed for a 20 month old. She also learned to roller skate Saturday night. She only fell down once when she got excited over seeing grandma. She was willing to learn, started slow and improved in one night. She was having so much fun. She would look up at me and giggle as we skated together. She wanted to go out into the rink again and again. If only my back didn't ache from holding hands with a toddler, I think we would have kept skating non-stop. Sabian had fun too, but he never really tried. He didn't move his feet so much as letting us drag him, or he'd jump so we are suspending him. This method may have been fun when he had help, but when we left the rink, he'd try to go it on his own and biffed it several times. He had to take off his skates. Naomi was a railing dweller. She went around and around while holding onto the outside rail. She occasionally came out with us, but wasn't as happy about it. She learned to hold a pose while I pulled her around. We all had fun and got a good workout. Speaking of a workout, Andy has been going to the gym for 2-3 hours a day this last week. I think he is addicted. Just look at him.

Okay, so the photo isn't him. But he really is working out 2-3 hours each day. He signed up for the warrior leader training for the national guard so he could get promoted to a sargent and make more money. He wants to be sure he'll pass his fitness test. Hey, whatever motivates you, it's all good. :)

Hide and seek

While Naomi and Sabian were playing hide and seek, Adora quickly caught on to the idea. If she could hold still a bit longer, she may actually be good at it. She does know how to have fun.

Siblings

Sabian must not be having a good day. I have heard only two things come out of his mouth, the first being a high pitched annoyed scream, "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" (which grates at my nerves and makes me want to tape his mouth shut). The other choice phrase he has been saying all day is "Naomi did it!" Sabian is merely upset he can't have his way all the time. Such is life. Were it not for the whining, I might actually pity him.
On a funnier note, Adora played a joke on her daddy. Adora is a child who hates to have her nose wiped and always turns her head when she sees a tissue coming and more often than not needs restrained to accomplish the task. Andy said he was surprised the other day when she actually held still and let him wipe her nose. He then looked at her and Adora stuck out her tongue and blew a raspberry at him then smiled as if to say "there, that will show you." Adora is so much fun. She can now walk a few steps between open arms. May 29th she decided to try walking. My parents had fun with her and showed me her new trick as soon as I got home from work. Her enthusiam was funny. I always figured she could walk if she tried, but until now, she had no desire, after all, she could crawl fast enough to get into all sorts of trouble. I think the motivating factor was the warm weather. Now that she was wearing shorts, the carpet felt rough on her knees and crawling was less fun. On the grass she walks like a stink bug on her hands and feet with her butt up in the air. I'll try to get a picture one of these times, it really is quite comical.

Family pictures 2008

We did a super family theme this year, which I thought was a lot of fun. My decision was mostly made by a fatigued mind that said I could get all the clothes cheap and easy since superman stuff is everywhere. Every year we get pictures, most of the money is spent on new clothes. This year it was a quick one stop shop at walmart for everyone except Sabian who found Jammies at the mall.

Why is it so impossible to get a family photo with every kid looking at the camera and smiling?

After the third time of not listening, we had to give up on telling Naomi to put her feet back down. As an afterthought, perhaps we should have had her take her shoes off so we didn't have to stare at the bottom of her shoe.

Adora is so sweet

Those baby blue eyes and those two little teeth keep making me smile.

Adora steps up

Does this count as pulling herself up? She may not be completely standing, but she did use the step stool to get up on her feet.

My little inchworm

Wow! Now Adora can really move. She's pretty fast too. She enjoys moving around on the floor. Now I have sufficient motivation to keep the floors picked up and vacuumed at all times. I watched her move from the living room to the dining room and back again all on her own. She seemed pretty proud of herself.

Andy loves Legos

Here's a clip of Andy playing with the new lego set he got for Christmas. Sabian and Adora enjoyed helping too (if you can call it help).

Short clip of Adora moving. I wouldn't quite call it crawling yet. She usually looks more like that 80s dance move "the worm,"

I've got the cutest kids!

Sleep!

Adora slept through the night last night for the first time! Andy put her in the baby swing around 8pm I think and I got home from work around 11pm. She looked so peaceful I decided to let her stay there and turned on the baby monitor. She was still sleeping when I woke up at 6am. She was hungry when she woke up though :) I finally felt rested. Time to sing praises! :)

Adora rolls over

Adora's smile

Adora's First Studio Session

Adora had her picture taken on 8-27-07. Here she is, exactly 2 months old. Even though she was in an elaborate (not comfortable) dress, every photo was adorable. She never even fussed once, seemed rather intrigued by the whole affair.