Happy Halloween

I kind of wanted Jonathan to be a tractor again, but he has been roaring all around the house, and wanted to be a Tiger instead. Lizzie wanted to be a princess, and decided on Cinderella, so I did my best to make her a pretty princess. I was going to make Hannah a lobster, and then carry her around in a big stock pot, and then I was going to make a chef outfit for Darren, but Darren reminded me that we have a perfectly good Lion costume, and so that is what she ended up in. Costumes tend to take up a bit of time and a lot of creative space. I don't have a sewing room, so our dining room doubles as my sewing space, and I think the sooner I finish projects the sooner the mess gets organized and we have a dining table instead of eating around my craft stuff.

Messy Room Happy Kids

Hannah is growing and Lizzie and Jono love to play with her. They fight over who she gets to sit by at dinner, so much that we have a sign to help us remember whose turn it is. Lizzie likes to carry her from one room to the next, and their favorite thing is making her laugh. For some reason, farm animal sounds make her smile, especially cows.

Lizzie loves her glasses and hopefully we can meet with a good doctor to help to figure out how to help her. She patched for a while, but still made no improvement with her lazy eye. We're just waiting to meet with a couple more doctors. She is a good big sister, and volunteers to help whenever she can. Jonathan has picked up on this, so when I ask him to clean up something, he starts, and then he says, "Wizzie, can you help me Quease."

Jonathan is our busybody, but is really a sweet boy. He likes to get on the phone and say, "What are you up to?" He can be trouble, but loves to be out with his Dad. Anywhere his Dad is. We went to the temple, and after we picked the kids up, he said, "When I get big, I go to the temple too. I eat broccoli so I get big."

Nothing Runs Like a Deere and Butterflies

I know that Halloween has come and gone a long time ago, but this is just a reminder for me to try and start costumes a little earlier so that I'm not sewing on wheels as we drive to Grandma Cole's Spooky Dinner Party.

Busy with Three

I am a terrible blogger, but Lizzie and Jonathan would like to introduce their new baby sister, Hannah. She arrived 3 and a half weeks early, but still weighed 7 pounds 6 ounces. Jonathan was a week early, and he was 7 pounds 10 ounces, so perhaps our original date was wrong. We love her and are trying to adjust to three little ones. I have yet to venture out on any errands by myself with three, so any tips or advice are welcome.

Lizzie

Jonathan saying Happy Birthday to his big sister Lizzie.

Better late than never, Halloween Pictures

Family Pictures

So, two years ago we joined the JCPenny portrait club in order to save money on sitting fees. In order to make the most of the club membership, I figured that we needed to have 3 years worth of family pictures. So here are the results of the latest family pictures. Usually, Jonathan is all smiles, but on this particular day, he was all stares, except when he decided to stick out his tongue. On the flip side, Lizzie was ALL smiles. This is by far the best "real" smile pictures that have been taken of her. The images are kind of digitized so that we can't reprint them, but you can get a general idea of how they looked.

Jonathan

Cute Jono turned 1! I can't believe that a year has already come and gone. Here he is just posing after finishing his morning milk. What a cute happy boy he is, especially if he has been fed. He army crawls all around the house and pulls himself up to everything. I think he'll be walking soon, and then I know I'll be in trouble. I thought that Lizzie was a bit of a busy body, but Jonathan is FAST and INTO EVERYTHING. He does love his sister and loves to follow her wherever she goes.

He is always smiling. He smiles when he wakes up and you walk in to pick him up. He smiles when Darren comes home from work. He smiles when Lizzie uses him as a hurdle and jumps over him. He smiles when he stands up by Lizzie's kitchen and starts cooking. He smiles when he sees food coming his way. The only time he really has issues is when he is tired, hungry, in the car too long, but he has been better since he has been able to sit forward. I think he just didn't like not knowing where he was going. He is a curious kid. His only other issue is when he is trying to follow Lizzie and she shuts the door and he can't keep up. He is a sweet boy and we just love him so much. So Happy Birthday little Jonathan.



For Jonathan's birthday, both grandparents came up for a visit. The kids LOVE having grandparents come and visit and having both of them on the same night is an extra special treat.


Thank you to Grandma Cole who brought this nice delicious cake for Jonathan. Lizzie was so excited for Jonathan's birthday. She taught him how to blow out the candles and enjoyed eating his cake too. I am holding his hands so that we didn't get too messy, like I said he is fast and INTO everything. Don't worry, he had his chance to explore his own piece of cake and frosting. It was a mess, but he was happy.

Darren worked extra hard for Lizzie to put together her swingset. It took a couple of weeks and so Lizzie was sooo excited for it to be done. She would live out here on this swing as long as someone is there to give her a push.

A big THANK YOU to Devon who helped finish putting the swingset together and for the MANY trips in un-airconditioned old Brown to get the wood chips. We sure love you and just had so much fun while you were here.

Emily came into town so the whole family was together for the 4th of July. We went for a perfect picnic in the canyon. The kids are so lucky to have such awesome Uncles and Aunties that take such good care of them.

Nauvoo

We went to Nauvoo with Grandma and Grandpa Cole, Uncle Fonzy, Aunt Sonia, Faye, Grace, and Andrew. Aren't these kids so cute? Lizzie had a blast following Faye and Gracie and laughing at funny Andrew.

My cute little pioneers! I know I wouldn't have been tough enough to be a pioneer, but I think that Jonathan and Lizzie would have looked pretty cute and had a lot of fun as pioneer children. They had all kinds of games for the kids to play and let them dress up with fun hats and dresses. We LOVED Nauvoo and came home with a greater appreciation for the pioneers and their sacrifice. We will have to go back when the kids are a little older so they can remember and feel the special spirit that surrounds Nauvoo.


Here is Lizzie and the bubble maker that Auntie Katy and Uncle Chris gave her for her birthday. She had so much fun making the bubbles, and then I would make the bubbles and she would chase them around. She is wearing a cute outfit that Auntie Emily gave her too. Auntie Emily knows that Mommy isn't the best shopper, but I am getting better at shopping, at least for the kids.

Spring and Summertime

Sorry, we've been busy with summer, but just a couple of updates, more for my record these last three posts will be out of order, but they show what we have been up to.

It's snowing! Our neighbor has a couple of HUGE cotton trees and in the spring it covers the lawn almost like a blanket of snow! Lizzie had so much fun running around the yard and Darren used his blower to blow things all around for even more fun. These trees provided perfect shade for Lizzie's play area, but sadly the trees have now come down and so this is our last springtime snow.


We love our cousins. Uncle Fonzy and the kids, Faye, Andrew and Grace came up to go camping in our backyard. Here they are still in their pajamas eating a nice breakfast.

ABIGAIL

Abigail Kumiko Mitarai
April 28, 2009

We love and miss you Abigail
love your cousins,
Elizabeth and Jonathan

Chris and Katy we love you and are thinking and praying for you.

Imagination

Elizabeth is a funny girl. We were watching a video of her sledding with Darren, so she picked up her Frisbee and sat on it and imagined that she was sledding down a steep snow hill.
Her imagination is an amazing thing. I'll bet you can't guess what the chair, ball, and the little stick in her hand is. If you did, you would be a welcome addition to Lizzie's world. This is her golf game. We went to St. George last week, where the weather was beautiful and Darren played some golf. Lizzie knew that Daddy was golfing and we passed several golf courses. I'll post pictures later. When we got home, she came up with this setup. The upside down chair is where you put the ball and the stick in her hand is the club. Darren showed her how to properly hold the club and she puts the ball in and cheers when the ball goes through the hole.

I thought I would write down a few things that she has come up with recently. (This is more for my memory as I am realizing that I am forgetting A LOT of things and this is just a general summary so I won't forget.)

The golf club that she is holding goes to the pack and play. It is supposed to be a mobile, I think, but we never used it. There are three pieces that she plays with. Two have bumps on the end and one is just a stick. The two with the bumps, she uses as two golf clubs, one for Daddy and one for Lizzie. She uses the stick one as her bow and the other as her violin. This is her second violin, her first violin was the vacuum tubes, but because I needed to use them for vacuuming, she came up with this second one. She has seen me practice and she puts it under her chin and bows just like I do. She says, "I go orchestra." or "I practice too." She usually sings as she plays, her favorite pieces are the ABC's or Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. We did get her a ukulele for Christmas, and she plays with that as well, but when she sees my violin, she wants to play that as well. She has even taken her "bow" and tried to play her ukulele like the violin but because she can't hold it, it's more like a cello.

She loves the plastic coated baby spoons and takes them from the drawer and either feeds Jonathan, feeds her baby Taylor, or uses them as flowers. She "planted" some of them near her "golf hole". This morning, she woke up, early as usual, and instead of waking us up, turned her own lights on in her room and started playing with her doll Taylor. I heard her say, "Would you like some rice cereal? I make it for you." When we looked in on her, she even had a bib on the baby.

She does pay attention when we are driving around. She liked some of the credit cards in Darren's wallet and my purse and so I gave her a little Subway card. She called it her gas card. She would stroll baby Taylor to the gas station, which is our hallway and she puts her card in the wall and punches buttons. I never realized that she watched Darren so closely when he fills up.

Lizzie has a small blue 3 inch square sample piece of intelligel that she uses for multiple things. Lately it has been used as bread for her french toast or bread for feeding ducks. She feeds the ducks from this blue square and then gives me some so I can feed the ducks too. It is so funny to hear her quack at the duck.

I think we will be getting Lizzie a camera for her birthday. She takes her blocks and there are two pieces that make a square with a hole in the middle and then a cylinder that fits in that hole that she pretends is her camera. She holds it up to her face and says, "smile mommy" and then makes the "Click" sound. She also takes the tripod, that also doubles as her microphone, and does the same thing. Even though she can't see you, she still makes the sound and smiles as if she were looking at the picture that she just took.

Keys and cars. Lizzie's favorite car is Jonathan's high chair. Actually, below Jonathan's high chair. She gets down there and then "drives" around the kitchen. Sometimes with Jonathan in it. Her other car is Jonathan's boppy. She knows that she can only drive that car when Jonathan is sleeping because they both don't fit in the car very well. She has her keys that help her get along. Her latest key is a little stand for small pictures she starts the car and off she goes. This "key" also doubles as her flat iron when she wants to do her or my hair.

What a sweet little girl and I am having so much fun seeing what she will come up with next.

More Silly Stories

No pictures, but just a few more stories that I forgot to write down.

When Lizzie doesn't have a nap, she is not the most fun kid on the block. The other day, Darren had meetings and she missed her afternoon nap, so I thought I would put her to bed a little early. She was tired and when she gets tired her arms and legs get active kind of like when a fish comes out of water. It was time for bed and as I was getting her in her pajamas, she was flailing her arms around and kind of hit me. I asked her what she was doing. She said, "I sorry. I hit mommy. I need time out." She said this as she was crying and repeated that she needed time out. I put her in timeout and after she finished her time she started saying, I need go bed. I agreed and finished getting her ready for bed and then she went right to bed. I guess she is taking care of herself which makes me think why am I here?

Lizzie sits across from Darren at the dinner table. When we eat messy meals I tell Lizzie that she needs to wear a bib so she can keep her clothes clean. I think we were having some sort of pasta dish, and Darren happened to spill some on his shirt. Lizzie looked at him and said, "You need a bib Daddy." Then she proceeded to give him one of hers that was attached to her chair. What a helpful girl.

Lizzie loves cake. I guess she has inherited her mom's sweet tooth. As mentioned in a previous post, having cake within her grasp is not advisable. So from now on we'll keep the cakes up high where she can't reach. I guess another solution would be just to not make the cakes in the first place, but I am not that strong.

I made a pumpkin cake for Darren's birthday. I put the seran wrap over it and put it in the fridge. The next morning, I was changing Jonathan's diaper and I heard Lizzie open the fridge but then she came running down the hall, so I didn't think anything of it. Later that night, I looked at the cake to see holes punched in the seran wrap about the size of Lizzie's fingers. I told her that she needed to ask before eating cake, and that with that cake it would be easier to eat it with a fork instead of her fingers. She followed one of the two. The next morning, the same thing happened. I was changing Jonathan and I heard her in the kitchen. I should have remembered that the cake was in there, but just finished changing Jonathan and we kept playing. At lunch, I looked at the fridge and didn't notice any additional holes in the cake, but when I opened the drawer to get some silverware, I found a fork with pumpkin cake residue. That's right, our little genius had gotten a fork, took a bite, and then put it back in the drawer. What a smart little girl.

Carrots YUMM

Jonathan has started eating regular food! Here he is eating some carrots and Lizzie was having fun watching him get it all over his face as well. Jonathan gets so excited, he grabs at the container. Lizzie also likes to help Jonathan eat and will take the baby spoons and try and feed him. So far he has liked rice cereal, squash, sweet potatoes, and carrots. We'll attempt to feed him some green veggies before the fruit so he develops a taste for the stuff that is good for him before eating the sweet stuff.

Family Pictures

Jonathan is now, 6 months old and is learning to sit up, eat, and try and keep up with his sister. Lizzie helps him to roll and cheers for him at the dinner table as he eats all of his rice cereal. Lizzie tries to teach him how to catch the ball, but winds up hitting him on the head. It's a good thing she is throwing the soft balls, or his head would be one big bruise.

Lizzie with curly hair. It's a rare shot to get both kids looking at the camera at the same time. Lizzie has the cutest smile, but rarely do I capture it in a picture. She loves this BYU outfit and would wear it every day if she could.

This is the latest family picture taken in front of our Christmas tree. Lizzie is smiling! She smiled better for the timer than for me.

Chocolate Cake

Last night, Lizzie and I made a chocolate cake together. We had a little slice of it and told Lizzie we could have more in the morning. While I was feeding Jonathan and Darren was playing football, Lizzie sneaked into the kitchen, pushed her stool against the counter, and managed to scoop out a large piece of cake. Darren saw the chocolate crumbs around her mouth and asked what she ate. She replied with a big smile on her face, "Chocolate cake. I help myself." That she did. We took the picture of her and the cake before our real breakfast. What a funny girl. (Sorry, I couldn't figure out how to rotate the picture, so you'll just have to turn your head.)

Christmas Craziness

Christmas has come and gone and I have managed to get things somewhat back in order. Lizzie still sings "Santa Claus is coming to town" and then likes to substitute different names in for Santa. So far, Uncle Chris, Brother Fish, Grandpa, and Grandma are some of the most popular people coming to town.

My mom says that I don't record what funny things Lizzie says, so below is a list of some of the sayings that Lizzie is learning to say.

"I need. . . UM. . ."

If she notices that you are searching for something, she puts her hand on your shoulder and says, "What are you looking for huh?"

"I do it"

"I sleep in car."

Phone conversation:
Grandma: "What are you doing?
Lizzie: "Talking to you."

I eat cake. I help myself.

Sissy gets older, go temple like daddy and mommy
Sissy gets older, wear makeup like mommy
Sissy gets older, eat cocoa like monkey show
Sissy gets older, go work like daddy

I have tried to have her say "Lizzie" I say it slow, and she says, "Si-ssy". I break it up, and she says "Li" and "zzie" but when I say what is your name, she smiles and says "Sissy"

A conversation she had with Darren while coloring.
D: How old are you?
Lizzie: 2 How old Daddy?
D: 31
Lizzie: Oh, How old Mommy?
D: 30
Lizzie: Oh, How old Jono
D: 6 months
Lizzie: Oh, How old Brother Fish?
D: around 80

Every time we say, Lizzie you are going to Grandma and Grandpa's house, she reponds, "Oh, Mommy and Daddy go temple? I get older go temple too?"

When we got home, I was changing Lizzie's diaper at grandma's house after a temple trip, and I asked Lizzie what she did while we were gone, she said "Sissy eat cake. Sissy lucky girl."

"That's delicious"

"You stay there I go shopping." I ask her if she can get some milk, her response. "We have milk at home."

After pushing Jonathan over from his back to his stomach, "Look what Jon-an did on his own!"

"Mommy feed Jonan, Sissy watch monkey show!" (The monkey show is the Curious George shows on PBS.) For some reason she really likes George. If Daddy is watching basketball, and she doesn't feel like watching it, she'll say, "Don't like it. Turn off Daddy."

When she hears Jonathan crying, she tells me, "Jonan crying. Sissy go check Buddy." and sprints towards his room.

For some reason she likes tennis. Last night, there was a tennis match, and she ran and got my strainer that has a handle and kind of looks like a tennis racket and started swinging it around.

So, I made a quilt for Lizzie's bed, it's not the prettiest of blankets, I'll post a picture a little later, I was thinking she would be better off to buy her one, but I was putting her bed she said, "Mommy make quilt for ME? Thank you Mommy." That made the not so cute quilt very special.

Let's sing Happy to you . . . (Fills in name, Uncle Chris, Grandma, Grandpa, Daddy, Brother Fish, Grandma Roo)

Grandma Viehweg gave her a candy in her pocket when we visited her, and every time she puts on the jeans, she checks her pockets and says, "Grandma Viehweg give Sissy candy in pocket. Daddy ate it."

When Jonathan had his 6 month check up, the nurse gave Lizzie a dum-dum sucker. She was so happy and I actually let her eat it on the way home. When we got home, she told Daddy, "Jonan go doctor get shot, Sissy get candy."

"My socks too slippery. Sissy fall down."

Ride Bike Grandma Roo's House

Lizzie has a cute neighbor that lives down the road that she calls Grandma Roo and because the weather has been nice, she rides her bike while I push Jonathan in the stroller. I will ask her if she wants to ride her bike, and she says, "Sissy ride bike go Grandma Roo's House." She also adds, "Sissy wear helmet. Mommy push Jonan in stroller." She stops and waves at the cars going by, the Christmas trees, and the rock animals that our neighbors have. She rides her bike down the sidewalk and up the driveway and we follow behind.

It's Not Working

This picture isn't about the story below, but it is a cute one of Darren building a big tower for Lizzie to knock down.

We have been working on potty training Lizzie. It is a slow and not very successful process, so any suggestions would be appreciated. Anyways, when she does go, I like to give her a sticker and a treat and then we usually call Daddy. Last week, we called Darren and he was not able to answer his phone, so I thought she could just leave a message. She started saying "Daddy" and waited for a response. She did this a couple of times and then says, "Mommy, it's not working."

Go Cougars

What a perfect day for a football game! We took the family down to watch the final home game of the BYU season. The Cougs won and Lizzie paid more attention to the game than she does during sacrament meeting. Mom and Dad thanks for letting us go with you.

Lizzie can sing the cougar song and can almost spell C-O-U-G-A-R-S. She sees the letter Y and says BYU. She thought that the cheer, "Go Mighty Cougars" said "Go Mommy's Cougars" and then would substitute Mommy with Daddy. Now that football season is coming to a close, we can focus on teaching her more important things like her ABC's, colors, numbers, etc.