A Plethora of Presents

Christmas morning was exciting, as always. Santa was good to us and so were the grandmas, grandpas, aunts and uncles. The floor of the family room is still hidden under all the new fun stuff, and I'm trying not to stress out about that too much. After all, it's Christmas. All that great stuff from Santa, and Dean loves the flashlight the best!

Drew shows us his cool computer game.

Edie loves the tea set. All morning we heard: "You want some tea? I make it for you."

Evan got a hat and a wipe warmer.

Edie is a beautiful butterfly princess!

Nothing like a little violence to celebrate Christmas! (At least the swords are made of foam)

Merry Christmas!

Announcements

So, by now you should have all received our Christmas card/Baby announcement. Heather did a great job, don't you think? I just wanted to show off the other designs she did for me, because I had such a hard time choosing one. Thanks again, Heather.

Getting to Know Evan

Evan likes being held and eating. (That's about it, so far!) Evan dislikes baths, getting his clothes changed, his carseat, and sleeping in his bed.

Photos of Evan

Even though he's still yellow, we took some pictures of Evan in his cute clothes. He's so big, he's going to grow out of these soon. They were a gift from some of Pie's co-workers.
The shirt says "napping is my hobby". Is that cute, or what?!

'Tis the Season...

...for making messes in the name of tradition. Granted, making a gingerbread house this year wasn't as messy or time-consuming as in previous years. Grandma bought us a kit and everyone pitched in to make one to share. Maybe this is how we should do it in years to come, too. Last year I spent hours making enough gingerbread for 5 houses, and the kids didn't have any less fun this year than last. Evan's arrival has made us slow down quite a bit. The holidays aren't all that rushed for us. I like it. (Of course I might be singing a different tune tomorrow. Mom goes home tonight-- what am I going to do without her?!)

It's a boy!

He's here! Our newest addition, Evan Walter Fardanesh, joined us yesterday, Nov 29, at 2:47am. He was 8 lbs, 13 oz, 20 in. So far as we can tell, he's perfect! Labor was quick, only 4 hours. No one really realized he was coming until he was practically born, the doctor didn't even make it in the room! Pie calls it a "drive-thru delivery" because it was so quick and easy. (OK, not really easy, but compared to others I've had...) The big kids love him and are fighting each other to hold him.

Let the waiting begin

The due date was yesterday. As is our tradition, my mom came last night and will now sit around with me waiting for a week or more before becoming a grandma again.

Today, in an effort to keep me on my feet (maybe gravity will take over?) and out of the house (Pie was working on the fireplace again), we took the kids to Funderland. It was a little chilly, but they had fun anyway.
We'll keep you posted on the baby situation. Promise.

Another project?!

I know what you're thinking: "But, they are going to have a baby any day now! What is Pie doing demo-ing their fireplace?!" Believe me, I have no idea. But, even as I type this, the harsh sounds of that mini jack hammer and a thick cloud of dust fill the air.

It is quite annoying.

Apparently, we can't have a baby unless we do something else major in our lives, too. When Drew was born, we moved across the country. When Dean was born, we bought and moved into our first house. When Edie was born, we were in the middle of getting new floors for our whole downstairs. And now this. I think this is Pie's idea of "nesting".

Nannie and Papa Cy

We had a wonderful week this week. Nannie and Papa Cy (my grandparents) came for a visit. Papa Cy spent most of the time helping Uncle Gregg build our friend's, the Canady's, new house. This week they put up the roof tresses. I haven't seen it, but apparently, the house will be beautiful.

Nannie spent most of her time this week helping me out around the house. One day we went grocery shopping and then she spent the rest of the afternoon in the kitchen making freezer meals for us. Every cubic foot of my freezer is now full of delicious dinners to make my life a lot easier these coming weeks. Another day she did my ironing and made sugar cookies with the kids (that was a huge project in itself!)
The day before it was supposed to rain, she got the kids excited about raking up leaves in the back yard, and pretty soon, we were leaf-free back there. They all liked smashing the leaves down in the green waste bin.

Nannie spent lots of time just playing with the kids, which, as any mother of young kids knows, takes a lot of energy. Edie kept saying "Nannie, I wanna play a game!" What a good sport she was about it all!

They left yesterday, and we are missing them already. Thanks, Nannie, for all your help this week!

I'm not weird!

Heather tagged me for this. I had to think long and hard about weird things about me. Of course I think I'm normal!

Weird Thing #1: I like to vacuum.
I do! It's hypnotic in its repetitiveness (is that a word?). The loud noise blocks out all the other chaos happening in the house. And in the end, the floor has beautiful vacuum lines in it. I love a clean floor.

Weird Thing #2: Before going to bed, I have to see all 3 little ones sleeping peacefully in their own beds.
No matter how tired I am, I can't sleep until I see all my little ones asleep. This is only a problem if my kids are sleeping somewhere else. I can handle it if they are, but then it's really hard for me to fall asleep.

Weird Thing #3: I hate it if my food touches each other on the plate.
Especially salad dressing or gravy or some other sauce. If peas were meant to have gravy on them, restaurants would serve peas and gravy.

And speaking of food...
Weird Thing #4: I'm a potato snob.
I only buy Russett potatoes grown in Idaho. I don't know if I really don't like other potatoes, I just can't buy any other.

Weird Thing #5: I don't remember anything.
If it happened more than a couple months ago, I won't remember it. It has to be really life-changing to keep a place in my memory: I remember parts of my wedding day and the days my kids were born. I vaguely recall moving into my college dorm. Drew is always saying "Mom, remember when we...." and I won't have a clue what he is talking about. Beebe and Ali always amaze me with childhood memories.

Weird Thing #6: I enjoy my minivan.
I never thought I would like it, but minivans are very convenient, even though they aren't terribly cool. I'm not terribly cool, either, so it works out just fine.

(I'm not going to tag anyone because everyone I would have has already been tagged by Heather or Karin or Emily)

Fun with Fish

We had a great morning at the Nimbus Fish Hatchery in Sacramento on Wednesday with our friends, the Muhlesteins. First we fed the little yearling fish. The kids got a kick out of watching the little guys jump up for the food pellets. We then got as close to the river as we could and saw the huge salmon waiting at the bottom of the fish ladder to climb up to spawn. The fish ladder opens next week and we want to go back to watch them jump up. Hopefully the weather will stay nice enough. The kids had fun inside the visitors center, too. The displays were fun and educational. What a great little field trip! Thanks Janae, for the great idea!

A Ninja, a Power Ranger, and Dorothy

Happy Halloween! We celebrated this year by going to the Trunk or Treat on Monday night (they got away with that by calling it a ward FHE!) and a friend's party & trick or treating on Tuesday night. Drew and Dean couldn't be bothered with dinner at the ward party. They both found kids with costumes like theirs and ran around the cultural hall- Drew with the other ninjas and Dean with the Power Rangers. Edie discovered her new favorite day of the year. She just couldn't believe her luck when everyone kept giving her candy!



Does anyone need any candy? I'll send you some...

The teachers didn't want the kids in school the day after Halloween, so they made it an inservice day. We took advantage of the nice weather and went to the fish hatchery on the American River. I'll get those pictures up soon.

Getting Ready

The kids are getting ready for our little one's arrival by practicing on Baby Katherine. Whenever they see her, they want to hold her, or feed her or make her laugh. ("They" refers to Dean and Edie. Drew doesn't go ga-ga over babies like the other 2 do) A big thanks to Mary for letting my kids "take care of" her baby!
I think Edie finally understands what is happening. She has started telling everyone "I have a baby. See?" and then pointing to my tummy.

My little pixie

Edie got a haircut. Her hair is so thin and baby-fine that when it gets long, it just looks stringy and wild. Pie has been hinting for about a month that it needed to be trimmed. And Edie has gotten more insistent in "NO TAILS!" (toddler translation: no ponytails to keep my hair our of my eyes, please) So yesterday, Edie got a haircut, which she loved. "Like my brothers!" I think she looks like a little pixie.
In other toddler news, Edie has decided to use the potty. She has been ready for a while now, but I have been dragging my feet about it. I just think that when the baby comes, she'll regress and start having accidents, and I don't do well with accidents. I can handle throw-up all over, but a puddle of pee on the carpet is so nasty to me! Anyway... Despite my silent protests, Edie has made her decision. She's successfully made it to the potty for days in a row now. Underwear is preferable to diapers, and she keeps insisting "I not a baby. I big girl!"

Kindergarten is fun

Dean loves school. He has lots of friends, some from preschool, some new. He loves his teacher. He loves that he can read now. (It's not really reading, but it's close!) And if that wasn't enough, last week he was the "Top Eeyore". To clarify: each of the 4 kindergarten classes at Dean's school has a mascot from the Winnie the Pooh stories. Dean is in the Eeyore class. Top Eeyore is like the student of the week.

Dean was on top of the world last week. He got to be the line leader, take the attendance to the office, and help out with the calendar every day. He got to bring Eeyore home (see photos) and write in the Eeyore journal about all the fun things they did (we went to the mall for lunch and a merry-go-round ride). And he got to bring in a poster all about Dean, complete with pictures, to share with the class. Today he passed on the Eeyore bag to the next kid in line.
All of this has Dean so excited to go to school. I'm so glad he likes it. I don't want to tell him that every year won't be this fun, he'll find out soon enough. But hopefully he'll continue to like to go to school, even when cute little stuffed animals aren't involved.

Guys-Only Weekend

The guys at Pie's office have been working really hard the past few months and have had record-breaking numbers to show for it. (Oh, if only that meant more money for us like it used to in the corporate world...sigh. Obviously I'm still getting used to this entrepreneurial stuff!) Anyway. They decided to all take a long weekend and spend it doing "guy stuff" at a cabin in the mountains. Pie took the boys out of school early Thursday and left me and Edie alone for 3 days.

They fished. They ate junk food. They played video games and watched guy movies on a big projector they took from the office. They slept in sleeping bags. They didn't shower the entire time. The boys were in heaven.

Edie and I hung out at home. We ate junk food. We went to the mall to ride the merry-go-round. We slept in our comfy beds. We watched TV with Katie and her friends. We were in girl heaven.

I only wish I had pictures to prove what fun we all had.

The 80s

We haven't been doing much that is blog-worthy around here. Just regular stuff. Not too exciting. So this week's post is a blast to the past. I gathered some pictures from the 80s to give everyone a good chuckle.

Elizabeth, Mickey and I, 1985. Remember our Johnson's Army T-shirts? I didn't realize the real Johnson's Army wasn't good until I was in my 20s, I think!

Jill and I, Christmas, 1984. That's the year we all got homemade Cabbage Patch Kids from Grandma. Isn't Jill a cutie?

Here's Emily and I in the late 80s, maybe 1988? The best thing about this photo? Our hair. Classic Preteen 80s.

Me, Emily and Elizabeth at Girl Scouts. 1985-ish. Aren't we happenin'?!

Our swimming pool before we moved to Cali, 1983 or '84. I'm sure Mom cleaned out the trash can really well before we dove in. The things we did to get out of the Ohio heat.

And Karin, no comments about how you aren't in any of them. All of my pictures with you in them already got posted over here.