Winter Birthdays

We have three winter birthdays all within 2 weeks of each other - not bragging, just complaining ;) - Ellie, me and Aubree. And this year both Ellie and Aubree had birthday parties with friends. And guess what? I am not a party planner. At all. I get really stressed about all the little details AND the big picture. During all this planning I read the book "Heaven is Here" by Stephanie Clark Nielsen and it helped to remind me that everything that was stressing me out was actually a blessing. Ellie and Aubree are both alive to celebrate another birthday. I am alive and healthy enough to plan and carry out birthday parties for them. (Last year we all went through the flu during our birthday season.) Aaron has a job, so we can pay for presents and parties. Not to mention, these are parties I'm planning. PARTIES. Not PTO fundraisers or funerals or church lessons, but parties. So, really it shouldn't be that stressful. (But I still had to remind myself of that at least once a day for about three weeks.) Here are some pictures:

 This was Ellie's cake for our own family celebration. A cute little round ball… or is it?

 Surprise! Piñata cake!

Her birthday party was a cake decorating party. I made the aprons for each of the girls and a cake for each of them to decorate and take home.  The girls all had a lot of fun with the decorating - some of those cakes have more icing than cake.

Next came my birthday:
Aaron and the girls usually make me breakfast in bed for my birthday, but this year they decided to clean the entire downstairs (kitchen, dining, family rooms) before I came down in the morning. Such a great birthday surprise! It really got my day off to a great start. (In all my slobby childhood years I never dreamed that I would appreciate a clean house for my birthday. I'm becoming my mom. ha ha!)

Aubree and I had a cozy indoor picnic (notice the space heater behind us) for lunch. 

 Yummy Japanese take-out for dinner. 

And we ended the night with a few episodes of The Cosby Show. It was such a wonderful, low-key, happy birthday!

And last but not least, 

 This silly girl celebrated her GOLDEN birthday on February 5th!

 We had a tea party with a beautiful new (used) mismatched tea set. We had some cute finger foods and the girls made fascinators (the huge, fancy headbands). This party was especially stressful because there was a big storm on the day of the party. Oh the joys of winter birthdays! So, I cancelled the party, rescheduled the party, then switched it back (looking back it's doesn't seem like a big deal, but at the time I was a wreck.) Only one of her original guests was able to make it, but luckily school was canceled so we invited some neighbor friends over that normally would have been at school. In the end I'm glad it worked out the way it did. We had a wonderful time with some friends that we don't get to see very often.

And the night before Aubree's birthday the girls decided they really wanted to cut their hair. It was Aubree's first hair cut. *sniff* They look super cute, but I miss their long hair. 

bummer birthdays and other stuff

So, last Monday was Ellie's 7th Birthday. Unfortunately our family had the flu. I did not get out the camera on this day as our family neither showered or brushed our hair. We still did all her favorite meals and a cake, but it was hard to actually enjoy it. Ellie's big present was an easel with a white board and chalk board - the girls have LOVED it! I think we've finally got a gift they won't get sick of.

My birthday was last Wednesday, and although I did take a shower, I didn't brush my hair or do anything to get ready, so again no pictures. It was an even bigger bummer than Ellie's birthday because we did absolutely nothing to celebrate (seriously nothing) and the girls were still not well enough to go to school, but well enough to fight most of the day (despite my requests that the only present I wanted from them was no fighting). Or maybe it was a bummer because I still had a sore throat and was stuffed up and had a headache. Or maybe the fact that a bunch of my friends here went out to watch Les Mis, but I couldn't go because of scheduling conflicts (they didn't know it was my birthday). Or maybe the fact that Aaron didn't get me anything for my birthday (either he thought it unnecessary, or he took me seriously when I told him the Kitchenaid I bought clear back in December could be my birthday present. Why does he always have to take me so seriously?!)

So, I'm going to celebrate my birthday tomorrow now that I'm feeling better. Aaron and I are going out to lunch, and after school the girls and I will watch Anne of Green Gables since we don't have any after-school commitments. Then I'll make my favorite Chocolate Sundae Cake with ice cream!

Okay, on to other stuff.

 Just cute Carly

 This is called a house centipede and it's HUGE (about 2 1/2 inches long)! Apparently they're good though because they eat other bugs and spiders. Even so, I am going to let it live outside.

 Carly reading to her sisters - makes my heart feel good! 

Also, this is a great book with beautiful illustrations.

 A work of art by Carly.

 Santa brought us the game Sorry and these girls love to play it.

 Carly's working on a story on the old computer. She is such an amazing writer!

 Just us and the flu!

 Ellie with a headache. :(

Last night when I got home from mutual this whiteboard had "Wirst day ever" written all over it.  I asked her about it this morning and when I came in to the family room she had "This will be the best day ever" written on the white board. A good night's rest can always make a difference. I hope the positive self-talk works for her! (The letters and artwork on the bottom are Aubree's)

The History of Camile and Books

{a novel in and of itself}

In first grade I started learning phonics and sight words and I remember thinking that I would never learn how to read - it seemed way too hard! We read from the "Sun Up" books about the characters Buffy and Mac and I can still remember one of my sight word lists from that book:

          "sun, up, the, was, Buffy, Mac, good, morning, and, went, in, to"

Well, I did learn how to read and have been a book worm ever since. I remember in second grade bringing home the book "Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White and reading a few sentences to my Mom - I was so excited because I could read with "expression". I learned to love reading so much my Mom says that it was like pulling teeth to get me to put down a book and play with friends sometimes. Some of my favorite books in elementary school were Jack Weyland's LDS fiction novels. Looking back, those were probably way too mature for me, but I loved them. My Mom got me a new Jack Weyland book for my birthday one year and she even had Jack Weyland sign it - so cool! (I didn't know that he was a physics professor at Ricks College where my Mom was going to school at the time.)



Several years later, as a BYU-I student myself, I took a child development class and a children's literature class. Because of those (and my own love of reading) I was very motivated to read a lot to my future kids. Well, Carly came and I started reading to her before she could even sit up. And before she knew how to crawl, I would sit her down next to the basket of books and toys and she would pick up a book and reach it out to me saying "uhh uhh uhh" (just begging to be read to). For the first few years of her life we would spend a couple hours a day reading books - (sometimes after reading "Night Noises" for the one thousandth time I would regret having taught her to love books so much) :). But, it has paid off and I always think of this poem:

"You may have tangible wealth untold;

Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.

Richer than I you can never be --

I had a Mother who read to me."
The Reading Mother by Strickland Gillilan

Even though I have not been as dedicated with reading to Ellie and Aubree, I still try to make it a daily happening and they have each inherited a love of books also. I can't wait until Aubree's old enough so we can read "Little Women" together and "Anne of Green Gables" and "Les Miserables" (abridged probably), "Persuasion", "The Goose Girl",  "Jane Eyre" and so many others! We do read a bedtime story to them each night and it usually is a novel, but I'm saving the aforesaid favorites for when Aubree can appreciate them too. So far, we've read:

A Little Princess

*The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

The Family Under the Bridge by Natalie Carlson

Heidi by Johanna Spyri

Nellie's Promise by Valerie Tripp

The Trumpet of the Swan E.B. White

Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

Eight Cousins Louisa May Alcott

More Perfect than the Moon by Patricia Maclachlan

*The Middle Moffat by Eleanor Estes

Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes

Castle in the Attic by Elizabeth Winthrop

Battle for the Castle by Elizabeth Winthrop

and in the middle of Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin



*Our two favorites so far

Another reason I love this bedtime tradition - I choose the books they read and usually read the first few chapters, but because Aaron is the one to usually lay in bed with them at night, it is him that ends up reading most of the book to them. I love this because, although Aaron is a great reader, he has never been a fan of reading novels for pleasure, and has thought it a waste of time. (Could this be due to the fact that the house falls to shambles and our girls look like orphans when I'm reading a good book?). So, not only am I introducing my girls to the wonderful world of books, but my husband also!

 

The girls on the top bunk, Aubree doing her own thing on the ground,
and Aaron sitting on a little kiddie chair reading the book.

p.s. Some of my most favorite reads (aside from the ones I can't wait to read when Aubree is older):

The Hiding Place by Corrie TenBoom

The Education of Little Tree by Forrest Carter

Laddie by Gene Stratton-Porter

Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster

Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (love/hate relationship with that book)

29 years and 364 days

Tomorrow I turn 30. Below I've listed a few of the reasons I look forward to my thirties (or reasons why I'm not sad about turning 30).
-I still have great health. I don't have as much energy and I'm not as flexible as I once was, but that isn't so much my age as it is my lack of exercise (I definitely want to do better with this so I can keep my health). I might start getting worried about my age when I need new hips or something like that, but for now my body doesn't really feel that much older.
-I'm not concerned about wrinkles - in fact, I didn't even notice I had any until other friends my age started complaining about theirs. And I'm not worried about my three gray hairs that I have stopped plucking out of my head - I'm going to embrace the wisdom that comes with them! (When it becomes noticable I'll start dying my hair. ha ha!)
-With the bigger number in my age I'm sure that our income will also get bigger with the years - always something to look forward to.
-One of my friends turned thirty a few months ago and posted this quote on her blog: "Do not regret growing older. It is a privilege denied to many." Since my nephew died, I've thought a lot about death and I realize that death is not an awful thing and that our spirits go on living and go to a better place. But, I'm so grateful to be given this privilege of growing older and having this mortal experience. I'm grateful to watch my children grow and I expect to see my grandkids grow too.

My family

Hey friends,

So, we are now in our new (50-year-old) home! We like the community (most people do) - we’ve found that most people living in Davis county, are from Davis county. I don’t blame them, because I think it’s a great part of the SLC area.

This is part of our backyard and these are our new pets (awesome, low maintenance pets – they take care of themselves). My father-in-law took this picture and said he counted 16 mule deer living in our backyard! This backyard is going to be absolutely breath-taking in a few weeks with new spring– I’ll post pictures of the view from our living room windows.

Aaron – Aaron loves having a yard to take care of finally – lawn to mow, trees to prune, leaves to rake – he really does love it (lucky me). We also have a piano here, so he’s been playing the piano more and we all love it! He’s been going to bed early, waking up early, and taking long bus rides. Aaron’s commute is a BIG one – 1 to 1½ hours one way. He’s usually home by 6pm, so it’s not too bad (for me and the girls). Work is really slow right now and they just did some more layoffs and cut more hours. So, he’s down to a 4-day week. It’s nice to have him around more and this will give him more opportunity to do his own work with residential designs. Luckily our insurance premium is being lowered quite a bit, so we’ll still be taking home as much money each month. We’re just really hoping that he can keep his job (just like we’ve been hoping and stressing about for the last year). Aaron is so talented so we’re hoping that if he does lose his job he’ll be able to make enough money doing his own work and networking with other design/build companies.

Camile – I have been dedicating myself to trying to make our days here at home a little smoother and happier (lifelong goal). Having a bigger home has not cured Carly and Ellie of sibling rivalry like I was hoping. I don’t think that they know how to separate themselves from each other very well – even if they are totally annoying each other, they are still stuck like glue! So, I’ve started making a loose agenda for each day so that I feel a little more organized. I’ve been scheduling time for doing preschool with the girls and going to the library or park. I plan what we’ll have for each meal and what chores need to get done that day. It seems so simple (and maybe a little too overboard), but for me if I don’t have it written down and planned it just doesn’t happen a lot of the time. Well, this has helped us all A LOT – my stress level is a lot lower and I think we’re all happier. Another thing that has helped my stress level is having a bigger kitchen – our last kitchen was claustrophobic so I hated being in it. A picture of me with our top-of-the line-fifty-years-ago oven/broiler. The cutting board below actually pulls out and that is where our stove top hides – pretty cool!

Carly – She has been such a sweetheart lately! She is so sensitive to other people’s feelings (unless Ellie is driving her crazy). I especially appreciate that she recognizes my efforts to be a good Mom. She has made a new best friend here – Rosie (our 10-year-old neighbor). Carly is very outgoing and makes new friends very easily – whenever we go to the park she makes a new friend. She also just started a music class through a program called MusikGarten. Carly is so musically talented and she is just loving it! She’ll be going to the elementary school just 3 blocks from our home in the fall and I think we are all really excited for that day.

Ellie – She has recently informed us that she likes to be called Ellise (with a hard “e”). She had her 4th birthday in January. I planned a big family party for her on MY birthday (kind of a stressful way to spend a birthday – but it ended up being a lot of fun for everyone). I worry about the second child – they have so much to live up to! Her and Carly are so close in age that they compare themselves to each other (and I think Aaron and I do too sometimes). She is also doing a music class and we specifically put her in a different class than Carly so that they can become more independent from each other. Ellie took naps up until she was almost 4 (I realize that’s pretty lucky), but the afternoons get to be pretty rough for her still. It will be really nice to have Carly in Kindergarten next year so I can spend more one-on-one time with Ellie – our relationship needs it.

Aubree –

Look at those cheeks!!!

She turned one in February. She is still our little baby, but is starting to do things that are showing us how fast she’s growing up. She says, uh-oh, doggy, ma ma (for me and Aaron), thank you, baby and hi (not with perfect pronunciation, but we know what she’s saying). She folds her arms for prayer (or when she wants food), she loves to talk on the phone and she also loves to wash her hands with soap – so cute! She stands alone and walks along furniture, but she has not even attempted to take a step alone – but that’s okay, because I still want her to be my baby for as long as possible because we probably won’t have another baby for a LONG time. She sleeps in until at least 9:30 in the morning and takes one nap in the afternoon. I’m still nursing her in the morning and at night (she wants absolutely nothing to do with milk in a cup or bottle). Aubree brings so much joy into our family – she is at such a cute stage and makes all of us smile whenever she’s around! I can totally understand now how the youngest in a family gets spoiled, you just want to keep them a baby for as long as possible!

Too much info.

Aubree - 7 1/2 months old. height: 25" (10%), weight: 16.5 lbs (25%), head circ. (75%). She takes after her sisters...(and her Daddy) :) She's getting so big so quickly, time just keeps going faster and faster for me. She'll be crawling pretty soon, but it seems like she should only be 3 months old. I can't even describe how much joy she brings into our home! I think the more kids you have the more you enjoy the baby stage. Preschoolers can sometimes be such a handful and kinda' sassy sometimes, but I never have to worry about Aubree throwing a tantrum (on purpose) or hitting me (to be mean) or saying she'll never play with me again. The worst a baby can do is nothing compared to a 5- or 3-year old!
Ellise - 3 1/2 years. And she is very aware of how she looks too - she brushes her long, beautiful, blonde hair about six times a day and is very picky about what she wears (which is usually a dress or a skirt). I think it's hard for her to be the second child (especially since her big sister has such a dominant personality). So, we have a lot of crying and whining from her, which drives me crazy, but my Mom keeps telling me that she's just trying to figure out how to be seen and heard. We still try to have her take a nap every day (but it usually only happens about 4 days a week). I asked Ellie what she wanted me to say about her on our blog and she said "I love you" - she is a very sensitive and loving person.


Carly - 5 years. People ask us all the time if Carly and Ellie are twins (Carly is only 1 1/2 inches taller than Ellie), which used to really bug Carly, but now she thinks it's funny that they always trick people! Her and Ellie have been getting along pretty well lately (only fighting 30% of the time instead of 60%), I just love to see them playing well together and make-believing with each other - they are so creative! Carly is definitely a leader - she is very good at directing all the other kids (neighbors and friends) when they play house (even if she is supposed to be the baby in the game). I asked Carly what she wanted me to say about her on our blog - "That I'm really nice" - well, she gets an "E" for effort. She really does try, but she takes after her Mom...(not a whole lot of natural patience). I've said this before, but she is just a very passionate girl. Aaron hopes that when she's older she gets called as the R.S. "Passionate" service leader (his version of compassionate service leader I guess) - ha ha!! She asks some of the most interesting questions - she is so curious and eager to learn.
hair-brushing train

Me - I'm not one of those superwomen who can keep up on a blog and be a good mother, wife, housekeeper, enrichment leader, etc. all at the same time. I'm really trying to work on my organizational skills! So, I've been blogging less and watching movies less and going to bed earlier and waking up at 6am (a few days a week) to go walking and read my scriptures (I realized that I need to start my days off better). The biggest reason I decided to start walking is because I usually go through every day feeling tired and in a fog. And I'm sick of feeling so worn out and having to miss out on motherhood because of it. I want my girls to have memories of me playing with them and being cheerful and excited about life. (As I said earlier "I'm trying".) Most people I talk to who do exercise say they can tell a difference in their energy level, so I'm hoping it works for me. Another reason I've started walking is because I've been blessed with a healthy body, and up to this point I've just taken that for granted, so I want to do something to show that I'm grateful to have a healthy body. I know walking isn't a big deal, but it's a starting point.


Aaron - Still has a job which is seriously a blessing (and a miracle considering how slow things are at his firm and how many landscape architects are out of jobs right now). But, it's still likely that he could lose his job at any time. I just wonder when things will pick back up again. It's interesting to think about where the future might take us! Aaron's been studying for the last two tests in the licensing exam and he takes the tests this weekend. I'm thinking he'll pass and then he will be official! He's also been getting really excited for his big hunt in two weeks with his cousin Terrance. Right now Aaron is carrying Aubree on his shoulders and supervising the other kids outside - such a good Daddy. (Sorry, no picture of Aaron - I just realized that Aaron and I need to actually include ourselves in some of the pictures.)

p.s. Another movie recommendation that I forgot about: BBC's Little Dorrit (based on the novel by Charles Dickens). Very highly recommend it - both Aaron and I really liked it! Sometimes BBC movies aren't very good with the acting and look low budget, but not this one. Seriously, WAY good acting, awesome story, very well made.

What we've been up to...

Carly - Climbing up the apple tree (She get this high all by herself)!
Falling down the apple tree (natural consequence of climbing it without Mommy or Daddy with you). Poor girl!
practicing photography skills - a sample of her latest work below :)
We've been trying to teach the girls about being polite, we still have to work on it a little:
While passing a lady at Temple Square Carly whispers to me, "Mom, that lady has pretty hair", moments later, and much louder, "I won't say that she's fat, that might be embarrassing."


Ellie - She's been doing a lot of Rolly Polie hunting (you know, isopod crustaceans of the family Armadilliadiidae- a.k.a. potato bugs)
singing opera (so dang cute, but she's too shy to do it for the camera)
Aaron thinks that she is possibly OCD ( I think she's just 3...but maybe)
Earlier this week I checked on Ellie during her naptime and I found her like this. In her closet inside a pillowcase.

Aubree (Bree, Breester, BreeLyn, Chub-a-wub) - Smiling, talking, and laughing (I can't get enough of it)! She also loves to look at her hands and will try to catch one hand with her other hand and get it in her mouth. Weighs about 12 lbs and is working on rounding out her cheeks (I just want to nibble on her cheeks all day long). She is exclusively breastfed, but I did find a binky that she likes (both a good and bad thing), so maybe she will take a bottle now if I tried.

This picture makes me want to wake her up and cuddle her! I just love my sweet baby!!!
Have you ever seen cuter little piggies?!

Me (Camile) - I had the stomach flu a couple weeks ago (sure makes me grateful for the good health I normally enjoy....and not being pregnant). 2nd Enrichment activity as Enrichment leader. Trying to spend more quality time with Carly and Ellie (an ongoing goal of mine - problem is I'm not as organized with my time as I would like to be). Trying to finish the Book of Mormon by the end of summer (thanks to motivation from my friend, Leah). Just finished the book "A Girl of the Limberlost" by Jene Stratton-Porter. I really liked it (but I like her book "Laddie" even better).
My sister, Steph went to the Bountiful Temple yesterday to receive her endowments. Aaron and I were able to be there - so neat!

Aaron - Still has a job! YAY!! (Although things are still REALLY slow at work.) He's also got a couple of free lance jobs that he's been working on which is such a financial blessing. He's been studying for the Landscape Architecture licensing exam. He drew out on an AWESOME hunt (bull elk and Mule Deer buck - at the same time)!!
Unlike me, Aaron is very organized with his time and very self-disciplined. He usually wakes up at about 5:30 or 6:00 to practice piano and organ, then ride his bike to work (7 miles). When he gets home in the evening he plays with the girls, helps clean the house, and helps get the girls to bed. (What a guy!) Then he works on one of his extra jobs or studies for the licensing exam. (I can't wait for this exam to be over so we can start watching movies again - we are movie junkies.)

St. Patty's Day & Super Powers

St. Patrick's Day was also the day of my first Enrichment as the Enrichment Leader. Thanks to my AWESOME committee the night was a success (as far as I could tell). We had a delicious dinner and a video presentation of Sherri Dew giving a talk at Women's Conference. We also had some conversation starter questions at each table which was fun. One of the questions was:

If you could have a super power, what would it be?

Normally I would choose flying - just to feel the sensation.

But considering my current life circumstances I would have to choose endless energy/no need for sleep (self explanatory, right)?

Aaron says he would want to be Superman because he has it all. But, I explained to him that the question said a super power not a super hero. So, then he chose "either speed, or strength, or flying" (middle child syndrome - can't make up his mind. :))

So, what about you (and why)?

Making my life easier...

My friend Elisa made me this awesome baby wrap a few days ago. I LOVE IT!!! I would definitely recommend it to anyone with babies (you can even carry a toddler or preschooler safely). It is so comfortable and fits very snugly. There are tons of different ways to wrap your child - in the front (like I'm doing in the picture), on your back, on your hip - you can nurse, clean, cook, whatever! Before I had this there were so many times that I had to listen to Aubree scream while I did something else that required two hands... not anymore!

Thanks to our door chain I am able to take a nap while the baby sleeps and Carly and Ellie watch a movie. I don't have to worry about them going out or letting someone else in. I usually have about twenty minutes before Ellie is bored or before the Carly and Ellie drama starts.

And last, but not least... Aaron, aka entertainer (for Carly and Ellie), sounding board (for me...and the girls), maid, cook, and basically anything that needs to be done.

Just had to add this picture - what a doll!
p.s. I finally added a playlist. The "Aubrey" song by Bread is on it.