Ringing in the New Year

We had a very laid back sort of New Year's Eve celebration. Ez went to work and Alexis went off to a Girl Scouts slumber party. We ate our favorite simple meal from Costco--orange chicken and rice, and then just played around for a while.

Evie and Joe were playing with mom's bread pans and were being rather noisy, so I sent them into the front room to use them. Joe decided they would make great "ice skates", and soon all the kids were having fun skating around!

Evie and Joe went to bed a bit after 8, but Lily and David wanted to stay up as late as they could. We watched the ball drop in NYC at 9:00 just in case we didn't make it. Mom was ready for bed before the kids were, and she took Lily into her room to watch TV around 11. David managed to stay up until midnight, but he was determined to do it since last year he fell asleep at about 11:45.

"ice skating"

"ice skating"

Joe letting Evie put hair clips in his hair

Eating yummy nachos

Happy New Year!

Loving the Cake

Evie was enjoying birthday cake long after the rest of us were done, and Grandma Jane was able to get some great pictures of it all.

David's Birthday, continued

I don't think David could have been feeling luckier to have his celebration on New Year's Day this year. He got to watch the Rose Bowl with Dad (and the family too, of course), and USC was playing Penn State!

We snacked on nachos during the game and then ate David's favorite dinner--steak, bread, corn on the cob. He got a new skateboard from the family and a cool DVD about the history of roller coasters from Jane. We rounded off the evening with delicious cake (made and decorated by mom) and ice cream.

Happy 9th Birthday, David!

We've had a nice, relaxing day celebrating David's birthday. This is due, in part, to the fact that we are holding off the celebrating until tomorrow when Ez has the day off! Ez got home this morning at about 7 and David was still asleep, but I knew he was not going to want to wait until Ez woke up to open his gifts. Ez and I decided it would be fun to wake up David and give him his gifts in bed! Of course not all the kids saw it, but it was something different and fun.


Waking up


A bit more awake when he realizes he got another jersey!

David is definitely a great blessing in our family, I am really greatful for him. Here are nine things I love about David on his 9th birthday!
1. David is a bright boy. He catches on to things quickly.
2. He has a great laugh. It is one of those that is sort of a giggle, and once he gets going, it's hard not to laugh right along with him.
3. He is becoming quite the assistant barbecuer to Ez, always helping him out. He actually seasoned our dinner on Sunday, and it was perfect.
4. David is athletic. We're glad he takes after dad in this way!
5. He is a good brother. David can be a very kind, helpful, thoughtful big brother.
6. David is quite skilled in the art of video games. He really enjoys playing his PSP when he can and loves to challenge just about anybody on Guitar Hero.
7. He loves his dad more than anything. They are best buds. David loves to play football with Ez, wrestle with him, just sit and watch football. He even has the same favorite foods as Ez--rib-eye steak, sea salt and vinegar chips, rocky road ice cream. He even has the same smile!
8. David is a night owl, just like his mom. His least favorite part of the day is bedtime because he so dislikes the idea of going to bed before the adults and potentially missing out on something good!
9. David is determined. When there is something he wants to learn to do, he will make sure he figures out how to do it. He will try and try, ask questions, observe, and try some more until he is satisfied.

Happy Birthday, David! We hope this birthday will be special and memorable for you. We love you!

A few photos of David as he has celebrated his birthdays:


Just a few hours old


A few days old


1 year


2 years


3 years




4 years


5 years


6 years


7 years


8 years


9 years

Trying Something New

I have always liked the idea of writing in journals for my kids but have never been very successful at it. Last year I became inspired once again when I heard a father speaking about the many great things his children learned by writing in their personal journals once a week. He would print up photos each week of something each child did, then they would attach their photo to their journal and write about it.

I thought of the great potential there would be in having my kids do something like that, so I was excited! I went and bought binders for the kids, helped them decorate them, and pulled out all sorts of paper and photos we already have and let them start. There were a few obvious problems from the start. The first is that I am terrible at getting photos printed up, so I didn't have a lot of current photos. Lily wasn't writing at the time, so it left me and Ez to help Lily, Joe, and Evelyn with their journals. David does not like to write, so he whined about the activity the entire time. So pretty much only Alexis was enjoying it, and it was too much work for just one kid to like it, so I abandoned it after only a few weeks.

I came up with a better solution after seeing a few friends do something similar--I have started a blog for each of the kids! Alexis has been wanting one for a while, so she is rather excited. David and Lily are pretty excited too! The great thing is that I don't have to worry about printing photos, they are just on the computer. The big kids can each do their own typing and I can help edit it afterwards.

I am hoping this will be a much better solution and a way for the kids to find their voice and express themselves. We'll see how it goes!

Because we can

Ever get a craving for something random? Joe decided he really really really needed a snow cone for dessert last night. It's too cold, I said! No way, I don't want to, I said. But he persisted and he got Lily on board...and well, I decided it really wasn't worth the fight. So, if you can make snow cones in December and you want to, why not? Poor Alexis missed out because she's having a slumber party at Grandma's. Next time, I guess.

Guitar Hero-ing

As with any video game we tend to get, David is quickly mastering it, with Ez just trailing and the rest of us lagging far behind, but we are all having fun with it!Just a few photos from the first couple hours of Guitar Hero at the house.