Sweet A

What a doll this little girl is!!! We just love her! She went from spending most of her time on her tummy to sitting up and then a few days later crawling and then a week later trying to pull herself up!! It has been crazy!!! She can get herself standing up on most things but hasn't learned how to sit down yet :) She has a few bruises on her head from falling :) But she is so happy!

Now that she is sitting up she can go in the bike trailer so we've been on several family Saturday morning bike rides. She can also sit in the swings and loves it!

E continues to be such a great sister to A! She is such a help and truly enjoys being with her little sister. E got a crown and wand from the dollar store and thought she better try it on A...I barely had enough time to grab a camera :)
A absolutely loves the bird! Mg especially loves the bird and has it out as often as we will let her and does a great job holding Tweety. The bird has been good leverage, too (when your lunch is finished you may hold the bird...). Mg is really good about letting A see Tweety, although once she let A get a little too close and A got a few feathers!!! But A just watches and smiles and even occasionally giggles at it! Love this baby!!

Little Chefs

So during spring break E was sick to her stomach the first few days so we didn't go anywhere but M was in the mood to cook. So she put on her little apron and got her little pink measuring tools and we tried all sorts of fun things!

These are "daisy biscuits" - perfect for someone who likes daisies! :)
As soon as E was feeling better she was in on the fun. They have always enjoyed getting on an apron and helping me but this time I let them pick out what to make and they've been having so much fun!!!

Chocolate chip banana muffins - didn't turn out the yummiest but we had fun trying! :)

Now the girls have their own cookbooks that we've been making. And of course they like recipe books with pictures so we've been taking pictures of all the foods we make and adding them to the book. A little bit of work but they love it and when they eat something they like I hear "can we add this to my cookbook?" I love my little helpers!!! I wish I had some pictures of Mg too - she really likes to help me and probably does it the most of anyone. It seems to be one of those special things she likes to do with me. It's a treat for the other girls but Mg will help me all the time!

Our New Bird

So there are lots of pictures to put up from spring break but these are the ones the girls are most excited about so here you go...our first night of training with Tweety Bird out of his cage with the girls...everyone did SO well!




Notice Mg eating a ballet slipper :)

Our New Arrival!!

Announcing the newest member to our family...Tweety Bird! Daddy grew up with birds and when we were first married we had a bird so we already had a cage. We've had hamsters but they're nocturnal and we've wanted something the kids can enjoy more during the day. The rats seemed a little gross and the mice were so tiny and gerbils are illegal in CA so we haven't done anything. We'd REALLY like to get a cat but we can't have one here and don't know if we'll be able to have one in our next place. I had taken Mg to the pet store trying to kill off some time and it hit me...let's get another bird! We didn't like them in our last apartment complex because our place was so tiny and it was too noisy but our new place is a townhouse and this is working great! We went to pick one out on Monday and he seems to be a great bird and the girls are SO excited to have a pet again!!!
I know...he's not yellow like Tweety Bird but they picked the name before we got there and this was their youngest bird (best for training) but he is wonderful and we love having a pet!

Spring Break

(note: the previous post should have gone first so they're a little out of order. We got our bird on the first day of spring break)

We've had a nice week! I was really looking forward to a week home with my girls nad not having to get in the car 3 times a day. Unfortunately E had a stomach bug the first 3 days so we didn't get to go out and do much, although we had a nice time at home.

Since we were at home M got to do a lot of cooking and we made her a cookbook with her favorite foods. We've been taking pictures of her cooking and adding it to the cookbook so it can be in color :) We've been having a good time together. My mom got her a set of small (and pink!) kitchen utencils and she likes measuring things out with her tools and rolling out the biscuit dough with her little rolling pin. Such fun! E has gotten to join us the last 2 days as she's started feeling better. Mg has always enjoyed helping in the kitchen and loves to put her apron on!!!

We did get one field trip in...to "Toad Hollow." It's a Davis thing...some environmental thing where they were worried about a road being built in the path of the toads so they built some houses for them by the post office and a tunnel so they wouldn't get smashed by the cars. As the story goes they spent a huge sum of money to save the frogs although not one frog has ever actually used the tunnel. M learned about it in school so we drove there and stayed long enough to get a picture because it was cold and there was nothing else to do! :)

We've also been to the hardware store where we picked up scrap plywood for $1.50 and had them cut it for us and made beds for their dolls. The girls had seen some beds at Target that were $25.00 and looked about the same as the ones we made, only our beds were $3.00 and they've had fun painting them and picking out fabric from my scrap pile to make bedding. Daddy did a great job using his power tools to assemble them! :)
his morning the girls were watching Alice in Wonderland and we decided to have an "unbirthday party." It was fun - the girls and some friends got on funny clothes and we ate dirt and ants and daisies on the floor under the table and the missionaries just happened to stop by and join in on the fun. Hooray for unbirthdays!

We'e also started training Tweety Bird and the girls held him for the first time tonight! They all did surprisingly well and were really excited. We thankfully have a wonderful bird and the girls have really enjoyed him this week as he's learned to climb around his cage (and fall) and eat and drink and tweet - it's nice to have a pet again!

So it's been a good week! I was planning to go to San Jose to see my new nephew (congrats Sara and Scott!!!) but don't want to risk getting anyone sick so we'll just enjoy some family time tomorrow! We've had a good spring break and hopefully I'll get some pictures up soon!

Sweet A

She's on the move!! She started crawling about 2 weeks ago...and watch out!!!! She is everywhere! She face planted a lot more than I remember the other girls doing just because she is so anxious to get going. My mom said I wasn't truly happy until I could run and I think that is how A is...after a week of crawling she started trying to pull herself up on furniture!!!! She's ready to go. Her favorite thing right now is for someone to sit on the floor and she'll go straight to you and climb all over you. E gives the best laughs as A crawls all over her and grabs her nose...it is so fun to watch! These two are the best buddies, and I love it!

She is also loving baby food...she gets so excited when she sees it. It's fun to have such a happy baby...and such a cute one!!! She has the best smile that turns on anytime you talk to her!

Cooking

I have really been enjoying cooking the last several months. One of those enjoyable chores :) A few things have led to this happy hobby...

1) We have a monthly cooking club with church and each month we pick a theme (breads, healthy foods, treats, etc) and everyone brings samples and their recipe for that topic. I have really been enjoying getting ready each month and I'll try new things to share - it has really made cooking a lot more fun.

2) My husband loves food!!! He really loves yummy bread to go along with his meals so I have been spending quite a bit of time lately learning about the different ingredients and techniques of baking and it is SO satisfying to smell fresh bread baking and have it turn out beautifully on the table!

3) We've been counseled to store a year's supply of food. When my parents moved they gave us quite a bit of their storage that was going to expire soon, especially oats, so I started looking for ways to use it up. Then I wanted to learn to use the other food we had stored (wheat, beans, etc) so I've started working on those foods. Now I am also working on a 3 month supply of foods we regularly eat (spaghetti, etc) and trying to figure out a months menu using foods that would store well for several months. It has been a fun challenge to make it yummy, healthy and interesting.

So all of this has led to trying a lot of foods (and almost all have turned out well!) and feeling pretty happy with myself. I've been thinking about sharing some of the recipes on my blog for a few months now but haven't found the time to sit and do it, usually because there are some recent pictures to put up first. But I'm in the mood right now (and need to chill out after a very frustrating day with my little darlings) so here goes...recipe number one...

Oatmeal-Chocolate Chip Cookies (Betty Crocker)
Prep Time:1 hr 5 min, Makes:3 1/2 dozen cookies

1 ½ cups packed brown sugar
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
2 cups quick-cooking oats
1 ½ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup semisweet choc chips
1 cup chopped nuts, if desired

Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, stir brown sugar and butter until blended. Stir in vanilla and egg until light and fluffy. Stir in oats, flour, baking soda and salt; stir in chocolate chips and nuts.

Onto ungreased cookie sheet, drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart. Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.

Did You Know? Cookie dough can be covered and refrigerated for up to 24 hours before baking. If it becomes too firm, let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before using.
Storage: Cookie dough can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 9 months. Thaw just until soft enough to handle

This was just a recipe I found trying to use oats and we all really liked it. I don't usually like cookies (just the dough!) but I do like this one and I even like them a few days later (very unusual for me!). Hope you enjoy! Let me know if there is an interest for more...I've contemplated making a web page full of food storage information with recipes and 3 month supply info. It sounds like fun (I love computer stuff!!!) but didn't know if anyone but me would care or look at it!!!

The Hotel's Pool

The girls were SO excited about the swimming pool at the hotel. They love to swim! We left early enough on our way to Disneyland that we got to the hotel around 3:00 which left time for the pool before their cousins and grandparents made it. They especially loved Daddy (and Mg)chasing them around.
And even little A got her first chance to be in a pool!

Princesses!!

We had the best time having "Dinner with the Princesses" at California Adventure. It was at Ariel's Grotto so they went down a carpet staircase down to take pictures with Ariel...

Then we started eating a great dinner and every few minutes another princess would come out and go to each table and spend time with each girl and take pictures. It was fun to see the girls excitement wondering who the next princess was. We got in all their favorites!
M loved seeing Belle again...last time we were at Disneyland we saw Belle coming out as soon as we got into the park so we ran up (first in line) and whipped out the camera...and the batteries died. Luckily I had new batteries in my pocket and as I quickly replaced them Belle danced with M and taught her to curtsey like a princess - it was a highlight of the trip! M reminded Belle that they danced together last time and Belle remembered!! She noticed that M had grown a lot since the last time they saw each other and made a few other comments - it was perfect!!!

Mg was a little nervous but was very excited to see Cinderella

E had been watching Aladdin quite a bit before we left and loved Jasmine so this was a great treat! We also got to meet Sleeping Beauty...what a great dinner (and an INCREDIBLE dessert!!!) Thanks Lisa for setting it up!!!

More Disneyland

It has been a crazy week and a half since we got back! We had a flu bug that hit the entire family (rarely happens - can't complain!) and now a mild cold that got the girls. Oh well. They've all had good attitudes through it and we had a nice day home together when the big girls stayed home from school. I'm looking forward to spring break next week! Anyways, here are a few more pictures - I realized that I don't have very many! With keeping track of so many girls I guess I just didn't take the camera out very often (very unlike me!). My dad and sister both took pictures though so maybe I'll have more later. Here are a few of the girls on rides...





It was such a great trip!!!! Coming next...dinner with the princesses!!!