The Wrath of Abby

This morning, Roy was running out the door and couldn't find his umbrella so asked to borrow Abby's.  I gave the go-ahead and off he ran.  About 45 minutes later, I got a text saying he had left the umbrella in the a of the driver who took him in today (he waits at a big parking lot and people who want to take advantage of the HOV lanes into DC come by and pick up waiting passengers who are heading in the same direction).  This is not the first item (nor the first or second umbrella) that has been left in some random person's car.  Abby immediately burst into tears upon hearing the news of her umbrella and was very angry.  I explained that it was an accident and that Dad was probably just distracted.  After a little bit she asked to borrow my phone so she could send a text to Roy and get the anger out of her system.  Here's what she composed:

Your in big big big big big  big

big trobl so nevr lev    an

unbrelu  you caNt play on

your fone for one hole wek or

intl you git my unbrlu .

It's a BOY!

We are so excited that our sweet new baby is a boy!  Sam is especially excited for a brother, Abby warmed up quickly to the idea, and Lydia is clueless.  We're excited to meet this little guy.  Now to come up with a name...

The Last Snow Day

We have had SO much snow and so many snow days this winter.  Maybe it's wishful thinking that the snow we got today will be the last day of snow, but a girl can hope!  As nice as it's been for us to all have more time together and as many little projects we were able to do together, I think it's safe to say that if today were the last day of snow, the kids would be happy.  Today alone they threw snowballs, built a snow castle, went sledding, Abby did her snowboarding trick with the sled, helped us clean off the cars, and had a great time!

Capturing Abby

Abby has been bringing home her writing every day.  She has to use a certain word in her sentence and I love to hear what she has to say because it truly captures what is going on in her mind.  The word that is bolded is the word she was required to use.

Abby's words: "Will you come to fises our frt dor?  It fell oof.  Will you fises it for oos ples?"
Interpretation: "Will you come fix our front door?  It fell off.  Will you fix it for us please?
The Story: Our back sliding glass door is slowly falling apart.  We had a guy come out to look at it the day before so we could have the landlords convinced that we weren't being dramatic--the door truly cannot be fixed...it needs to be replaced.

Abby's words: "I like to pala with my brothre and my sister.  We like to play owxsigd."
Interpretation: "I like to play with my brother and sister.  We like to play outside."

Abby's words: "My Dad has sind up for beying a sokrco ch.  By the way are last name is Zwahlen."
Interpretation: "My Dad has signed up for being a soccer coach.  By the way, our last name is Zwahlen."

Abby's words: "I see my mom and my cozin.  One  name is Zach.  The ovr is Ethin.  The ygist is Sofe.  I love them all and my hll famle."
Interpretation: "I see my mom and my cousin.  One's name is Zach.  The other is Ethan.  The youngest is Sophia.  I love them all and my whole family."

Abby's words: "I like my mom and my famule and my mom les me sugl in to hrr and my sisdr is sille.  My Dad and Sam love to resll.  Lukle tha dot resll me."
Interpretation: "I like my mom and my family and my mom lets me snuggle into her and my sister is silly.  My Dad and Sam love to wrestle.  Luckily they don't wrestle me."

Abby's words: "This is me.  This is my famule.  This is my Dad.  His rel name is Roy."
Interpretation: "This is me.  This is my family.  This is my Dad.  His real name is Roy."

Abby's words: "Tar is a big famule in my hozs.  Tay lov me and I lov tim."
Interpretation: "There is a big family in my house.  They love me and I love them."

Abby's words: "This is my sisst.  Hrr name is Lytea was ating lik a two ye ld today she was lafing win I told mom."
Interpretation: "This is my sister.  Her name is Lydia.  She was acting like a two year old today.  She was laughing when I told mom."

Abby's words: "My femule is the best.  I have the best famule bkus I lik thim.  I love my mom sing to me in the roking cher so thas wyi my mo is the best."
Interpretation: "My family is the best.  I have the best family because I like them.  I love when my mom sings to me in the rocking chair so that is why my mom is the best."
Note: She drew a heart around the word love.  She really loves me :)

Abby's words: "My Dad went on a wrk chip.  He cold us evreday.  On Friday 20th 2014 he did sicp."
Interpretation: "My Dad went on a work trip.  He called us everyday.  On Friday, February 20, 2014, he did Skype."

Abby's words: "This is my mom.  Look at hrr tome see she is pegmit.  I bsibib that I wod col the dady Blom."
Interpretation: "This is my mom.  Look at her tomorrow.  She is pregnant.  I decided I would call the baby Bloom."

Abby's words: "We hav a lot of fan in the swiming pole with my mom and my Dad and Sam and Liydyai.  It is fan!"
Interpretation: "We have a lot of fun in the swimming pool with my mom and my dad and Sam and Lydia.  It is fun!"

Abby's words: "Mom come here to Serotogo Elomenenre skool.  Come to art come to PE and come to music.  Sing do fun crats and do hethe tings so Dad come and mom and Sam and Lidyia."
Interpretation: "Mom, come here to Saratoga Elementary School.  Come to art, come to PE, and come to Music.  Sing, do crafts, and do healthy things.  So Dad, come, and Mom and Sam and Lydia."

Catch Up Post

Between being our normal busy and being tired from being pregnant, I have been neglecting our blog more than I wish.  But that's life!  And I have the honor of growing this little baby we all love already.  Sam is calling the baby Cookie (and there is no deterring him from this name...he told us 2 months ago and has not varied from his plan) and Abby is sure we will call the baby Bloom.  Sam is sure that he played with his baby brother in heaven with Jesus and Abby is just as convinced that her sister is getting so big.  So to say that we are all looking forward to the Big Reveal on March 19 is an understatement. :)  But here's what we've been up to lately:

Attending a Baptism:

A brother in our ward took these pictures of the kids.  The pictures are very telling of the stages of the kids right now.  Lydia loves art and she pretty much has to draw on a chalkboard if it is within reach.  And if it's not within reach, she knows how handy chairs are for climbing.  

Sam really enjoyed the spread of refreshments after the baptism.  He had no problem going back for more of what he liked.  Again and again and again.  After getting in trouble for having his third little cup of kettle corn, Sam decided to take matters into his own hands.  He next appeared with two cups of popcorn and when he got in trouble, he shoved one into Lydia's hands and quickly slid under the table with the second cup.  He knew very well that neither parent would climb under after him to wrestle that last cup out of his hands, especially if he chewed on the edges and slobbered on it.

Abby was one of the older kids there, but no one was really close to her age.  She is curious about listening to adults and talking to them about the things that interest her, but she is just as ready to do something funny with Sam and Lydia.  It's been really fun to see how much she has grown up the last six months.

Stuck at Home:

We've had lots and lots of snow and cold weather.  Besides the fact that we have to make up the missed days of school, we all cheer when we hear that Abby gets a surprise day off and we get to play all together.  We get to do Legos, magnets, watch videos, play games, and do all sorts of fun stuff.  Love these three together!

  

We went to a play place at one of the malls and as we walked through JC Penney, Abby saw the prom stuff out and fell in love with this dress.  We had to take a picture so she could always remember it.

Sam got cool glow-in-the-dark glasses for his birthday (thanks, Stoddards!).  He went to bed wearing them.

Valentine's Day:

So Much Snow:

Abby figured out that the sled is good for not just sledding, but improvised snowboarding.  So far the only injury was her rake she was using to push off broke her landing and snapped apart.  She's actually gotten really good!

Snow plow mountain.  Sam built an impressive fort using the compacted, icy snow from the plow.  Lydia hangs out in my arms still except a quick minute to try out the snow before getting too cold or intimidated by the ice and snow.

Random Fun:

This boy is so funny.  Some of his funny moments are below, but Sam seriously keeps me laughing every day, sometimes accompanied by tears, both the "I'm so mad at you" tears and the "How are you possibly so funny?" ones.

Lydia had a great time at playgroup a few weeks ago with her buddy Ethan.  They are just a couple weeks apart.  She loved pushing him around on his push airplane and they somehow avoided any crashes with the big kids.

Funny Moments:

• Sam told Lydia recently that they could be "Squishy Buddies".  I wish I knew what that meant.
• Tonight as I was saying good night to Sam, he told me, "I'm attracted to girls."  (Insert my attempt to hold back laughter)  "Yeah, I'm attracted to magic girls."  This was one of those moments when tears were coming.
• Sam stated, "Everyone in our family is good at fighting monsters, but me and Daddy are good at pooping on monsters."
• Abby came home from school last week and told me there was a big assembly that day.  This is the first one the school has done in a while so I was surprised.  I felt like I had to drill her to find out what happened.  She finally said she got a Super SMART Stallion (side note: each letter in SMART starts out a short sentence about how to behave at school and the school recites it together each day) at the assembly.  During her story, she gave more details about the way they messed up our last name than what the award was for.  Once we got home and I got to see the award, I learned she was awarded for outstanding behavior.  I'm so proud of her!  She works so hard and comes home every day and reports to me how she did that day.  She is such a good girl and I am grateful to be her mom.
• We were driving all together and Roy and I were chatting while the kids listened to a story.  Out of nowhere, Lydia loudly states, "Dada is poopoopants!"  Tears and laughter followed immediately.
• I told Lydia that it was time for naptime.  She defiantly said, "No naptime!"  I told her we could grab her beep (blanket).  She said, "No beep!"  I told her we would turn on her music.  "No meep (music)!"  So while I am laughing a little about her stubborn response, I asked her what it was time for.  She thought for just a second before saying, "No naptime!  Poopoopants time!"
• Roy was in San Francisco this week.  Abby really stepped up and did so much more than her usual.  She is always a super helper with Sam and Lydia and hardly ever complains about helping me.  One morning, she cleared off the table at breakfast, helped load the dishwasher, ran upstairs and got dressed and helped Sam pick out clothes, and sang while Lydia fought having her hair done.  Not only that, but she is so good about sharing all the fun parts of her school day with me.
• Sam asked me today why the bad guy on "The Lion King" is named Poofasa.

Pet Store Field Trip

We went on a field trip to a small, local pet store for our preschool co-op group.  There were 5 kids in the preschool plus the younger siblings so it was a good-sized group.  The pet store ladies brought out rabbits, a bearded dragon, snakes, iguanas, guinea pigs, a blue-tongued skink, a chinchilla, a turtle, and even a puppy.  There are a dozen not-wonderful pictures, but they capture a really fun hour for some great kids.

I wish you could see the smile on Sam's face.  He fell in love.  This kid needs a dog.

First Sunday 2014

I took pictures before church (early church...we LOVE it!) of the kids.  Sam had his first day of being in Sunbeams, Abby in CTR 6, and Lydia being in a smaller nursery class.  We're so thankful for these wonderful kids!