She’s a Natural

Bella’s has turned into some kind of dancer that I was expecting to see for a few more years.  She has talent, but it isn’t the kind of talent that comes with hours and hours of practice (which has its own merits, to be sure!).  There exists a type of talent that you’re either born with or you ain’t – and this girl was born that way!  I don’t usually get to stay and watch Bella’s dance class, because I take Ari to physical therapy at the same time, so her moves came as a surprise to me.  I half expected the awkwardness of a… well, a little girl.  But to put it mildly, Bella moves like a woman.  Her booty rolls could turn any head :). 

It needs to be said that maybe I should have given her more credit.  She was blessed with the lion’s share of athletic ability of my kids – for instance, she can do the splits while riding a two-wheel bike… one handed.  She can outrun any boy her age that has dared try her (and many older ones).  She is a stunter in cheerleading, and the owner (her private coach) calls her “a natural”.  She was swimming underwater like a fish by the time she was two years old.  So, she’s cool like that, and I guess it was only a matter of time before she started looking too sexy while dancing (despite being the most modestly dressed of all the dancers in her class, I might add ;)). 

Yeah, I’m proud of my little sassy mcsassafrass, cutie patootie, one-handed wonder for sure.

And I just have to do a throwback pic of baby Bella doing the splits (after putting on her ankle bracelets).

Last Lantana Thanksgiving

These past few months have been wild.  We completed a remodel, sold our Lantana house, moved, and we are finally settling into our perfect little country home (I still can’t believe we did it!).  I haven’t had any Internet for a very long time, which also has a lot to do with why I haven’t posted in quite a while.  As much as it kills me to skip out on annual traditions, we did that a lot this year, because of all that moving during the holidays entails.  Something had to give.  We didn’t take family photos (yet), and I haven’t sent out any holiday cards.  Don’t feel left out if you didn’t receive one.  You’re in good company. 

But we are here, and we have not moved far, and things are really good.  Busy.  Happy.  And good.  This is us (the best I can do for now):

We celebrated our last holiday in the Lantana house just two weeks before the big move.  We kept it simple, and I will always remember it as one of our sweetest Thanksgivings.  There is something very warm and tender about knowing that you are doing something for the last time.  Jake’s mom and dad made the trek down to the valley to spend it with us, knowing all along that they’d be returning in just a couple weeks’ time to help us with moving.  We felt so happy to have their company.

Here are three photos of these people that I love.  I couldn’t choose just one, because none of them is really good, and yet, that’s what makes each one perfect.  This is my awesome, loving, real family.

Liam loved everything about his dinner.  We ate a smoked turkey, bacon and leek bread stuffing, roasted red potatoes, balsamic glazed Brussels sprouts, cranberry sauce, sweet potato casserole, and homemade blueberry cobbler and pecan pies.

Bella made me a pilgrim bonnet.

We ate at the big table with the doors open so we could feel like we were dining outside.  We love feeling like we’re outside, even when we aren’t.  Twyla looks so happy that she could cry.  I feel that way quite a bit, although I hardly ever show it.  But then again, that’s why I do the blogging thing; to keep a record of the feelings that go with the memories, so that I’ll always have them, even after both have long since faded with time.

We made a grateful tree, and each wrote on the leaves things that we have to be grateful for in our lives.  The tree was heavy laden with leaves and gratitude.  Among the things my children wrote on their own were:  love, new house, rainbows, my room, cousins, appreciation, food and water, life, family, markers, Grammy and Papa’s house, my bed, good food, my bed, friends, and the Lord.

When our lives our this full, feeling grateful and giving thanks come pretty easily.

Bathtub Baby

Liam is my most complex baby out of the four.  He is full of emotions, to the extremes.  He is my most cuddly baby.  When I sing him his favorite lullaby “I Love You Forever” every night before I lay him down, he completely melts into my arms and strokes my hair and face, while looking adoringly into my eyes or rubbing his chin into my neck.  He is so easy to love.  And yet, that seems to be the only easy thing about him these days, as he is pretty clingy, very stubborn, and has me “wrapped around his finger” as I’ve been told.  He may pull my hair out (literally) or throw a three hour tantrum over not getting to eat the blackberries out of the carton at Sprouts, but how could I stay mad at that face?

Right now, he loves making funny faces to get a laugh (he’d do anything for a laugh or applause), walking across the room (finally), giving kisses (even to Ari, his nemesis and competitor for my attention), riding on his four ride-on cars, animals, taking baths, his Aden + Anais blankets, stuffed animals, playing in the dirt, avocado, fruit, pasta, and broccoli, throwing his food and sippy cup on the floor, saying “oh no” right as he is about to do something naughty, chatting with Gabe, climbing everything, playing with a ball, and dancing to music.  He dislikes running errands, when I talk to other adults, when I talk to other kids, when I put him down, and a number of other things that mainly involve when I pay attention to something other than him :).

I still love this crazy but oh-so-cuddly and cute cubmuffin. 

Princesses & Superheroes

Halloween is one of the best times of the year in our neighborhood.  Our street hosts a block party with costume and jack-o-lantern contests and lots of great food.  Everyone comes out and enjoys the last of the daylight hours in the middle of our barricaded street before we all head out for a night of trick-or-treating.  The couples without small children pass out the candy for the rest of us so we can watch our kids have the sugar-loaded time of their lives and our houses won’t get TP’d.  We love our neighborhood.  We have lived here for seven and a half years.  With the exception of our childhood homes, this house has been the place where Jake and I have each lived the longest.  While we are so excited to move into our new house, it will be really sad to leave this house that we’ve called our home for so long.  I wouldn’t be surprised if we venture back here on Halloween for several more years.

One of our favorite Halloween traditions is spending the evening with the Edwards ladies.  I love knowing that no matter what happens and how busy our years get, we’ll always see each other on Halloween.  Chrissy has been compiling Gabe and Lana’s future wedding slideshow of the photos she’s taken over the years.  It’s so cool to watch them grow up together.  It’s also really startling to realize how much they’ve grown and how quickly the time has flown by.

The cousins also joined us this year!  I love the fact that they are local and we can see each other almost anytime and that our kids will grow up together.  I am thrilled that we run into each other at Home Depot on a weekday!  We’ve had this dream for years, and it’s now coming true. 

Ari was Princess Jasmine, and she loved being Jasmine.  She said “trick-or-treat” using her talker at every house we stopped at.  She also remembered to say “Thank you” after receiving her candy (in sign language or on the talker).  Sometimes, older people would not recognize who she was dressed up as, and she would tell them “I’m Princess Jasmine” (on the talker).  She frequently told people “Happy Halloween” as we were leaving.  She rocked that talker.  She had gotten plenty of practice in school that week, hitting up every teacher in the hall for candy or whatever they happened to have in their pockets.  Bella’s teacher informed me that Ari cleaned her out, and she even made off with her small change.  That’s my girl – taking care of business!

Bella was Princess Rapunzel in her wedding dress.  I think she pulled it off pretty well.  Stunner.

 

Gabe was Human Torch.  For those who don’t know who Human Torch is, you are missing out.  He is not only one of the Fantastic 4, which is a league of Marvel superheroes that, like, save the universe from evildoers that can eat universes, but he spontaneously and intentionally bursts into flames.  Gabe was not about to break character for this photo.  He called this his “magazine look”, and it was all him.  He also wanted to make sure that I got a picture of him with the spider.

I don’t know if you can tell, but I was trying to make Gabe smile here.  I love the Zoolander face he’s giving me in the middle!  He is trying so hard to resist.  These expressions are way better than any normal smile anyway. 

Liam also tried to be fierce and do the Hulk-roar for me.  I don’t know what I love more, the abs or the cheeks!

Marvel madness.

Disney princess prettiness.

This is our crazy bunch.  Love them!