Festival of Trees

We went to the Festival of Trees this weekend. Rochester has it every year but we have never gone before! Boy was it neat! They had lots of decorated trees over every subject. We had the kids pick their favorites. It was hard to choose! The trees were incredibly creative and beautiful. It was a fun way to kick off the holiday season. These pictures really do not do justice to the beauty and creativity of these trees...but here goes!

Savannah's pick for her favorite was the Hannah Montana Tree. For a tree topper...they used an umbrella! What a cute idea right?

Jessi liked this pink tree decorated with all sorts of birds! It was really pretty!

Zach liked the "red" tree! I liked the top of this tree! It was fun and explosive!

Of course Santa was there and the kids got to visit with him for a bit! Then we had cookies and hot chocolate and went home! All in all it was really fun! I think we will have to start a new family tradition!

Happy Halloween!

We had a dry run for Halloween last night when we attended the ward Halloween Party. We sprayed Jessi's hair black for her costume, but that was a huge mess to clean up and to wear all night, so we bought her a wig for actual Halloween Day.

Hannah Montana and her pumpkin

Alex Russo, from Wizards of Waverly Place and her pumpkin!

A monkey, or Curious George, depending on when you ask him!

And Nathan of course was a bumble bee. All one year olds in our house get to be a bumble bee!!

Nathan's Grudge Against Zach...

Last year on Zach's birthday Nathan was admitted to the hospital for a high bilirubin level. This year, Zach's birthday started off well. Mommy and Daddy told Zach they would take him out to lunch where ever he wanted to go. Zach chose Culver's. At Culver's Zach ordered a corn dog meal. This seemed like a great thing for Nate too, so we got two of them. We carefully cut Nate's hot dog into little pieces and set it in front of him. Not more than 2 minutes later, Nathan started gagging and choking and acting like he was going to throw up. He threw up a few times, but still seemed "off" and uncomfortable. We finally decided we'd better take him to the ER. We decided to divide and conquer, Zach had an appointment to get his birthday pictures taken, so Zach and Mommy dropped Nate and Daddy off at the ER, and rushed to the photography studio. After Zach's pictures were taken we headed back down to the ER. By that time Nate had gotten and IV through which they gave him glucagon (which is a smooth muscle relaxer) to try to relax his esophagus and move the hot dog to his tummy. It didn't work, the next step was surgery. About this time we realized two things...1. Nathan was in the hospital LAST year on Zach's birthday, and 2. The OTHER red head also had to have surgery to remove a swallowed item from throat...hmmm. So we got transferred from the ER to Outpatient Surgery. We went upstairs and then things got kind of complicated. First they came in and said that because he has a neuromuscular disorder, they have to use "special" anesthesia, so though the scope will probably only take 5 minutes, he would have to be intubated and out for at least an hour. Ugh...we'll we didn't feel like we had much choice so we agreed. They took him to surgery and about 30 minutes later, one of the nurses came out and said they were still working on him because they were having trouble getting it out. The GI team was doing the scope, but they had called in ENT to get their OR ready because they have a bigger machine to get the hot dog out. So after about 30 minutes more, the doctors came out and said they didn't have to transfer him after all...at the last minute they decided to try sticking some scissors down the scope and cutting the hot dog into little pieces. That worked! Two pieces fell into his stomach and they were able to get the rest out! After he recovered from the anesthesia, we were able to take him home. He bounced right back and has seemed fine! The only ill effect was a bloody nose all day long the next day. But that too has resolved. So, we made two resolutions 1. No more redheads. 2. Next year on Oct. 27, we are putting Nathan in a padded cell, on a puree diet!

We did manage to make it home in time to celebrate Zach's birthday. The next two pictures are actually from his birthday party that was today at the House of Bounce.

Blowing out the candles on his dinosaur cake!

In an effort not to get "caked out" this year, we gave everyone the opportunity to have 1 cake. Zach chose to have his cake at his birthday party. So on his actual birthday, we had ice cream cones with a candle in it!

Opening presents at home on his birthday.

The favorite present. This is Chocolate, Zach's new dog!

As a side note...one of the nurses at work heard the story about Nathan and said, "Elizabeth, I have a perfect solution for you. What you need is a dog!" Still wondering how my kids managed to pay her off into saying that!

The Cake Video!

We thought we'd share some of the fun of the cake with everyone! Hope you enjoy!

Happy 1st Birthday Nathan!!!

Nathan has had a wonderful year of growth and we are so excited that he is a part of our family. He is such a special little guy and brings constant joy into our lives!

He has learned so many new things this year! We can't even remember what it was like in our family without him!

This was the first time we've had a super hero in the family. It has brought many new experiences.

Nathan is full of constant smiles. We love that about him! He is always so mellow and happy. He just goes with the flow!

Sometimes, it is exhausting being the fourth child! Luckily, he is very flexible! (We found him sleeping like this in his crib one day...talk about uncomfortable!!)
The best part about a first birthday is the cake! I love watching them really get into their cake! Nathan was definitely excited about the cake. He is an eating machine! He was a little timid at first and just tried a little lick of frosting!

After discovering that he liked the frosting, he decided to just go for it! He picked the whole cake up and took a bite!!

We all enjoyed watching him mutilate the cake! I think he enjoyed it too!

Messy!!!

Here's the final messy result! You will notice the red knees and note that we have an avid crawler on our hands, who has no intention of learning to walk anytime soon! He doesn't even pull up on things!

This is how every first birthday ends in our house...bathtime!! Note that the water actually turned blue from the cake frosting! So did parts of Nathan's hair!!!

A few items of note...

We are loving FALL at our house!! (Not just Nathan's falls either!) We've had a few exciting things happen recently that we thought we'd share! First item of note...we are raising another blankie boy. I was trying to get Nate to show off his new found talent...(see pictures below) but he kept just going to his blankie and laying down on it! Oh well! At least he knows what he likes!

Zach has a new found interest...he has been missing his sisters so much while they are at school that he decided to try out some of their favorite hobbies himself instead of sitting on the sidelines watching. Zach is the newest Webkinz addict at our house. We don't mind too much because it is educational...sometimes...independent...sometimes...and we limit it...sometimes!!

Jessi has a new found talent as well...she demonstrates below. It was inevitable that someone in the family would be able to do this...the genes run on both sides! If you blow this picture up you will also see that Jessi procured quite a smattering of freckles this summer. She just kept getting more and more no matter how much sun screen she wore! We think they are cute!

Here is Nathan showing off his new talent...(drum roll please...)...he can FINALLY crawl! Not really sure yet if this is a good thing or a bad thing! Either way it has definitely kept our floor cleaner...either by the broom or by Nathan!!

And last but not least, our super hero has moved on to bigger and better things. Yes, we FINALLY grew into some new...and WAY cuter glasses! We went to the eye appointment and they said that while his eyes are better...he still needs glasses...but maybe only for six more months! Yeah! So, since his prescription changed, we had to get new glasses, and since his head is bigger, we had more choices! I love his new glasses! He does pull them off quite a bit...but he pulled his old glasses off quite a bit too! So I guess it is no different. The new glasses have also definitely cut down on the amount of stupid questions we get for example:

stupid person "Are those real??"

Fed up mother "No, they are just highly fashionable and I enjoy torturing my baby by forcing him to wear impossible to keep clean glasses, thus impairing his vision and slowing his development...do you have any other questions for me?" But I'm not bitter : )!! Besides, I LOVE the new glasses!

School Daze...and yes I DO mean daze!

The first day of school is SOOOO exciting!! Especially when you are going to a new school! And boy was everyone excited! The new school was finished...and even the new playground was finished in time for the first day of school (they were working on the playground ALL DAY on labor day...talk about cutting it close!)
Here's one of George W. Gibbs Elementary's newest 3rd graders!

The big second grader! Her class was on the news the first day of school. You can check out her teacher at www.kttc.com If you search "Using Technology to teach" you will see a short clip on her class and their new school! You will also see the back of Jessi's head : )

The girls with their "practically cousins" Ramaan! They walked to school together and were excited to be able to share their first day of school with her. They only got a few funny looks when they told people they were "kinda like cousins...well we have the same Aunt and Uncle anyway...!" Talk about confusing! They are holding Apple cake pops that they helped make for their teachers! I hope they tasted yummy! The PTA gave all the kids Gibbs Elementary t-shirts the first day of school as a special surprise! Then they got the whole school out in front of the school and took their pictures! Pretty cool stuff!

The day after the girls' first day of school, we had another momentous occasion! Zach started preschool! He was soooo excited! I asked him if he was worried about going to Preschool and he said "No, I'm excited, but I am worried about making friends!". So cute! His two teachers seemed super sweet and he had a great first day of preschool!

His mommy was a little bit shell shocked..being home alone with just a sleeping baby! What did I do with all the extra time...I had big plans...but ended up doing the dishes, sweeping the kitchen floor, and playing peek-a-boo once the baby woke up!

Other Exciting Happenings at our house...

If you look closely at the jar behind Zach and Nan (click on the picture to see it better), you will see a jar with leaves and...a chrysalis...yep, we've been feeding a monarch caterpillar for a few days now and he FINALLY spun his chrysalis today! It has been really cool watching him...he ate, and ate, and ate...then he hung upside down just like a J for about 24 hours and today he spun his chrysalis. Now we just have to wait for the butterfly to emerge! It has been fun witnessing one of God's miracles!

And in other news...See those shiny things on Jessi's ears??? That's right folks...this little redhead finally bit the bullet and GOT HER EARS PIERCED!! She has been setting and resetting deadlines for herself for a couple of years now...(Only feeling pressure from her desire to do it vs her fear of getting it done!) "I will get my ears pierced when I am 16!" "I will get my ears pierced when I am 9!" I will get my ears pierced..." well, you get the idea! Today she finally decided to do it. She was SOOO brave! She didn't even cry! A few tears welled up but quickly turned to laughter and joy when she saw her pretty ears!

All day she has been going around telling everyone..."Guess what? I got my ears pierced!" You go girl!

Our Trip to Como Zoo

We got up yesterday morning and realized that NONE of us had any commitments that day! WOW! How amazing...so we decided to take advantage of the day. We loaded everyone up in the car and headed up to St. Paul to visit the Como Zoo! It is such a fun zoo! They have a wide variety of animals, plants, and rides...yes rides! We didn't make it to the butterfly tent this time, but we got to see lots of giraffes, lions, tigers, sea lions, and monkeys, and gorillas!
Here is Nathan on the giraffe statue. You can tell he is having a great time...right??

Jessi on the giraffe statue...silly girl!

Zach driving his red roadster! That was the highlight of his trip...not only did he get to drive a car...but...(drum roll please...) IT WAS RED! He got off the ride, ran over to me and jumping up and down shouted "Dat was ANSOME!" (Translation: That was awesome!).

Nan ready for her closeup! We did take a picture of Zach on the giraffe too...but it looks more like a blur...that's why we had to post the action shot of him trapped in an already moving car...he hardly slowed down for pictures...just zipped from place to place! Guess we all had fun!

Here's everyone on the turtle! Notice the shadow shapes on the ground behind them. Everyone stood on their favorite animal. Z-Gorilla; J-Lion, S-couldn't decide so just ran from shape to shape...finally picking the seal!

The Girls Piano Recital

The girls had their piano recital on Saturday, August 14th. They both were so nervous! We were nervous for them too, but they both did a great job! We are proud of how hard they worked and how much time they have spent practicing! Since their piano teacher is moving to Utah, they are starting with a new teacher next week, so it was especially fun to have Ashley (their teacher) do the duets with each of them before she leaves. So there are two videos of each of them one of their duet piece and one of their solo piece. Hope this is ALMOST as good as being here!

Nathan Giggles

We were just finishing dinner tonight, when Nathan started being silly! First, he smacked his hands on his high chair. Jessi copied him and then he started giggling. They played that game a few times, Nathan laughing harder and harder. Then Jessi started breathing funny and Nathan started giggling even more...Mommy was a little slow on getting the camera out, so we tried to re-enact...he wasn't laughing quite as hard here, but you can still hear his cute giggle! Enjoy!

Swimming Lessons

I forgot the best picture from Rochesterfest! We went to Breakfast on the Farm (of course...) but forgot our camera (of course). It was kind of a rainy morning, but we had fun anyway! The kids got these fabulous cow hats! I thought they were soooo cute!

Moving on! The girls have been taking swimming lessons at the Byron Pool! It is so fun! They are really learning a lot and becoming little fishes! Here is Jessica during her lessons...she just finished finding rings.

Here is Savannah practicing her back crawl. Isn't she doing great?? We've been going to the pool lots so they can practice their new found skills!

Rochesterfest 2009

Rochesterfest was the last week of June! As I'm sure you've heard me mention in years past...we LOVE Rochesterfest! It is one of the summer things that we ALWAYS look forward to! It is a 10 day celebration of families and summer with all sorts of fun activities around town! Savannah (actually all the kids...) got to ride on the Kaptain Kirby's Express! She chose the pink car, Zach chose the red car, and Jessi rode in the pink car too!

Here are Jessi and Nan in a sack race! I love their fashionable do's! If you look towards the white awning in the back, you will see Aunt Brantly and Uncle Jabbar cheering them on!

These are some of the cute balloon animals that Jessi and Zach got! They got different ones each day, but this day Zach has an alligator, and Jessi is holding a pink poodle!

This is the way that Nathan participated in Rochesterfest! He sat and observed most of the activities from this perch! He also let us know when it was time to go home!

Zach got to help the fireman put out the fire in the house! He was so excited because after all he is going to be a firetruck man!

Jessica got to go swimming with one of her school friends and was captured by a local photographer while she was swimming. Her photo ended up making it on the front cover of the local paper. She said "It was because she was the cutest." For those that want to see the real photo here is the link. www.rochesterpostbulletin.com