Sunrise

I was doing laundry and noticed a gorgeous sunrise so I hollered at the kids to come look.  I love that they still come when I tell them something exciting is happening!  Enough times of the excitement being nature rather than toys and they'll stop coming I'm sure, but for now I'm enjoying it.  Sometimes life is full of moments that make great photos.  But most of life is just little moments like these, just my little ones still in their PJ's sitting on the laundry counter watching the sunrise, and these are the times I love the most.

Pumpkin Patch

Isaiah's preschool had a field trip to a pumpkin patch and Eliza got to come along.

Here's his whole class in front of a huge barn filled with potatoes.  (It was pretty smelly).

Are all pumpkin patches like this?  We went on a hay ride to the patch and it was a nicely mowed hillside with a bunch of pumpkins spread out on it.  I was thinking we'd be traipsing through a muddy garden.  Can you tell I've never been to a pumpkin patch before?  The kids went last year, courtesy of my dear friend Tammy, but I was a first-timer.

Halloween!

I am totally loving doing coordinating costumes for my kids.  I gave them lots of options this year and Isaiah decided on Jessie and Woody from Toy Story.  Luckily Eliza doesn't care so she went right along with it.  I was a bit hesitant about making costumes (last time I did that was a disaster) but this ended up being more putting things together rather than actually making things.  Wait, I did make Isaiah's shirt & vest, and Eliza's shirt decorations and chaps.  Anyway, they enjoyed trick-or-treating this year and of course have way too much candy!

First day of school

This year Isaiah is attending a "real" preschool, rather than the JoySchool-type we did last year.  He was so quiet on the way to school his first day.  I asked him what he was thinking about, "Mom, do you think I'll be able to hop on one foot farther than all the other kids in my class?"  These are important things to consider when you're four.  He's about 2 months into it now and is doing well.  We're really pleased with the school and his teachers are a delight!  The school has a real "community" feel to it--Eliza is always greeted by the teacher when we drop off Isaiah, and the teachers know Jerel's name even though they've only met him twice, and everyone is encouraged to use the awesome playground.  Sometimes we go a few minutes early to pick him up and then Eliza gets to play outside with Isaiah's whole class.  But we don't do that often--I try to make sure she can squeeze in a short nap between drop-off and pick-up.

Eliza's been dying to go to preschool like her brother, so this year I set up a JoySchool-type class for her.  There are seven little ones (6 of them 2-years-old, 1 3-year-old) and we rotate teaching assignments and hosting duties.  It's just once a week for 2 hours (which is plenty with that many diapered toddlers!) and right now we're in the middle of my teaching rotation.  Isaiah either hangs out with the class or disappears into his room to play racing games on the iPad.  My first day teaching was pretty disastrous since I inexplicably expected the 2-year-olds to behave like 4-year-olds, but I loosened up a bit and things are going well.  

My sweet niece, Elise.  I've been wanting her to visit, but she's a busy teenager so she hasn't been able to.  Unfortunately her father passed away recently and she came to Oregon to attend the funeral.  It's kind of a long dramatic tale, but she's a brave little girl, Jerel gave her a wonderful priesthood blessing, and prayers were answered.  I'm so proud of how she's turning out!  

We played with our food the other day, making cars out of different foods.  It worked like a charm for Eliza--she ate the whole thing.  Isaiah, naturally, ate the cheese and threw the rest away.

A friend asked me if I could watch her little one (one of Eliza's preschool buddies) while she had an appointment.  Look what she showed up wearing!  It made the playdate 10 times more fun!

My gym was closed one Saturday (because my coaches are insane and were running a 50-MILE race) so Isaiah and Eliza filled in.  I had written down the workout and Isaiah was in charge of reading it to me (hooray for 4-year-olds who read!)  We have a park really close to our house so we headed over there and the kids ran around a bit while I worked out.  I felt a bit silly, especially when the park started filling up with soccer teams, but I guess that's what healthy people do?

POINT

A few months ago I was thinking about how I really ought to get around to losing the baby weight, especially considering the "baby" is about to turn three.  I came across a fitness class deal on living social and purchased it.  I was immediately hit with buyers' remorse.  What was I thinking?  I don't work out!  This was going to be horrible (but I am too cheap to just not go and waste the money).  

The first class was funny (not at the time, but looking back).  The classes are held in a park in Portland and I showed up at the park listed on the website but no one came.  I had myself so worked up about how hard it was going to be and if I'd even be able to do it and I was nervous, scared, embarrassed, etc.  And then no one showed up for the class.  No athletes, no coaches, nothing (unless you count homeless people sleeping under benches).  After about 15 minutes I gave up and went home.  Of course, because I'm dramatic and it had been such an emotional morning, and because it felt like getting stood up, and because I now would have to get all worked up for the first day all over again, I cried the whole way home.  I got home, Jerel saw me in tears and said "Why are you crying?"  So I told him what had happened--the trauma of being alone in a park, trying to be brave, and then being disappointed.  And then he said "Okay.  But why are you crying?"  I love Jerel!  

Anyway, it was all a big mix-up, the coaches apologized profusely, and my second first day went much better.  I mean, I almost died because it was so hard, but I did finally do a workout.  It's a bootcamp-style class (because naturally, if you haven't worked out in years, "bootcamp" seems like a good way to ease into it...) and I was in so much pain later.  It kept me up all night and I could barely move the next day.  It was just muscle soreness, but it was pretty much every muscle in my body.  I can't even describe the horribleness of it!  We now have classes in an indoor gym and the bootcamp classes are mixed in with crossfit type classes.

I stuck it out and 4 months later I'm really enjoying it.  I go 4 times a week (Jerel graciously adjusts his work schedule on the days I go) across town at 6am and I'm getting a lot healthier.  It's still torture each time, but I'm feeling stronger and more confident. More about the gym here: http://portlandoutdoorindoor.com/ 

At the same time, I signed up for an 8-week fitness challenge at http://feelgreatineight.blogspot.com/.  It's been hard to keep up with all of the requirements, but it's made a big difference.  There are lots of requirements related to physical, mental, and spiritual health.  I'm pretty competitive and there's a cash prize for the winner.  I've finished 6 weeks so far and during that time have lost 8 pounds.  Combined with the small amounts of weight that came off before that, I've lost a total of 16 pounds (which is a lot when you're a shorty).  I'm down to my pre-babies weight and just a few pounds shy of my wedding weight.  I'm definitely pleased with the improvements I've made this year.  It's nice to step out of the frumpy mom stage finally!

Sorry, that was the longest post ever, but it's been a big deal for me this year!

Baby teeth

The baby teeth stage is my favorite.  Before they have teeth they don't do much, and by the time they start losing teeth they are turning into big kids and I don't know what to do with them anymore.  At our last dental checkup we got the sad news that one of Isaiah's front teeth would have to be pulled.  He fell a few years ago damaging both front teeth and one of them finally gave up.  I called my favorite photography, Erika, at http://www.glimpsesbyerika.com/ and asked her to do an emergency photo shoot for me so that I'd have some shots of Zay before the tooth came out.

Harvest Festival

Isaiah started at a regular preschool this fall.  We love, love, love it!  Wait, I should clarify:  I love, love, love it.  Jerel thinks it's okay.  Wouldn't want anyone to think Jerel got super excited about something!  Anyway, they have a harvest festival each fall and the kids had a great time. The weather was perfect!

Zay used to be too scared to get his face painted, but this summer he finally tried it and now he's hooked.  He stood in line twice so he could get a picture on both cheeks...

...so of course Eliza did as well!

I bought these cowboy boots for Halloween and even though they are 4 sizes too big Eliza loves to wear them.  People comment all the time how cute she is when she's wearing them.  I mean people comment on her no matter what she's wearing, but even more so when she's wearing these boots with her jeggings (another fashion I can't pull off but she looks darling in!)

Some fun around Portland

But before we get to the fun, I just wanted to show you how sweaty little Eliza gets when she naps!

Jerel's work had a family day at the zoo.  Here they are with the giraffes (Isaiah's favorite animal).  

We carpooled with my friend Carolyn & her three kids to the beach.  It's fun to occasionally fill up the whole car!

Sarah, Esther, Isaiah, Eliza, and Raquel.  They were good sports despite the typical Oregon beach conditions:  cold & windy!

We had lunch in a dilapidated double-decker bus.  The kids loved it!  I love that Portland has not just one but THREE grilled cheese food trucks.

Independence Day

Isaiah was a bit too nervous to do sparklers this year, but Eliza really liked it.  And of course she had Safety Daddy to make sure she didn't catch herself on fire!

Zay loved watching the fireworks and running around with his cousins.

A few cousins:  Emmaree, Mollie, Bonnie, and Sadie.

A few more:  Lincoln, Brigham, and Taylyn.

Aunt Mandy (not to be confused with ME, Aunt Manda) was on lighting duty for the sparklers.  Lincoln, Sadie, Rexton, Jocelyn, and Eliza wait and watch.  Mr. Safety stands guard (I tease him about this, but really it's good that one of us exercises caution when it comes to children & fire.  The fact that someone is doing something completely responsible and necessary never stops me from poking a little fun.)

Eliza was so sad that she didn't have her own little camp chair to sit in.  Despite several offers from cousins to use theirs she remained devastated.  I think the whole neighborhood heard her screaming refrain "I want my own chair!  I want my own chair!"  Somewhere during the 30-minute cry fest I took this photo.  (Of course the crying made me more committed to NOT get her a chair, lest she think crying will get her anywhere with me.  Luckily for her, Grandma is a bit more merciful than me and came home with chairs for both of the kids!)

Loved this spontaneous expression of affection.  I wish we saw all these cousins more often, but it is fun to watch my kids enjoy their sort of celebrity status since they are only there twice a year.