You know you need a new oven when . . .

Sam almost made it through his first year without major injury, almost. The night before his birthday, I was in the kitchen fixing dinner. It was frozen pizza night. The pizzas were in the oven and I was cutting fruit with my back to the oven. Sam was playing in the lid drawers as usual. All of a sudden, I heard him start to cry, It was the "hurt cry," the one you pay attention to fast. I turned around to see him standing at the oven with his hand on the window. I grabbed him away. He could not have been like that for more than 30 seconds, but it was enough to raise blisters on his hand. As I was running cold water over his hand, Joseph checked the oven door. It was truly hot. I had no idea the outside of my oven got that hot. We assumed it was because it was on so high to cook the pizzas. Poor Sam just cried and cried. Half and hour and some burn cream later, he still had not stopped crying. That prompted a trip to the after hours clinic (not cheap). The doctor confirmed he had a second degree burn and wrapped it up for us (not cheap, again). We also got a prescription cream for the burn. We did not see our regular pediatrician that night. When I explained what happened, he just looked at me and said, "You mean he touched the inside of the oven door." I thought, "I'm not that stupid, really." I already felt like a horrible mother, but I am not that bad. I assured him it was the outside of the door, but he just kind of looked at me funny. I wonder if he thought he was not getting the full story.

If you are still reading this story, I will try to wrap it up. Sam was pretty good at keeping his bandages on. He got lots of sympathy. Every time I told his story though, people would all say the same thing, "Your oven really gets that hot on the outside?" By this time I was starting to catch on and little pieces of the puzzle were falling into place, like the fact that our oven has always baked a little fast and seemed to be baking faster. The next night, Sam's birthday cupcakes baked in 15 minutes and almost burned. The oven got too hot to touch again. When we saw our regular pediatrician for Sam's one year check up, my suspicions were confirmed. After telling him what happened, he looked at me funny and said, "Really? I have never heard of a child burning his hand on the outside of an oven." I told him we were pretty sure our thermostat was out and it was time for a new oven. He jokingly offered to write me a prescription for a new oven. If only it were that easy. He did ask to take a look at Sam's hand and asked if he could clean it up and cut away some of the dead skin. If I had known how "not cheap" that would be, I would have said no and done it myself. Needless to say, it turned out to be a very expensive accident, what with the "burn treatment" bills and the new oven that is now sitting in my kitchen:) (The actual arrival of the oven was a fun adventure for another post.) And it will get more expensive, because now I need the cleaners to take care of the ceramic top and real pans with flat bottoms as opposed to the twelve year old warped ones I have now. But Sam paid the biggest price. I still feel horrible that he had to discover the problem with the oven first-hand (pun intended).


Once we got some good burn cream on him, it did not seem to slow him down much. He still toddled around the house with his new-found walking skills and he learned to eat with one hand. Little kids truly are resilient. I am just glad Joseph was home each night that week as wrapping his hand was a two man event.

And I just had to leave you with this. Who couldn't love that messy face with the slobber and mystery bruise on his forehead. I'm afraid he is 100% boy and there are many bumps and bruises to come, but hopefully no more burns.

Blondie Turns 4!

Brooklyn's birthday celebrations started on Easter Sunday. We celebrated with family at Grandma and Grandpa Anson's house since we were together for Easter dinner. (We also celebrated Sam's first birthday, but more about that in another post.) We brought cupcakes. Grandpa supplied the candles. Brooklyn wanted the cupcakes to be pink and blue and purple and yellow and black and white and green. She was surprisingly accommodating when I told her to choose three colors. Pink, purple and yellow won.

She got a fun Tinkerbell barbie and "Look n Find" book. She even got to climb into Grandpa's lap and they found some fairies together.


On her actual birthday, she voted to open presents before Dad left for work. Of course, it was all wrapped in pink. She kept asking, "Am I four yet?" Later that night, we were at pack night and someone asked her how old she was. Without missing a beat she said, "Almost five." Nothing wrong with planning ahead.

It also just so happened that her friend came to play at our house while her mom helped with something at the school. So, we had a little party of sorts. The girls decorated pink wands and ate cupcakes. These two little blondies are peas in a pod. We sure enjoy having Sabrina at our house and are grateful for good friends.


Emily and Chris came over for dinner that night. Then we dashed off to pack night and hurried home for cake and ice cream. This year she wanted a Tinkerbell heart cake with pink frosting. Easy enough, thanks to the cake toppers you can grab at the Wal Mart bakery. (You know, I really resent my dependence on that store. But, I digress). Those are fairy rings on the cake. She loved it. We love you, Brookie Cookie, drama and all. I look forward to all the adventures we will share this year while you are "almost five."

Easter Sunday

I think I have my mother to thank for the obligation I feel to have new Sunday clothes for the kids on Easter. We always had a new dress and she usually sewed it herself. I am over the sewing myself, but I still feel like they need something new. Of course, we probably actually needed something to wear to church in the warmer weather and Easter was the excuse to get it. Anyway, it has turned into a fun tradition. This year, I was even brave enough to take all three girls shopping together. I did survive and actually enjoyed a little taste of future girl time with my daughters:)

Ally chose a pretty red dress that I love on her.

Brook "shocked" us all by choosing pink. The headband from Aunt Nicole was the perfect touch.

Sariah is way too grown up. Who taught her to pose anyway?

I actually took pictures after church this year. No one would have ever known if it were not for Zac's lightning fast ability to change clothes the minute we hit the door. I was a nice mom and did not make him put his shirt and pants back on. He did consent to clip on his Easter tie. What a kid. Sam was not so impressed either.

Joseph looked handsome as always. I am grateful we do all the bunny stuff on Saturday so we can focus on Christ on Sunday. The more I ponder, the more significant Easter becomes. We truly have cause to rejoice in the marvelous blessings that are ours because of the Atonement.

Bunny Day!

It was another great Bunny Day at our house. The kids woke up to baskets of treats and new shirts from Mom and Dad. The highlight of course was the Easter egg hunt at Grandpa's house. This year we did it in the evening and had some pizza, too. Nicole and Grandpa filled the eggs and the big boys hid them. Then we turned the kids loose. It was fun to watch their individual hunting techniques. My favorite was when Benjamin "found" an egg in Sam's basket. It was classic. You can get away with it this year, buddy. But next year I have a feeling Sam will not be so cooperative.




Someone has to give Zac a hard time. Thanks, Grandpa.



The picture is a little blurry, but I loved the look on her face.



Next year we will teach him to eat what is on the inside, too. He was not too sure what to think about his first Bunny Day. That's OK. I have full confidence he will figure it out.

In the Blink of an Eye

Literally, it feels like Sam has grown up in the blink of an eye. Yes, it is cliche, but how else do you describe it? With another cliche maybe? However you say it, he is way too big, way too fast. So here is a look at a few accomplishments I managed to snap a picture of as I was trying to keep up with my big boy.

Sam was so pleased with himself when he got up on all fours. It took awhile to get everything working together, but when he took off, he never looked back. Crawling opened up a whole new world. (Now he just giggles as he walks from room to room.)

Once he was mobile, he was into EVERYTHING! He was thrilled when he learned to open drawers in the kitchen. All of the kids have loved the drawer of Tupperware lids, and Sam was no exception. I just had to dodge the messes he made as I fixed dinner. He gives his grandma fits when we go to visit because she has lots of cupboards and drawers to explore.

Of course, not all milestones are pleasant. Sam has had his first few ear infections, too. And, he decided to share. At one point I had nine bottles of Amoxicillin in my fridge. Everyone but Zac had at least one infected ear. Sam and Brook had double ear infections. That was crazy! Lucky for us, Sam loves the pink stuff. He gets excited when he sees me shaking the bottle.

He pretty much loves to eat anything. He has taken to solid foods like nobody's business. Some of his favorites are strawberries, grapes, bananas, bread, yogurt and cheese. He wants to try everything we have. Most of the time we let him. He loves his milk and is learning to drink from a sippy cup, too. I still won't let Joseph give him bacon. He needs more teeth for that:)

Sam is my first dumpster diver. Luckily, he has not found anything too icky yet. (Although, "icky" is one of his new words, along with "cookie" so I guess we're OK). We have since replaced our garbage can with one that is a little sturdier and more Sam proof.

Self discovery is a painful process. (I almost saved this picture for it's very own post.) Sam discovered that his finger fits perfectly in his nose. It also fits in others' noses and ears. This is a discovery that delights his siblings, his older brother in particular. I am not sure why he was crying this time. I think he was ready to get down and mom kept taking pictures. But they are so cute-and confined-in their high chairs. I couldn't resist snapping a few more.

Sam loves to share, too. He tries to share his food and his pacifier. Lately I think he is trying to give hugs as well. He just toddles over to someone and leans his head on them. Then he looks up with a big grin and toddles away.

He has also started to point. I love it. He points at the family pictures on the wall. He points to what he wants to eat or play with. He points to random things that make no sense. He is just a fun kid. He is cute and clever and so proud of himself. We are proud of him, too. I just wish he would slow down a bit.

Conference and Cousins

One of the best parts of General Conference Weekend is spending time with family. Liz and I got to visit while the kids had cousin time and the boys were at Priesthood session. Now that Benjamin is a little older, he and Zac are becoming little buddies. They enjoyed sneaking through the house with Nerf guns and glasses, hunting bad guys or just teasing the girls.

Ally, Rachel and Brook were in their own pony world. Their game lasted all night and they still did not get enough. When it was time to go, they made plans to continue the grand pony adventure at Grandma's house the next day.

Sam and Hannah are still figuring each other out. I love watching them together. (So does Sariah. She hovered over them all night.) Tonight we were all together again for Mother's Day. Hannah kept taking Sam's pacifier out of his mouth. He would grin at her and take it back. Then she grabbed it again. They kept it up until Sam had enough and crawled away. Before we know it, they will be up running around with the rest of them. If only the cousins lived closer. Sigh. Although these past few months we have been spoiled with fairly regular get-togethers.

Saturday night it snowed, a very wet, very heavy snow. On Sunday morning we woke up to sad news. Our tree did not survive the storm. (Trees were actually down all over the valley.) Zac was in tears. This was "his"tree. It was part of many fun games. Sometimes, he climbed into the branches and just sat there, observing the world. He even asked to sleep in it one night. I was sad, too. Of all the trees in my yard, it was the one tree I actually liked. Joseph was able to get the branches off the driveway that morning and later in the week, our kind neighbor let us borrow a chain saw to take care of the rest. (Joseph rather enjoyed his first chain saw project. It saved him hours of work with a handsaw.) Our neighbor also helped us haul away most of the limbs. The bigger ones are stacked on our driveway, waiting for the Scouts' next campfire.

It was a good thing the tree did not block more of the driveway, as Joseph, Sariah and Zac needed to be on their way early that morning. We got tickets for the Sunday morning session in the Conference Center. They picked Uncle Marc up on the way. Zac and Sariah were excited to go and I hope it will be a special memory for them. As they left the session to head home, Sariah looked up at Joseph and said, "I love conference. This is the best day ever!" She really does look forward to conference. Her favorite part is listening to the choir so I was extra excited for her to hear Music and the Spoken Word before the session started. Thanks, Joseph for taking them.

Cubanapolis

For a recent pack night, our pack participated in the Cubanapolis 500. (This was much better than the Kindy 500, because Zac made his "car" by himself.) As always, the activity was well thought out and the boys had a great time. Each boy needed a pit crew to help him through the race. The boys were decked out in their car, goggles, and huge rubber boots. They made four laps around the gym, making a pit stop between each lap. The boys could not do anything themselves; they were dependent on their crew.

After lap one, the pit crew changed tires. This meant pulling off the boots and socks and then replacing them. Lap two was a windshield wash. We squirted water on their goggles and wiped them off.

After lap 3, the racers fueled up by drinking water through a tiny straw. I don't know who had more fun, the racers or the pit crews. I got to help Zac and another boy in the pack. He actually ended up with the best time. I am pretty sure it was due to his amazing crew:)


Zac is loving Scouts. At our Blue and Gold banquet he received his Bobcat. He had actually earned it earlier, but opted to wait for the awards night. Now his goal is to get his Wolf by the end of the summer. I am proud of him and grateful for his opportunities to learn and gain confidence. My boy is growing up and what a great kid he is turning out to be!

Late Nights and Pedicures

Sariah turned 10 in February and decided she needed a "late night" with her friends. (A late night is basically all the fun of a sleepover, minus the overnight. A great concept if you ask me.) We made a giant cookie, ordered some pizza and invited a few friends.

The girls giggled non stop. It was a great party. Brook opted to watch the late night feature, Madeline, while Zac and Ally hid in our room upstairs to watch Star Wars. Sariah was in her element: pajamas, chocolate, movie and friends. Does life get any better for a 10 year old girl? Not in her world, especially since Aunt Emily joined the fun, too.


The Sunday before her birthday, we celebrated with family. She wanted a chocolate cake with the number 10 on top. Easy enough. Some where along the line, birthday cakes became a big deal in our family. The kids look forward to choosing the shape, flavor and color. I am grateful that as they get older, their requests get simpler. Although, Sariah really "took the cake" when she asked for a belly cake on her third birthday. We are still not sure where that came from.
This year Sariah got lots of art stuff and some movies. We gave her a trip to the salon for her first pedicure.



Aunt Nicole came with us. The night before our big day, I fell and really hurt my foot. I opted out of the pedicure, but went along for the ride. Sariah has always loved having her feet rubbed. She used to scoot up to me, stick her foot in my face and say, "Rubba my feet." She loved her pedicure. She looked very grown up sitting in the chair getting pampered. I wish we could pamper her more. She deserves every minute. We may have really started something, though. She told me just the other day, "Mom, I really need a pedicure." You and me both! Ally took pretty careful notes about what was going on. Yesterday she told me she wanted to go to the beauty salon and out to lunch. Girls are such fun. Happy Birthday, Sariah Girl. You make us so happy. Thanks for keeping us on our toes and sharing your unconditional love with us.