Silly Kids

Here are some recent pictures of my silly kids. Thank you Michelle for emailing me back my camera phone pictures so I can share them. Jason thinks he can read.
Such a happy baby!

Garrett got a haircut...to fix the other haircut I tried to give him when blatantly ignoring Sarah's orders to never cut anyone's hair again when I botched Caiti's hair.

Such a girl! Caiti loves the purse that she got from Ant Larraine.

Happy Birthday Caiti!

My sweet little Caiti was born 3 years ago, on October 29, 2005. We had to celebrate her birthday on Saturday since Kevin left for a short deployment this week. Kevin gave her a blue My Little Pony which was perfect since she already had a pink one. So, now she can walk around with one in each hand. I gave her a Tinker Bell Doll. She actually sort of picked it out herself while we were in the store. She got all bright eyed and smiley when she saw it and had to hold it the rest of our shopping trip. Garrett gave her yet another baby doll which she also loves, and Jason gave her a baby stroller which I am hoping she will discover later because right now she could care less. Of course, that is okay because Garrett has decided it is his wheelchair and sits in it and wheels himself across the kitchen. Such fun!

We didn't do anything too exciting for her actual birthday. I did make her eggs for breakfast. They didn't exactly end up in her mouth...as you can tell. But hey, it was her birthday, so I was lenient and let her have an exciting sensory experience. She felt like she was in heaven. I also gave her her favorites for lunch, grapes and hotdogs. Unfortunately, the hotdogs ended up kind of looking like her eggs, by the time lunch was over.

Caiti absolutely loved it when I sang "Happy Birthday" to her. She would get big eyes and a huge smile and flap her arms and squeal in delight. Later on in the day, she was chasing Garrett around as he ran his laps in the kitchen. While she was running, she was chanting some sing-song thing, and I realized that she was saying "Birthday, happy, happy birthday." So cute.

She loved that we only watched movies she wanted today, Elmo in Grouchland and Pooh's Heffalump Movie. She had a great day. She was so happy and sweet and cute all day.

I am so greatful for this sweet little girl. She changed my life. She is such a blessing to my family.

Why I Have No Social Life aka The Attempt to go to the Ward Halloween Party

Saturday afternoon was our ward Halloween party. Kevin had to work, so my friendly missionary couple agreed to take the kids and me to the party. I was very excited. After all, there would be trunk-or-treating for the kids, they would get a chance to show off their costumes (Superman, Princess and basketball player), and I would get the chance to meet some new friends and actually get out of the house.

So we all piled into Sister Gilchrist's car and headed to the church. When we got there, I had Jason in the sling, Garrett in one hand, and Caiti with her wrist harness (aka a leash). Yes, the first thing anyone said to me was, "Nice leash." Then, when we entered the gymnasium I discovered that trunk or treat was last... :( There were numerous stations with very fun activities, like a cake walk...which Garrett discovered and took no time whatsoever stealing someone's super messy chocolate cupcake. He then proceeded to lie down on the floor to eat it and wouldn't budge. When he was done, he looked like a bearded superman with chocolate smears all down the front of his costume and crumbs surrounding his little body. A very nice lady got me some paper towels. When I finally caught up to Garrett (0ne of the many times he slipped through my grasp and ran off to some new and exciting adventure), I was able to sort of clean him up. Meanwhile, we discovered they were serving hot dogs in the cultural area, so we all trudged on over there. As I was asking if I could just get a couple of plain hot dogs without buns, Garrett beat me to the punch and just grabbed one out of the bun in front of him, to which the guy serving the hot dogs said, "No need to disassemble the hot dogs. Here are some piping hot ones right here." I quietly murmured..."Too late," grabbed the hot dogs and the kids and scurried off to the foyer to hide out while I fed them their hot dogs. When they were done with their hot dogs, I decided to find a bathroom, which I never did find by the way. As we were walking, Garrett found the perfect opportunity to run ahead and disappear. So, finally we went back into the gymnasium, where Sister Gilchrist was trying to introduce me to a very nice lady who said we could sit by her at church. I was very grateful for that...while trying not to look too worried and distracted that I couldn't find Garrett. I should have known better. I found him at the cake walk again. Luckily, he hadn't swiped anyone else's food.





As I was chasing him down, I handed Caiti, leash and all, over to Sister Gilchrist so I could run faster. Garrett was super thirsty and kept trying to drink out of some random person's water bottle that they left sitting on the table. Finally, another nice lady from my ward, who I guess moved here the same week as me, got him a paper cup with water in it. So, we went and sat down so he could drink it, and he happened to spill it all over himself, me and a sleeping Jason, who coincidentally woke up and started crying. At the same time, I was watching Sister Gilchrist being dragged by Caiti throughout the room as Caiti picked food off of various people's plates. When she tried to get Caiti to eat what she was holding and to just hold still, Caiti started her big, screaming tantrum. That is when I decided that we had tried hard enough, and now was the time to make like a tree and leaf..after I gave Anakin back his litesaber that Superman had decided was his. So much for trunk-or-treating.

Shaving Kevin's Head

So, last night Kevin and I decided to take my mom's advice and forego the cost of a haircut and just shave his head. Yeah...a haircut costs $7 plus tip at the NEX (the Navy Department Store), but when your hair grows super fast like Kevin's, it adds up. So Kevin did the front of his head. That was when I wished I had a digital camera to capture the beauty of Kevin's half shaved head. He looked like one of those Harri-Krishna guys. It made me truly happy. I got the back. It seriously took me an hour to shave the back of his head because his hair is so thick. It was barely a centimeter long, but still... Anyway, so, in total, it took 2 hours to shave his head, 5 razors (no joke) and bunches of shaving cream. Surprisingly, Kevin was very patient and pleasant the whole time we were attacking his head with a razor, so at least that part was nice. We decided that with the cost of razors and the lost time, a $7 haircut every once in a while isn't too big of a deal. Of course, if we invested in some clippers, that might be even a smarter move. Yes sirree.

To Baby Jason:

You're my hidden treasure,

Bringing me such happy pleasure.

I'm so glad we got the surprise

Of the happy little boy with the expressive eyes.

You are a joy to all that you meet

With your pudgy hands and cute little feet.

I love how excited you seem every day.

You look like you want to just get up and play.

But there's no hurry, no hurry at all.

Let mommy enjoy this time when you're small.

8 Reasons We Love Our New House

1. This house is a rental (paid by the military as one of Kevin's great benefits), so a house payment doesn't have to be my biggest stressor. Hip, hip, hooray!

2. The kitchen is big and beautiful (like me...ha ha. j/k). It has all kinds of storage room with numerous drawers and cupboards. I also love that when I do the dishes in this house, I don't have a shower at the same time while the faucet sprays in all directions.

3. The kitchen/dining room/living room are all a big open space, so we can actually get the kids to eat at the table because they can still see the TV. (Now we just have to work on Kevin). Also note the easy-to-clean linoleum, and the brown, stain-hiding carpet. Hooray for good, child-friendly flooring!

4. We have a great, fenced-in backyard, so Garrett and Caiti can go outside anytime they want which helps them not get run-away fever as much. It also is the place our foster doggy comes to see us. Speaking of playing outside, directly across the street from our house is a fenced-in play area with a playground, beach volleyball court, tennis courts, etc. So nice to be able to walk a few steps out my front door and be somewhere fun.

5. Jason has his own room here, so I don't have to have a nightlight in my bedroom anymore, and he can have undisturbed naps.

6. The kids have a nice, big room that fits all of their toys, has a fun bathroom to have bubble baths in, and a huge mirror all across one wall. This room was supposed to be the master suite, but when we saw the big mirror, we knew it was fate that Garrett and Caiti get this room. They actually play in their room now, admire themselves all day in the mirror and sleep mostly in their room...they just really like their room. And I do too!

7. There is a spare room that Kevin is going to use as a den (or in other words a "get away and have some space" room.) I am excited for when we finally get a futon and extra TV in there, so he can watch football or Cops, and I won't have to.

8. We have a bedroom that hasn't been taken over by Garrett and Caiti, where we can sleep without kids...(sometimes)...

Needless to say, we feel very blessed and happy with this house. I'm so glad that we have been given this oppurtunity.

Our First Visitors

Last Sunday, we were lucky enough to have our first visitors to our new home, here in San Diego. My sister Jennifer, and her family were here for a work convention for her husband Will. They came bearing a digital camera, so in my next post, I will put up pictures of my house. This post just shows some more recent pictures of my family. I had a great time with them. After spending time with them, it was the first time I have felt homesick since moving here.

This is our foster doggy. He comes and visits every day.Here I am looking super happy because I love having the Bryan family over.

Zac, Natalie, Will and Ashley watching a boring football game...
with Uncle Kevin...
These are adorable pictures Jennifer got of my cutie pie Jason.
And of course, here are Garrett and Caiti. Garrett was sleepy, and Caiti was in a BAD mood, so this is the only picture I have of them.
We had such a nice day, watching football, eating pizza and Popeye's chicken, playing at the park across the street and just visiting. I loved hanging out with the kids and watching Spiderwick Chronicles and playing board games. Kevin loved playing computer games with Natalie. Caiti loved tackling Elise...J/K. Garrett just loved having everyone here. He ran many miles in a circular, happy pattern while they were here. So, thank you for coming guys. That was definitely one of my favorite days since moving here.

San Diego Zoo

Last weekend, I was feeling a bit stir crazy, and I think Kevin and the kids were feeling the same way. We found out that the zoo was free this month for kids. Kevin is free too, since he is active duty military, so we only ended up having to buy my ticket. We had such a great time at the zoo. I have to say both Garrett and Caiti's favorite part of the entire zoo was the flamingos.

They are super funny birds. I forgot that they stand on one foot. It was also crazy to see how flexible their necks are. I didn't realize they could totally turn their heads around and groom their backs or their tummies. There were also a bunch of ducks in with the flamingos. I was a spaz and was actually thinking, "I wonder why they have ducks at the zoo." Then I realized that the flamingo exhibit is in an open area, and the ducks are probably wild and just like the flamingo pond.

Kevin's and my favorite part of the zoo was the squirrel monkeys. The reason we liked them the best is because they were very funny to watch. They were chasing each other all around the cage. While we were watching them, this actual squirrel happened to be in the tree above us eating the pods growing on the tree. It was so funny because all the squirrel monkeys were hanging onto the fence, watching the squirrels every move. Lucky for the squirrel, the fence was there to protect him.

We definitely got our exercise. That zoo is humongous. If you wanted to see the polar bear you had to walk up a very steep, 500-yard hill (mind you we were both pushing strollers). I am not in the best shape in my life. Let's just say that I inherited sweating from my dad and turning bright red from my mom...so I must have looked pretty silly. The entire last half of our visit to the park was an uphill walk to the exit. Pant...pant...Next time, we will definitely be smart and use their bus tour.

Kid Kisses

Garrett and Caiti learned how to give kisses by watching Elmo blow kisses. When I tell them to give me kisses, they put their hands on my lips and wait for me to kiss them because that is what they learned from Elmo. This morning when I was talking to Jason, he reached his tiny little hand out and put it on my lips, and, of course I gave his sweet little hand some mommy kisses. He got this huge smile and kept doing it over and over again. Very sweet. So now, I can give all my kids their special kisses.

Our experience with spaghetti squash...

So, my kids are on the gluten-free, casein-free diet which means no dairy, wheat, barley, etc. I have been in the mood to cook lately, so I have been visiting theglutengal.com a lot to see her suggestions for gluten-free cooking. I also bought her e-book for the GF/CF diet because it has great ideas for kids on this diet. Anyway, on one of her blogs, she suggested making spaghetti squash. I thought that sounded like a great idea. I always hated squash when I was little, but I figured now that I'm a grown woman, it will probably taste good. So, I made it, and, happily, I did like it now that I'm grown. Caiti absolutely loves it and looks like a clown with marinara all over herself. Garrett...that is a different story. He was excited to see it on the plate and kept telling me "Spaghetti" and saying, "She's my kind of spaghetti." But then, if I tried to get him to eat it, he would run in the opposite direction. I finally tried to force feed him some because I went to all that work, and actually made them some real, home cooked food, and he grabbed it from me and threw it on the floor and ran away. Needless to say, after his time-out...(hahaha), he sat down in his chair and let me feed him a mouth full. It was soooo funny because he totally gagged. Is that horrible to think it's funny when your child is gagging on food? It reminded me of when we were little and Nicole was forced to eat yams, and she totally threw it up. So, of course, I ended up making Garrett his usual caramel rice cake with peanut butter, an orange and some chips. So much for spaghetti!