Ho Ho Ho

Merry Christmas!

This year Corbin wants a bike, train tracks and a roller coaster. We'll see how Santa scores. When I asked Cooper what he wanted he said, "a daaaaaaa and a baaaabeeee". So I'm guessing he'll be happy with what ever he gets this year. To read more about Cooper our Little Christmas Baby click here.

So Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night sleep...

a girl can dream can't she

Cuddles

I'm weak.

I try to be really consistent with Corbin's bedtime routine. Part of that is laying with him for two songs even when he asks for five,(he likes to have music on while he sleeps, right now it's the soundtrack to Somewhere in Time, nice classical sounding stuff...I'm holding my breath to hear what it turns into when he's a teenager eek).

Any way...I walk out his door even when he wants me to stay longer, I have already fought, and won, the habit of him needing us next to him to fall asleep I can't afford to give in. Now 2 songs is all he gets. Well, sometimes 3 if I lose track.

Tonight I was doing the dishes after laying with him, as I usually do, when he came out of his room. This too is part of the routine at least once a night. This time instead of being ready to fight sleep, he looked up at me with his big brown eyes and said "Mama, I need more cuddles".

And with those 5 little words I was his for two more songs.

Little Brother

Cooper carried this around for hours

Cooper kissing Corbin's picture

Cooper loves his brother.

Cooper misses his brother while he's away at school.

Cooper wants to have everything his brother has...even stitches and hospital bands.
Cooper thinks he is hurt when his brother gets hurt.

Cooper follows his brother around.

Cooper loves it when his brother makes him laugh.

Cooper watches everything his brother does.

Cooper tries to wear his brothers shoes.

Cooper shares chicken nuggets with his brother

Cooper wrestles with his brother.

Cooper is the perfect little brother for our Corbin.

The Great Count Down

The countdown has begun. The boys, well Corbin, is really excited about Christmas this year and so we are counting down in style. Well maybe not style but we are counting down in many ways.

First, of course, the traditional paper chain.

Second, a candy chain- one little starburst each day for both the boys. Now, Cooper is catching on to this one.For Family Home Evening we read the First Presidency's Message in the Friend. They tell us that this holiday season we should, "sing with joy, pray in gratitude and carry out good deeds". We have little pictures here to remind us of those 3 things...

and each evening we are writing on a little paper ornament what we are grateful for that day and one kind deed that the children did. Then we sing a song (with joy of course) and say a prayer including all the things we each are thankful for. It has only been a few days, but I really like this...it's a really nice way to end the day.

We are also going to wrap up all our Christmas story books and read one each night before Christmas, but I don't have 25 so we haven't started that one yet, and I haven't put them out either, didn't want to torture the kids with gifts they can't open for that long.

(I can't take credit for all these ideas, I got the candy and book idea from my friend Heather, and thank you to Hillary and CJ for coming over for family night and helping with the candy chains...thanks!)

My Boys

I have so many things to be Thankful for. Here are just 3 of my favorite.

I am so thankful for Derek. He is a wonderful loving husband and fun affectionate Father. A gal couldn't ask for more.

I am thankful for Corbin and his great sense of humor.

I am thankful for Cooper and his sweet easy going ways.

I love being a wife and mom and I am so blessed to have a family that brings me so much joy.

HaPpy ThAnkSgiviNg!

Pot Pie

One of my favorite dinners to make when the weather gets cool is chicken pot pie. It's about the only time Corbin will eat vegetables, which is a bonus for me.

Now I have realized that photographing food is a lot harder than it looks in good pictures. So this really is tastier than it might look, so try to get past the blue pie pan, when I started dinner I wasn't planning on taking pictures of it. But I thought I might share it anyway.

Now this recipe isn't exact, I just throw things in, I don't know if you can really mess it up.

Here's what you need:

One pie crust for the top( I use store bought ones the come in the refrigerated section rolled up in a box)

1/4 c.Frozen chopped onions (a great invention)

+1 1/2 c Frozen veggies, I like peas and carrots, but you can use what ever your family likes.

+2 c.Frozen hash brown (the little cubed ones) That makes the pie nice and thick

1 Can of cream of chicken soup (I make my own version because of Corbin's milk allergy)

A couple spoon fulls of sour cream is yummy too

1-1 1/2 c. Shredded Chicken, I most often use about 1/2 a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, but sometime I have left over baked chicken-what ever is easiest, that's the whole point of this dinner for me.

Salt and pepper to taste

Pour everything but the crust into a mixing bowl. It will be nice and thick and cold. Just mix until the chicken soup and sour cream are evenly distributed. Don't forget to salt an pepper, all the frozen veggies need it. Remember I'm just guessing with the measurements, you want the filling to fill up the pie pan. I only use a top crust, it saves about 800 calories for the whole pie and the bottom crust is yummy, but not really needed. Pour the mixture into a pie pan and cover with pie crust. Cut a few slits on top and bake at 400° (or the temp recommended on the pie crust box) for about 45min. or until the center is hot an you can see the sides bubbling.

We just scoop it out when serving, I don't try to cut it like a pie.

This would be good with turkey left overs instead of the chicken too!

I heart Suzanne

This is my aunt Suzanne. My mom's little sister.

Some people say that we look alike, which I have always taken as a compliment.

I have grown up wanting to be like her. As little girl I remember wishing that my hair was like hers and that I could drive a stick like she did ( I can still hear the click of her fingernails as she shifted and I liked that too). I remember her purple and white wedding bouquet and staying the night with her and eating oatmeal cookie dough.

We tease that we were supposed to be sisters.

It's funny now how we have things in common that I couldn't have planned. We both want our homes to feel like a beach cottage even thought she is in the mountains and I'm a good drive away myself. We both feel funner when our hair is short.

I love Suzanne.

I few weeks ago I took the boys up to Crestline to spend the day with her. We had so much fun walking around the lake and feeding the ducks. We had a picnic and played at the park. And completely wore the kids out. She even made special cookies that Corbin could eat. It was a beautiful day and Corbin still talks about going to the mountains to see Suzanne.

Thanks Suzanne for taking the day off of your life to play with us. It is so extra special to me that Corbin and Cooper get to love you too. They are lucky little boys.

3 little towels hang'n on the wall

So we have added an extra hook and hoodie towel in the kids’ bathroom. You see we have finally gotten our application for adoption #3 into the agency. It is only the beginning; we only have about half of the paperwork and running around done. We want to be approved and "waiting" by the end of the year. That's the goal at least.

So this is just the beginning of our thinking positively. And yes, that third towel is pink. This is not a requirement but is a fun thought....to have a baby girl next. But we can easily change it to yellow or red if another little boy comes our way.

So here is to the beginning of a complicated process that couldn't thrill us more.

Little dirt don't hurt?

Don't I wish that I mopped the floor yesterday like I had planned too.

Candy Corn

Last week up at Oak Glen we found some candy corn that Corbin can have. All the store bought bags either have eggs in them or have been processed on machinery with milk, both no-no's for Corbin.

But that got me to thinking that if the fine people at Riley's Farm could find someone to make their's I bet I could find a recipe online.

I did, and tried it out this week. The hardest part was rolling and cutting the "dough". This blog had great pictures to go along with each step, and this site has a recipe using marshmallows, I'm gonna try that next.

This little treat was a hit with the kids. They don't taste quite the same as store bought but, Corbin couldn't believe his eyes when he woke from his nap to find a bowl full of his favorite treat.

Johnny Appleseed

Friday I took the boys up to Riley's Farm in Oak Glen to pick apples. It was a beautiful day, warm sunshine with a crisp breeze. We had a great time.

We picked apples.

And made wishes

We found a birds nest

Cooper tried to hide apples in this tree

We ate apples, I don't know what kind they are but they are sweet and crunchy just the way we like 'em.

The boys sat on a tracktor

And climbed on hay bales.

We also got to feed goats, run though a pumpkin patch, play in mud, climb big hills, pump water, eat a picnic lunch, find candy corn that Corbin can eat (no eggs), bump into a teacher friend of mine with two kids the same ages as Corbin and Cooper, drink fresh apple cider, dance on a little stage, and enjoy the fresh air. It was a great day... and the kids slept really well that night.

My Zoolander

This is Corbin's first official school picture. He was so excited to see it when we opened the big envelope it came home in.

We had practiced and practiced his smile in the mirror before P day. He knew that his job was to smile without a "scrunchy nose".
This is the smile I usually get in photos. While it does have personality I did hope for his soft smile in the school shot.

When he came home on picture day I asked him to show me how he smiled. He gave me a nice soft smile and said "no scrunchy nose!".

He did it.

I'm sure that some day I will miss his big scrunchy smile, but I do like having proof that he has more than one look.

Ahhhhh

We have cool air again! The air conditioner guy left a couple hours ago and the house has just reached a comfortable 75° (inside the house was getting into the 90's every day,urg). I think I will go turn on the oven and dry a load of laundry, luxuries I couldn't afford just hours ago. I may even blow dry my hair tomorrow!

Of course the heat wave is supposed to break tomorrow; we may even get rain on Saturday. Just our luck. But with a whole new system we should be cool for many summers to come.

I'm Mellllting

Our air conditioner has kicked the bucket. We were hoping it would make it through the summer, and I guess technically it did.

If only September brought with it a little chill. But we haven't been that lucky, the last couple days it's been almost 100° outside.

So I have stocked up on popsicles and the boys carry around squirt bottles cool off with. I'm hoping we'll have air up and running before the end of the week. Wish us luck.

We had a long night...

Derek is back to work, I don't think I've mentioned that. His knee is healed and he's back to patrol.

I'm sad to have him gone. The boys are too.

Corbin has a hard time with change. At the beginning of Derek's time home with the broken knee, Corbin would tell him that it was time for work. And wanted him to go like he usually did at night.

Now it's another story....

You see Derek would lay with Corbin until he fell asleep at night. It was a great break for me not putting Corbin to bed every night by myself. But let me tell you, I am paying for that one.

Last night was the first night with out Derek in a long time.

Things moved along smoothly, we did the whole routine that Derek started, play with race cars, play memory game, lay in bed and read books with a flashlight. Corbin was all calm and relaxed....

Until I got up.

First he started crying for "Mama", not "Mom" or "Mommy", "Mama" the way Cooper cries for me when he's hurt or sad. The way a sweet, helpless, little baby would call out. "Mama lay down with me, I love you, Mama, Mama". This kid has game.

When that didn't work he decide to try and get my sympathy by crying for "Daddy". The daddy who left him all alone with mean mommy, (the daddy who started this whole thing). That didn't work either.

I just kept putting him back in bed.

What started at 8:30 wasn't finished until after 11:00.

This morning when I woke him up for school, the first words he mumbled were "I'm sorry Mommy".

Melt my heart.

Friday Activites

Corbin loves to anything if you tell him it is an "Activity". To him that means we are going to do something fun and special that may just include using scissors.

Today our Activity was making whirlybirds.You know, you drop them and they spin all the way down...way better than a paper airplanes, because these actually work.

We gathered up the supplies while Cooper was napping and sat in the shade in the front yard. We measured and cut and folded and clipped and voile,we had a whirlybird.

We started dropping them just standing on the curb for a little extra height, then the back of the truck and on to the stairs in the back yard.

It was a fun activity we followed up with a trip to the Burger King playland with a friend from his Sunbeam class.

Now we are off to Disneyland with Daddy....which just might trump our whirlybirds, even though scissors aren't involved.

Corbin loves Hot Wheels

Corbin loves things in rows.


Corbin found my quilting ruler and gave each car it's own "parking space".


It was like a dream come true for him, to be able line up cars in their own little squares. He was so excited to show us his organized toys.

I'm hoping that this will mean that having a clean room will be easy for him. A place for everything and everything in it's place. I can imagine him getting frustrated with me for messing his stuff up....could I get that lucky?

We Made It

We are tired....

We are hungry....

It was hard to keep the boys happy at church today....

Ahhh, but in the words of Corbin "We made it".

(And if you were sitting near us today you may have heard him shout those words from the front of the chapel after the closing prayer...)

The Buzz

I decided I wasn't really ready for summer to end. So I gave our little Cooper his first buzz.

It's not a real short one, but I did use the clippers.

Well, the real reason I buzzed him is Cooper has this little swirly right on the crown of his head that always sticks up. Now it blends right it. I don't know if I'll keep it this short for long, I do think it makes him look more like a little boy which I have mixed feelings about. Somehow cutting his hair makes him look taller to me....hmm....yep he looks taller.

Pre School Rules

Well he's off to another year of pre school.

We have been counting down for the last week with a little paper chain. Corbin got to rip off one link every morning.

Today all I had to do to wake him up {at 6:30} was turn off his fan (I'm sure that will get harder as 6:30 gets earlier and earlier). Today he popped right up and said,"I pull off blue one today, ". Yes, blue was the last link of the count down. Yep, that means that today is the first day of school.

As I got him dressed he told me some of the rules at school "take your thumb out or time out" (Corbin is still a thumb sucker) and "don't hit, be nice boy" and "No milk or eggs" (his food allergy's to watch out for).

Last year I had a very hard time leaving him at school.

So this year Dad did it.

I just packed his backpack , we all said a little good morning prayer and off they went.

Now, I can't wait to see the bus pull up and hear how his day was. I hope it ends as happy as it started.

How many cans can a canner can if a canner can can cans?

My food storage has officially began. I know I'm a late bloomer. Our emergency plan has always been - get to my moms house.

But I realize that we have our own little family to be prepared for.

When Erin invited me to go to the cannery with her I jumped at the chance.

Today was the big day.

Now I officially have:

1 case of white rice

1 case of pinto beans

1 1/2 cases of potato flakes

1 case of quick oats

1 case of macaroni

1 case of dried apple slices

3 cans of dried carrots

1 can of dried onions

15-20 gallons of water

I think that everything I bought has a shelf life of about 30 years. I know it's not a year supply yet, maybe not even a 3 month supply but at least it's something.

It's so wonderful to me how following the Prophet's counsel feels so good. It didn't even hurt writing the check to pay for all that.

Now I just have to find a place to keep all this stuff.

Penny Pincher

For months before Cooper turned one I was looking forward to the day I could stop buying formula and bottles and gas drops. I would day dream of all the things I would be able to spend my extra money on.

pedicures, facials, new clothes (for me), things for the house...

Then I woke up!

Kids don't get less expensive as they get older, they get more.

Their toys cost more, their clothes cost more, their food costs more, their fun cost more....

So in the last few months my receipts from Target haven't gotten any smaller, but Cooper keeps getting bigger.

And he is worth every penny.

Happy Birthday Corbin

So....Corbin seems to have this "I turning 4" thing down. Tuesday July 29 was Corbin's 4th birthday. He was so excited to wake up to the house all decorated for his party. We did a Hot Wheels theme. He is totally into race tracks right now. So he thought it was about the greatest thing ever. All of Derek's family come over that evening for dinner and cake. It was a house full of family and fun.

It was actually today, July 31, 2004 that we first met our little Corbin, there in the hospital nursery. The nurse was just about to give him a bottle, when she found out that we were going to be his mom and dad she handed him to me.

What a moment.

Holding him for the first time.

I couldn't hold back the tears.

We had a whirlwind couple of days.

Corbin was born on a Thursday.

That evening our Case Worker called to tell us that a baby boy had been born and that we had been chosen by his birth parents to adopt him and could we come pick him up at the hospital Saturday.

We were stunned. We had only been officially approved and ready to wait for a baby for a couple weeks. We expected it to take months before someone had chosen us and then we thought we would have a few months to really get ready.

But Corbin had a different plan, he was in a hurry, he came 6 weeks early and we were in shock.

Both Derek and I went to work the next day, Friday, to let them know that we probably wouldn't back for a while. And then spent the evening buying a few basics, like a car seat and bottles.

Suddenly, before we could even wrap our heads around what was really happening, there we were looking at our son.

He was perfect...tiny...but perfect.

We still feel so amazed that he is ours.

We love July 29th, Corbin was born.
We love July 31st, Corbin came home with us.

The Good the Bad and the Ugly

We had quite a weekend. (now with pictures)

The Good-Corbin finished swimming lessons Friday He learned to float on his back, do bobs in and out of the water and swim a little with his face under. Also Derek's brother and sisters are in town, just flew in yesterday. We look forward to a fun week with them.

The Bad- We had our first trip to the emergency room yesterday. It's such an awful story, it keeps playing over and over in my head. Corbin's finger got chewed up by an escalator in a department store. The employees were of NO help. Customers were getting us paper towels and ice and calling 911. ( that is a whole story all on it's own) We did make it to the hospital where a plastic surgeon was able to sew him back up. He thinks that he saved the finger (right index, good thing this little guy is a lefty) but we just have to wait and see if it heals.

Luckily It was a family outing, if Derek hadn't been with us I don't know if I could have handled it. Pops and Bryon came down to the hospital to give Corbin a blessing and take Cooper home with them. That was a blessing all on it's own and it really helped calm Corbin down. He has been playing and not complaining about pain. We hope that lasts. But no more swimming for a while and no more moving stairs!



The Ugly- on a lighter note we had out house painted. No more ugly peeling brown and tan for us baby....we went green with blue & white trim. I know it's not the standard around here but we love it.