Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Update on all parts of my life that are not adoption or Africa related!


Lately this blog has been full of really heavy things...babies being adopted, trips to Africa..... it has been less light and fun and there has been a serious lack of pictures of the other children (according to my family). So, from here on out..there will be more pictures and more fun..... Also, I haven't written down anything funny that the kids are saying or doing. That might not be a big deal to the rest of blogworld but so far, this is the only baby book my kids get so if it doesn't make the blog then it doesn't get recorded. And they have been saying REALLY funny things.

The baby is doing fine..she is getting positively chunky! Look at those cheeks. Yippe. She is about 8 pounds now and THAT means she should be able to start sleeping longer. The picture above is her in the swing. She seems so big to me, but then I catch a look at her in the swing and she looks SO TINY. The hat is on because she makes herself cry (and wakes herself up) by pulling her hair. Her little hand gets up in there and just yanks it out until she cries. The bottom picture doesn't do her hair any justice. It is so soft and curly and perfect to rub when you tuck her head under you chin... I know it will change soon and that is fine too, but I am enjoying the baby soft afro that she is sporting right now (and it looks remarkably similar to all the old ladies in my ward...but with a little bit of extra mullet).


We are finally getting into a bit of a routine with her. It helps that Lu has gone back to school. I am either getting the hang of this or learning how to function better on less sleep. Either way, things are slowly becoming easier. There is lots to be thankful for. Earlier this week my friend Suzi told me that her sister came home from church last Sunday to a message on the phone from the school district. Apparently the office staff was on strike and school would NOT be starting the next day as planned. Cancelled. If they had cancelled Lauren's school I might have offered to work the office myself. Thank goodness for school. (I am clearly not a home schooling Mom).

I can't believe that I have a first grader. This year Lauren is in a split class that is half 1st grade and half kindergarten. This is actually a pretty good thing for her because she can still get a bit of the "hand holding" that happens in kindergarten but still get to be a big kid in the class. We had a tradition in our house where on the first day of school you can choose to eat what ever you want for breakfast. Nothing is off limits. If she said she wanted a 10 lb bag of sugar w/ a spoon, it would happen. Do you know what she chose? French toast, hard boiled eggs and doughnuts. Silly girl. Last year it was cupcakes and fruit. She is her fathers child for sure. Here is her breakfast.

She also didn't want to wear a dress this year (sob). It was boots, jeans and a cool jacket. Oh, and a messenger bag. She just trotted onto the bus without a backwards glance. She is also bugging me to cut her hair. She wants it cut to her ears--but I think that she thinks if she cuts it that short it will be straight. The other day I did her hair and she looked in the mirror and said "this looks like a Jenny hair do" When I asked her what she meant she said "this looks like the hair a girl named Jenny would have." Every day since then she has told me who she looks like. Today it was Shirley. She has such an imagination. I think we will end up cutting it (the hair, not the imagination), but I can't bear the thought of cutting off her curls. She just turned 6 last week. It is unbelievable how fast they grow up. In many ways she is still my baby. In other ways, she is grown up and seems like she is already out the door (actually, yesterday she told me she had packed some things because she was tired of me being grumpy and the baby crying so she was going to move out.....). I feel like I can see a glimpse of the young woman she will become and (thankfully) there are still traces of my toddler. We celebrated her big day a week early with a traditional breakfast at McDonald's (we were traveling on her actual birthday....for the third year in a row...but it is also our anniversary that day and we haven't managed to celebrate that for a few years now....).

Next post...what is new with Cubby. He got a bad hair cut (from me....that was the last one, it is off to the barber shop from now on) and has taken a liking to Laurens pink cowboy boots while riding his horse.... silly kid.

11 comments:

Fizzle said...

Dig Lauren's first day at school shot. She's a tall drink of water, isn't she?

Tell her if she needs a place to stay while you adjust to mom of three, she can come down here. We could use an extra hand with moving boxes. ;-)

Julie said...

Some things:
1- Share more traditions. I will be stealing.
2- Love this update. Keep 'em coming.
3- Glad you're feeling less tired and more sane. Those first weeks are SO hard.
4- Nori. She is incredibly gorgeous. I can't believe how fine and delicate and feminine her features are. Just beautiful.
5- Lauren. Growing up. Sad, huh? And also - you know you love it.
6-I agree. Homeschooling? HA!
7- Lastly, how ON EARTH did you mess up Cubby's hair? I'm so curious. And humored. But mostly curious.

Bek said...

Ha!! That is a good one. I told her that if she can find someone to take her, she is welcome to it.

We want to come see you in the half ironman-- or at least throw a powerbar at you as you jog/run past. :-) Lets talk details....
R

Oh Julie...the hair. You have no idea. Josh's must still be soft. Jacobs is about 6 inches long if you strech it all out, but curled up it is about 1/2 an inch. You can cut w/ the clippers and it will all look even, then you take a bath and it is all patchy. The fact that I have to pin him down between my legs while he screeches and swipe at his hair with the clippers doesn't help. It is bald patches and long patches. Today in the mall three different black women gave me the sad eyed look that siad "You poor stupid white woman...what did you do to his hair?" Three white ladies did too...that is how bad it is!!
Pictures to follow....

dalene said...

Great pics and love the news. Norah looks like she's just thriving under your care--she's a whole different baby than when we got to see and hold her. Kudos to you!

Hope Lauren has a great year of first grade. And Cubby's hair will grow back. And you my dear will eventually sleep again! All will be well.

Bek said...

Fizz...I forgot to say...yes she is really tall.

I am 5'10" and Derek is 6'3" so she had no chance. Since the other two are Polly Pockets...she will make up for it. You should see this girl play soccer and swing a golf club.

This is me said...

I loved this post. Your girls are very adorable. I know what you mean about cutting off the long, curly hair. Whenever we cut my daughter's hair, I stand there all tense and cringing as those soft, toddler curls hit the floor. Luckily, it has managed to stay curly so far. I look forward to more updates.

LuckyRedHen said...

Silly boy with pink boots and a horse. Classic. Little Norah really isn't little anymore, eh? All of a sudden I'm Canadian.

Lyle said...

Bek- you would think that in today's society, nobody would care about a hair style (good or bad) because there are so many deliberate unusual hair styles...even with small kids.

Your kids are photogenic. Most my kids either can't hold still long enough or prefer to hide from the camera.

Bek said...

Lyle,

Sadly, my kids are children of a photographer. Cheese was on of Jacob's first recognizable words... and both of them "pretended" to take pictures from a very young age. It is a sad fact that my kids LOVE to have their picture taken and will pose almost anywhere...even when there IS no camera. ;-)

The hair thing was not so much a mean thing as as "you poor stupid woman" thing. Like when I go to church when friends are out of town and the dad has dressed and done the hair of the kids.....you just sort of smile and shake your head..... (again, this is just the husbands of my kids, I am sure some husbands are WICKED at doing hair and dressing kids).

Carina said...

Oh Bek, I know. Poor Guille looked for a while like he had malnutrition--hair gone in strange patches, long in others... But honestly, what do they expect from us? A squirming-fighting kid and clippers do not a perfect hair cut make.

Everyone can DEAL.

Betina said...

I love traditions, though I am not so creative about thinking them up. Choose your own breakfast is a good one!

I can't wait to see pics of J's hair.