The Happiest Place on Earth! (debatable...) PT 1: the plans are laid

A few months ago Spencer and I realized that an undeniable opportunity was upon us: he had an extra week of time off he needed to use before summer started, we were in a great position to go do something cool because the baby was just the right age (not too small to worry about but not big enough to need independence constantly), I wasn't pregnant and was post-baby enough to be feeling great, and the girls were the PERFECT ages to really get sucked into the magic of Disney.  We have waited and waited for this day, not wanting to throw down the $40 bazillion dollars it costs until all ciurcumstances were perfect.   Well, the time finally came.  (note, the older two have been to Disneyland, but not since they were babies.  Cadence vaguely remembers our last time, when she was two and Campbell was 2 wks.  Back then we had So Cal family that paid for us).

The trip consisted of a two-day road trip (18 hrs total, but with our lot we know it's best broken up), six nights camping at Disney's Fort Wilderness Campsites, and 5 days in the parks.  Spencer's sister Caitlin called and said, "Oh, by the way, I'm going on a mission to Brazil!" and could she come visit us before she leaves.  We figured she'd have more fun coming along to Disneyworld than hanging out here in Bville while life goes on as usual.  I think we were right.  So Caitlin came along.  We also invited Spencer's mom, knowing she would want to be involved in such a trip.  She did, indeed, and planned to come to the back half of the trip.

So, all the plans were laid into place.  The camping was essential to the plan because a) we thought it would be fun and more memorable than a hotel, and b) it is by far the cheapest way to stay AT Disney (thus being allowed into the parks early, access to the free transportation, etc) and we wanted to be close to all the action and not have to find a cheap hotel and all that.  In a few minutes you're going to be saying, "YOU CAMPED?!? ARE YOU STUPID?!?" so remember this paragraph.

After plans were carefully laid, we decided to tell the kids.  We waited until we were about a month out.  They were SO excited!  There is probably nothing we could have said that would have been better. They counted down the days, they told perfect strangers, they watched only Disney for a month straight.  Also remember this paragraph in a minute.  THE KIDS WERE ECSTATIC.

After we told the kids and made all plans and flights were purchased for Caitlin and Mammaw, we got a little bit of surprise news.  Ezra is going to be a big brother, and much sooner than we thought!  Well, we were absolutely thrilled, albeit shocked, to discover this, but it did throw a kink in the "Perfectest Ever Disney Plans".  I told myself I'll just not get sick this time,  I just mustn't.  I just won't.

Well, as the trip neared and it was quite clear that I WAS going to be sick this time, my mind started to envision this perfect trip.  Camping.  Smelling.  Bathrooming.  Showering.  Magic Kingdoming.  Lunch Packing.  Smelling.  Camping.  Bathrooming. Public bathrooming.

After much discussion, however, we decided we must proceed as planned.  We absolutely couldn't tell the kids we weren't going.  The trip was possible because we were camping, thus being able to afford going in the first place.  So we left all plans in place and thanked our lucky stars we had planned on having some extra adults.

It was T-6 days to take-off (drive-off) and we were enjoying a lovely Easter evening with our good friends the Smallwoods and the Flemings.  It was a perfect day and the kids were enjoying the outdoors. Several times somebody would come running to the door and say, "so and so is crying!"  And the parents were all taking turns soothing sore knees or egos (except me because I was sick on the couch).

Then Layla started crying.  My skin crawled and I was anxiously awaiting an adult to carry her in.  I could hear Spencer telling her she was ok and to stop being so loud.  This is a typical response of a male, I've realized.  They know how dramatic such an event can seem to a child and they know they must teach them to let it go.  I've heard this cry before though and I made him bring her to me.  She couldn't stop screaming in pain, which is very unlike her, and so, after about 25 minutes of no relief for the little thing, Spencer and I carefully loaded her into the car and took her to the ER.  The Smallwoods and Flemings got the kids to bed, cleaned up the kitchen, and then Tara stayed until we got home.  We are so blessed to have family-friends like these!

I was absolutely confident in my diagnosis of a broken bone in her leg, although I couldn't have told you exactly where.  After waiting here and waiting there and a little nap in Daddy's arms, she was calm and even a little chatterbox again.  Her cheerfulness threw ppl off and I don't think the hospital staff believed me.  I think Spencer was pretty certain, too, though.
The x-ray was performed and Layla had to straighten out her leg, which made her scream in pain and call out for me.  I was sitting outside the room because the pregnancy, and pictured myself running through the walls and pushing people out of my way to get to her side and scoop her up.  I hated that moment.

she hardly even took a breath while these guys were in the room, on account of she had sooo much to say.

The break was at the top of the tibia, it went about 90% through the bone, it seems.  They splinted her while she talked incessantly about colors and princesses and the Easter Bunny.  Then I almost passed out from being upright for too long and a nurse brought me crackers and juice and we all somehow got out to the car all right.

So... now we had this to weigh in to our Disney plans.  I admit that I was thinking, "Perfect! We have an out!"  But we waited to see what the Dr. who was going to cast it said.

Four excruciating days of pain in that splint.  I was so mad at the orthopedist.  Why!?!  She was in such pain!  At night she'd lie down and it would hurt so bad.  I'd try to help her fall asleep.  She'd finally drift off only to do that little "jump" thing right when sleep starts to take over, and in doing so, would jar her leg and send herself reeling in pain again.  It was so sad.

Thankfully Spencer worked from home a couple of days to help because she needed to be carried everywhere, particularly to the bathroom.  I was too sick to do this so having his help was essential.  On thursday the cast was placed, from her toes to her upper thigh.  Because it was so big, the use of water proof lining is forbidden (water gets trapped inside too easily when it's so long).  So there goes our swimming plans at the campground.  Layla was super thrilled about the cast though, and we heard a few people tell us that having a cast at Disney is actually helpful.  So, we carried on!  We figured that at the very least, it would be better than having her sit at home and not be able to play.

And so, we spent our evenings frantically packing and praying that all would still go well!  And then the day finally came.

WINTER 2014

This year has gone by so quickly and so full of craziness that I've hardly had time to stop and breath, let alone blog.  Isn't it just the way life goes that the more you have to blog about, the less time you have to do it!  I've got so much to document this year so far.  I'm going to go season by season rather than event by event, so these are bound to be mammoth posts.

JANUARY-MARCH 2014:

This was a winter of record snow days in NWA, and several times church had to be cancelled.  In January we bundled up and walked to our neighbors, the Dragoviches', to meet with a few families who were close enough to travel safely and hold our own meeting.  It was a neat experience.  What a COLD winter!

Spencer took the girls ice-skating as often as he could and Campbell zipped around confidently.  It was so adorable.  so, so so so so adorable.

lovin' life!  Cadence must be busy lapping everybody else on the ice.

Spencer had the real-life opportunity to teach some of his scouts how to respond to a life-threatening accident that you come upon.  

   In February, soccer season started.  It was such a cold season, but the kids did great!

this was one of the rare occasions that Layla didn't wear a skirt with her jersey.  She opted for pink butterfly thermal underwear instead since it was bitter cold that morning.

Oh, yeah, and then I sent Spencer a text at work that changed his life.  

Ezra proves to be the worlds BEST hugger.  Really.

I force myself to take pictures with my little ones.

Ezra tries out the swings for the first time.  He loves it!

"FROZEN" becomes available on DVD and the girls watch it 40 billion times in a row, in one day.

Ezra is tooooooo cute.

Spencer and Mardee get asked to be the emcees at the beloved "Broadway Night" ward talent show (the premier don't-bring-your-kids event).  They accept having no idea what they are going to do.

They are just a teeny tiny bit totally mortified to see that some of these pictures have been blown up and made into posters and put up in the foyers of the Stake Center to advertise the event.  They hope that the mustache and feathers are enough to disguise their identity.

They somehow pull it off and have an absolutely great time as emcees.  In spite of the fact that pregnancy is now hitting Mardee hard.

Rite of childhood, brought to you by an awesome Dad.

SNOW!!! SNOW SNOW SNOW.   Campbell likes to get out and feel the weather.

Sometimes we get out with our babies.  This is obviously before I got pregnant.

Dad helps the girls build a fort one snowy snowy night.


A few fb posts (in lieu of journaling):
1/6/14:  Baby's first bite of rice cereal! He ate ravenously and made many gestures to show he was pleased with this new world of solid foods. And his big sister (cadence) hid under the table, crying in fear of his life, refusing to believe that cereal wouldn't be the end of him
1/17/14: A lesson about reaping what we sew : if we plant carrot seeds, what will we grow? Kids: "carrots!!" If we plant seeds of unkindness, what will we get back? Campbell: "potatoes!" Karma just got a little irish.

1/20/14: Faced my fear today and got on a treadmill. I did not fall down and get sucked into it, after all.
2/8/14: Some things cadence knows about the 1980's: her mom and dad were born, horse-drawn carriages were replaced by cars, there were no tv's, just radios, but no music yet just talk radio, the clothes were modest, andthe US didn't exist yet. We're so old.

2/19/14: Realized this wk that if I want to reach my fitness goals, I need to become fully obsessed with working out. So I hit the gym TWICE in one week AND decided I'd better rid the house of the cookies, brownies, and m&ms. That was a lot to eat at once but I can tell it's gonna be worth it come swimsuit season.

3/27/14: It's NOT opposite day around here and years of being overly sarcastic have NOT prepared me for this. And the four yr old is NOT constantly confused.

3/27/14:  Annual conversion from storage closet to storm shelter: water bottles and snacks check, blankets and flashlights check, atlatl check. Ready.

3/31/14: A child's prayer: "and please bless us with... (looks up with face twisted by confusion)...boobs?"  Uh... (that was Layla)

Up next: Spring 2014-- possibly the most expensive season of our entire lives (knock on wood).  So get ready!

Dear Layla (another belated birthday letter)

Ok, last belated birthday letter (for now)!

Our Little Miss Layla, or Laylani Kahlulu, as her Daddy calls her, turned FOUR on thanksgiving.  It was a crazy time and I'm still recovering, so this is pretty good that I'm getting to it only 2 1/2 months late :)

Layla, you're a little firecracker.  For REALZ.  Or, as one of your favorite songs puts it, you're a firework.  You are a ball of energy and you keep us hopping!  You are always drawing comments from others about how fun and enthusiastic and excited you are-- you're just a party on wheels, girl.

A couple of weeks ago a sister in church said to me, "I have to tell you something I've been laughing about all week-- I taught Layla's primary class last week-- during our game of "follow the leader" each child took turns stomping or twirling and then having the class follow them.  Then it was Layla's turn: full-on back bend!  We stopped the game there because nobody could keep up with Layla!"

You LOVE the color pink and have a strict "I get the pink one!" policy whether it's dinner plates, car seats, socks, or treats, etc.  You want "dark pink sparkly hair".  Your letter to Santa asked for "everything pink". 

You LOVE "lips", which is what you call lipgloss, lipstick, or chapstick.  Especially pink lips.  For your birthday your Dad got you a six pack of Disney Princess chapstick, and you haven't stopped talking about them since!  If I can't find you, you are usually in my bathroom trying on my "lips".  You often confuse adult women because you'll get really close to their faces and then say as you study them, "Do you have pink lips?" or "...red lips?" or whatever color you think their lipstick may be.  Before they can fully understand your question you are already telling them about the six "pairs" of lips you got for your birthday (you call everything "pairs", such as pairs of snacks, pairs of skirts, etc.) in great detail.

You are everybody's friend!  You are that kid at the grocery store or park or post office that is wearing a princess dress, a ninja mask, and rain boots and approaching everybody and saying, "Hi, what's your name!?! I'm Layla-- L-A-Y-L-A and I have six lips. Do you have any lips? Do you want to be my friend?" You brighten every public place you are in.

You love jokes.  One of my favorite things is when you randomly insert the phrase: "get it?".  For example, you will be talking about pretending to be a princess and wearing a crown. "Get it? CROWN? Get it?!?"   It makes no sense but makes me laugh just the same as if it does. 

You are a performer.  Last year when your sisters had their dance recitals, you always found a way to get to the stage and steal the show.  Now you are in dance so you don't have to be so sneaky about it-- you just dance your heart out and you love it so much!  You are also serious about singing.  You especially love to sing "This Girl is on Fire", "Roar", and all the Frozen songs.  You recently lifted your ban on me singing any of the girl parts in songs we listen to in the car, which was really generous of you.  I hope you never lose your uninhibited love for singing and dancing!

You are dangerous.  At least to your sisters.  And sometimes me.  They often have scratch marks from you, even gouges sometimes.  You don't usually do it to friends but when somebody crosses you, you've not yet found the right response.  We are working on it and you are now trying to take deep breaths and ask me for help if you don't know how to handle it :)  .  You are also a super great snuggle buddy and will always find your way onto my lap.  When I was pregnant last year, so were several of our other mom-friends.  You started asking everybody, "Do you have a baby in your tummy?" If they answered "No", you would immediately ask to sit on their laps--you'd been baby-bellied out of all your favorite seats!

You are picking up early reading skills really quickly right now and you love to practice writing.  Last week while making a birthday banner for Erica Larson, you accidentally misspelled your name.  "Mom, what does L-A-L-Y spell?"  You decided it would be easier for you to just officially change your name to Laly than to correct your mistake.  So Laly it is, for now.  Which makes grocery store conversations a little more confusing: "My name is Laly, and my nickname is pink-elsa, cause it used to be Elsa and my other nickname is Layla but my new name is Laly."


Layla, you fun-loving, pink-obsessed, sweet and sassy thing you, we love you.  We have had so much fun watching you develop your little (big!) personality and we are excited to continue to do so--you bring an element of excitement and joy to our family that only you could--thank you!

Dear Campbell (Also belated...)

Campbell's birthday also came and went without documentation, obviously, so here goes--time to write down a few things about everybody's favorite Curly Sue!

On your 5th birthday!

Campbell, you are something else.  How can I describe you?  You are sweet and sensitive and yet sassy and independent.  You are an absolute joy to have around and just looking at you melts our hearts.

some things about you at age five:  You hate to make decisions.  When asked to decide which song you want sung at bedtime, you say, "whatever Cadence is going to say". When asked which movie you want to watch, you say, "I want you to choose for me."  You avoid decisions a LOT.  So your dad and I try to make you practice decision making as often as we can.  I hope that doesn't backfire :)

You can't stand to see other's sufferings.  Once I was going to give all three of you girls ice cream cones but as I was about to dish them up, Layla scratched somebody or something like that (happens a LOT) so I told her no ice cream for her.  It was probably you she scratched.  She was heart broken and angry and you begged me to give her yours because you couldn't stand to see her like that.  I basically forced you to eat your own, which made you miserable, and so I let you share in the end.  If anybody gets into trouble you sit with them in time out or try to negotiate a lighter sentence for them.  If Ezra is crying you nag and nag and nag until I help him, because you can't bear to see him sad.  You are full of empathy.

BUT, if YOU are the one in trouble, you don't quite respond the same.  Instead of negotiating for a lighter sentence, you yell: "YOU MADE ME CRY!!!" In anger that I've scolded you.  Or, "NOW MY HEAD HURTS BECAUSE YOU WERE TALKING MEAN TO ME!!"  Or you like to threaten me: "FINE, THEN IF YOU SEND ME TO MY BED, I'M GOING TO NEVER EVER READ WITH YOU AGAIN BECAUSE YOU DID THIS TO ME! THIS IS YOUR FAULT, NOT MINE!"  You really don't like being at fault, I guess.  Who can blame you?  It's cute and frustrating at once.


seriously, how cute can things get around here!

You learned to read this year at school, you know. You picked it up in a snap.  You love school and although your dad and I were secretly gearing up for some talks from the school officials about whether some attention assessments needed to be made (we were planning on fighting back, hahaha), you teacher informed us that you are a model student and that she can always point out to the other students how well you are sitting and listening at rug time or how quickly you follow directions, etc.  We were happy to hear this news, plus a little shocked and a little relieved.  We were not shocked to hear that you are everybody's friend and that you look for ways to make those around you happy.

One Sunday morning we decided to straighten your hair.  It didn't stay straight for very long, but you thought it was so fun!

Let me explain the thing about attention assessments.  You tend to pay attention to a lot of things---all at once.  For example, you have often crashed your bike (thank HEAVEN for helmets, you have proven yours more than once...), and the reason you crash is that rather than look ahead, your neck is craning all around.  Even if I'm shouting as loud as I can, "CAMPBELL! LOOK WHERE YOU ARE GOING!"  You tend to be independent during play time, too, so that when the rest of the group heads off in one direction, you find yourself in the other...Someday, this will be a strength, probably.  You are creative and original and don't need to follow.  And apparently it's not hampering your school success (yay!).

The thing about you, Cam, is that you are oblivious to how stinkin cute you are.  Your hair is just the beginning, and your glasses are just icing on the cake.  Your shining, smiling eyes, your dimples... you are like a whirling dervish of cuteness. And when you dress yourself (usually rainboots and skirts are involved)...And your absent "r's".... We get told often that you belong on commercials.  Once you told me, "Mom, I don't want to be cute.  I want to be FUN."  I loved that! And lucky for you, you're both.

Doc McStuffins is no match for your caring heart.

Oh, another thing about you is that your laugh is fantastic.  Your laugh puts a smile on people's faces.  It is medicine for this Mama's soul.

 



One day you and your sister got off the school bus and there was a fire truck at the neighbors house on the way home.  The firemen let you and your sisters in to have a look!

 

 

 

 

Oh, Campbell, your five-year-old self is sooo great.  Never ever change.  We love you and can't wait to enjoy life along side you--it's going to be a good ride!

Dear Cadence (belated birthday)

Well, six months ago was Cadence's birthday, but I had just had a baby so I didn't get around to blogging.... ever.  So now we are home having our umpteenth snow day and the kids are watching a movie and the baby is sleeping and DARN IT, I'm going to write some things down for posterity :)

Since I've gone so long I'm going to try to summarize some of the wonderful wonderful things about Cadence as a 7 year old.  Ideally this would be a birthday letter.  But we don't live in the ideal world, do we?

7! Happy Birthday, Luv! (Six months ago...)

Cadence, now you are 7 1/2.  You are undeniably smart and determined.  You are socially intelligent.  You are a planner and a doer.  And you loooove to help and serve others.  Some things you love are: gymnastics, cooking, planning lessons or activities (you usually use your small pink clip board and make lists, etc), art, super smash bros., ice skating, and swimming.  You also love to ride your bike and to be creative outdoors (such as gathering small acorns and twigs and making a grand plan to make something out of them). 

Dad and I can always depend on you to do your chores 100%.  We love to see you get excited about a plan and execute it.  Your eyes light up when you have a grand design and you get moving fast.  At times this causes some friction because you REALLY don't like it when you've decided on a plan and I have to tell you that it's not going to happen or that things have to change.  For example, sometimes you like to plan parties for the weekend or playdates that I can't follow through because of previous plans or sick siblings, etc.  You are working on handling this disappointment better, but it doesn't come very easily :)

snowed in at the Clivinos, you build an impressively organized structure.

 

meeting baby brother

You are my big helper with the little girls and especially with Ezra.  At this moment you are playing with him while I type.  At this moment you also have a bruise that is exactly the size of his little mouth on your chin, where you let him suck/chew on it the other day.  You help feed him, too!  You are very proud of how much you get to do to help with him and you are always thinking of how to be more helpful.

Cadence, you love service!  You love to make me breakfast in bed.  You love to make cookies for neighbors or snacks for your sisters.  You get that same fire in your eyes when you think of a way to help somebody.  Or surprise somebody.  Oh, you love to execute surprises!

 Last spring when I was still expecting Ezra, Dad was on cruise/family reunion on Mother's day.  Each morning for the first three mornings you brought me breakfast in bed.  You always paid special attention to the presentation: cupcake flags in the toast, flowers in a cup, chocolate chip smiley faces!  The breakfasts were things like toast, gingersnaps, sugar snap peas, and starlight mints.  On the morning of Mother's Day, you proudly brought in my meal, but you accidentally tripped and spilled VERY pink strawberry milk of your own making all over my carpet and bed!  I was so sick and tired from the pregnancy I burst into tears!  I made you promise to not bring me any more breakfast in bed until Dad got back :) . You did your very best that week to make it easier for me, and I sure did appreciate that.  You are a treasure.

There are so many wonderful things about you, my sweet, strong girl.  You and I have a lot of heated discussions, but in the end you always hug me and tell me you are sorry, often in a sweet note.  You are strong-willed (which will lend itself to your success, I'm sure of it), but you are also humble enough to remember after the tempest has quelled just a bit, that you still have a lot to learn and that you will benefit from listening to what Dad and I are trying to teach you.

making an afterschool snack-- ants on a log--your plan, your execution

oh my, you are just too cute.

You don't always trust me to know what is best, that is the truth.  Like the night we fed Ezra baby cereal for the first time (he having only had mother's milk until then).  You begged and pleaded with us not to do it.  You demanded that I not do it.  And then when I went against your wishes, you hid under the table and sobbed, fearing for your baby brother's life.  Refusing to believe that your Dad and I knew what we were doing!

 

Cadence, you are strong, happy, and fun.  You always have been.  Keep it up and know that everyday we are grateful you are ours!

Little Fella

Ezra is coming up on 7 months now and I've written nothing about him since his birth story!  Well, son, that's what you get for depriving me of sleep and sanity--no time or brain for writing. 

Here are some things about this little hunk of burnin' love:

Ezra, you are HAP. PY.  You have a smile and a "wiggle of happiness" for your sisters and Mom and Dad all day long.  You want to put your hands on everybody's faces and put your forehead to theirs.  You know your sisters can be a bit rough and tumble with you but you forgive them every time and still shriek with joy at their sight.  They do the same to you, by the way.  After six months, they are still excited every single time they see you. 

You are HUN.GRY.   You have eaten every two hours or more since birth, night or day, with few exceptions.  In spite of this, you are still sort of  a shrimp (at six months you were at the 1st percentile, dropping from the 6th at 4 months).  We've been adding formula and coconut oil to your rice cereal to try to beef you up and especially to get you to sleep a little longer!

From the time you were born, if I laid you on your back you would start choking.  Even to change your diaper.  So I NEVER put you down.  I would hold you constantly.  Even to go potty (too much information?).  You slept on my chest and I gave you the fastest diaper changes ever so that I could scoop you right back up.  You grew out of this after about 3 weeks, but by then you had learned that mama's arms are where you belonged and you didn't want to be put down. Ever.  I could rock you to sleep for 45 whole minutes and the second I laid you in your bed, can you guess what would happen? Eyes open, out comes a wail...  at about 2 months we bought you a swing and basically you lived there for a while.  That freed up my arms a little during naptimes, but you were still constantly eating, even at night. We are still working on that and you are currently spending half of each night in the pack and play in our closet and half in your swing in the corner of our bedroom.

Don't worry, babies are always that color.

Grandma Clive was there to see you come into this world, this was probably an hour after you were born.

Man time. 10 days old

11 days old

One month old

six week check up with Midwife Lucy Ferguson, the woman who aptly unwrapped your neck from the cord and then calmly got you to take your first breath using mouth to mouth.  She's an angel and has sworn to someday tease you for being your first kiss :)

I can't find a date on this one but I'm guess about 1.5 months, just as the smiles are coming.

 

3 months old with Grandpa Marcel



4 months old with your fan club presidents

5 months old-- rockin that sweater vest!

 

six months old! wearing one of the many Yankees outfits Gramps (Clive) sent you.  You are such a little man!

first bite of solid foods, you loved it then you hated it then you loved it again.  You are a little hard to read regarding food right now! six months

six months with some of your baby buddies: Rachel and Dean S, Mason F, Tommy S, and you and Lucy True H are the ones flailing your arms around--6 months

 

You are LOV.ED.  You are a treasure to us.  We have so many hopes and dreams for you, but above all, we hope that you learn to love truth and righteousness and cling to them, so that no matter what else comes into your life, you can weather it.  You are a strong and smart man, with a deep capacity to love and bless others.  I can see it.  I know it.  Because I'm your mother.