Lincoln Turned Two!

Lincoln is amazing. He completes our family. He is mostly calm, with bursts of feisty. Sweet, unless you're Mason and you're "loving" on him, in which case he will bite you. He often gets overlooked with so much going on in our house, but he is usually perfectly content.

He never gets tired of being read to. He brings me books whenever he catches me sitting down, and slaps them down in my lap (or sometimes into the side of my head if he can reach), demanding to be read to. He knows when I'm "fake" reading, and if my attention is not 100% trained to those pages, he lets me know that he's noticed. He can be very vocal when he's not happy.

He is so stinking cute! I don't remember my other kids having such an adorable pouty face, reserved for when he has hurt feelings or is in trouble. And he dances whenever he hears a tune of any kind. Usually with a head-bob that throws him off balance. And his smile! When he is full-on smiling, his happiness overwhelms his entire body, to where he has to lean forward and hug his chest because there is too much happy to be expressed merely on his lips. No one can resist a smile like that.

We are in love with him.

During the past few months, he has made great progress communicating. It is so nice to know what he's wanting or thinking. Here's where he's at:

Spoken words:
hi
bye or buhbye
nana (banana)
baba (bottle)
dog
ock (book)
dada

The words he only whispers, for whatever reason:
saaah (soft)
hug
cuhkuh (cracker)

Signs:
food
more
banana
cereal
cracker
sandwich
cake/cookie
cheese
milk
bottle
orange
popcorn
apple
 all done
dog
bunny
pig (accompanied by a snorting sound)
horse
bird
duck
dinosaur
hat
bath
baby
sleep
book

He learns quickly, and his signing vocabulary is only limited by his fine motor skills. But we can usually understand his meaning (for example, his "bunny" and "sandwich" look almost identical, but context clues usually tell us which one he means).

Aaah! I love it!

Anyway, we postponed celebrating Lincoln's birthday until Chad's parents were here. They got him an awesome tricycle that he can actually move around on with his short chubby legs!

He clearly loves it!


And though he had no clue what to do with those birthday candles...

...he was obviously ready to dig in, and kept signing "food" and "cake!"

Happy Birthday Lincoln!

Playing Tourist with Grandma and Papa

We started out Thursday with a delicious dinner at Baci Italian Bistro. It was definitely a little grown up for the kids, and the leisurely pace of dinner was almost the death of us (thank goodness for Fran's iPhone!). But my Sausage Boscaiola was amazing (the Basil Pomodoro sauce was so flavorful!), so there were no regrets there!

Friday we visited the Queen Creek Olive Mill, the only place in Arizona where you can find on-site milled olive oil. Extra Virgin, thank you. There was an adorable cafe area, which I will most definitely be visiting again on another day, to sample their freshly made olive oil creations, and delicious-looking sandwiches. The shop boasted shelves and shelves of olive oil, vinegar, wine, and olive-oil-based bath and beauty products.

Then we all went outside to take the short tour, and learn about the olive oil making process.

We stood under the olive blossoms as our tour guide began explaining the varieties of olive trees on the farm. As I looked up at those pollen-filled flowers I thought, "My allergies are going to love me for this!" Good thing I pre-medicated.

This place really does it right, from harvesting at the right time, to processing the olives within a day of picking them. After the tour guide showed us the machine that mills and "presses" the oil, she asked if there were any questions. Bree raised her hand. I held my breath as the tour guide called on her, because honestly, I never know what's going to come out of that girl's mouth. But she asked the very appropriate question, "Can we see the machines grind up the olives?" And we were all informed that we'd have to come back around October to see the freshly harvested olives being processed.

Then we sampled different types and flavors of olives, and I was very proud of myself for trying some. Seeing as how I hate olives. I actually enjoyed the mesquite-almond olive, and the garlic flavored one. But then I was left with the olive after-taste, which stuck with me through the remainder of the day. I think I'll just stick to good ol' olive oil. Which we also got to taste!

They had different blends and flavors of olive oil, including chocolate and blood orange, as well as some dressings, and a to-die-for strawberry balsamic vinaigrette, which Fran splurged on. I bought myself a bottle of their Extra Virgin blend, and vowed to never buy "Light Flavor" olive oil again. Because it is apparently crap. No really, it's literally made out of the crap that's leftover after making extra virgin olive oil. It was, all in all, a fun, enlightening experience.

Friday night Chad made us some of his delicious homemade chili, and Fran and Jim dined on chili dogs with us. Then we walked to the park at the end of our street, and showed them how we spend many an evening. The weather was cool. The kids were zany.

The sunset was gorgeous (as per usual!).

Saturday we braved the traffic (the roads out here in farm-country have not expanded as quickly as the neighborhoods have!) and drove to Joe's Farm Grill for a late lunch. I saw this place on Food Network's Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives years ago, but it was far off our beaten path, and we never made the trip. Now we only live 20 minutes away, and it was worth the drive. The ribs and burgers were amazing, and my salad had been freshly-picked from the on-site garden.

Bree loves her some ribs.

After eating, we roamed the neighboring gardens.

Or sat in the shade.

We ended our excursion at San Tan Village, our closest "mall," which is an outdoor shopping center. We popped into the Disney Store to buy t-shirts and autograph books to prep for our upcoming trip to Disneyland.

We also spent a lot of time at home relaxing, and introduced Jim to the selection of old movies that can be watched on the XBox 360's Amazon Prime app. He was in heaven.

It was awesome to have Fran and Jim here in our new home. We hope they enjoyed it as much as we did!

April 4th-6th, 2013

She's Seven!

Since Bree does school at home, it's been easier for me to forget she's growing up. But it's pretty hard to deny that she's quite the young lady now. At seven years, Bree is a smart, beautiful, curious, active, independent, dramatic, and precocious girl.

One of her favorite things to say on a daily basis is, "I don't really like school." But she can't disguise her natural curiosity and thirst for knowledge. She grasps most concepts quickly without the need for further explanation. Her reading is coming along really well, especially since we've switched to reading out of the actual scriptures (we've done really well with the kids' story books, but she is ready to move on). Her vocabulary is astounding. Her knack for remembering facts, especially when it comes to History and Science, is amazing.

When we go to the library, she makes a beeline for the nonfiction section, and asks me to help her find books on a subject she wants to learn more about. Her most recent selections included a book of stories from the Ramayana (it was not easy to find a juvenile nonfiction book on Hinduism, but she was quite insistent), a book on ancient Egypt, and a bird guide book. After bringing them home, she brought me her books to show me the pictures of Rama and Sita (if you've ever seen the movie the Little Princess, Rama is the blue prince Sarah tells stories about), to name several Egyptian gods and goddesses, and to show me that she had identified the type of birds that are constantly flying around our house (they're called a house sparrows). She also can't get enough of educational shows like The Magic Schoolbus, and is always spouting facts.

She loves animals, so she chose a zoo animal theme for this year's birthday party (last year it was jungle animals). She shopped online with me for all her supplies, and we sent out invitations to a simple party at Pioneer Park, which is just across the street from the Mesa Temple. The animal cupcake toppers looked very cute on the "grassy" cupcakes.

Just the right amount of friends came (not too many, since I had totally forgotten it was General Conference weekend; I was preoccupied with moving or something).

The gifts were thoughtful and perfect: nail stuff, art supplies, a journal. And she was gracious and thankful.

We played the new lawn game we had bought for the occasion.

And the kids made animal masks, which were very cute (it would have been cuter if the glue had held better, but oh well!)

The kids had a great time, and I accomplished my goal: to make sure Bree had a nice birthday party even though we had just moved into our new house the week before!

Easter Saturday

After doing this parent thing for seven years now, we have finally come to the realization that it's best for our family if we do the "fun" Easter activities on Saturday, and reserve Sunday for church and family. 

With that new revelation in mind, our kids awoke on the Saturday before Easter (which was also the first morning in our new home!) to find goodies from the Easter Bunny.

Then we headed to the Rockin' R Ranch for some Easter fun with my parents, at an event put on by the Sharing Down Syndrome organization.

Happy Easter!

March 30th, 2013

The Mesa Experience

After selling our house in Globe, we moved in with Adam and Heather while we searched for a home to buy. They have a huge house with four bedrooms and 3 baths, and since it's just the two of them (until their first baby is born this summer!), they were gracious enough to let us rent half of their living space. We descended upon them, filled their home to bursting with furniture and boxes, and promptly took over 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. And part of the kitchen and living room. We had no idea how long we'd be there. They are brave souls indeed.

The stress of moving, shopping for a home, putting offers out there, and all the paperwork that goes with it was bad enough. But I also had to continue home-schooling Bree, and try to prevent the kids from destroying Adam's house. The kids had a bit of a rough time of it. Lincoln was uncharacteristically clingy and weepy for the first two weeks. Heck, I was weepy too. There were many tears, and much stress-eating. But we found the perfect house for us after only two weeks of house-hunting. It was the third offer we made, and it was a winner. So then we just had to sit and wait, and hope we'd made the right decision.

I was determined, however, to do a few fun things with the kids, in an effort to stay sane, and try to give the kids the attention they so badly needed. Thankfully, Mesa has a lot to offer.

We went to the huge and gorgeous Mesa Library a few times. The kids were overwhelmed with its size and the selection of books. Our entire beloved Globe Library could easily fit in the Mesa Library's kids section, with room to spare.

February 28th

One week, I told Bree and Mason that I would take each of them out on a date, just the two of us. On Bree's day, she wanted to go somewhere we'd never been before. So we went to Sweet Cakes in Downtown Mesa, which is famous for their cookies and other sweet treats. I got a huge, delicious cinnamon roll, and Bree chose the biggest sugar cookie they had. We enjoyed a leisurely snack, then did a little shopping.

March 19th (Bree's loose tooth looked hill-billy-ish for a couple weeks there)

Mason was very easy to please. All he wanted to do was buy some Legos. So, after a trip to the drive-thru at the bank (another novelty we didn't have in Globe), we headed to Target to buy some Legos with the gift card Chad's parents gave us for Easter. After he had his new Legos in hand, he wanted to go straight home so he could play with them. Done and done.

We visited the Arizona Museum of Natural History again, and let the kids dig for dinosaur bones again, and mess around with whatever they wanted. This time we were able to spend some time in the kids' discovery room, where there are some fun hands-on toys and crafts.

March 22nd

Finally, our house closed, and my parents brought their trailer with them to help us with the move. Our new place is about 45 minutes from Adam's, and after filling the back of my parents' truck, our van, and our Suburban, we were able to move everything in just two trips. The kids were very excited for a new place and new adventures. And they couldn't wait to move into a house with stairs!

March 28th

Our (soon to be) new home!

 
I also have a video. Keep in mind that this was the video I took on a day when we were looking at several houses. So it is quick, and the camera-work might make you a little sea-sick. The house is within walking distance of the school, and there is a neighborhood park visible from our front yard. It's a very family-friendly neighborhood, and we're excited for a bigger house! With a garage! And a fenced backyard! That was built in this century!

We close on the 27th!

Renaissance!

Since moving to Arizona, we've lived less than an hour away from the famous Renaissance Festival, but have never gone. Tickets are a little pricey. But when Chad got complimentary tickets from work, we figured we'd better not let them go to waste.

The grounds and buildings are really neat, and there are vendors everywhere. The festival is definitely designed to get you to buy as many "renaissance" souvenirs as humanly possible. And plenty of other things that have nothing to do with the renaissance period. We watched a clown who juggled hats and fire, then begged for donations afterwards. Nice touch. It actually authenticated the act even further. There were costumed workers roaming around, some dancing or singing, or playing musical instruments. We chowed on bratwurst, baked potatoes, and corn on the cob.

But my favorite part was the tournament. It's no Medieval Times, but it was still fun. First we met the knight we were to cheer for: the limp-wristed Eduardo de la Something-or-Other from Spain.

This is Bree having fun:

After watching the knights hit a target, then put their lances through rings, we got to the main joust. The "defeated" knights were hilarious--dropping their shields after being hit, and then falling off their horses.

Then we wandered over to the glass-blowing demonstration, which we all felt should have been more entertaining, and less like a college lecture. Oh well. Nothing a little hat shopping won't cure.

And I don't know what the deal is with getting my kids to look at the camera!

And I still don't quite know what this character's schtick was supposed to be.

Even after a few questions related to the big metal ball and chain, and the circle drawn in the sand next to him (there was a stuffed animal in the middle of the circle and a "Scotsman" in a kilt standing nearby), I was still confused. I think he was might have been drunk. So naturally I pushed my kids forward to snap a picture with him.

All in all, it was a good experience. And now that we've been, we can cross Renaissance Festival off my wish list.