4th of July and other stuff

I'm blaming it on anemia. Anemia and the baby. Anemia and the baby and Wizards of Waverly Place. It's their fault I never get around to blogging anymore. Today I slept in until 1:30 in the afternoon, though, so I should be good to get through this post without zonking out on the keyboard. (Technically I was awake for a few hours this morning, but it wasn't until after my 2nd nap of the day that I felt more alive than a zombie.)

These pics I uploaded eons ago are no longer accurate reps of Charlie's ever-evolving physique. Nor are some of them oriented correctly. Sorry about that.

I wasn't really sleeping here but I made Kyle take a picture so we can always remember how tiny Charlie's head was compared to a real, big human's head.

One nice thing about Ellie's infatuation is that her hands stay pretty clean. She still wants to hold him several times a day (for about 30 seconds at a time) and has to wash her hands prior to each session. I wish we could get Erik to wash his hands more, but he's not interested in holding Charlie, just in poking his (unwashed) fingers into Charlie's eyes, nose, and mouth.

We haven't moved Mom's twin bed out of the living room yet so that's where Charlie gets to nap while I'm on the main floor. I love his little body all tucked into a huge bed.

One of our favorite things about C is his gorilla-esque shoulders. This is our first baby with hair anywhere, so forgive the fanaticism but we think his shoulder and back fuzz are a hoot! I also love how his pudgy shoulders can sometimes pass for rippling deltoids.

Okay, this was gross. Mish dared Kyle to swallow whole this chunk of ham lard. No, I think she double-dog-dared him because he actually did it! (Note: lard chunk looked bigger in person than in picture, so try to be impressed/disgusted)

Best buds Brooks and Charlie. Em and I were due only a day apart and managed to deliver only a day apart, as well, two weeks before our due dates. Now Brooks and Charlie get to spend their lifetimes being compared to each other by their loving mothers.

Too bad we bothered buying a crib, stroller, swing, and bouncer for Charlie because he refuses to be anything but held at all times. If Kjerstin's around, no problem, but the rest of the time, moby wrap and I are best friends.


For Father's Day this year I decided to start a remarkably creative gift tradition for Kyle........ a tie! Not just any tie, though. This year it donned the handprints of his offspring. There is an unwritten agreement that, regardless of the tie's outward appearance, it must be worn to church on Father's Day, an acknowledgment of its inner beauty aka the love and care with which it was crafted by his family. Only one person commented on his tie at church so I expect a lot more praise for it from our blog audience.

Yes, that bluish, bear-paw smudge at the top was the best we could do with Charlie. Turns out babies curl their hands into fists when they feel threatened, ready to punch, I guess.

Maybe I had the flash on for these pics? No, we were not in some extra-terrestrial realm but rather, at the Lindon pool. This was our last outing with Miche and her kids before their relocation to Denver. Miss those redheads already.




I was actually pretty excited to bathe the four of them, post-pool. This was E & E's first shared bath experience with Asher and Kimberley, and it must be done to solidify their lifelong bonds to each other. Probably the earlier, the less traumatic, and the less claustrophobic.

I will always love Michelle for being willing and able to pop out three babies along the same timeline (and same genders) as my own. Can you believe all six of these goobers belong to two crazy moms?!



I'm pretty new to the crafting and homemade-everything scene, which is why some holidays this past year have been slathered with crafts (like Easter) and others (like Valentine's Day) got nothing. Best of intentions, but still poor planning skills. I think I did alright for Independence Day.

Exhibit A: Guess what patriotic bird we're whipping up, popsicle style!

This is Ellie's most favorite fowl, with most seagulls and common sparrows being labeled as bald eagles.

Okay, so I forgot to include an ingredient for wings, but that's kind of superfluous on a bald eagle, don't you think? Maybe you're thinking I should've made that strawberry and blueberry USA flag cake instead, but I wanted to think outside the red-white-and-blue box a little, and this is what I came up with copying.

The spice drops were all discarded, but Erik made good use of our abundance of chocolate-covered marshmallows whenever I wasn't looking.

We spent the morning of the 4th at the Murray city parade with the Pauls. Our car battery had died during the night, but the parade was sluggish enough that we didn't miss a thing showing up 45 minutes late.

Carter and Ellie spotting the first float-- Carter had been waiting a long while by this time.

Okay, so I think Ellie now believes the meaning of the American flag is tied to procuring salt water taffee. As every float approached, she'd grab the flag and wave it vigorously in an apparent burst of patriotic fervor, but truly in an effort to attract the attention of anyone throwing candy.



I love how Ellie tried to spoil this perfect mother-son shot with her impish grin.

Are these hooligans all really mine?!

I've never seen any infant pictures of Kyle, but now I don't need to because I'm pretty sure Charlie is an exact replica of baby Kyle.

Oh yeah, when I said I'd try to stray from red-white-and-blue 4th of July crafts, that was because I already planned to do this one with the kids.

Too bad I accidentally used white chocolates with minty centers, which threw off the consistency and they all ended up a yucky, pasty mush in our picnic bag.

But this was Erik's favorite 4th of July treat of all.


Darin wrestled 3-against-1 while we picniced and waited for the fireworks.


Erik was a little insecure with all the firework booms (if Kyle went to scratch his nose, Erik grabbed his hand and forced it back around him), but the show was lovely and well-received by munchkins of all ages.

And then it was 11:30 pm and we knew the next day would be a looooong one (Ellie's under-eye circles tell it all)...

Laurisa and I felt a little sheepish admitting that the patriotic song that stirred our emotions most was "I'm Proud to be an American." That probably makes my dad cringe, but it's not for the musicality, but rather the layman-terms manner in which it expresses the simple gratitude and pride I have in my country and citizenship. Last July we were still in China, so this year, I've never been prouder to be an American, nor more thankful for everything that citizenship entails.

Life continues

So, I wasted tonight's quiet evening (aka my opportunity to journal and blog) by watching HGTV, but hey! I'm going to be exhausted tomorrow regardless, so why not blog anyway? I have an awful lot to say about the last two weeks, most of which will not make it onto the blog (especially after I grossed out a friend using the word 'placenta' the other day... I told him if he wanted to be grossed out with birthing tales I could do much better than discuss my placenta).

I do want to write about my beautiful experience giving birth. I'll also write about my horrifying experience after the birth. Then I'll write about how grateful I am to be alive, how sweet and perfect my baby boy is, how nice it is to have that pregnancy over, and if anyone's wondering how the transition is going, you'll have to ask me again after Kyle starts working and Ma goes home. With them around, I seriously do less work than I ever did with two kids.

Then again, I suppose I deserve a little break. So much so that today we all celebrated the fact that I didn't die in childbirth with an afternoon at the local Chinese buffet. I was a little disappointed that Bobber the Clown only entertains there on Mondays, but no worries. We'll be back...

Charlie's first (family-administered) bath, just in case he was missing the warm, wet claustrophia of the womb... And after a year in China of bathing Erik and Ellie together in a tub not much bigger than this, I don't even feel bad.


Our first family picture (Charlie's forehead made it in--that counts!) at the O-ker Mt. temple open house

Cute, cute homemade blanky and etc. from Marilyn. I feel somewhat guilty receiving gifts on my third child, perhaps because I was raised on hand-me-down-down-downs, but I think/hope that deep down inside I realize it's okay even for my child to wear something that no human being has ever worn before.

Love the mini-limbs

We're enjoying Ma's homecooked Japanese goodness more than our expressions indicate

In other news, today Charlie and I had 2-week check-ups. I already knew Charlie is perfect (although I didn't expect him to be so fat already--even the nurse was shocked, though pleasantly so) so didn't really need the pediatrician appt. Still, I've been dying (but not literally!) to see my midwife to ask her what really happened to me after Charlie's birth.

For some reason, I was scheduled to see the midwife who wasn't there at my birth. She seemed pretty informed as to what had transpired, and very confident in her diagnoses. I soaked it all in, replacing my faulty memories with her explanation of events. Apparently I did not have any retained placenta, but rather just a placenta that resembled ground beef and a lazy uterus. Not sure if that made me feel better or not. And also I wasn't so woozy because of the blood clotting drugs, but because I was falling in and out of consciousness. And at the rate I ended up losing blood, if the midwife hadn't administered the pitocin when she did, I would've bled to death in five minutes. Flat. This was all news to me.

I mentioned it to the midwife who delivered me on my way out and she remembered it more the way I did, and also said that the hospital still hadn't sent her a report so she doesn't even know exactly what caused the hemorrhage. Hmmmmm. The version I heard today is more mysterious and dramatic, but I'm not quite sure where she came up with all those details.

Soooo, the three of you who are anxiously awaiting the rest of the story will have to continue waiting. I will wait with you. Don't know why, but I'm kinda curious about all this. Wondering how I managed two out-of-the-text-book perfect deliveries and then on the third one, something went terribly awry. Wondering what it means for future deliveries. Whatever happened, I know I am simply grateful to still have my uterus. Never made prayers of gratitude for it before June 3rd, but it's at the top of the list now.

Here's Charlie!

Here's the scoop:

Charlie Kaiyuan Larsen was born at 4:01 am on Wednesday June 3rd. As many of you know, Tiff was super excited for the birth; this time she decided to do a waterbirth (gave birth in a tub, but not just any tub, but a comfortable jetted bath tub!).

Before showing any pictures, I just want Tiff to know how proud I am of her- during the birth she was amazing in every way; her attitude and maturity impressed the midwife and nurse throughout the whole experience. She has a true mother's love and I feel blessed to see her in action every day. I love you!

Ok- enough with the gushy stuff and on to the pictures already:
Here's Tiff in the birthing tub--as happy as can be (in between contractions...)Here he is, a little bruised (he decided to wedge his fist in front of his face on the way out- ouch!)Though the Charlie's birth was perfect, there were some severe complications relating to birthing the placenta, which required Tiff to be transferred to the University of Utah hospital where she received a life-saving blood transfusion (I found out later). I drove Charlie to the hospital in our car in somewhat of a daze, not knowing what just happened to Tiffany, besides the fact that she had lost an unnatural amount of blood.

As I sat with my newborn son in the hospital nursery unaware of what pain my wife was going through, I have to admit this was the scariest moment I can remember in my life. I remember wondering if Charlie would ever get to meet his beautiful mother, or wondering how I would explain to Ellie and Erik that mommy wasn't coming home, or most of all, how I could possibly raise my family without her. In these lonely moments of despair, I felt divine power gently comforting me to the point that I knew she was going to be okay, though it was sometimes still difficult to push these thoughts away.
It took 3 1/2 hours in the nursery before anyone let me know that Tiff was in fact out of surgery and was on the path to recovery. I can't express how happy I was to see her, even though she was desperately crying and in a tremendous amount of pain from the OR; I was just happy she was alive.
Because she was transferred to the ER in a rush, there was no time to be admitted with the correct personal info. At least that's how they explained why she was known as "Labor Risk" Quebec in the computers (which was at least later changed to "Labor Risk" Larsen on the board below). I was told they just make this stuff up (ummm...if I was given that job, I could come up with names much more creative than Quebec...). Also, she was supposedly born Jan 1, 1970. We giggled as workers--not in the know--called her "Quebec" when they came in the room. One doctor poked her head in briefly: "I have to ask... are you really 39????"
Tiffany's mom is in town to help make the transition from 2 kids to 3. How are we blessed with such great help? She is a miracle worker.
I have to say, Ellie is a little obsessed with Charlie. "Oh Charlie's so cute! He's so sweet and tiny! "Daddy, He's so... snuggly!"
Here's Charlie at home in his bili-bed- it uses phototherapy to help treat jaundice. He should be off it in a day.
Another person I want everyone to know about is our good friend Kjerstin who has sacrificed more than any one person should to help us out this week. I wish we could pay you more than just respect and some quality baby-holding time, but you don't accept our insurance provider; we could not have done it without you.Thank you for your prayers and support the past few days... We've felt your love!

Hopefully my last post sans Charlie

Four-month-old Rowan provides a little foreshadowing for us all... a few months down the road, will E & E still be smiling and shmoozing our own Usurper-of-Mom's-attention???

In the here and now, though, the kids seem almost as excited as me to have our own "Row Buddy" (the nickname Elle affectionately bestowed on our friend's little chub). Ellie comes into our room almost every morning, sees my tummy and exclaims, "Mom, I'm so sad that Charlie hasn't come yet!" Believe me, girl, I am much sadder. All I dream of (asleep and awake) is labor and delivery, and awaking to my still-obtuse state each morning is a relentless disappointment.

A wonderful weekend whizzed by, as we knew it would. Kyle's parents detoured from TX and are now headed back to MN, but we loved our three days together immensely. Much dessert was consumed, many chalk murals were created, little sleep was had, but there sure was a whole lotta love. Miss you both already. Living far away from relatives is the pits. Ellie was inconsolable when they left, and all we could say was, "We can write them a letter and talk on the phone. We'll see Grandma and Grandpa again. Next year-ish." Sadness pie.


I paid $4 for the cake hat and now I get to embarrass whomever dares celebrate a birthday within the walls of my home. I plan to make it an inflexible tradition.

I had really hoped and truly even expected this would be a seven-bodied family picture. Charlie's been such a tease with all the false labor he's responsible for, but alas, the kid was downright too comfortable in there to bother meeting his grandparents.

Mom helped me finish this cushion with some embroidery. I was planning on letting hot glue and felt stand the test of time, but wow it looks much better now. Birdies speak (or tweet?) peace to me. Can't get enough of them, in feathered and fabricated form.

Here are the other pillows now adorning our sofas. The two big ones I just threw together with IKEA-purchased material, and the others required a bit of imagination, but I believe my amateur embroidery skills managed to deliver this time.


Oh yes, and here is the party favor from Erik's underwater birthday extravaganza. These little "I Spy" bags supposedly entertain toddlers for hours. Well, mine were just about interested enough to eat the Nemo fruit snacks and be done with it. I have not forsaken hope. This is a craft I had on the list since high school. I will not be satisfied until they have been entertained by the rice pouches for at least as long as it took me to whip up 11 of them.

During G&G Larsen's visit, we took a trip to the Church History Museum by Temple Square. Among other worthwhile exhibits, they have a sizable activity center for kids, including an exhibit on the pre-earth/earth life transition, aka birth and the aftermath. Ellie named her African American baby Marie and patiently rocked and soothed her through an imaginary sacrament meeting.


Coincidentally, Ellie had assigned roles from the Nativity to each of us that morning. Costumes and grinning sheep at the museum made a replay worthwhile.

Delicately placing the props around baby Marie, she matter-of-factly explained, "We can't let the sheep get too close or they'll eat baby Jesus."

Kyle's done it again! He's nonchalantly upstaged my efforts to become the most sought-after and reputable chef in our household by producing another Delish Asian dish.

This one's Cambodian and is all about the salt, pepper and lime. So simple. Sooooo good.

A tad on the possessive side these days, Erik understood the plate of carrots I placed on the table (for all to share) to be his individual portion. He guarded and devoured them as such. I was mostly shocked that one of my kids actually likes a vegetable, but then I remembered how the carrots accidentally got a double dose of sugar and butter. Yes, that's more like a son of mine.

One thing that's nice about having a shrimp for a daughter is that she never outgrows her clothes. The slit on her chee-pow (Chinese dress) may be getting higher, but it still fits! Good thing, because I for one am not going back to China to get her the next biggest size.



It's not every day that you share a due date with your friend (well, it has been nine months of that with me and Em, actually), so we thought we'd capture ourselves sharing preggie glory, since any day now it will be all baby glory and "please crop my middle out of that picture." For another few days (hopefully not weeks), though, our expanded bellies are lovely and endearingly photogenic. As for my face, well, give me a break. I'd just paced seven miles of the neighborhood in pursuit of labor (not joking).


Made this fruit bouquet (with Mish) for my surrogate mother, Marilyn, for Mother's Day. More fun than arranging even flower bouquets. Of all my crafting endeavors, this is one I would actually consider doing for profit, after I saw the bundle of loot they charge for these orders online. =)

I was going to start spewing some reflections on my last anxious days as the mother of two, but Katie really captures my sentiments perfectly, and much more eloquently, so I hope this perfect stranger doesn't mind me borrowing her cyber-words on the arrival of her third baby (incidentally also named Charlie!). Her entry was about a beautiful triangle quilt she made while waiting for her Chalie and can be found at
http://katiedid.squarespace.com/katie-did-journal/month/may-2008.

"i've been trying to figure out what this third child will do to and with the current family dynamic we've got going here. (yes, this past weekend came and went and along with it, his due date. waiting waiting. . .). over and over the three little kids that will soon be mine have led to thoughts of triangles and the shape's possible meanings. on one end they're symbolic of perfection and unity while down at the other they represent danger and unavoidable tragedy. so which is it? should i be preparing myself for familial annihilation or some sort of exaltation once this little one joins us? as with most things this baby will probably take us on a path somewhere in the center, with detours in either direction occasionally thrown in the mix. moments of hell and moments of heaven. much like our current life, just with more stomping feet." Amen, Katie.

My birth center bag is packed, I've organized the pantry, freezer, and kids' sock drawer, and Charlie's bassinet is assembled and beginning to accumulate dust. Come, little one. Please come soon. If you wait much longer it will be time for me to clean the toilets again.

Dear Internet (Kyle's return to bloggy world)

already suffocating Stay cool, Internet!

Erik's party and more

It's been a long and wonderful few weeks. My time and efforts have been concentrated mostly on pulling off Erik's birthday party, with lots of this-and-that thrown into the mix, of course. For instance, Ellie and I finally committed to transforming the coat closet floor from this...

into this! And, well, it all ends up in a pile anyway, but at least it's a smaller pile now.

Summer has finally arrived! (For those who have never lived in Utah, basically there is no spring season here. It goes back and forth from frigid to sweaty for the months during which other states are experiencing spring, and then all of a sudden it's sweltering hot until you hit snow season again in the "fall.")

During those months of summer weather teases, we pulled out our suitcase of summer clothes several times, but were forced to keep shoving it back into the closet as the snow and slush would resurface. Just recently I finally felt safe replacing the kids' dresser drawer contents with warm weather wardrobes. We are loving the sunshine!

Of course I didn't bother taking a picture of Em, me and Em, or anything about Em's baby shower, but I did take care to photograph in detail my gift to her: two towel burp cloths, wipes case, vinyl-lined changing pad, and tag blanky, with personalized Chinese onesies to come soon-ish... By the way, Emily and I are due only a day apart! There is almost nothing pregnant ladies love to talk about more than their pregnancy plans and pains, so sharing a pregnancy timeline has surely been an enriching opportunity for me and Em's friendship.





I can't tell you how much I love Erik sleeping on the floor instead of in the pack-and-play. We are even more excited than he is when, instead of being prompted by his wailing to get in there and hoist him out of the crib, we hear his door open in the morning and he contently stumbles into our room, usually with something funny to say, or in the case of this particular morning, something pretty funny to wear at 6:30 in the morning in a still-dark room.

Did you know that sidewalk chalk conveniently doubles as inexpensive face paint? My kids already knew that.


I thought I had enough chalk to last a lifetime, or at least the summer, but Laurisa's kids have taught mine a great technique for quickly extinguishing your chalk supply: draw a line from my house to yours and then rub the chalk in one spot, creating powdery "face paint," until the chalk is but a stub. Repeat with new color. Worked like a charm on our chalk supply. (Not that I mind, truly. The entertainment is fully worthy the $1.50 a pack of chalk costs.)

In the absence of Christie and Kristin, the recipients of these long-awaited Sister Aprons, Kjerst and Laurisa were coerced into modeling these Mother's Day gifts for me. After all, Kyle looked good in one, too, but refused to be photographed, and my current self in a "flirty apron"?

I think a moo-moo would look flirtier on me.

Erik does make a superb playmate for Ellie, but when's the last time he's dressed up like a fairy and consented to be her groom? We are loving having Kimberley around.

Ummm, yeah, so I know we just gave Erik a haircut, but Erik's only one quarter Chinese, if you recall, so wasn't pulling off the bowl cut the way a true Asian would. So out came the clippers.

He thought the buzz-cutting device was cool for about two seconds and then spent the rest of the haircut desperately declaring, "All done vvvvvvvvv!" (the noise the clippers make).

It was truly a group effort, with Kyle sculpting, Kjerstin and I pinning down limbs and protecting ears, Ellie trying to soothe him with verses of "Teach me to Walk in the Light," and Mish on camera duty. I know it looks like he wants his bowl cut back, but in years to come, he'll be thanking us.

Plus, we made it up to him the next day by throwing him a birthday party no two-year-old could ever appreciate. He snoozed straight through our long hours of preparation and awoke to a scene of underwater insanity, or at least that's how I was feeling at the time.

Props to Mish for the paper creatures donning all the walls (and for whipping up desserts), Kyle for obeying my frazzled commands all day, and Kjerstin for coming up with great ideas for pretty much everything, and for making most of the food while we were otherwise occupied. This party would not have been pulled off without her, especially since she was the one who convinced me to substantially reduce the extravagance and number of crafts and activities. I need that sometimes.

Ellie woke up before Erik and when she saw the decorated walls, it was seriously almost better than Christmas to her. Kjerstin was still asleep on the couch so Elle couldn't go wild with delight, but all morning she couldn't stop hugging and kissing me and Kyle and telling us how beautiful the room looked. Also, I think she was just amazed that we were actually out of bed with her that early in the morning.

The shark-faced tent was used for a rendition of Musical Chairs. While the music played, the kids climbed in the shark's mouth and some of them we could even get to climb out the back. When the music stopped, whoever was still inside the shark's mouth was OUT! But "out" meant you got a shark gummi, so the "winner" of the game was really the loser because he was the last one to get a gummi shark. I don't think he noticed, though.

Then we headed to the ponds for some old-fashioned fishing, but we probably should've tried this game out prior to the party so we would've known that being in water makes the fish impossible to procure via magnet-to-paper clip. At least some kids got to splash around and saturate their clothes, though.


After dancing to Reggae in the midst of bubbles, we headed inside for an oceanic feast consisting of the following: -seashells and sand (shell pasta and parmesan) -ocean scene bagels (with blue cream cheese and goldfish crackers) -octopus hot dogs (bottom part sliced into eight pieces before being boiled, and these looked Deee-sgusting but were a big hit with the kids, who don't know what hot dogs are made of, although do any of us, really?) -ocean scene jello cups (Swedish fish suspended in blue jello topped with a whipped cream wave) -blue punch with fish-shaped ice cubes -other ocean animal-shaped crackers and snacks --and just in case the moms were concerned that their kids hadn't devoured enough sugar, we topped off the feast with ...

octopus cupcakes, which miraculously turned out pretty cute and even look like octopi, I think. Just ask Mish how octopi they were looking at 9pm the night before and you'll see why this I consider a true miracle.

In all honesty, I don't think Erik understood that this was his birthday party, or what a birthday is anyway, but "Happy Birthday" is one of his very most favorite songs and he does pretend to blow out candles on a regular basis, and witnessing the surprised delight on his face when everyone broke out in song in his honor and clapped when he blew out the candles, well, it made the almost unreasonable amount of time and energy I put into this party completely worth it.

This was not the first nor last time I turned around to see Ellie's cheeks stuffed with gummi worms. Unlike the other times, in this instance there was no guilt (or concern that she'd have to spit them out) in her eyes.

The coolest game was not a game at all, technically, but I guess getting stung by paper jellyfish is pretty hilarious to toddlers. I don't think I'm ever going to take them down, either, because it's humor has not yet worn off on Erik.

Erik got some really great presents from friends and then we distributed the I Spy bags I made for party favors. Forgot to photograph those so I'll post it next time. All in all, the party was a huge success. I still can't believe that with nine toddlers and two babies, we completely avoided catastrophe. The house wasn't even trashed at the end of it. My endurance was, though. I just felt so grateful, relieved, and exhausted that the party was over and that it went so well.

Instead of taking the afternoon nap I desperately needed, though, I embarked on my next big project: preparing this home and family for Charlie's arrival! After picking up a dresser in Salt Lake, we stopped at Temple Square and admired the gorgeous landscaping. Perhaps it is their short life span that makes sightings special, but something about tulips always takes my breath away. They make me happier than any other flower (except the hand-picked bouquets of dandelions the kids give me).

Kjerstin couldn't stay for Erik's party but later she brought over the adorable gifts she made him, as if she doesn't do enough for my kids in the first place. Erik finally has his own apron, with a bonus chef's hat and super cute felt hamburger and chips set, all handmade, of course. I have trained her well. =) (J/k, she's way better than me.)

And, as I mentioned, now it is time to give a little attention to this little one coming soon who will bring more than just a little change to our home and family. Despite the embarrassing lack of attention I've given this pregnancy and baby, I assure you we are ecstatic for his arrival and I'm really looking forward to "nesting" this week, preparing all things temporal and spiritual for his grand debut. Next Monday I will be 37 weeks, which is where I was when I delivered Erik, although that really gives me no guarantee that I'll go early again, so I'm trying not to get my hopes up. I am grateful that I have this spot of time to wash, fold, and place his clothes neatly into his new dresser, organize my pantry and plan postpartum meals, and perhaps we will even get around to buying a carseat for the little guy. =)

P.S. Whoever has a baby next (and lives near me) gets their baby shower thrown by me in "Nesting" theme style, complete with these almost-too-cute-to-eat birdie cupcakes.

Assorted April

I just uploaded waaaaay too many pictures to bother arranging them chronologically, so instead I present you with a disjointed, scatterbrained partial-summary of our recent doings.

Here is my dream bedroom, maybe minus the wallpaper, but even that is growing on me. If I ever have unlimited resources I will, like I do with all my crafting projects, point-blank copy every angle of this room, thank you very much IKEA.

Saturday for Kyle's birthday, while Kjerstin and her roomie magnanimously took the kids to Thanksgiving Point's baby farm animal birthday party (pictured somewhere in this post), Kyle and I carpe diem-ed our way to Tucanos, a deliciously carnivorous Brazilian grill buffet. Kyle had never been and I only once, but they actually give an entire free birthday meal that we were not about to miss. That piece of meat on my fork there left absolutely nothing left to desire. I seriously can't describe it. It was like it was marinated in the most juicy, flavorful, and yet positively simple sauce... like maybe meat juice? See, shouldn't have tried to describe it.

We consumed our monthly allowance of protein and waddled out of there supremely satisfied. Actually, my real train of thought was something like, "You know, I could stuff more food in... so I should, right? Am I shaming my mother by walking out on a buffet with my pants still buttoned?"

I know, I know, fruit cake for a birthday? Kyle wanted a ukulele for his birthday, but that wasn't gonna happen, so I thought I'd try to appease him with a cake-u-lele. I put butter and brown sugar at the bottom of the pan so it'd be all ukulele-colored when I flipped it, but it never ended up coming out of the pan. Flat out refused, even with the whole stick of butter down there. I'd already sliced off the cake top to flatten it, so frosting it became a disaster, and so ukulele-less fruit cake it became.

Thanks to the 72-hour emergency kit in Kjerstin's car, these candles found fire. Erik was a little nervous about all the flames. Good thing he's only got two to fret over with his upcoming cake.


A little later our ward friends L & D came over with their three uber-duber cute boys. Ellie chased C around trying to hug him for a good while. It starts...

Not sure what's up with this new vampire face.

Today's first attempt at craftiness turned into 30 seconds of messy entertainment for the kids and me completing the project. Sometime I think I should just stick to crayons. Those hairy balloons are actually supposed to get popped and the yarn flipped over, transforming into beautiful, even functional(!) birdie nests. I'm about 98% sure that they'll just collapse into heaps of gooey yarn, so I'm choosing NOT to pop the balloons for a little while, just until I'm over the high expectations I had for this project.

Attempt #2 at crafting went much better, with Ellie piecing together this sweet little blossom tree,

and Erik turning out this work of art. Actually he was only interested in gluing on the tree trunk, applying plenty of glue on top of the trunk, and then dropping the gluestick caps down the "slide" (stair banister), but this kept him entertained enough for me to nostalgically finish the tree. This was a beloved grade school art project of mine, after all.

I seriously didn't photograph this because I'm proud of my cleverness and/or craftiness. It's pretty pathetic, actually. I was going to chug the rest of our bottled water and do that whole sand and seashells and message in a bottle thing for Erik's party invitations, but then Kjerstin reminded me that Erik is only turning two and will hold no grudge if I, instead, spend $0 and 20 minutes cutting out something cheesy and simple like these jellyfish. You know how I love to make a bigger deal of things than they need to be, but here I recognized she was very right. As for going overboard on the rest of the birthday party, wait two weeks and you will see... as of yet, I have no intention of simplifying a thing. =)

Saturday after Easter we loved celebrating Easter again with the Williams, who delayed festivities until Miche and her kids' arrived from AZ. I haven't spent Easter at my parents' home since high school, and Ken and Marilyn have been wonderful to have us over for Easter all the years since (complete with egg hunt, even pre-children!). Marilyn always puts together the cutest baskets, chalk full of pasteled splendor. I can hardly believe Michelle and I are about to have our 6th child together, separately. You know. We were hopeless and helpless little freshies at BYU only seven short years ago. Actually, that seems like forever ago. I'm so happy she decided to copy me and also have a girl and then two boys so we can force the six of them to be best friends.

The other week Erik "tried on" my glasses while I was taking a little snooze on the floor, I mean responsibly attending to my children, and now I only have working contact lenses to my name. It was time he get his own pair to destroy.


Erik collected a grand total of two eggs during the hunt and Asher needed a whole cheer squad directing him in order to collect his bucket of loot, but the competition was fierce between Kimberley and Ellie.


But not too fierce to foster any hard feelings. They both walked out of that yard two pounds in chocolate richer, after all. Oh yeah, Marilyn bought the girls matching dresses when we moved to UT in January, not at all with the expectation that they'd ever get to wear them together. Life surprises me with its kindness sometimes.

Easter dinner was fabulous, of course. The rolls that taste like whipped butter, the mashed yams that taste like thick, creamy butter, and the fresh fruit salad that doesn't taste like butter at all but is just about as scrumptious as life gets.

So yeah, as you may have noticed, Michelle is back in the valley for a time while her house in Tucson sells and her hubby in Denver kills bugs. Reunion time! Na is regrettably out of here in a week or so, but we still had 4/5 of us in one room for an afternoon. We missed Cathi, but loved being together just like old times. Just like old times give or take six little munchkins, of course.


As a soon-to-be mother of three babies, I must rejoice in seemingly small accomplishments. For instance, last week Ellie was able to buckle herself into her car seat without assistance. The bottom part of the buckle had given her grief for some time. This means that after Charlie is born and Ellie is relegated (or promoted) to back row status, I will not need to climb in there after her to secure her. This development was worth eating out at Subway in honor of. (whoa, bad grammar there...) Plus, Ellie did explain, "When I'm resurrected I'll live in heaven with Jesus and then I'll tell Jesus, "I can buckle my seat belt all by myself!" and He will be so proud." As are we, Ellie.

I love Kjerstin. She makes my kids happy when I am too grumpy and/or lazy to do so. Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

Here I intended to capture one of those rare, magical moments in which the kids are peacefully collaborating on a common goal, such as reading "The Little Engine that Could," Erik's all-time fave piece of literature. Ellie's got it memorized and that makes my storytelling role a little easier. By the time I took this shot, however, Erik was about to rip the book from Ellie's hands. But maybe it was appropriately at the part where the little blue engine "tugged and pulled, and pulled and tugged..."

Okay so here's where our kids were while we gorged on juicy barbecued tenderloins at Tucanos. The report was that Erik would've been content to hang out with the farm life straight through the afternoon showers, but Ellie pretty much had her heart set on pony ride and pony ride only.


Horses were probably her close second, though.


I wasn't there, so I'm not positive that he wasn't just caught in the middle of a sneeze, but my educated guess is that Erik was stoked to meet a real sheep in real life. Sheep and sharks are where it's at in his book of awesomeness, right under yellow trucks and the colors brown and black.

You may have noticed that not a single craft (Tiff craft, that is) made it into this post. Don't worry, my crafting to-do list is alive and well, although my common cold immunities are not (perhaps Utah's seven month long winter is not helping???) and fetus has recently decided that he'd like me to get ten hours of sleep from now on out (including falling asleep time, that is), but if everything goes according to my crafty little plan, this weekend will be centered around crazy crafting madness. Time's a ticking, after all. If I have this baby as early as I did Ellie, a week from yesterday I will be the mother of three. Erik still needs his birthday party on the 9th, though, so I refuse to believe that will happen. I am determined to make it to June (so I am full term and can deliver at the birth center), although ideally no more than a day or two in. =)

Easter festivities

It was one of the best weekends I can remember having. If I have to include the entire realm of festivities, Christmas is of course my favorite holiday, but Easter still comes in a close second. I love the inspiration for the holiday, and the spring weather and colors put just as much magic in the air for me as Christmas lights. The kids and I warmed up to Easter with some springtime crafts:

Actually, Kjerstin helped the kids make these handprint-cutout lilies while I was running errands for the Easter bunny. Such a cute idea and my heart really did swell up when Ellie presented me with the bouquet and reported back to Kjerstin that I really, really loved them.

Egg decorating and dying (or is it dyeing? looks much less severe) was a must.


Erik's creations included the spider web design (which he achieved simply by banging the eggs on the table--brilliant!), all shades of brown (color indecisiveness), and the one on the right, affectionately referred to as "Daddy." Oh yeah, and I don't know how those two stripes ended up on the dyed eggs, but it definitely wasn't due to Erik coloring in a straight line.


Ellie's proud creations include a self-egg (she even gave it a haircut that she thought most resembled her own) and some classic crayon combos. It was surprisingly easy and not terribly messy, and even a little hard to peel and eat some of them because they were so cute (Ellie and Daddy eggs remain untouched in the fridge).


Here's a project I really thought could be a family affair. I just cut out scraps of green ribbon and orange fabric, sewed them up, and let the kids stuff the carrots. They were interested in stuffing maybe half of a carrot each, so it ended up being another Mom project, but a fun hide-and-seek activity, especially preparatory to the egg hunts.



I'm on that felt food hiatus, but that doesn't mean I'm forsaking felt altogether now! In my mind, these were going to be perky bunny ears, but floppy is pretty realistic, too. Erik's really into wearing Ellie's headbands, so I thought I'd give him an excuse to do it in public. He even wore his ears to church.


This was my big Easter project and I would do a lot of things differently second time around, but for having to make my own pattern (and that included geometry in the wee hours of the night) and following mediocre internet instructions, they turned out well enough. Now we have Easter baskets worth storing for 11 months of the year.

We decided to brave a community egg hunt on Saturday (in the pool, no less), but only because it was divided by age groups and Ellie would be at top agility for her egg hunt. We were more than a little disappointed when we scampered into the pool and discovered that all of the floating eggs were EMPTY...

but then our eyes caught this:

Like the cut-throat, pseudo-Asian parents that we are, we quickly indoctrinated Ellie until she knew nothing but that the golden egg must be retrieved. All the eggs may be empty, but an empty golden egg would leave no room for shame. So, upon the whistle's blow, Kyle half-placed, half-thrust Ellie into the pool toward the golden egg. Our baby girl delivered.

With Erik's help, she also collected seven empty eggs. We were so proud. Especially once we found out that the empty eggs do translate into bags of candies and the golden egg scored us a new soccer ball and t-shirt. Woohoo! Murray Parks and Rec, you did not disappoint.



That night we had the rare treat of going out together on pretty much the coolest date night ever. Our wonderful friends J & C invited us to join them with court side tickets to the Jazz game.

We enjoyed a scrumptious catered buffet before and I brought down to our seats enough desserts to feed the entire basketball team. We were so excited to be sitting so close to the court (all that separated us from the sweaty players was a row of security guards, but we could still smell them).

Everything was great until these four intoxicated bozos sat down behind us and started being all manner of obnoxious, commencing with spilling an entire glass of beer down C's nice sweater, dry-clean-only shirt, and onto her leather boots, and escalating into inconceivably profane threats at J for his very controlled comment on their bothersome behavior.

Here's just a drop of evidence. Above is one of the many empty beer cups those kids cleaned out during the game. Below is some of the damage, but you really can't tell how nasty it was, and you'd really have to ask C how nasty it feels to have a huge cup of beer spilled down your pants to get a feel for it.

This was all very vexing, disturbing, and frightening, as you may imagine, and really ruined the game for J & C. Thankfully, J & C sat somewhere else for the second half and the drunken losers toned it down after half time (one of them commented: "That guy who's [mad] at us totally changed his clothes on us. They both changed clothes! I could have sworn the stripes were vertical. No, no, that's [totally] him, but...") and then Kyle explained that they had traded seats. Wow, really drunk. Really stupid. Really offensive. Really stinky, too. Nevertheless, after the potty-mouth losers left, the game was really enjoyable and even though we were losing the entire game except for the first few minutes, we were determined to make the most of a one-time opportunity and really did love it. It's amazing how much smaller the arena feels when you're on the court instead of in the nose bleeds. Somehow the players looked less intimidating, more real. We felt awful for J & C and what they had to go through, but we're still really grateful they invited us --we had a very memorable time.

Easter morning the kids were not even mildly interested in seeing whether or not the Easter bunny had paid them a visit (I think because Mish and I were actually the ones to put the bunny-luring carrots on the porch and place the kids' Easter baskets out, poised for getting goody-packed)...

...but the mention of treats finally enticed them to investigate and indeed, the Easter bunny had been generous enough to fill their baskets with craft supplies that I already wanted (for crafts I plan to do with them). That Easter bunny is so sharp, I tell you.

Erik quickly complied to donning his new Easter ensemble ("new" meaning snagged off consignment store clearance racks, of course), but for Ellie, it was an ordeal.

Grandma Larsen may be the only one who remembers this dress because I bought it in MN when Ellie was only a couple months old. For some strange reason, Kyle resisted this purchase at the time, as if purchasing outfits 3.5 years in advance isn't endearingly prudential. It was $6 and, at the time, I was sure it was the prettiest dress in the world. Finally Ellie fits into some 3T clothes, and I had been waiting for this moment, so when Ellie slipped it on and then immediately off, declaring it "itchy and hurty," I was more than a little disgruntled, but not at all deterred. An embarrassing amount of bribing, coaxing, threatening and sweet-talking later, plus consenting to putting a white t-shirt under it to counteract the itchiness, I present you with the Easter vision I've dreamed of for three years:

Mish and I put on a thorough Easter feast (that I naturally neglected to photograph until we had boxed up most of it) which included ham with homemade glaze, mashed red potatoes, carrot souffle, deviled eggs (Kjerst brought some, too), fruit salad, green bean casserole (compliments of Noe & Mark), homemade rolls (compliments of Kjerst), strawberry swirl cake, and black-bottom-cherry-cheesecake. Yes, it was as good as it sounds.

We ate until we all looked pregnant (j/k guys) and then decided the kids hadn't consumed enough sugar and put on an Easter egg hunt around the living room. They were all plastic eggs so it's okay if we keep finding them in the coming days. Kyle and I also gave the kids "My First Old Testament Stories" picture board book. We read a story from the Book of Mormon one every night before bed and Ellie has all the stories memorized (I kid you not, and I mean verbatim) so it was time for a fresh set. I've loved teaching them about the resurrection over the past couple of weeks and preparing for this Easter in spiritual and temporal ways. We were so grateful to spend it with friends and family, and look forward to extending the holiday into this week when we'll celebrate with the Williams'!

I also want to give a shout out to my dad who turned one year older yesterday. All he got from me was the coordinating of a speaker-phone birthday song rendition and a couple hours of lively conversation, but that was no indication of what the man actually deserves. He is as kind, caring, wise, and lovable as a father could be, if not more. He has been the anchor of my understanding of manhood since I was a child, which is why I think I was able to marry so well. I have only ever seen him be an unselfish and devoted husband and father. He is the father every girl dreams of having, and I love and appreciate him more and more all the time. Happy birthday, Fa.