Expressive Girls

I went to take a picture of Sage on Sunday and she started to make faces at me. I decided to take advantage of the opportunity and it turned into a photo shoot. I would ask her to show me certain expressions and she performed like a professional model. :) Show me: upset, happy, surprised, sad, questioning -- (oh really?), and mad. She's quite the expressive one.

I tried to do the same with McKinley, but she had her own ideas of what to do. She wanted to show me excited, silly, baby, flower (she's growing/blooming), reindeer, and tree. They're quite the characters. :)

The Ugliest Christmas Sweater

Saturday night we went to Roy's work party. Everyone was encouraged to wear an ugly Christmas sweater for a contest. Roy went to D.I. and bought this sweater, embroidered with little birds. It was just too plain, so he also bought garland and some ornaments to add to it. He took those things, along with his brilliant idea, to his mom to help him make it. Luckily, his mom is a talented seamstress and worked with him to create this beautiful masterpiece. As you can see, there really wasn't much competition. Who could really compete with this?

Our Little Elves

After seeing my sister Kris' elf dance, McKinley and Sage couldn't get enough of watching it , so Kris made one for them. Needless to say, they LOVED watching themselves dance around on the computer!

Sleepy Heads

McKinley is perfectly content to sit and hold River for as long as we'll let her. She has the Boppy pillow around her waist and River fits right in, so she doesn't have to worry about trying to keep his head up. Yesterday, she fell asleep with River while she was holding him on the couch.

Welcome River!

River Carson Spaulding was born at 10:18 pm Wednesday night. He weighed 7 lbs. 12 oz. and is 21 inches long. Though he doesn't have much hair, we think it's more than either McKinley or Sage had, and it looks like it will be dark and curly. Deciding on a name was a difficult task since it's what he'll be for the rest of his life. We've used a family name (to remind them of their great heritage) and a nature name (to remind them to enjoy the beauties of nature and all that God has created) with each of our children. Their names have a lot of significance to us and hopefully will mean a lot to each of them someday. We chose the name Carson because that is Roy's middle name. The name River requires a lot more explaination. When we first told the girls we were going to have a baby, McKinley said that if it was a girl, we should name her Sparkly and if it was a boy, we should name him River. I thought that was pretty cool that she would chose such an appropriate name for a boy that fits our naming pattern and it makes her feel really good that she got to help name him. Of course that's not the only reason for his name. Roy was a raft tour guide in Alaska several years ago and got pretty involved in white water kayaking. He taught me to kayak when we were dating and rivers have been a big part of our life together. The most significant meaning of River's name to me comes from rivers themselves. Not only are they beautiful and sometimes tranquil, but they're also strong and powerful. A river can bring life to its surroundings and doesn't let the hard, jagged stones (trials in life) weigh it down. It takes whatever is thrown into it's path and moves on, taking the rough stones and making them smooth. Rivers can also provide a means for fun, excitement, and adventure in ways that can unite people, as has been the case with our family.
My Mom brought McKinley and Sage into the hospital to see us and they both LOVE River! Sage wanted to hold him right away, but McKinley needed a little time to observe before she was ready. Neither one of the girls can seem to get enough of River! They aren't acting jealous yet, so that's good. They are both just wanting to play Mommy and will be huge helpers I'm sure!;)
We came home from the hospital last night after a very positive experience there. We didn't even stay 24 hours after delivery, but we were ready to get back to our girls and our own bed. :)

I'm Waiting!

My due date is three days away and I don't want to go over! I was hoping to have this baby early so his birthday would not be so close to Christmas. I have been trying all the natural methods of inducing labor, but nothing seems to work. I even took Teton on a walk on Sunday morning. . . That was a bad idea! I came home frustrated beyond belief after wrestling with him the whole time. It felt like I was having one long contraction while exerting all my muscles, but to no avail. I just felt sore, emotional, and lucky to have not fallen flat on my face and belly. Oh, well. I guess he'll come when he's ready, but I sure hope it's sooner rather than later. (sigh)

Happy Birthday Matt!

Happy birthday to my favorite oldest brother, Matt! I have to say I don't know anyone more patient and loving. We're anxious to find out what you decide about moving out here, Matt. We'd love to have you if that would be best for you and your family! No pressure. . . We love you, Matt! We'll support whatever you and Suzanne decide.:) We hope you get to relax a little bit and celebrate this great day! We'll be thinking about you.

Santa

We went to the mall to see Santa today. McKinley loved him! He was very kind and obviously has a real beard. Neither of the girls were afraid of him or anything, but McKinley ran back to give him a quick hug when they got off his lap. :) When I asked McKinley if he was the real Santa or one of Santa's helpers, she said he was the real one.
This is quite a different reaction than she had last year. Christmas Eve, we were getting ready to put her to bed and told her she had to go to sleep so Santa could come and leave her presents. Roy took her to the computer to see a web site that tracked Santa's route through the world. McKinley got really worried and said she didn't want to trap Santa. When we explained that we weren't going to trap him; we were just seeing where he was, she started worrying about him coming into our house (like he was a burgler or something). She started crying and said she didn't want Santa to come anymore -- even if he left presents for her. I don't think we have to worry about that kind of response this year.

My Painting

This is a painting I finished today of the last rapid of a section on the American River that Roy and I kayaked with 2 of his siblings. Roy signed me up for a painting class for my birthday. I have been working on this painting each Wednesday for several weeks and today was the last day of the class. Since I have no place to paint at home and seeing as I could have this baby any day, I knew I had to finish the painting today. I would like to have done a few more things to the painting, but I hurried through and at least it's done and I won't have to worry about an unfinished painting after the baby comes. :)

Daring Little Jumpers

We have quite the jumpers in our home! When we were at my parents' house, McKinley was jumping from the top of the second half of the split stairs to her dad, standing at the bottom. You can't really tell in this picture, but it was quite a distance! Luckily, Sage didn't have a desire to follow in McKinley's flight path for this activity. She was happy to play a game of catch from the top of the stairs and had an impressive throwing arm if you ask me. :)
The kids' room is in the process of being transformed to make room for all three of them. Roy has not yet finished building the bunk beds he's been working on. At this point, I'll be happy when one bed is done so we have room under the bed for some things. We just got a second matress, which we put under McKinley's matress on the floor for now. McKinley has been jumping from the top of the toy box (stacked on top of the under-the-bed box) to her matress, but now it's much more bouncy and fun. Sage has not been able to do it by herself until the other night when Roy encouraged her to try. Maybe I'm just a little too careful, but Roy sat on the floor ready to catch her just in case, and she did just great! She didn't have room to spare (as she landed on the edge of the bed) and bounced forward onto her face after landing on all fours each time, but she loved it!
McKinley was all about the tricks she could do in the air. Is anyone surprised? She was turning around, jumping over her daddy's head, jumping with her eyes closed, and anything else she could think to try. I should have had the video camera going. At any rate, I think we have a little dare devil on our hands.

End of November

It's been a while since I've posted, so these are kind of random. I just wanted to remember these cute little things the girls do on a fairly regular basis. They made waffles one morning, taking turns putting ingredients in and using the hand mixer.
This next picture shows McKinley cutting celery sticks for dinner with a small sharp knife (always supervised). Yes, she's in her pajamas and had been wearing them all day. They were passed down from one of my friend's daughters the night before and McKinley loves them! I think she would wear them every day if I let her and if I never had to wash them. ;) Sage is cutting a banana with a butter knife. Most of her banana made it into her mouth rather than the little bowl I provided her with. It's really what I expected. They love to cut and are very careful.
Matt and Suzanne were in town last weekend with Lydia, so those of us who live here, got together at Gramma and Grampa Hansen's for dinner. The kids always love to play together. Matt has a job opportunity here, which would be great to have more family around, but he would be giving up a lot with his career dreams and what he loves to do. They have a tough decision ahead of them and we wish them the best whatever they choose. :)
Roy went with his friend, Scott, to cut down a couple trees in the mountains last Saturday. I haven't seen the one Scott chose, but ours is pretty cute. McKinley and Sage helped me get out some of the Christmas things while Daddy was gone. We actually just the stockings out and the train that goes around the tree. We listened to Christmas music on line and had a good time.

Favorite Activities

This hoola hoop that the kids are standing in is bent out of shape, but the kids don't care. It has become thier rocket ship. They climb inside and race around the house in it, taking turns being the astronaut captain in control. I love thier imaginations!

McKinley and Sage love to pull all the cushions off the couch and jump into the pile. They've gotten pretty creative with their jumping. It's fun to see how Sage tries to copy all of McKinley's tricks (spinning in the air, jumping sideways, diving, doing summersaults, etc.). Our living room -- the first thing you see from the front door -- doesn't always look perfect, but the kids have fun.

Treading Thin

I left McKinley and Sage with my parents today while I went to an appointment with my midwife in Boise. The girls love to go to their house and Sage always goes straight for the wooden duck in my dad's office. It's funny that this would be such a beloved toy since it's really just a decoration and there are plenty of other toys to play with. Sage usually just takes the duck and plays with it, but apparently, today she felt the need to replace it with something else. My dad said that after taking the duck, she returned a minute later with this silver knight and carefully placed it on the shelf, moving it back and forth until she was satisfied it was in just the right spot. We had a good laugh.

After loading the kids and myself into our mini van, my mom noticed my front tire was low and wondered if we needed to air it up immediately before driving back to Nampa or if I could wait until a more convenient time. I was wanting to get home for Sage's nap. My dad came out to give his opinion and noticed the belt showing through the tire and was afraid we'd end up blowing it. I knew the tires were wearing thin because I had to have a flat repaired a couple months ago and they said they couldn't legally put the tire back on our vehicle because the tire didn't have enough tread. They were nice enough to put a used tire on for free to get us through until we could replace all four. I guess we'd put it off a little too long as you can see. We were lucky we didn't blow a tire.

Thanksgiving

We went to my parents' house for Thanksgiving this year. It was a small group consisting of my parents, my dad's mom, and our little family. Though there were few of us there, we were not lacking any food. We had a delicious smorgasbord! My parents went all out with very little contributed from us.
I feel very grateful that our kids get to know one of their great-grandmas and both sets of grandparents. It's nice living close to family.

The kids entertained themselves with Grampa's wooden duck (always a favorite), the doctor's kit, and other various toys. I worked on coloring file folder games for the girls and we all watched the movie Ratatouille. It was a great day!
McKinley wanted to type her name and a few others. She did hers in the sentence above and these are others that she typed: Sage, baby.

An Eventful Day

First thing this morning, the girls got started making Thanksgiving cards for grandparents and their dad. They got so involved drawing and gluing fabric scraps on their cards that it kept both of them busy while I made dough for the rolls we'll have tomorrow. As much as I love to have them help me, I have to say it was very nice to make the dough by myself. It's a lot faster and less messy that way. Their cards turned out so cute too! I was proud of them.
After lunch, I gave McKinley and Sage each a piece of dough to make their own monkey bread while I made the dinner rolls. It's kind of a tradition that they enjoy when I make rolls. Since they would only get one clump of dough (enough for a small loaf pan), they made it last. They pounded, rolled, cut, dipped the dough in butter and cinnamon sugar, and put it in the pan. One might think that would be enough, but they squished it all up after that and did it again. McKinley ended up with monkey bread made of tiny pieces and Sage had a cinnamon swirl loaf. My floor needs a good mopping now, but they had so much fun.


They were proud of themselves when they got to share the finished product with their friends who came over (ages 2, 3, & 4) while their parents went Christmas shopping. It was a full and active house, but we all had a good time.


With every busy day, it seems there has to be some fiasco for me. Today, it involved Teton. I freaked out the other night when I saw a mouse run into our garage. I put some mouse bait blocks in a couple places that I thought were safely out sight and talked to the girls about what I had done and told them not to try to get to them. I didn't have this talk with Teton and since he's hardly ever in the garage, I didn't think it would be an issue. Maybe I just wasn't thinking (sigh). Roy was in the garage working on the bunk beds that he's building for the girls and had Teton out there with him. Teton stuck his nose between the wall and the freezer and was able to get the poison. Roy had to rush him to the vet to get him to vomit the poison out. I, of course, feel very bad about the whole situation (to say the very least) and hope we don't see any negative effects from it. It's a painful lesson to learn, but I won't be using anything like that again!

I'm looking forward to a nice, semi-relaxing day with family tomorrow. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!