Coco turns 5!

Last month, Coco turned 5!

She wanted a strawberry angel food cake and In 'N Out for her birthday.

She also really wanted a walking/blinking unicorn!

and a cat that meows!

For her birthday at school, she brought mini pink cupcakes.  She got to hold the birthday pig while it sang "My Girl" to her.  She was so excited!

And here is her birthday interview:

We sure love our helpful, imaginative, curious, quirky girl!

October!

 I just realized that I hadn't blogged about Halloween...here are some things that happened in October.

 

Cash and Cosette had their Historical Harvest day at school.  Every student had to pick a person from history and memorize and present a brief paragraph about that person's life on an outdoor stage.

Cash was Christopher Columbus. Cosette was Maria Montessori (first female doctor in Italy among many other things).

Fact: Both Columbus and Montessori had illegitimate children.  I didn't have them memorize that fact :) 

They did a great job!  It was so cute to see them get up and speak loudly about their people!

After school that day was the Fall Festival. At the face painting booth, Cosette requested a dolphin diving upside down.  She stood in line forever but thought it was worth it!

A few days later, we went to our ward's Trunk or Treat.  It was cold, so Quincy enjoyed his warm fox costume.

We got a lot of "What does the fox say?" questions directed towards Quincy. He thinks the fox roars.  I refuse to show him the Youtube video!

On Halloween night, we only went to a couple of neighbors to trick or treat...I don't like

trick or treating, and my kids forget about their candy anyways.  It's more fun for them to watch Harry Potter and have popcorn.

Cosette is a fairy riding a unicorn (not sure why she wouldn't take her tiger shirt off). Cash is Darth Vader.  He loves this costume. I caught a glimpse of Darth Vader taking a rest in the hammock in the backyard--too cute!

October also brought with it the start of my third trimester! 

 I can't believe I only have 10 weeks left.  Time has flown by!

I love being pregnant and have really easy pregnancies. I am a little bummed that we still don't have a name for this boy, but I kind of expected it--when we named Quincy, I knew I would be stumped on a good name for the next one, especially if it was a boy.  I feel like he should have a name ending in Y, too, but we can't find one we agree on.  I am really interested to see what this baby's name ends up being :)

So that was October!  And November is halfway over! I can't believe it!

Fox's Black Belt Ceremony

Fox has been training for months and finally earned his black belt in Tae Kwon Do last week!

It has been hard work--there was a huge training packet that needed to be completed, which included physical requirements, such as doing 100 pushups at a time, and some other requirements, including a book report--Fox read the Art of War and Man's Search for Meaning.

Finally, after his training was completed, he had to take a 10 hour test.  The first test was 5 hours of physical exercise--pushups, squats, jumps, showing forms, and other maneuvers.  The second test was 5 hours of learning a brand new routine and then performing it perfectly.

His school had a huge ceremony last week and really honored those who progressed to black belt.

Fox and Master Nam, who likes to brag that his black belt tests are the hardest in the nation.

That's a big trophy--it is much taller than Cash!

I didn't get many good shots, but here is some video of Fox's board-breaking routine:

 Go Fox! He has managed subbing full-time, assistant teaching at the Tae Kwon Do studio part time, plus full-time grad school on top of training! We are very proud of him!

First Day of School!

This Monday was the first day of school!

Coco is in kindergarten this year! 

                                                                     

Cash is in 2nd grade!

He got to skip Kindergarten last year, since he went to school in Japan.

Settling in! 

We decided to put our kids in the Montessori Charter School this year--all day kindergarten for Coco and a combo 1/2 class for Cash, so he wouldn't be the youngest.

Cash's teacher left chocolates and a note by each chair, so she is a big hit already!

The note said, "It'll be sweet to be your teacher!" I like her :)

 

 

    We are all still adjusting---the kids have been tired this week! They won't have homework for the first 3 weeks.  I'm interested to see how they do with Montessori--it is very much independent learning! Mixed with Common Core. We'll see how this goes.

    I thought I would get a nice break while the kids are gone-and I do while Quincy naps--but once he is up, I feel like I am busier than ever! Terrible Twos in effect in this house!

 Do you see what I have to deal with? :)

 

Quincy at 15 months

Quincy boy is 15 months--I can't believe it!  His personality is really starting to come through.  He is a sweetheart and such a fun boy!

He loves music and will dance as soon as he hears the slightest beat!

Jammin' with Grandpa

He can say ball, mama, dada, and please (peez).  He can also sing the opening sentence of the Les Mis musical, "Look Down!" (although he just sings, "Dah Dow", it is still cute!)

He is all boy--kicking, climbing, and into balls--but he also loves to give hugs and kisses!

Okay--Quincy is the toiletry baby.  He does not have a lovey, and we have not had to sleep train him to lay him down in his crib.  We lay him down fully awake--and hand him a toiletry--a trial shampoo bottle, a toothbrush, a tube of toothpaste (tightly closed)--and he goes right to sleep.

Don't mess with Quincy's toiletries!

 Sometimes he wakes up in the middle of the night if he realize that his hand is not curled around a small plastic bottle.  Something about smooth plastic soothes him?!  He has stuffed animals and little blankies but won't touch them!

  This kid is funny, and we sure do love him!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Happy Birthday, Mama!

Recent Conversation:

Mom: Amy, can you buy See's with food stamps?

Me: Ummmm...I don't think so.  That seems irresponsible of the government. I think you could buy regular chocolate at the store with food stamps and then make truffles if you really needed to...?

Mom: What?

Me: You can not use food stamps to buy See's chocolates. No.

Mom: I said seeds--for planting and growing food.

Me: Oohh...

Both of us: Hahaha!

It was awesome.  And Coco snapped a pic at the exact time we figured out our miscommunication:

 Mom, you are awesome!  I love your food moods and your love of learning.  I hope you have a great wonderful fabulous day!

Easter time!

 To be honest, this Easter was a little sad.  Every year since I was young, I look forward to having my special Easter candy--Hershey's milk chocolate eggs.  I love them!  My mom sent me some in Japan and had 3 bags waiting for me when we returned last year.

   This Easter, I am off sugar (thanks, tooth decay!) and did not get my beloved Hershey's eggs (first world problem!) and at the same time I am conflicted about giving my kids sugar.  Basically, how do you balance the paganism of Easter-bunny Easter with a celebration of our Savior's resurrection?  Still working on that one!

 

 In the meantime, here are a few pics from the beautiful weekend of Easter:

Dyeing eggs! Fox will never be in these pictures.  He hates eggs and is in the hallway making gagging sounds.

"I like eggs, Mom! But here, you eat the yellow part...and also the white part!"

My two children!  Oh wait, I have 3!  Where is that toddler?....

There he is! My grandma asked me for a picture of only the 3 kiddos...so I guess she'll be getting this one!

This one is a little better!  Fox is behind the camera (still gagging) :)

Lego Party

     Since we were in lonely Japan for Cash's past 2 birthdays, we thought we would give him the rare treat of a party this year!  Fox planned most of it, and it was a Lego party, since Cash is really into Legoes right now.

Designing Lego Mini-Fig Heads

Playing Lego Chima Bowling

Pin the (Previously Designed) Head on the Mini-Fig

Lego Juiceboxes

Orange Creme Cupcakes with Nutella Cloud Frosting--Hmmm...I think this one was Mom's idea :)

Making a wish :)

This is my favorite picture of the night! Cash and Isaiah played quietly at the table for 3 hours after everyone went home!

    It was quite a low-key party with very well-behaved children--and very grateful parents--who were entertained by Fox for a few hours. 

Party in the U.S.A.!  Hooray!

Happy Birthday, Cash!

Cashy-boy is 6! 

Getting sung to at school! His teacher was also Kelsy's 1st grade teacher (18 years ago)!

Hooray for the sweet birthday boy!

Sibling love!

Thank you for the great presents, Grandma and Grandpa!

 

Cash's Favorites at Age 6:

Color: Blue

Toy: Legoes

Food: Anything Breakfast-y (pancakes and sausage were his birthday dinner choice)

Show: Ninja Turtles

Game: Battleship

Treat: Anything Chocolate

Career Choice: Construction Builder

 Cash is still a very sensitive, thoughtful, and precise boy--he can spend hours building legoes. We often find him quietly laying on his bed, reading.  He loves school, cooking, riding his scooter, and playing with the neighborhood kids.

We love you, Cashy-boy! Happy Birthday!

 

Stopping in Gilbert

   On our way back from Texas, we decided to spend the night in New Mexico and then visit Megan near Phoenix the next afternoon. Our kids did so amazing in the car (and QP napped 4 hours straight midday) that we pushed through--meaning Fox drove 1,080 miles in a day--15 hours of driving with 3 stops--Dallas straight to Phoenix. Thank you, my children, for being such road warriors!!
And of course thank you, my husband, for being such an excellent driver!
 
  I was so excited to have more time in Gilbert with my sweet sister Meg and her cute family! Fox had never visited before, so we were on a mission to get him to love it. Happy to say that he looooves it now :)

Throughout our whole trip, Coco talked about seeing Sadie the snake.  So, the first thing she wanted to do was hold it...and then pick out a mouse for it to eat.  Eewww...Josh obliged her after we ate.  She picked out a white one from the bag 'o frozen mice (while we all cringed) and got to watch Sadie have her meal.

How amazing is this wall of cupboards?!

The beautiful backyard with the sweet Sadie dog.  There is a trampoline to the side, too.  We loved hanging out in the backyard. The most perfect weather in the dead of winter!

The kids were very excited to be out of the car:

Meg and I at the preserve near the library:

Twinners!  These boys are so cute.  They came home from school and got right down to their homework! I love how Ethan often puts his arm around Jonah when he talks to him.

Girl cousins in this family are few and far between, so they have a special bond.

   Josh pretty much summed it up when he said, "Arizona is great.  The neighborhood is great. The downside? Oh, it's...you know...hotter than death."  But perfect in January!  We love you Abbotts and hope to see you again soon!

Quincy is 1!!

     Quincy boy turned 1 last week!!  We celebrated his birthday in Texas with his Ellis grandparents, which was so fun.  The drive was 21 hours and went much, much better than expected.  Quincy only cried for a few minutes when he got thirsty.

  If you look at the above picture, you will see that Quincy is ripping the birthday crown off. Stinker!

Grandpa Rick picked out the most awesome, rainbow cake.  Fun to smash!  Q was a big fan of the ice cream.

  And...a sad attempt at a photo with the grandparents.

On our way back from Texas, we decided that we would stop to see my big sister Meg and her family in Arizona.  We got there much much earlier than expected and were able to have birthday cream puffs (the Hulihan tradition) made especially for Q by Megan, who did a much better job than I could have done!

Not so sure about this...

Better!

    Although our trip back was smooth, too, I think Quincy got addicted to falling asleep by the car motion.  Or else he is moving down to one nap a day (eeek!).  Anyways, he is just so happy to be out of his car seat and crusing around in his new shoes now!

  We sure love having Quincy in our family--he keeps all of us on our toes and is a wiggleworm but still a great cuddler!