and she's FIVE!!...well, tomorrow.

(I just looked over this post. PLEASE someone tell me how in the world you scan pics to a decent size so you can actually see them when posting them?! Sorry for the teeny weeny pics).

We're leaving to go camping for 2 nights at Virginia Beach. Dayne has requested this for her birthday for a good 8 months now. Here's some pics to document Dayne's first few years (I scanned them..after this everything went digital). Dayne was our big 10 lb. 5 oz. baby born with pneumonia. She was taken from us right after birth and lived for the next 9 days in the NICU. She was BY FAR the biggest baby in there (and the most beautiful). She had a big breathing mask over her face that was kept on so tightly that her face swelled up and her eyes couldn't open. They took the breathing mask off after (I believe??) 6 or 7 days to reveal a gorgeous baby with big, blue eyes and thick, dark hair (the mask included a head covering..probably to help keep the whole thing on). I cried when they took it off because it was like seeing my baby for the first time. I felt guilty going in there knowing Dayne was soon to come home and all those other moms had 2-4 lb babies with health complications that could keep them in there for months. I remember going in one day right after she was born and trying to keep from crying when I saw all the tubes and wires attached to my baby. The nurse told me it was okay to cry for MY baby; to not compare myself or Dayne to other mothers and babies. This was MY situation and I was justified in feeling the way I did. How hard to go home without a baby in your arms!! And we were literally a 5 minute (or less!) walk to the hospital. I didn't want to be anywhere but there. I had to pump throughout the day and night and Dayne wasn't allowed to eat for the first 5 days or so. And then it was the bottle, and then it was me after that. I don't think she really starting nursing until 8 days after she was born. She turned out to be my best nurser, though. She didn't want any real food until about 10 months and even then, preferred me to anything else.

And now we have an (almost) five year old and I'm emotional thinking about it. Cole was a difficult toddler that made focusing on Dayne hard (and she was colicky for the first 4 months of her life). The move to Virginia, having June, living in a tiny apartment with a newborn, a 2 year old, and a full of energy 5 year old, proved to be a difficult task. Dayne really was the forgotten child.

I am so happy that I had this last year with her at home. Virginia is not like the west. Everyone puts their kid in some sort of preschool here. I didn't. Not because I didn't want to. I felt like I should. I was looked at (at times)like a loony for not doing it. Number one, it's expensive. Number two, I felt like Dayne was able to learn at home much better than Cole. And number three (why am I numbering?), I knew I needed this time with her. I love you my sweet, creative, funny, musical Dayne!!

Ta dah! and happy

(Don't read this if you cringe at cliches and cutesy (gag) wording like I do. I feel like I did WAY too much of this in this post. Oh well.)

Cole's been writing letters/coloring pictures for us lately and taping them to our door. Very, very sweet. So sweet in fact that I might start crying about it. I cried the other night to Geof. because I couldn't believe that our little Dayne was turning 5 (on Saturday!) and she, out of all three, had grown up the fastest. I KNOW she's not grown up (for those of you thinking that)..., but it's sad to me to think she won't be following me around the house anymore; getting into my make-up, singing at the top of her lungs, reading books in foreign tongues (that only she can understand). Oh, my Dayners! Back to Cole's letter. So if you can look really closely at the picture you'll see that he wrote, "te Da!". Or was it, "te Du!"? Either way it was adorable when he translated it to me. Love my Cole. He's such a little stinker in so many ways but has the most tender (Yes! I am using that word. Don't get nauseated!) heart. Can't think of a better word to describe it. One of my friends once said that boys were very "endearing". I can't agree more. The thought of having another child tires me, but I'd do it again if I knew it was a boy.
I love my girls. I really do. But too many girls? No thank you. June is officially potty-trained!! Should I really come out and say that since it's been almost a year now that I've been putting her in underwear and proclaiming on my blog that it's time? Well, I think it really is time. She's gone 4 days now and although nightime is still in diapers, she's actually telling us now when she needs to go which is something she never did before. We are happy!...about her being potty-trained. We're not happy that it'll be yet another year before we can buy a house (those lenders have really tightened their belts (right term?) and won't lend to the self-employed of less than two years) and another year in this rental. I know I drive poor Geof. crazy searching for homes all the time. When I get something in my head (like the perfect bedroom above), I can't get it out! I want a nice, clean, urine-free home! And you wouldn't believe how hard those are to come by. Especially when there are only a few pockets that we're willing to live in, that are reasonably priced, etc. And it all comes down to this: is it worth it to move Cole to yet another school so I can be happier in my kitchen?? Just for one year (since we'd hopefully be buying in year, anyway)? We did a lot of thinking and praying on this yesterday since we found the cutest house...with a yard!! A yard with grass, I mean. Not dirt like we have now. So, like I said we did a lot of praying and thinking and talking and came back to the fact that Cole's security and happiness is worth more than those other things. Dayne will start Kindergarten and Cole will begin a second year at the same school. A good school, too. That makes us happy. ...AND,back to June.
June's saying so much more. Full, clear sentences (in my opinion). Not a baby anymore. She does let me hold her like a baby, though and I can't be happier about that. We are going camping for Dayne's birthday this weekend. I'm excited/scared. My knee surgery was last week and I still limp around just as much as before. Hopefully the weather's nice and we can just lay around on the beach. Yeah right. We lost BOTH Cole and Dayne last time we went to VA Beach. However, this time should be completely different since it's not the middle of summer, and we've learned that there are much less crowded beaches in VA Beach. Happy, again.

mucho fotos!

Hm..I could have posted a nice slideshow like my friend Emily did, but instead chose to upload a good 20 (plus?) pics of our weekend with the Averetts in D.C.;sans children! (CLICK ON PICS FOR A BIGGER, CLEARER VIEW...mom). Was wonderful. Geof. and I drove up Friday afternoon, ate at Macaroni Grill, shopped at IKEA, tried to do a session at the temple (but our recommends had expired-dang!), walked around Georgetown University in D.C., read together in a little bookstore, laughed, talked..and then picked up our wonderful friends the Averetts from the airport. Emily and Derek were our neighbors in our first apartment in Orem and it's been so nice to stay close to them despite moves, career changes, etc. The pics are duplicates from past trips to D.C., so do I really need to explain? The weather was perfect (maybe even a bit hot for our cold blooded Alaskans), Geof. was a knowledgeable tour guide (I on the other hand, wasn't), Derek and Geof. were extremely patient despite my hurt knee and hobbling walk, and Emily's early stages of pregnancy tiredness (and sickness!). Without our kids though, we were able to see and do so much more than before (even with the two slow-pokes) and I can't tell you how much Geof. and I needed this trip. So, thank you Averetts for taking the time to come out and see it! We love you guys and already miss you!! They did head down to Richmond for a day to see the sites and my kids adored them as well. Nice to have some adults around who shower my kids w/ much needed attention as if they WERE family. Thank you for that!!

p.s. Emily, your laughter was infectious! I've vowed to laugh more! You forget how healthy laughter is. I looked up the health benefits of laughter today and wow! Why am I NOT laughing more?! I'll leave you with these two great quotes; one from my mom's all time favorite, Woody Allen.

I am thankful for laughter, except when milk comes out of my nose. ~Woody Allen


At the height of laughter, the universe is flung into a kaleidoscope of new possibilities. ~Jean Houston

late Easter post

We had a pretty quiet Easter this year (as opposed to other years?!). I'm trying to get used to living out east without family and figuring out how to create memories and traditions with my own family...without any help from an older, wiser generation. Anyway, we decorated eggs and hid them at a local park, over and over again. The kids loved it, and surprisingly, Geof. and I did too. The day before Easter we headed over to Maymont park (a huge 100 acre estate that the city of Richmond has inherited? Been gifted? Who knows..). Anyway, they strategically hid 100 eggs. That's ONE egg to every acre. No, we didn't find an egg. We saw one person who did, but most were like us, baskets in hand, searching high and low, but to no avail. Nothing! And the one egg we did see (a 12 year old girl had found) was clear and hid under a bunch of leaves. I thought it was funny. Cole did NOT think it was funny. Pretty frustrating for a generation of "instant gratication please", and NOW! (;
Dinner was frozen pizza, salad, and some peanut butter eggs I had made...er, the Easter bunny had made the night before. No joke.

-Update: Dayne's cast was removed last week. She's doing well. A little weaker right leg, but healing fine. Our good friends from Fairbanks, AK (!!) came out for a quick visit. Wonderful friends offered to take our kids and Geof. and I drove up and had two wonderful days in D.C. with them (I'll post pics soon) and a day in Richmond. It was great! My knee surgery is tomorrow morning at 6am. No, I'm not nervous. I can't wait to feel better and MOVE MY BODY! AND...2 more weeks until school's out..until Fall. Can't wait.

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