Playing Catch Up: The Last 3 1/2 Months

I can't believe it's already summer and that in just a few weeks the older kids will be back in school. Where has the time gone? We have been keeping busy! I'm not really prepared to sit and write all about the last 3 1/2 months, so I'm just going to catch up through pictures. That's funner anyway.:)

Speaking of sweet Clara baby, in May, at 7 months, she was blessed in church. Adrian gave her a beautiful blessing. It was a very special day. Doesn't she look like a little angel in her white dress?!

Would you believe that Ben and Nina had to wear jackets on the last day of school?? Crazy. This is the last day of 3rd and 1st grade for these two and Sophie had her last day in middle school. I can't believe in a few short weeks I'm going to have a high schooler (she'll be in 9th grade)! 

Nina had a dance recital. She took both ballet and tap this last year and the recital was very cute. I think her favorite thing, which she told everyone about, was getting a medal from her dance studio after the recital. She was tickled pink about it. I really think she likens it to an Olympic medal.:) This summer she's been doing swimming lessons and has been to 2 little mini poms clinics taught by a sweet teenager in our ward. She loves poms!! She'll be taking ballet and poms lessons this fall.

Here's a couple of Clara at 8 months! She is a sweet girl and this is the month that she got 2 little teeth on the bottom. She really loved sitting and playing with her toys. Every morning she would sit on a blanket and play with toys for quite a while. She still loves her morning play time though she's a lot more mobile now.

Ben had been playing lots of soccer since last time I posted as well as doing swimming lessons. He has decided soccer is his sport and he loves playing goalie. In the swimming lesson pic he is in the right bottom corner and Nina is in the middle with the pink suit. They have both been going to a private swim school with small class sizes and they've been doing great this summer.

Here's some pictures of Sophie this summer. She is much harder to get pictures of. She has been known to quickly leave whenever I get out the camera. This summer Sophie has been doing archery (how I wish I had a picture of her with a bow - she loves archery!) as well as lots of church youth activities like youth conference, hikes, and soon girls camp. I am so grateful for the Young Women program and all the fun things Sophie gets to do with the youth in our ward. It's a wonderful thing. Have I mentioned what an amazing big sister she is?? She is always willing to play with Clara, read Nina stories, and have chats with Ben about books (they both love graphic novels).

And here's some of Clara at 9 months. Oh my cute smoochy baby! Clara is crawling now, a mixture of real crawling and army crawling and it makes her incredibly happy to be more mobile. She has just long enough hair to do a tiny pony tail on top, otherwise her hair sticks straight up. She has pretty awesome hair! She also loves real food. I cut up little pieces of what every we are eating for her now and she loves it. The picture below is her eating macaroni and cheese which has got to be her favorite food so far (I try to give her healthier food most of the time, but we do have Kraft mac and cheese every once in a while for lunch). She doesn't really enjoy picking up slimy food like pieces of banana, she'd rather have me put pieces of banana directly into her mouth, but she makes an exception for slimy mac and cheese. The most wonderful thing this month is that Clara has started sleeping through the night. She will still wake up sometime around 6am for a bottle, but then she is back to sleep till 7 or 8. It's lovely. And she takes regular morning and afternoon naps. Lots of good sleep = happy baby. Yay!

As part of Clara's new mobility we made our den into a playroom. One long trip to Ikea, and some man hours later we had this:

Our happy new playroom. The kids love it. They all love to sit and play with Clara and the baby toys. It's awesome to have a dedicated space for all the toys too. Of course toys end up all over the house, but at the end of the day everything gets put away and I feel at peace in my toy free family room. The older kids have their dedicated game-playing/older-kid-toys zone in the basement - it's not finished but we've put some rugs down, set up couches, a TV, and it's all very cozy. Big shout out to Adrian for his hours of putting together the Ikea flat pack furniture! This is by far Clara's favorite part of the new play room, an improvised ball pit:

Up next: Playing Catch Up Holiday and Summer Outings Edition

Last week was a special time for our family. We traveled to Utah for Clara's adoption finalization and temple sealing. It was a fast trip full of memories and celebration. Many of our extended family in Utah was able to come to the finalization and it was so great to have their support. My brother in law David took some great pictures!

On Friday, Clara was sealed to us in the temple. It was a very special and very spiritual experience for our family.  I am so very grateful for Clara and each member of our eternal family. We are so glad that we were able to share the experience with family and friends. My friend Cami (she is an awesome photographer!) took the beautiful pictures outside the temple. It had been cold, windy, and rainy all morning, but right before we went outside to take pictures it got warmer and sunny. So lovely. After the sealing we had a get together with our family to celebrate. My sister-in-law Dore made a Hawaiian feast of kalua pork, shoyu chicken, and miso salmon. Oh my it was delicious. It was so great to spend time with our family. It was a wonderful day in every way.

Adrian's Birthday, Easter, and 6 Month Old Clara

Happy Easter!! We've had a pretty busy and fun filled weekend. Adrian had a birthday, we had fun Easter Saturday times with Easter baskets, egg hunts, and then a lovely Easter Sunday with new Easter outfits, church, and a yummy Easter feast. Whew. How do you cram all that in 1 weekend along with a soccer game, guys game night, and datenight for Adrian and I? I'm not sure, but it happened and it was fun. And Clara turned 6 months old too!

Clara at 5 Months

Our little sweetie is 5 months old! Clara is a joy. At 5 months she is just starting solid foods though at the moment she only likes bananas. We've tried rice cereal and applesauce, but she is not a fan of either of those yet. She is so close to rolling over. She flings her legs to the side and arches her back - I think rolling will happen any day now. She loves to chew on everything, but most of all her hands and her favorite cloth nubby toy. She just got over a bout of pneumonia which was seriously not fun - lots of nebulizer treatments and a mixture of a steroid and anti-biotic got her over it. After 2 1/2 weeks of fussy sickness we were SO glad to see her happy gummy smile again. She is such a happy baby, quick to smile and laugh. She absolutely loves "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Head Shoulders Knees and Toes", though really any song with actions that you can help her do are favorites. She thinks me doing "Popcorn Popping" is hilarious.:) She loves it when I read Chicka Chicka Boom Boom to her. She loves to stare at the bright and colorful pictures in that book. She is still waking up at least once a night and sometimes twice. We are really hoping that she will sleep through the night sometime soon. Fingers crossed! Her nicknames are Clara-Beara, Baby Cakes, Cheeks, and Cheeky-Poos (sometimes Adrian calls her Drools - she does a lot of that!). Oh how we love our Clara. She is a bright little light that makes us so happy. We look forward to Clara being sealed to our family in the temple very soon (when she's 6 months old). It will be a such a special day.

Here's Clara not especially enjoying her first bites of rice cereal.

I think she is the most loved baby ever. We save her from being smothered by love frequently.:)

Her favorite cloth nubby toy. Many happy moments are spent chewing on this toy everyday.

Oh my sweet girl, we are so blessed to have you in our family.

Valentine's Day Fun & 4 Month Old Clara

We started off our Valentine's day with our traditional breakfast and treats, though this year we had Krispy Kremes for breakfast instead of monkey bread, but the kids didn't complain. Everyone got a Valentine, books, and chocolates. I love the book tradition so much that this year I got everyone 2 books. I really should never be let loose in Barnes & Noble. Here's the books the kiddos and Adrian got:

How fun it is to buy board books again. And while I'm at it look at these adorable books I bought a little while ago for Clara. Seriously the cutest board books EVER! On the cover of the Pride and Prejudice one Lizzy is wearing a shirt that says "I heart Darcy"! My goodness, they are adorable.

Clara woke up a little bit after breakfast and she got to open her presents too (she didn't get to eat her chocolates, but Adrian enjoyed them:)). As you can see she was still tired. I don't think she's a morning person. Neither am I, that's why I also look half asleep (maybe I should reconsider posting this picture of no-make-up pajamas me, but Clara's grumpy cat face is just too fun not to include).

She got happier with some tickles and swing time. Nina loves entertaining Clara in her swing or at any other time for that matter.

Ben and Nina took these very fun Valentine's boxes to school for their parties. Nina's was kind of like a purse and Ben's was a headless Valentines box - I thought it was very creative.

We had a great Valentine's day and after the kiddos went to bed Adrian and I were able to sneak out (not really sneak, Sophie was babysitting :)) for a late night Japanese steakhouse dinner. It was delicious and it was so nice to have a real date with Adrian.

Just for fun I'm going to throw in a couple of 4 month old pictures of Clara taken earlier in the month. I can't believe she is almost 5 months old now!

Happy Valentine's Day from the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood 2013

The Death of Romeo and Juliet by John Everett Millais, 1848

I'm going back to the Pre-Raphaelites for my Valentines art piece this year. It's just not Valentine's day for me without the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. I think the Pre-Raphaelites are definitely the art worlds equivalent of Valentine's day - sappy, sweet, romantic, and yes even cliche, but is that wrong?? I say not at all. There is nothing wrong with a little cheesy every now and then... And actually this piece by Millais feels a lot more moody and full of pathos than your typical sweepingly romantic Pre-Raphaelite piece.

How often do you see this particular part of Romeo and Juliet focused on in painting, illustration, or literature? Seriously, this is pretty depressing, after the double suicide, but from an art point of view it's so interesting. Way to go John Everett Millais for taking us to this scene. I feel like I'm looking at a Baroque work of art, and that is a compliment. The colors are dark, the mood is not just melancholy, but painfully sad. The reality is that Romeo and Juliet is a horrible tragedy. So many young lives are cut short in this much beloved play and this painting takes a look at the aftermath. A young man (maybe Balthazar) holds back a crowd of awe-struck onlookers on the right. The group in the middle is focused on the man in yellow holding up Romeo's empty vial of poison as they huddle around the bodies of the young lovers. Juliet's mother and nurse cradle her body as she lays over Romeo. To the left the 2 men comforting each other are Capulet and Montague, the fathers. The Prince stands on the far left ready to give the final verdict/speech of the play. It is such a sobering scene. It puts all the talk of endless love - "eyes look your last, arms take your last embrace"- in perspective as you look at the consequences and those left behind to feel the pain and sorrow of Romeo's and Juliet's final act. I really love that Millais is taking this story and giving us the real feelings and pain behind the words. Much like actually seeing the play acted out. It doesn't seem 1 dimensional at all to me, but fully fleshed out and vibrant in its sadness. I really like this painting - remembering that "sad is happy for deep people".

And on the subject of Romeo and Juliet and Valentine's day - have you seen Warm Bodies?? Oh my, it is such a good movie. I know it's not surprising that I'm going to bat for a zombie movie, but really it's a wonderful take on Romeo and Juliet. There is even a balcony scene. It is awesome and surprisingly sweet. I love R (that's the zombie's name and the girl's name is Julie - see!). Go see it for Valentine's day! Or if you aren't a zombie fan at least get it from Red Box when it comes out - it's worth the dollar.:) Happy V day!

The Books I Read in 2012

I read some really great books last year. Were there some stinkers? Yes. But by and large I really liked my 2012 books. Keep in mind that the majority of these books were read pre-baby, but I'm getting back to reading now and it is making me so happy. Books are great aren't they?!

1. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
Ok wow, it is hard to start right off with this one, but I must. So I know that this is not a book for everyone. Please don't judge me... It has some truly awful and inappropriate parts, which is why I decided not to read the rest of this series, but despite it's faults this was a well crafted, well written, intelligent, thrilling, page-turner of a book. I could not put it down. Lisbeth is a complicated and intriguing character and I love that she is more of an anti-hero. I like anti-heroes sometimes - I find it refreshing and sometimes makes for some good story telling.

2. Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
This is a middle-grade fiction about slavery in NYC during the Revolutionary War. I really liked it. I had never read a book from this point of view (a slave girl) at this place in time. It was a quick, good read.

3. Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
I reread this one for a book club I hosted and I still really like it. It's pretty believable for a post-apocalyptic story. It's told from the point of view of a somewhat whiny teenager, but all and all I think it's a good read.

4. Lemon Tart by Josi Kilpac
Here comes the fluff. So this is a Mormon murder mystery novel. Ha! It is not all that well written, but it is funny and there's some cute little twists along the way. Sadie (the main character) is far from Ms. Marple, but she likable enough and I needed a mindless read. Sometimes that's ok. Oh, did I mention there is a recipe for every chapter. Ha again!

5. The Woman in Black by Susan Hill
I read this one before going to see the movie. (I really liked the movie!) This is a disturbing little horror story to say the least. It reminded me of The Turn of the Screw. The Woman in Black is a super scary/nasty character - her description alone is pretty gross, but actually as a whole the book was more disturbing than scary if that makes any sense.

6. The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance by Elna Baker
Reread this one for a book club my friend Ganelle hosted. It was a great discussion! In re-reading it I did notice just how crass Elna can be, but if you can forgive that I think her struggles are thought provoking and she is hilarious.

7. The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley
I am a big Susanna Kearsley fan! I think her books are romantic and lovely. This one reminded me of Somewhere in Time. Yes, there is time travel, but it's actually well written and the characters are great. I loved it.

8. Matched by Ally Condie
This is yet another young adult dystopian fiction. Am I a fan? Not really, but Sophie really liked this book and I can understand why it's popular. Can I just say that I'm a little tired of this genre and I think this sanitized story just skimmed the surface of what it could have been. Maybe that's the point, I don't know. The Giver (still YA fiction) is a better choice if you want to delve a little deeper, though I don't really like The Giver either. I was not of fan of the love triangle (I don't see why Ky is so cool). That said, I did go on to read Crossed and I'll probably read Reached just to see what happens - so I guess the story pulled me in enough.

9. Black Heels to Tractor Wheels by Ree Drummond
I read this one again for a Valentines Day read and I loved it the second time. It's just a sweet love story and it's very funny. Isn't this suppose to be a movie soon?? I hope they get on that.

10. Crossed by Ally Condie
So like I said the story did pull me in enough to read this one. I thought the subject matter was treated too lightly. If people are dying there should be some real emotion/feeling before moving on to the next plot point. It was all too sanitized and easy. More struggle. More thought. More conflict. I should just shut up. It's quite popular. I'm being too picky.

11. The Bake Off by Beth Kendrick
See who am I too criticize Crossed for not being meaty enough when I go off and read fluff like this? This book is about 2 sister coming together after years of misunderstanding to be partners in a bake-off. It's kinda funny and it was amusing to read about the cut-throat behind the scenes of a baking contest. I wonder how true that is?

12. I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella
I look forward to every Sophie Kinsella novel because I know it will be a fun ride. This one was not a disappointment - totally fun and romantic. All of Kinsella's heroines remind me a little of Lucy from I Love Lucy. Great read (but don't expect Hemingway or anything - it's a comedic chick-lit book).

13. Every Secret Thing by Susanna Kearsley
So this book is the exception to my Susanna Kearsley adoration. I ordered this book from a seller in the UK because it's unavailable here and I kinda figured out why. It was not very romantic and was very very slow. I'm going to stick to the ones they are putting out every 6 months here in the US, because those are her romances and they are lovely.

14. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
I read this one for a book club and I had forgotten how good it is. I really love the voice and I really felt something for all those greasers. It made for a very good discussion too and I rewatched the movie which was fun times. Stay gold Ponyboy.

15. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
I reread all of these before seeing the movie and was so glad I did. Now this is a YA dystopian fiction series that I love!

16. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

17. Mocking Jay by Suzanne Collins

18. Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale
This should be called "Midnight in Bronteland" because the characters were a lot more Bronte-esque; which I thought was great! Very much like Austenland, but a little slower with a murder mystery thrown in. Fun times. I liked it.

19. Manhunt : The 12 Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer by James L. Swanson
This book was so slow and dry. I think the author could have really tightened it up to make it better, but it was a really interesting subject. I learned a lot about finding John Wilkes Booth and what a whack job he was (not exactly how the author put it). He really thought he would be a hero. It was interesting to find out about all the people along the way involved in the assassination and their trials, etc. Interesting, but super slow.

20. The Distant Hours by Kate Morton
I really like Kate Morton and I really liked this book. I liked the World War II setting and I loved reading about these 3 sisters and their relationships. It was a beautifully written book. I just love Kate Morton's style. The House at Riverton is on my to-read list.

21. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
Whoa, this was an unforgettable book. It is hard to imagine one person, Louie Zamperini, surviving so much. I would be thinking to myself, "well it can't get worse than this" and then it would. This poor man and really anyone who was in a Japanese POW camp. It made me so grateful for those who have given so much in service to our country. This really is a must read.

22. Storm Front by Jim Butcher
This is the first in a very popular series called The Dresden Files. I read it for a book club and though it was a fast, entertaining read, it really wasn't my particular cup of tea. I guess I'm just not a fan of the main character, Harry Dresden. I thought he/the author was a little sexist and I didn't like the treatment of female characters. That kinda stuff bugs me. Sorry if you are a fan!

23. The Ladies Auxillary by Tova Mirvis
This is one of my favorite books for a book club. Though this book centers around a tight knit Orthodox Jewish community in Memphis, it is so relatable to me as an LDS woman. In every ward I've every lived in there have been similar issues to the ones brought up in this book - I think everyone knows a Mrs. Levy. I also love revisiting this book because I love the insular world that Tova Mirvis creates. I love language of the book and how each character is complicated and real. It's just a very satisfying book on so many different levels.

24. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (I hope that's a pen name.)
This is a quirky little young adult fiction and of course the ending was left wide open to make it a series (I hate that), but it was actually kinda fun. I liked the premise and the creepiness of it all. Yes, I am a weirdo. All through out the book there are these real, bizarre, old pictures, which the story rotates around. So odd. Good kind of odd. I don't know if I could make it through a whole series, but for one book it was great.

25. Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith
Hahaha! I bet you thought I would read this book! And the most wonderful part of reading this book was that I started way back when I was reading Manhunt (a total non-fiction about Abraham Lincoln) and I would confuse the parts in this book with that book. I would be thinking, "but how can that be when he was off killing that vampire..." Whoops!! It was awesome!! I wish I could read a vampire book based around a real person every single time I read a non-fiction! Ok, for the actual book I must say it was just what you would expect. It was pure silliness and I loved it.

26. Mariana by Susanna Kearsley
I think this is my 2nd favorite Susanna Kearsley (1st going to Winter Sea). It is lovely and romantic. I think that is exactly how I described The Rose Garden! Really if you want a nice escapist romance this is the book for you. One of my favorite books of the year.

27.The Outside World by Tova Mirvis
After reading The Ladies Auxiliary again I wanted to reread this one. I just love the world that Tova creates in her books. Admittedly this book is not as powerful to me as The Ladies Auxiliary, but it's still good and I really like the main character Tzippy. She's relatable and her voice is great.

28. The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillipa Gregory
I had read a few Phillipa Gregorys but hadn't read her most famous - this one. So I read it. I can see why it is her most popular. It is well written, but wow it's kind of awful. The way these women were used as pawns by the men in their lives was hard to read. And well Henry VIII was just horrible wasn't he?! Every time I read a historical fiction about women I am so glad I live now.

29. The Lady of the Rivers by Phillipa Gregory
I thought I would read another one after The Other Boleyn Girl and I really liked this one. It is very different from The Other Boleyn Girl. The main character, Jacquetta, through a complicated set of circumstances, has a lot more power and control over her life, which made it easier to read. If you want a gentler Phillipa Gregory book this is a good one.

30. The Dead and the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer
This book is the sequel to Life As We Knew It, dealing with post-apocalyptic New York City. It's told from the point of view of Alex Morales, another teenager like in Life As We Knew It, but Alex has a much tougher voice. He's angry all the time and it was much harder to deal with him as the main character and the subject matter was a lot tougher too. More dead bodies, more sickness, more horribleness in general. So yeah, I didn't like it as much as Life As We Knew It, but it was believable as awful as that is.

31. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
I decided to read this again on July 31st for Harry's birthday. I'm silly like that. I love this book so much, though, from an adoption stand point, it is so not a good kindred adoption story. It's interesting how your perspective can shift. Still love it though.

32. Bring Back Beatrice by Jennifer Griffin and The Baby Name Wizard by Laura Wattenberg
I'm grouping these together because they were read simultaneously and thoroughly. From August through September you could find any member of my family (my 3 older kids included) sitting on the couch reading these books. We named our sweet baby Clara which was #228 in the US in 2009, #1 in France in 2008, and in the catagories "Ladies and Gentlemen", "Antique Charm", and "Nick-name proof" (we call her Clara-Beara and Baby Cakes :)). Clara is "feminine and traditional" and "trim and cute but every inch a lady". Love it!

33. Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson
This was a definite favorite from 2012. So cute and sweet. It's a regency romance using modern language so it's basically mind-candy. Great fun!

34. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
After reading Edenbrooke I craved the real thing so I picked up Pride and Prejudice. Seriously, isn't this book just a dreamy classic?! I love Mr. Darcy. Adrian knows and he's ok with it.:)

35. Kiss of a Stranger by Sarah M. Eden
Alright the regency romances stopped with this one. It was a stinker if there ever was a stinker. The story behind picking this one up was that I went to a Seagull Book store when I was in Utah. I was in great need of a fluffy escapist book and the sales clerk told me this was a great book, "Even better than Edenbrooke!". I think she was smoking crack. This book was painful and not to mention it was horribly sexist. Not in a Phillipa Gregory sort of way, pointing out the sexism of the time, but sexist in that the main character was weak and wanted to be dominated. (I'm not talking 50 Shades or anything though, this is a very clean LDS romance and for the record I have not read 50 Shades, I've just heard.)Yuck! Not my kind of book.

36. Shadowy Horses by Susanna Kearsley
Yes, again I'm a fan. This one is set in modern Scotland and has an archaeological dig in it... and a ghost. Still romantic and lovely, but in a subtler way. Not a sweeping love story. I did really like reading about the archaeological excavation and I liked the main character Verity. Her love interest, Davy, on the other hand was not quite as studly (did I really just use that word??) as the guys in Mariana, The Rose Garden, or Winter Sea, but that's ok. It was still a good read.

My goodness it seems like I read a lot of period romances! Some were so good!! My favorite books of the year were Mariana, Pride and Prejudice, Edenbrooke, and Unbroken. I would recommend them all. As far as goals for 2013 (I never seem to carry through on these book goals, but I'm gonna try) I want to finally read Gone With the Wind. It's been sitting on my to-read shelf for years and I need to buckle down and get it done. Other than that I'm excited for another Susanna Kearsley, The Firebird, which will come out in June, and Death Comes to Pemberly which I plan to read soon. Here's to happy readings in 2013!