More Easter Weekend Pictures

Easter Weekend Pictures

Two New Teeth!

Sasha has been taking a few steps here and there, but mostly because we try to get her to do it. The last three days she has been doing it a lot on her own. She will just stand up on her own in the middle of the room, take a few steps or a lot of steps and then lower herself down and start crawling. If she wants to get somewhere fast she crawls. She has a funny way of crawling-she puts her head down and powers across the room. It's pretty darn cute, like everything else she does. She is so small to be standing up and walking!
She got her top left tooth on Monday and her top right one on Wednesday. I can't wait to see what she looks like with teeth! She seems to be "getting" a lot of things lately. She started saying "mama" again a couple of days ago, plays with Brookelyn more and seems to be doing more communcating with us. I said "Uh oh" once last week when I dropped something and she repeated it very clearly right after me. She doesn't always repeat us when we have tried it since, but she seems to think it is funny. She will laugh if someone else is laughing and looks concerned if Brayden or Brookelyn cries.
We went to the beach yesterday with my sister and her three girls. It sounded like a good idea. The beach always sounds like a good idea. It was a beautiful day so we went. It was supposed to be chilly so I packed stuff for warm weather and cold weather. It turned out to be perfect. Brayden and Brookelyn wore swim suits and Sasha wore regular clothes. I knew she wasn't going to get wet. Brookelyn and Brayden played in sand with their cousins and did get a little wet. Both of them liked walking up and getting their feet wet in the ocean. Brookelyn told me this morning that she saw fish but that Ariel and the other mermaids were hiding. I was pretty surprised to hear that. I didn't know she could connect the ocean in the movie with the ocean we put our feet into. Sasha loved the beach! She didn't mind eating food that had a little sand on it and loved playing in the sand. We walked up and I dipped her feet into the water. She wasn't thrilled with that. The water is still too cold for me to swim in though a lot of people were out in it. We stayed for a few hours and hen had ice cream before we left for home. Everything was great until Brookelyn's cone broke. She cried from the time it broke until about a half mile from home. I think that is about twenty minutes. Sasha slept right through it but it wasn't fun for Brayden, Colton or I. It then took me a couple of hours to clean out my car and wash all of the sand off of all of us and all of our things.

More pics

Sasha's First Haircut

We cut a little bit of Sasha's hair at the hotel when were in Vietnam, but that was just a few stragling hairs to straighten it out. Today she and I went to a local salon for kids. The back of her hair was getting pretty long and I wasn't sure what to do with it or the sides. Since it is so straight I think I will always have to bring her to a place where people do it right. As opposed to me doing it. Sasha is in a stage where she really doesn't want to sit down or be held. She really just wants to be moving. If I hold her hand when she is standing she will take off walking so fast she is almost running so I have to slow her down or she will fall. If I hold both of her hands she is almost too fast to keep up with. So having her sit down on my lap and sit still through a hair cut wasn't too easy. The lady should have suggested giving her a sucker. I didn't think about that until after I left but that seems to almost always work with kids. Anyway, Sasha did a pretty good job of sitting still (for her) and the hair cut is cute. I hope her hair fills in soon to keep her head covered from the sun.
I took a few pictures before I put her down to nap. She isn't smiling in them because she was pretty tired. But I know her hair won't look as cute when she wakes up and I wanted to take a picture of it. Also, I bought a new lens and am trying to learn how to use it. I just asked my older kids to show me and they gave me a few pointers. I will probably be posting a lot of pictures of my little ones on this blog as I learn.

Easter Bunny Pictures

I realized the other day that we still had to make a trip to see the Easter Bunny and have pictures taken. We went to a small local mall that not many people go to. There weren't many people at the mall but those who were there were in line to see the Easter Bunny. I had brought Dakota along with me to help with the little ones just in case there was a line so that was good. Brookelyn loved looking at the bunny as we waited in line and had fun waving at him and laughed when he waived back at her. Until we got within a few feet of him and she wasn't having anything to do with him. I bribed Brayden (with a piece of candy) to stand next to him and sat Sasha on one of his knees. I asked Dakota to put Brookelyn on his other knee and was planning to take a few pictures of my own as well as what the photo guy took. Well, Brookelyn wouldn't let go of Dakota so it wound up just being Sasha and Brayden in this picture. We are going to a picnic this weekend where there will be another bunny so maybe that will work out better. It is a cute picture though. I took a few other pictures while we were waiting for our turn.

Brayden's Sisters

First T-ball Game Saturday, March 15

We signed Brayden up for AYSO soccer for the fall and then headed to his first Itty Bitty t-ball game. He doesn't want us to call it t-ball and corrects us whenever we slip and say it. He want us to just call it baseball. I don't know it that is because his older cousins play baseball or if he has just heard his brother talking about it. He has been able to hit a ball when it is pitched to him for several months so he is ready for more than t-ball. But he just turned four so he will have to wait. He is one of those kids who has natural athletic ability and seems to be really good at a lot of sports. He has been able to dribble a ball since he was just over two and will shoot baskets for hours. We have been looking forward to going to his games and watching him play. It was a great day. It varied between sunny and almost hot to a little chilly, depending on the breeze. Sasha and Brookelyn sat on a blanket and watched while eating snacks, which was great. I took a lot of pictures and Ray helped direct the boys. It was very cute!
Sasha really likes playing with balls and seems like she will be a good athlete when she gets older. I know it is hard to tell at this young age, but both of my boys liked playing with balls when they were younger and she seems to be the same way. She took seven steps on her own at the game!

Thursday, March 13th

We went to another doctor appointment for Sasha. She needed another set of immunizations and I wanted to see the doctor to ask about a couple of things. Sasha was even lower on the chart (under 5%) than she had been six weeks before. I guess that is just going to be her body type because that girl can eat! I don't have the paperwork now so I'll have to add it later about what she weighs and how long she is. It turned out that she had an ear infection, which I hadn't known. She had been a little on the fussy side the last couple of days but we thought it was because we had people working in our house and it was throwing us all off. The doctor put her on amoxicillan. Sasha usually likes people and doesn't mind them touching her as long as I am holding her, but she wasn't too thrilled with her doctor. She is actually a really nice lady, but Sasha wanted nothing to do with her.
After we left I realized that I didn't have my phone. I always carry it with me so my kids (or someone from their schools) can get ahold of me if they need to. I had it when I was in the waiting room so I looked there and remembered a semi unsavory guy who was the only other person in the waiting room at the same time as I was there. I had noticed him and thought it was unusual for a man to be sitting alone in the waiting room in the pediatric area. Anyway, I knew right away I wasn't going to be able to get my phone back but I asked several employees while I waited for Sasha's prescription to be filled. I had to spend the next two days without a phone, which is a bummer since I am in the car a lot and couldn't really be reached if my kids needed me. I got anew phone but lost all of the old numbers. I had never thought to write them down so it wil take me awhile to get it back to normal.
It was actually a lot harder than I thought to lose that phone-I had no idea how much I used it. Also, it was at the end of a hard week. We haven't had a master bathroom since the day after Christmas when my husband had it demo-ed so we could redo the tile work on the floor and in the shower as well as replace the tub. We finally had a new tub put in (the first tub was the wrong one and the three or four after that were chipped or cracked when we got them) and the tilers came this week. We have had a lot of people working in the house since we bought it a few years back. We pretty much gutted it and started over. But these guys were the loudest of any of them. They were banging and clattering and pounding like crazy. And that was just when they were prepping the walls. I kept hearing a loud thud and someone racing down the stairs. I kept asking someone to ask me to call 911. It was bad. Usually I would run errands and keep out of the house but my husband really wanted me to keep checking on the work so it would come out right. Nice. They got to our house at 8:30 am every morning and left about 7:00 pm in the evening. My house was covered with powder by the end of the week! I don't mean a little, I mean the entire downstairs was covered in it so badly that even the guy in charge was shocked and offered to pay for a cleaning service. I tried to clean it myself but it was too much. We ate out every night and limped along until they finished. Actually, they ran out of material so they aren't quite finished and have to come back when the tile comes in. So we still have no shower or bath and the double vanity is in our bedroom next to our bed and the toilet. Once we finish this bathroom we are having the kids bathroom redone. Anyway...I can see the end is in sight and it will look good when it is finished. The people who did the work after we bought the house didn't put in green backer board so sometimes the water would go through the wall of the shower and drip from the light fixtures into our kitchen sink. So we clearly needed this work done. Legally, we needed to do it before we sell the house. Not that we are thinking about it right now, but we figured we should go ahead and do it.

Nine month old portraits

I forgot to post these. They are so cute!

Sasha took twelve steps!

We went to the park today and had a great time. We brought Brayden's new bike (with training wheels) and he rode it for a long time. Sasha still has a cold and is pretty miserable so she wanted me to hold her the whole time. She sat in a swing for a minute, but didn't like it. Brookelyn walked around and played at the playground the whole time. Ray pitched balls to Brayden for a while. Brayden is really good at hitting them. He has great hand eye coordination. He is supposed to start t ball next weekend, which will be fun.
After we came back from the park we put the kids in bathing suits and let them run in the sprinklers in the front yard for awhile and then eat popsicles. After a shower we sat down on the floor inside and tried to get Sasha to take a few steps. If we just try to get her to stand up she turns into jello. But if we had her something to hold she will stand up. That is a new thing. Usually she stands up on her own a lot. Early in the day she had taken a step that only Brayden had seen her take. Most of the day Mommy was holding her since she wasn't feeling well. So we gave her a toy, stood her up and watched her take a few steps. At first she took one and then two and then four and then six. We kept getting her to stand up and eventually she took twleve! She would take one or two or three at a time, but she took twleve altogether before she fell down. She smiles when she does it. She actually kind of half walks half runs, so she would do better if she slowed down. How funny to see such a little girl taking steps. She still fits into her Carter's footie pajamas that are size six months.

David's birthday

I called my husband after Sasha took her two steps yesterday and told him about it. We had had a bet about which day she would do it on since we knew it would be soon. He had said on the fourth and I had said on the 8th (today). When I called Ray yesterday (he was at work) he said it didn't count since he wasn't there to see it too. Well, she did it in front of Ray, Brayden, Brookelyn and myself this morning after breakfast. She took one step and then a minute or so later, she took another. She seems to be getting the idea.
We had a crazy day today. I took all three little ones to my older son's track and field meet. I had to leave my stroller a LONG way away from where the shotput area was and carry Brookelyn and Sasha while trying to get Brayden to walk close to me instead of running ahead. Sasha is about 16 pounds and Brookelyn is just over 27 pounds. That is a lot of weight to carry around on a hot day. I had gotten there late since I was picking my son up and going to the local zoo afterwards. He has a photography assignment for school and needs to take pictures of animals. We watched the kids throw the shotput for a while and then left. The zoo was pretty fun. As I said, it was a beautiful day and it was nice just to be outside. I hadn't been to that zoo in a few years and it is perfect for little kids. The San Diego Zoo is great, but it is pretty big and has a lot of hills. It's a workout with a double stroller. I used to go there a lot when I lived in San Diego. My son went off and took his pictures and the little kids and I walked around and saw various animals and then wound up in the playground area. By the time we left Sasha had no pants on (her diaper had leaked and I hadn't put any extra pants in the stroller), Brookleyn's face was streaked with dirt and all three of them were covered with sand. I had put Sasha down in the playground and she had sat there picking up sand and then watching it fall out of her fingers. She did it again and again and was mesmerized by it. It was great to be sitting there watching them all enjoy themselves outside.
I had hoped to come home to a cleaner house since my husband had stayed home to work on a couple of projects. Nope. House was not even a TINY BIT cleaner. He had hurt himself while working in our master bathroom and so hadn't gotten much done. I want our bathroom to be finished! Ray is okay and he did get whatever it was done so once the shower gets hotmopped we can get the tiling started.
I forgot to write that all three of the families who were in Vietnam at the same time as Sasha and I were there now have there little girls home! It is just amazingly sad that it took so long, but they are home now, so it ended well. I feel a huge sense of relief since I know it just as easily could have been Sasha who couldn't come home. I liked all of the families and was so sad to know they were going through such a nightmare. Julie came home a couple of weeks ago and Maddy and Eden came home last week! Welcome home!
I happened to be reading a blog about a family who is in Vietnam right now (Sue) getting their adorable baby girl. They mentioned going to Highland's Coffee. I got a mental image of the Highland's coffee shop I had gone to several times and then didn't think any more about it. About ten minutes later I was in my car going to pick my daughter up from school and I had a craving for an Innocent Passion and french fries. WHAT??!! I haven't thought of them for months! The problem is, I am still craving them! I ordered them once on the suggestion of Isabella's mom's blog. I actually only kind of liked the Innocent Passion at first. Until it was gone and I already wanted another. And I never crave fries. Weird. And now I really want them both. I wonder if they have Highland's Coffee in the US?

Sasha took two steps!

Sasha and I were getting ready to go pick up Brayden and Brookelyn from school this afternoon. I set her down in a standing position leaning her against my legs as I put on my shoes. I put on one shoe and then watched her take two steps in a row. I couldn't believe it so I screamed with excitement and then she fell down. I'm sure I started her! She hasn't done it again, but I am sure she will soon. We have been expecting her to take a step for the last several weeks.
I also noticed today that she has figured out a lot of things. She turns her face away when she see me holding a tissue or wipe. She has held one of her shoes up against her foot like she knows thats where it belongs. She picks up the remote and then points it to the tv. I can't think of any others right now, but I know there are a few more. Poor thing, she has had a cold the last couple of days and her eyes are all swollen and her nose is sore. A few more weeks until it is summer! I am so happy she will be walking this summer so we can get out and be at parks or the pool! I'm not sure how it will go with three little ones, but it will be busy for sure.

Pictures of Sasha and Brookelyn

It's hard to get pictures of Sasha lately because she is always moving quickly. She doesn't sit still for a minute. Here are a few of the girls playing the other day. Sasha can get out of the walker so I only use it when I am right next to her. But sometimes I use it to keep her off of the floor if I need to vacuum it before she crawls around or if I am giving her a snack while I am getting dinner ready. She is able to wriggle out of the belts of her high chair so I can't use that unless I am sitting there with her the whole time. Anyway, Brookleyn likes to stand on the back of the walker and have Sasha give her a ride on it. They both seem to like it.

Last set of pictures before we got her

This last set was emailed to us on September 8th, less than a week before we left to get her. I don't know the date they were taken.