Clairey Turns Eight!!!

Clairey, Clairey, Clairey.  I can't believe what a little lady you are turning into.  I could have never imagined how big you would eventually be.  It really is surreal how fast this is all happening.  You used to be this sweet, little, curious baby and now you are a beautifully confident and amazing eight year old little girl.  I am so proud of you and I am having the time of my life watching you learn and grow.

As you continue growing taller, I realize that we are getting closer to the day where you will be able to look me in the eyes.  Your shoes are getting so big that at first glance, I often mistake them for my own.  Your taste in clothing is becoming more sophisticated.  It hurt me the other day when we went through your pajama drawer to donate pajamas that didn't fit and you wanted to get rid of all of your Disney Princess pajamas!  You used to LOVE those princesses!  You had birthday parties themed around them, you wanted to go see them in Disneyland, you loved wearing their pretend high heels around the house.   I find it spectacular (and a bit sad, too) to watch your interests change. 

These days, I see you struggle to hold onto the things you loved as a small child while you simultaneously branch out and try new things.  For some reason, I am thrown back to the scene from Toy Story 2 where the little girl named Emily casts her favorite toy Jesse aside for more mature toys.  You have a huge zipper bag of Littlest Pet Shops in your room and it just makes me so happy to see you play with them.  (I know now that their days are numbered.)  You will line them up and play with them for an hour.  Then, no sooner will you switch gears and listen to Miley Cyrus or some other current singer on your CD player.  I love this balance about you.  You are doing an amazing job of holding onto the old while discovering the new.

Yesterday, you asked me if you could go and get your haircut.  You pulled your long hair up to the length that you wanted it to be and then admired yourself in the mirror.  You are so confident and I really do believe that you love yourself inside and out which is every parents dream.  I love your new haircut.  Although it does make you look so much older, I think you look so beautiful and you are just glowing.

This year it was hard to figure out what to get you since you are growing and changing so much!  We couldn't help but get you things we knew you would love.  A few of your favorites were the Webkinz plush toys, Littlest Pet Shop figures, and this pack of 200 eraser toys that you and your siblings adore.  My favorite thing I got you were size 12 panda footie pajamas.  You are so tall but look absolutely adorable in them!  I still remember when my Mom got me a lavender pair when I was about your age.

Clairey, you are just so much fun.  We loved taking you to Benihanas tonight.  We loved watching you order what you wanted and loved watching you enjoy the show they put on in front of you.  You just loved every minute of it!   We came home and sang Happy Birthday to you with your favorite cake (yellow cake with homemade chocolate frosting).  You made a wish and even though I promised I wouldn't tell anyone what you wished for- you wouldn't tell me.  Good for you!  What I loved the most was that at the end of the night, you came over to me and said 'thank you' from what I believe was the bottom of your heart.  You recognized every effort Dad and I made to make your birthday the best it could be and told me how lucky you were to have me as your Mom.  I know you are the one that is supposed to receive gifts on your birthday, but that compliment is the greatest gift I could have ever asked for today.  We love you Claire.  Happy 8th Birthday!

Claire's Cute Haircut

Claire has been telling me lately that she wants to get her hair cut short.  I love that she has a feeling about how she wants to look and and is ready to try something new.  I love long hair.  I like it on me, and I like it on Claire.  However, after inspecting her hair- it really is too long.  It doesn't have to be that long, just longish.  All of my sisters and I had long hair growing up.  In fact, we still all have long hair.  Years back- some of us tried shorter cuts but we all have hair below our shoulders.  Claire just wanted to have her hair cut below her shoulders and it was ridiculous not to try it!

The night before her birthday, Claire and I went out to get the much anticipated cut!  She was so giddy and I was happy for her to be getting something she dreamed up.  When the hair dresser told me that she was going to cut off five inches I couldn't believe it!  Claire did not need all that hair and as it slowly came off, I saw her beautiful face peek out from all the hair that was hiding it before!  As the woman cut her hair, the smile on Claire's face was unbelieveable.  She felt beautiful.  She felt different.  She loved it.  I am a sap.  No way around this.  But to see my daughter feeling beautiful was something I can't describe.  We all want our children to be confident and feel good about themselves.  To see Claire feel this way moved me beyond words.  I am so happy she loves her new haircut.  I think it is a great way to start year number nine!

Barf-O-Rama

I am not so sure I have the strength to write this post.  The memory of this illness might haunt me for a long time!  I pushed and pushed last week in order to keep life moving at it's normal chaotic pace while also getting things ready for Claire's big 8th birthday party.  I pushed through the party and afterwards, collapsed in a chair with a sleeping Emily to watch a little television.  I didn't feel great but I had eaten a lot at the party so I just thought I had a tummy ache.  Nope.  11:30 p.m., I am awoken from a dead sleep with that dreaded feeling.  I was going to throw up.  I gave Emily to Damien and sure enough over the next three hours, I threw up three times.  I prayed no one else would get it.  So much for that. 

Damien left for New York Monday morning and it took me all day to finally feel rid of the flu.  Tuesday morning on the way to drop off Matthew at school, Emily barfs in her carseat.  I hoped it was just an isolated incident but by the time I had gotten home she was ready to throw up again.  Awesome!  Home alone with four kids on the precipice of stomach flu!  Doesn't get much better that that!  Emily did pretty well and thankfully- she rallied so I could get things ready for St. Matthew's Day that night.  The house was quiet for a few days and I thought maybe the others wouldn't get it!  Wouldn't that be awesome?  Funny how that didn't happen, either.

Wednesday afternoon, Damien got back from New York.  I was relieved to have help!  That night, I made a delicious pasta with scallops.  At dinnertime, Michael said he wasn't hungry and at 6:30 p.m. he started throwing up.  He threw up all night but was pretty in control.  At 11:00 p.m. I heard a familiar splat sound and knew exactly what it was.  I went in the bathroom to help Michael- but it wasn't Michael in there.  Poor Clairey had woken up from a dead sleep and amazingly made it into the bathroom.  Two more kids had bit the dust.  Were we done or would the fun continue?

Michael and Claire missed school on Thursday and Friday.  Saturday they felt great and played in their soccer games.  On the way to Michael's game- Damien complained that he didn't feel well.  Two hours later, it was confirmed that Damien was this flu's fifth victim. 

Then, we waited for sweet Matthew to fall down with the flu.  For more than a week- this flu was in our home.  Gross.  I just wanted Matthew to get it so we could be done with it.  We waited and waited and waited and you know what?  Matthew never got it!  Our very own Superman managed (with his super powers) to not get the stomach flu!  Finally, we caught a break.  I told a few people that I think the biggest downside to having so many kids is that there a lot of people in this house to pass colds and flus to.  We survived this one and can't believe Matthew escaped what seemed like certain doom. 

Saint Matthew's Day

It's that time of year again!  Saint Matthew's Day!  Matthew has been a little bit jealous of Claire's fast approaching birthday.  However, when he found out that Saint Matthew's Day was coming, he forgot all about his jealousy!  Our family is in a crazy place right now.  (More to come on that in the next post.)  I thought the day was going to be lost on us but thankfully, things turned around!  Damien is in New York on a business trip so it was just me, my Dad on the phone, and the kids who got to celebrate with little Matthew!

Matthew loved going to Baskin Robbins earlier that day to pick out his ice cream cake (cookies and cream).  He couldn't wait for his big celebration!  We called Grandpa and everyone sang Matthew a nice little rendition of 'Happy Saint Matthew's Day' and he loved it.  Then, he got to open the gifts that Grandpa got him!  First, was a Toy Story pop up tent that has a tunnel attached and a little tent where Emily and Matthew will surely spend a lot of time together!  Then he got a huge Sponge Bob Square Pants Lego Set!  Matthew has been drooling over this Lego set in the stores so when he opened it- he just about died!  He had to wait for Daddy to come back from New York to build it because Mommy likes to let Daddy build the Legos.  We all have to have roles here, you know.  A HUGE thank you again to my Dad who is just the best.  We love you Grandpa!

St. Christopher's Parish Picnic

I love not only the school community at St. Christopher's but the parish community, as well.  It is such a wonderful group of people who are so willing to support both the church and the school.  There are tons of people who volunteer and organize both school and parish events that are just so spectacular.  Growing up, my school/church (Holy Family) had such amazing festivals, picnics, and parties.  It is a tough act to follow but St. Chris meets and even surpasses it in many ways. 

The Parish Picnic is a fantastic event that is usually held in a big park and has so much to offer the families in attendance!  We missed last years picnic and were excited to see the picnic in it's new location at Kelley Park (next to Happy Hollow).  It starts with an outdoor Mass for all the families and people in attendance and immediately rolls over into an awesome barbecue lunch.

The kids love it because all of their friends are there and they get to run around and try all the goodies and activities.  All you pay is a flat family rate which I think was $35 and the whole family has access to an unlimited amount of BBQ lunch (complete with awesome sides), sodas, snow cones,cookies, cotton candy, popcorn, fun in the jumpy houses, face painting, balloons from a balloon maker, stress balls made from a juggler and more! 

This year, Damien entered his famous (at least they are to me) chocolate chip walnut cookies.  I believe he officially named them Worth the Wait Chocolate Chip Cookies.  His recipe is fashioned after Mrs. Fields and these special cookies bake for twenty-two minutes instead of the regular nine to eleven minutes- hence the name.  I am saddened to report that he didn't win first, second or third!  All the cookies were auctioned off and wouldn't you know who had to buy the first place cookies to try them.  Our entire family agreed that Damien was robbed.  I am not being biased here.  I was not a fan of the number one cookies. 

Michael and Claire had such a great time.  They battled in the tug-o-war competition as well as competed in the three legged race.  Emily was super tired and fussy so we needed to leave before the watermelon eating contest which did not go over well with them!  I am so happy to be part of a parish/school community that makes us feel at home and supported.  My kids look forward to this picnic year round and they are already talking strategy for the competitions now!  Damien says he officially retires from the cookie baking contest.  Only time will tell if he can hold out!

Claire's 8th Birthday Party

Claire had her 8th birthday party today and she had the best time!  This was the first time we didn't invite every girl in the class because it is just too many girls in one place!  There are two classes per grade at St. Christopher and between 2A and 2B, there are forty-four girls in second grade!  We had all of them over last year for Claire's party and as soon as they were all here and running around the house and yard, we knew that we were WAY out numbered!  So this year, I told Claire that she could invite twenty girls.  This was hard for Claire and for me, too.  It is so much easier to invite all the girls because then there are no hurt feelings.  But due to the massive amounts of girls in her class, we had to do it this way.

Claire loves to have her party at the house.  When I was her age, I did too.  My Mom and Dad were amazing with at-home parties.  They always went the extra mile and I used to be so proud to have my friends come over and celebrate with me!  Claire decided that she wanted the theme of her party to be 'Dinner & A Movie".  I thought that was a fantastic idea!!!  After sending out the invite, seventeen girls said they could come!  That is still a big number but much better than the year before.

We started her party off with a craft.  These girls are so good at focusing on a project so we knew that part of the three hour party would include something crafty.  Claire and I decided to make journals for the girls.  I covered composition books with fabric and then at the party, the girls got to mod podge on a title, little paper polka dots, and yellow and diamond jewels.  They had a blast doing this!  This would also serve as their take home favor.  I knew the girls would like this craft but I was surprised how into it they were!  I had pre-sorted their own polka dots and jewels as well as their title card.  They really took their time to achieve the look they wanted.  When their parents came to pick them up at the end of the party, you should have seen how proud the girls were to show their parents what they had made!

Once we were done with the journals, we had the girls fill out their very own dinner menu (picked by Claire).  They put their name on their menu and then went down the list of possibilities and checked what they wanted.  We told them that during the movie- we would come and hand deliver each girl their own customized dinner.  This idea was a huge hit and they asked if we could have a dinner party every Saturday night!  We brought the girls into the family room where they settled into to watch the movie.  Claire and I had decided on the Lindsay Lohan version of The Parent Trap.  It is such a cute, age-appropriate movie for these girls.  I was just hoping none of them knew anything about what Lohan was up to these days! 

The girls made it one hour and forty-five minutes through the two hour movie before they needed to move around.  How brilliant is it to have a movie at a birthday party?  We had a lot of time where we just stood around thinking this was just too easy!  The girls burst into the backyard where they played with all the toys and eventually battled each other in a few games of Simon Says.  Then came the cupcakes!  Claire was just so giddy when the girls sang to her. She enjoyed every minute of it and really felt the love from her friends. 

When the party was over- we were so relieved.  The last twenty minutes, (about the time the sugar has fully set in) are always the hardest!  The girls were running around everywhere and just so energized.  The parents seem to come all at once and before we knew it- they were all gone!  We were so blessed to have Heavenly here helping out tonight.  She was amazing.  She helped with Emily and also helped keep the girls focused and entertained.  We couldn't have done it without her help!  Claire, Emily, Matthew, Damien, Heavenly and I sat down and enjoyed the stillness of the house and watched Claire open her plethora of gifts.  We are so lucky to have a daughter like Claire.  She is loving, responsible, silly, beautiful, fun, compassionate, creative, and we are so insanely proud of her.  We love you Clairey and hope you had a great 8th birthday party!

Emily is 15 Months Old

Emily had her fifteen month check-up today.  It amazes me how fast she is growing.  Lately, when I look at her- I see a little girl emerging.  The little baby that was seemingly in my arms yesterday isn't easy to be found.  She has turned into a full fledged toddler!  She walks, she runs, she babbles, she knows what she wants, she thinks she has it all figured out!  And for the most part- she does!

Personality wise these days, Emily is a super happy baby.  She is content most of the time and smiles and laughs all day long!  Since she was a baby, she was never a real crier.  She is tough, tough, tough and even when she falls and bites the dust- she just gets up and keeps moving.  When she falls and cries, you know she is really hurt.  She is strangely strong.  In fact, when she is sitting on the floor, she never uses her hands to get up!  When I show people this, they can't believe it!  She lifts heavy things and tries to carry them to me- grunting all the way.  I think she is a little brute and I have taken to calling her Brutus from time to time.  She is just crazy!

Emily understands rules and boundaries most of the time but that doesn't mean that she will adhere to them.  She knows I told her not to ruin Matthew's lego ship but can't help herself.  She is so interested in her siblings that she can't help but get into their things and want to do what they are doing!  She knows she shouldn't hit but can't keep her big paws away from us.  I feel like I am telling her all day, Emily, don't hit.  Be nice.  So what she will do is come and hit you and then immediately try and be nice and pet you like you would pet a kitty.  It is too much.  I will say that poor Matthew bears the brunt of her hitting.  Thank goodness, he is so calm and in control and doesn't give her what she has coming!  I am hoping if I stay on her about the hitting- that it will subside. 

At her check up, Emily weighed in at 30 pounds, 3 ounces.  Holy moly!  That is two pounds heavier than Matthew or Claire at this age!  She is 33 3/4 inches tall which puts her well above the 10oth percentile in both weight and height.  Her pediatrician thinks both of these measurements are perfect because they balance one another.  If she was over 100 percent in one category and 60th in another- then he said we would have to look deeper.  She got a shot and was as brave as she could be about it. 

Emily is all over the place in our house.  She climbs EVERYTHING and is doing things none of my other kids attempted.  Think pulling open the bottom oven door, climbing the ladder to the bunk beds, climbing and then standing on top of our patio table outside, jumping on the kids beds, and the list goes on and on.  Luckily, she is pretty safe with her exploration but my goodness!  One other crazy thing is that she gave up the pluggie!  All the other kids used it until they were three but she decided one day, Nope, not taking it.  

One of her major obsessions are shoes.  She LOVES to wear shoes!  When we go shopping at Target and pass the shoe department, she will lift her legs up in the shopping cart and wiggle her feet so I will notice her and let her try some shoes on!  She loves to wear Matthew's shoes and slippers as well as wear many different pairs of her own shoes each day. 

Emily is able to communicate her needs to us pretty darn well.  Some of her words right now are Mom, Mama, Dad, Dada, Muh-muh (Matthew), Teh (Claire), Muh (Michael), boo (balloon), num num (food), moon, bye bye.  There a lot more but this blog has to stop somewhere!  She can mimic most everything we say (attempt to, at least) and if we don't understand, she wants to show us what she means.  If I ask her who my baby is, she will respond ya-ya (I am).  She loves to go through the different animals and make their sound.  My favorite right now is her snake sound.  If she doesn't squeal like she is afraid of it she will blow air out her nose.  It's funny because it does make the S sound of a snake.  She is just a doll. 

She is still fearless and loves when Damien sits her on top of the fridge.  We have a hilarious video of Matthew and Emily up there and it is so funny to see Matthew begging to get off and Emily refusing to budge!  Who does she think she is?  (So help me God if she ever finds a way to climb up there herself.)  Her hair is still so curly.  I absolutely LOVE it! Her bangs are still in her eyes so her hair is pulled back most of the time. 

Funniest comment this month about Emily came from Matthew.  Because she does bully him quite a bit, he got frustrated and looked at me and said, "I don't want a baby anymore.  Do you know why we have a baby, Mom?  Because you ORDERED one!"  I don't blame him.  Because these two are home a lot together when Michael and Claire are at school, she has no one else to bug!  But don't be fooled.  Matthew LOVES his baby sister.  I know they will continue to be good friends for the rest of their lives!

Emily loves her siblings.  One day when Michael was at school, she brought me over to his pajama drawer and showed me his shirt.  She let me know she wanted to wear it.  When Michael came home- he thought it was hysterical!  She is so full of love.  Emily is a beautiful and wonderful little girl.  Although at times I do wish she would stop being so daring and fearless- I really wouldn't want her any other way.  Okay, maybe she could stop playing in the toilet water, but everything else is okay with me.  Fifteen months, Emily.  That is such a big milestone for a very big girl.  We love you so much and promise to enjoy you each and every day! 

Connections to SCU

We love taking the kids back to campus.  It is even more thrilling that they feel a connection there because they love it- not just because Mommy and Daddy went to school there.  What is even more awesome is that there are tons, and I mean tons, of parents at St. Christopher's that are alumni of Santa Clara University!  That means that a lot of Claire and Michael's friends are familiar and bonded with SCU, too!

Today, Claire had a playdate with her friend, Lauren.  Her Mom went to school there when Damien and I were there back in 1994-1998.  It was fun to watch the two girls share their SCU stories and it was even better to watch them find their family pavers that make up the walkway to the new library.  Both of our families participated in a fund raiser to help the school and in return, we each got to inscribe a paver with whatever we wanted.  They love that our names will be there forever!

Michael wasn't able to join us today because he was on a playdate of his own!  We thought of him as we ran around the fountain, visited the campus bookstore, and visited my dear friend and former boss, Karrie Grasser.  She is still heading up all major events at SCU and is such an important part of the SCU family.  A special thanks to Karrie for giving the kids fun SCU visors!  We can't wait to go visit again.  It is just so beautiful.  We feel at home there and I suspect we always will.

Matthew Starts Preschool!

This is another moment where I am thinking to myself, How did this happen?  My sweet Matthew is starting preschool.  Three kids in school.  Such a far cry from my life when they were all home with me at the same time.  Sigh.  Matthew is SO ready.  He has been shadowing Michael and Claire for years now and asking lately when he could start school.  Well, there was no going back now.  Matthew started school!

I went back and forth when deciding where to send Matthew.  I love Ballard Montessori because Michael and Claire had the best time there and they were so prepared for Kindergarten.  But it is a little farther from my house than some of the other preschools.  I looked at a few other schools but ultimately, they all fell short.  I was happy to make the right decision and feel 100% about it.  The teachers and staff there are just wonderful!

An awesome surprise to me (and Matthew, too) was that my really good friend Karen decided to send her son to Ballard as well!  When I committed to Ballard, I had no idea she would eventually send her son Luke there so this was icing on my cake!  Luke and Matthew have been around each other since they were born and Karen and her husband Brian have been our friends since college!  We got the boys together before the first day of school to bond them further and hopefully lessen the anxiety on their first day!

We went to a short orientation day (the day before the official first day) and stayed with the boys as they toured the school and completed a scavenger hunt for items and important places in their classroom.  They had a blast!  I really wanted Matthew to be comfortable and transition well.  It was good to see all of the teachers and staff that taught/nurtured Michael and Claire for the three years we spent at Ballard.  The boys left happy and everything was in place for them to start school the next day!

We arrived a little early on the first day to give Matthew time to adjust.  Daddy, Emily and I brought Matthew to school and were so happy that he was starting school!  Matthew acted like one of the cool kids on the playground and walked confidently around and played with Luke before the bell rang.  A few minutes later, the teacher rang the bell and the kids lined up to walk into their respective classrooms.  Matthew waved goodbye and smiled as they stood in line.  Then, the line moved and Matthew's mood changed. 

His smile slowly fell into a look of fear and as he bravely walked with his friends.  When the line walked past me, he whispered in a panic, 'Mom, come with me!'.  I told him he was fine and to have fun on his first day.  As the line of new schoolers continued toward his classroom, Matthew stopped and stared at me.  He was red faced and nervous.  Reality had set it.  He had to leave his Mommy.  Luckily, Luke was there to help nudge him into the room and as we peered into the classroom, tears running off Matthew's chubby cheeks, we saw his friend Luke get up and give Matthew a tissue.  Luke sat next to him in circle time and kept looking to see if he was okay.  Matthew sat still, trying to to let anyone know he was crying- even though it was hard to miss.

It donned on me that I have never left Matthew with anyone that wasn't family!  He wanted to start school but hadn't thought through it enough to realized that even though I warned him I was going to drop him off and leave- that I was actually going to leave!  What a sweetheart.  My heart was breaking but I knew that Matthew had to figure this one out.  Sure enough, when E, Papa, Mommy, Daddy, and Emily picked him up- he was all smiles!  He did it!  He survived his first day of school!

After his big day, we took him out to lunch and celebrated his BIG accomplishment.  He wanted to sit with me at lunch and didn't want me to go anywhere.  Oh, my little Matthew.  He acts so mature, so in control, so much older in so many situations but in the situation where he had to leave his Mommy and Daddy, he acted like the little three year old that he is.  We love you buddy and are so proud of you.  Big School Boy Matthew.  We still can't believe it.

P.S.  Matthew calls onion rings, chicken rings.  It is so funny!