Christmas 2010

Santa treated us well and we enjoyed a wonderful day with family. Here is a virtual copy of our card (front and back) for anyone we might have missed. Merry Christmas from Chez Scoville!

Three

Ian is three. I really can't believe how much a child can grow in three short years. His three year well-check appointment was very similar to last year. He froze into a silent statue for the duration of the visit. He was too shy to answer any of the doctor's questions, and only nodded in response. I had to reassure the doctor several times that Ian is a social chatterbox at home, and has been talking in sentences since 18 months. As the doctor walked out the door and said goodbye, Ian blurted out an expressionless "Happy-Thanksgivings-Merry-Christmas" as quickly and quietly as he could. That was the only thing he said the whole appointment. And as usual, no crying with the shots.

Interesting tidbits about Ian:

-He has been sleeping in the TOP bunk since he was 26 months old.

-He gets very silly/giddy when tired, but never cranky.

-He talks a lot, and narrates most of our day.

-He likes to throw in as many words as he can. For example, instead of saying "I'm hungry", he says, "mom, uh, I think it must be time for lunch or something".

-He loves to skip, gallop and dance.

-He loves to eat, and will eat just about anything.

-He knows the alphabet pretty well.

-He loves to take showers. As soon as he hears it running he quickly strips down and jumps in with whoever happens to be in there.

-A couple months before he turned three, I caught him standing on the kitchen table and peeing into his cereal bowl. I commenced with potty training immediately and it was a quick, fairly painless process.

Ian loves to make connections and ask questions. A couple weeks ago he came to me and said, "uh, mom...do you have a belly button?" When I answered in the affirmative, he asked if he could see it. I acquiesced. Then he said, "You have a belly button, Ava has a belly button, Max has a belly button, and Ian has a belly button...but daddy doesn't. He just has a hole." He is always coming up with little anecdotes that make us laugh.

His three year stats:

weight: 32 lbs (65th%)

height: 39 inches (84th %)

He is a very sweet, smart, affectionate boy with a huge helping of naughty. I could write pages about the damage he has done to our personal property with crayons and scissors. Pages. I am so curious to see what he will be like when he grows up.

big girl

I don't remember the last time Ava crawled, it's been a few weeks. As soon as she figured out how to get back up, crawling became a quickly forgotten pastime. She has been sick for the past two days and screams if I so much as think about putting her down. But when she heard the word "outside" while Max was coaxing Ian out to play, she wiggled out of my tired arms and made a dash for the back door. I peeked out the door at the thermometer on the patio to make sure she would be ok without shoes on, and it said 86 degrees! Pretty wild weather for December, even for Arizona.

13 months of pure sweetness

Ava started taking lots of steps right after I posted that she wasn't interested in walking. Well, she is definitely interested. She would be a full-time walker if she could figure out how to get back up after she falls. She walks for 10-20 steps, falls...and then crawls. Right after she turned 12 months she got brave enough to start taking steps. She took 2-3 steps, stopped, and started clapping and squealing out of excitement. The momentum from the clapping would knock her over. Every time. It was so cute.

Today I went into our room to talk to J-P while he was working, and I put Ava down to play (pull books out of the bookcase). She wobbled over to J-P as fast as she could and jumped right into his lap for a good long snuggle. It was so sweet. I really love having such a sweet snuggler. Although all three of them are pretty good snugglers these days. Some days I wish they would never grow up.

thankful

Lately I have been really happy. Bursting-at-the-seams happy. All the time. Life is a party. Nothing can get me down (knock-on-wood). Really though, it's how I'm feeling. Life is good. And I am really happy. Did I already mention that? Among the things bolstering my fantastic mood: sunny arizona skies, an abundant garden, healthy children, good food (I am getting better at baking gluten-free every day), my new breakmaker (that has a gluten-free cycle and makes my life SO much easier--hooray!), designing Christmas cards, anticipating spending time with family and friends over the holidays.

I really love this time of year. Especially in Arizona where it's just cold enough to pull out the down comforter, wear cute sweaters, and drink hot chocolate (I have recently invented the best dairy-free/sugar-free recipe by-the-way), but not cold enough to cause bodily pain. Yes, the cold is painful to me. I really love the year-round growing season in Arizona. And I can't wait for our lemons and oranges to ripen. In my garden right now: basil, cucumbers, napa cabbage, swiss chard, bok choy, beets, cilantro, green onions, tomatoes, lettuce, and kale, and yellow peppers. It's only taken me five years here to figure out what grows best in the fall. Hooray for fresh garden pesto in November! Like I said, life is good. So much to be thankful for at chez scoville.

Family Pictures

We had my talented friend Rachel (click for her blog) take our family pictures this year. We took them in an old pecan grove. She was very patient with our boys who, upon finding themselves in a magical forest, just wanted to run around and play with sticks. I am the most indecisive person in the world, and changed Ava's and my outfit about at least 10 times before we left. I won't tell you how many dresses I bought and then took back, it's embarrassing. I even enlisted the style help of my friend Chelsea, but didn't have time to purchase all of her suggestions. Ironically, I ended up putting Ava in an old sweater I found at a thrift store months ago. Right before we left I decided to make her some flower brooches because her outfit needed a little something (never mind that my outfit needed much more help). J-P did a pretty good job of not rolling his eyes during all the wardrobe changes and hot gluing. We had a lot of fun, and the pecan grove was amazing. Thanks Rachel!

More pictures on flickr.

new bikes + park day

We spent most of Ian's birthday bike shopping and going on a bike ride to the park. My parents were in town and the weather couldn't have been more perfect. Fall in Arizona is lovely. I'm not sure who is more thrilled about the new bikes, the boys or their father. I'm sure he is counting down the days until they can go on real rides with him. On the way home from church today, we were talking about the new bikes and Max said, "yeah, now all I need is a bike outfit". No doubt referring to his father's spandex cycling ensembles. J-P and I couldn't stop laughing.

moose party

My sweet little Eanie Bean turned three. I have been asking him for the last month what kind of party he wanted to have, and EVERY time his response was the same: I want a green moose party! I had no idea how he knew what a moose was. I was sure he had it confused with another animal. Every time I asked him what present he wanted, his response was the same: a moose wrapped in a box. I looked and looked and couldn't find a toy moose anywhere. I would wait a couple days and ask him again, hoping he would forget about the moose. He never did. His moose excitement grew, as did my perplexity concerning his moose enthusiasm.

One day I was deep cleaning his bedroom, and I found a small toy moose under his bed (pictured above). I quickly remembered that we picked it out of the grab-bag section at goodwill months ago. That was the last time I had seen it. I found Ian and said, "look what I found!" With the most exuberant little smile I have ever seen, he exclaimed "my MOOSE!!!!!" I had no idea he had such an affinity for moose.

My hopes of planning a fabulous green moose party didn't come to fruition, as we have been really busy and had family in town. On the afternoon of his birthday, I started making his cupcakes. He looked around the room and said "mom, where's my flags?" He was referring to the last minute birthday banners that I usually throw together for birthdays. I quickly pulled out every last sheet of greenish paper and did the best I could. Max and Grandpa walked to walgreens to pick up some party supplies and candles (thanks grandpa!), and we pulled off the green moose party before the day was over. One of these days I'll get my ducks in a row and be able to plan ahead. Ian's cousin Braden gave him a stuffed moose (from his personal collection), and his smile/expression when he opened it was the most priceless thing ever. My camera wasn't fast enough to capture it. I don't think I've ever seen him so happy.

Happy Birthday Ian, we love you!

typical day

I love this picture because it captures a typical day here at chez scoville. Ian, who I can never keep clothes on (he has to take them ALL off every time he goes to the bathroom, then never takes the time to put them back on). Max, who puts a polo shirt on backwards every day. He then argues that he has it on the right way, and that my idea of putting the buttons in the front is wrong. Some days I can convince him, some days I don't bother. Both boys always with a sword or a shovel in their hand. If not they have a kitchen utensil that they are pretending is a sword or a shovel. A good portion of our silverware is strewn around the backyard. And then there is Ava, always following her brothers and trying to get in the middle of the action. Laughing at their shenanigans, and then screaming loudly when they abandon her.

Today Max was unfolding dinner napkins and placing them in a strategic pile on his bedroom floor. When I asked him what he was doing, he replied "oh, I'm just making a bed for the next time someone brings us a baby." It was really cute. Feeling relieved that he is still too young for the 'where babies come from' speech, I said "Huh. Do you want someone to bring us a baby?" He smiled and said "yeah". If only it were that easy!

Tonight I started to help Max with a project he has to do for preschool. He has to make a poster showing his favorite color, place, what he wants to be when he grows up, etc. I don't ever think to ask him these questions (except his fav. color, which changes daily), and I was really surprised by his responses, and by the fact that he happily yelled out each answer immediately without even taking one second to think it over. I thought I would post the answers here so I don't forget what he said.

My favorite color: pink and gray

My favorite food: chicken meatballs

My favorite place: the playground

My favorite animal: elephants and horses

When I grow up, I want to be: a missionary

My favorite thing to do: (i already forgot what he said for this--will post edit)

If I had one wish, I would wish for: a star

He is growing up so fast.

12 months

Our sweet little sugar plum (what daddy calls her) is a whole year old. Her personality has blossomed and she is definitely sugar and spice and everything nice. She is the sweetest, best snuggler and would prefer to spend much of her day with her limbs wrapped tight around you like a monkey and her head rested on your shoulder. She give the BEST hugs ever. To be sure. But only if she knows you. Otherwise she will wiggle and scream her way back to familiar arms. She has the worst separation anxiety of the three. The boys never really had it.

She loves to play with her brothers. She can growl and roar and vroom cars. When she sees the boys she shrieks, yells, points and says "bro-bro". They are her favorite people. She also loves her "da da". Most of the time. The other day she was particularly clingy (teething) and wouldn't go to J-P at all. She shook her head vigorously and put a vice grip around my neck when I tried to pass her off. J-P attempted all of his sweet talk to lure her away, but nothing worked. It wasn't until he said "Ava, do you want to go outside and go down the slide?", that she jumped out of my arms and flung herself in his direction. Needless to say, going down the slide is her favorite thing to do. She is our first adventurous child.

Although she is a skilled climber, she has no interest in walking. She has taken as many as five steps, and can stand for long periods of time. I am hoping she walks soon, partly because she is wearing out all her pants, but also because I am so excited for her to wear the cute shoes I have bought. I'll admit it. She is saying a few words. "Mom, Da da, uh-oh, bro-bro (brother), this, that," Today she was walking along the cabinets in the kitchen, and when she got to the oven door she patted it twice and with a big smile said "hot!" She also says "hi" when talking on her play phone.

Her stats:

height: 31 inches (95%)

weight: 20 pounds (25%)

head: 18 inches (65%)

I had no idea she was so light. She is the same size that Max was at four months. Exactly heavy enough to turn her carseat around. Phew.

Halloween 2010

My favorite thing about Halloween in Arizona is that nobody has to wear a coat over their costume. It's perfectly pleasant outside. I remember freezing every year in Washington as a kid. I could barely feel my toes when I got home. This year I made the costumes. I ran out of time and didn't get a top made for Ava's witch costume. I shouldn't have spent a big chunk of the afternoon figuring out how to sew her felt hat and velvet flower embellishment, because she wore it for a total of two seconds. Oh well. It was my first time sewing a tutu and leggings. Tutus are much harder than they look. No wonder everyone just ties strips of tulle on elastic. The boys play "pirates" every day, so I figured their costumes could double as dress-up clothes.

Ava's Tea Party

One of my biggest fears in life was that I would never have a daughter. I wanted one so badly. Since the day I saw her kicking around in the ultrasound, I have been the happiest girl in the world. I love my boys dearly, but there is something special about having a girl. Right after I brought her home from the hospital I was stung by a scorpion. My immediate thought was, "I finally had a girl, and now I am going to die. I knew this was too good to be true."

I have always loved all things feminine. Some of my happiest childhood memories are smelling the soaps and lotions that my dad brought me from Crabtree and Evelyn after business trips, and flipping through the pages of Victoria magazine that my grandma always got me a subscription for. I have been dreaming of planning the perfect tea party my whole life. I knew that Ava's first birthday would be my first chance to have one. I was hoping to pull off something 'a la Marie Antoinette' complete with a vintage vibe and glittery butterflies.

But alas Ava's first birthday came and went, and nary a thought was put towards planning a party. Life has been too busy. Last night I decided I would regret not planning a pretty party to celebrate one of the happiest years of my life, so I ran to the dollar store to buy some pink tablecloths. Then I ran to Costco and bought flowers. I woke up this morning, polished my thrift store silver, and pulled out my dusty tea cups. Then I pulled out my cookbook and picked three recipes at random. I only had to run to the store for eggs. We just invited family. Partly because last minute text message invitations violate etiquette, but also because I didn't want to force people to eat our dairy-free, gluten-free food.

The Menu: chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting, banana cupcakes with maple vanilla frosting, chocolate chip scones with fresh raspberries, chocolate covered strawberries, and meringues. Hot apple cider, sparkling lemonade, Martinelli, and San Pellegrino to drink.

Happy Birthday to my sweet, beautiful little girl. We love you to pieces.

(more pics on flickr)