Tanner Clan

Green Apple Muffins with Carmel Topping

2012-01-24T16:24:00.001-08:00

So I created these tonight and they turned out really good. Really Good.

Muffins

Ingredients

1/4 Cup Sugar

1/4 Cup Butter

1 Egg

1/2 Cup Plain Yogurt

3/4 Cup Water

4 cups baby Spinach leaves blended

2 1/2 Cups Whole wheat flour

1 Tablespoon Baking Powder

1 tsp Salt

1 tsp Cinnamon

2 Apples diced

Directions

Whip Butter and Sugar in Mixer, Add egg and beat until light and fluffy. Meanwhile in blender add 3/4 Cup water and fill up blender with spinach to about the 4 to 5 cup mark. Don't pack spinach. Blend until it's a green water mixture. Put the cookie paddle on the mixer. Add spinach water, yogurt, flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon to the butter sugar egg mixture. Mix using paddle until combined. Stir in the apples with a spoon. Spoon batter into muffin tins, fill 3/4 the way full and top with Carmel Crumble. Bake at 375 for about 15-17min.

Carmel Crumble

Ingredients

1/4 cup softened butter

1/4 cup flour

1/3 cup brown sugar

Beat with mixer; butter, flour, and brown sugar until crumbly.

* I use a white wheat, whole wheat flour. It has a very mild flavor. I grind it myself.

The now.

2012-01-12T16:55:00.000-08:00

I often get on my blog to feel some company. An adult voice. Something from someone else's life to distract me from my own. I look forward to reading a new post. Or hearing some good news. Some of the blogs I look at make me laugh out loud, and that's always nice.

Life is one continuous cycle at present. My days blurr together. The only thing that makes the days different is Ethan's pre-school on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I'm doing a rotating group with some friends. It's good. Ethan enjoys it.

Sometimes the cleaning up over and over, the cooking again and again, the bed time routine, the drama, feels never ending. Tedious, buggy. But deep down I know that what I am doing is making larger strides than I can see. The effects of continuous and consistent will be far greater than they feel at present.
Children take work! Hard Work! But I love it. I love the messy faces, the sleepy eyes, the little giggles, the pitter patter feet, the jumping off the couches, the yelling like Comanches, the cute voices, the amazement and wonder, the simple pleasures.
Like taking a walk, you can either focus on the ground in front of you, walk quickly and be done with it. Or you can see the geese flying above you, the new grass growing, the shiny rain drops from last nights storm still clinging to the dead leaves, the buds on the trees swelling.
Raising kids is kind of like that. It's only really enjoyable if you pay attention to the detail. Watching the cute way Mary scrunches up her nose. Or the way Cora eats her ice cream sandwich, a pinch at a time between her thumb and forefinger. Ethan, watching him play as he turns an ordinary car into a flying one, and then a talking one, and then a sleeping one.

When I pay attention to the detail -I really like this walk called Motherhood.

Deck Saturdays.

2012-01-08T16:56:00.000-08:00

Scott is re-doing our deck. He made a really great deal with our land lord and both parties are tickled to be getting a new deck. This is where Scott is every chance he gets. This is beginning demolition stages.

New Years

2012-01-08T16:35:00.000-08:00

We were able to go to New Jersey for New Year's. Ethan was able to see his best friend and cousin. These two boys get along great and they couldn't be happier together. Ethan mentions Jake daily. So he was so excited to go. It was fun to hang out with family because I always think that that is what the holidays are for. Family. And spending time with them. I feel blessed to have these people so close. It eases the pain of not seeing family too often.

Scott and his brother. These two are great friends. They grew up next to each other in a line of ten children. They know each other well. One of their favorite things to do is talk business ideas.

The trip was long, and the kids knew it so they were really good troopers. They did outstanding.

Yes, that is underwear on her head. So funny. I had to laugh at her ingenious of figuring this out all on her own. She has recently been potty trained--and is technically still in training. It has been a really long educational process for me this whole-potty training Cora thing. In fact I think that is just how raising this little cutesty will be. She is a tricky one. I get more frustrated with her than--hugugh--well anyone.
Because she is potty training she loves her underwear, and she loves to carry them around. So a long boring trip in the car made her inventive.

Ahhh this is how Mary travels and I love her for it!

I am looking forward to 2012 and have high expectations for how this year will go. I of course set some New Years goals. And have been trying to hit them hard. We'll see how it goes.

Christmas

2011-12-26T10:53:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas! Thank you everyone who made this year soo fun. We feel so blessed. Merry Christmas Everyone!

Holiday Goodies

2011-12-26T10:46:00.000-08:00

I decided to make yummy treat plates for all of the neighbors this year. Last year, I did cinnamon rolls, but I wanted to do something different this year. So these were the goodies. I've been enjoying the leftovers, and Mary loved helping me make them. The snowmen are Nutter Butter cookies dipped in vanilla candy melts. The brownies have Andes mints melted on top. And then in the back are "mock Almond Rocha's"--using saltines. Anyway I thought they turned out good. --But it's all stuff that I like so hopefully everyone else did too.

A Ginormous Post

2011-12-20T16:45:00.000-08:00

So, since I haven't posted anything since Thanksgiving, I thought I'd try to let you know the major happenings. The day after Thanksgiving we landed a nice laptop. Haven't you noticed I've been using my shift key? No more typing like a 14 year old. If you notice the old laptop pictured on the left, my absence of capital letters was not laziness, just simply the lack of a shift key. I'm happy to have a new computer.

Scott and I grew up hiking all over the mountains in zero degree weather, a foot of snow, and seven layers of clothing in search of the perfect Christmas Tree. It was so fun. Good memories and a good day in the woods. Funny though more often than not, our family always seemed to get the first tree we saw, you know the one closest to the car. I guess we just had to look at a few hundred others to make sure we were getting a good one. Living in the metropolis, our current family doesn't have that luxury. Can I call that a luxury? Anyway we still like to cut ours down, so we often drive about an hour away to a U-cut Christmas Tree Farm. This year we decided on a White Pine. I guess I should say I decided on a White Pine and Scott went along with it. I like the long needles and the different Christmas Tree look that it has. It's a fun change.

Here is the tree all decorated. Yes we have a one year old. Notice the lights sagging at the bottom and the lack of ornaments. Also this picture was taken today, after my trip. I was gone to Utah for five days. And Scott may have forgotten to water it a few times. So it may look a little droopy. But I'll have you all know I was doing really well at watering it. I remember last years needles and am terrified of a repeat.

Ethan with Santa. He was really excited this year. No tears like last year.

Cora with Santa.

Mary with Santa.

On a completely different topic. My brother Joseph asked this amazing girl to marry him back in September. Aren't they sooo cute.

So this last weekend I went to his wedding in Utah. They looked absolutely amazing. The wedding and reception were amazing. I think they are going to by a dynamite team. She is so great. And of course I think the world of Joseph.

I have to shout out to Scott and say THANK YOU. He took time off from work to watch Ethan and Cora so I could go to this event. I took Mary and she was a good little trooper. Traveling wasn't that bad. It was so fun to see family. I was glad to take all of my Christmas presents to everyone in my luggage. And it was good to take some home.

thanksgiving

2011-11-27T09:40:00.000-08:00

we had a great thanksgiving with some friends. i made the turkey, stuffing and gravy. and the turkey was juicy! which was so exciting for me. I've always had dry turkeys. the food was delicious all or our friends are great cooks.

we watched dad play an annual "turkey bowl."

and of course having dad home allowed for some great times. this is the "pull-us-on-the-blanket-game. this is where dad shines. our kids loved all the extra time they had with him.

she's already better than this..

2011-11-13T17:00:00.000-08:00

but i'll get some more video tomorrow. here's a few days ago.

Happy Birthday Mary

2011-11-13T16:43:00.000-08:00

I can't believe she's ONE! holy smokes. where did the time go. we had a great birthday today. yea! Mary of course loves to eat all foods, so it made it easy to make dinner and dessert. i did carrot cake for the dessert, because i thought she would really like it. she did. but then i think i could have mad anything.

Mary is an absolute delight. and so fun. she is so great to be around. she's mostly content. she wants to be included. she sleeps well, eats well, and plays well. she loves both of her siblings. but really loves on Ethan a lot. she loves her dad. daaadeeee. is her only word at present. she response well to music by dancing and singing. she wakes up first in the morning and yell until i go and get her. she likes to eat breakfast right away. she still takes two glorious naps. she walks, walks, walks, everywhere. today she was fantastic and barely fell at all. I'm so impressed with how well she does. she is actually my first child to walk by age one. Ethan and Cora were around 14 months.

i love you Mary!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday.

i have a four year old!

2011-11-13T16:24:00.000-08:00

Ethan wanted hot dogs for dinner and chocolate pie and chocolate ice cream for dessert. he was soo excited for his birthday this year. he kept saying, "my birthday is so close." he also informed me that he wanted three presents for his birthday. but thanks to his generous friends he had more than that.

Ethan is wonderful in every way. a perfect first child. he introduced us to parenting so smoothly. he was an easy baby. and a busy toddler. he is turning into a well behaved and curious little boy. he loves his sisters, and he helps his mom. he wants to be just like his dad. he is pretty darn responsible. and has always been very naturally obedient. he's so fun to be around. he's sensitive to how i feel. he will often ask. "mom, are you happy?" "mom, are you angry." "mom, why are you sad?" he's so great. i love him to pieces.

Happy Birthday Ethan! (November 12, 2011)

we got a little bit of snow

2011-11-01T17:20:00.000-07:00

Ethan and Cora had to check out the little bit of snow we got on Saturday. Ethan was so cute, when he saw it snowing outside he said in the most excited voice ever, "IT"S CHRISTMAS!!!!!!" i must admit i was really surprised, we usually don't get Snow this early. but it was fun to see. it didn't stay long.

Halloween

2011-11-01T17:11:00.000-07:00

we made ethan a Lightining McQueen costume.

and i found this cute cow costume for 1.50 at a thrift store. so cute. cora actually loved it.

my singing family.

2011-10-28T04:47:00.000-07:00

this is the song they are singing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTJSt4wP2ME

so cute!

thanks kirsten

2011-10-28T04:36:00.001-07:00

doesn't she look soo cute in you little outfit you gave her?

my brave ethan

2011-10-25T09:38:00.000-07:00

so Ethan had to recite a sentence at the main pulpit in church on Sunday. we got the letter in the mail about a month ago telling us that all of the children would be doing their own program for the main meeting, instead of regular speakers. the letter came with a line for Ethan to memorize and recite. "We build temples because God commands us to." --When i first told him he would be saying this line at the front of the church and dad, cora, mary and i would watch him from the stand he was completely terrified. He screamed and cried and sobbed uncontrollably--he kept saying he didn't want to say his part. I put him on the deck--which is the place where i put people with uncontrollable emotions. He cried for like 30 minutes. i bribbed him and tried to reason with him --to no avail. Finally i let him talk to his daddy on the phone. he came in gave me a hug and said. okay mom i'll do it. so we worked on it. we recited his part almost daily. we stood on the couch and on the table, we used cups, desitin containers, and fists for microphones. we memorized it. And I must admit on the day of the program i was a little worried--there is sooo many people watching--i thought he might freeze. but with complete confidence and clarity he stepped up to the microphone and proudly said, "We build temples because God commands us too." and then he stepped down and quietly went back to his seat. It was perfect. It turned out perfect. I am sooo proud of this little guy. He had a terrible fear and conquered it. Way to go ETHAN!

hair

2011-10-25T09:32:00.001-07:00

So it's darker than i thought it would be. almost black. but it'll fade. I've had plenty of interesting comments so far. my favorite, "did you color it for Halloween?" ha.

we just had poop success!!!

2011-10-25T09:28:00.000-07:00

yeah yess yes yes! i'm a total mom freak who is potty training right now. so the most pressing matter at hand is are we getting pee and poop in the toilet. and yes folks i'm proud to announce we are. after 4 days of holding back the number 2--we made it in with a splash. hooorahhh! now i don't know if this will guarantee complete success from here on out. but we pretty much have this thing mastered. and life couldn't feel lighter. i'm smiling again. and the number of hours i will have to sit by the bathroom and cheer, will significantly decrease from here on out. yea!

2011-10-23T07:38:00.001-07:00

SO the other night Scott and i were looking at some of the history on our blog. And i loved it! It's so fun to browse through. To see how much my kids change. I really need to make a book one of these days. We'll see. i have tried before, and I'm not a fan of how long it takes---it takes forever.
we've had a lot of recent happening.
at the beginning of October we went to Bethany beach again. this time with Scott's brother and family. we had a blast.
then my dear sister Mary sent me a check and told me to come out and visit her so i did. i took Mary Beth. i only refer to her as Mary Beth when I'm talking to or about my sister Mary. or i guess anytime we are at a reunion we call her Mary Beth, to distinguish her from Mary. Cora and Ethan went up to New Jersey and stayed with Scott's brother's family. they did and amazing job taking care of them for the week. Cora and Ethan loved it. and you know your children are in good hands when you miss them more than they miss you. thanks guys your awesome! i had a wonderful time with Mary. it was so fun to see her house in Colorado, and to see her life up close. thanks Mary.
i did get pink eye somehow while i was there, probably all the airport atmosphere. so i laid low when i got back and Cora decided that she wanted to wear Thomas underwear. so we have been dealing with potty training. which is by far one of the most challenging things to do as a mother. --in my opinion. mostly because you have to have this continually smile and positive attitude to encourage your child -even when you are cleaning up their poo and pee.
Mary is walking--crazy kid. she prefers to crawl but can take up to five steps in a row and has been able to for about three weeks now--she just won't take off. I'm still waiting for her to walk across the room. she has great balance and can stand in the middle of the room for however long she wants.
scott has his nose to the grind stone and loves it. ethan loves to ride his bike, he is learning quickly right now. he's into his letters. its great!
well that's an update.

ragnar

2011-09-29T09:09:00.000-07:00

getting ready to go.

finishing --scott ran the last leg, but the team ran the last 50yards together.

our team

i know i know. i've been needing to post forever. but...well...sometimes this small task seems daunting. i'm not quite sure why.

Scott and i participated in a Ragnar Relay event last weekend. it's a two day event, starting Friday morning and ending Saturday evening. teams of 12 run 200 miles from western Virginia to Maryland via Washington D.C. Each runner had three legs. the teams runners are continuous running all day, through the day, and into the next day.

my first leg was 5.4 miles. i ran up and down a mountain. i think the elevation climb was 1020ft. about the first 3 miles were up hill, and the last 2.4 were down. oh, and did i mention it was raining. (but better rain than the 100 degree weather they had last year.) my second leg started sometime around mid-night. it was 6.9 miles and seemed to go on forever. mostly because it was soo foggy my head light would only shine a little in front of me. the last leg i ran was 6.4 miles. and that was was completely flat in the nice cool morning, with no rain. but--it was the hardest! i just had nothing left to give. not an ounce of extra fuel anywhere. man oh man. i felt like i was running that one sooo slow, but i finished it in a little under and hour--so not too bad.

if any of you out there are contemplating doing a marathon, and feel that you can't make the time commitment to train for it---do a ragnar. it is just as emotionally and physically exhausting, but the amount of miles you put on your body during training is way less, and you don't have any of those 31/2 to 4 hour runs to do.

the reason i think the ragnar was hard--is because you don't get any sleep. we all got about 3 hours. which makes recovery on your muscles hard. so you don't have a ton of energy toward the end.

scott also ran the ragnar with me and did amazing. i can't believe how fast he is!! he runs around 8 to 81/2 minute miles. his legs were 7.3, 7.4, and 4.8.

i had a great time with my team. awesome people to spend two days in a car with!

the reunion

2011-09-14T16:53:00.000-07:00

My family (the Ericksons) had a reunion in Star Valley Wyoming over Labor day weekend. Star Valley has a special place in my heart. As a child this was my favorite place to go to. Hands down. If we had money to spend on a trip, this is where I wanted to go. This is where my parents would ship me off to in the summer for sometimes weeks to months at a time. This is where I learned to love to work. I changed "pipe." (Handlines of sprinker pipe) Where I participated in havesting hay. I spent many hours milking cows. Of course some of my tasks involved fixing fence, hearding cattle, weeding gardens, and much much more. And I loved it. And still do. My grandpa still has a few sprinkler lines running, so I was able to "change pipe" while i was there. And let me tell you--I've gone Momma soft.

We had a wonderful reunion. I'm so glad everyone was able to make it.

we threw around a football

i listened to this awesome groove session.

ethan got to try his hand at fishing.

here he is with some of the catch. --too bad not his.

eight of the 12 grandkids.

scott and mary---and oh i love that view.

my mom and dad (they are still way in love.)

my dad's parents, my parents, and our kids. 4 generations! whooahh!

the ten kids, the parents who are responsible for this crowd. and of course my grandma and grandpa.

left to right (joshua 19, linda lee 25, joseph 22, chrystal 30, jared 16, grandpa, james 8, grandma, mom-50 something?, nicolina 26, dad 50 something?, mary 28, esther 13, john 17.)

siblings, spouces, grandkids, parents, grandparents.
My family all met in Star Valley Wyoming over Labor Day weekend. We had a great reunion.

2011-09-14T16:47:00.000-07:00

While in the tub Ethan smeared shampoo bubbles all over his face, and said "Look mom, I have a face-stache."

Dad asked, "What's your name?"
Ethan replied, "Ethan."
"Ethan what?"
"Mister."

Cora sings "the spidsy bider, went up the water spout."

Cora says biper for diaper.

the begining

2011-09-13T11:39:00.000-07:00

scott and two of his brothers.

three generation picture.

with scott's parents.

the first weekend we were out west we spent in idaho at scott's brothers house. many of his siblings and his parents met us there. we loved seeing everyone, and i'm sorry i don't have more pictures. i would love to show you all the cousins and everyone. maybe i'll have to steal some pictures from someone. i love staying at this brothers house in blackfoot idaho. it always feels so homey and relaxing. we feel so blessed to have seen so much family. and we are apart of such a good one.

Southwest called...

2011-09-12T11:44:00.000-07:00

they reccomended we change our flight because it was leaving when hurricane irene was supposed to hit. so we did. we left to utah on the 26th of august instead of the 27th. 15 hours after arriving at the dulles airport we made it to eastern idaho, it was a long day.

Happy Birthday Cora

2011-09-12T11:30:00.000-07:00

On August 28th, Cora turned two! yea! For the cake we decided to let Cora frost and decorate her own cupcake. She really enjoyed that part. I think she ate the majority of the candy before putting it on her cup cake. She loved being sung "happy birthday" to. I would catch her singing it to herself all day long. I was pretty cute. She blew out her candles like a champ. We were lucky to be able to celebrate her birthday at her cousins house.

Cora is in such a fun stage. She talks sooo well. He vocabulary just keeps exploding. She often asks me, "what's that?" Whenever she wants to know about something. Today as I was spreding jam on a saltine, she said, "that's yucky." She can say, "I don't like it."And believe me she says it to any different looking food. She can carry on a conversation quite well. She loves to play with Ethan. She likes her hair tied up. Because when we do it I put hair ties in it. But when it's in her face she will brush it out with her hands, get frustrated and say, "I'm tired." Meaing she wants me to put a hair tie in her hair.

She makes the cutes expressions with her cute little face. I love this little girl.

10 years and they shared it with us!

2011-08-19T16:54:00.000-07:00

so my sister and brother-in-law just had their ten year anniversary. They decided to come out to Virginia and visit us. We were soooo happy to have them. My sister just had her fourth child and after three boys we are very pleased with this beautiful little girl. She couldn't have a prouder daddy. She is a very beautiful baby!

We all went to the Arlington Cemetery. Ethan and Cora held hands it was soo cute.

We also went to Gettysburg. Here is a family pic with Abraham Lincoln.

Mary loves Joseph. This is a very sweet picture for me.

Cora was tuckered out by the end. I like her little black feet. She is always taking off her shoes. It reminds me of someone else I know.

Good thing we had enough kids for everyone to carry we wouldn't want anyone to feel left out. Brian got the heavy one though.

on the brink

2011-08-11T09:31:00.000-07:00

so our computer is wiggin out. my brother, joseph, has been so kind to let us use his while he has been here this summer. i have enjoyed popping on the computer and not waiting 10 minutes for it to boot up. and of course i've loved not waiting 30 seconds every time i click the enter key.
however, all of my pictures are on this one. this slow and old computer. so i have enjoyed looking at everyone's blogs, but i haven't been doing any posting. well, i had the time and the patience to post a few today.

joseph is going to be leaving in a week and a half. i am sooooo sad. we have so enjoyed having him and his good friend brian here. joseph mows my lawn regularly. they watch our children, cook us sunday dinner, play with our children. ethan and cora love them. and mary has a crush on joseph. she can't get enough of him and loves to give him kisses. we are going to miss them soo much.

6 years 3 kids

2011-08-11T09:22:00.000-07:00

Life couldn't be better.

Round 1

2011-07-31T05:21:00.000-07:00

So about two weeks ago we went to the store. I hand Cora three options of underwear, a hello kitty, princesses, and flowers or something, and she points to the Thomas underwear in the little boys section and says, "Thomas." So, we buy the Thomas underwear. She was so excited! She took all the underwear out of the package, and was happy to put them on when we got home. So we started the potty training regimen. And after two days of only a few successes and mostly failures we decided to put it on hold for a while. The thing was if i timed it right she would go in the toilet. But she wouldn't come and tell me, when she needed to go. And she also wouldn't even come and tell me when she was wet. She showed no remorse when she peed her pants. so i feel like i jumped the gun. then, Friday night she decides she wants to wear Thomas and i can tell that she is trying. See, Cora is funny. she is really easy going. And she isn't motivated easily. She will only do something if she really wants to do it. --Or if it's fun. So we've had to make potty training really fun. Anyway, we once again had some success, but more failures. So now we just do the potty when we're home and the diaper thing when were not. I'm not officially potty training. --The all or nothing schedule will start in October. My preference is to do the full thing--no pull ups or anything like that. Strictly underwear day and night until they have it down. So, for now I'll just try to be supportive when she wants to go. Because I know Cora and wanting to for her isn't super common.

my hot hunk of human love!!!!!!!!!!!!

2011-07-16T09:23:00.000-07:00

So Scott's amazing! Absolutely amazing! He started his own business from nothing, and it feeds us and pays the rent. He plays with the kids. And latley I don't know what disease he caught--but he's been cleaning like a mad man. I love it, and will do everything in my power, to make sure he never is cured. Lately also he has said those words that are just about the most sweetest words you'll ever hear, "what can i do for you?" He has said those a lot. Which of course just makes me want to tackle him in the hugest embrace ever. I am so proud of him, for his diligence and hard work. I also enjoy his new physic, --after loosing 40 pounds he has one hott body! I wish i had a better picture of this amazing man, but he's always holding up his hand in front of his face or scowling. At least in this one his face says, "Wh-a-t arrrre yaa doin?"

love ya hun!

Jakey-JO

2011-07-16T09:13:00.000-07:00

Monday morning--eating our sunday night popcorn before breakfast. crazies.

We were so pleased to have our nephew here this past week. Ethan loved having his cousin around. It was soo much fun. We sure did enjoy getting to know him better. He is such a good kid. It was also really fun to meet maggie and molly (jake's beagles). Here are a few pictures of us hanging out the morning scott's brother came to pick up jake. I should have taken lots more.

We went to to park, and the pool, the library, but i guess we were just too busy i didn't even think about it. We miss you Jake!!!!!

the 4th!!

2011-07-05T17:40:00.000-07:00

ehtan and cora with sparklers.

we were on time, and the food wasn't quite ready yet.

waiting for breakfast.

We had a great day! It started out with a breakfast at our church at 8am. It's always worth going to because they do eggs, pancakes, sausage, watermelon, orange juice. Which is a good spread. I like not having to cook and it's fun to see our friends. Our day also included a dip in the pool, a hoagie dinner and of course fireworks.
This was the first year we did fireworks ourselves since we've had kids. Ethan is usually in bed before dark, and so he misses the show. Scott and I climb on the roof and watch about 10 different shows between the hours of 9 and 10. Anyway, we were excited to show the kids what fireworks are so we let everyone stay up late. Well, Joseph lit the first one and Mary started crying--and shaking--she was terrified. And then Ethan started crying and saying he was scared and wanted to go inside. He took off and I stood up to take Mary inside, and then Cora started crying because it was the thing to do and everyone left her outside in the dark with the firework. After we all came back inside Cora asked to go to bed, I put Mary to bed, and Ethan decided to watch from the window. So Scott, Joseph and I lit fireworks. Crazy Kids.

bethany beach

2011-06-23T18:48:00.001-07:00

so just before we left, scott did this playing basketball.

but other than that the 5 days at the beach were glorious!

we had a wonderful time. thank you joan for making it possible!

this is so my kids

2011-06-09T15:37:00.000-07:00

if you knew them, you would know that this picture displays their personalities perfectly.

just like mary

2011-06-09T15:33:00.000-07:00

she's named after my sister ya know. and they both do this. i love it!

don't you just want to hug that baby!

teeth! all at once

2011-06-06T17:25:00.000-07:00

poor cora. at a year she didn't have any. now she is cutting 5 at a time. poor thing. she points to her cheeks and says, "hurts! owey," with the cutest little expression her face. she has rough time sleeping. -sorry cora.

6 month slump

2011-06-03T17:05:00.000-07:00

so i hadn't ever heard of this. --the six month slump. you may slump, if you had a baby six months ago, and your hormones may change, and maybe your milk production slows up. --well, i am so grateful to a friend who told me about this. -because now i have something to blame all my wacky emotions on. wow, lately i have been one snappy, overwhelmed, and unhappy mom. things have just been too hard lately. life has been too hard. and i was thinking--that something must be seriously wrong with me. i was seriously contemplating going to live with family for the summer because--i just couldn't do it. -and i told myself, it's because my three kids are really close together, and scott is gone all the time, and we've been sick, and fussy kids after weeks get on your nerves, but it felt deeper. --it didn't feel like it could be fixed with a nap, or even with three naps. sooo whatever is going on-- or if there really is a six month slump or not-i know that my hormones have been adjusting a little lately. and it "rang true" to me when she said it, when she said that sometimes at 6 months your hormones swing. and i know that my are--and still swinging. which for all you husbands out there, you know that scott is probably walking on eggshells around me, and not saying anything unless it's the right thing. and he has, he has said all the right things to me. yesterday was good, today was good, so hopefully i'm back to my old "i can take on the world" kind of attitude.
"give me those poopy diapers, give me those screaming kids. give me those up-in-the- night-50-time sleeps. right? and i'll kiss those cute little faces, and laugh at those funny little tantrums. and love what comes my way."

about a month ago.... but still really cute.

2011-05-31T11:16:00.000-07:00

the cooing in the background is mary.

6 months on the 13th!

2011-05-20T17:05:00.000-07:00

i love this little girl!

ohhh sooo much. wowzers. i love the little gurgle/coo, that she does in the back of her throat. i love that she is constant wiggles. i love that she tumbles everywhere. she can get anywhere, by simply rolling over again and again. she loves food, any food, but mostly sweet food. she smiles a lot. is always aware. she wants to be in on the action where ever it is. she loves her mommy. she's not a fan of strangers. she doesn't like to be passed around-never has. mary enjoys tickling and squeezing. she's not a fan of tossing. she continues to make an endless amount of cute sounds out of her mouth. she just started getting up on all fours in moments of frustration. she can army crawl, and she can put small bite size objects into her mouth. she loves to splash in the tub. she loves ethan, and laughs at him. she loves her mom and dad. she's perfect-a perfect little mary!

yes yes there were those eggs

2011-05-10T10:01:00.001-07:00

Ethan was the perfect age for Easter this year. he could find almost any egg, and new that the point of the whole game was to get as many eggs in his basket as possible, because that meant he had more sweets

Cora on the other hand, was still unsure of the rules to the whole egg hunt thing. as soon as i showed her on her second egg that there was candy inside. she stopped hunting and started eating. her strategy was to eat the insides out of each egg as soon as she picked them up off the ground. so we had to help her along a little. she wasn't at all competitive for ethan eggs. but of course as tradition holds --mom will continue to collect all the loot for the next couple of years and divide it out amongst the finders on an slower pace than they would decide themselves to eat it.

joseph was with us this year. he loves the peanut butter cup eggs so we hid a few of those for him

touring

2011-05-09T12:18:00.000-07:00

so we did a little touring when joshua was here. this is the Korean war memorial.

a view from the Lincoln memorial. i love mary passed out on his back, and the nice "remodeling"of the reflecting pool.

the Jefferson memorial. i love that he pushed the stroller and carried mary. this was the easiest touring i've ever done.

the air and space museum.

JOSHUA

2011-05-09T11:50:00.000-07:00

first off i'd just like to give a shout out!---Thank you JOSHUA!!!! okay. so joshua is such a stallion. totally amazing. and i'm just still in awe.

he decided to be a driving companion to joseph on his way out to dc. and then to my fortunate circumstance, i was able to spend a few days with him before he flew back.

he played with my children, unloaded my dishwasher and loaded it countless times, he was always helpful. cleaned my kitchen. picked up my house. and my absolute favorite thing he did for me while he was here was clean up and prep my garden space!!! this means soo much to me. he removed two huge stumps--with his muscles and a shovel. crazy. and he went to the home depot with me, loaded up the dirt i needed. this would have been hard for me with three kids. then he carried all the dirt to the back yard and dumped it into the garden boxes. i'm so excited about no Virginia red clay to garden in this year. he also mowed the whole lawn, and spread it with weed and feed.

i just wish he lived next door. i also loved how he complimented my cooking. it just made me want to keep on cooking for him.

he also has a really chill personality that is fun to be around. this boy is one of the greatest. we'll i guess he's a man. this man is one of a kind.

brothers!

2011-05-09T11:48:00.001-07:00

so my brothers came. joshua, could only stay a week, but joseph is going to stay the whole summer! yea!

i just have to say--that when they walked in the door, i thought holy huge! when did my brothers get so tall and manly and muscly? when did that happen. i don't have little brothers anymore i have younger brothers. --i'm a sister to tall, dark, handsome, 6ft brown eyed brothers.

so mary has been eating for a while now,

2011-05-01T10:06:00.000-07:00

but this is her at the begining.

ethan's first. . . . . . .

2011-04-30T16:43:00.000-07:00

mole!! i know this is rarely something celebrated. and i wouldn't have even noticed--it's the size of a pencil tip. but he pointed it out to me. on his left forearm. he said, "mom look". and i said "yep." -kind of absentmindedly--as i was buckling up mary in her car seat. and then he said excitedly. "a mole--just like you! i'm getting bigger!"

oh-age. crazy how it's celebrated, height, weight, baby teeth, walking, adult teeth, new clothes, more height, wrinkles, grey hairs, extra weight, forgetfulness, ....and of course moles.

delightful

2011-04-28T17:40:00.000-07:00

Cora was absolutely delightful today. no fits, tantrums, or whining. she was content to play with a drawing/erase pad, the whole time we were grocery shopping and in the car. she was smiling all day. she played contently in the bath. piter pattered her feet in excitement at all the right moments. shared with ethan. gave ethan a hug when he was throwing a fit. cuddled with Mary, and said "ahh baby." squealed so happily when daddy got home. hugged, him repeatedly. looked at books by herself. she was perfect. today--she was everything i want to be and more!

learning

2011-04-28T17:35:00.000-07:00

ethan usually asks, if he can watch a show, or if i can turn on the tv, or if i'll put in a movie for him. i love that i have full control over his tv time. i also love that he can't accesses shows whenever he wants. --yesterday he asked if i could show him how the tv works. -he's getting smarter.

5 months

2011-04-18T17:36:00.000-07:00

rolling over, drueling, smiles, laughs, watches, and sooo much more!

Drip drip drop little April showers!

2011-04-18T09:29:00.000-07:00

It was one of those moments when I wanted the camera so bad. I wanted to run in the house and grab it, and take picture after picture so i could remember it always. But I knew if I left, I'd miss it. The moment would be over. So, I stayed, and no pictures. It had just rained, hard. Really hard. The sun was out and the water was still tricking down the driveway in small streams. I had just taken Cora out of the car. She noticed all the water and followed it. When, reaching the puddle she stamped her feet back and forth in her excited little piter pater motion, and walked right in. Splashing, stamping and smiling. She loved it. Her shoes and socks were soaked. Her pants were wet and the water had begun to make the climb up her pants legs. She couldn't get enough. And she couldn't keep from laughing and smiling and loving every second of it. She picked up tiny rocks and threw them in. She patted the puddle, and stroked it. She ran back and forth from puddle to puddle. Sloshing and giggling. She even sat down in one at one point, did a few bum scoot to get cozy and kicked he legs. Pure joy. She was experiencing PURE JOY!

the bobbies!

2011-04-09T09:23:00.000-07:00

ethan asked if we could go and visit you guys today. we miss you already and hope you're settling in utah.

i got a hair cut.

2011-04-08T17:53:00.000-07:00

i was becoming ponytail mom. so i got a hair cut. the hair stylist was a referal and i really liked her. come to find out she is my neighbor. her back yard is just across the street. crazy. small world. i like my hair short. it's easy and different. scott is used to all my hair styles and he's not one of those husbands with a preference which is nice. --thanks for loving me all the ways i come in hun.

when mom naps . . .

2011-04-08T17:42:00.000-07:00

so i crashed on the couch the other day (which is rare). I usually don't nap. that's not because i'm not tired. well this is what i woke to:

doing it all

2011-04-06T11:00:00.000-07:00

I had a very eye opening conversation this morning with a friend of mine. she is about to have he third child. and i asked her if she felt like her world would be rocked, or if she is under the impression that she will still be able to "do it all." she surprised me with her response when she said, "well, i don't do it all right now." i was astonished. tidy house, gym everyday, happy kids, meals made, husband away for months on work, showered, dressed, healthy food, plenty of activities, church service etc. --and i asked in what way could she possibly not be doing it all. she then shared with me some things that she would love to be doing that would make her feel much more accomplished.

wow! this blew my mind. and i thought- probably everyone has a level of accomplishment that they wish they could reach. and often times that level is not being reached. and so they feel like they fall short. what an interesting human characteristic that causes us to strive for more. to do more, to be more. a virtue or a vice? i suppose that dependent upon the more.

Liondales

2011-04-04T17:09:00.000-07:00

we took a wonderful spring walk today! finally degrees in the 70's. we loved every moment of it. ethan noticed these little yellow flowers for the first time. he enjoyed popping off the yellow blossoms. i told him the name of these flowers and now he says "look mom! liondales."

baths

2011-04-01T17:45:00.000-07:00

why are kids sooo cute wet?

skinny scott

2011-04-01T17:38:00.000-07:00

Scott has been exercising faithfully since September. he's been asking for vegetables at every meal--yes even breakfast. and he's lost about 35 pounds and weighs less than he did in high school! i know crazy. granted in high school he was bulkier for football. but, still--. he looks absolutely amazing. i'm so proud of all his hard work. GOOOOOOO Scott!

by special request

2011-03-06T09:10:00.001-08:00

Some of baby mary.

ethan my guy.

2011-03-06T08:50:00.000-08:00

ohhhh ethan! you are so great. he does the funniest things. he is naturally obedient, and he knows exactly how to push all the right buttons. we have our battles he and I. but I love him sooo much. lately he calls me nicolina, all the time. i keep telling him. ethan, i'm your mom call me mom. so i told him the other day that whenever he calls me nicolina i will remind him to call me mom, by calling him booger pants. i know where's the logic in that right. nicolina is my name and he knows that. and when he first started calling me nicolina i thought it was the cutest thing ever. but it really bugs scott when he calls me nicolina and not mom. and soo we have started the re-training process. anyway ehtan said something like, nicolina can i have a drink? and i said sure bogger pants. and he said "Mom, call me Horn." I don't think my strategy is working.
he's a really great older brother. he loves to play with cora, and he enjoys being around mary. he's turned into a wonderful helper. he can pick up and put away almost everything. he helps unload the dishwasher, and he loves to work with dad in the garage. no matter what it is. He loves to read. he's still into trains and cars.

this is how ethan eats his gold fish. he bites of all their tails and then lines up their heads, and eats them one at a time.

Devin was trying to help ethan pose in this one.

oh yeah and lately probably the past month, ehtan has decided his pajamas are the place to be. so he wakes up, we have breakfast, and then we get dressed for the day. he always asks me where we are going. sometimes we have an appointment and sometimes we don't. but i tell him that we just get dressed for the day. so as soon as our morning outing is over, he's back in his pajamas. if it's time for naps, he gets back into his pajamas. if he gets to watch a show in the afternoon he wants to get cozy in his pajamas. but i don't let him go places in his pajamas, so he is constantly changing from regular clothes to pajamas all day long. lately to save himself time he's started putting his regular clothes on top of his pajamas. --crazy kid.

good morning cora!

2011-02-11T09:50:00.001-08:00

scott thinks it's absolutely hilarious how cora's hair looks in the morning when she wakes up. so we've been taking pictures each morning. this is her over a week. this little face makes me soo happy in the morning. it starts the day off right.

a little color in my hair

2011-02-11T09:35:00.000-08:00

okay so--since i had mary--i got bags. yep- bags under my eyes these days. when i wake up. big puffy bags. i've never had them before. i thought it was just lack of sleep at first. just having a baby and having her wake up every couple of hours. but now she is sleeping up to 8. so there's no excuse. i guess i'm just getting old. which is weird to think about. of course here i'm wearing make up and it's noon. so not as noticeable.

cora's work switch

2011-02-06T10:03:00.000-08:00

well, somebody flipped the switch. cora loves to help. she wants to work. she tries to scrub, pick up, put away and of course vacuum. it's quite the effort, but by using all her muscles she slowly inches that vacuum forward. it's so fun to have another little helper!

my mom! my lovely MOM!

2011-02-06T09:44:00.001-08:00

After living in the dc area for almost 2 years now- my mom was finally able to come out and visit. And we loved having her! we enjoyed every single second of it!!!!!!! When she first arrived home from the airport, Ethan looks at me and then looks at her and says "You're the same." It was pretty darn cute. And I do look a lot like my mom. I've always been told that.
We filled our time with a day to DC. It was snowy and cold so we did as much sight-seeing as the kids could stand. We saw the Lincoln and the World War II memorials. We also went to the Natural Science Museum, and the Air and Space Museum.
I of course had to show her some of my favorite local grocery stores. There are some pretty cool ones near by.
She did a wonderful job being grandma. She read to Cora, who can't seem to get enough of books. She listened to Ethan, which every three year old needs. And she carried Mary every chance she got. I got to have someone else cook delicious yumminess! We were even able to watch a 4 hour chick-flick! What could be better.

Scott said and I quote, "I love having grandma here, I haven't had so much free time in my life!"

We missed her the morning she left and hopes she comes back soon. Love you MOM!

snow day

2011-02-06T09:30:00.000-08:00

we received quite a bit of snow for the dc area. about 8 to10 inches. it dumped that much probably within a 4 hour time frame. of course the roads were crazy. my mom flew in just as the storm hit. we were so glad she landed and wasn't re-routed to ohio (we don't know anyone in ohio). but she had to sit 1 1/2 hours on the runway waiting for another plane to de-ice. which they then decided to unload. --baggage and passengers-yikes. i don't know why they couldn't just park my mom's plane at another gate. weren't there a million canceled flights? or how about borrowing another airlines gate for just a few minutes? i don't know who thinks these things through. then, it took scott 1 1/2 hours to drive the 10 minute drive home from the airport. we're just glad we're not our neighbor who got home from work at 2am, after running out of gas on the 66. anyway--all these problems could be solved if more of the dc population knew how to drive in the snow and were prepared for winter weather. we're just glad that we had power and a cozy evening together. Ethan and Scott shoveled the driveway the next day. yea.

my talking mary girl

2011-01-26T11:47:00.000-08:00

mary is 2 months wow!

2011-01-11T17:48:00.001-08:00

Mary has started giving me 4 and 5 hour stretches at night, which is fantastic.

she smiles lots these days.

she loves it when you talk to her.

she already knows when i leave the room, and cries in protest. --she is too young to be doing that.

she loves to be held.

she loves both of her siblings dearly.

dad always gets more smiles than mom.

she still nurses well.

we are all just in love with her!

lipstick brains

2011-01-11T17:39:00.000-08:00

that's what ethan calls this song.

amazing christmas

2010-12-30T09:03:00.000-08:00

so this year the tanners decided to make Christmas extra special for us. i don't know the hours or time and thought spent on us, but i can only imagine it was a tremendous amount. and mom-really you kept the postal service in business this year with all of the packages mailed. i just want to thank everyone--EVERYONE for the gifts. wow. i felt like we had to unwrap Mount Everest this year. and believe me we enjoyed every moment of it. i must say though, that scott and i loved the homemade gift most of all. if you could have only seen his tender expressions and his moist eyes as he read through each of your letters. the book full of letters was cherished above all other gifts. and added a truly special touch to our Christmas this year. thank you, thank you!

it's the holiday season!

2010-12-28T17:25:00.000-08:00

we have so much enjoyed the holidays so far. ethan has loved the snow. too bad it melts away. cora and ethan both love sweets. i think they are now officially addicted. cora was so cute eating this chocolate covered oreo and smearing it unintentionally all over her face. i love our little cuddly baby mary. she loves to be held.

Crispy

2010-12-27T09:37:00.000-08:00

i didn't water my tree very well this year. i know, i know. some of you out there know i graduated in horticulture and wonder--how did this happen to her? well every once in a while a chef will burn something right? well this watering gal--happened to just not water. and i regretted it sooo much. all those moments when the thought would come to my head--i should water the Christmas tree. --the other thought would always come (and was more persuasive) -i don't really want to right now. or maybe later. or it probably still has water in it. ha! as you can see i was completely mistaken and lazy. and all those tiny moments of laziness added up to one big moment of vacuuming. I FILLED and entire shop vac! and more!! it took me forever. i didn't envision spending and hour on Christmas vacuuming up spruce needles. but that's what i get. oooh so many needles. and i'm still finding them everywhere. i must take a moment to thank my honey, who carried this crusty tree out as soon as the wrapping paper had cleared, who also took off all the lights, and who took his turn vacuuming. thanks hun.

Mary Christmas!

2010-12-14T17:54:00.000-08:00

i can't believe this little mary is already a month old. it has been a crazy month. more time spent at home than usual. cora and ethan are a little more cooped up than they like to be, but that is because we are still getting the hang of three. also, it's cold and flu season and i really don't like to take this little one out much. mary is quite the child. she's extra sensitive, and has a determined spirit. combine the two traits and we get to hold mary a lot, and mary also cries a lot. but of course we love her to pieces. i'm really just trying to enjoy her sooo small. she is still such a good little nurser and she dosn't spit up nearly as much as ethan and cora did, which is nice. i sure do love my little mary.

Thanksgiving

2010-11-28T16:06:00.000-08:00

we had a wonderful thanksgiving. it was spectacular. a ton of food, plenty of leftovers, and great company. we are so blessed to have such wonderful friends. mindy did a wonderful job decorating the table. it made the the dinner feel like a holiday party. devin did a great job on the turkey. everyone's pies were soo yummy. i just don't have enough good things to say about it all. it turned out to be a great day. i would love to have it all agin right now. I'm just finishing the leftovers. and I'm ready for some more.

adjusting

2010-11-28T15:49:00.000-08:00

three's a tricky number. and three, three years apart is especially tricky for me. i often feel like i just go from one kid to the next all day long. ethan and cora are slowly acclimatizing to not having as much mom time. it's a struggle though. they both love mary dearly, they just don't always love all the time that i spend holding her. i'm trying to get the sleep i need but that is so hard for me. mary is still on no kind of schedule at all. i need to wake her up more during the day. in fact, i should probably have her awake right now, but i am blogging instead. that seems to be the usual. i let mary sleep when she shouldn't simply to be able to get things done.

i love this baby girl though. she's soo sweet. i want to have millions of babies!!!! i just don't want them to grow up. i wish she could just stay so little. i love her little stretches. her new born cry. her wrinkly forehead. her small grunts. she's soo perfect! i'm so in love with her!! we all are.

MARY BETH TANNER

2010-11-18T09:10:00.000-08:00

so around 12am i started to have some uncomfortable contractions. -not real labor yet. but knowing how far dilated i was, i kept over thinking the contractions, and decided to just go in. we left around 1:30 am. because i didn't come in the hospital in pain or panic, the nurses took their time. after blood work, iv port, and heart and contraction monitors were finally on, my dr. came in about 3ish to break my water. she told me-which scott had already told me-that i was having contractions about 3 min apart. (scott's getting good at reading the machines) she was surprised that i couldn't feel the contractions. --well of course i could feel them, they were crampy and uncomfortable. like-bad menstrual cramps. but they weren't the real thing. i know what the real thing feels like. real contractions, make me want to yell out in pain, and wish i was never pregnant, no ever will be again. and these weren't it.

but after about 10 minutes of having my water broke--i was definitely having all those thoughts. "oh why didn't i stay in bed. we could have waited longer. why did i want to do this tonight. oh this hurts so bad."

scott once again--saved the day. he was such a great coach. he kept me calm and sane. the hospital staff once again--was not completely ready for me. i really don't know why you would leave the room with a patient dilated to an eight. but scott called them all back in and they had quite a scramble to catch this little one.

she's here we love her.

born 4:15am November 13, 2010.

20 inches long.

7lbs 13 ounces.

perfect.

thank you mckell for staying at our house and taking care of the kids!!!! you get the best friend of the year award for sure.

Proof of the Impossible

2010-11-18T08:54:00.000-08:00

friday november 12, i had a dr. appointment. i assumed they would check me-see that i was still dilated to 6cm and either set up an induction time asap, or let me be induced as scheduled on the 18th. but she told me i was an 8! yes, i was shocked! freak of nature! yes. tv worthy? yes. abnormal? odd? crazy? first person? yes. yes. i told her i would go home and grab my bag. i my drive home, i couldn't help my mind running wild, with all of the crazy places i could have a baby. 2 more cm. would she fall out? i was planning on going to costco later that afternoon. now not a good idea at all. costco would be a terrible place to have a baby. scott was no longer going to be able to leave my side. i got home and asked scott if he would like to deliver our baby, or if he would rather have it in the hospital. he wondered why i was asking such a strange question.

after several moments of freaking out. and several peoples opinions we decided to let ethan have his birthday and go into the hospital saturday morning. unwise? perhaps. but nevertheless that's what we decided. the doctors advised strongly against this. i told them i understood the situation and their medical advice completely.

Happy Birthday Ethan!!

2010-11-18T08:39:00.000-08:00

On NOVEMBER 12 Ethan turned 3! crazy and great. he wanted a surprise birthday party and a blue cake. i kept things way simple this year. this was actually a really crazy day for me and i am just so grateful to have a little guy who is pleased so easily. he requested mckell and ricky bobby to come. and so all of his friends weren't adults, we invited his fun little play buddy, maeby. he was so excited that she came. we had dad go downstairs and play with ethan while the guest arrived, and then when they came up the stairs we had the lights off with the cake candles glowing and we all yelled surprise! he was soo happy i think it turned out sort of how he imagined it would. then we sang happy birthday and right on cue--instinctively--ethan blew out his three candles on his blue frosted brownies. what a great kid.

he loves cars, trucks, trains, veggie tales, and the outdoors. he has sooo much energy these days. he wants to be exactly like dad. and is a great buddy to his mom.

38 weeks

2010-11-05T11:52:00.000-07:00

i had an appointment today. the doctor comes in the room and says, "i'll check you first and then i'll reward you with the heart beat at the end." so, she checks me and with shock and panic she lets me know i'm dilated to a six. and then comes the freak out. she wants me to go over to labor and delivery immediately and check myself in. i'm quite surprised because i don't have my bag packed, or a sitter for the kids, and i have dinner at the Poulton's tonight. it seemed to me not a very good day to have a baby voluntarily. so i told her that i would probably like to go home first and talk to my husband, and pack a bag etc. and she said "well can't your husband do that for you?" and i said, "yeaah." but thought--i don't want him to pack my bag, i don't even know all the things i want in my bag yet. well more panic and freaking out and concern. my doctor went onto say that she didn't want me to have the baby in the car, or at my house, and what if there was traffic while i was trying to get to the hospital? sheesh here i sit happy and laughing and astonished at her anxiety, and thought what would she do if i was really in labor? i continued to try and calm her with explaining that i dilate early. i go naturally so i know what a real contraction feels like--and i haven't had one yet. my water hasn't broken. anyway this didn't make her feel any better. and i got the feeling that her inner moral compass needed me to go to labor and delivery so that she could feel calm. so i walk over to labor and delivery-they upon seeing my calm and happy countenance, asked me what was up. i told them, and i also explained that i would prefer to let the baby gain a few more ounces. the doctor in labor and delivery thought that was fine and told me to call if anything were to happen. i'll probably make my next appointment i hope this doctor is working and i'll say hi.

God Makes Room!

2010-11-03T08:23:00.000-07:00

oh--how could i love another little girl more than i love this one? she is soo wonderful. at the age of 14 months she is already so well rounded. she plays with: trains, trucks, dirt, loves the outdoors, is into shoes, purses, necklaces, and loves to be social. she already knows many sibling strategies to get what she wants from ethan. she can flop on the floor and have the tears rolling in seconds. she says hi whenever the door opens. she is so smiley. she loves kisses and wrestling.

crazy to imagine another little girl about to enter my life-and be able to love her as much as i love cora.

but the miraculous thing is God makes room! somehow in all his glory and grander he opens up my heart and makes it so that i have the ability to love another child completely. he gives me the love needed to feel the awe and wonder. the throbbing that i will feel when i hold my new little one and look at her little face and hands. God is truly a God of miracles. i am so grateful that my Lord and my God gives me that love.

october 12, 2010

2010-11-03T07:57:00.000-07:00

birthday recap: 26 years of wisdom! right? i had a great day. scott made my cake for me. it was a yummy apple cake. i'm not a fan of the box cakes. so he went all out and made one from scratch. he also did lots of honey-do's for me. which i love. it is so good to have those things get done that i can't do by myself.
mckell-bless her soul-took me to get my first makeover. it was really good. she also bought me some new make-up. the expensive kind that i would never treat myself to. turns out there is a difference between the walmart stuff and the expensive stuff. who'd a thought? anyway-here's my makeover due. and me blowing out the candles.

ricky your face is hilarious. the other day at lunch-ethan's prayer was: dear heavenly father thank you for this food. please bless ricky bobby will come over today, name of Jesus Christ amen.

my camera?

2010-11-01T09:10:00.000-07:00

so i can't find my camera. should this worry me, perhaps. it doesn't yet however because i haven't even looked that hard for it yet. we took it on a walk the other day to get some good pictures of the fall leaves. and i've looked around the house on all of my "set things down as i walk in the door places." i must have "put it away."
so no Halloween pictures. but we did dress up. we only went to the trunk or treat at our church. and because of the plenty of candy we brought home- i didn't feel the need to go door to door. especially since we all have booger noses and colds.
ethan loves this whistle. it's just a regular coach, or referee whistle. but he has been wearing it around non-stop for about two weeks now. he sleeps with it eats with it. he only takes it off for baths and church. he is now aware of how soft he can blow it in the house, without it getting taken away, and he loves to blow it full boar outside.
i decided then, that it would be a great idea to make ethan a referee for Halloween. because ethan was a referee, scott was a basketball player, cora the cheerleader, and i was the basketball. we just striped a white shirt with electrical tape for ethan. scott has basketball clothing, cora had a make shift cheerleader outfit-with homemade plastic bag pom-poms. and i wore a white shirt that scott drew a basketball on. believe me--with a belly like mine i looked like a ball. it was fun and easy.
i went to the doctor's office Friday. i'm dilated to a three. which means that the baby isn't going to stay in there forever. but that definitely doesn't me i am going to have this baby early, by any means. i just hope we all get over these nasty little colds before she comes.

not blogging

2010-10-21T08:43:00.000-07:00

i would love to blog every day--but lets face it at the end of the day when i'm tired i can't think of anything to blog about. and during the day--when i think ooh i should really put that on my blog, well i'm usually too occupied to have a 20 minute sit down at the computer. scott keeps telling me i need to put some cute videos of cora on here walking. and i promise i will. they're just still on my camera.
i love this cool fall weather. i love the dew on the grass in the mornings. i like that i need a jacket. i love the colors!!!!! yep-sorry idaho you just don't have as many trees. i love making pumpkin and apple yummies to eat. i love feeling like thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner. the best two holidays of the year!
i'm sooo excited to see what this new little one looks like. i'm excited to have a perfect little spirit our home. can't wait. i'm hoping she comes a little early.

summary

2010-10-07T09:38:00.000-07:00

cora has one tooth! (her left bottom front tooth) cutie! it broke through about two weeks ago and has been growing bigger. you can almost see it when she smiles. i'm sure there will be lots more teeth to follow. it has been so nice to get her on a good routine and know her little personality for a whole year without any teething emotions to disrupt all her development. she is also walking all over the place. she still crawls more than walks but she spends a lot of her day walking too. it's pretty darn cute. and she is such a little person when standing.
i love the fall weather. it couldn't be better. the last couple days have been cold and rainy. we haven't got out much, but today is beautiful. cora loves the outdoors and our walks.
ethan continues to become more and more independent. he loves books. he's still very much into thomas the train. last night he actually slept with a thomas video that we got from the library and i hadn't let him watch it yet. he's pretty darn smart. and to his fathers delight has finally starting liking sports and balls. scott couldn't be happier. he and ethan like to play soccer. this consists of dad and ethan kicking a small beach ball all around the living room for hours.
i just got the most delicious apples i have ever had in my whole life! i'm not even joking. anyway a friend and i drove about an hour and picked up a ton of boxes from a farmer. monday was spent making applesauce and i still have probably three more applesauce days ahead of me. i'll spread them out over time because the apples are staying nice and cool in the basement. the applesauce is delightful. no sugar and so yummy. i couldn't be more pleased with it.
i'm getting soo excited to see this new little girl in my belly. we had a 30 week ultra sound that was 4D. she's gonna be cute that's for sure.
scott wakes up at the crack of dawn (5am) every morning and teaches the seniors early morning religion. he sure does a good job. he has to prepare a lesson every night, and teach every morning. honestly i don't know how he does it. life is good!!!!!!!!

32 weeks

soccer

when the weather is great! . . .

2010-09-26T11:35:00.001-07:00

We go outside!!! yea! We have been enjoying our daily outings. Which we can now do, even in the middle of the day. I love the fall!
Cora goes down the slide all by herself. It's so fun to watch her turn around and go on her belly.

Ethan has turned into quite the energetic little boy. He really needs his run around time.

Cora loves the dirt. Ahh a girl after my own heart. She will play in the sticks and the rocks, and the leaves, and anything else she can find on the ground. She doesn't mind getting dirty one bit. Nor does she mind eating it. So different from my Ethan guy, that at Cora's age wanted his hands washed right away if they got dirty.

last post

2010-09-17T06:09:00.000-07:00

so i guess i made some of you a little wary with my last post. i promise i have not been offended by anyone-so rest easy. i'm just an extra sensitive pregnant lady that lives in the dc metropolis. i feel great about having three children--always knew i would. in fact i know i'm going to have more than three. i feel great about having another baby-i love them. i do understand that 3 children in 3 years is a bit extreme. in fact i've joked about people like me. i'm logical, and appreciate all the positive comments. i loved them! and for those of you that don't know me well--it's true i'm sassy. i'll try to keep a little more mellow tone.

i guess i'll make it official!

2010-09-10T10:22:00.001-07:00

so i'm pregnant! why did i wait so long to tell everyone? because i wanted to. i also wasn't in the mood and am still not to hear what everyone thinks about it. yes i was pregnant last summer, yes they will be close together, yes we are having a girl, yes we are due in november. anything else? nope.

Labor Day Weekend

2010-09-10T09:50:00.001-07:00

Down town D.C. and the monuments.

we had some friends come visit us over labor day weekend. and we had a blast! scott's old roommate and his new wife (they've been married a month), came all the way from utah to come and see us! thanks guys! we had a blast. on Saturday we went to down town dc and saw the monuments. this is the world war II monument. one of the newer ones.

Boise State!!!!!!!!!! vs Virginia Tech

we also had the opportunity to go see the boise state, virginia tech game! we had a blast! thanks devin and mckell for watching our children! no small feat there-since we didn't get home until 2am. we appreciate it a ton!

scott and i decided to go all out. he bought iron on paper and printed out our logos on our homemade boise sate shirts. no one seems to sell boise stuff out here. then we went and got hair spray paint and sprayed our hair. i guess it's convenient that stores are alread selling halloween stuff, it sure came in handy. i painted my face blue and we were good to go. i must say that scott's hair was the greatest thing ever. he got so many people coming up to shake his hand and wanting to take pictures with him-they loved the die-hard fan in him. and my blue face was enough to get a few flirtatious remarks from the guy who sold me soda. he kept saying how the color looked really good on me and took forever counting out my change while staring at me. i guess he didn't see the 7 month belly under my baggy shirt from behind the counter.

we were so glad that boise won!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! go boise state.

before the game parking took forever. we finally found some vt fans who were packing up their tailgating things, and asked to park in the middle of their extra spaces. we got some nasty looks, but scotts cool hair and his joking about us not liking the van much anyway, put everyone at ease. needless to say when we arrived at the car after the game-they didn't have much to say, and probably regretted a few things they did say before the game.

the stadium was so loud! and everyone stood up practically the whole game. sometimes i would sit down and watch the big screens on the sides. we had great seats. we were on the lower deck, and luckily the stadium had backs on all their chairs! yea! scott and his roommate were horse by the end of the night. and happy too. every once in a while during the game i would hold scott's hand-surprised to find it cold and clammy--what? he was nervous? actually he was nervous the whole game. i guess he felt like he was down on the field with those idaho boys. i haven't felt his hands cold and clammy since we were dating.

what a great night!! we were so glad to share it with everyone. oh yeah we also saw scott's uncles and cousins there! they sat right next to us. it was great to meet them.

the pool is closed

2010-09-10T09:41:00.000-07:00

ahh man! i'm always sad to know that swimming is over for the summer. our pool opens memorial day and closes on labor day. swimming is always such a great activity. the kids get tired and worn out, it is the greatest thing to do on a hot summer day, and it's so relaxing. ethan and cora both love the water and have a great time at the pool. ethan is so confident with his floaties on. he kicks and goes anywhere he wants. sometimes a little too far and i have to call him back. towards the end of the summer he always wanted to go to the deep end of the pool. the deep end was tricky because i have a hard time standing and holding cora in five feet of water. ( i'm only 5'2") so, ethan looked forward to the days when dad could come with us and they would go hang out in the deep end by the slide. i loved the days dad would come with us too. it made swimming so much fun. see ya next year pool! we'll miss you.

one year ago august 28, 2009

2010-09-01T10:32:00.001-07:00

Our birthday girl!

2010-09-01T10:01:00.000-07:00

Cora is amazing! i can't believe it has already been a year. wow. she keeps us happy and smiling. she is such a good sister. and adores her older brother. they play well together.

cora's birthday went great! i went and bought balloons first thing in the morning. helium ones. i think balloons makes it look like a party, especially when your only one. cora loved them. we tied one to her highchair of course. the last picture is her staring up at the balloons.

ethan was extra excited for "cora's happy birthday." so that was fun. he bought her a little squishy killer whale at the dollar store. we gave him some money and had him pick out a present for cora. first he had a Lightning McQueen puzzle. then he traded that for a monster truck, and then settled on the whale. it was pretty cute to watch him change his mind and assume that cora wanted just what he would get for himself.

we kept things simple. we just had a few friends over and i made the cake. sorry i didn't get any pictures of it-i got it on the video that i took. she was pretty cute eating the cake. she stayed really clean. the chocolate cake and chocolate frosting didn't interest her. she was only into licking off the pink frosting dots.

i love you cora baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

salsa and peaches

2010-08-25T10:21:00.000-07:00

well, i've been busy. last week we went to a u-pick farm, about and hour away and picked some tomatoes and peaches. i got enough peaches to bottle, and enough tomatoes to make salsa. oh, how i wish we had a beautiful garden, but we don't. anyway, this week has been canning week. i've made 18 pints of salsa and 19 quarts of peaches. pretty good. i'm quite pleased with how the jars turned out. i wasn't pleased with the mold problem on both the peaches and the tomatoes. i feel like i lost a lot of money i spent on rotten fruit. i picked them both pretty firm. but it would be my guess that, where i picked them from was just extra fungusy or something. so next year i may look more carefully at the product before picking a whole bunch. i just have a few batches of strawberry peach jam to do, and then we'll be done for the week. yea!

two hooligans

2010-08-25T10:15:00.001-07:00

these two have been playing great together! it has been so enjoyable to watch. they sometimes

keep themselves occupied for a good hour or soo. i know amazing! they like to chase each other around. and ethan and cora will sometimes get on these laughing kicks, where they will just start giggling and then keep it up for a long time it's soo cute. ethan can make cora laugh by just jumping or making certain faces at her. and cora can make ethan laugh by playing the chase game with him. he becomes hysterical. it's soo goofy and cute. she just crawls towards him and he runs away-and the game has begun. the do have their moments though. i tell ethan at times to not sit on cora or hit her or yell in her face. but those times are rare, compared to all the happy moments! i love it!

funnies

2010-08-16T12:36:00.000-07:00

hellerrrcopter
i can do it with myself! or i can't do it with myself!
i want my corner. (this is his favorite spot on his blanket)
baby cora! chish, chish, chish! (ethan's cheer for cora to make her happy!)
no mom, i'm awake! (five minutes after we put him to bed)
welcome to the island of sodor! (usually said out of the blue)

puppies

2010-08-16T12:31:00.001-07:00

when we were traveling in idaho, we stopped to see my sister who lives right outside of rexburg. we visited for a few days. we had a blast! she also had two puppies that ethan just adored. he loved chasing them around and picking them up. it was soo cute. i think he would be good with a dog.

summer vaction

2010-08-15T17:31:00.000-07:00

It was so fun to go on a long summer vacation. we went out west to Idaho, Utah area. Cora and Ethan were such good travelers and charmed everyone they met.

One of the places we just had to stop at was Star Valley, Wyoming, where my grandparents live. it was soo beautiful. Scott changed pipe for the fist time, and Ethan got to ride a 4-wheeler for the first time. grandma and grandpa are still the same --forever working and busy. i was so grateful that my children warmed right up to them. they have such a sweet spirit in their home.

my little bit of magic!

2010-07-15T07:03:00.000-07:00

so i attribute this knowledge all to a good friend--thanks amy! but i just thought it was so cool that i needed to share. this little well kept secret-my friends will save you time and worry! wet one's remove stains!!!!!!!!! amy told me all about how you just wipe the stain off your shirt with a wet wipe and walala no more chocolate on her two year old's clothes. when i was in the check out line the other day i picked up this package of 15 and decided to try it. this morning i had the perfect opportunity. we had cherries for breakfast and ethan decided to put his juicy little hand on his fathers white recon polo. so i pulled out a wet one--and it did the trick! i started to get excited so i grabbed a few shirts of cora's from her laundry basket waiting to be washed, and wallla! now more, squash, or watermelon drips on her clothes! yea! i'm off to the store to buy some larger containers of these little magical wipes. i'm going to have one in my laundry room and one in the kitchen! i have yet to try this wipe on already dried in stains. but i have found a new piece of magic that is absolutely incredible! so--no more worries about little hands on my dresses right before church!!!!!!!

summer

2010-07-12T13:00:00.000-07:00

It's been hot! in the 100's. yikes! I'm just so grateful for the pool and air conditioning. it makes the hot days bearable for sure. Ethan and Cora love the pool. i need to take some pictures of them swimming around. but I'll have to make sure that I am with a friend that day. two kids are hard enough to watch at the pool.

the heat has also brought out the bugs. which means business is going. yea! I'm glad that people have bugs. Scott is keeping himself motivated with some good incentives. one of which is an i-touch. he's so motivated to sell for that one. i even made him a paper chain so he can cut off the links when he gets home from selling.

Cora is crawling around and walking along the couches. she loves people and is definitely our little socializer. she loves--really really loves her daddy! and only wants her mom when she's hungry or needs a diaper change. she is ohh sooo happy all the time. recently she has started throwing tantrums--this is hilarious! she already has the spread eagle down on the carpet. i can't help but laugh every time.

Ethan is two--what more can i say? we have our daily "battles," and every once in a while we have an extra sweet moment that reminds me why i love him. he's talking like crazy and always has plenty to say. he loves his primary songs and has many of them memorized. it's fun to hear him sing them all. he is still into Thomas the Train, and Lightning McQueen. he loves books, we read together often. i think right now his favorite food is chips.

clothes

2010-06-30T10:30:00.000-07:00

so this morning while standing an staring at the clothes in my closet--i had the thought--i'm sick of my clothes and i don't have anything to wear. now is that the truth? no not at all. there are plenty of clothes in my closet. are they cute? would you like to borrow some? probably not. i don't shop very often. i'm super cheap. and clothing is not my forte. anyway. about a year ago, i was in the habit of dressing like this. go to the closet, put on a t-shirt and pair of pants. night time- take off my pants and put on p-j bottoms and fall to sleep. then do it all over again. yes that's correct i wore the same shirt for about 24 hours and i owned mostly t-shirts. so i decided that it was time for a change. my goal was to only purchase shirts that i wouldn't possible sleep in as pajamas. this requires me to wear buttons, or frills, or nice material of some sort. also a year ago scott started a business--so that puts a damper on spending money. and my wardrobe is a little scanty. due to that fact-the shirts get boring after a while. because i probably wear the same shirt ever 9-10 days or so. that means i have about 7 shirts that i think are pretty cute and probably 4 that i think are kind of gross and were hand-me-downs so i don't wear them very often. also--whatever happened to back to school shopping every year--or growing out of clothes. sigh-oh to be a kid again. no wonder i never got sick of my clothes. and if i did i had 3 sisters closets i could raid. perhaps in a few more years i'll have about 24 shirts that i adore. until then--

Nap Time

2010-06-30T10:22:00.000-07:00

Ethan is soo funny. he takes a while getting ready for his nap. he often asks to take a nap. and he usually is happy to do so when i suggest it. i know crazy. but i've always tried to get really excited about nap time. i shut the door and pretend it is no big deal that i'll just see him in a little bit. and i've never used naps as a punishment. even if i know he needs a nap-i won't mention the fact until after his trauma drama is over. anyway ethan loves his blanket, and he always has to sleep with it. he also has certain toys he loves-depending on the day. like if he is playing with trains-he will pile the twenty something thomas figures on his bed and then climb in and take a nap. we recently got the coolest trucks from a neighbor. an all-metal tonka truck included! anyway he's been loving these trucks and he'll pile them all on his bed. i think there are 3 or 4 pretty good size trucks. needless to say- he then scrunches up in one little corner and takes his nap. it's pretty funny. i'll say, "ethan it's time for a nap- and this starts the 5 to 10 trips he needs to and from his bedroom to collect all the items he wants to sleep with. and then he goes to sleep. ahh love that guy.

Scott's Birthday

2010-06-29T17:53:00.000-07:00

June 28, 2010, Scott turned 28 years old! happy birthday love! oh how i love this man. he is incredible. i am so proud of him for starting his own business and sticking with it every single day. i am so proud of the father he is! our children simply can't get enough of their daddy! if there is someone they can always go to to have fun with-it's daddy. and if there is someone to hold them when they are hurting, no one is more patient and empathetic than dad. he is the bestest husband ever! boy-he sure does no how to make a wife feel loved and beautiful. i don't think there is a day that has gone by since we've been married that he hasn't shown or told me in one way or another that i am beautiful. --and that means a lot to a girl!!

We had a wonderful birthday. smoothies for breakfast, Cesar salad, watermelon, and rolls for dinner, and chocolate cake and coconut ice cream bars for dessert. We spent dinner picnic style in front of the movie Biscuit Eater-and amazingly old Disney. and Ethan loved the candles and singing happy birthday all day long to Scott. Cora loved the cake and we had a nice little trial eating for her upcoming birthday in august.

But the best part of the day--and a wonderful tender mercy-was that it rained!!! yes i know that doesn't mean very much to many of you out there. but to our little tanner family it means dad can't go sell. and so we get to spend lots and lots of time with him--what a great birthday gift!

little girls like to color

2010-06-13T17:56:00.000-07:00

sooo fun. i have found out that cora likes to color. she loves sidewalk chalk, and she enjoys scribbling on the asphalt. the first time i noticed was at a friend's house weeding. i needed to keep the kids busy so i pulled the chalk out of the car, that we had in there-thanks to our friend. an cora love it! it's so cute. ethan could care less about coloring, it entertains him for about 5 seconds and then he goes onto looking at bugs or picking up rocks. we went out to eat the other night and they had crayons and paper out for the children. cora caught on immediately and started scribbling all over the paper. i was so impressed. she's only ten months? isn't she too little for this? nope. she enjoys it. in fact the other night when we all went to the play ground ethan was a monkey and cora kept herself busy with sidewalk chalk.

lists

2010-06-08T10:25:00.000-07:00

everyday i make a list. well on my hope-to-be productive days i make a list. on my productive days i do my list. and then of course i feel great if i get everything done. it's tricky though because if i make the list and don't get things done then i feel like a slug. so i don't know which is better to go into a day with no expectations or to have high expectations and hopefully always achieve them. and then of course on the days that i don't well, i should cut myself some slack right? but i usually don't cut myself slack. but i find that if i don't make any list at all then, i don't accomplish nearly as much. my lists are mostly house-cleaning oriented. clean room, make bed, unload dishwasher etc. sometimes on my lists will be things like read ethan a book or take a shower. but mostly it's just a cleaning/outside chore kind of list. i also have a chart for the month of daily extras i want to get done. like dust fan, clean under bed, wipe outside of washer and dryer. that sort of thing. stuff i would never get to on my daily routine. does anyone else do this? how do you keep your house clean without lists?