Happy Birthday, my still-pretty-little-Peanut

You know you're a princess when you have, not one, but 3 birthday celebrations. We had cake with Grandma B before she left, cake at Stacey's yesterday, and our family party tonight (I was feeling a little guilty about not actually making a cake or doing much. And I think birthdays should be a big deal).

I made this devil's food cake which was really quite good. I have to admit, I'm not a huge fan of buttercream frosting. But it sure looked fluffy and pretty.

Evie attempted to blow the candles out (but still needed a little help from her big bro):

"What? They're really going to let me keep sticking my finger in it? Can this really be happening?"

"I can shovel more in with the fork . . ."

"Goodness gracious! I will not let you eat my cake!"

Things I love about my Evie:
- I love how much she talks now. She proudly announces herself as "Ebbie!!" She speaks in full paragraphs (though most of it is Evie-speak but every now and again you'll catch a word you recognize -- like "cake!" today).
- When I rock her before bed (she points at the chair now demanding "cudd-ew") she sings with me. Very loud. And (sometimes) on tune. Her current favorites are iddy-diddy-di-dew (itsy bitsy spider) and "too-ah ooh-ah" (tura lura, a lullaby my mom used to sing to me.)
- She spent the majority of her 2 year check up today dancing around the doctor's office, wearing nothing but her diaper, her shoes (which she proudly put on herself) and her two little pigtails.
- She is strong-willed. Her current favorite word is "NOOOOOO!" Yelled at the top of her lungs, sometimes for no apparent reason. Hopefully, she will use this for good.
- She loves. Everyone. Her family. Our friends. Her puppy. She loves.

Rome: Kelly Tourista

Our hotel is amazing. It's right downtown, about 50 yards from the best gelato place as well as this:
I've spent the last 2 mornings in by bright white running shoes with my camera+huge lens slung over my shoulder (absolutely screaming "American!" I realize). But my feet hurt! I don't know how these women walk around on cobblestone in spiky high-heeled boots all day.

Yesterday I did some shopping (well, drooling, really. There is a whole street lined with Prada, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Missoni, you name it. . .), visited the piazza Popola and Spanish steps, and walked around about a million piazzas and churches.

Today was gorgeous:

I wandered through the Campo di'Fiori (one of the many markets). I want a market sells fresh pasta and artichokes the size of my head.

This is the road I ran on this morning for my morning run:

It's a little tough to run on the cobblestone, but I'm really not complaining. . .


I walked through the Roman Forum, which is one of the coolest places I have ever seen.


All of the oldest ruins (ie 60+ years BC) are made with this very thin brick. You can see it all over Rome, with new buildings built on top. It's amazing to see the beautiful buildings they were able to create. I can only imagine how impressive it would have been then.
I took a walking tour (thanks for the guide book suggestion, Kim) of all of the arches built by early Roman leaders. The sculpture on the inside of this one is incredible.
Throughout the ruins, there are these intricate marble pieces, just dotting the ground.
Next on the agenda: museums and then the Vatican and Colosseum.

Rome: Day 1

We made it hear safely, even managing to sleep a little (though the men in front of us were arguing very emphatically throughout most of the flight -- about the Bible, I think).

We walked around most of the day yesterday and managed to hit most of the downtown sights. It's such an interesting city -- a mix of the very, very old (there are some ruins dating pre-Christ), classical Roman architecture, the Baroque, and the modern (Porches, Aston Martins + lots of women wandering around in very high black boots). It's fascinating.

We hit a local flea market this morning. Lots of leather and jewelry and antiques (ie mostly junk) all up for the bartering. Ken scored a pretty cool pair of shoes for about $30. I walked around more today, looking at fountains and piazzas and architecture.

The food is divine - I absolutely love well-done gnocchi and so I am in heaven. I'm starting my daily gelatto indulgence.

We'll post pics when we can!

Tourist

I work up this morning, and the temperature outside is a solid

-18

It's okay, though, because when Ken and I get to

Rome

on Friday it will be 70 degrees warmer than it is right now.

I'll be the tacky American walking around

in shorts, thank you.

I'll basically be spending the next week exploring the city while Ken is in meetings. Anyone have any suggestions of what to do?

Sale Alert: Shade Clothing

FYI, Shade clothing is taking 25% off their sale prices. There are tons of shirts, many for under $5. Great time to stock up on basics, me thinks. I like the puff sleeve top, shown here in blue.

Thrice?

Conversation with Sir Luke:

L: Mommy, how many times did Daddy get shots at work? {we have a slight obsession with S-H-O-T-S after the debaucle a few months ago with the flu shot}.
M: I think 2 or 3.
L: Hmmm {thoughtful look}. So was that twice that he needed shots or thrice?

The Princess hath Arrived

Santa brought Evelyn some dress up clothes for Christmas.

(I think someone was feeling guilty about the dominance of cars, trucks and shooting things in our house. And, frankly, wanted to play dress up.)

I was a little concerned that Evie wouldn't be as into it as Mommy was.

No need to worry. We spent an hour this morning trying on crowns and hats. "I-ahnt pwin-thess" she would say, and point to her head. Then she kissed her beautiful image in the mirror.

I guess I should have figured, given that I found her walking around in my satin red pumps yesterday.

Job Hazard

What do you think about while cuddling your sick 2 year old in the rocker?

Here is the thought stream running in my mind:

It's probably just viral, I'm sure it's just viral.
Maybe she's dehydrated. Her pulse feels kind of fast. (pull out stopwatch with light and maneuver checking pulse while trying not to wake the baby). 160? I think that's a little fast.
She was throwing up a few days ago. Do you think they're related?
Maybe her fever isn't from her cough, but from her appendix. (try to feel belly without waking sleeping baby). It can't be her appendix.
I'm sure it's just viral.
But she's been coughing and doesn't really have any other viral stuff.
Should I look in her ears? (which I don't do to my own kids -- don't mind at all looking at other people's kids' ears. but not my own.)
Darn. Maybe she's got pneumonia. She needs a chest X ray. If she was in the ER, I'd order a chest X ray.
Do normal people take their kids with fever for one day and a cough to the ER?
I can probably wait till tomorrow. I'll just check on her every few hours (and I did).

My poor, poor children.

Christmas Day Recap

On Christmas Morning, we:

Figured out that Santa really did come.

Watched the kids' excitement over their mountains of presents.

Well, Luke and Ryan were excited about the presents. Evie was mostly excited about her sucker.
Opened presents. And more presents. And more presents.

Luke was generous enough to offer his present -opening services to anyone who needed them (or, really, anyone who didn't need him).
Luke's favorite? His geotrax airplane, along with stuffed Stegosaurus ("Steggy"). He also loved his packet of cars (with his name on it) from Grandma and Grandpa.
Daddy got a PSP and a ton of games.
Grandpa got a new hat -- this is in remembrance of his old Indiana Jones hat that met an untimely end on a cruise ship a few years ago. Doesn't he look dashing?
Ryan's favorite present by far was the box of fruit snacks from Aunt Danica.
I got a new purse from my parents and a new, wide angle lens for my camera from Ken. Plus some very cool stuff from China (silk scarf, jewelry).

We spent the rest of the day playing games, enjoying the snow and making a snowman, an just hanging out. Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

Happy Birthday, Luke

Today the first day of 2009 (what? I'll never remember to write that on things. Never.)

It's also the 5th birthday of our oldest son and my first baby.

5 seems so old to me. Like the beginning - of the end.

School. Kindergarten. Riding the bus and being grown up then asking to borrow the car and taking girls out and getting married.

(I might be a little crazy).

But I love this boy.

I love his determined spirit and sense of leadership (this is the boy who at 2 years old was rounding up and leading games with the neighborhood kids).

I love his efforts to help - he cooks with me, puts away dishes, tries to help with Evie.

I love watching him with his baby sister. He reads to her, entertains her, begs to sit next to her during dinner, even shares his coveted fruit snacks.

I love his smarts. This is the boy who essentially taught himself to read (and was all put out a few weeks ago when we parked at a spot at the gym labeled "for parents with small children." He got a horrified look on his face after reading it and cried out "but Mom! I am not a small child!"). This is the boy who spent an hour last night practicing German words with his Daddy.

I love his big dreams. In his mind, he can do anything. This is the boy who shed tears this summer because he couldn't spike the "beach volleyball" (aka the 6 foot high volleyball net in my parents' backyard) over the net like he had seen them do in the Olympics. He's already planned out who he's going to play football for -- the BYU Cougars, Michigan, the Vikings, the Bears and the Packers (because "that's your favorite, Mommy").

I love his consistancy, attention to detail (some might call it O.C.D. I call it attention to detail). Life is good when everything has a plan. He reminds everyone -- including our nanny when we're gone -- that we read scriptures and say prayers every night. We sang "Silent Night" until at least mid-May because he loved the song and couldn't bear to put it to rest.

Happy birthday, my old little boy.