kissing cousins

One thing I love about living in Utah again is being close to so many cousins. We get to see cousins at least once a week, and the girls love it. I love it! The kids all get along really well (of course with a healthy dose of arguments and tears). But most of the time they really love seeing each other.

Mila and Tave have been getting along super well, and Tave's name is mentioned daily at our house. Here are a few tidbits I remembered to write down.

Conversation while coloring -
Kapria: Mila, I don't like your scribble scrabble.
Mila: Tave loves my scribble scrabble. [said so matter-of-factly, then walks away.]


Mila to Tave: The dentist said 'no more pacifier for Mila!' But I want my paci back.
Tave: Just use your fingers. Like me.
[Then he sticks his two middle fingers in his mouth, as he's done since he was a baby. Mila tries it, then takes her fingers out of her mouth immediately. Over the next few days I notice her trying to suck on her fingers at random moments, probably when she's missing her paci.]

Mila at the dinner table: Tave said 'I eat poop!' Ha ha ha! Poop. Poop. Poop. Ha ha ha!

Mila to me: Can I call Tave to see if he misses me and I miss him?

She also is convinced that she and Tave will get married when they are older. No amount of explaining has helped change her mind. And every so often she'll attack him and try to kiss him. She nearly bowls him over in her kissing attempts or, if he's lucky and sees it coming, he runs away. I think all kids have a crush on an older cousin at some point. (I know I did.) So I'm not worried about that. But how did my sweet baby girl become such a kissing monster?

fingerpainting

sunday dinner

We live only thirty minutes away from Kjerstin and Jeff, but we realized we haven't seen a lot of each other in the last year. So Kjerstin and I are trying to be better about planning things. One of our plans is to do a monthly family dinner, which we are loving! They invited us down on Sunday, and of course I had to take some pictures, especially with our adorable nephews. I just can't get over Ashton and those darling little lips. He is such a pretty baby. Kapria, McKay, and Mila play so well together. Keith and Grandma Petersen came for dinner too, and we had a great time catching up. It's always fun to see our family. Thanks for a fun night, Kjerstin and Jeff!

arrived!

Our newest niece arrived!

She is darling and has lots of dark hair like her big sister Reverie. And look at those adorable rosy cheeks - I just want to hold her and kiss her! This is the first time I haven't been close enough to help my sisters when one has a baby, and it makes me so sad. I am really missing them. Somehow I need to get to Utah in the next few months so I can meet this beautiful girl.

We're far away, but we love you, Tanneah!  

utah writing trip: part 1

I spent the last few days in Utah attending an amazing writing conference. The week: pretty much awesome. It was stuffed with lots of writing and reading and learning and family and friends. It was a little weird to be kid-free for eight days, but I'm going to admit right now that it was also really nice.

(Though I nearly cried every time I heard the girls' voices on the phone. Is it possible that Mila started talking even more in the few days I was gone? Yes, yes she did.)

Saturday, June 11, 2011
I flew into SLC on Saturday night and Chels picked me up. I got to spend the night at her house and hang out with my adorable nieces and nephew. And success: Aydrien likes me now! It used to be that he would barely tolerate me giving him hugs and kisses, but suddenly he actually wanted me. He came and sat in my lap, played games with me, grabbed my hand, read books to me. And I loved it. He still wipes my kisses off his cheeks, though, so I guess he's not totally convinced I'm okay.

Sunday, June 12
Chels, the kids, and I drove down to Nicole and Jeff's to celebrate the boys' birthdays. We got out the parachute. I love parachutes. Have you been under any lately? You should try it.

Abby let me borrow her car for the entire week (thank you!), so after the party I drove up to Sandy. I checked in to the hotel and wrote like mad to prepare for a pitch-session with an editor (on Monday). I had to figure out an end to my novel, which currently doesn't have one. Hah.

Monday, June 13
First day of the conference: Awesome. I'm in a great class with twelve other fabulously talented writers and I get to enjoy it with my critique partner, Christian. The only thing that would have made the week better was if our other critique partner, Alicia, could have been there. They're both writing some amazing books right now and I can't wait for the world to get to read them. Hmm . . . speaking of reading them . . . I can't wait read the rest of those manuscripts. (hint, hint.)

I also met with an editor and we talked about my manuscript. She had a lot of questions based on the synopsis I'd written (yes, just the night before). And she had some really good suggestions about the plot of the novel, which makes me super excited to get working on it again. Yay!

After day one, my sisters and sister-in-law came to Sandy for our first ever Abreu Girls' Night. I can't believe that at 30 I'd never had a girls' night with both my sisters at the same time. Luckily it worked out for Nicole and Chelsea and Abby to all come, and we had so much fun being together and not being interrupted by children. Lovely perfect. We went out to dinner, then wandered around Target for awhile (we were just supposed to pick up some water and batteries, but we took a lot longer than that and ended up with a lot more than two items; and yes, even some crazy goofy pictures that will not be posted). Afterwards we went back to my hotel and sat in the hot tub and talked. For a long time. It was fantastic. Chels had to head home, but Nic and Abby stayed with me overnight and I was glad. I hate staying in hotels alone.

 i love me my sisters

Tuesday, June 14
This is where I got bad about taking photos of the week and pretty much don't have a single one until Friday. But let's see. Tuesday night Alicia and her husband, Tyler, came up to go to dinner with me and Christian. So a little history here: Alicia, Christian, and I met last year at this same conference, where we were in Ann Dee's writing class together. A lot of writers form critique groups where you help each other by sending chapters of your work-in-progress and critiquing each other's work. That's what we do for each other. Well, kind of. I haven't been very good about critiquing . . . or writing anything, for that matter. But they both write like crazy. And are so so good! And they both encourage me to write, and bug me if I don't, and that's what I need. If I ever get this novel done (I will), it will be in large part because Travis and the two of them won't let me quit writing it (and I'm glad).

So, we had a great night at dinner. Yay!
And the workshop and conference day was awesome, but honestly, I'm too tired to go look through my notes and tell you what we talked about.

Wednesday, June 15
 Conference day. Awesome again. Ann Cannon is amazing and funny and smart and I'm feeling so lucky to be in her class right about now.

Went to dinner with my lovely coworker Paige, who drove up just to see me. She seriously made my day. She's one of the many people I miss seeing every day at work. So so much. (And yep, forgot a picture.)

And that's all for Part 1, folks. The last four days coming soon.

arrived!

Our newest nephew arrived this week:

Ashton James Yates

Sunday, June 5, 2011 - 5:15 am

6 lbs 12 oz - 18 inches

We were so excited to meet him! The girls and I drove Yaya down to Kjerstin & Jeff's, and we got to spend some time with them and the baby. We were all sad to miss McKay, who was still with his Grandma Jodie. But we could have held that sweet baby all day. The girls adored him and wanted to kiss him and hug him (I finally had to force them to go play and let him be). He has a perfectly round head, dark swirls of hair, and the tiniest little nose and lips. He's adorable!

As I held him, I couldn't help thinking of Kapria as a newborn. She was just one oz lighter and half an inch taller - so nearly the same size as him. These precious spirits, children of God, come to us so tiny. Yet so brave and strong. And so very very loved.

We love you so much already, baby Ashton.

notes

We got a fun valentine package in the mail from Nicole and the boys. The girls and I had so much fun opening it. Kapria got this note from Weston (with an added sticker from Mila):

As she was holding it in her hands I said, "Kapria that's awesome - Weston drew a picture of you!"

She said, "I love it so much!"

Then she looked in the package again.

"But where's Mila's? Did he draw one of her?"

I said, "I don't think so."

She was still holding the picture in her hand. She looked down. Then she turned the paper over.

"Oh look, Mom, he did!"

And so he did:

Thank you West - for *both* our pictures!

saying goodbye

Thursday 01.06.2011

We spent our last night in Utah at Shawn & Abby's. After the girls went to bed and Shawn left for work, Abby and I went out for a girls' night to get some ice cream and chat. We had a great time. I'm so lucky to have her for a sister-in-law.

The next morning, Trav and I packed up our car, said goodbye, and were off...kind of. We got such a late start that we decided to stop at Nicole's for a quick lunch (and to pick up some of the things Mom & Dad forgot). It was fun to see the boys one more time, but so hard to say goodbye (again).

This conversation was funny. Kapria has been asking a lot of questions about death ever since Grandma Anthony's funeral. And Tave was pretty concerned about the animals we saw at the Bean Museum. So there's your background.

animals!

01.05.2011

One of our favorite places to visit when we're in Utah is the Monte L Bean Life Sciene Museum. The kids love seeing all the animals, and it's a fun indoor activity for those cold winter days (and it's free!). I didn't get a chance to see many friends on this trip since our focus was family, but I did make plans to meet up with a friend and her boys at the museum. Since her sister works there, they set up a quick live-animal show for the kids. They loved it! Nicole & the boys, Chels & the kids, and Shawn & Abby all came, too.

It was a lot of fun. I think the bears were probably the favorite for my kids this time, probably because the lion exhibit (which Kapria loves) was closed.

Side note - if you're trying to go somewhere to have time to chat with a friend, don't go to the musuem. Ann Dee and I realized that bringing all our kids doesn't make for much conversation time for us. Next time we'll have to plan something with just us.

abreu family christmas

Sunday 01.02.2011

When I was a kid, we always participated in a Christmas gift exchange with our siblings and our cousins. I love continuing that tradition with our kids. Usually we open the gifts on Christmas Eve, but since we were all in Utah together after the new year, we decided to wait until then. We drove to Chelsea & Rob's house, had a delicious dinner, and watched the kids open their gifts*. It was so fun to be all together. (We missed Mckenon, though. Can't wait for this next Christmas when he'll be home!)

Opening  Gifts!

Grampa Dan & Nonny Kare with all their Grandkids

Weston (4) - Tave (2) - Ryder (5 mo) - Aydrien (22 mo)

Reverie (5 mo) - Syanne (4) - Mila (16 mo) - Kapria (3 yr)

*We did learn one thing, though. Kapria had Weston for the gift exchange, and we decided to get him an awesome Melissa & Doug puzzle that would help him as he learns to read. Very cool gift? Yes. But fun for a 4-year-old to open when all the other kids around him are getting toys? Not so much. I felt so bad. So...next year we'll make sure all the kids get something fun to open and play with :)

another arrival!

Spy Drysdale

arrived on July 20, 2010 at 4:43 pm

7 lbs 11 oz - 20.5 inches

He is so tiny and so perfect. I only held him for about a minute, but already I'm in love with my newest nephew.

The rest of the family will be meeting him tomorrow. We can't wait!

Stay tuned for his real name...Jeff & Nicole are still discussing. I've got my prediction for what they'll pick, but then again, they like to surprise us all. For the story of his nickname, click here.

arrived!

Reverie Jade

Born July 9, 2009

5:07 pm

8 lbs 6oz - 19 inches

She is Chelsea & Rob's first baby to have a whole head of hair - and the first to have dark hair! It's adorable. And she has tan skin and full, pink lips. She is one beautiful baby.

We got to meet Reverie when she was two days old. The girls loved holding her and watching her. I did too. We didn't want to put her down.

We love her so much already.

crib climbers

Why is climbing in the crib so much fun? It's one of their favorite things to do whenever we get together, whether it's Mila's crib or Tave's.

cousins are so much fun

Our weekly visits have been so good. Sometimes they're not quite weekly, but we try. Kapria and Syanne play really well together and are pretty good about sharing their toys. Aydrien gave me the biggest grin. Love it! Chelsea got a beautiful haircut. I haven't seen her with bangs in years. Her hair is gorgeous and looks great with layers. We are going to miss them so much. I can't think about it too much or I'll start to cry.  

the aquarium

We had to visit one last time before our passes expired, so we went with Nicole and the boys. We had so much fun running around. I love looking at the octopus the most; she was all stretched out and moving around.

For the first time since we've gone, there was a really friendly bat ray who came up to the surface of the water so that Kapria could touch him (her?). He was swimming laps around the exhibit and kept coming back. Normally they all stay at the bottom, which is too deep to reach without getting all the way up to my shoulder wet, so she'd never been able to touch them before. She loved it, and kept running around to the other side to try to meet the bat ray and touch him again. She loves animals so much.

We let each kid pick out a small toy at the aquarium store. I'm a sucker and had to get Mila something, too. Who can't use a seahorse dad with 3 little babies that sit in his pouch? (Side note: Trav noticed that most of our books that involve a parent and a child refer to the moms; for some reason we don't have many dad books, at least where animals are concerned. I told him it's because the dads take off in the wild. So when I saw this seahorse, I had to get the one dad animal that is awesome in his fatherly duties.)

popsicles

...are the best way to keep cool.

On yet another afternoon after work, we decided to pull out the pool and let the kids play. We enjoyed popsicles and funny kids and good conversation. I love those afternoons.

our hot diggity discussion

weekend with the boys

We're swapping overnighters with Nicole & Jeff. Their overnighter was Friday, July 10th. They dropped Weston and Tave off at our house at 4:30pm.

We spent the next 24 hours together.

We had pizza for dinner, then drove down to Nic & Jeff's to spend the night (more room for all of us). We got the kids ready for bed, then started the routines.

Tave went to bed first. Easy as pie. He even cuddled with me. I love that. He never cuddles with me if Nicole is there. So it was nice to have some Tave-time sans mommy (no offense, Nic!).

Then it was Weston's turn. We had pulled his bed into Nic & Jeff's room, because we figured Kapria would do better on her own than sharing with us. West was thrilled to be sleeping in the same room with Aunt Shar & Uncle Trav. We read a few stories, then he climbed into his bed and said goodnight.

Last it was Kapria's turn. She actually went down really well. It was late enough by then that she was exhausted, and by the time I put her in the playpen, she was sound asleep.

Three babies asleep. Gosh I love them so much.

****************

"You'll be waking up at 7 or 7:30 with Tave," Nicole had said.

I got up a few times in the morning to use the restroom, and each time I listened at the door for Kapria or Tave. Neither made a peep.

So I was surprised when I woke up to a clock that said 9:15am. What?! I ran into the hall and heard Tave calling out in his room. Time to get up. But oh - thank you, kids, for a great sleeping-in day!

****************

The rest of the day was long and short. Three kids 3 and under is a lot of work. Thank you, Nic, for watching Kapria so much for us. I know that it is hard work!

But three kids 3 and under is also a lot of fun. We played hide and seek and frisbee. We pretended to be elephants. We watched a show. We played at the park. We hung out in the backyard and ate otter pops in the sun. We cuddled. We laughed. We played chase.

It was a great weekend, and I loved spending good times with my hubby, my baby, and my nephews.

Here Are the Elephants

beat the heat

Today when I got home from work, Nicole had the kiddie pool out on the front lawn, filled with water and ready to be played in. The kids were waiting for me to arrive, anxiously running around the living room in their swimsuits. We slathered on the sunscreen and headed outside.

They splashed and played in the water. Nic and I chatted and sat in the shade. We all shared some ice cream sandwiches (mmm…mint chocolate chip). Then they decided the water was too cold. They’d rather try some other things.

So they did. And we followed them around taking photos.
It was a perfect afternoon.

they're home!

Kapria and I have been missing them oh so much these past three weeks. Nicole, Weston, and Tave have been in Texas, and we have been sad. Kapria asks about them nearly every day:

"Where's Jeff?" ("he's at work")
"Where's Cole?" ("she's in Texas")
"Where's Weston?" ("he's in Texas visitng his grandma and grandpa")
"Where's Tave?" ("he's in Texas with Nicole and Weston")

So I was excited to tell her we were going to see them TODAY.
And see them we did.

We had lunch with all of them at our house and played and talked and talked. Kapria and Weston ran all around, laughing and yelling, and Tave happily crawled around carrying a little figurine of Big Bird.

Then tonight we went to their house (because Trav is still working out of town, so I invited myself over and Jeff & Nicole were kind enough to oblige. we're family - I can do that). We played outside, had dinner together, and the kids all took a bath.

It was a great day.

We're so glad they're finally home!!

we love even more family

One of Trav's cousins got married, and Mom & the kids and Kjerstin & McKay all came in town for the event. We loved seeing them, though it went way too fast. Trav had to head out of town for a scout high adventure trip, so he wasn't able to attend the reception. But we had a fun evening together. Kapria and YaYa even danced. I would have, but after dancing big and pregnant at Shawn and Abby's wedding, I vowed I would never do that again. Too much of an awkward spectacle...

But here are the fun people we sat with:



Kapria also found a friend who loves dancing and holding hands as much as she does. Unfortunately, the cute video I got won't upload...so see the picture above.

*************

After the reception, Kjerstin & McKay came home with us and spent the night. Once the kids were in bed, the two of us talked for several hours. And ate taffy cookies with milk. Yumm. I love my sister-in-law. We don't talk often because neither of us are great at making phone calls. But when we do see each other, it's always comfortable and fun, and we pick up where we left off. I love that about us. Thanks for a great night and great conversation, Kjerstin. I miss you!

*************

Kapria loved playing with McKay the next morning. She adores him. (Who wouldn't?!)

I want to kiss those cheeks!