My Son the Diplomat

Enoch is a regular diplomat. This child at 4 years old knows what he wants and knows how to take you for a ride to get it. He isn't always successful however and lately when he fails the tantrums come on full force. However you who have recently experienced these tantrums will be glad to know that since Garrett has been home more and spending time with him they have almost gone away completely. He has been a little angel the last several days. Thank Heaven for that :)



Anyway, one example of Enoch's techniques is found in the Tahoe memoirs. Enoch had been trying to get a specific seat at the dinner table for a while but his cousin Nathan was sitting in that seat. Enoch, after failing in his attempts to win it with the adults, went to Nathan. He said Hey Nathan come look at your dog over here. It was one line and very subtle and if Nathan had heard him instead of being engrossed in something else Enoch would have been successful. He was luring Nathan away so he could jump in the seat and as we all know possession is 9/10 of the law.

Just between you and me

This funny picture is probably 8 months old and I just can't believe how much he has changed.

Today Enoch came up to me and said "Just between you and me, I think Ezra's kinda loud". I thought I might die laughing. Where does he get this stuff? Who says that-just between you and me?

The Not So Green Thing's

Just as in The March family (and the Anderson family)there is "much emphasis on perfecting oneself" in CA there is much emphasis on perfecting one's Green self. Everywhere you go people are eating green, speaking green, buying green, selling green, looking green. . . hm. I just realized today how un-green our family is in some ways. Children are just naturally un-green. They waste a lot of water, they make A LOT of laundry-what with throwing up, wetting the bed, soaking 4-5 hand towels in the bathroom sink everyday and not being able to re-wear any of their clothing it is next to impossible to "be green". They also waste a lot of food despite my efforts to make sure they eat what is served. It ends up on the floor, in hair, on clothes, in the garbage and most unfortunately on ME. At 3 years old Ezra still finds it most exhilarating (ok guys that was a major typo and no one said anything) and hilarious to "share" his food with other people. When we were in Tahoe he so kindly picked his cousin Nathan as the literal target for his food sharing. Much to my dismay he found it REALLY fun to chuck chicken at Nathan and make him cry. Sorry again Nathan-we love you. Many here would rather have dogs than children because they are more "green"-not us! I guess with our growing household of children it's a good thing I'm not too keen on being all green :)

Don't Cry over Broken Plates

This morning Enoch was spinning around in a chair and accidentally caught the table cloth and pulled off a plate which shattered on the floor. My first thought was Oh that's OK it is easily replaceable. Then as I cleaned it up Enoch was feeling badly and sad the plate was broken as Ezra kept repeating over and over "mom, that's sad that Enoch broke that plate." I said It's OK it was an accident and it isn't the end of the world. Enoch perked up and said "yeah, it's OK it was an accident and it isn't the end of the world. And anyways there's more plates". I am ashamed to say I didn't react the same way when he broke the lid to my Emile Henry Asian style flame clay pot without which I can't use the pan AND which you cannot replace without replacing the whole $200 and something $ pot. AH that still makes me want to cry :( I guess when I can react the same way when it is something of real value to me then maybe I will be close to translation :)

Swimming in Tahoe and baby Ethne

We went to Lake Tahoe for a week and had so much fun. Thank you Darryl and Gwenn for the vacation. Garrett was too busy finishing his new movie "A Christmas Carol" so he couldn't come and we missed him greatly. Uncle Aaron was studying for the MCAT but did manage to come for a few days and Aunt Camilla came to join the Fry's for a very fun time. Everyone enjoyed boating, swimming, hiking, playing games, crabby/tired children, making smore's, Uncle Matt's birthday eating sushi and more.

The drive there was almost without incident but the drive home was the longest three hour drive I have experience with throwing up, bloody nose, bathroom stops, traffic, feeding baby, threatened throw up and more. WOW 3 hours gone 5 is not my favorite. Poor Grandpa still had 2 more hours after he dropped us off. Thank you CA Grandpa for always being patient and a good sport when things go sour. We sure love you!


I couldn't resist putting in several of these because they were my favorite. The boys just adore their little sister.

Oh Ezra don't squeeze so tight. They are so rough with her sometimes. Well OK most of the time.

This is Ezra coming down the water slide at the pool. It was such a great pool and once they got passed their fear of the unknown by going with mom and grandpa they were soon doing it on their own. Ezra was the youngest and slowest to warm up but man he had fun.

This is Enoch going down on his own. The boys would go down the slide and then Lacey, Camilla, Grandpa or I would catch them at the bottom and quickly pass them off to the next person so the would be ready for the next crazy boy who would come down right after.

This is Nathan my nephew. He got to wear he didn't want to be caught at the bottom anymore by the last day but he would take such a beating under the water poor kid. They are all just learning to go under water and swim so it was quite an adventure.

here is Ethne at the pool. she spends her time at the pool much like her time at the beach. Except she seemed to want to eat much more at the pool. She is such a sweet baby.

She really isn't a pacifier baby but her daddy is determined she will be. We try to get her to take it to help her go to sleep on her own but she only takes it about 50% of the time and when she does it only stays in for a few minutes-sigh

Ezra swimming with Grandpa Fry--he sure had a good time.

At the unit right before swimming.

What Camilla did at the pool while I swam (she was keeping an eye on Ethne then we switched). Camilla was here with us for a month and I cried to let her go. We miss her so much and wish she lived with us, but we are so proud of her and who she is and can't wait for her to go to school this January and move on to a big part of her life in college. We love you Camilla!

What Uncle Matt did at the pool while everyone swam. He enjoyed reading complicated info. on how to do his job a little better-hard stuff. We miss you too Uncle Matt-come visit soon!

Aunt Lacey and cousin Nathan at the pool. Having a rest in the shade with snacks. And as always we can't get enough of our Lacey and Nathan. Come again soon--bring Matthew and Camilla :)

Dinner after the farmers market

Dinner outdoors in perfect weather. Who could ask for more. And of course what makes it really special is that I didn't have to cook it and neither did Camilla :) Food was good (had better) but man the bean dip was fantastic (salsa not so great).
Garrett doing the Godfather look

Cheese! Aunt Camilla can I eat this now? I don't want to finish my food :(

Camilla not eating with the rest of us--not hungry. Oh well not much of a loss since she did get to eat some bean dip.

Confessions of a coast girl (if I can really call myself that)

When Camilla was here we went to the beach 5 times. That is, I am ashamed to say, more than I have gone since I've lived here. The water has been SO cold and it has been SO windy every time I went that I thought-what's the point? Where is the beach weather??? So one night we went after Garrett got off work and as I sat on the sand nursing my baby and watching the sunset, I remembered how much I ADORE the beach and the ocean. I couldn't wait to go again. We went every few days for the next two weeks before we left for Lake Tahoe. Every time I went I felt a renewal of energy and knowledge that there is a God in Heaven.

My Beautiful Camilla

Action sequence of a monster attacking the sand--wow Ezra what a face!

Sunset

What Ethne does at the beach

Camilla made crowns out of seaweed for the boys and told them she was Queen of the pit she was sitting in. Enoch said he was King of pit #2 and Ezra announced he was King of pit #4. These pictures are from that.

King of pit #4

King of Pit #2

Ezra was sitting in his pit here and Garrett said "hey Ezra, so your a king?" Ezra made this face and soberly expressed "this is #4"

Baby wasn't very happy right before we left and she REALLY didn't want to have her picture taken. And yes I desperately need a hair cut but don't worry I will get it done soon :)

Ethne is four weeks old here wow! She sure is cute.

No Babies Were Harmed During These Pictures

I know many of you feel strongly about these "brain squeezers" so I must tell you that no babies were harmed during these pictures. I assure you this adorable little head band (Ellen and Mary gave her) was plenty big and didn't squeeze one little adorable thing :)

Profile shot of little Ethne. She is such a beautiful baby. We sure adore her. Thanks Ellen for the outfit-it looks great on her.

Ethne's First Bath

Grandma Fry gave Ethne her very first bath at home. Ethne loved getting her hair washed but once the diaper came off and she got cold she was a very unhappy baby. She still HATES to be cold. Something she inherited from both Grandma Fry and Grandmommy Anderson. Poor girl!