Three Years Roll by for Pumpkin!

Thus little doll of mine is officially 3!  Being the youngest in the family makes you grow up fast as you are endlessly trying to 'catch up' with you siblings.  Also being the sister to a special needs brother really matures you quickly and so the number of your age is never truly indicative of your soul.  This girl has been 2 going on 18 forever!  Perhaps it because I'm too tired and busy with the others, or perhaps it's because she has so many roll models, but much of what she does is a  matter of her choice and not ours.

Take potty training for example.  There are days when I'll suggest it and it's a firm no that when I push becomes an anxiety ridden experience for all of us with little successs.   On the other hand if it's a day she consents of her own than this is hardly any accidents and I barely need to do anything aside from keep her entertained with a YouTube video in the tiled area and she will train herself , hopping on and off the potty as needed with on,y a few gentle reminders of proper hygiene.

Watching Bug do judo she was thrilled once It was offered into class by Sensei.  She quickly and dutifully learned her falls, impressing all the other students.  Her size and age are yet too small to practice much in the way of taking others down and she has since grown bored of only doing the falls so she goes to class as a social thing.  If her friends aren't there she has absolutely no incentive and nothing can be done.  Once they're there she becomes their little mascot to rally around and playfully wrestle on the mats.  They often tell me how cute she is and how they wish she could be their little sister so if she ever was lacking in older siblings she has a classful now!

With homeschooling she is quickly exposed to all her numbers and letters.  She loves playing with the Bananagrams when I'm working on spelling with the older two.  She recognizes all of them and is actively learning their sounds now.  Sometimes she can be heard to coach Bubby, much to his irritation, and like a little sponge she is trying to 'read' to herself.  My favorite was when reading aloud The Hungry Caterpillar and she could be heard to say with great emphasis, "but he was STILL HUNGRY!"

The perks of being young is that you are free to say what comes to mind with little thought to social implications.  She overheard me reeming out the older two and came up to pat my knee.  Looking earnestly into my face she said, "Mama, you fuss-rated?  Sorry.  Okay, time to move on, read me a book?"

The night before her birthday she had a special dinner out with just Mama and Baba.  We stopped to pick up her special gift at Build-A-Bear that she lovingly named Fluffy Bunny.  The following day we spent at the Family Fun Fair where she played games and ate cookies and candies to her hearts content.

Everytime she was asked what she wanted for her cake her list would grow longer and longer.  I quit letting the kids ask her for fear I could never meet her request.  It was a bunny, butterflies, flower, rainbows and clouds cake.  This was my best attempt, particularly with so little time to prep after our SLC trip.  Thankfully she's pretty easy to please and we shared it with a friend from church on sunday evening.

We are so grateful to have her in our lives.  Three years has flown by so quickly and she keeps us smiling with all her little spunk.  You are our pumpkin doll and life is so much better with you Leora!  Happy Birthday my little love!

Good Old Salt Lake City

Nearly 9 months ago we planned a week long vacation out to Salt Lake City.  It was a chance to see some family and friends and show the kiddos the area I had spent much of my college years.  About a month ago I discovered that my brother James would be down from Canada the exact same week for a marathon he was running in St. George.   It really was such a blessing to see him, Sam and their two little ones again.  Reunions with friends, a family dominated our trip interspersed by sightseeing, exploration and heaven forbid - learning!

On the way out we stopped in Vegas to see my old roommate Kari.  Our kids are close in age and although it was only for a few hours it was wonderful to eat dinner together and catch up.

The following night was a massive Asian ward reunion held at Sean and Lareen Luangrath.  Our kids ate and played while I got to meet my friend's spouses and we could reminisce and joke about our college dating years.  As always it was a massive potluck of everything that I have missed eating for the last few years.  I'm pretty sure my entire weight gain from the trip was from this one night!  Jokes were made about who serenade all the girls, who swore they'd never marry a Caucasian (and eventually did!) who dated everyone and who married young enough to scare their parents into thinking life ended for them.  Time does change one's perspective.

These boys sure were hungry for ice cream!

There were also discussion about people who had passed on, trials and struggles of those there or those we kept in touch with.  Flipping through old photo albums was sobering to see how fleeting life is and how intense truly living can be at times.  These  people were my family in so many ways and for so many years.  They are still the people I tend to miss of from my fancy free days of youth.  I truly love that I can reconnect with them as if the 20yrs had never really passed us by.

The first museum we saw was The DaVinci.  It's focus was on art, science and creation.  It was an excellent start for us since it was quiet and not too overstimulating for Bubby.  We wandered Temple Square for a bit in the afternoon.

This preying mantis was nearly stepped on but my girl was thrilled to see it camouflaged among the fallen leaves and saved its life.

The following day we spent with my brother James and his family at the Natural History Museum near University of Utah.  Kent and I were split, either one of us spent the time wandering with Bubby on stairs or playing with doors while the other supervised the 3 muchkins or took pictures of the cousins together.  In all the hub bub I never got a shot of Sam and James with us.  It was nice that our timeshare was so close by that we could have lunch and some downtime there.  It was nice to just chat with Sam and James.

The following day we also spent together at Temple Square and a dinner with Matt and Aunt Margaret.  I don't think there's been a single time I've been to Utah and not seen Margaret, she is most certainly adopted family.  They so kindly spoiled our children with small gifts, food and attention.  We are so blessed to know such good people.

Herding kittens was the phrase used to describe this attempt at pictures!

The following day we went to the Museum of Curiosity at Thanksgiving point.  Three of the kiddos could have lived there!  Bug took advantage of their ropes course, Pumpkin got over her fears and climbed a few rope bridges with me.  Bud was making friends on his own and playing happily. 

I love how big sister is helping her out and her oh so serious expression as she collects the water.

Only Bubby really struggled with things, there were just too many people, too many activities and lots of noise.   While the others would have loved to stay longer we took time off in the afternoon to do a small hike in canyons to see 'real' fall leaves.  It was cold and our AZ blood was ill prepared for the 'wonderful' weather.  We had a blast all the same and hope to make bookmarks of the leaves we collected.

Our final day we spent near Brigham Young University, my old alma mater.  The Bean Museum that I had spent my days at for my entomology classes had been redone and was beautiful!  It was gratifying to see Isaac really stop and read and learn from each othe displays.  It makes the ideals we have of learning is a part of living come to reality.

  Ice cream from the BYU Creamery was a must and while Kent and the other kiddos hit the dinosaur museum, Bubby and I wandered student housing nearby.

Later that evening we spent it with Kent's sister, Stephanie and Keith.  The cousins hadn't seen each other in over 4 years and they had never even met Pumpkin.  It was so good to see them and catch up on family and upcoming events.  A simple meal shared, some nerf guns (never got pictures of them shooting each other!) a little backyard play makes for a wonderful end to a lovely trip.

We are so grateful for all the friend and family that made the trip so fun and memorable.  The museums and sights are nice but they always pale in comparison to the people along the way.