October

October began with general conference weekend - our favorite. Since I'd bought a used bread maker from a friend for cheap and hadn't used it yet, I decided to try a recipe for Cinnabon-knockoff cinnamon rolls that uses a bread maker. Wrenzy watched, then appeared to kiss:

Smiles:

Ever ate most of a cinnamon roll and posed for a picture:

Then she declared that she doesn't care for them, and could we never do cinnamon rolls again, just belgian waffles? For her, nothing beats waffles with chocolate chips (or Nutella) and whipped cream. Jim and I thought the cinnamon rolls were amazing.

That Saturday afternoon, Ever had a little dance recital at the Y. It was very cute. She didn't pay a lot of attention to the teacher and thus was not super-aware of what she was supposed to be doing. The highlight was when she caught sight of Wrenzo, who was in front and off to the side. Ever grinned directly at Wren nearly the whole rest of the dance and said, "Hiya, cutie!" for all to hear just as the dance was ending:

Getting her certificate:

Sunday Jim read Fantastic Mr. Fox to Ever while Wren enjoyed her own book:

One of the first things Wren started saying was, "Hello, Papa." We are not sure where it came from and are quite certain she didn't really know what she was saying, but we loved it.

When I run a bath for Wren, she scoots quickly right under the faucet with her cup to catch the water. She loves bath time.

One time our house turned into a call center:

It's ridiculously hard to get out of the house. There's no time between feeding, naps, etc. I made a heroic effort once to meet Susan and kids at the park so Wren and Ever could get some time outside. Ever rode her bike with an unidentified white object hanging out of her mouth:

I was over by the table hanging out with Susan and saw that Wrenzy had climbed onto the play equipment. It occurred to me that I should go supervise her, so I went to the bridge where she was. I got there just in time to stop her from walking/falling off the opening after the bridge. Then Susan came over, and we picked up our conversation. I was talking to her with my back to Wren when Wren plunged off that opening and landed with her face on the metal spiral climby thing right next to it. She cried and cried and cried, and I got lots of blood on my shirt (some on hers, too). She wouldn't let me look in her mouth, and I didn't know what to do. We eventually got the bleeding under control and headed home. She looked like Elephant Man.

The next day:

No teeth fell out, and she has healed nicely. Poor thing. I'm a bad mom.

Then it was my birthday weekend. I realized on Friday that if Jim studied all day Saturday (for his peds boards) and I had to spend another weekend cooped up in the house taking care of the kids, I would be really depressed. I told him so when he came home from work Friday evening. There may have been tears. I said, "I just want to spend time outside with my family. I'm not asking for diamonds. "He said, "Yeah, you're asking for my time" - which is harder. After a second, he said, "Okay." And he didn't study all weekend. 

We watched a movie and ate junk food that night. 

Saturday our only goal was to go on a hike. Jim and Ever went to building cleanup that morning. They came home in the ten o'clock hour. We got ready, packed up, discussed where to go, ate lunch, etc. In this phase of life, everything takes forever. It was hot that day, so I was concerned about the weather. We checked the forecast for Palomar Mountain, and it was nice and cool. We subsequently decided to try a trail someplace out by Temecula, and we didn't think to check the weather again. We finally got out of the house around 1:00 P.M. We drove about an hour and a half to the trailhead. It was really hot there. It was supposed to be over 80 degrees. The only thing I had to carry Wrenzy in was my thick, warm Moby wrap. Some hikers confirmed that there was virtually no shade on the trail. It seemed really, really miserable out there. We got everybody sunscreened up while debating whether we should even do that hike. Finally, I made the call: we should go to Palomar, which was just as far from where we were as it is from our house. We got to the Palomar entrance around 3:30. I paid the fee and spoke with the ranger. As I was getting back in the car, Wren threw up on herself and her car seat. She had been crying and saying "Mama" repeatedly on the way up the windy road. We had ignored her. Apparently she was car sick. We changed her clothes and wiped down the car seat. At 4:45 P.M., we started our little 1.5-mile jaunt. 

When we got into the woods, I said, "Ah! It's so lovely! I'm SO happy right now!" Jim said something about how it was sad that I'm so easy to please - like my life must be terrible. Clearly I need to get out more. It was just so nice to be in trees:

Very early on, Ever took a tumble while she was running along the trail. She tripped on a root or something, and Jim and I watched her go down. At first we were sad that she was falling, but it seemed as if she'd catch herself with her hands and be fine. Because of the forward momentum, however, she just kept tumbling forward until she faceplanted. She came up with a face and mouth full of dirt. We gave her some taffy to get the dirt taste out of her mouth, and she recovered nicely:

Wrenzy answers every question "no." Even before she was speaking very much, she said "no" in such a way that it made you think she was totally conversant. 

Once I made it to Target. I tried to wear Tyna in a carrier, but she kept fussing. Went back out to the car and tried again with her in her car seat. She was happy as a clam. The cart was full of girls, but I still managed to fit nearly $300 worth of merchandise around them. (There must have been some small big-ticket items.)

Wrenzy had to be kept at bay with snacks I brought and snacks I bought.

Wrenzy continued to make amazing messes, particularly with yogurt:

She loves "couch time" with Jim and Ever. She "body-slams" them by walking over them or falling/jumping on them.

Happy post-bath Tyna:

Tyna looking like a boy:

I took Ever to Super Cuts to fix my uku-inspired hack job. Her first real haircut:

I kept Wrenzy busy while we waited (Arden doesn't require much tending):

When Ever was done, the bigger girls started getting rambunctious, and we had to leave:

Jim left on his annual surf trip to Mexico on Friday, October 14. Saturday Ever went to a birthday party for a new friend from preschool, Violet Todd. We were super late because - kids. So hard. Then when we arrived, she got scared. Of course she ended up having a marvelous time and didn't want to leave. I ended up chatting with Violet's mom when I picked up Ever, and turns out the Todds and we have mutual friends (Dave and Nicole Watkins).  The girls at the princess party:

All of us girls had a cold to varying degrees, and I decided we'd better stay home from church that Sunday. We enjoyed Music and the Spoken Word in the morning.

We proceeded to have the most churchtastic non-church Sunday ever. Ever and I read the Friend magazine and other things while the littles napped in the morning. After lunch Wren, Ever, and I sat at the girls' tiny play table, and I gave the lesson I had prepared for Nursery. We did prayers and all. Then Ever gave a fake Primary class that was very cute. On a more secular note, there was some play time in the circus tent, which the girls like to tip over:

I really, really wanted to get out of the house, so we went for a walk while dinner cooked. The asparagus was mush by the time we got home, but it felt so good to get out.

While Jim was gone, I discovered a pantry-moth infestation. It all started when I saw a little white worm about to drop off the bottom of the big lower cupboard in our kitchen where I keep lots of flour, rice, nuts, etc. I thought the worm was gross and briefly wondered what it was doing there. Then I got rid of it and didn't think about it again until that night, when I found a bunch of worms in that cupboard, all over the outsides of packages (mainly concentrated on the top shelf). They generally had a little webbing around them. Few people in the world are more grossed out by little critters than I am. It was the sickest thing. I threw away a bunch of stuff and cleaned the shelves. It was totally horrifying, and it took me a long time because I had to pause to muster the courage to grab each worm. I was so disgusted. I didn't know what they were at the time. Then we started to get a bunch of moths, and Melanie - who had just dealt with such an infestation - clued me in. The worms were the larvae. I had to go back through the pantry, and I did, indeed, find more larvae. They get into little nooks and crannies. In the end, I threw away a ton more food, including probably 20 boxes of pasta; cleaned all over again; and started storing more staples in the fridge or freezer. I have to say, I had a lot of old stuff in my pantry, and it probably was high time for me to clean it out. I was devastated about the waste, though. Stocking up on things like pasta had been my fake food storage. It didn't work out. Turns out stuff we buy has eggs in it, and then this happens. I was telling JoAnn (babysitter) about it, and she said she knew somebody in her neighborhood who had just dealt with the same thing. Who knew? Anyway, we kept seeing a moth or two nearly every day for weeks, but we finally completely recovered. Nightmare.

Ever continued to sleep on the floor in weird ways:

I don't know why I took this picture of Wren :

Melanie Karner's birthday is the day after mine. Derrick wanted to do something special because it was her 40th, so he organized and sponsored a surprise girls' weekend later in the month. He contacted husbands first to make sure they could be on kid duty that Friday afternoon. He got pizza and salads for everyone to eat while we convened at Heidi Hawkins's house around noon. Then we got full-service pedicures in Carlsbad and headed down to San Diego, where we enjoyed a delicious dinner and stayed overnight in a super-nice corner suite with an amazing view of the harbor. Derrick had decorated the room, left notes from their kids, and filled the coffee table and a big cooler with more snacks and drinks than we could've gotten through in a month. 

We took way too long hanging out at Heidi's house so didn't get to live it up in the suite as much as we would have liked. By the time we got back from dinner, most of us were pretty tired. Amy Thompson rallied the troops and got us down to one of the hot tubs, where we stayed until after midnight (way past when the pool area was supposed to close). I thought this incredibly-specific sign was funny:

The next morning we walked to a trendy restaurant for a late, large breakfast. (For one of our anniversary getaways, Jim and I stayed at a hotel by the one Derrick booked, and we actually ate at the same breakfast place.) Then we checked out of the hotel, left our stuff with the bellhops, and walked to the harbor to catch a ferry to Coronado. 

Susan, Amber, Heidi, Amy, and Sabrina:

Once we got to the island, we stopped in a store so Amber could buy a hat. Then we rented bikes and rode to the beach. We'd brought some of the drinks and snacks Derrick had left for us. I had a Snapple in honor of my high-school days.

We didn't have nearly enough time to relax on the beach before we had to head back. We ended up running to the ferry and barely made it. 

The birthday finale was dinner at Panera and a viewing of the new Jack Reacher movie at the adjacent Regal theaters in Carlsbad. 

How crazy nice is Derrick? He didn't want to put anyone out so sponsored everything. Apparently the Karners really like to do birthdays up right, especially milestone birthdays. It was amazing.

Speaking of amazing, how great is this picture?

Wrenzy had Rice Krispies with milk for breakfast one morning and made the hugest mess. I had to bathe her in the sink afterward. Ever wanted in the shot:

Wrennington was a good sport.

Bear Bear loves her little sister. It's adorable. All day long, anytime she catches sight of the babe, she says, "Hiiiiiii, Tyna!" 

One of those rare times we went for a walk:

A few days before Halloween, Jim, nominally assisted by Ever, carved a pumpkin:

This commercial came on that follows millions of colorful balloons, and Wrenzy was completely mesmerized:

Peanut-butter face:

Once when Ever got the mail, she saw this: 

"There's two mail trucks, and it's super weird," she said.

I got a call one day from my visiting teachee, Gwen Holm. She said she was at a thrift store (she volunteers at a preschool and gets stuff there for the kids) and had found a Rapunzel dress that looked like it would fit Ever. She had asked Ever at church what she wanted to be for Halloween, and Ever had said Rapunzel. Gwen said the dress was only a dollar and asked if she should get it. I gave her the go-ahead. I mentioned to Ever the possibility of getting a wig, and she declined; she wanted to be Rapunzel after she cut her hair. (Apparently this is all based on the movie Tangled, which I have not seen.) This was excellent. My Halloween prep for her was done, no thanks to me. Then I mentioned to a couple of people that I didn't have anything for Wren to wear, and Annie Bunnell volunteered to bring a dragon costume Fox had worn to the ward party, and I kept it for trick-or-treating, too. People rightfully thought Wren was a boy, but whatever. She was cute. 

At the ward party, which this year was just a chili dinner and trunk-or-treating: 

I had hoped to get to the dollar store to get some decorations for the trunk, but I couldn't swing it. Ever and I made some ghosts (sort of) out of tissue paper and hung them in the trunk. Everybody else's trunk was elaborately decorated. Ours was a total bare embarrassment. But we gave the kids good chocolate candy, so how can they complain? Wrenzy helped Jim pass out candy, while Tyna reclined on the sidelines:

A lot more grownups dressed up this time than in years past. Gwen and Dwaine were Frankenstein and his lady:

Gary, Paul, and Jane Oddou with Kara, Luc, Amelie, Alina, and Ever:

Tyna has spent a lot of time in this little pink play pen some ladies in the ward gave us when Wren was born. Sometimes Wren likes to get in there with her. This day, Ever got jealous and also wanted in:

Bear Bear went in for a kiss:

Then Ever and Wren started fighting over Tyna:

The big girls matched at church in dresses Jim brought back from Mexico:

This is one of my favorite pictures of all time because of Jim's comment right before it was taken. This was after church. As he was walking to the couch with Ever in one arm and Wren in the other, he said, "I am a rich man."

Halloween was on Monday. I ended up inviting our neighbor friends (Scott, Rebecca, and Nathan Cikanek) and Paul and Susan and fam over to eat and then trick-or-treat with us in the neighborhood. I was struggling to finish preparing when Jim got home from work, so he took Wrenzy off my hands like this:

Our kids' mealtimes last way longer than others', so Nathan, Luc, and Amelie were raring to go before Ever and Wren were done eating. We rushed to finish up and get ready to head out. Wrenzy donned the costume again:

Unfortunately I got no good pictures of the group because we were hurrying to get out the door. 

The best was when we stopped at the house a couple doors up from us and the lady said they knew us because every morning they listen to Ever and Jim screaming "Bye! I love you!" back and forth to each other as Jim drives up the street.

Jim with Luc, Amelie, and Ever:

Tyna wore a watermelon onesie that no one ever saw:

We made a stop at Gary and Jane's and introduced the Cikaneks to more of the Oddou clan. This was at Gary and Jane's:

Some of the houses were pretty scary, but the girls were brave. I was proud. One near Gary and Jane's was bathed in red light and had a gigantic spider by the door. Without and with the flash:

This thing made noise and was quite frightening, but Ever and Luc were fascinated (it was dark and scary in there, but you can't tell because of the flash):

The Cikaneks headed home to put Nathan to bed. Paul and Susan went back to their neighborhood to do some trick-or-treating there. We went over to Rancho del Oro to drop by JoAnn's and then join friends who were hanging out at Amber and Tom Sorenson's. Afterward Ever said her favorite part was the Sorensons' party. Later I suggested that we keep trick-or-treating to a minimum since she always gets way more candy than she can eat (we confiscate/eat a lot and then ration her strictly, so she ends up forgetting about it before she gets through it); then we could spend more time at the party. She denied that suggestion and started chanting, "Trick or treat!" So we'll see.

To end, I wrote down a couple of funny things Ever said. Jim was showing her a gold coin (maybe one he brought back from Mexico?) and told her a story about how he went looking for treasure and found this big chest full of gold coins. When he finished, she just said, "And you only got one?" I was amazed she thought to ask that.

Another day I was trying to get us to the beach to meet friends. This was the conversation:
Me:  "I'm worried we're not going to have time to go to the beach."
Ever:  "Mom, settle down. If you don't settle down, your baby won't come. If you settle down, your baby will come."
Me:  "We're getting a baby?"
Ever:  "Yeah, from Coco."
Me:  "The baby Coco is pregnant with right now? She's giving it to us?"
Ever:  "Yes. Is that exciting? Are you excited about your baby?"
Me:  "Why are you being so funny right now?"
Ever:  "Because you're not being funny. Somebody has to be funny. Don't you think?"