July Generally

Other than Tiny's birthday, this is what happened in July.

Wrenzy went princess for a second.

The girls played a weird game wherein Ever goaded the littles into whipping her in the head and face with clothing.

I heard Tiny singing a line from the Pippi song over and over while she colored in the playroom.

We swam at Leela and Rafi's. Jumping from the back is always a highlight.

I realized that because of recent swimming lessons, Goosey's hair had turned quite green.

Jim did a sparks show for the girls while building our closet.

Wrenzy showed her independence by putting a stool on top of a chair and getting her own cereal.

Melanie Oddou started hosting Bunny Book Club for all the little girls we know. Each child was supposed to bring a book to read with the group. My girls never wanted to be limited to just one. 

Apparently none of the other kids had the attention span to sit through more than a couple of books. Mine wanted to keep reading, but the group moved on quickly to lunch or yoga or something else. One time, they prepared a skit (based on a book) and performed it for us parents when we came to pick them up.

Tiny wanted Pippi braids and freckles for no reason.

Topless Wren was caught reading to herself from the books and magazines by the fireplace. There were many mentions of prophecy, as well as a story that ended with a person who was bad living with God again and turning out good.

I very minimally assisted with the building of our closet by putting together the Ikea drawers. (Some of our new walk-in closet is custom; some is Ikea.) Ever and Wren were desperate to help (crying was involved), so I had to turn it over to them.

The littles got silly in the bath. The song had changed by the time I started filming, but I love them.

When you say something about Wrenzy's being tired, she says, "I'm not tired because see?" And she makes her eyes giant and turns them to the side, like this:

There was some Sabbath block building.

The new (eighties) Pippi movie - the one Tiny got for her birthday - has a theme song with two verses, which we refer to in shorthand as "world" and "town." One begins, "Pippi Longstocking is coming into your world," and the other begins, "Pippi Longstocking is coming into your town." Ever really wanted Wren to sing one verse while she sung the other. Wrenzy tried but never could hold her verse on her own.

Sweet Wrenzy sang "Master, the Tempest is Raging" to herself while alone in her room. I tried to film her unawares but failed.

Anna invited us to bowl with them and another friend because kids bowl free in the summer. (You still have to pay for the shoes.) Tiny was not into it and just wanted to play on the video game machines. Wrenzy bowled a little but then joined Tiny on the games. (See Tiny in the background.) 

I find bowling with the ramp thing pretty boring, but I guess at their age, it's the only option.

We made bread, and the girls kept a close watch on the dough.

Then that night, there was a sweet daddy/daughter reading session before bed.

Ever got hold of my phone and took an artistic selfie. 

She started dance at Cadence Dance Project this summer. I kind of wanted to wait until the fall to start her, but ithe ballet/jazz/tap combo class we wanted was likely to fill up if we waited. 

Anna took them for Icees on the way home once, much to my dismay. My kids already get way too much sugar. 

Anna also took Ever to Legoland.

My friend Chelsea Wixom visited with her family. They arrived in the late afternoon/early evening of Thursday, July 18, and we got off to a rocky start. As they pulled up, I was scrambling to get dinner done (my bad for not preparing it in advance), it was time to pick up Ever from dance, and Tiny vomited right inside our front door. I went out to greet the Wixoms on the driveway and told them the vomit situation. We discussed the possibility of their staying in a hotel. Chelsea was scared, as she didn't want to have kids barfing on the plane home in two days. Spencer voted to chance it and stay, so they did. Jim cleaned up the vomit while I talked to them. Then he ran to pick up Ever (and was not happy about it because he wasn't feeling good, either) while I tried to chat while finishing dinner, which is really hard for me. I desperately wished I had put dinner together earlier in the day and had everything ready to go when they arrived, but I had spent the day trying to clean my house enough that Chelsea wouldn't think I'm the worst homemaker ever. 

They wanted to do a beach day on Friday. Chelsea asked what beach we usually go to, and I said we never go to the beach - as in, we probably went twice last year. I explained the hardships of getting kids ready for the beach (sunscreen, food prep, etc.) and the hardships of having kids at the beach (food dropped in sand the instant we get there, sunscreen reapplication/fear of sun despite sunscreen, etc.). I'm sure Chels and Spencer thought we were super lame. Then we got to the beach, and their oldest, Libby, who is 10 months younger than Ever, started losing her mind. I believe it had to do with having sand on her or something, but she got super emotional and dramatic. The Wixom kids kept walking all over their towel, and Chelsea kept yelling at them about the sand just as I do mine. It was really gratifying to witness. Chelsea was at her wit's end with Libby, who was crying and freaking out, and thought we were going to have to give up and go home. Fortunately the kids started playing, Libby recovered, and we ended up having a lovely time. The only sad part was that Jim had the day off and was supposed to go with us but stayed home sick. 

Tiny was a huge fan of Evie.

Ever and Libby played with body boards on the shore while Gibson and Wren frolicked.

We got Pizza Hut pizza and Handel's ice cream that evening. The Kringel ladies went feeding-frenzy nuts over our three scoops, including the melted ice cream at the end.

That night, Tiny cuddled with Gibson over a magazine, and Wrenzy showed Evie our "You Are My Sunshine" book.

Saturday morning, Tiny and Evie enjoyed the play kitchen. 

Chelsea has a good friend who works for BYU and had just given her a ton of BYU shirts all in the same size. Chelsea bequeathed three to us. I've never owned BYU paraphernalia in my life (not even while I was there), but I'm happy for Ever to sport it. Note how blond she was looking by this time.

The Wixoms took off Saturday morning. The kids had so much fun together, and we really enjoyed their visit despite the illness. The Wixom kids never got sick, thank goodness, so no regrets there. 

Jim felt well enough on Saturday to take the girls to the beach as penance for missing the outing the day before. Ever and Wren sported their new Rip Curl wetsuits. (Jim had made a trip to the San Clemente outlet and purchased wetsuits for them and me.) They took turns going out body surfing with Jim, and Ever did a brief stint on the surfboard. Too-cute surfer girls:

We have a spring suit that Jim bought when Ever was a toddler, but Tiny refused to wear it. She just played happily with rocks on the beach.

This summer ended up (finally!) being the summer Wren and Ever got comfortable in the water and started to learn to surf. After that first time after the Wixoms left, Jim started taking them as often as he could to the beach - on Wednesdays or other days when he had a half day, and even in the evening after a regular workday. Before long, Ever was standing up on the surfboard. By the end of the summer, Wren was, too. We finally became a beach family and really enjoyed it. 

Jim had an odd technique for caring for the children when he took them to the beach without me. He would take the biggers out in the water and leave Tiny alone on the beach, where she happily played with the sand or the rocks the whole time. Once, Jim said, a group of teenage girls started talking to Tiny and hung out with her for about an hour until they left. 

We all went together one Saturday.  Jim wanted me to take one of the biggers out in the water while he took the other. We both tried to keep an eye on Tiny, but it still made me uncomfortable leaving her alone on the beach. I saw people notice her, realize she was alone, and send an older child over to her. I quickly made my way out of the water to head off the girl who was walking toward her. Fortunately CPS was never called. Tiny is so good at solo play.

Wrenzy continues to be our "fruitarian." She can eat so much fruit. She'll take down a whole container of blackberries or raspberries in one sitting. At this meal, she showcased her orange-eating skills.

I took the girls down for a short visit in San Diego with my cousin Rachael Curfew. We picked Rachael up, grabbed some Subway sandwiches, and picnicked at a grassy area at (or near?) Balboa park. It was a hot day, but we had a nice visit. The girls just hung out while Rachael and I talked. Next time we'll need to go where there's play equipment, but they were good. Mostly. Tiny got into trouble and was placed in a time-out away from where we were sitting. She just started playing in the dirt and having a grand time. 

Marc and Melanie Oddou had some families over to celebrate Elle's fifth birthday. The kids enjoyed a game of Headbanz before we left.

Annie Bunnell had major back problems, culminating in a disc-fusion surgery that left her unable to do much for months. I didn't do as much as I should have to help, but I did have Fox and Remy over once or twice. They are good boys. Fox and Ever spent a long time on an airplane craft that began with a Kleenex box.

Meanwhile, Remy played dress-up with the littles.

Last, Fox and Ever spent probably an hour choreographing and practicing a routine on the big swing. Then they performed it for Jim and me. Notice how Ever had to check her notes about next moves.

Tiny got so she was doing some good independent swimming.

When Tiny Turned Three

Tiny Tot turned three in July. Originally she wanted a unicorn cake like Wren's, but then she said she wanted a Pippi Longstocking cake. I had no idea how to provide that. When I googled it, I found all these crazy fancy cakes with fondant Pippis. I have never worked with fondant and have no desire to change that. In the end, I made a funfetti cake with vanilla buttercream frosting and decorated it at the last second like this:

It was hilarious. So ghetto. But Tiny was very happy with it, so that was great. 

When I asked her how old she was turning, this was her answer:

Sunday, July 7, we had the Wilsons over to celebrate. Some of them were very tired. (Hence Cali sleeping on the couch in the background.)

As soon as the candles were out, Tiny was ready to attack the cake.

Gammy gave Tiny an alphabet thing, which Wren was as into as Tiny and which Jim threw away within a couple months because he got tired of finding the letters all over. (So sad.)

Before the Wilsons took off, Trisha tried to get a shot of all the kids. It proved impossible to get them all to stay still and look at the camera at the same time.

On Monday, her actual birthday, Boozehound opened presents first thing in the morning. Jim had already left for work, so I videotaped the whole thing for him. I'll just post a highlight - when she opened the Pippi movie.

We invited all of the Bunnell girls (Piper, Rosie, and Chloe) and Elle Oddou over at 2:30 P.M. I figured I could give them cake right off the bat, and then they'd still be hungry for dinner but I wouldn't have to feed them a meal. The plan was to watch Pippi and paint nails. (That was one of the reasons I got her the movie as a birthday present. If we watch it one or two more times, it'll pay for itself.)

I believe Tiny slept in that dress-up dance outfit, but by late morning, she had changed into her nightgown. I found her hanging out in Wren's chair looking as sweet as can be.

Next thing I knew, Ever was doing storytime with the littles.

Then Tiny was back in her ballerina outfit, trying on her new unicorn hat.

After lunch, the friends came over. I used the cake we'd hacked into the night before, cutting a slice and putting three candles in it for "Happy Birthday." (Sorry about my singing.)

Then we watched Pippi. I don't know that the other girls were as into it as mine, but mine sure were going through a period of obsession.

We didn't have time for nails. Also Jim had bought a unicorn piñata (Boozy's request) in advance and stuck it in the closet. I meant to use it with the friends but forgot about it until it was too late. Tiny didn't seem to remember she had asked for a piñata for this birthday. Afterward she asked a few times if she could have one at her next birthday, and Jim and I were happy to be able to say she definitely could.

Tiny is the most delightful little thing. She is so sweet and affectionate. She gives the best hugs; she squeezes really hard. She is completely infatuated with Jim, whom she all on her own nicknamed "Dadito," which is the cutest thing I've ever heard. (Apparently she's heard Rafi's family call him "Rafito.") When she comes into our room in the morning, she goes right by me to Jim. Sometimes if he's already downstairs, she walks in and just says, "Where's Daddy?" and then goes downstairs without another word to find him. She loves her sisters and asks at night if she can sleep in the "sisters' room."  She and Wren are constantly loving/wrestling/fighting. She is a super picky eater and boycotts dinner more often than not, but she passionately loves all treats. She also still loves her "watermilk" (milk). Although I potty trained her for waking hours long ago, I am concerned that she intends to sleep in a diaper at night for the rest of her life. Sometimes she keeps her diaper dry or even sleeps in undies for her naps, but she has no problem wearing diapers and relieving herself in them and does so most nights. She is hilarious and fearless and independent and tough. She likes to wander/run off, including through parking lots. Like Wrenzy, she has a tongue thrust and pronounces "car" like "cow." (So her name is "Owden.") She also says "from" more like "zhom" or something. She will chat your ear off, and I love her stories. She wants to wear only fancy dresses because she wants people to tell her she looks beautiful. (Concerning.) She loves books and likes to take tons of books off their shelves and look through them. Once while reading to her and Wrenzy, I must have turned two pages instead of one because after I finished, she told me I skipped a page, and she knew what was on it (as did Wrenzy). She always says, "I am a baby" in this odd, stilted cadence. Her favorite game is when she crouches down wrapped in her towel after her bath and I pretend she's a package that's been delivered and wonder what it is and then open it up and announce that it's a tiny baby. (Usually she doesn't want to be "Tiny" when we do that; she wants to be a baby. So usually I call her a "tiny baby.") Her cheeks are still absolutely incredible to pinch/squeeze/kiss, and I seem to do that for hours every day. I also tell her at least 100 times every single day, "You're so special," and I really feel that way. She is so very special, and we can't imagine life without her.