a friend for all ages

over the last two years, this mama has been feeling age creeping in!  while i'm not going to describe the objective and subjective observations that validate said aging, I did recently divulge to my dear friend who I was recently able to reconnect with.  after all, amber has gone through so many important  milestones  with me- everything from math 119 at byu to grad school and from 2003 weddings to 2006 babies (and even subsequents).  we've celebrated lots of zany birthdays together and have even been roommates a couple times*!  so it feels like she really has been through it all with me.  after all of my whining, I felt so refreshed when she said, "I'm not ever considering botox!"  Oh thank you dear friend for embracing another life stage with me!

 

 

*roomies in phoenix!

hustle bustle version 2013

this post comes early because... I'm getting things done early this year!  thus, my random musings for the holiday season 2013:

for the first time since having accompanied my own peers in yw, I played the piano publicly!  (ironically, I was accompanying the yw again.)

speaking of, the kids are constantly jealous of the fun the yw must be having without them.  so we held a minute to win it playdate with leftover supplies.

 

 

k and I went to see a friend perform in the nutcracker... mature things like this now hold her attention (at least until the last 5 minutes when she asked, "does she ever wake up?") 

 

 

the first and only dusting of snow. (both kids were sure that school would to be cancelled)

 

 

the hilarity of school papers.  jack had a paper about the gifts a family gives to eachother.  a gift that my dad gives me is "hugs."  and a gift that my mom gives me is "my lunch."  kindin had a similar paper about giving gifts to others.  she would give her dad "candy because he likes it" and for her mom she "would go to the store to get groceries because she hates doing it." 

 

k got 3 teeth pulled.  poor girl will likely repeat this process a few more times in the upcoming years with an extra small mouth and an extra tooth.

 

 

for crazy hair day, I successfully carved out a david beckham cut and a pinkie pie look for the kids.

 

 

I'm trying to finish dolly's baby album.... my office space always looks like this!

 



 

and... the Eichmann family efficiently celebrated thanks-mas this year.... otherwise known as thanksgiving on thursday and Christmas on Friday.  grandma had some gimmicky (but adorable) props to ensure the snap of a picture or two!

 

 

updated growing up!

talking out loud!

one of my biggest hopes for my kids is that they can talk out loud - that is, speak comfortably in public.  so as jack neared the end of his second year in primary (the safe haven, if there ever was one, of talking out loud!) without having yet had a talking out loud opportunity, I took the matter into my own hands.  I ever- so- gently suggested to the primary president that jack be given the assignment.  with no result, i had to be a bit more suggestive than that and I was.  when I was asked to have kindin speak (yet again), I politely countered that I wanted jack to accept the assignment.  jack wasn't thrilled about talking out loud but we hammered out a gratitude talk he approved of and practiced over and over.  when he stood up in said safe haven (primary) to speak, he had a huge, sly, embarrassed grin on his face.  dave and I were so proud when he insightfully recognized that a very audible deep breath was needed before he began!  he spoke loud enough to hear and had memorized it perfectly.  he did great!  I begged dave to sneak a picture but he wouldn't (okay, fine, its NOT reverent) so these momentos will have to suffice:

"Apostles talk about gratitude.  The scriptures talk about gratitude.  And we talked about gratitude in family night.   This is our gratitude list.  At first it was hard but then it was easy to come up with 40 things because we practiced.  4 things I want to share are: grasshoppers, banana bread, tv, and cousins.  I know that Heavenly Father is happy when we remember all that he has done for us!  In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."

on that note....
every week, kindin's teacher hosts an optional show n tell and I couldn't be happier!  I am so happy kindin has an additional safe haven for practicing her talking out loud skills.  every Thursday night, I eagerly remind her (and sometimes force her), to find something meaningful to share.  this week, she proudly brought in her deposit book from her very own savings account!  (can you believe she asked for one on her own? such a cute little saver like her dad!) 

the growing up opinionated kind

dalia has been doing lots of growing up lately: 

she's graduated to a 'big bed'

she is starting to occasionally skip naps

she has a bestie

and she's becoming quite observant and embarrassingly opinionated: 

1. upon seeing a little person at lowe's:  'a tiny guy'.  'ha, a tiny one!'
2. encountering a larger women in the paper isle at hobby lobby:  'ha, ha  a funny tummy.  a funny tummy!'
3. walking past a man at walmart: 'ha. that man has a necklace on. a necklace!'   

Flat Sophia troubles

Flat Sophia snuck into Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo with us and she got herself into a bit of trouble! 

You see, she is the perfect size for fitting into prairie dog dirt mounds. 

When a particularly feisty prairie dog...

...snatched her deep into his hole!  Flat Sophia ended up smooshed underneath a chubby prairie dog!

 

Her cousins tried coaxing the prairie dog out so we could rescue flat Sophia but he simply sat at his hole and glared at us.
 

 

Uncle David quickly found a long stick to scare the prairie dog and pull Flat Sophia to safety. 

 

She was rescued- but a bit dirty.  She needed new Cornhusker duds!

halloween- the year of the mom

I decided a year ago that the 80s cereal monsters would be such a cute grouping of costumes and I spent this past year grooming them to go along with it!  (to be fair, the grooming was simply a matter of dangling sugar cereals in front of their noses.)  I had SO.MUCH.FUN gathering their costumes and, I think, they looked absolutely clever and adorable!