Grandma

1975

2010

My grandma is an amazing woman. She has lived 80 full years... some filled with pain, but many more filled with joy. Pain that comes with losing those you love...father, mother, sisters, brothers, son, daughter, husband. Joy that comes with new life and new beginnings. Leighton is her 10th great grandchild and she brings her new joy each time they are together.

Doctor or Artist?

The other day I asked Brooklyn what she wants to be when she grows up and she answered, a doctor, or an artist, I don't know. Today she showed signs of becoming both. She got really interested in germs and was asking Brett a ton of questions about them. What do they look like? How do they get in your body? Can I get a microscope? It culminated in a web search to see viruses, bacteria and fungi up close (Brett was hesitant to show her fungi, you can imagine what comes up on a Google image search for that one!). Later on, she created this family portrait in mixed media... markers and gems. She has always been a crafter, asking to do crafts the second she wakes up in the morning and being known to complete dozens of drawings in one day. So what will it be Dr. B. Spross or Brooklyn Noelle... we will see.

Dads and Daughters

Every year our church has a father daughter dance around Valentine's Day. Dads and girls from newborns to adults dress in their finest and spend a special night together. This was the first year Brett took the girls. Brett has such a special relationship with our girls. He adores them, teaches them, creates, pretends, and dances with them on a daily basis. He was made to father daughters- don't let him tell you different.

Snow Day

A couple weeks ago we took the girls to the snow for the first time. Typical southern California snow day with the sun shining and the guy next to us wearing a Hawaiian shirt and shorts.

Brooklyn:

• would have been thrilled enough to play in the first snow she saw on the side of the road
• thought the snow would be softer, didn't like it so crunchy
• was braver than I thought she would be on the sled and actually went down the hill solo

Ellie:

• could barely move in all her snow gear
• gloves off the whole time
• eating as much snow as she possibly could

Swashbuckling Fun

Brooklyn celebrated her 5th birthday pirate style. An absolutely gorgeous day in San Diego (much unlike last week when it was pouring rain and we had to reschedule the party- 20 kids in the garage wasn't too appealing to me).

We used recycled water bottles filled with shells, sand, and gold glitter to make the invitations.

Ellie has been practicing her ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH Matey! all week.

Grandma Jan kept the family tradition of making the cake. Her spelling skills are a bit lacking, but boy can she decorate.

Brett thoroughly entertained the kiddos with a pirate story of Toothless Jack who had been lost at sea and left behind his buried treasure. They then traipsed all over the park finding clues that led them to the treasure- a treasure box pinata. Brett was a huge hit and much cheaper than the clown at the other party at the park!

All the kids got pirate bandannas, tattoos, earrings, compasses,
and eye patches and climbed aboard.

Five

Now that I'm 5 I:

• order and pay for my own donut at church
• get my own snacks and drinks from the fridge
• go downstairs by myself in the morning and turn on Playhouse Disney
• skip my naps

But I still insist on:

• mom putting on my socks and shoes
• a warm sippee cup of milk (baba) in the morning and night
  

Cortizone and Photoshop

What you see is a perfect baby with kissable cheeks and softest skin. Thank you cortizone and photoshop for curing Leighton's baby acne.

What's in a name?

I wanted to make this name banner the whole time I was pregnant, but I ended up having to wait until after Leighton was born. Not because I never had the time, but because my attempts to convince my husband that her name should be Reagan failed for 9 months. So the night before she was to be born, I let the Reagan dream die and agreed to Leighton, Leyton, Layton (the spelling was decided by the operating room staff while I laid numb on the table about to be sliced open). Her middle name was chosen a couple hours after she was born (also decided by the OR staff), a debate between Taylor (for Brett's love of guitars) and Olivia (a name my grandma loves). So daughter #3 officially became Leighton Olivia.

Leighton's Nursery

I love going into Leighton's room. It is by far the cleanest and most uncluttered room in the house and when the rest of the place feels like a bomb went off, I come here and pretend I have a totally clutter free, organized, simplified house. The bedding was made by a very talented friend (thanks Amber) with Heather Bailey fabric- which I love. I bought the little table at a yard sale-$10 and refinished it and added the Anthropologie knob- Sale $2.95. The matryoshka dolls are from Russia, thanks to my world traveling brother. Now if we can only convince Leighton she loves her room more than our bed, we'll be doing fine.

My Nestlings

As of almost 6 weeks ago, our brood of baby birds is complete. Its both strange and comforting to know that this is our finalized family. I always wondered what my family would be like. Boys, girls, a mix of both? At one time I wanted 5- four boys and a girl. But now, here are my three girls. No more... no less... and with this I am truly blessed.