Blooms

The amaryllis flowers that we planted in the beginning of December are finally blooming. Asher and Soren have been praying for our plants to grow for nearly two months and I'm happy that their little prayers have finally been answered! The candy cane striped blooms are starting to show too!

Jamie Day

We celebrated Jamie's birthday on the 21st. It probably wasn't the most exciting birthday and for that I offer my apologies. He wanted a pie for his birthday and I didn't even make one (it came a week later). I did, however, make poblano and mushroom tacos with roasted tomatillo salsa.

At least Jamie's birthday present arrived THAT day. I got him the Smiths cd box set and I'm pretty sure he liked it, like a lot.

Happy Birthday to my super awesome hubs!

Creations

Asher continues to impress us with his drawings and creations. He draws freely and with confidence--like his hand and fingers have their own little imaginations. We like to gather around him as he draws to ask questions and hear the stories he tells about what he draws.

One afternoon Asher offered to draw something for Soren and he drew a dinosaur monster truck. Soren was thrilled and said he LOVED it and Asher said he was pleased. Just the cutest exchange between those two.

Maeve seems to have a similar passion for drawing as Asher. She handles a crayon with impressive skill and she will aggressively hold her ground at the drawing easel to add her point of view. Hopefully Asher and Maeve can collaborate in the future.

THE One and so Far ONLY Snow Day

This winter has been disappointingly warm. Call me crazy but I like winter and I want snow and an ice storm or two. It has hardly been cold enough to warrant building a fire and my dreams for being snowed in have shriveled up and died. I just want to get cozy with all of my cutes in the special light only offered by the grace of a snowstorm. Oh well. We did get snow, once, and it was mostly ice but Soren did not hesitate to go sledding with our neighbors. The ice and crust were perfect conditions for super fast runs down the hill and apparently Soren went so fast that in his nervousness he put down his feet and therefore flew into the air and landed on his head. Glad I didn't see it and glad that was okay.

SEriously though...could February please give me some snow for a sweet Valentine's gift???

Faves

A few of my favorite things right now (let it be said that Jamie, Soren, Asher, and Maeve are always at the tippy TOP):

1. Hearing Asher and Soren say 'inja' for ninja.
2. Hearing Asher say 'remoten control' for remote control.
3. Hearing Maeve say 'Asher.'
4. Up All Night. Hearing Maya Rudolph spew labor and deliver terms like, "She's crowning! There is going to be cervix all over this place! Mucus plug!" makes me so delightfully happy. Maya Rudolph is the BEST.
5. Downton Abby. I'm a critical fan. Mary bugs and I wish Mathew would have stayed missing for longer than one day. I love Bates and Anna. Thomas and O'Brien are wicked creeps.
6. Cowl necks. What's new?
7. The hope and freshness of a new year and all the little joys that come with this time of year: Jamie's birthday, meyer lemons at Costco, Valentine's day, and spring flowers every where!
8. Veggie heavy foods--soups, salads, and crustless quiches are the best.
9. Easy parking downtown. Now I just need to get my kids and myself to the mall!
10.Watching Project Runway All stars at Sarah's house with friends and Paul's popcorn!!!
11. Licorice Spice herbal tea. I'm trying to drink less hot chocolate and this tea really hits the spot with a blend of licorice root, cinnamon, orange peel, star anise, sarsparilla, vanilla, orange, clove, and cardamom.
12. Warby Parker glasses. Great prices, great style, and great customer service!

Water and Asher

Like her brothers, Maeve LOVES playing on our bed and diving into pillows. Usually it annoys me when Asher and Soren toss the pillows about but of course it's totally charming when Maeve does it. She's the baby.



Maeve has two favorite words: Water and Asher. She loves water and wants to drink it all the time. I love hearing her say water--she realy emphasizes those two syllables! She also says Asher all day long. Often in the morning when she wakes up I hear her saying, "ASher! Asher!" I think it's her universal term for brother. She has't really attempted to say Soren yet. Maeve is very social and says "Hi ya!" and "Bye" to nearly every person we pass when we are out. It's charming.

Baby girl also loves to shake her finger and say, "no, no no!" It's hilarious and I'm not even sure where that little gesture came from! Maeve also says book, owl, balloon, and will repeat almost all words we ask her to say (except Soren). She growls all day long and loves animals tremendously. She does a spot on cat meow and makes a cute dog bark and a bird chirp. Get that girl a book and she is one happy little gal.

One of my favorite Maeve traits at the moment is that she will often request a hug and opens her arms wide! She also gives me one anytime I ask and always includes several sweet back pats with her hug. Maeve also likes to make a dramatic *smack* sound when she gives kisses. She's so awesome.

I'm still trying to figure out this weaning business. Maeve seems to love nursing now more than ever and to be honest, I'm not in any hurry to take that time away from her. Soren, on the other hand, is VERY ready for me to stop feeding Maeve. He and Asher often talk about making a sign that reads, "NO feeding Maeve!"

Nita!!

We have a new Au Pair! Incredible that are entering our fifth year with a Thai Au Pair. Asher, Soren, and I went to Union Station a few weeks ago to greet and pick up Nita. Sadly, we were a few minutes late but she didn't seem to mind. It was a late night and she still managed to wake up at 6am the next morning ready to work! I told her to take a nap or watch tv but she really just wanted to get to know us and the kids and her new life! I marveled at her ability to rally in a new country after such a long flight (25 hours) and in such a different environment. As with Chon and Jang, we are hugely blessed by Nita.

Nita is from the Lisu tribe in Thailand and she brought us the most gorgeous gifts. She gave Maeve a beautiful traditional Lisu dress that I can't wait for her to wear! The boys got Lisu hats and I was given a lovely hand woven Hmong bag. Jamie got a bag too but from a different tribe. I'm excited to learn more about Nita's culture and history. Her English is fantastic and it has been nearly effortless communicating with her.

Nita has a gentle, kind demeanor and a curious personality. I am beginning to think that Thailand produces the most loving and nurturing caregivers in the world! We really like Nita and after a few days with us she said that Maeve never cries and is a happy baby. She observed that Asher and Soren play really well together and even when they argue over something they resolve it quickly. I think that's a pretty good first impression.

We are happy to have Nita!

Utah Faces

Isabel.


Annika.


Quanah.


Beckham.


Hannah.

A few of the faces we love most in Utah.

SLC

A trip to Utah is not complete without a day in SLC. This year we went to the church art and history museum and LOVED it. We saw the death mask of Joseph Smith and the Grandin press! We practically had our own personal tour guide of the museum and learned a lot about the various pieces on display. The kids loved the children's area where they could build walls to tear them down, go fishing, and ride in a tortilla truck.

My mom was in SLC for work so we met her at Trio Cafe for lunch and it was SO delicious. The flatbread with warm goat cheese was divine and my simple salad was perfect.

We also stopped by Koo De Kerr, the rad boutique of one of my favorite friends from elementary school. I walked away with some pretty amazing earrings!

We heart SLC.

Tuesday in Utah

Grace was sweet to share all of her little toys with Maeve, who liked stirring said toys in a cup.


Heber Valley! I loves it.


Timp--so regal.


Katie, moi, and Amanda (missing: Ashley)

After our delightful Provo day we spent the night at my sister's house. After the kids were in bed my sister and I watched some awesome tv. Top Chef, Up All Night, and then she introduced me to a little something called, "Ridiculousness" with Rob Dyrdek and tears of laughter were shared between us. I love Rob and found his commentary about various video clips to be utterly amusing. We laughed so hard it was THE BEST.

The next day we drove to Midway and had lunch at the Tarahumaran. We love going through Provo canyon, however, this year we desperately missed the snow covered trees and mountains that we had last year. It was still stunning and dramatic and made us happy. Lunch at the Tarahumaran was a bit of a disappointment for me but the coconut ice cream bar at the end of the meal made it worthwhile.

That night we met up with three of my best friends for dinner at Pizzeria 712. I hadn't seen my friend Katie in five years and it was fun to talk to her and her husband. We found out that Ashley is pregnant with her third baby babe: woo hoo! Amanda and her family are moving back to the South and we couldn't be more pleased to have them SO much closer. We stayed at the restaurant for over three hours and I could have easily stayed another three. I'm so happy we saw them and hope to get together every time we are in Utah.

Tuesday in Utah was perfect.

Provo Day

The view from my mom's office. I would get NOTHING done if I had those mountains outside my window--oh and if I had my own office.

Slab. I wish I could replace all the Z pizzas in NoVa with Slab! The Luke is my new favorite: bbq sauce, roasted green chiles, cilantro, and goat cheese.

Asher introduces his fireman dinosaur to the remains of an old triceratops.

Asher was in BYU heaven.

Kissy kiss.



Thanks for the scraps, stupid!

Maeve disobeyed and went beyond the ropes to get close to the animals.

It's tradition that we spend at least one day hitting our favorite sites in Provo. This year we visited my mom's office and then had lunch with my Aunt Gaye and cousin Stephanie at Slab. I love lunch dates with my family and I love me some Slab!

We took the kids to the Paleo Musuem where they happily ran around the old bones. Well, Soren nearly cried when he saw the first dinosaur but he warmed up bravely. The Bean Museum was next and Maeve was wild for the animals! Soren was hysterical when we showed him the Kodiak bear. I could relate buddy.

We finished our joy ride in Provo with ice cream at the Wilkinson center and everyone got to pick out a book at the bookstore.When I was a kid there was no greater joy than going to the bookstore and picking out a book! Such a treat.

Provo is the best.

Maeve's Groupies

Maeve in this little outfit was unstoppable in her cuteness.

Annika, Grace, Isabel, Maeve, and Hannah!

Maeve never lacked for attention in Utah. Her cousins were generous in their affection--even her boy cousins. I loved seeing her surrounded by so much joy and appreciation. I'm sad that Maeve will never have a sister but I love that she has so many remarkable girl cousins. I know they will love and inspire her like a sister would.