It's For Them

Disneyland last year, look at Hazels feet- not even touching the ground

Flashback: When I was a little girl, my family and I went to the store. My eye was caught by a wedding dress there that would fit a beloved doll of mine. I begged for it, and I cried too, I wasn't trying to manipulate my parents, I really needed it. My dad explained that mom could sew me an even better wedding dress for my doll but in my childish fashion, I wanted THAT one.
My parents went down the isle a little way to discuss, I eavesdropped. I remember hearing that my mom didn't want to give in, then hearing my dad say that if I thought that dress would truly make me happy then they should get it for me.

In one of the few battles I ever remember winning, my parents relented graciously and bought the over priced, mom-can-sew-a-better-one wedding dress. All of my sisters were at the store and they bought that dress for only me (of course I had to share it). I don't remember the others getting anything. Believe me when I say, we were not spoiled children. That is why this experience affected me so profoundly. I was so grateful. That little victory was my special day.

Flashback Again: Before the babies were born, I worried about how it would be for Hazel and CC with 3 babies at home. As a mother, I have a strong desire to give my children life experiences. Talking with Nathan, we decided we should do a fun vacation. Grammy Pammy's cousin, Kathy works at Disneyland and had an 'in" so six months pregnant with triplets we took off for Disneyland.

Pride and kinship with Tinkerbell

Simpering overpowering can't-even-stand-it-I-just-met-Rosetta at Disneyland (Tinkerbell)

I got to ride Dumbo and the Teacups, oh, and my motorized wheelchair that I accidentally ran Hazel over with

The girls wanted to visit the princesses over and over,  N8 wanted to poke his eyes out with a dull fork. There were so many other things to see and do. I didn't want us to be one of those parents that pushed and pushed to get to the next thing or jump in the next line. I remembered the wedding dress experience when I was a child. Let them have their day. It's for them. If they want to stand in line for princesses 3 times in one day, let them, this is what they want, it is for them. I don't want them to look back and think, Oh that was horrible, my parents pushed and pushed.

  At Disneyland, Hazel wanted to pet goats for about an hour, I think it felt safe to her after all the overwhelming excitement of getting there

To Each His Own

I took Hazel and CC on a date the other night, just us gals. We saw the Muppets and went to the mall.

At the movies we stepped into the restroom. A mother and her young daughter were washing hands at the sinks. The little girl was having trouble turning her tap off so her mom stepped over to help, turned off her child's tap, inadvertently forgot her own running tap, and walked out.
I looked after her while I washed up, "glad I don't have a scattered brain like that!" I said to myself as I  left the tap running and walked out. At least I caught myself!

While at the mall, I took the girls to Claire's boutique and told them to find something they liked. I want my kids to make clothing choices now so that I can see the pattern of their likes and dislikes, they can find who they are and decide their own style and I can help along the way.

Hazel and CC sporting their fine new headbands

Every headband was tried on and discarded, every hat and pair of glasses refused. CC finally found her perfect headband, Hazel finally found her perfect...err the picture says it all. Earmuffs. She was so in love with the ear muffs. "Mom! These are so perfect for me! I love them!"  To each his own. Hazel found it unconscionable that CC got to wear her headband to church and she didn't get to wear hers.

Regarding Today...

If one more person stiff backs me or jelly legs me while I am trying to change or diaper them, you will find me clinging to the chandelier in the front room when you come over. Kindly check me into the insane asylum, I am grateful for your assistance.

Sherry

Something Done Right

I have to applaud to my daughters Hazel and CC,

These are the things that are going well for us as a family right now. Hazel and CC are extremely generous with the babies. They will do anything for them, they are more dotting aunt, than 4 year old big sisters. I watched Hazel play with James and Wilson the other day, they crawled all over her, pulling her hair and squawking, she just laughed and laughed. Here I am thinking, the girls are going to resent the babies because of all these reasons and here they are choosing outfits and reading books. It's not all roses, but I wanted to present something I am really proud of, I want to honor my girls- for being generous hearts. 

Often find myself saying "HAZEL!! Play something else, James is not a Hugball!" *will someone define hugball for me? Oh well, at least she loves him.

Words the Babies understand at 11 months,

Bottle- don't say the word unless you have one. Everyone starts whining like they are on death row. James and Quinn know to go to their feeding spot in front of James's bed where I sit on the floor and feed them. Wils just start crying frozen in fear that he will miss out, til I pick him up and take him over to the bottle station.

Walk- I say "you want to go on a walk?' and everyone is lumping it for the front door. They love walks and will freeze to their seats before they complain.

No No- Quinn gets it. But she does it anyway.

Bite- A bite means food, any food. "Wilson you want a bite?" and he will come from whichever room he is playing in and find me for his bite.

We are working on the following words:

No taking away

Give to 

Share

I think since the baby wars have begun. For me to survive it, I need the babies to understand those words. I am not going to play referee for them, I will teach correctness to them to them, but I don't want to be the judge again, all the time, eventually they will get it figured out, might take years. I have two older girls I refereed until I read a books called " Siblings Without Rivalry" I realized they need to learn to work it out themselves. 

Here is how it goes, Wilson has a toy, Quinn takes it from him, he cries, so I show him something else to play with, the new toy with bright colors and noises peaks James and Quinnys attention and they both go for it. Wilson gets his old toy back and James and Quinn are wrestling for the new toy, here we go again. 

Hair pulling is still a problem, I think Wilson is the sneakiest, he moves the slowest so he flies under my radar and I usually don't protect whoever I am changing until it is too late. He also has unexpectedly fast hands, he shoots his hand out and Little Lord Fauntleroy is in tears over his torn curls.

We have tough times and times of greatness at our house but these are the things I am seeing right now...over and out.

First Haircuts Before and After

We will start with Quinny, she didn't get a haircut but she is a splash of color amidst the hues of blues

His shirt says it all, Born to be Wild

Check me out people!

Observe the wispy, curly tufts above his ears and scattered about his head

Fresh, so fresh

Now take a good look in the mirror. When was the last time YOU had a haircut?

Family Update

The Murrays are gearing up for a March like never before!

Uncle Spencer and Miss Mikell get married on the 16th, CC turns 4, Quinn, James and Wils turn 1 and we will be taking a super trip to Grammy Pammys for a cousin birthday bash.

First some thoughts about Spence my lil' brother. I would like to correct some of his erroneous thinking. Spencer is 10 years my junior. He often felt left behind and picked on being the youngest boy in a family of girls. Here is what he doesn't remember: Spencer, you were so loved. You were petted and adored. To our friends you were a party favor, I loved you wanted to take you everywhere. We spent so much time working with you and played with you like one of our dolls. Growing up we teased you a little, vinegar instead of water in your dinner cup but you got your revenges and we all got along pretty well.

I love you Spence. You are a good man. I am so proud of you and Mikell. Thank you for coming and visiting and being part of our life when I know it was a sacrifice to drive down, you have such little time to visit because of your work. I hope we can always be close. Mikell, I am excited to get to know you better. I am sure you will whip my frumpy weak style into shape sometime. But I am excited to know you for more than just that. We love and admire you. You are a special friend to my girls and a loving influence when you are here. Thank you.

More great news: Wilson finally broke a tooth! Wow, can you imagine gumming your way through a whole year of your life? Well, my Gramma Gordon can but she has dentures for the crunchy stuff.

I took James to a barber for his first haircut. He didn't like it, whined and cried most of the time. While I was there, I studied how the hairdresser made her cuts and went home and tried it on Wil. Not bad. Someday, I will be good enough to cut N8s hair, he says not for a long time. Both of the babies look like little boys now with their sharp lil' 'man'cuts.

I need to post his after pic, and Wilson's too. Stay tuned.

Took the babies to Home Depot while Hazel and CC were at dance. Loaded them onto a flat bed cart in their car seats and rolled them around the store looking for bathroom ideas. They didn't make a peep, they especially loved the lighting section. You know, you can really tell the measure of a man when he sees a flatbed full of babies at the Home Depot. They didn't know whether to run or cry. No, I do not care to elaborate.

Been feeling drained lately. I am going to the Dr. on Monday. I think it may be celiac related, as celiac suppresses nutrient adsorption, I have a tendency to get run down, they will test the nutrients in my blood and I am hoping they will give me a crazy high dosage of Vitamin D like they did last time. Man, the day after I got that I was like Super Mario after the super mushroom power-up. Who doesn't need that?

N8 is still loving his job and looking forward to the NCAA tournament, recently he played in the church regional b-ball tournament to a tragic loss at the buzzer. We also enjoyed going to the Taylors amazing Mardis Gras party this week. Matthew served his LDS mission in New Orleans and has perfected some pretty good cajun cookin', catfish notwithstanding.

Hazel and CC are doing good and looking forward to summer and more birthdays. I love this life!

Dear CC

Dear CC,

You probably didn't notice as you were pleasantly gabbing about letters, the darkening sky, the Lion King movie, and our family how special it was to be alone with you. I know how much you have longed for closeness. How much you love holding hands and having attention. I know how you love to be held and snuggled. I know you wish you could stay little forever and be taken care of. I know it has been hard, adjusting to being a big sister. I know you get lost in the shuffle and are sometimes overlooked.

That is why I loved just being with you tonight. We went to the store to buy a gift for a friend. You glowed again and I was delighted. You joked with me about who stole the color from the sky and read to me the letters of the store we were entering. We held hands the whole time and you dialoged about what you wanted for your birthday. 

Claire you are so delightful and you have wonderful special gifts. Sometimes I worry that you don't see how special you are because you are sandwiched between a big sister that learns how to jump rope on the first try and a set of triplets that get a lot of attention. Just keep trying. Don't give up. You are maybe like me, I never got anything on the first try or sometimes not at all. But this is good, if it takes you longer, you will learn to put heart into what you really want to do because you love it. You will have courage and be brave. As your mother I will watch you fail many times and we will both cry together. But in the things that matter, I won't let you fail, you are safe and I love you. 



I love you,

Mom