rice cereal

We are now feeding Gabrielle rice cereal. She can't seem to decide if she likes it or not. Sometimes she smiles and looks so happy and other bites she scowls as if it is the worst thing to happen to her. (See the two contrasting pictures below.) But one thing is for sure, if Michelle is around, she can almost always get Gabrielle to laugh. (See the photos above.)

Grandma and Grandpa

My mom and her sister/my aunt Elaine



Gabrielle with Grandma Barbara


Gabrielle with Grandpa Mike





Gabrielle loves "flying" and squeals in delight as Grandma swings her through the air.



Michelle and Ella both had a great time dancing on Grandma's feet. They would climb on and she would dance around singing, "You can have her. I don't want her. She's too fat for me. She's too fat. She's too fat. She's too fat for me." OR "You can't have her. I do want her. She's just right for me. She's just right. She's just right. She's just right for me."




Making sugar cookies with Grandma



the girls
Sadly, due to the huge snowstorms, my sister Rebecca and her family did not get to come down. (They were going to be driving from Canada and many roads were closed and driving conditions were very, very poor. Not worth risking it, especially with 3 young kids.) So my other sister Suzy also decided not to come. They will all come sometimes this summer when road conditions are not so hazardous. We missed them, but I'm sure it was a wise decision. But my mom and stepdad did come. We had a wonderful visit with them. My girls love their grandparents. I wish we lived closer and could visit more often (we usually see them 2 or 3 times a year for a few days), but we love the visits we do get.

Christmas Day

Santa brought Michelle and Ella each a Leapster. It has been a big hit. They also got clothes and a couple of toys each. They got a cute pony and cowgirl doll from my aunt. Gabrielle got a cute zebra to push around from Alfredo's cousin. She also got a few other toys.

Christmas Eve traditions

So the fun of Christmas really begins on Christmas Eve. First, we always attempt to do luminaries. This is a tradition carried from my childhood, but I must admit that it was much easier and more successful in Arizona winters than Utah winters. We first cut out paper lunch sacks with holiday shapes and then put candles in them and place them around the sidewalk. We have fun decorating them but many years, including this year, it is just too cold and windy to work very well. All but one had blown out within 10 minutes... ah well.

We also open a gift (their Christmas pajamas). This year I labeled the box wrong and Ella opened a sweatshirt. So I ended up letting them open their pajamas and sweatshirts.

After we do the luminaries, read Luke 2, and open one gift, we head to Alfredo's aunt and uncle's house. We exchange gifts with them, including his cousin Patty's two girls who are the same ages as Michelle and Ella. Michelle is so fun to watch open gifts because she squeals and her face lights up and she grins and looks surprised and excited at every gift. Ella tends to get distracted after opening one gift and not be interested in opening any more. She also doesn't act nearly as excited, although she clearly is because she plays with her toys the rest of the night/day and for weeks to come.

Then we stay at their house for dinner which is served right around midnight. That is very late for my kids, so we leave right after dinner. The rest of Alfredo's family stays up and open gifts that night and they sleep in late on Christmas Day. That is pretty typical in Central America apparently.

Michelle and her cousin Daya... they are both five and equally good at posing for pictures.






Alfredo's uncle's dog just had puppies. Ella carried this female, Fiona, around and really wanted to keep it. One dog is enough for us though. They would have given us this puppy if we didn't already have Chester. (Sorry this is a poor picture.)

Feliz Navidad.

Our sweet Michelle made Christmas greetings for us at school last week. Merry Christmas sounds wonderful in any language, especially when written for you by your five your old.

I know this one is hard to read... it got bent in her backpack. It says,

"12-12-08

Papa y mama.

Feliz Navidad!

Los quiero mucho!

Michelle"

Here's the whole reindeer with the sweet Spanish Christmas wish.

My Wish for Santa

Dear Santa,
I have tried to be good this year (but sometimes fall short! Don't we all?) As you guide your sleigh tonight, I have a special request. I would like there to be nice weather between Calgary and Salt Lake. I know many people are dreaming of a white Christmas, and I don't mind the snow too much. But my sister and her family are driving from Calgary to Salt Lake tomorrow and Friday. Right now the weather looks so frightful that they may have to cancel their trip that we've had planned for months. It's been a couple years since my whole family has been together and four years since we've had a family picture taken. Four grandchildren have been born in that time. So, please Santa, let the weather be calm so that all Christmas travelers may safely reach their destinations! Thank you, dear Santa!

Sincerely,

Jenny

The Grinch

I love Dr. Seuss! He was a talented man. I renewed my appreciation for him tonight as I watched The Grinch Who Stole Christmas (cartoon version) on tv with my kids. I have read the book and seen the movie before, but somehow was quite touched by it tonight. There's the Grinch on top of the hill waiting to hear the kids begin to cry. What he sees instead is the whole village come out and join hands and begin to sing. He realizes that Christmas is more than just the decorations and gifts... that maybe Christmas doesn't come from a store. I knew that before, but it really seemed to speak to me even more today. I hope that if for some reason we were every to not have gifts on Christmas, that we could still feel the joy that comes from celebrating Christ's birth. I hope that my children recognize that it truly is better to give than to receive. In Primary today, they had a really neat sharing time where "the wise men" came and told the children about their journey to see the Christ child and the gifts they brought and the gifts they received from Christ. Then Jackie, the primary president, talked about how the memories we have of Christmas really don't center around the things we get. One boy shared that he can remember giving toys to a needy family when he was six better than he can remember what he got for Christmas last year. That's really true. When I remember childhood Christmases, it is the feelings, the time with family, the traditions, the service we gave that stand out. I hope I am also creating these types of memories for my children.

Christmas letter

December 2008
Dear Friends and Family,

It has been an eventful and happy year for our family. In August, we welcomed our sweet Gabrielle Aaliyah to our family. She is four months old now and is the sweetest, calmest baby I have seen. She coos and laughs and sucks her toes and is starting to roll over and tries to sit up. She rarely cries. She adores her big sisters and seems very aware of everything going on around her. She is a delight to have in our home and we are so grateful that she is healthy and happy.

Our other new addition is an 8 month old puppy named Chester. He is half border collie and half black lab. He is a smart dog, but quite a chewer. He has demolished the decorative walls of the deck Alfredo built a year and a half ago. We hope to train him and channel his chewing. We are glad to have him in our family.

Mirielle (Ella) is now 3 ½. She is in preschool two days a week. She has recently learned to write her name on her own. She wants to be like her big sister and is rapidly learning her letters and beginning reading skills. She loves books, loves to draw, and adores both of her sisters. She is excited to start primary in a couple of weeks. Ella loves to wear skirts and often argues if we try to make her wear pants, although the snow is finally convincing her to wear pants again. She is also very good with animals. She adores Chester and doesn’t even care when she gets knocked over by him accidentally. She seems to have the magic touch when it comes to other dogs as well.

Michelle is 5 ½ and started full day kindergarten this year. She attends the dual immersion program at Jackson Elementary. So she gets a total of 2 days a week of Spanish and 2 days a week of English (plus a half day that is spent doing all the extras… music, library, PE, music, etc). She is learning to read in both languages and we are hearing her speak more and more in Spanish. She loves school and loves her teachers. She continues to be very agile. She loves the monkey bars, loves to ride her two wheel bike, loves to do flips and climb and swing.

Jenny is teaching 3rd grade at Parkview again this year. She has a very nice class and is really enjoying this year, although it is challenging working and having a new baby and 2 other kids. She was recently released from the Young Women’s Presidency and starting in January she and Alfredo will be teaching the 9 year olds in Primary together. She continues to read voraciously, scrapbook occasionally and has become very excited about blogging.

Alfredo changed jobs in September. After nearly 7 years, he quit working at Primary Children’s Hospital. He is now in charge of the storeroom at Utility Trailer. Utility is much closer to our home, and he is enjoying his job. He is good at what he does and they appreciate his organizational skills and hard work. He also recently laid Pergo flooring in our kitchen and removed part of the kitchen wall to enlarge the entrance. He is becoming quite good at home remodeling projects.

We are grateful for this holiday season and the chance it gives us to reflect on the blessings of the past year. We are especially grateful for our family, our friends and the gospel of Jesus Christ. May we all remember the true meaning of Christmas and recognize the abundance of blessings we have! We love you!
The Panamenos

doctor visit

Gabrielle is now 13 pounds, 5 ounces and 25 1/2 inches long. She is at the 7oth percentile for length and about the 50th percentile for weight. She is healthy and the doctor just kept saying how sweet she is. He also had Ella laughing like crazy.

kindness

I am often touched by seeing others show kindness. It doesn't even have to be directed toward me or my family. I've seen neighbors shovel some one else's sidewalk and had neighbors secretly shovel ours. I've seen people care for or help out with another's children...and had so many friends and neighbors that have watched ours when we've been in a pinch. We've had neighbors help us with home repairs and with carrying in large appliances.

It seems since Gabrielle was born that someone is always asking if I need help getting my kids out to the car or something (I am going to just assume they are being kind...and not that I constantly look like I need help! :) Heehee.) I am so grateful to have such wonderful friends and neighbors that I know I can turn to when I need help...or that are there helping without even being asked.

But the kindness of complete strangers can be just as touching, even if it is just in little things.

Today I stopped at the grocery store on the way home from Gabrielle's 4 month old doctor visit. I bought a few items that we needed and was heading out to my car. Ella had fallen asleep in the grocery cart and Gabrielle was in her car seat in the front of the cart and it had started to snow and was windy and cold. A woman came up as I reached my car and said, "Here, let me help you." I grabbed Ella and put her in the car. She grabbed Gabrielle and handed her to me to put in the car. Then she opened the car trunk and started loading my groceries in the trunk of our van. It only took a minute of her time to help me, and I really could have done it by myself, but it brought tears to my eyes to have someone, a stranger, go out of her way to help me. That, to me, is what Christmas is all about.

Then this afternoon I had promised to pick Michelle up when school ended rather than her going to after school program. I needed to stop for gas and that took forever...the pumps were all taking forever to authorize for some reason, not just mine but all of them. Then I hit EVERY SINGLE red light. So I ended up being about 5 minutes late to get Michelle. I knew she would be crying and worried and cold and upset. I felt terrible...and since I don't have a cell phone there was no way I could let her or her school know that I would be late. When I arrived, she was crying and cold and worried and upset. But a parent of one of her friends in kinder, a parent I've talked to a few times who is really nice, was standing there comforting Michelle and trying to call me. She had promised Michelle that I would come and that she would stay there until I did come. She didn't have to do that, but she wanted to make sure Michelle would be okay and try to make her feel better. I am so grateful for the kindness of others and hope that I, too, will notice when others have a need and will do what I can to help them.

letters to Santa

These pictures have nothing to do with the post but are cute photos of my girls.

Today we ran a bunch of errands. We decided to have dinner at the mall because the meal I had planned would take an hour or longer to bake and it was already almost 5. We walked in through Macy's and they had a little table with postcards for Santa. You wrote the postcard and put it in a mailbox right there in the store. They mail the letter and donate money to a cause for each letter sent (which one has slipped my mind at the moment.) So my girls both wanted to write letters. I wish I had my camera with me to take a picture of their letters. I wrote Ella's for her although she wrote her name by herself (a skill she has acquired in the past 2 or 3 weeks) and she wrote "leapfrog" with me spelling it to her. Not bad for 3 years old. Michelle wrote the first half of her letter and then got tired and asked me to write the rest. She asked me to help her sound out some of the words (just say the sounds... she then knew the letters) but she wrote this on her own: "I want a dress with betterflies (butterflies) and a bo (bow). I want a skirt and a shirt." Her writing is adorable. I wish I had a camera to remember this letter.

4 months old

My sweet Gabrielle is now 4 months old (on Thursday, but we had Alfredo's work party at The Roof that night and I didn't have any time to blog). She continues to be so sweet and delightful. She has now rolled over a couple of time from tummy to back and from back to tummy. She still isn't good at it but it's exciting to see her learning. Although it is actually with very mixed feelings that I watch her get bigger and learn new things. She will probably be our last baby, and I want her to stay little as long as possible.

Isn't she beautiful!?! She brings a smile to my face every time I look at her.

She can now sit up in her Bumbo chair and tries to sit up when she is in her car seat. She is also great at pulling her toes into her mouth to suck on them. She is getting pretty good at reaching for toys and holding onto them. She continues to sleep well (she generally goes to bed about 9 and wakes about 4 AM, eats, then sleeps again until about 7...8 on weekends). She eats well, sleeps well and rarely cries. Her sisters adore her and we all love to hear her laugh.

My little Sleeping Beauty. I just had to snap a shot of her asleep today. Often she curls her little fist right next to her face...something I still tend to do as an adult.

holiday fun (so far)

Finally, I am getting into the holiday spirit. We decorated our house the day after Thanksgiving, but that didn't really get me into the spirit somehow. But this weekend it finally came. On Saturday we went to Zoo lights and on Sunday we decorated gingerbread houses. I bought two gingerbread house kits (2 different ones) and Alfredo helped Ella and I helped Michelle. We should have done it the other way around. Alfredo is much more skilled at creating gingerbread houses than I am and Michelle is much more particular about how hers looks. She kept saying, "Do it like Daddy. Daddy's is better." And Alfredo wanted Ella to put her candies on perfectly when she just wanted to plop them all over. So from now on, Ella and I do projects like this together and Michelle and Alfredo. But we had fun.

Zoolights was amazing! We've never been before. Alfredo stayed home with Gabrielle and I took Michelle and Ella. It was cold, but not too bad. We dressed warmly and we really stayed fairly comfortable. The girls rode the carousel and we loved all the lights. Most of the animals were asleep although a leopard was out pacing around and so were the mountain lions. We also saw the monkeys and penguins and a couple of other animals. But most had gone to bed.

Michelle's house (with help from me)

Alfredo's house (with help from Ella)

new calling

Two weeks ago I was released from young women's. It is a bittersweet release. I LOVE the young women. But it is a time consuming calling with the midweek activities. So it will be nice to be home with my family more. But I will miss working with the girls. And they are great examples for my own girls.

Today Alfredo and I were called to be primary teachers (together). We will also be on the activities committee. I liked teaching primary in the couple of months I did it two years ago. I'm sure I will like it. I hope Alfredo will as well. I'm hoping it will be good for him.

dead dog

Our dear Chester is lucky to be alive tonight. Alfredo came home from work and found that he had chewed through the wood on part of our deck. He loves wood and has chewed his way through a lot of our wood pile. We've given him rawhide bones to chew but they don't seem to hold his interest. But Alfredo built our deck (he tore out the old one) a year ago and Chester chewed a huge hole in one of the side walls. I'll post a photo tomorrow, but he is seriously lucky that Alfredo didn't kill him. Alfredo spent untold hours (plus a healthy amount of money) to build the deck. Darn dog. He really is smart and sweet and he is learning things quite quickly. But he is a chewer. Aargh!!!

funny things my kids have said

12/3: On the ride home from school, Michelle was telling me about her day. She got a treat from her Spanish teacher and she told me she ate it at the beginning of after school program. She was jabbering away about her treat and how good it was. Then she said, "Rivka (spelling?) was jealous. What does jealous mean?"

12/3: After getting home tonight, Michelle said, "What day did we do FHE?" I told her it was Monday. She asked when we'd do it again. I told her next Monday. She begged, "Please, oh please, can we do it again tonight?"

12/1: In Michelle's prayer to begin FHE tonight, she said, "Thank you for us to be nice so Santa will bring us lots of presents."

12/1: Alfredo told Ella to sit. She responded, "I'm not a dog.... Grumpy old man." (He did say it a lot like he was talking to our dog.)

11/23: Ella was cleaning up her toys. She was tired and didn't want to clean up. She said, "I can't. I don't have a lot of arms."

11/11 Today I stayed home with Ella. She seems to be feeling much better, but I don't feel great. She looked at me at one point and said, "Maybe you're going to blow up."

11/10: Ella is sick today. She was sitting in my lap and looked up and with her lips in a pout and her big brown eyes on me, she asked, "Is I going to die?" (I, of course, assured her that she would not.)

11/5: Janene was watching Ella and Gabrielle while I was at work. Janene had just finished feeding Gabrielle. Ella said, "Now you have to pet her!" (Of course she meant pat, to burp her.)

funny

sometimes my students make me laugh. we do dialogue journals. the kids write twice a week and once a week i read their entries and write back. (twice would be too much for me to respond to 25 kids... it already takes me about an hour to an hour and a half per week to respond once to every kid.) anyway, last week i asked them to write about what they would do for thanksgiving. (i usually give them ideas of what to write about, but they can also write about anything else they want to.) so one of my boys wrote this: "I will eat ribs. They are not people ribs. They taste good." Hee, hee. Glad he's not a cannibal. :)

Chores

I've been planning to pose this question for over a week now. We had a discussion about chores during book club and I've been thinking about it since. One person in my book club started reading a book about parenting. It had a list of responsibilities or chores that kids should be able to complete independently at different ages. She thought some of their expectations were pretty high or perhaps unreasonable. For example, one was that a 3 year old should be able to make his/her bed alone and should be able to make a PB&J sandwich alone. I have a 3 year old and she can't/doesn't make her bed and I wouldn't want her to make PB&J by herself... peanut butter and jelly would be everywhere. Plus she can't get the twist tie off the bread by herself. However, we do expect our kids to get dressed, put their dishes in the sink when they are done eating, pick up their toys, brush their hair (with help), put on socks and shoes, and help with other tasks when asked. I feel like these are reasonable expectations. Alfredo sometimes thinks they should be doing more.

So, my question is: what responsibilities or chores do your children have? How old are they and what do they have to do? Or what do you think are reasonable expectations for a 3 year old and a 5 year old?

FHE: The Plan/Free to Choose

So I mentioned a month ago that I was really going to make a concerted effort to hold FHE. Last week, we had a short lesson on the prophet. This week, we had a lesson on Heavenly Father's plan and on our agency. We talked about Christ's plan versus Satan's plan and how in Christ's plan we get to choose. I asked whether they like to make choices or be told what to do. We talked about some of the choices they get to make (what outfit to wear, what toys to play with, etc.) and also which choices are good and bad (listen to parents/not listen, go to church/stay home, hit others/be kind to others, etc.). They had a page to color and they actively answered questions and really seemed to grasp the idea. Michelle even came up with several good versus bad choices to ask Ella. We sang "I Know Heavenly Father Loves Me" and talked about living with Him again someday. For dessert, I'd made a cake yesterday. So they got a choice since that was what our lesson was about tonight. They could have cake, ice cream or a little of both. The girls chose ice cream, Alfredo had both, and I had cake. (Although I may have a small bowl of ice cream in a minute.) It was a successful FHE and I really want to continue doing it each week.

November Reads

Along Comes a Stranger by Dorie McCullough Lawson
German Boy by Wolfgang W. E. Samuel
Paint the Wind by Pam Munoz Ryan
Epicenter by Sonia O'Brien
Lottery by Patricia Wood