A Correction, Glasses, Smiles, and A 5K

It turns out Marianne does read my blog and she alerted me to a misspelling.  She said I spell poddy-training wrong and that it should be potty-training.  Now, I see that.  Poddy-training is underscored with a red, squiggly line and potty-training is not.  "Just think of it like a pot--you know, a chamber pot," is how Marianne put it.  That's helpful.  We do have Edgar's ipod and we had some pea pods awhile ago, but I don't associate either one with Marcos learning to use the toilet.  You never know though.  He has been known to think outside the box (or the pot, if you will), when he needs to go.

 We had eye appointments this week.  As we waited for the doctor, Lili expressed how much she would love to have glasses.  I hadn't noticed that she needed them.  She hasn't been running into things or anything, but it so happens that she does need them.  She now has them, but they hurt her nose so she doesn't wear them.  She did try them on for this picture.  We need to have them adjusted for her cute little face.  Edgar picked them up and she was not with him.

 Omar is smiling all the time--especially at night when I am up with him.  He knows I need a little encouragement at that time.  He has slept exceptionally well this week:  six to seven hours at a stretch.  That, coupled with his smiles, thrills me.

 Liliana was invited by the Johnsons (so glad they're back!) to be in a 5K yesterday.  She loved it and won for her the girls in her age group.  She decided running is her thing.  (Marianne always knew it was--she has long said that Lili was destined to be a runner.  Besides spelling, Marianne is good at a myriad of things.)  Liliana said a lot of people got these blue ribbons, but we thought it was special enough to photograph. 

And I must leave.  Edgar took all the children to our nephew's birthday celebration and I told him I would be there soon.

Beating the Heat

Nothing says summer around here like swimming in Boulder Creek.  Edgar stayed home with the two youngest boys and I took the older three and three cousins for a lovely, cooling-off time.  I became a spouting whale, as I am prone to do.  Since the Johnsons weren't there, I took the liberty of spouting off all over the place.  The Johnsons don't like my spouting.

 

To celebrate the 4th of July, Ruben made this American flag out of a piece of paper, a stick, and some tape.  He is dressed as a soldier, if you can't tell.  That hole in his mouth is where he lost a tooth this week.

 

Ammon is lucky and he knows it (as you can tell from this picture).  Every time Marcos gets a treat for doing a good job with poddy training, Ammon also gets a treat.  He had just enjoyed smearing the treat all over his face when I took this picture.  He makes at least 84 messes every day.

Isn't Omar looking particularly wise and intelligent these days?  He is changing so much all the time.

A Mini Reunion

Edgar's first day back at work is always a little sad for me.  The Johnsons have been gone and I've been missing them--especially my sister Marianne and our several-times-a-day chats.  On Friday I went to my parents' house to borrow some things (don't worry, Big Guy, I'll take good care of them and you won't even miss them).  As I walked around their place and watered the greenhouse (We had our first cucumber!), it felt like my parents have already been gone FOREVER.  It's only been about four months, so we have fourteen to go.  I was a bit melancholy, but yesterday I got a little treat to make up for it.  This lady, my dear Thelma, my sister from faraway Washington, came to my house:

 

She held my baby and gave my toddler fruit snacks.  She told me my kids are cute and folded all of my socks (even the ones from the stray sock drawer that had been hanging over my head for months).  I should have taken a picture of the little mountain of socks she folded.  It was impressive.  

 

Her dear daughter, Emma, made Lili's day by loving cats.  The two spent hours outside laughing and talking about cats.  Lili was in heaven.  Emma was an angel.  Besides the time she spent with Liliana, Emma also was the official Crystal Light maker of the day.  We enjoyed some fine beverages thanks to Emma.

 

Meanwhile, Mark, who is just as imaginative and into playing the part as my boys, made my boys so happy.  They played Army and pirate and who-knows-what-else.  Mark is the handsome redhead, by the way.  Braeden also played with my boys--marching around with them and lending an air of sophistication to their imaginings.  

 

Later my little brother Enoch (I like calling him that since he's anything but--6' 8") came with his children Isaiah (not pictured) and Savannah.  It was Savannah Eve (the night before her fourth birthday) and we sang Happy Birthday to her in her lovely pink cowgirl hat.  The tall (taller than I!), good-looking teen in the back is my oldest nephew Braeden.  Marcos was happy to jump into the picture next to his beloved Savannah.

Speaking of Marcos, we have good news and bad news about his poddy-training progress.  The good news is, he has been doing great and wearing underwear a lot and not having (many) accidents. 

The bad news is, yesterday he had an accident on our neighbor's property.  The kids wanted to go play outside at the Johnsons' home.  Since the Johnsons are gone, we thought it was a great idea.  When Marcos came home, I asked if he needed to go to the bathroom.  He cheerfully told me he had gone "yucky" (our name for number 2) on the Johnsons' "jump-o-line" (his name for trampoline).  "What?!" I asked, hoping I'd heard wrong.  "Yep.  I went yucky on their jump-o-line, and when they come back, they're going to look at their jump-o-line and say 'What?!  Somebody went yucky on our jump-o-line!'"

We look forward to the Johnsons' return and their surprise at their altered jump-o-line.  

A Week of Firsts

 

FIRST SMILE

 I think Omar smiled at me in the middle of the night Thursday.  It was a fleeting, sleepy smile, and we couldn't recreate it for the camera, but I really think he smiled.  I might have been a little sleep-deprived and delusional, but I will maintain it was a smile.  When he smiles for the camera, you'll be the first to know.  He is getting bigger and seems more alert and aware.

FIRST TV

Though we've always had a TV, we only ever watched DVDs and videos--we never had channels.  This week that all changed.  Now we have a satellite dish.  I fought this as long as I could.  I felt we'd be giving up our family time and our ability to create our own entertainment if we had something to watch on TV.  My biggest fear is Edgar's use of TV.  We watch TV in motels rooms when we travel and I hate watching TV with Edgar.  He constantly hops channels and loves to be the one with the control.  We are practicing what I think of as intentional viewing.  Every day I let one child pick a PBS show that everyone can watch the next day.  Then we record it (I love the DVR thing) and the next day we watch it.  We can also watch "Little House on the Prairie" every day.  So far it's been great.  I've also set up our DVR to record every BYU Devotional and General Conference address.  I watch them while I fold laundry and clean.  I love that.  Thus far Edgar has been working every day since we got our satellite, so we haven't had any conflict about his bad viewing habits yet.  I explained to him our practice of intentional viewing and that it's the exact opposite of channel hopping.  He told me he'll need to explore his options before he knows what he intends to watch.

FIRST TIME GOING TO CHURCH WITH ALL FIVE CHILDREN ALONE

Edgar had to work today.  I took all five kids to church alone for the first time.  It was the first time I had to buckle Marcos into the backseat.  That is a difficult task--one Edgar had handled so far.  Luckily, Omar slept through my Sunday School lesson.  A few of my students did too, but at least there was no snoring.  During Sacrament Meeting, Susy took Omar for me.  After church I got busy visiting with everyone and forgot about our newborn.  Then I saw my empty baby carrier.  About that same time, Liliana came to tell me that Roberto, Susy's husband, was in the gym, holding Omar.  I felt so irresponsible!  Susy and Roberto always go home right after Sacrament Meeting--unless they have foolishly offered to help a struggling mother like me.  We picked up two new cats for Lili on our way home and when we were about a mile or so from home we had a flat tire.  Omar and Ammon were asleep and it was so hot.  There was no way we could walk home.  There was also no way I wanted to try to  change the tire.  I tried calling Marianne's cell phone and also the cell phones of everyone in her family.  Lili suggested we pray.  Right after we did, Marianne called.  She wasn't far behind me and she picked us up, cats and all.  There were a lot of us to fit in her car, but they kindly made room for us.  Edgar will change the tire when he gets home.  

FIRST TIME RUBEN WORE A BOW TIE TO CHURCH

He had never done that before, and as you can see, he was pretty tickled about it.  He thought he looked like a waiter.  I ordered a water on the rocks and told him he looked very handsome.

Marcos would like to visit Grandma and Grandpa Dahl so he can eat an ice cream sandwich.  I told him they're still in Nauvoo.  I have told him we will leave two days after his birthday to visit them so now he wants to have a birthday party at Grandma and Grandpa's house in Nauvoo, complete with ice cream sandwiches.  Will you take care of that request for us, Grandma and Grandpa?  We'll send you the guest list.  It will be Marcos's first birthday party and we'd like it to be very special.

Ready for Church

You may remember these handsome shirts from Easter.  The Easter Bunny left them for the boys, but was unable to find one for the then-unborn baby.  Last week, my friend, Susy, gave us this cute outfit for Omarcito and it includes this shirt that fits in perfectly with the other boys' shirts.

Speaking of Omar, he turned one month old on Friday.  He weighs a little over 9 pounds now and is still a delight to us all.  He enjoyed wearing his new tie which is about as long as he is.  A fulltime mission is definitely in his future.  He really knows how to sport a tie.

I really wanted Edgar to be in a picture with the children.  He really didn't want to be.  It might have something to do with the crooked haircut he got yesterday.  More likely, it has to do with how he always hates posing for pictures.  Since today we honor him, I accepted his refusal and did not insist that he be photographed.  Happy Father's Day!

The Five Lights of our Lives

Five little Cobian heads.  Ammon's head wasn't sure it wanted to be there, but he stayed long enough for the photo.  Poor boy.  With each new baby, the next-to-youngest has to grow up a little more.  The other day Ammon wanted to join his older siblings outside, but he wasn't dressed yet.  I was feeding Omar (something we do an awful lot) and Edgar was at work.  Ammon took matters into his own hands.  Part of a pair of his pants was sticking out of his pants drawer.  He grabbed it and started jerking.  The entire dresser fell down--on Ammon's legs.  Marcos came and tried to urgently tell me Ammon needed me.  Marcos is always rather urgent and I told him I'd be there "in a minute."  I felt bad that poor Ammon had been pinned.  I was able to move the top of the dresser up long enough for the little fellow to pull his legs out.  I got him dressed and he was fine.  He went out to play.

A little later I went in to check Ruben's progress with cleaning his room.  He's such a nut.  I asked him why he was wearing the hard hat.  In all seriousness he said, "I don't want anything to fall on me!"  Better safe than sorry, Ru.  Around here, we always clean sporting hard hats.

Summertime

Look at this boy--growing up way too fast. He had company come this week (two sets of Cobian aunts & uncles) so I dressed him in this cute little duck outfit.  It says "I'm a lucky ducky on it."  I wish it came in Edgar's size.  He would love to wear something like that--especially to match the baby.  I think yellow is a good color for Omar.

Also this week we went to Utah for my post partum visit.  It was a very long day--we left at 5:40 am and got home at 10:30 pm.  We took the kids to This Is the Place Park.  The train was not working (poor Ruben), but we liked the flowers.

The kids also got to pan for gold.

It has been so hot (I'm so grateful to not be pregnant in the heat!) and the kids love running through the sprinklers (often the younger two do this without bothering to change clothes which makes for a lot of laundry).

Happy Summer!