Some of you may remember a certain detour I made a while back when I visited “The Wrong Sister Thompson.” 

This time, I returned Night of the Museum not to the Blockbuster where we picked it up, but to the local Movie Gallery instead.  Matt, who is used to these sorts of escapades, promptly righted my wrong after a call from Blockbuster tipped him off.

I did feel assuaged, however, when he said Movie Gallery pulled my Blockbuster video from a cabinet holding many others, and asked him to sign under a long list of other names- citizens affirming that they, too, had lost their way…

There’s #3 loving that thumb…

Thumb-sucking is old hat around this place.  When Levi (#2) came out attached to his thumb, we made mention of thumb-sucking perks (see the original post here), but at our last dentist visit, we discovered the fleeting nature of thumb sucking bliss.  That’s right- the dentist gave us “the talk,” and said it was time to think about kicking the habit.  We wrung our hands thinking this was gonna be rough.

Rough, shmuff!  That kid was amazing, and we are now pleased to announce Sam’s success!  A friend at church (thanks again, J.) told us how the “mitten method” worked for them, so I gave it a go.  (I should mention that Sam was a surprisingly willing participant, and her commitment is probably unique.) 

A first, she wore the gloves 24/7.  Then we only used the glove for bedtime (and the occasional movie).  After just 2 weeks, the gloves were off, and the thumb was out for good.  We only had a couple of late nights, and I was shocked when she never took them off to sneak her thumb in.

So…if you’re anything like my friend Tiffany, recently discovering the joys of having a little thumb sucker (her article, Confessions of a Thumb-Sucking Convert, will no doubt brighten your day)- never fear!  Enjoy those extra hours of sleep, and when the time is right, a thumb-sucking deterrent that is right for your family may yet be found!

After this fall found us celebrating Sam’s fourth birthday with her first birthday party, the season offered up many more firsts.

Halloween marked our first in our new neighborhood. The candy here at home flowed out our bowl so fast I confess to recycling our loot from the church trunk or treat the night before. In the middle of it all Levi returned early, and half asleep to let Sam finish out the night with her dad (who hadn’t trick-or-treated this legitimately or this profitably since his own childhood).

Then we bought our fist minivan, and everyone cheered. The only down side is that transporting 3 kids under the age of four no longer qualifies as Mom’s daily workout.

When Eliza turned 6 months old, everyone walking breathed a little easier, and walked a little taller. She can sit up by herself, she started solid foods, and she laughs at just about everything Levi does. I feel like we’ve finally rounded the corner of “new baby” transition. Now if we could all tear ourselves away from our infatuated dealings with that adorable little baby, we might get something done around here.

As mentioned in the title, we lost our first family pets- all our fish but one met their end after our first tank cleaning a few weeks ago. We admit their passing was not well honored, but we did learn a few lessons, and hope to make amends in the future.

Finally, we just returned from our first family camping trip. Inspired by Levi’s latest allergic emergency, we decided to forego a traditional Thanksgiving dinner for campfire and a little fishing. All I can say is- why oh why did we not do this sooner? We had a great day!

It isn’t really that I forgot about the cake. Really, how could you forget about that cake? I was simply trying to harness my vanity when I didn’t post pictures of the masterpiece in the same post honoring Sam’s birthday. But now that the birthday has been duly noted, we can proceed with other matters of importance.

Like the cake

I know- it’s a thing of beauty for a first time cake maker (me). Oh, thank you- Yes, I really did work hard (well, I practiced once anyway), and it is lovely. It may seem simple to those of you more expert cake makers out there, but this frog cake will always be my baby.

Note: If you didn’t know it was a frog before reading that last sentence, it may not be wise to share that with me.

Special thanks goes to;

My neighbor Kitty who let me borrow her 8 in rounds when I realized I threw mine out with the move

The YouTube lady who uploaded her handy parchment paper tip (I discovered later that many others know this tip, and that I was just late in the game; just in case you’re late too, I’ve posted it below)

And finally, to my friend Amy, who came to the rescue after 4 days of attempting to simply bake the cakes was proving near impossible while corralling my babies (in other words, she babysat for the morning)

Without you all, none of this would have been possible.

I thought it deserved one more look:

As promised, the YouTube lady-

The #1 rule in our house is “no growing!”  But they never listen.  Our Sam turned 4 last week.

This kid is tying shoes, writing her name, and just growing way too fast! 

I think she looked so pretty last Sunday in her brown dress and her braids.

She helped make a practice cake, and loved every minute of it!

The party was so nice- a lovely fall day with so many wonderful friends and family.  We played games, opened presents, and played on the playgound.  We were so proud of our girl at her first birthday party- we love you, Sam!

Here are a few of my favorites.  Let me know which ones you like by using the new rating feature on the bottom of the post!

Remember when Sam went on her first Frog Hunt?

How about my old friend Mount Laundry, who is alive and thriving with the arrival of # 3 (Eliza)?

Lost and found- the original post about my inability to remember where I put things.

There was also The Question of what we would tell Sam when she got curious during Levi’s diaper changes.

Finally, our original Child Labor post was the beginning of a beautiful relationship.

Twice a year I wish I were a sponge, or that I had a photographic memory, or something… 

Twice a year, our church leaders hold a General Conference; members and nonmembers alike all across the world are invited to gather, and listen to the leaders of our church speak on matters of social and spiritual importance. 

Watch it with me here!

High on the liss of the things that make me happy are Ken Burns documetaries.  His latest series on National Parks has had me glued to the TV all week.  Matt’s never been so willing to watch with me, but something tells me the footage of bears, volcanoes, waterfalls, and wolves doesn’t hurt my case any.  Watch National Parks online!

Also, I wrote a post last year about the documentary, Traces of the Trade, a POV film about a white family delving into their ancestry, and their family’s involvement with the slave trade.  The film has since earned an Emmy nomination.  Check it out- I was mesmorized.  Happy viewing!

Matt and I have the flu- when this passes, I want a medal for surviving.  Seriously.  It’s one thing to be sick, but when the kids feel perfectly fine- it’s more like torture.  Has this ever happened at your house?  Here’s a glimpse:

When the children literally started bouncing off walls, I tried to take them on a walk, and give Matt a nap.  We only made it down the street before I actually suggested they run up and down my neighbor’s empty slanted driveway- for 5 minutes.  Then we turned back home with them running and screaming the whole way.  I think it helped- I promptly collapsed on the bed after tapping Matt for his shift.

We’ve played Simon says in the living room five times in two days- today Simon challenged the oldest and the middle child (still a toddler) to jump in place for a minute straight- they did it!  Simon sat on the couch.

We took turns with the thermometer, and passed the tylenol every few hours.

A kind, inspired woman brought stew (bless her- and whomever it was that invented tylenol).

We tried to convince the children not to inflict bodily harm on anyone- while we slept.

They also ate a lot of crackers, raisins, and anything else that didn’t require preparation- like popcorn (while watching more than a few movies).

When I couldn’t sleep, I caught up on some primary work- and typed a few posts.

Can’t. move.  Uh. This flu is bad… better update the blog. 

Among other things, below you’ll find Sam’s version of a sling for her babies, and Levi receiving an ultrasound: