merry christmas eve!

Miracle of miracles, we are actually having a white Christmas here in Medford! It was so much fun to wake up this morning and see an inch of snow on the ground.

Hope you all have a perfectly wonderful Christmas weekend. Now, if you'll excuse me, we have to go decorate cookies for Santa. Merry Christmas!

playing in forts with boys

This is not a Christmas post, forgive me.

But I just wanted to write a quick post about Eve's new best friend, B. B. is a boy - a fact not evident from his initial - and one of the nicest boys I have ever met. He lives three doors down from us and he and Eve have been fast friends since they were put in the same class at school. I can't tell you how many fun afternoons have begun with B. knocking on our door, munching the remains of his after-school-snack, asking if Eve can come play. His parents are about our age, have three kids, share similar values, and are super cool, to boot! It's been great to make such good friends in our neighborhood.

Some of Eve and B.'s mutual interests include:

• Legos


• Picking and eating pears out of our backyard


• Running in circles in our cul-de-sac


• Building forts

Right now Eve and B. are sitting in a fort in our living room, eating as much Christmas candy as they were able to smuggle in before I caught them.

The other day Eve missed school because of a stomach bug. B. came knocking that afternoon and I had to explain that she was sick and couldn't play. About 15 minutes later, he came back with this:

I'm sure B.'s mom helped because I seriously doubt those stickers belonged to B. or his two brothers. But, help or not, it is still adorable.

I feel like it's kind of like Fox and the Hound - you know they can't stay best friends forever. Eventually their peer groups will make that clear. But maybe they will manage to stay good friends - I sure hope they do. B. is a lot more sensible than some of the little girls Eve has played with. We'll see what happens. In the mean time, I will just keep hiding the Christmas candy when the fort goes up.

on sam saving christmas

He actually was in the middle of ruining it at first. But I think he has had a change of heart.

About a month or so ago, Sam became a horrible sleeper. I'm not sure how my happy, easy-tempered, no-fuss baby became my worst sleeper ever, but he did. He went from two low-key night wakings to taking several attempts to get him in his bed and waking up every two hours through the night. Not conducive to happy peaceful Christmas feelings! And his naps were a disaster, lasting 30 minutes at most and only taking two a day.

Things were not happy around here. I hadn't want to blog about it and admit how bad things really were, but it feels good to come out of the closet. Hi, my name is Gwyn and my baby doesn't sleep.

Jared and I have been trying a few new tactics (including panicked prayer) and last night it seemed like it all came together. Sam slept great, going to bed at 8:00, only getting up once at 4:00 to eat, and then going right back to sleep till 8:00. And his nap this morning was an hour and half! I was able to put away laundry, get dressed, have preschool with Eleanor, clean a bathroom, do the dishes, make and eat lunch, and read some stories to Eleanor all before he got up. It felt so good to actually get a few things done, especially on a full tank of sleep.

I know I am writing this when it is too soon to tell if Sam has really changed his ways. But I am hopeful! And just knowing that he capable of sleeping better has made a world of difference. I readily admit that I am way too obsessed with how my babies sleep, but Sam has taught me that sometimes you just need to roll with the punches and do your best to function on four hours a night. And now that I've done that, six hours a night looks so luxurious!

So thanks for the early Christmas present, Sam! Hopefully you will keep up the good work and Santa will be able to put more than coal in your stocking!

I have no pictures of Sam sleeping (or not sleeping), so instead some pics of Sam trying rice cereal this last week:

I love how he is smiling at his spoon.

presence 'neath the tree

Sam spends a lot of time doing this:

I'll deliberately place him across the room from the tree, but he'll eventually make his way over there, either rolling or squirming. He loves to gaze up at the lights and pat the branches. Last night he almost pulled the tree down on top of himself, so we need to keep an eye on him!

o, christmas tree!

Jared found out at work that the BLM gives out $5 Christmas tree permits that allow you to go pretty much anywhere on BLM or Forest Service land and cut down your own tree. For $5! And since we are surrounded on all sides by said land and since our $15 fake tree is pretty lame and since we are now Oregonians, we decided to do it.

All of Jared's work buddies suggested going to places over an hour away but, as rookies, we decided to stay close to home and drove up into the mountains just 15 minutes or so from Medford. And, in true Jared form, we had several maps (one of which was about 5 ft by 3 ft - I had alot of fun unrolling that one in the car!) and many emergency supplies. And, in true Gwyn form, we had a lot of snacks and Christmas music. It was a trip destined for success!

We stopped at one place and had an hour long tromp through the woods. Didn't find anything, but it was sure fun and the kids had so much fun running around and exploring. Nora loved that she was actually on a mountain! We got back in the car and ate lunch while we scouted out more prospective tree hunting spots. To our surprise, we found one along side the road that was just perfect. Jared was a trooper about hacking it down and tying the huge thing on top of the car. And the girls had such a great time picking one out. And I love our gorgeous, delicious smelling $5 real tree.

Now I just need to get a tree stand that will fit it!

Sam is a lover of the great outdoor. He enjoyed the views. And chewing on his snowsuit.

Our tree in it's natural habitat. It never even saw us coming!

Eve took this picture of Eleanor and Jared discussing the tree.

Our tree, patiently waiting to be tied to the top of the car. I love the view! It was such a gorgeous day, it felt like we were cutting down a Christmas tree in September.

Eleanor helping tie the tree

tubular, part II

Eleanor and Dr. Bear

Success! Everything went smoothly yesterday and we now have a happy, better-hearing Eleanor. Thanks to all of you for the kind words of support and all the advice you had to offer. I appreciated being warned about coming out of the anaesthesia - that was the hardest part, but she soon calmed down. Or at least settled into gentle weeping. The nurses had her new bear already tucked into the recovery bed with her and were ready with her popsicle, which cheered our patient up considerably.

Apparently, Eleanor really did need the tubes based on all the junk that came out of her ears. I was glad to hear that she actually needed to have the procedure and that we hadn't done something unnecessarily invasive. And the doctor said she did great in the OR and didn't cry at all. She was such a little trooper.

Eleanor has been extremely cheerful ever since we got home from the hospital, so maybe she's actually feeling more comfortable or is excited about hearing more clearly. Or maybe it's just the confidence-building euphoria of having survived something that she was anxious about. Either way, I'm glad to see her so happy.

tubular!

Eleanor is having tubes put in her ears tomorrow morning. She has a chronic fluid problem and, while it hasn't produced a lot of infections, it has really affected her hearing and I'm excited for her to hear clearly again. Can you imagine hearing everything as if your fingers were in your ears? No wonder the poor thing gets frustrated. I'm wondering if she'll be shocked by how loud everything is. Especially Eve, who has chronic volume problems.

For the curious among you, "getting tubes" is when the doctor makes a small incision in your eardrum (or tympanic membrane!) to drain the built up fluid. Then they insert a plastic tube about the size of a pinhead to help ventilate and drain any more fluid. The tubes stay in for around 6 to 18 months before they fall out, leaving a very tiny hole behind them.

Jared and I took Eleanor on a tour of the Surgery Center yesterday (I wish they would stop calling it "surgery." The whole procedure, once she is under, takes 10 minutes. Saying "surgery" makes it sound so involved and scary.) I think it was good for all of us to take the tour - Jared and I were just as nervous as Nora, I think. The nurses were all so kind and made a point of remembering her name. I think they will take good care of her tomorrow. Eleanor was pretty anxious and clung to Jared the whole time, but she was intrigued by the Tigger gown and the promise of popsicles and a new teddy bear at the end.

I can't pretend I'm not frightened by the thought of her "going under." It'll happen in the OR, where Jared and I are not allowed, and I just hope she isn't scared to be alone. I've never been under anaesthetic before, but I can only imagine it is an alarming and disorienting sensation. I just wish I could go with her and hold her hand, help her feel safe. At least it will just be a few minutes before she is in my arms again.

So wish us luck tomorrow and keep us in your prayers. The logistics alone are daunting - Jared takes Nora to the center at 7:30 while I get Eve ready for school and put her on the bus, feed Sam and drop him off at my friend's house, and then race to meet Jared and the patient. Have you had tubes? Do your kids have tubes? If you have any words of wisdom to pass our way, we're all ears. Ears! Ha, ha!

happy thanksgiving

We are leaving town for Thanksgiving tomorrow morning so I wanted to wish everyone a happy holiday weekend before we left. In honor of the occasion, here is a picture of our hand turkey wall:

This wall represents about six years of hand turkeys and comprises a mini-family history (who needs scrapbooking? I have hand turkeys!) For example, the year I was grateful for ginger ale was the year I was morning sick with Eleanor. And the year Eve was two, she was grateful for eyebrows and Elmo. It's fun to look back and remember, and especially watch the kids' turkeys get bigger and bigger.

(In the picture you can also see the bubble-wrap corn that Eleanor made in the preschool I'm doing with her. More about that later, but I loved how her corn turned out.)

The award for my favorite turkey goes to Eve this year. This is the first year she traced, cut, designed, and wrote her turkey all by herself. And it really captures her personality.

I love that the turkey is saying, "Last year the turkeys were all wrong!" Whatever that means. But it really captures her know-it-all, big sister personality.

Hope everyone has a super Thanksgiving. Enjoy your turkey or your pie or your green bean casserole, or whatever is your favorite part. For me, I will eat heaps of cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes (not together) and pumpkin pie. I can't wait!

it's not easy being green...it's terrifying!

Eleanor is scared of this bear. She came out of her nap yesterday to ask me to remove it from her room. I obliged. I put it in Sam's room instead because it is actually one of my favorite of their stuffed animals, it having sat happily on my bed all through high school and most of college. It's from IKEA!


So this morning, Sam woke up from his nap and was fussing a bit. Eleanor went in to check on him. Seconds later, she comes thundering down the hall, clutching the despised bear. She hurls it in to the guest room, slams the door, and says, "Mommy, don't put that bear in Sam's room! It was frightening him!" I thought it was very sweet that, for the sake of her baby brother, Nora was willing to face her fears and make a valiant rescue effort to remove the purple bear.


So I go into Sam's room to get him out of his crib, where he has been patiently waiting. Eleanor won't come in. She tells me is actually more scared of this guy


who has been sitting (sprawling) happily in the corner of Sam's room for ages. Kermit was a thoughtful gift my brother and his wife gave Eve years ago and she adored him.

"Hermit the Frog. I'm scared of Hermit," she whispers.

"Kermit the Frog?"

"You mean Hermit the Frog, Mommy."

I made him sing "It's Not Easy Being Green" while Eleanor cringed in the corner. So that tactic didn't work. We come out to the living room to continue our discussion away from Hermit's prying (and googly) eyes.

"You need to put him in a box and put him away in a closet," she tells me.

So I tell her that Kermit is a very nice frog and he's friends with Ernie and Bert. She's not buying it. "Hermit is a mean frog."

During the conversation, Eleanor keeps glancing nervously over her shoulder and saying things like "I thought I saw something green..." and "Was that Hermit?"

So I show her we have this movie.

Eleanor matter of factly instructs me to smash it up. And, because it's in her genetic makeup, she proceeds to quote a movie, "You need to put it in a box, put that box in another box, and mail it to yourself, and then smash it with a hammer!" At least she's thorough. I guess that's one less Christmas movie we are watching this year.

I can kind of relate. I was terrified of the E.T. doll that lived in my bedroom when I was four until I decided to bury it in the bottom of the stuffy pile. So farewell Kermit/Hermit. Into my closet you go for the next little while. Hopefully Eleanor won't discover your googly eyes leering at her from some dark shadow of my closet while playing hide and seek - that wouldn't really be helpful at all.

all about sam

It's been brought to my attention that I have not posted a whole lot about Sam lately and some pictures of him would be appreciated. And I think I owe it to Sam's grandparents to be more diligent, particularly to my parents who are on the other side of the world from their newest little grandbaby. Mostly his hobbies include playing on the floor, rolling over, and being held, so a lot of the pictures are remarkably similar. But I do not have the discerning eye of the deprived grandparent! So, without further ado, some pictures of Sam:

Playing with his favorite toy, the Jingly Cube. Thanks, Alison - he loves it!

You can really see the family resemblance here. Especially in the intelligent expressions.

Or, based on the size of his ginormous forehead, perhaps we should point the finger at my family. Hi, Mom!

Woah, I look really tired and haggard here. But I sure love my baby!

His usual grinning self.

A few funfacts about Sam (in bullet form, because I love them so:)

• In my head, I think of Sam as my best baby. Always, always happy. Never, never fussy.
• It's funny that I think of him this way, however, because I don't think he is my best sleeper. Mostly, he is just really unpredictable. Maybe he'll take a three hour nap or maybe a 35 minute one. Maybe he'll sleep from 8 to 8 and wake up once to eat or maybe he'll get up every three hours and need snacks and cuddles.
• But I shouldn't complain. He does just fine and has a very nice daily routine that I can rely on. Maybe he's my best baby in part because I've learned to embrace all the unpredictability.
• He still sleeps swaddled up tight. When he wakes up, he flails his arms and usually gouges huge chunks out of his face, so he's usually sporting a few good scratches.
• He likes to suck on his hands when he's awake, but hasn't figured out how to use them to soothe himself back to sleep. He refused a binky, despite my valiant attempts. I've never had a kid like this!
• He loves to roll. And roll and roll. Sam figured this out about a month ago and will now roll all over the living room. Eve is often telling me that Sam has wedged himself under the couch or, yesterday, rolled himself head first into the wall. Where is he going? I don't know, but he loves getting there.
• His favorite toys are the squishy type, like the Jingly Cube (see above), the teddy bear from my Aunt Julie, and his lion rattle. He loves to squeeze them tight and lick them. Yum!
• Poor Sam has a bit of a problem with eczema that can make red rashy spots on his face and scalp. Because of it, he tends to be on the flaky side. I always regret when I wear black! We treat it with hydrocortisone and by rubbing his head with a brush and liberal amounts of lotion. Also, Head and Shoulders! Poor kid. It's sad to see that soft, perfect baby skin all red and irritated so we try our best to keep it treated.
• Sam is our drooliest baby ever. The front of his shirt is usually soaked and he is often blowing big juicy raspberries.
• He is super smiley and often tries to smile while he is crying. Confused boy!
• He doesn't seem to prefer one parent over the other - he generously aknowledges our efforts to keep him warm and well fed. He adores his sisters, however.

I just tried to post a movie of Sam rolling but I seem to be having technical difficulties. Hopefully, the pics will keep the grandparents satisfied for the time being!

so much more than pie

I know canned pumpkin sits on the grocery store shelves the other nine months of the year, but for some reason I only notice it from October to December. And isn't it wonderful? We ate no less than three delicious foods filled with pumpkinny goodness this last week and enjoyed every minute. Thank you, Libby's!

• Pumpkin Pancakes, a recipe passed on by my sister-in-law last fall. Thanks, Mindy! Not too sweet and so fluffy.


• Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars. These are very very good. Try them. Now.

• Pumpkin Cookies, the world's easiest recipe, shared with me by my good friend Lynette. Just a small can of pureed pumpkin and a spice cake mix. Nothing else! Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes and enjoy!

And we didn't eat this last week, but here is a recipe my mom made for Christmas one year and I fell in love with it. It's high maintenance, so I usually just save it for the big Christmas dinner:

Chocolate Pumpkin Marble Cake

How much more pumpkin can I enjoy before it loses it's magic in January? How do you like your pumpkin? Please share!

rainy days and wednesdays

The winter rains moved into the Rogue Valley today and I don't think they'll be going anywhere for about...oh, five months. So we're ready to settle in and hibernate.

Sam really knows how to spend a chilly rainy day. He stayed in his jammies all day, had several delicious meals, and took two long luxurious naps.

Eleanor, on the other hand, insisted that we put on rain coats and blow bubbles in the pouring rain. A true Oregonian! She could take a page out of Sam's book.

In other news, who loved voting yesterday? Voting is great! Oregon uses only mail-in ballots, which is extremely convenient but does take some of the ceremony out of it. I kind of like going to my local library, chatting with the friendly oldster volunteers, and getting my awesome "I Voted!" sticker. And it's fun for the kids to get to see democracy in action! But being able to drive up to a drop box and vote is pretty darn convenient, I must say. Maybe they should give out stickers at the drop box...

Either way, it was exciting and a privilege to be a part of yesterday's momentous election.

halloween sneak peek

We went to a Halloween carnival at a local school this weekend and the girls were very excited to finally put on their princess costumes. And do their hair and make-up, of course.

Even I got dressed up in an uncharacteristic display of Halloween spirit.

Eve proudly displaying her body jewels. You can imagine that was a very popular booth with the 8-and-under princess crowd.

Beauty is pain! Both girls wanted wavy hair as princesses, so they endured my braiding it into a zillion braids on Friday night. You can see It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown helped them out.

And then on Sunday, Jared helped the girls pick some apples from our neighbor's tree that hangs into our yard. They were little and sour, but both girls ate their apples with dinner and declared them delicious.

maryland vs. oregon: pumpkin patch challenge

Last weekend, we decided to take have our annual pumpkin patch excursion. In Maryland, we always went to the beautiful and very authentic Sharp's Farm (located, appropriately enough, on Jennings Chapel Rd.) But we weren't sure what to expect here in Oregon. So we randomly picked a patch from an ad in the paper, based mostly on it's name - Pheasantfield Farm. And here's the break down:

Drive to the patch

• MD - a leisurely 45 minute drive through rural Maryland, breath-taking, Robert-Frost invoking vistas of fall foliage.
• OR - a 15 minute drive by way of the Harry & David factory.

Winner: MD

Cost of admission and activities

• MD - free, free, free. All you pay for is the pumpkin.
• OR - free admission but $2 for a pony ride, $2 for a hayride, etc. Cheaper pumpkins, though.

Winner: MD

Activities available

• MD - tractor hayride out to the patch, corn maze, and a few animals for the kids to admire.
• OR - crafts, pony ride, a horsedrawn hayride (much more fun than the tractor), two mazes, animals, snack booth, a big mountain of hay to climb on, and a guy with an acoustic guitar singing "Puff the Magic Dragon."

Winner: OR (I declare Oregon for the kids' sake - they really liked all the fun stuff to do and the place did an admirable job of being farm-like but kid-friendly, and not like a carnival.)

Pumpkin selection

• MD - acres and acres. We went to a different field on the farm each year we went.
• OR - a little field just walking distance from the parking lot. But they had orange wheelbarrows and a lot of great pumpkins. I loved the wheelbarrows.

Winner: TIE

Fellow pumpkin-patchers

• MD - nice, friendly families.
• OR - nice, friendly families that included two friends from Eve's class and her principal and family. Now that's a ringing endorsement!

Winner: OR

Wow, it's a tie! That really wasn't planned at all. Secretly, I'm still very loyal to Sharp's Farm, but I'm glad we found a happy replacement for the years to come.

Making Fruit Loop necklaces in the craft tent.

You've got to love Eleanor's fashion sense. Knowing we'd be taking pictures, I begged her to wear her jeans, but pink leggings and yellow socks won.

yummy cake

Thinking about our anniversary reminded me of the sumptuous bakery that Jared and I used to visit to celebrate our anniversary while we lived in Maryland. Cakelove - and it's sitdown store Lovecafe - makes absolutely decadent, luscious cakes, cupcakes, and other baked items of deliciousness. I think we only went once a year because you need a full year to recover after eating a slice of their cake!

The cakes are dense, the butter cream like eating velvet. And they come in a huge variety of flavors: the usual chocolates and vanillas, strawberry and cream, hazelnut and chocolate, mocha, lemon swirl, coconut, toffee, peanut butter, pumpkin, and carrot. My personal favorite was Neil's Hat Trick (pictured above.) Here is their description:

Three chocolates shine in this tall, serious cake. White and dark chocolate cakes sandwich vanilla buttercream and fresh raspberries under a glaze of rich chocolate ganache.

What?! Why am I not there right now? Why am I eating pink and white circus animal cookies in a vain attempt to satisfy my Cakelove craving?!

To my DC friends, give Cakelove a try. Their main bakery and cafe are on U Street downtown - a fun part of town to hangout, shop, and eat some cake. But there is also a bakery in Silver Spring for you Marylanders and one at Tyson's Corner for my friends in Virginia (I think they may have added some more locations, too.) A word of advice: be willing to split a piece of cake or go with a cupcake. It will take you an hour to try to down a full slice of cake on your own! But what better way to spend a romantic date?

So please go eat some Cakelove. And raise your forks to me and my sprinkled circus cookies. *sigh* The rest of us can go check out the website. But don't do it on an empty tummy - it's sure to prompt unhealthy snacking. Whoops - where did all my circus cookies go?

I do...still

Yesterday was our anniversary and I just wanted to give a shoutout to my super husband. Happy anniversary, sweetie! Thanks for sticking with me for 8 years and somehow managing to love me more now than you did then, even though you have definitely seen me at my worst. You are still a handsome devil!

And thanks for the super fun weekend. I know you really must love me if you were willing to plan my ideal stay-at-home date: a movie and Taco Bell and chocolate! All my guilty pleasures at once. :) And I had a ton of fun on our day time date yesterday. I guess you can tell we've been married for a while and must have several kids if going to nurseries to look for shrubs with our three month old in tow seems like a second honeymoon! :)

And an evening like last night - well, you know it's going to be a fun night when two out of three kids are crying. And the third? She's throwing up! For a moment there, I found myself thinking wistfully about that wonderful day eight years ago, surrounded by loving friends and family, dressed like a princess, feeling radiant and glowing and happier than I've ever felt in my life. And then I paused and realized that, even though I don't look like a princess (well, unless you know any princesses who like to wear spit-uppy T-shirts), you still make me feel like one. And, and that moment, I couldn't think of anyone else I'd rather wrestle fussy, sick kids with. You are simply wonderful. Here's to another terrific year. I love you!

we have other kids too!

The "new" hasn't quite worn off Sam yet and he is much discussed, admired, cuddled, etc. around here. The girls are still so very smitten with him and it shows no signs of slowing. So here are a few things that the big girls have been up to - (they're pretty cute, too.)

The girls helping me make soup. I love how dressups are worn for cooking. With aprons to protect them, of course.

Eve proudly displaying her "Student of the Month" certificate. She was nominated for showing the quality of "Responsibility" during September. Always nice to know they behave at school, if not always at home! She was tickled and we are super proud of her.

Eleanor being a super big sister. Now that Eve is gone all day, Eleanor loves being my big helper and always fetches diapers, blankets, toys for her brother. (She is wearing her Halloween costume here. For some reason, Eleanor always seems to be in costume.)

Eve lost her first tooth last night! Here she is proudly displaying her gap. The neighboring tooth is also very loose and the adult teeth behind are almost fully grown in giving her what her dentist calls "the ugly duckling look." She was so excited and didn't stop talking about it all night long.

Here's the teeny tooth, right before it took it's place under her pillow.

Eleanor actually fell asleep during her nap the other day! I had to take a picture to commemorate the event. She has been a bit of a crab during her waking hours lately - put away the evil twin, Nora! - so it was good for me to see how angelic she is when she sleeps.

And because no post is complete without him - Sam, in a rare moment of unhappiness. Great cardie, though! (Thanks, Faith - Sam and E. can be long distance twinners.)