Random pics

Thought I'd dump out some other glimpses into our lives these days.

My sister-in-law Emily made me this hat and scarf. They are gorgeous and the color is so lovely. 

 Robbie came out yesterday with them on and apparently thought they were pretty sweet as well.

 When Michael was in Colorado all last week at a CE course, I tried to make the best of things with the kids at home. One afternoon we went to the library and Clara and Henry enjoyed petting a therapy dog visiting there. Afterwards, I took them to Benny's Pizza, which has absolutely enormous slices. All four of us shared two slices.

Here was our "fun list" of things to do in his absence--a few items to do another time. The balloon rocket races were a great example of one of those Pinterest ideas that sounds super amazing but that turns out to be mostly a mom-project where the kids watch and lose interest after one minute. Live and learn.

 We've had some pretty crazy weather here--flurries one day, 60s and 70s a day or two later, etc. But it's been very nice to not be cooped up inside too much.

 A happy selfie from Clara stealing my phone.

 A Magnatile creation Robbie and I made. We got these for Christmas and they are totally awesome. Btw, do you see how Robbie is squinting his left eye? For about six months he has these weird eye episodes most days of the week where he can't see out of one eye (it changes, but it's usually his left) for about 10 to 15 minutes, and then it goes away. We got some dry eye drops, which seem to help, but it's pretty weird.

 A selfie by Spiderman fireman Superman.

A couple of weeks ago, we went to DC and my friend, Karisa, and I attended a temple session while the menfolk watched the kids. It was really fun!

 

 Then when we got back, Karisa and John included us in their "gender reveal" party to find out whether they were having a boy or a girl. The balloons were filled by a friend with pink or blue paint, and even though they didn't explode well, we were all thrilled to find out she's having a girl after having three boys! It was pretty hilarious watching everyone trying to pop the balloons.

 We had a lot of wind one day and a dead tree on the property behind our house fell on our fence. Fortunately, the guy paid for it through his insurance, but he was not happy. Michael had told him about the dead tree back in the fall, but he never went and removed it.

 We had a fun FHE one evening about the armor of God--it was hilarious trying to keep those muffin pans on.

 Krispy Kreme opened here, and it is RIDICULOUS how busy that place is. Of course, if it were ice cream, I'd be more understanding, since doughnuts aren't my favorite thing. We brought two friends along, Jordan and Sierra Flowers.

Valentine's Day fun

I really enjoy Valentine's Day a lot more now that we have kids. Don't get me wrong--I still want and really appreciate flowers and thoughtful gifts from Michael, but I also really enjoy the fun of decorating and doing fun things with the children. I remember my mom decorating the house for Valentine's Day and being in high school informing her that she didn't need to do that anymore and that it just cluttered things up (or some other self-righteous thing to say). Now, however, I do the same thing and wish I had some of those old posters she'd put up on the windows. Funny how times change.

 On Sunday afternoon, we made and decorated (using "we" loosely here--mostly Michael and I) lots of cookies to give out to some families. We had a great time driving around visiting and singing songs in the car to keep Henry happy. I really appreciated Clara and Robbie's good attitudes. Want a cookie with those sprinkles, Robbie?

My friend Susan gave me lots of old vintage valentines, and I love them so much.

So a year or two ago when I saw an old valentine that my mom had saved that Poppy had given to Nonny, I asked her if I could have it. I was so excited--it says "All my Love, Clare."

 Treats on plates in the morning. See Nonny's red glasses? They make me really happy. (They were filled with chocolate milk for dinner, also per tradition.)

When I saw this valentine--filled with beef jerky--I had to get it for Michael. So awesome. I failed to get a pic of the beautiful roses and lunch he brought home that day. He also wrote me two sweet poems while he was gone in Colorado all last week.

 Robbie showing off Daddy's pizza in its glory--crust was cheese-filled balls per tradition. I think this is our fifteenth year of making the heart-shaped pizza. So good!

No family pic this year--bummer--but it was a fun family time celebrating love for each other. Happy Valentine's Day!

Robbie lately

Robbie is such a fun kid. He is pretty intense and really likes things to be done a certain way ("Hey! I was going to close the door!" when I close it without knowing he wanted to), but he is getting better at letting go when things don't go the way he wants. He is very passionate and gets quite upset when Henry gets into his stuff, but he can also be very sweet with Henry and help him when he is in distress. Yesterday I wanted to rest on the couch during Henry's nap for a few minutes after an early morning, and he ran upstairs to get his blanket and then tucked me in and even let me rest for several minutes without bothering me. It was so sweet.

 I love reading books with him--he loves the Lego early reader books, Star Wars books, Elephant and Piggie, and Franklin books. I also really appreciate his episodic memory and how he can not only remember events in the far past (vacations we went on a year or two ago) but also share experiences that have happened recently in order. He loves being outside, although he isn't super interested in ball play right now. He is a great jumper, runner, and likes playing with other kids (especially older boys). Quiet time has been a struggle for him since he is outgrowing naps, but the past week or so he's enjoyed listening to short audiobooks during quiet time on the CD player.

Robbie has also really gotten into superheroes--Superman, Batman, the Green Lantern, and Iron Man.

 The other day, Robbie came down in his Superman costume for me to velcro the back. Then he ran upstairs and came back downstairs with a Sunday shirt, frustrated that he couldn't button the buttons since they were super tight over the built-in muscles. I helped him button them, and he was pleased with himself being Clark Kent before he takes off his shirt and turns into Superman. Pretty sweet.

Robbie says so many interesting and creative things--I wish I could record them all. Here are a few:

"Should we go play bat?" (baseball)

"Please bless Mommy to have courage to pop another baby out." (No idea where that came from, especially that wording!)

To Dad: "Your tummy is different from my tummy." (Hmmm...)

Robbie calls the ceiling fan in his room a "fan-on" because every time I put him down to bed, I ask him, "Do you want the fan on?" to which he always responds, "Yes." 

"Mama! Should we make a pickle tree from these seeds?" (after eating a pickle last week)

"I wish I could have my own truffle." (after seeing Clara using my iPod shuffle)

"Stop coughing me!" (telling Henry to stop copying him in the car, with Henry is giggling in response)

Yum, kids for dinner!!

 Today out of the blue, Robbie told me in distress, "Mama, I don't like it when you leave and go somewhere and not take me and Clara and Henry with you. I don't want to get married when I'm twenty (!!) and move to another house and have a wife. It's too far away! I don't want to have a baby. I just want to stay here with you." I held him on my lap (much to Henry's dismay) and told him that he couldn't grow up and that he had to stay four years old forever. He then informed me that he had to turn five. After sitting quietly in my arms for a minute while I held him, he then popped up happily and said something like, "Do you want to go play in the playroom?"

Robbie also told me tonight while I was singing to him that he wished Jesus could be right next to him and that he wanted to see him now.

He is getting quite creative in his play lately, sitting in one of the brown living room chairs with the cushion up, imagining it is either his "office" or his "Superman mobile." His stories are very elaborate and entertaining. He also enjoys taking my phone and making videos of himself making silly sounds and saying potty words like "poopy" and "poopy butt" (he knows I don't like that word) and then replaying the videos.  Awesome.

We are so thankful that Robbie is part of our family!

Clara's twelfth birthday

It is hard to believe, but Clara is now twelve years old.

It was only yesterday that she looked like this.

And now she looks like this, growing into a beautiful young lady. I have lots of thoughts on Clara and this important time in her life (she went to New Beginnings on Wednesday!), but I'll blog about that later.

Her special day began with breakfast in bed with her requested cereal, Lucky Charms.

Michael made her a sweet card to go with her breakfast.

Starting the day off right.

After school, we were outside and Robbie ran out to meet Clara, and she ran to meet him after she got off the bus. They gave each other a big hug. That was seriously the best part of the whole day.

Clara was excited to receive some birthday phone calls (one from Nana and Bapa, and she got to open their special present on Facetime--so fun!!) and also from our sweet neighbors, Sheryl and Shirley Tonini, who brought over a giant brownie cake and a card. Cards in the mailbox from our neighbor and another sweet older sister from church, plus other notes/texts, also made her so happy. I am humbled by and so grateful for all the kindness that so many people show her.

After her requested dinner (chicken azteca with rice), we hid her presents and she got to play hot and cold to find them. She was most excited about these Heelys shoes (the kind with the wheels on the bottom). She realllllly wanted them, and despite my reservations but also after learning you can use them without the wheel, we got them for her. She's working on balancing on them.

 One fun gift that we got her was a Body Sox, and we also got ones for Henry and Robbie. It's basically a big stretchy Spandex pillowcase that you stand inside and can stretch around in. It's a sensory thing to help you feel calm, centered, and to feel your body in space. She likes it, and I'm excited to have them all use them.

Robbie really likes his!

After opening the rest of her presents, we sang and Clara got to blow out her candles. That cake just gets brighter every year.

She requested dark blue frosting, and I didn't have any food coloring gels to make it crazy dark, so I just bought some.

Man, I didn't realize how yucky store-bought frosting was. It kind of ruined all my hard work on the checkerboard cake. Live and learn.

Henry gave Clara a sweet hug before bedtime.

Happy birthday to our sweet, fun-loving, creative girl. Thank you for being you and for being part of our family!

Second Annual Weiler Family Awards Dinner

On January 2nd, we celebrated 2016 by honoring each other at our family awards dinner.

 First, we enjoyed dinner (broccoli, homemade mac, rolls, and cake) using my mom's beautiful china. We talked to the kids about using our best manners, and they did a good job being polite and respectful. They loved drinking the Martinelli's.

Then we handed out the awards.

 Michael gave me the award for compassion for reaching out to those in need, and Clara took a nice pic of us smooching. I gave him the award for service, for helping us at home and also with church members as they progress along the covenant path.

 Henry got the award for cheerfulness, as he is our happy boy who makes everybody smile.

 Robbie got the award for thoughtfulness, for his unique creative ideas when he makes up stories and his good questions and thoughtfulness in thinking about others.

 Clara got the award for independence, for being independent in doing her chores and learning to do more on her own with her school work, etc.

 After the awards were handed out, we enjoyed a beautiful slide show that Michael made of a compilation of our 2016 happenings. It brought tears to my eyes and reminded me of how happy we are, despite my tendency to focus on my concerns and what isn't going well.

We topped off the night with a dance party, made more fun by a little disco light ball we got.
Party time!

One of my priorities as a parent is to help each member of our family feel valued and important for who they are, to be uniquely loved and to realize that they are an essential part of our family. I hope that this family awards dinner reinforces that. Plus it's fun, too!

NYC trip part 2

And some more pics:

Michael's NYC trip

For reaching their yearly production goals, Michael took his staff on a weekend trip to New York City. He wanted me to come, but I wasn't really in the mood to do NYC in January, and I just didn't want to find childcare, etc. He and the office staff had a terrific time--they saw Wicked, went to Pizza School (where Michael had gone with my siblings a few years ago), ate yummy food, etc. Here are a few pics from his phone to get a glimpse into their fun.