My dentist took me out to dinner

Friday I had a dentist appointment. Michael's dad watched the kids and I headed up to the school to see Michael. I have a cavity that might be just right for boards so he wanted to take a look at it. It was fun to see him in action and if anyone is wondering, he is a great dentist! I felt no pain at all. No offense to my previous dentists, but he is way better looking than any other dentist I've even had. After the appointment we went out for a steak dinner and then to dessert at Papa Hayden's. Yummy! They were seriously the best desserts I've ever had. It took us forever to decide what to get. I chose the Boccone Dolce and Michael had a Chocolate Cube (Chocolate shell with Chocolate Mousse inside and a scoop of ice cream) I don't have a picture of the cube, so I put up something else that looked good. The desserts were big and we tried to save some for later, but we just couldn't stop. The best was just being together (alone)! That was the best trip to the dentist I've ever had. Even though it was really a Valentine's Day celebration, I can't wait for my 6 month check up!

Making Valentines

This year, we found our valentines idea in Family Fun Magazine. The kids LOVE my iPod and so they couldn't resist making these candy iPods for their friends. It was a big project and we divided it up into three nights. We listened to Valentines music on our iPod while we made them. Luke made 10 for friends and preschool and Allie mass produced 30 of them! I don't think we will do such a big project next year, but it was fun! Luke had to keep trying the peanut butter cups to make sure that the ones in the different colored wrappers tasted the same.

Mallory's Baptism

This weekend was Mallory's baptism. It's fun to have cousins the same age living so close. Allie was so excited for Mallory and is looking forward to being baptized in June. Pete and Julie served everyone a yummy Italian dinner after the baptism. It was a great day.

Standing

Kate started standing next to furniture and cruising at around 9 months. I thought my skinny little girl would follow in the footsteps of her skinny little cousins and walk at 10 months. She wasn't even crawling really. But then she learned how to crawl. I guess that became efficient enough for her and she has abandoned walking. She won't even hold our hands to walk or try to stand on her own. Every once in a while we would catch her standing on her own and as soon as she would realize it she would sit. I was beginning to think that instead of being my earliest walker, she would crawl forever. With her first birthday quickly approaching, the pressure is on. (Allie and Luke both took their first steps 3 days after their 1st birthday.) Today she started standing on her own, on purpose, and not sitting as soon as she realized what she was doing. Perhaps there is a chance. 6 more days until her 1st birthday. The race is on.

Losing Kate

I lose Kate a lot. I don't know if it's because she's so little, or because I have three kids, or because she's an escape artist. Maybe a little of all three. The other day I lost her and found her in the shoe closet. It WAS organized before she got in there. I don't even want to think about all those germs.
This morning I thought I lost her too. I took Allie to school and when I walked back in the apartment I saw Luke playing alone. (Sometimes when Michael is home in the morning I leave the little kids at home) I asked Luke where Kate was and he didn't know. I started to panic and then remembered that I had taken her with me this morning. I had left her in the car. How embarrassing!

Pierced Ears

We hit another milestone. Allie had her ears pierced a few weeks ago before Michael left for Cambodia. We had told her she could do it when she was ready to face the pain. This summer she finally decided it would be worth it. She was anxious to do if after Christmas but we couldn't get out because of the snow so she had to wait for several agonizing days. Julie, Mallory and Courtney went with us and Mallory got her ears pierced too. I was nervous about who would be punching holes in my daughter. Luckily, we found someone with enough piercings that I was assured she was an expert (true Portland style). She had remarked that she has just given herself another piercing the day before just to remember what it felt like. A real professional. Allie was so happy! She seriously beamed and glowed once it was done. I thought it was fun watching her look in the mirror (over and over and over again.) I wasn't prepared for how much older she looked. That was a little scary. I also learned that an earring/jewelry/trinket store is heaven for 7yr old little girls. She could have spent hours in there. Actually, Kate liked it too and I think she dreamed that night of pulling all the shiny, bright colored things off the racks.

Allie with her "game face" on. She didn't smile, look around, talk, cry, or do anything but stare straight ahead until it was all over. She had pure concentration and sheer determination not to cry.

Allie's first look at the new Allie. She was very pleased.

Grandma came!

Grandma likes carousels so we took her to one. It's indoor--which is nice in Oregon.

I have a good excuse for not updating our blog for so long. Actually, I have a lot of good excuses. On January 1st, Michael left for Cambodia. He was gone from the 1st until the 16th. Through Medical Teams International he was able to go and provide dental services for children in orphanages. It was a really cool experience, and I am sure we will load some pics and stories once he is through the jet lag.We didn't do much to get him ready before Christmas so it was kind of a mad dash at the end. On the 1st we dropped him off at the airport, made one loop around the airport and then picked up Grandma Galyan! She came to be with us for 11 days while Michael was gone. Actually she came because we were going to have Luke's surgery (a tonsillectomy, etc) but that ended up being cancelled again. (Luke's blood test results have come back abnormal several times so we are working with a hematologist and postponing surgery) So, instead of surgery, we just had fun. We worked on lots of projects. I finally got my pantry organized. Grandma and Kate bonded and I think Kate gained at least half a pound. Grandma and Luke had an Uno duel. Grandma took Allie and Luke to play at Allie's school. Mom worked and worked and worked like always. We had a TON of fun and were all so sad to see Grandma go home.
We really want Grandma to come back and live with us forever--She could bring Grandpa too!