17 Cherry Tree Lane

The olden days.

2010-10-19T12:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I was talking with Lorelai about birthdays (she was keen on the topic with her birthday being today and all). We were going through everyone in the family and saying which year they were born.

When we got to Donald she asked, "Was Daddy born in the olden days?"

(ha! I snickered out loud) "Why yes Lorelai, he was."

I snickered again.

"How old is Daddy?"

"He's 33."

"So 33 years ago was the olden days?" she confirmed.

"Yep....it was."

***For the record, Donald got a big laugh out of this.

A Penny for your Thoughts.

2010-04-19T20:46:00.000-07:00

A few days ago Lorelai looked ponderous and so I said to her,

"A penny for your thoughts."

She looked at me curiously and asked what I meant. I briefly explained, and then she went on to tell me what was on her mind.

This morning, after we had dropped Alexandra off at school Lorelai said,

"You still need to give me my penny for my thoughts."

True. So I opened the little coin holder near the dashboard and dug out a penny for her. And then she said,

"Next time, can it be a quarter for my thoughts?"

Smart girl.

The big surprise.

2010-04-08T21:26:00.001-07:00

Today Lorelai gave me strict instructions not to go into Alexandra's room. And if by chance there was something that I needed from Alexandra's room I was to ask her to go get it for me.

(this was while Alexandra was at school)

Well, I tried to be obedient, but I ended up accidentally seeing the surprise.

She had carefully laid Alexandra's soccer uniform out on her bedroom floor in anticipation of her practice this evening.

Everything from her shoes to her shin guards to her jersey was there.

My heart melted. I love these moments that make motherhood so rich.

Just practicing.

2010-04-07T14:20:00.001-07:00

Recently I was giving Lorelai one of my motherly lectures (she had done something naughty) when Alexandra chimed in and started lecturing her on my behalf.

I looked at her with an 'excuse me, I'm the mother' look (and I actually think I said that).

Alexandra smirked and said,

"I'm just practicing for motherhood. I do want to have children you know."

Priorities

2010-03-09T09:02:00.000-08:00

We were reading scriptures together as a family last night when Lorelai suddenly realized that Alexandra had her own set and she didn't. I told her that that would be a great way to use all the money she had been saving up and I would be glad to take her to the church bookstore so that she could buy her own.

She responded with,

"Why would I do that when I am trying to save my money for Mario Kart????"

Donald and I cracked up. It's great to know that our child has priorities....lol

Alexandra said....

2010-01-12T14:02:00.000-08:00

"On Saturday I am going to work really hard to come up with a cure for car-sickness."

also....

"If I become famous I am going to change my name to something that is musical-er"

-Alexandra

The New Seuss

2010-01-09T08:53:00.000-08:00

"Mom, do I need to get permission from the government to take over for Dr. Seuss? Because I miss his books and I want there to be new ones. I will write them and be Mrs. Seuss."

-Alexandra 01.09.10

Email

2009-09-02T21:36:00.000-07:00

Alexandra sent this email to Donald tonight and he was kind enough to forward it back to me:

Dear daddy, I miss you. About a half an hour ago I was waching the Patty duke show with a napcin so I can fold it up so it is softfor my fingers so they will not huret to wiggel my tooth. Are you working to night? Because I want you to see how wiggely my tooth is.this time I am not joking. if you have work tomorrow call me. call, 1866litter1 HA! HA! I am joking call 7831324 I love you so much. Love alexandra!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This post brought to you by, the letter 'R'.

2009-06-22T12:21:00.000-07:00

Ever since Lorelai learned to talk we have adored her 'Boston Accent'. The inability to make a hard 'rrrr' sound made her manner of speech very endearing to us. We often asked her to say things like 'chowder' or 'water' just to hear her special pronunciation; for example: 'chowdah'.

Yesterday as we drove in the car Lorelai was talking about something (I don't remember the conversation) but as she was speaking Donald said, "Lorelai, say that again". And she did.....and sure enough, she was pronouncing a hard 'rrrr' sound. We decided to test it and asked her numerous words that had an 'rrrr' sound, and she could say every one!

We were excited that she can now speak properly, but a piece of will always miss that little Boston accent.

End of the Soccer Season

2009-05-26T08:56:00.000-07:00

Alexandra just finished her fer year of soccer. Her team, the Gators, had an end of the season BBQ to celebrate. They were all so excited to receive their medals:

American Idol

2009-05-20T22:15:00.000-07:00

Tonight was the finale of American Idol 2009. I let Alexandra stay up 2 hours past her bedtime to watch it with me.

She totally had me cracking up a few times:

When Kara DioGuardi stripped down to her bikini she said:

"I did not need to see that"

************************************

When Rod Stewart came out to sing she asked:

"He's really old. Is he last years winner?"

Wish upon a star....

2009-05-06T20:52:00.000-07:00

Lorelai: "Mom, what happens if a child wishes on a star and another child wishes on the same star?"

Mom: "Both their wishes come true."

A Message On The Toilet

2009-03-12T23:12:00.001-07:00

{courtesy of Alexandra}

Like Grandfather, Like Granddaughter

2009-02-26T15:47:00.000-08:00

Alexandra brought me a piece of art the other day. It looked very familiar....like a painting that hangs on my family room wall. That painting was done by my grandfather in 1965, and it served as Alexandra's inspiration as she drew. She even signed his name to her art.

Hey, lady!

2009-02-16T11:37:00.000-08:00

"Lorelai, can you please go clean the family room?" asked Mom.

"Can't you see I'm doing something lady?" replied Lorelai.

"Lorelai, you shouldn't call your mother 'lady'" scolded Mom.

"But lady is a proper word," said Lorelai in a sweet {but sassy} way.

Then we both burst out laughing.
{and then she cleaned the family room}

When I Grow Up...

2009-01-26T22:07:00.001-08:00

"I want to be a teenager." ~Lorelai

Emails

2009-01-17T10:47:00.001-08:00

Alexandra has discovered that she can send emails to Donald while he is at work. Here is one that he forwarded back to me so that I could read it:

hi daddy. i. miss. you. gese. wat. i. em. on the. 104th. page. of. ramona the brave. give. me. a call. lats. of. love. Alexandra. good. by. daddy 1ts. a. gene. call. me. gust. too. let. you. no. call. 7831324. Love. Alexandra good. by

Translation:

Hi Daddy! I miss you. Guess what? I am on the 104th page of Ramona the Brave. Give me a call. Lots of love, Alexandra. Goodbye Daddy. Once again, call me. Just to let you know, call 783-1324.

Love,
Alexandra

Goodbye

Homework

2009-01-17T10:43:00.000-08:00

I couldn't help but notice that on Alexandra's homework she has started writing a 'J' in place of the 'X' in her name. I guess she is taking this Spanish thing very seriously :)

Great-Grandma....the puppet???

2009-01-10T15:25:00.000-08:00

"Is she a puppet?" the girls asked me as they flipped through an old family photo album. The picture they were referring to is of my very short grandmother standing next to my very tall brother. I quickly told them that it was in fact their great-grandmother (who passed away 4 1/2 years ago) and that she was completely real.

Sunbeam

2008-12-27T22:03:00.001-08:00

Lorelai: Alexandra, do you think that the next time the sun goes down we should try to touch it?

Alexandra: I don't think we can Lorelai, we might get burned.

Christmas Memories

2008-12-18T22:13:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Alexandra ended up with a urinary tract infection; a direct result of the unfortunate trauma that that region of her body recently went through. So of course she was crying and miserable. I told Alexandra that I would be taking her in to see Dr. Ahart the next day, to which Lorelai replied (in a very sarcastic voice),

"Great, this means people are going to bring Sissy lots of presents again."

Poor Lorelai.

So today I went out and bought her a new ornament for the tree. A little something to perk her up. It is a gold plated Santa that says 2008. She loves it and has proudly placed it in a prominent place on our tree.

An hour or so after I put the children to bed Lorelai came out. She said she couldn't sleep. So she and I snuggled on the couch and enjoyed gazing at the magical glow of the tree. We talked about lots of things...from Christmas lists, to how warm she gets when all her blankets are on. She had a lot on her mind!

And as we snuggled there together I couldn't help but think that this must be the greatest part of my whole life. A mother of 3 young children. Perfection.

Santa Baby

2008-12-11T17:18:00.000-08:00

The song "Santa Baby" was playing on the radio...to which Alexandra replied,

"I don't really like this song, it's like she's trying to tempt Santa Claus"

Injured

2008-12-07T22:15:00.001-08:00

My sweet Alexandra ended up in the hospital yesterday following a horrible swing set accident. Her surgery was close to an hour and her recovery will be lengthy. Seeing her in such discomfort is terrible. No child should have to go through this. Oh, how I wish I could take her place!

She is home and resting, though rather uncomfortable. I hope that her body will make a quick recovery and that she will be back to her energetic self again soon.

Poor Lorelai was equally traumatized by the incident. She was with Alexandra when it all happened at was petrified at the sight of blood. Lorelai huddled in the music parlor screaming as if she were the one injured. She kept saying how scared she was for her sister and how she didn't want to see the blood. Later in the evening when Lorelai was visiting Alexandra at the hospital she got shaky at the sight of the IV going into her sisters hand. I think it's safe to say that she isn't destined to be a doctor :)

We had many visitors come to the house today with gifts, cards, and treats for Alexandra. The phone rang all day with friends and family calling to voice their concern. Alexandra was in an emotional mood and was very touched by everyone's thoughtfulness. There were many times that she teared up and said how blessed she was to have so many people care about her.

What a dear little child.

Sick Day

2008-11-20T12:17:00.000-08:00

Alexandra was home from school yesterday. She felt miserable and I wanted to comfort her in any way I could. We read books, watched a movie, and I rotated blankets in and out of the dryer to keep her warm.

At one point she said to me (with her sick, croaky voice):

"I am so blessed to have a mother that takes care of me"

Blessed..that's how I feel to be a mother and have little moments like those.

Starting to Think Things Through...

2008-11-06T23:11:00.000-08:00

Alexandra today:

"There are 3 things that are hard to believe. The first is Santa. Sometimes I think it's just a person that wraps up a whole bunch of presents. The next thing is the Easter Bunny. Sometimes I think a person just puts a bunch of stuff in a basket. And the other thing that is hard to believe is flying reindeer. I mean...I know it's all real...but it's hard to believe."

We'll Always Have Paris...

2008-11-03T10:35:00.000-08:00

A few days ago my girls were watching the movie Anastasia in the van as we were out and about running errands. I heard this sweet little exchange of words:

"Alexandra, is that really what Paris looks like?" asked Lorelai

"No, it's way cooler than that", replied Alexandra

I love that Lorelai looks up to her sister and assumes that Alexandra has he answers to all of lifes big questions. There is such joy in seeing these girls experiencing childhood together. What blessings they are!

Lorelai's 4th Birthday!

2008-10-19T21:50:00.000-07:00

It's official...she's a big kid! After celebrating on Saturday with a Halloween Party, her real birthday rolled around on Sunday. Unfortunately, she woke up in the middle of the night vomiting. Apparently there was a little too much candy intake the day before. But the good news was that it wasn't the flu and she was feeling much better in the morning.

To play it safe Donald stayed home with her while I went to church with Alexandra.

As soon as we were home, Lorelai was anxious to dive into her pile of gifts. She received:

A pound puppy with spots (dream come true)
A Curious George book
8 new colors of Play Doh
A new Tennis backpack that holds her racket
Clothes for her WebKinz
American Girl doll clothes for her Felicity doll (a tennis set - from Oma)
A new WebKinz (from Grandma Sorenson)

She was on cloud 9! We went to Grandma and Grandpa's for dinner and we all enjoyed singing Happy Birthday and watching Lorelai blow out her candles. A wonderful day for our wonderful little girl!

Smart Girl

2008-10-14T20:46:00.000-07:00

Alexandra scored 99% on the district math assessment. Woohoo!

School Lunch

2008-10-08T20:50:00.000-07:00

Yesterday our cupboards were bare. We were in desperate need of a trip to the grocery store and unfortunately, we ran out of bread. There was no way to make a sandwich for Alexandra's lunch, and we had nothing else to whip up.

So I asked her if she would buy her lunch instead. She quickly responded "OK" and I carried on as usual.

Later that night she approached me with some concern:

"I am the worst at getting my lunch at school. I am terrible at it. Last time I got the salad everywhere. I am the worst," she told me.

There had been only one other time when she had bought lunch. Apparently it didn't go exactly like she thought. Now she was nervous about it and told me that she really, really wanted to bring her lunch.

My first instinct was to do whatever I could to ease her worries. I was ready to change out of my pajamas and go to the store for bread. I don't like to see my children uneasy. But then I thought through the situation. I realized that this would be a small confidence boosting opportunity. She needed to face this fear, she needed to buy her lunch.

So I calmly told her that everything would be fine and that she would still be buying her lunch at school.

And guess what.....she did great! A small moment, but one that helped build self confidence and independence.

Oh yes, and I made it to the grocery store today! Our kitchen is restocked and Alexandra will have her lunchbox in hand again tomorrow morning.

Alexandra's 6th Birthday

2008-10-06T10:17:00.001-07:00

Alexandra had a whimsical birthday. She woke up to find the house decorated in pink and green. There were streamers, balloons, table decorations and presents. We let her open several of her gifts in the morning. A new violin case (she plays the violin that I got on my 6th birthday), a violin polishing kit, and a new green shoulder rest.

Then we all got dressed and headed out to McDonald's for breakfast. Yum.

We returned home just in time for her guests to arrive for her 10:00 birthday party. There were 13 little girls that came. Add in our 2 for a total of 15! It was a festive party! They went on a treasure hunt to discover their goody bags, played 'drop the penny's in the cup', and tried to see who could pin the tail on the donkey. Then Alexandra opened her gifts and we enjoyed delicious birthday cake and ice cream.

After the party, we went out as a family and ran a few errands. Then Alexandra and Lorelai had fun diving into the new pile of toys. Barbie's....markers....makeup....fun!

That evening we dined at IHOP with Grandma Sorenson and Uncle Shawn. We brought along the rest of Alexandra's gifts; a pound puppy, a new book, webkinz clothes, American Girl doll clothes from Oma, and two new Ramona books from Grandma Sorenson.

A perfect day for a perfect 6 year old!

Elisabeth is One!

2008-09-24T17:15:00.000-07:00

My darling baby turned one year old today! We celebrated by going to get portraits done in the morning. It was her 24th photo shoot of the year. Needless to say....we haven't missed a moment! After pictures, she had her therapy session. During therapy she was having some strange seizures, so I decided to call the neurologist. He sent us to the emergency room. Not the best way for a baby to spend her first birthday, but she's used to it. We are home now and gearing up for a night at Chuck E. Cheese. Her big sisters are excited!

The Love Between Sisters

2008-09-19T22:08:00.000-07:00

Elisabeth had a very strong seizure this afternoon. There were several times during it that Alexandra said she was scared for her sister. After it had gone on for 10 minutes or so we decided it was time to pull out the diastat. It is a single dose medication that her neurologist had given us for situations like these. It is the same thing she would have been given in the hospital, but it saved us a trip to the E.R. Within minutes, she calmed down and returned to her normal self.

A little while later Alexandra came up to me while I was getting ready for work. I was incredibly moved by what she told me:

"If we weren't born yet, I would take her place so that she didn't have to be blind and have seizures. I am not joking Mom, I would take her place."

"I know you would," I replied with a smile.

Pure love.

Fun With a Box

2008-09-19T07:34:00.000-07:00

We bought diapers at Costco and Lorelai asked if she could have the box that they came in. She had FUN!

School Tour

2008-09-16T20:35:00.000-07:00

Tonight was an open house at Alexandra's school. We went as a family and she had so much fun playing 'tour guide'. She showed us everything from the music room, to the library, to the monkey bars outside.

I am so thankful that she has adjusted to kindergarten so well. She loves her school and feels very comfortable in her new environment. I am also happy that Donald and I followed our instincts and put her in the dual language program. She is really taking off with Spanish. What a gift in this day and age to be bilingual. I know that it will truly benefit he in years to come.

Weekly Weigh-In

2008-09-11T17:32:00.000-07:00

Elisabeth's weight went up again. She was 20lb 15 oz. They continue to be amazed that she is gaining weight. Usually children on this diet can't keep the weight on. If she continues gaining too much, we'll have to decrease her calorie intake.

We are having trouble keeping her ketone levels up. It seems to fluctuate a lot. Yesterday it dropped down to low. This has us all a bit puzzled. There has been no variation in her diet, no place for error, so why is she dropping out of ketosis? Hmmm.....we'll figure it out....eventually.

First Homework Assignment

2008-09-09T20:25:00.000-07:00

Notice the stamp in the upper right corner?

It says, "Good Work".

We're off to a great start.

Now if she can keep it up till high school...

Testimony

2008-09-08T20:35:00.000-07:00

Alexandra loves to bare her testimony at church on the first Sunday of every month. She has been doing it since she was 3 years old. Well, yesterday was the first day that she had the courage to do it all by herself. I still stood by her side, but the words were all hers.

I am so proud of Alexandra. Her confidence is strong for such a little girl and she sets a great example for her 2 younger sisters.

Miracles Do Happen

2008-09-08T12:59:00.000-07:00

Lorelai was taking an afternoon 'quiet time' (this means playing quietly in the play room) when she came to me about an hour ago and said, "actually Mama, I want to take a nap."

????????????????????????

And who was I to argue with the dear child. So napping she is. And happy am I.

Weekly Weigh-In

2008-09-04T21:05:00.000-07:00

Now that Elisabeth is on the ketogenic diet, a dietitian comes out to the home every week to check up on her and get her weight. She lost weight at the beginning, and they feared she might continue to lose weight if they didn't increase her calorie intake. But guess what!?! Her weight was up 1/2 a pound! Way to go Elisabeth! Last week she weighed in at 20 lbs 3 oz and today she was 20 lbs 11oz.

Also, our insurance agreed to pay for 11 cans of formula a month! Woohooo! That should be enough for the entire 30 days. Previously they had only committed to covering 6 cans.

A good day indeed!

Lorelai and Elisabeth

Only Child (sort of)

2008-09-04T20:57:00.001-07:00

Lorelai has loved 'adjusting' to her new role as the big kid at home now that Alexandra is at school every day. There is a smile on her face from morning till night (or should I say afternoon...3:12 to be exact). She loves having Mommy to herself, the toys to herself, Elisabeth to herself, the TV to herself...you get the picture.

Yesterday, Lorelai discovered the Frances books. We read this one a couple times today:

She also requests that we play Memory over, and over, and over. Magically, she wins everytime...

Prayers

2008-08-31T21:29:00.000-07:00

We had just finished the opening prayer at church today when Alexandra whispered to me, "When Elisabeth gets bigger she won't have to close her eyes when she prays, because she is blind and can't see anyways."

New Classmates

2008-08-30T13:53:00.000-07:00

Alexandra just started kindergarten this past week and has already made a few friends. I ran into one of her new classmates, Mya, and her family at the mall tonight. I mentioned that Alexandra loved kindergarten and had been talking a lot about Mya.

Mya's mother told me that her daughter had been talking a lot about Alexandra too. Apparently, when they were just meeting each other, Alexandra said, "my name is Alexandra, but you can call me Alex." I found this interesting considering the fact that we have never called her that at home.

Then Mya's mother said, 'wait it gets better.' She told me that she asked Mya what she had said to Alexandra. And this was her reply:

"My name is Mya, but you can call me Katie."

Her mom quickly explained to her that a nick name was a shortened version of a full name....not something that we randomly pick out of the air.

We were both cracking up.

Scales

2008-08-28T03:00:00.000-07:00

Alexandra has been taking violin lessons for 6 months now and has been playing a 3 octave G Major scale for several weeks. This is something that I never did until I was probably 12 years old.

Well, when we arrived for her lesson with Mr. Burroughs today he was just finishing up a lesson with one of the students there at the college. He asked Alexandra to get out her violin and play a 3 octave scale for this young man. She did...and she did it well.

After he left Mr. Burroughs informed Alexandra that today was the very first day that the other student (a college age student) had ever attempted a 3 octave scale.

Needless to say, I am a very proud Mama!