3.31.13: The amazing Nene

The Kochmans adventured to Nene's house earlier in the week and we drove up as soon as we could to have our own family reunion.  The girls were SO excited to see their family and especially Cooper.  Their mission:  teach him to crawl!

Kelly, Cooper, Rob, Nene, Daphne, Kari, Fiona, Brant and Stella all posing for a semi-squirming family photo. 

Cooper is a ridiculously happy, chill baby  - couldn't imagine what that calmness feels like.

Cooper has an Auntie who is constantly playing/harassing him.

We attempted a spring training baseball game but had to leave because it was too hot for all the kiddos (and the adults).

Easter egg hunt at Nene's house.  The Easter bunny gave each girl a separate room /area to find their eggs so there wasn't any confusion about egg ownership.   Great idea Easter bunny.

 Candy for breakfast....don't' get me started

The amazing Nene, entertaining all four of her grand kids (Daphne, Nene, Stella, Cooper, Fiona) at the same time while remaining totally calm and happy after her house has been destroyed in just two days.  I was completely impressed.

3.25.13: Playdate dance party

Daphne, Stella, Alyssa and Fiona had a great time playing together while Kim, Alyssa and Zachary were in town visiting their grandparents.  The girls got along great and were fascinated by baby Zachary - especially Fiona.

Kim started up a dance party on the 'stage'.  Zachary did great with all the chaos and primarily cuddled with his grandparents, but he sure is an adorable baby.

Our attempt at a group picture  :)

 

3.17.13: Soccer St. Patrick's Day

Fiona, Daphne, Peter and Stella had a St. Patrick's Day full of soccer - this time including a real goal.  Peter did a great job teaching the girls the rules of soccer, they did less of a good job listening.

Our dear friends KC, Sofia, and Viola moved away and left us with some great new crafting materials.  Stella, Daphne and Fiona had a great time makes bead purses, necklaces and headbands.

3.16.13: Summer 'do

With summer fast approaching, it was time for the girls (stella/pink, daphne/stripes, fiona/yellow) to get their second haircuts.  They definitely remembered their first haircuts in April 2012 and were very excited to go again - we have been talking about it for weeks.  Everyone got several inches trimmed which will definitely help to keep tangles out and stay cool during the hot summer months.

before

 

after

3.11.13: Murals

The girls have now been in separate rooms for over a month and seem comfortable with the change.  Occasionally we get an 'I miss my sisters' night but nothing some kisses, hugs and back rubs can't cure.  I have been asking the girls what they wanted on their walls now that they have their own rooms.  I figured I'd get this painting done during the time they were in school and I was job hunting.  The good news is that I got a job much faster than I expected.  The bad news is that I didn't finish the murals until now.  The girls were very excited to each get exactly what they wanted on their walls and I had a blast painting them.  Of course, I realize in a few years they will want different murals but for now they sure brighten up their rooms and make them very personalized.

Daphne wanted a blue wall with clouds and ten colorful butterflies.

 

Fiona wanted a blue wall with ten clouds and a rainbow.

Stella wanted a pink wall with ten flowers.

3.10.13: Visiting neighbors

Our old neighbors from Pasadena came to visit us and the girls were VERY excited.  We used to play with Fausto and Heather weekly from the time the girls were 8 months until we moved at 26 months.  Matias was born shortly before we left, so they didn't remember him.  They weren't sure that they remembered Fausto but once the kids started playing together, it was all so familiar.  They got along great!

Yes, four three-year-olds having a dance party = blurry picture.

 
At the children's museum they all worked together to build a fort, even Matias helped.

When we adventured to a festival, the kids found a grassy hill to roll down over and over again. 

Attempting a picture with five kids is a bit challenging, here was our best attempt: Fiona, Daphne, Kari, Stella, Fausto, Heather, Matias.

3.6.13: Dr. Daddy

Dual employment has surely brought on some challenges.  Within my first two weeks of work, Brant had to stay home with at least one of the girls three times already.  With his Super Dad skills, they are all on medicine and able to go back to school today.  Hopefully next time the girls get sick, they'll wait until I have accumulated some sick time so I can help out at home. 

3.2.13: Elephant and Piggie

We went to storybook day at the University. Stella was drawn to Piggie because he matched her balloon (he is pink after all), Fiona was thrilled that they had blue balloons, and Daphne was a little disappointed that there were no balloons in her favorite color and settled for blue. While we were all very excited to visit Elephant and Piggie, Daphne wasn't interested in taking a picture with them, maybe next time.

2.25.13: Carpooling

Well it's official.  I am back in the workforce for the first time since having kids.  This is going to be a big adjustment for everyone with some new challenges and many new opportunities.  For example, our entire family of five gets to carpool to work/school each day.  The girls school is about five minutes from the University where Brant and I work.  So now we get to have dance parties and singing during our commute, not a bad way to start/end the day.

2.21.13: SNOW!

It is very rare to have snow here, in the mountains sure...but at our house, very rare.  So it was a big deal that it had been snowing off and on throughout the day but not much was sticking. However, by the time we got home from preschool we had a good coating in our front yard.  The girls rushed to play until they realized that the snow was cold.  Daphne/hearts and Stella/pink seem to embrace it the most while Fiona was just trying to figure out why being cold/wet was so exciting to me.  We played outside for about three minutes and then went inside and watch the snow fall.

The next morning we discovered the snow was still there. All the more reason to make our very first snowman.  Stella/pink hearts, Fiona/stripes, Daphne/pink watched me make a snowman.  They weren't so sure about getting their hands cold from the snow but had a good time making footprints.

The technique of snowman making I learned growing up (rolling the snow in the grass to make a ball) does not apply to desert living as you just end up incorporating countless rocks.  Regardless, we figured it out and made our very first little snowman.  The girls knew he needed a carrot nose and asked about buttons for his belly.  In lieu of buttons, we just used pebbles from the yard.  By the time we got back for lunch, the snowman had melted but we found his carrot nose, reminding us that he'll be back again some day.

By coincidence, we got these three big diseased trees in our front yard removed on Monday and it snowed on Wednesday...good thing or we would have had a harder time making our snowman.