thanksgiving in pictures

Hmmm...these did not post in the order i imagined them. Just look at the first 5 from the bottom up. s Briar has always been my child most likely to appear in Madonna's "Vogue" video. Then Boo the Dog interfered with her nonchalant grace and elegance. Yuck...

Charlie was stuck in the first few shots; Grandpa had to rescue him.

Here is Henry on the rag quilt Aunt Maire made for him.

I love the expression on Hen's face - like he has a bad taste in his mouth. A ba d aftertaste of milk , I suppose. Briar is coughing up a lung, not spitting out my cuisine.

Henry, practically naked and looking pleasant and thoughtful.

Why is it that my children will never smile directly into the camera? Except for Miss B; at 5 months she knew how to strike a pose and be a total ham. Proof in pictures of her model-like tendencies is shown in the first pics of the entry.
No words do this one justice...

thanksgiving and the christmas parade

i ate so much my stomach is in turmoil - as is my newborn's. my poor, sweet henni. ryan carted him into the kitchen this morning saying: "i have a new toy - and he farts every time you touch him." sorry, little buddy. wouldn't you know he is still smiling. what a sweet boy. was it the sausage in the dressing? the pumpkin cheesecake?

i spent the day cooking while my parents entertained the kidlets. i was so happy to have a family-filled thanksgiving on the day i grew up celebrating it (minus ryan - the last thursday of the month is "customer appreciation day" at our store, and since we live in canada and had "thanksgiving" (whatever!) last month, his attendance is mandatory on the busiest day of the month.

since my parents went home a day earlier than expected, i was stuck at home friday night thinking there would be no "Christmas Night of Lights Parade." i certainly wasn't attempting it alone. but it is a rooted oliver family tradition. we go every year and freeze our hineys off. this year was no exception to the sudden drop in temperature that ALWAYS accompanies the parade. The weather was pleasant and almost windless the day before - even sunny for this part of the world. The kids frolicked outside without hats or mitts. Then Friday morning things began to cool off considerably. By the time twilight set in (funny how i can't even use that word anymore without thinking of a certain series of books i've never bothered to read - should i? is it a bandwagon worth jumping onto?) the snow was falling, heavy and wet. don & dana (ry's parents) swooped in and took us to the parade, much to the relief of my cried-out children. we drove 1 block, parked illegally in the senior center's lot, and walked to the end of the block. henry was securely snug in the baby wrap, but i still worried about frostbite, though it wasn't nearly as cold as 2 years ago. we watched the parade and promptly marched back to the car. grandma and grandpa had been generous enough to spend their evening unsheltered in the snow watching a parade they cared nothing about for us - i wasn't about to suggest we brave the crowds for a cup of crappy hot chocolate (i make my own instant version: 3 parts powdered milk to 1 part cocoa - add a tsp. of sweentener to the mug with the hot water) from a can in a styrofoam cup and a bag of candy i toss as soon as we get home. we've never enjoyed the hay ride. we went home and i made them hot chocolate and toast. it was a full night.

Growing Up

henni is 4 months old today - and a WHOPPING 21.6 lbs - miss b weighed less at 1 year. he's already being treated like an older child. my friend brittani was watching 3 of my children, plus her own, while i ran to the school to pick up briar. i came back and baby H was crying a little, and i could see the evidence of other tears. i asked how he was for her, and she said: "okay, but it was my fault." then she blushed. and continued. "i forgot how little he is, because he's SO BIG..." i braced myself for something horrifying and quickly began to assess his pupils, head shape, etc. (covertly, of course, b/c she was still holding him). there was no cause for alarm: she just set him down on the carpet. sitting up. apparently he was happy and smiling for about 2 seconds, and then he fell onto his round 4-month old face. we had a good laugh (mine being a relieved laughter). at his check-up on thursday, my doctor made a comment that went something like this: well, he's fitting in with the other boys in this family...you sure are a record producer. and you say he's breast-feeding exclusively? no, i'm sneaking him protein-shake every other feeding. not to mention the porterhouse steaks he devours at midnight. he aslo inquired how many times a day he is feeding. ummm, however many times he feels like it. babies know, and so do breasts. i don't let him use me like a pacifier. i felt like some freakish baby factory with super milk. today, another well-meaning sister in christ (this was at super-saturday) made some comment that i can't quite remember, but it left me with the feeling that she thinks i either overfeed my children or they have a metabolic imbalance...she actually said something about a "REALLY slow metabolism..." after asking me if they eat much. i love my chubby babies - i think they are beautiful chunks of sweet love...they are truly gorgeous! and my charlie, my big three year old that gets weird looks b/c everyone always thinks he is older, is no longer the michelin man. he just happens to have a big head (with very KISSABLE CHEEKS), a tall body, and large hands and feet. his father is 6'4". not all children are slender, and that's okay. enough ranting: my newborn is growing up and it's happening faster than i'd like. i think i'll go wake him up and snuggle him just b/c i still can. and then i'll force-feed him :).

silly me

just kidding. i didn't delete my blog...i changed the background not realizing the text would be temporarily unavailable due to its color. silly me! (a phrase we have adopted at our house when we do something totally stupid but don't want the kids to hear us being self-deprecating). feist was on sesame street-how cool is that? i love it! it's almost as good as REM performing "shiny happy people" a few years back...also, one day i will either find my usb cord or buy a flash drive and finally post updated pics here!

help

i'm a techno-tard and i just deleted the text to my blog...what do i do? anyone? seriously, help!

barf

yesterday morning, henry threw up in charlie's mouth. this is how: when henry wakes up we all make a big production of it and he loves it. he grins, kicks, coos and generally steals the show (rightfully so). briar, charlie and i were all crowding around him, and charlie bent down to give him a kiss (oh, look at henni, mom...). then charlie starts sputttering and gagging. at first i thought he threw up: his tongue was hanging out, slime was oozing onto the rug, and he was making a strange sound: "uh, uh, uhhhh..." no, baby boy puked right into his brother's mouth. it was his own unique way of greeting him back. charlie's retort was the best. after gargling and sipping on water he stated: "mom, that was too yucky for me...i told henni he is too yucky."

the afterlife

jacob and i spoke at length very early this morning about his current obsession, the tyrannosaurus-rex. he is very concerned about their inherent vicious nature when they roamed the earth. he began this morning, while lying on the rug next to my bed, by telling me that if he saw a t-rex he would throw a tv on top of it. many explanations, questions and comments later he asked when he would see them alive. we had a short discussion about death, the resurrection, and what i've been taught will be the nature of both humans and beasts after death. finally, we were on the same page about t-rexes. our consensus: if and when we dwell with them, they will be peacable creatures. a few hours later, when he had again woken me to tell me something else, he said: "mom, i love you as much as t-rexes will be nice after the resurrection." i certainly don't have all of the answers - maybe what i told my son is just a tall tale. but i know he loves me as much as his 4 year-old self is capable of.