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This is how Nicole eats an apple:

She starts on one side and eats straight through to the seeds.  Notice that she ate the bottom of the apple.  When she gets to the middle she spits out any parts that she doesn’t like.

Today, I got out some butter to use in our dinner, but I had to go help a child before I could get started.  On my way back to the kitchen, I encountered Nicole holding my stick of butter and preparing to take a second bite.  She was very mad when I took the butter away:

If it was Ila, I probably would have let her eat the butter—she needs the calories (She weighed in at 16 lbs with her diaper and all her clothes on at the Doctor’s last week).

Somewhat Related Comment:  One day I heard Charlotte tell Isaac:  “I know how to turn an apple into an apple core.”

Name:  Charlotte Rose Cochran

Age: 5 years, 2 months, 3 weeks, 1 day (on 3/8/11)

Weight: 36 lbs 25th percentile

Length:   40”      5th percentile

I had originally scheduled her for an appointment in TN before we left, but the nurse suggested waiting till after the new year so that her visit could be in the same calendar year that she starts kindergarten.

She was very nervous and sad about the immunizations.  For about two days afterwards she complained that her legs hurt, but she felt much better after some Ibuprophen.  Now the pain is gone and all she has left are a few small bruises where the shots were.

Also, for some reason she likes to randomly say “banana” at various unpredictable times during the day. (I realize that sentence is redundant, but I’ll let it stand).

Isaac asked if he could hang a post-it note on the bulletin board in the office.  I told him yes, and later found this note posted:

A little while later he wanted me to see what he had made on his Lego Creator:

They made my day!

I think I’ll split this up over a few posts so that I can be more detailed (especially for those family members that may not get the chance to come visit)

This is the view when you step in the front door:And if you walked straight and turned around, this is what it looks like from the opposite side:

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My kids wake up early.  I am not always as eager to start my day.  In fact, I think there should be a rule against getting up before 8 AM on a holiday.  Isaac had two days off for President’s Day. On the second day, Ila had woken up at her usual time which is around 4 am and I had brought her downstairs to the couch where I could nurse her and fall asleep.  We were both still resting on the couch at around 6:30 AM when Isaac and Nicole came down.  Isaac had a book and was reading it aloud at the table and Nicole was not yelling to be fed, so I was content to lay on the couch and cuddle my baby a little longer.

The next thing I knew, there was a bright blue flash and Nicole running down the hall crying.  I immediately jumped up and made sure she was ok.  I could find no injuries and she calmed down and acted like herself. 

Once she was settled, I checked out the damage.  This is basically what I saw (I cleaned the plug plate before taking the picture):

I felt terrible and beat myself up much of the day for being so lazy.  I don’t know if she actually got shocked or just dropped the bracelet onto the plug and ran down the hall crying out of fear.  All I know is that the plug and bracelet were partially melted, the socket was charred, and the breaker was tripped.

I said a prayer of thanks that she was ok and that there was no serious injury.  I threw out all of the little silver bracelets in the house, and for the rest of the day I found myself hugging her and recognizing how grateful I was to have her happy and healthy and in my family.

(This picture is of Nicole “feeding” cereal to her Plush Curious George toy)

I didn’t actually see what happened, but I heard a sound like one of our little plastic stools falling and I turned around to see Ila laying on the floor.  She hadn’t been on anything and couldn’t have been hurt badly.  Ila looked like she was about to cry (you know that silent inhale that comes before the scream look).  I picked her up and  her body suddenly went completely limp.  I started calling her name and trying to wake her.  It was probably only 30 seconds that she lost consciousness, but it was terrifying.  As soon as she became conscious she seemed confused and tired and her breathing was strange (short irregular breaths).

This was the second time that this has happened.  The first time was maybe a few weeks ago.  I was in the kitchen and she was on her knees holding onto my leg and her hand slipped and she fell forward and bumped her head.  She had that same deep inhale before a scream look and a loss of consciousness and sleepiness afterwards.

When I explained what happened to Zach, he did some research and sent me a link about Breath-holding Spells.  The description in his link was exactly what I experienced, and as I read I saw that there was a link between Breath-holding Spells and iron deficiency.  Just before we left Tennessee, our pediatrician tested Ila’s blood and reported that she had an iron deficiency and prescribed an iron supplement.  Unfortunately, I have been bad at remembering to give her the prescribed daily dose.  I gave her a dose and committed in my head to make remembering a priority.  I also think it’s time I set up an appointment with a pediatrician.

I inherited these little pictures from my Grandma O’Bryant.  They’re of Kathleen O’Bryant who I was named after. Kathleen was my grandmother’s first child and she drowned in a pool when she was just two.

Whenever I look at these pictures I think of my sweet grandmother and her heartache.  I love my grandmother and It makes me happy to think of her.  I’ve always felt close to my grandmother and my name has been an important part of that bond I have with her.  The pictures have been lying on my desk since I unpacked them and I can’t figure out what I should do with them.  I received them when we lived in Tennessee and I never figured out what I wanted to do with them there either.

I really like our new ward, they’re very friendly and nice.  People have gone out of their way to introduce themselves and be kind.  Over the years, Zach and I have spent most of our time in needy wards where we were really needed and it’s a different feeling to move into a well-established, stable ward.  I don’t feel like we’re really needed here.  I feel guilty and selfish for moving here.  It troubles me.  It’s like we’ve moved into a ward where we can take a vacation from having a lot of responsibilities.  It makes us feel a little out of place.  The one thing they say they need is more kids.  So maybe our children are the ones who are needed here?  It reinforces the feelings of doubt that I still have about if we made the right choice to move here.  I try not to dwell on those feelings because we’re in too deep to go back now.  Is there a lesson to be learned in this?  Why did we end up here?

As a person who grew up in the Midwest and then spent 13 years in Utah, living in places that stay relatively warm and have almost no snow is a new experience for me.  It’s been around 50 degrees most of the time since I’ve been in Seattle, but we did have a snow storm the other day.

Isaac enjoyed riding his scooter down the hill in the snow and throwing snowballs on the way home from school the day before.

I didn’t get many pictures of Charlotte, because she spent most of the time inside the house changing her snow gear (different hats, gloves, ect).Nicole, as you can see was well bundled up with two coats and her beach hat.  She also insisted on bringing her backpack outside.  She also spent much time in the garage saying “I need something to ride.”Ila was not content to watch from her stroller, she wanted to be in the snow, but she didn’t enjoy the snow for very long.

Charlotte likes bananas.  The first time I asked her what she wanted for her birthday, she thought for a moment and then said “a box of bananas.”  She brought up that gift suggestion a few more times before her birthday, so I wrapped up a box of bananas.  She was actually quite excited when she opened them and for the following week, every time we ate a banana she’d say “we’re eating a birthday present.”

A few weeks ago as we drove home from church, we asked the children what they learned about in church.  Isaac said they learned about Joseph Smith.  I asked them a few questions about what they learned and Charlotte piped up and said “I drew a banana on his shirt.”  When we got home, I took a look at the picture she had colored and sure enough there was a picture of Joseph Smith kneeling in the sacred grove with a banana on his shirt.

A few days later she decided she wanted to draw a snowman.  She said “I’ll need a piece of paper and some crayons.  I need a white one, and a black one, and an orange one (for the carrot nose), and a yellow one–in case I want to draw a banana.”

Also, Ila finally tried bananas and she likes them.  She asks for them by name, but she will only eat full sized bananas.  If I slice or break them into little pieces, she will not eat them.  She likes them best if I give them to her with the peel on and she will only eat a half a banana at the most, by that time the banana piece is too small and I can’t get her to eat any more of it, even if I give it to her at her next meal.

Nicole loves her Hello Kitty backpack.  It was a gift from her grandma Bunny (who had intended it for Charlotte, until she saw that Charlotte already had a Hello Kitty backpack). 

Nicole received it the morning that we flew to Seattle and used it as her carry-on.  She looked hilarious with it at the airport.  She insisted on pushing it in front of her and would not allow anyone to help her with it or show her the proper way of pulling it behind her. 

Charlotte and Nicole have insisted on carrying a backpack to the bus stop each morning.  Usually the backpacks are empty.  One day, I noticed that Nicole had packed hers with a monkey and a water bottle. 

The other morning, I tried to hurry the girls out the door because we were running a little late, but as soon as we started walking Nicole stopped and yelled “oh, no!  My Backpack!”  I decided it was quicker to get the backpack than to try to drag her kicking and screaming to the bus stop.Now, every time we leave the house, Nicole insists on taking her backpack with her.  She was not happy with her Dad when he would not let her take it to church this week, or last week.Oh, and she did eventually let me show her the proper way to pull it behind her .

We had a great Valentine’s day.  I actually went to bed early on Sunday night, but woke up at about 3:00 AM with an ache in my back.  I went downstairs and noticed a friend request on my phone so I hoped on facebook and found out that my sister’s water had broken during the night and she was in labor!  I did get a little more sleep after that.

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