Reward

We were having a hard time with Kari every night at bedtime for a while, so we implemented the "obedience chart" once again to help with bedtime routines. The chart/sticker thing really seems to work for her, at least for a time. My hurriedly made chart happened to have 20 squares on it, and Kari finally filled the last square with a star last night. That meant a trip today to the Dollar Tree where she could pick any item she wished. The light-up ball was her item of choice. Joel benefited from Kari's obedience, too, since I really didn't want to deal with that battle. It's amazing how a little motivation (very little in our eyes) made such a difference in our child's behavior and made our evenings so much more pleasant--well worth the $2. We'll see if we need to continue the chart. Maybe I'll think of another way for her to earn stars.

So glad they love each other. They've been playing really well together lately. When they're playing, Kari tells him what to do, and he does it. I wonder how long that will last?

One more park visit before the rain

Our little talker

Around the house, Joel talks all day long. We're constantly amazed at what he can say, and we're understanding a lot more of his babble. This morning as I was changing his diaper, I accidentally scratched his leg a little, and he said, "Ouch, carefuh [careful], Mommy!" As the morning went on I discovered where he got that word. I probably told him to "be careful" 4 or 5 times before 9am.

Birthdays Galore

September is a big birthday month in our families. We've had 5 so far, and there's one more next weekend. This weekend we celebrated Maggie and Sam's 2nd birthday.

The kids eating the birthday treats.

Isn't this lovely? He really enjoyed that frosting. It actually did come off pretty easily. We thought he might have a red face at church the next morning, but it didn't stain too badly.


We also celebrated Uncle Blake's birthday this weekend. He turned 22 on Sunday. Hard to believe my little (or should I say youngest) brother is 22 years old. I took this photo last week at our house. Blake came over for a hair cut and then stayed and read to the kids for a solid 45 minutes. I'm guessing he read this truck book 7 or 8 times. He was such a good sport. Love you, Peeper!

Absence makes the heart grow fonder

Greg was gone on a business trip in Louisiana all week and got home late Friday night. We are all glad he's back. It wasn't the most pleasant trip for him, and we like it better when he's home with us and not far away in the hot, humid South. The kids and I actually had a pretty good week together. We kept very busy. Thank you to all who hung out with us and fed us (I didn't cook dinner even once the whole week!) and helped the time speed by.

Here are the kids opening their gifts from Daddy's work trip. He always brings something back for them when he comes home from a business trip, but he had such a busy week, he didn't have time to go shopping, and he didn't want to pay the outrageous prices in the airports, so what did he do? He stopped at Walmart on his way home at 1am to get some things so the kids (mostly Kari) wouldn't be disappointed.

Reading and snuggling with daddy.

I'm a criminal

Did you know they don't always send you a renewal notice for your driver's license? I didn't, and today at Home Depot, the cashier told me she couldn't accept my expired license as ID with my credit card. My license expired January 25, 2007! I have been driving without a proper license for 9 months! I can't believe I didn't notice, and I can't believe that the hundreds of people who have looked at my ID this year haven't noticed.

After paying $34.50 and getting my picture taken at the DMV, I can say I am no longer a criminal. If I would have gotten pulled over in the last week, I wonder what the policeman would have said? We just bought our van, and so we don't have all the paperwork processed yet. "You have no license, no proof of insurance, and no car registration...hmmm." Good thing I'm a good citizen and an otherwise lawful driver.

Oh, the Bravery

I just killed a very large spider in our living room. My spider killer (Greg) was not here to save us from it, so I had to be courageous. My heart was racing, but I did it. I hope he doesn't have a brother. (My dad always used to tease me that the spider he just killed for me "probably has a brother nearby.") I really hate spiders.

Great-Grandpa's 75th Birthday

We went to the beach on Saturday to celebrate Great-Grandpa Moffat's 75th birthday. We got to catch up with a bunch of family, which was fun, and the kids were excited to be back at the ocean.

I believe this was right after Morgan's lively rendition of "The Moffat Special Blues."

Quite a crowd for this party, and I didn't even get everyone in the photo.

Kari sat very patiently at the counter for a long time, waiting for the cake and ice cream part of the party. We have a bunch of September birthdays in the family, so there will be more cake and ice cream to be enjoyed in the weeks to come.

Good-bye First Car

Yesterday we sold the '82 Accord, the car Greg has driven for the past4 years, and my first car, the one I drove all through college and until we bought our new Civic, just before Kari was born. Part of us, the sentimental part, was a little tiny bit sad to see the other college car go, but we are very excited about our new-to-us Odyssey (yes, we bought a minivan), so our sadness was short-lived. I never thought I'd be excited about driving a minivan, but I have to say, I love it already. It's the perfect family vehicle, made with kids in mind. Kari is really enjoying the power sliding doors, and Joel likes the fact that he can run around in our car (when it's parked, of course).

Cousin Time

Maggie and Sam came to play yesterday morning, and the kids all had a great time together.

The boys playing together at the big kid table.

Juice cup hilarity--just being plain silly.

They all decided the entryway was a good place to finish their beverages.

Greg was Tagged, too

Here are his 8 random facts, and I don't believe he wants to "tag" anyone else. (He's humoring you, Hardings.)


#1 When I was in middle school I started a nail clipper collection. Had over 10 distinct pairs with graphics. This is pretty ironic because……

#2 I have not used clippers on my fingernails since grade school, due to a severe biting problem. My nails either don’t grow, or grow so slowly that I absent-mindedly bite them and don’t need those cool clippers.

#3 Many interesting, embarrassing, and odd things happen when you are a twin. During my freshman year in HS, there was an award for 1 student every month for excellence in school. One month, my brother Eric and I were both the co-‘student-of-the-month’. Nothing says individuality like sharing an embarrassing, cheesy award with your brother. He agrees.

#4 I ended up 2nd chair clarinet senior year in my high school symphonic band, and really enjoyed playing. The ‘band-geek’ stigma of a boy playing a clarinet, not so much. I suppose this is where I say something about it building character.

#5 I like looking at athletic shoes. I don’t really ever buy them, but I enjoy browsing and looking at my Eastbay catalog every month for the latest.

#6 For those not familiar with AWANA clubs, it is a bible club that is like a youth group for young kids. There are bible stories, games, teams, etc. Every year there is AWANA Olympics held somewhere in Oregon ( Salem ?). In 3rd grade, my brother and I won the district 3-legged race competition and went to the state games. We got destroyed, mostly because we got too cocky thinking that we had some special connection, when in reality, we were WAY to slow. I am pretty sure that there were future Pac-10 football players out there; it is intense.

#7 I break forklifts as a day-job. It is enjoyable.

#8 In high school, I was swimming at friends’ place (DEMAS), and several of our buddies were hanging out pool side cracking jokes. My younger brother Ryan had to step up the comedy level to get a good laugh. I was relaxing in the pool at the edge facing the water, and he was directly above me (without my knowledge). Suddenly my head was wet. All my friends were looking at me and busting up laughing. I had a foul taste in my mouth. Ryan had urinated on my head. I pulled him in the pool and we got it on. He almost drowned. I decided murder was not justifiable after about a minute with his head under water. He is still alive today. Michelle can thank me later.

Swim BBQ

On Saturday we had a big BBQ and swim party at Greg's parent' house with a bunch of other families. They graciously opened their home and pool to all 32 of us (14 were kids). It was kind of crazy but fun.

Isn't she a colorful sight? Kari is just a little fish in the water and can swim all by herself all over the pool with her water wings. She'll stay in the water for hours if we let her. By next year, she'll probably be a better swimmer than her mommy! (I'd say she is already, but I don't have to use water wings to stay afloat.)

Joel's gotten braver and has been sporting the water wings as well.

Back to Square One

Joel didn't stay in the nursery at church today. We were out of town two Sundays on vacation, and so I guess we start over on the nursery attempts. Bummer.