Life with Landon...

Here he is. The newest adorable addition to our family, Landon Spencer Davis. He was born on 9-14-2009 at 8:04 am, weighing in at a hefty 9lbs and 1/2 oz and measuring 20 1/2 in length. Landon looks very much like his big brother Christopher, with lots of handsome, dark hair a ruddy complexion and full little lips. He has his Dad's "monkey toes" and his mom's squashed ears. He has a light angel-kiss birthmark over his right eyelid and a faint strawberry birthmark in between his eyes.
I had forgotten how sweet it can be to hold a tiny, warm newborn in your arms and listen to the soft little sighs he makes in his sleep. I had forgotten how much ear-piercing noise can come from one so tiny when unhappy...usually during a diaper change, or too much time in his carseat. I had forgotten the adorable way they their heads bob up and down like a little bobble-head doll as they attempt to hold their heads up, or the funny little grunts and snorts they make when they are hungry.
It's wonderful to have a newborn in the house again and be reminded of the miracle of a new life!

Just don't call her "cute"

I have lots of catching up to do on my blog! For now, I wanted to post this funny story about Stephanie before I forget it...

This summer Stephanie decided that being called "cute" was an insult. I'm not sure how this happened, but she suddenly started getting very upset with people who would call her "cute" (which is just about everybody!). "I'm not cute!" she insists "I'm cool!". Or she will inform people that she is "awesome" or (my personal favorite) "healthy and strong and smart."
I think she decided that "cute" is a term associated with babies, and now that she is a big girl, potty-trained and everything, she should no longer be called "cute." The other day we were dropping off Christopher at kindergarten, and on the way back to the car, Stephanie told me she was very mad because someone at the school had called her "cute". She went on and on about this incident insisting that she was NOT cute, that she was "awesome and cool". I was trying my best not to chuckle as she told me her woes. It's a rough life when everyone thinks you are cute!
I have to admit that I'm a bit proud of her for not putting stake in her in her cuteness-factor, and wanting people to take her more seriously and treat her like a big girl...But I'm afraid it's a "battle" she will be fighting most of her life...after all, she is just so stinkin' cute!!

Christopher The Graduate!

On Friday, May 29th, Chris graduated from pre-school!

For two years he has been attending Joshua Tree Community Pre-school, and a "graduation" was held at the community center in honor of all the "hard work" he and his fellow class-mates have done.

Christopher has really enjoyed pre-school this year. He made several good friends and really developed his social skills. His teachers all agreed that he is usually very well behaved and enjoys singing, learning and playing. Pre-school helped Christopher to learn all the letters of the alphabet and the sounds they make and how to print them. He also learned the months of the year, the pledge of allegiance, lots of fun and educational songs and even a bit about nature and science. Best of all, Christopher had lots of practice learning to be a friend and have fun learning!

The graduation was wonderful and well organized. The children sang several songs and each had a speaking part that they memorized. (As soon as I can figure out how to compress a video file to a more manageable size, I will post one of the songs he sang. )

I found myself unexpectedly overcome with emotion at this simple ceremony. It hit me that Christopher was no longer my pre-schooler. I have enjoyed these years so much. He has been learning so many things and growing so fast. It has been such a great age. He is more independent and can do many things for himself. He is a big help with his little sister. And at the same time he loves me unconditionally and still usually listens to what I say. I like to play a little game with Chris and ask him if he could please stay four-years-old forever. A big grin spreads across his face and a teasing glimmer in his eye and he replies "No, Mom! Soon I will be 5 and then 6 and then 7! I'll get bigger and bigger, up to the sky!" "No, please stay 4 forever!" I plead. He just bursts into uncontrolled giggles.

Here's to wishing that 4 could last...if not forever...at least a little longer!

The Living Desert Zoo

While Nana and Grandpa Lee were here in February, we went to the Living Desert Zoo in Palm Desert, CA. We couldn't have picked a better day to go...72 degree and sunshine. The animals were enjoying the beautiful day as much as we were. We have been to this zoo several times, and I have never seen so many active animals. The giraffes, wolves, bobcats and more were showing off to the zoo visitors.

With Stephanie's obsession with all things related to puppies, it is no wonder that this wolf statue was one of her favorite attractions.

Grandpa Lee helps the kids groom the goats.

A Day with Nana in Joshua Tree National Park

In February, Nana and Grandpa Lee came for a couple of days to visit. We spent a day at our local Joshual Tree National Park. It was the perfect time to go. Beautiful and warm. We all had a great time scrambling over the amazing rock formations. And we went for a little walk through a Cholla garden. I was paranoid the whole time that the kids were going to get some wicked Cholla spines in their tender skin. And of course, poor Christopher got one right in his ankle. We took it right out though and he was fine. We had a great time. The kids really love their Nana and Grandpa Lee!
Here is the Cholla garden...Not exactly the garden you would want in your back yard!

Grandpa Lee was running around the National Park like a little kid himself. We all wish we had his energy and love for life!

Playing Catch-up...A Snow Day in the Desert

On December 17, 2008, we received a rare treat...a Snow Day in the desert. In three days we received almost 18 inches of snow at our house! This hasn't occured in Yucca Valley for over 30 years! For all of the desert kids, it was a regular "Christmas Miracle." Schools were cancelled for two full days...(the city and county are hardly equipped to keep up with so much white stuff). It was like a block party...you could here all the neighborhood kids gleefully having snow ball fights and building snow forts.

Christopher and Stephanie were no exception. Growing up in Northern Utah, and then living in Colorado, snow is not exactly a novelty to me...to be honest, I'm not a real fan. But Chris and Stephie were so excited, I gave in and bundled us all up to have some fun in the snow together. I have to admit it was beautiful to normally brown, gritty desert blanketed in white.

Rising Above the First-Trimester Fog

Okay, so I have been doing a terrible job at updating my Blog...but I have a good reason! I am pregnant! That's right, number 3 is on the way!
I am 11 weeks along and I'm slowly coming out of the nauseous, foggy-brained, hormone-filled exhaustion that hits me in my first trimester. I'm trying to re-claim my life for the few brief months I have before I enter my "beached whale" phase during my third trimester :-)
My due date is September 21. And since we already have a wonderful son and an amazing daughter, we have no preference as to whether it is a girl or a boy. We are open and eager for either!
Christopher is very excited about the new baby and very curious. I had an ultrasound today and I showed him the picture. I explained that the little potato-chip-looking blob was a tiny baby growing inside my tummy, and that it still had a lot of growing to do before it could come out. He thought my potato chip analogy was hilarious. Several times today, he took the picture down and tried to explain it all to Stephanie. "See Stephie, there's a little baby, like a potato chip, inside mom's tummy. When mommy eats, the baby gets bigger!"
He asked lots of questions about the ultrasound. "How did they take a picture inside your tummy?", "Why does it look so fuzzy?" And so forth. I did my best to explain at a four-year-old level. Needless to say, I think this is only the beginning of Christopher's baby-related line of questioning. We've already had our first "How do babies get in and then out of mommies' tummies?" discussion. I kept it very simple...Heavenly Father puts the baby in the mom's tummy, and then I go to the hospital and the doctor takes it out.
I'll save the details for when he's a little older. I need to do some serious pondering on just exactly how to talk about it all!
Stephanie, on the other hand, is doing her best to ignore the situation. When I asked her if she would like to have a little brother or a sister, she replied "I want a puppy!"