January 2016

 January may be dreary and dull for many people, but not for the Bonners! We keep the party rolling past Christmas with two more birthdays. Jack turned five on January 4th. He has been really excited, looking forward to the big day, counting down the weeks and then days and then hours. It was his first day back at preschool after the break. He was happy to take treats to his friends and go somewhere fun for the morning.

After school, Todd took a break from work and we went mini golfing with Jack's buddy Alyse. We had banana chocolate chip muffins for dinner, and dirt and worm cake.

Jack got some sweet presents, too. He's been most excited to play with his double stomp rocket out front. He's always been a thinker and loves puzzles and mazes and building things, as well. He's a smart little cutie. 

Here are some fun things to know about Jack:

Favorite color: orange

Favorite toy: the mermaid doll he got for Christmas (he and Gemma play mermaids in the tub)

Favorite movie: ”It’s definitely not Inside Out, because, you know, the clown.. It’s Peter Pan.”    

Favorite animal: tiger

Favorite book: Mercy Watson books (He got the set for Christmas - they're really funny!)

Favorite song: "Staple It Together" by Jack Johnson (Jack loves to turn this one on and dance around with Gemma), "Crazy Frog: (still going strong among my kids), and "Bad Day" by Daniel Powter

Best friend: Alyse Woodland

What does he like to do outside: look for rolly pollies

What does he like to sleep with: his stuffed animals and blue blanket - He starts out in my bed most nights and likes the comfort and protection of the giant stuffed gorilla til he goes to his own room. 

What do you want to be when you grow up? "A scientist – like making the potions and stuff." 

Favorite food: candied yams and chocolate chip muffins

Where is your favorite place to go? "Utah, to see Nana and Grandpa."

What do you do really well? Play with Gemma, make really good presents for people on their birthday. 

Three words that describe him: smart, curious, tender (my words)

Favorite season: winter - because you get presents - Christmas and birthday

One food he really dislikes: "Mashed potatoes - but I do like turkey - I love turkey."

If he had one wish, it would be: "to get presents when it's not even my birthday or Christmas."

What makes you laugh? potty talk

What are you afraid of?  "Those really bad dreams that I had, like that rat one biting my back and the snake one. Those are the two that I hated."

What do you like to do with your family? "Play games with them, with you guys, like Battleship and stuff."

What do you love to learn about? Secrets that Hazel whispers in Mom’s ear so Jack can’t hear. 

Hazel is a reading machine. She's devouring chapter books like Nevergirls, Amelia Bedelia, and Critter Club. Like, reading several a week. She loves Friday nights because we let her read in her bed until 9:00. She's often reading during breakfast or in the car.  Actually, she's reading whenever she gets a spare moment. It's awesome! 

Todd and I are reading the Book of Mormon with Hazel after the other kids go to bed each night. We're trying to do two pages a day. Our goal is to help her read and discuss the entire Book of Mormon before she gets baptized. It is really cool to see her remembering the stories and understanding basic doctrinal principles. We really want her to learn to recognize the Holy Ghost and develop a testimony on her own and understand what she's undertaking at baptism and let it be a responsible, personal decision and not just a cultural coming-of-age ritual for her. She is such a good girl and really impresses me with her love for the gospel. 

Hazel was awarded Student of the Month in January for responsibility. I know it's an arbitrary reward and all the kids get something every year, but it is still satisfying to see her teacher noticing strengths in Hazel that we love about her. 

Gemma is still obsessed with dolls. We have lots of four-inch dolls she loves, and plenty of Barbie sized dolls, and Lego dolls as well, and she carries them all over the house and asks me to play with her. Lately, she'll give me a doll and tell me to have my doll talk to hers, and then I'll have mine say "Hi, how are you doing today?" and hers will say something like, "Leave me alone! I'm NOT TALKING to you!" and turn her back on my doll and huff and be all dramatic and pretend to cry. I don't know how to work with a plot like that! Todd and I are constantly talking with Gemma about making her dolls talk nice and be friendly. She just doesn't want to play like that! 

Here she is, with Rapunzel and Jasmine peeking around the laundry room door to spy on me. 

Gem's getting quick on the balance bike. We're using the stroller less and less. She wants to be a big girl so bad. 

 Gemma turned three on January 14th. We had her little bestie Grace over for a playdate party. They got into the dress ups, did play dough, had a snack, and danced to princess music.

I felt bad that we hadn't gotten Gemma any new dolls for Christmas, so I made sure she had one on her cake. She's also working towards another doll by staying dry all night, which is something she seems to rock at when she sleeps in a diaper, but not when she sleeps in panties. 

Gemma got a baby doll stroller, an art easel with supplies, and her latest favorite book ("Olivia and the Missing Toy") for her birthday presents. 

Here are some fun facts about Gemma: 

Favorite color: pink (and sometimes purple)

 Favorite toy: dolls (Barbie size and smaller

Favorite movie: Bubble Guppies episode with the witch with a potion to turn people into frogs Favorite animal: dogs

 Favorite book: "Olivia and the Missing Toy"

Favorite song: "Belle" (Little Town) from Beauty and the Beast

Best friend: Hazel and Jack (and Grace Woodland)

What do you like to do outside: ride bikes, swing, jump on tramp

What do you want to be when you grow up? a mermaid

Favorite food: snack foods (crackers, raisins, pretzels, treats)

Three words that describe her are: funny, independent, charming

The next day I flew out to Chicago to spend the long weekend with my sister Emily and meet her new baby, Isaac, who was born in November. She and Doug are loving parenthood! Like, every second of it. I only changed one diaper the whole time I was there, and even then, they hovered over me and seemed to wish they were the ones doing it. They waited a long time for their sweet little guy and they are not taking the experience for granted. It's wonderful to see. My brother Ryan also lives in Chicago, so we all got together and had a great visit. 

We returned some duplicate Christmas presents to Toys R Us and let the kids have a mini shopping spree with the store credit. They each had $10 to spend and had fun looking around and comparing options. Hazel picked a little cat that meows, Jack got a small Lego set, and Gemma chose Little People Rapunzel and Flynn Rider. We also brought home Hungry Hungry Hippos to add to our mix. We've started up a Sunday Night Game Night tradition which is so fun! 

And finally, after much debate and dollar naming and hemming and hawing, Todd and I bought our belated Christmas present to ourselves: a piano! I think Todd wishes it was acoustic and not digital - he keeps saying it doesn't rattle his bones the way it should - but that's something for down the road when we're richer and settled down. For now, this is going to be great for our family. Hazel starts piano lessons today! 

December 2015

Our beautiful Hazel turned seven on December 1st. Per tradition, we had steak for dinner. This time it was especially delicious, because we bought half a cow! We've got a freezer full of fresh, grass-fed beef, and yes, you can definitely taste the difference. 

This lovely lady is rambunctious, helpful, sensitive, silly, creative, smart, and spiritual. She impresses me with her talents and personality. She always has been really cool and interesting and kind and good, and is only becoming more so as time passes. 

She got a simple sewing kit for one of her presents, with pre-cut material to make cute little stuffed animals. We had just finished reading Roald Dahl's Fantastic Mr. Fox together during our beach trip, so she was excited to make the fox first, and yes, she did, in fact, name him Fantastic Mr. Fox. She's so cute!

 I decided I wanted to do an outing with a friend this year for a birthday celebration, instead of hosting groups of crazies at my house. So we brainstormed options, and Hazel chose to bring Jack and her best friend Mary to a pottery painting spot. The kids got to pick out their pottery piece and paint colors, and do all the painting themselves. Jack was very methodical and serious with his Christmas tree. Hazel was a lot more hasty and impatient with her peacock bank. She surprised me. She loves art, and I thought she'd put more time into her project, but she didn't seem to like the fact that every color needed three coats and time to dry. Maybe she was just excited to be having her "party," I don't know, but Todd and I determined she needs more opportunities to practice being patient. Sewing classes? Piano lessons? Something! It's a skill she could use some work with. The bank turned out pretty still, and she was happy with it, thankfully.

I like to interview the kids around their birthday to see what their favorites are and track how their interests change over the years. Here are Hazel's questions and answers this year:

Favorite color - purple

Favorite toy - Cheep-Cheep Bird and Cheeto the stuffed cheetah

Favorite movie - Despicable Me 2

Favorite animal - cheetah and owl

Favorite book - Junie B. Jones books (so true! She's devoured all of them.)

Favorite song - Crazy Frog

Best friend - Mary Tree

What do you like to do outside? Play on the swings and jump on the trampoline.

What do you like to sleep with? Soccer Ball (her stuffed penguin) and two pillows stacked together.

What do you want to be when you grow up? An artist

Favorite food - steak

Where is your favorite place to go? San Diego

What do you do really well? Art, reading, playing

Three words that describe you - artist, reader, eater (also true! She is always snacking.)

Favorite season - winter, because it snows

One food you really dislike - mashed potatoes

If you had one wish, it would be - to get a pet dog.

What makes you laugh? Potty talk.

What are you afraid of? I don't know.

What do you like to do with your family? Go on vacations 'cause that's when we get to spend the most time together.

What do you love to learn about? Writing.

We went Christmas tree hunting the first weekend in December. We are so desperately sad that we don't have vaulted ceilings, so we don't have anywhere to put a massive tree. But we love searching for one that's just right; well-shaped and fragrant and nice and green, with good, strong branches for all our ornaments. All the kids loved the hunt - it was fun to see Gemma getting into the tradition, and talking about it excitedly for days afterward.

I don't remember when I took this picture - some morning we chose to bike Hazel to school, maybe - but I just LOVE the way I caught Jack laughing. I'm sure Gemma was giggling, too, before I pulled out my phone to take a picture, so it's a bummer I didn't capture that, too. But, man, look how free he is! Awesome, I say.

play with Gemma
ride bike
read & write

Rapunzel Lego set
motor cat
surprises
own watch

Gemma is at a fun and hard stage. She's getting big, and she's still little. There's lots of cuddling and holding, and lots of pouting when she doesn't get her way. There's also lots of laughing and imaginative play and new independence and something new she's doing every few days.

Gemma rocks at hide and go seek. Sometimes games start up spontaneously, as in when I'm trying to get her to put on her socks and shoes so we can get out the door.

This is her stink-eye pirate face. She makes it every. single. time she starts crying, for reals or for pretend. Right eye squinting, left eye bulging, lips pouting. So funny! 

Hazel lost teeth left and right this month - literally! Three teeth gone in a matter of weeks, and another one not too long ago, so she's got gaping holes in her mouth right now. She still tries to eat apples whole, but admitted it's a lot easier to eat them if I slice them up.

The kids were invited to dress up like angels and shepherds for our Church Christmas party. I wasn't excited about it, but gratefully, Hazel was. She whipped up some great looking get-ups in a matter of minutes and had everyone excited about participating. She is great at stepping up to the leadership role in moments like that. 

The kids unwrapped their Christmas present from Todd and me a couple of weeks early. Once they had their puzzle taped together, they turned it over to learn that we were taking them to... Disneyland! 

It's not my favorite place on earth, but it was fun to be able to give that gift to my kiddos. We wore them out, but they had a great time. Hazel's favorite part was riding California Screamin'. Yeah, that was a blast. It was cute to hear her cute, short scream bursts every time the roller coaster started up or down a hill.

Tom Sawyer Island

Jack enjoyed several of the rides (notably, all fairly calm ones - Golden Zephyr, Soarin' Over California, Little Mermaid) and also thought it was pretty great to meet Tinker Bell and Silvermist.

Gemma, of course, absolutely loved meeting all of the princesses.

Everyone enjoyed playing with the snow at Olaf's winter village. We need to try to get them out to see some real snow in the mountains somewhere this winter... They all think it's so cool. 

It was a little chilly for most of our visit, but warmed up quite nicely our last morning. We spent some time at the pool before we checked out of the hotel. We definitely need to get them in the water more often; I feel like Jack has forgotten everything he learned in swimming lessons over the summer!

The kids loved the bunk bed trundle in the hotel room. It was pretty sweet. 

Jack found a paper and pen and wrote Todd and me this note as soon as we got home - literally as we were unloading the van.

"Thank you for going to Disneyland." 

All the kids were playing Pixie Hollow for the next several days after we got home.

We baked gingerbread boys and girls on Christmas Eve, decorating several for Santa. Then we watched the Church's recent Nativity movie and read Luke 2 and sang some Christmas hymns before sending the kids off to bed.

Translation: "Here is a tool for the elves. Love Hazel." She is always thinking of the people everyone else forgets about. Also, her doll Melody made cookies as well.

Christmas morning! Look at my cuties. 

Santa gave Hazel a desk (and a purple chair! and a purple lamp! and a purple desk organizer!). She's been yearning for a desk for a long, long time. She needs a creative space of her own. So far, she loves it!

Santa gave Jack a LeapPad 3. He was stoked! He's been having tons of fun on it, and it's adorable to see him hanging out, playing on his screen with his earphones on. We've been using it as motivation to eat his dinner during dinnertime (!!!). But two weeks later, we kinda wish Santa would have put the money towards some really cool apps for the iPad we already have and just let the kids play on it more often. The LeapPad is not quite as cool as we wish it was.

Santa gave Gemma some more match cars and a sweet ramp they can ride on. Nursery has something similar and she's always playing on it.

Aunt Beany gave the kids a marble run. Boy, has that been a hit! Hazel and Jack both tinker with it every day and make a new setup for it. They love it!

Todd and I have been capitalizing on the fact that Hazel and Jack both read - and read - and read to themselves and have started up a new family tradition: Silent Reading Time! If we announce it, they accept it, and we can sit down and read our own novels for a good solid half an hour or more without any of the kids asking us to read to them. We all just sit and quietly read, as the soft sound of turning pages fills my heart with unspeakable joy.

After three weeks with no school (we pulled them out early for Disneyland), Hazel finally admitted she missed it and was bored at home all day. She was pretty excited about my idea to play school, and set it all up. Little did she know I was going to use the opportunity to help her brush up on her reading and math skills we haven't worked on at all during the break. Ha ha! The kids worked at their "desks" for about an hour, then we went outside to ride bikes for "recess."

Gemma successfully potty trained over the Christmas break! With no schedules, and lots of rain in the forecast, and she was definitely interested, it was the perfect time to give it a try. I hated the first two days and was truly just about to quit and try again in a few months, but luckily, Todd guilted me into giving it another day. And it took! By day four, she was solid. She hasn't had a single accident in the two weeks since. It was the perfect time for her. So crazy, no more diapers - we're moving into a new phase of parenthood!

I gave Gemma driving lessons a few days ago. Usually, she sits between Hazel's legs while she drives the kid jeep, but this day, Jack and Hazel had run into the neighbor's house, and Gemma was pushing buttons left and right, and I decided to try to coach her, and she started to get the hang of it! She's so big - panties and driving, all in the same week! Ha.

We hosted a New Year's Eve sleepover with our best friends from Sunnyvale, the Hopes and the Dixes. What a blast! We had a potluck dinner and a potluck breakfast, and in between there was plenty of games and running around and laughing and catching up with our California "family." I couldn't stop feeling grateful we had a space big enough to get us all together under one roof.

So, I thought we could tell the kids it was midnight at 9:00, bang some pots and pans and put them to bed, hang out with the adults for a game or two, and go to bed ourselves about 10:30. Um, not quite. I guess we do have quite a few kids who can tell time now. Long story short, we had the kids in bed by 10, but a few of them did, in fact, stay up until midnight. We adults stalled, waiting for them to conk out, then got caught up in the fun of being together and stayed up way too long - I think it was 1:30 - talking and laughing and having a total blast. And we felt the hangover for the next several days! But it was totally worth it. I see a new tradition in our future...

The next day we went out for a bit of geo-caching before everyone hit the road. The kids seemed to have a great time treasure hunting, but holy cow, it was freezing! We California weenies were dying - it was definitely in the 40s, and windy, too. Look at Todd's hunched up shoulders! By the way, that's the exact same pose he graced us with in all our wedding pictures, too. The man's too skinny for the cold!