Happy 6th Birthday Moses!

Today marks six years since I gave birth to one of the coolest kids I know. I had trepidation at first when I found out I would be having a boy, but this little man soon changed my mind. (And now, for some reason, I can't stop having boys. Haha.)

You can't look at this picture and tell me that he isn't the cutest baby you have ever laid eyes on.

Happy Birthday, Moses!! You are the sunshine in my life. I couldn't have asked for a better son.

No, I have not dropped off the face of the Earth...

I haven't written a proper blog post in ages. Not that I haven't wanted to, it's just that life got kind of crazy once Simon turned one. Now it's almost six months later. It seemed like any time I'd find a moment that I could sit down and type, one or both of the little boys would start crawling all over me and want to commandeer the computer so they could watch something on Netflix.

We had a busy summer. We did a lot of fun things with our friends. I would have blogged about it, so that I could remember what they were, but I didn't, so I don't. Such is life. There was a last minute trip to Utah near the end of it. It was so nice to see family and hold my newborn nephew.

Then school started up again. Moses started kindergarten and is thriving. His two best friends from his brief stint at the preschool here ended up in his class. They are a pair of twin girls. He keeps waffling about which one he might marry someday. While I don't really want him to think about marriage at such a tender age, it's still pretty cute.

Akiko started third grade. It's been harder for her because that's the grade when you really start doing work and have homework every night. A lot of her best friends are in older classes that have different recess and lunch times, so she doesn't get to hang out with them at school. Otherwise, she's adjusted well to her new class.

Asher has entered the thrashing three's with gusto. Having had a worse experience with Akiko at that age, I feel better prepared to be able to deal with the tantrums and emotional outbursts. On the other hand, when Asher is happy, he is the sweetest, cutest, cuddliest, silliest, helpful, most adorable thing on the planet.

Simon is still a mama's boy, though he's starting to get over his extreme distrust of others. Everyone in our ward tries to get him to at least sort of crack a smile and if they're successful they feel like they won the lottery. This kid gets into everything. Cupboards. Drawers. Unrolling the toilet paper. Emptying tissue boxes. Chasing the cat. The other day, I caught him laying on his stomach drinking out of the cat's water dish! He loves to help me unload the dishwasher and is less helpful in the same way when I'm trying to load it back up again. He's starting to talk and says "Hello" and "I yuh you!" He loves to "go bye bye!" and tells jokes and laughs at himself all the time. This guy is learning tons of stuff every day and I love watching him grow.

Joseph is still working hard trying to get his business going. We're truly grateful to everyone who has helped us out. This has been a test of faith like I've never experienced before. Prayers are still appreciated. I don't really know what else to say on this subject because we're still in the thick of it. And it's late and I'm typing when I should be sleeping. Is any of this coherent?

So, I guess the biggest news lately is about me. No, I'm not pregnant. That seems to be the first thing everyone asks, so let's just clear the air on that one. Anyway, last week I was sustained and set apart as the new Relief Society president in our ward. It's been an interesting ride so far. So many people say things to me like, "I don't know whether to tell you congratulations or send my condolences" or "I'm glad it's you and not me." I know nobody's serious when they say these things, so we all just laugh it off. When the bishop first called me, honestly, my first thought was, Oh thank heavens I'm not playing the piano. But then I was like, President?!?!?!?!?!

I've been a counselor in Primary and a secretary in Relief Society (very briefly) and I feel like I'm very good at supporting the person in charge and giving my opinion on a given subject, but I've never had to be the accountable one; the one in charge, so to speak. However, having had about a month to mull this over and especially now that I've been set apart, I'm really excited that I have this opportunity to serve in this capacity. Do I feel overwhelmed and under-qualified? Absolutely! But I am not alone in this calling. I have the Lord on my side. I am simply the means that He needs to get His work done in this area.

I also feel that this calling is going to help me be a better member of Relief Society. I've been in Primary for 7.5 of the last 10 years or so and for a while, I thought that's where I belonged and I was fine with that. But really, I had become stagnant. I was not growing spiritually and I was often ignoring my role as a member of Relief Society by solely focusing on all things Primary related.

Whenever I was visiting another ward, I had a hard time sitting in the adult Sunday school classes and Relief Society and my mind would often wander to Primary. As soon as my baby would fuss, I'd be out in the hall walking with him towards the Primary room so I could listen to the kids sing. In our last ward, after I got released right before we moved, I could not bear to leave my Primary kids. I'd gotten to know them for the last three years and I love them so dearly and I think of them and still pray for them so often. I was so happy when they almost immediately called me into Primary in our current ward.

But for now, the Primary chapter in my life is closed and I have other areas where I need to grow and learn to thrive. There is so much work to do here and I feel like I have so much to give. The Primary kids know that I love them, now it's time for the Relief Society sisters to receive that love, too.

So, now we're sort of caught up. There's still so much more that I'd like to catch up, but that's likely not going to happen. I'm going to be busy. I don't know how busy. I don't know what to expect or what's in store for me, I just know it's going to be busy. If I can, I'll try to write, but please don't be surprised if another few months go by without a peep on the old blog. I don't even know if anyone has checked to see if I've written anything in a long time. But don't give up on me. We're still here. Just pray for us.

I love you all, dear family and friends!

My 3rd child is 3!

I remember this day so well:

Now it's been three years.

We've been through so much with him.

He's sweet. He's exuberant. He's helpful. He's independent. He's loud. He's cuddly. He's silly. He's handsome. He's bouncy. He's happy.

Most importantly though...

He's mine.

Yes. He still does "stinkface" for the camera, too.

Happy Birthday Asher!!

Simon is One!!

I wish I had time to make a longer post about how awesome this little dude is, but I've kinda been busy all day, so it will have to wait for a different post.

Happy Birthday Spanky!!

I asked him how old he was...

Some Other Things I Made For Akiko

Ok, so I've been wanting to show these off for a while, but I'm finally getting these things posted before it gets too late to do so, and therefore, gets weird.

In addition to Akiko's baptism dress, I also sewed her a new scripture bag to go with her new scriptures:

I didn't have to buy any fabric. I already had it on hand from a project that didn't turn out so well.

Joseph designed the floral pattern and I transferred and hand-embroidered it.
It's riddled with symbols.

"You even wrote my name on them! In gold!"

In addition to the baptism dress, and while I still had my friend's serger in my possession, and since my mom had sent a pattern and material, Akiko also received an Easter dress. I don't think this one turned out as well as the baptism dress, but it's still cute:

I try to get her to uncross her legs, because it looks so odd in photos, but she insists on doing it.
 I guess it's a "princess" thing.

Finally, I've got to show off her birthday cake. But, story first:

"Mom! For my birthday cake, I want it to be chocolate, with layers, and vanilla frosting. And there are two things I love most in the world. One is reading and the other is cats, so I want my birthday party to be themed Reading Cats."

"Akiko, I'm not throwing a birthday party for you. It's just going to be a few family members who are coming for your baptism."

"Ok, but can you still make my cake into reading cats?"

"Uh. Sure..." Let me wave my magic cake-makin' wand and make that one happen.

Fast forward a couple brain-racking weeks as I stand, staring blankly, in the cake aisle at the local Michael's.

"Hi. Is there anything I can help you with?" inquires the store employee.

"Uh. Hmm. Well..." and I proceed to tell her about Akiko's cake wish.

She grunts. You know, that grunt that's trying to cover up a laugh. "Okay... Well good luck with that." I know, right? To some, I think her reaction might have come off as rude, but to me, I felt like she was empathizing and I totally would have reacted in the same manner. And it's not like she walked off either. She stayed and brainstormed with me for a few minutes.

Anyway, after looking things over for another twenty minutes or so and walking up and down every aisle in the rest of the store, I came up with a vague idea, purchased my items, and left.

Once my sister and my mother-in-law were at my house, I bounced my idea off of them. I'm so glad I did. We came up with something so completely adorable. I'm really pleased with the end product and I could not have pulled this off without their help. Thank you Kristen and Char!!!

I had the basic idea, but Char helped with the play on words and overall design.

With the finishing touches.
Kristen found all the cat figurines for me, which we dipped in corn syrup to make them adhere to the cake. And when the frosting we were going to use for the cover didn't turn out, she ran to the store and found something even better.
I have the best sister on the planet.

I painted the tail and the blurred words with diluted gel food coloring.
The giant glasses were found at Michael's.
The bold letters are an edible sugar paper, also found at Michael's.

The only thing I wasn't able to deliver on was making the cake into a layered one. I made this one from scratch, because, unlike boxed ones, they're less likely to dome up in the middle. I needed the cake to be as flat as possible so that I wouldn't have to carve too much cake off in order to make it an open book shape. So, having a flatter cake meant that if I tried to slice it in half horizontally, it would have made extremely thin layers and I didn't want to risk ruining it. Baking from scratch also made a denser cake, as well, which I wanted.

Akiko didn't even notice that the cake wasn't layered. I didn't think she would.

So, what do you think? Did I do well for being given such an obscure idea?

I think it turned out beautifully. Char, Kristen, and I had a lot of fun putting it together. And it tasted good, too.

Akiko was thrilled.
(Photo courtesy of Gpa Fred)

She loves the giant glasses. Who wouldn't?
(Photo courtesy of Gpa Fred)

My dad emailed me all the pictures he took of his trip out here, but I'll put them up in a different post. Thanks for sending those to me. I really appreciate it!

Anyway, that's what's been keeping me busy for the last month and a half. Now that I've taken a week long break, I've got to get to planning something for my little Simon, who is turning one in a couple weeks. Can you believe it?!

The Baptism

My sweet little Akiko got baptized yesterday. It was a proud and spiritual moment for me (and for her, too, of course).

In fact, now that I'm sitting here writing this post, I feel like a lot of what I want to say needs to go in my personal journal rather than on my public blog. But I can share a bit with you.

I didn't get to take many pictures. I was running around a whole bunch, making sure everything was ready and set and then, when it was done, I just wanted to hang out and chat with my friends. Besides, Akiko ran off with her friends or was commandeered by my dad, but I can share what I've got and maybe my dad or my sister or anyone else who took pictures can send what they've got.

This weekend was very special for her. Her Grandpa and Grandma Wecker were able to fly over from Maui, and Grandpa Fred and Kristen drove out from Salt Lake. We wish more of our family could have come, but we understand why they couldn't. Akiko's best friend and her family drove up from Sunnyvale for the weekend, and we also have some dear friends that live 45 minutes away that came and joined us. And of course, our ward family was there, too.

I put a lot of time into planning, organizing, baking, and sewing the last month or so. Now that it's all over I'm not sure what I'm going to do with my time. I'm sure I'll find something to fill it, but for now, there is a void. I'm sure you all know the feeling.

Anyway, on to the pictures, because I suddenly have nothing else to say publicly.

I french braided pigtails and coiled them together into a bun so her hair wouldn't fly up.

BFF from Sunnyvale came to visit us!

Akiko and her daddy. I love these two!

I had them pose like this because it reminds me of another picture I took a long time ago.

My, how she has grown. (May 2007)

My, how lovely she keeps getting.

And this is how she started. (Stolen from Jesse)

I love you Akiko!!

8th!!

Today, Akiko turned 8 years old. I can't believe how fast those years went by.

She's turning into a lovely young lady. We're extremely proud of her.

Happy Birthday Akiko!!