A "Surprise" Date Night

We hired a babysitter and went out on our first date since his work holiday party two months ago. We've got to get out more, but we spent the first 90 minutes of this surprise party texting with the sitter who was trying to get the girls to sleep to no avail, so I kinda get why we're home-boundish unless we leave after bedtime. Going out has got to get easier when the chickens get older, right?

Regardless, this awesome party that our friend Hannah threw for her new husband Mark was worth every ounce of effort and stress for us (and for the babysitter, because we gave her a raise). Hannah planned every last detail perfectly and we had so much fun partying with some of our dearest. I honestly love friends and parties and food and photo booths and cupcakes and fun and this party had all of the above in spades. I wish we could party hardy every weekend!  

Photo-bombed both times--once on purpose, once not so much! I love them both!

I COULD NOT get enough of the photo booth. I could have hung in there all night. And I love, love my girls. 

This picture cracks me up. It's seriously the greatest! Margot is so teeny tiny and I am so gigantic and I was wearing heels and all white and she was wearing flats and all black and it seemed like taking this side by side shot was the only obvious thing to do. 

A few of my faves--because mirror selfies were my jam at this party, clearly.

Why am I laughing? Let's play a game of Finding Margot who made it her personal goal to be in every one of my pictures that night. I loved it, and loved this night. Happy birthday Mark! So glad that we know you and that we keep ending up in the same areas.

Always Keepin It Real--This Week

Someday when I'm old and my babies are having babies, I hope that they can look back on these pages and realize that they are not alone in the craziness of raising babies. Those forgetful mature parents who talk to young parents about how "I have no idea what you should do with your naughty child because mine were always perfect" not only make the rest of us feel bad but are no help whatsoever. Someday when my kids come to me with their parenting woes I'm going to break out this blog book and be like, "It's OK, baby. I know how you feel and I'm so sorry it's hard and look, you're a respectable adult now and we made it through, so there's hope! Go fight win! And here's some chocolate and bubbles in the meantime."  

Sure, I could gloss over the less desirables of life and only blog about our best days, but what good does faking perfection do for anyone? No one can relate to a perfect person because perfect people don't exist. I'm doing my best to be positive and practical and on the really bad days uber-prayerful as I hike through parenthood, but I'm also not afraid to talk about when life gets ugly or anxiety-ridden or when Everett has to write apology notes for killing someone's imaginary cheetah at school (true story, sigh). You're gettin' the good with the bad over here, in this post and always. 

{For more information on why I think this way of documenting our family history is so important, please read my favorite article ever written, found here.}

These flowers are currently blooming outside my bedroom and I must admit I wake up each day and see the bougainvillea blooms hanging on the top of my window and these beauties coming up from below and I feel so sincerely blessed to live in this darling cottage. Name that flower, ready go! (Noni?!)

 Apology note to the teacher.

...And to his friend. It's been a rough week to be an Everett but in the temple last night I received some pretty clear inspiration as to how I can parent him better and I'm excited to implement it and see how it works. I really hope it works! In the meantime, I'm going to remember how I shocked myself and Everett by erupting in laughter when I read this apology note he wrote to his friend. Turns out she wanted her imaginary pet cheetah alive, not dead at the hand of an imaginary sword yielding Ever Knight. 

Quinny's first time in the dentist chair. She let them brush and count her teeth and was seriously the best patient. It's during these moments that I'm like--what the heck? Why are you such a crazy nut at home?!

 I love this kids smile under his hand.

Laura the Great loving Quinny at Music class. She won't sit and sing on my lap because, let's be honest, Laura's lap is way cooler. Grateful for good friends who love my babies.

Honestly, could there be a funnier picture?! I wish she liked that breakfast smoothie as much as I liked painting it on her face. This girl hates food so much, but super loves her baba. She'll come around, right?

 Happy little mustached love. 

These babies really, truly played together for the first time this week. I watched them together in the late afternoon sun and couldn't help but be excited for the greatest sister friendship they'll share in the many years to come.

If I had a dollar for every picture Quinn took while sneaking my phone I would be a very wealthy woman. Add on that the number of times she's trying to steal the cellie, I'd be richer by the second! Her love of taking pictures means that I find about a trillion attractive shots like this one when I go through my camera reel at night. That independent diva drives me nuts sometimes!

Sweet and calm Coco was absolutely still for a good five minutes while James rubbed her back after church on Sunday. She sat watching the hummingbirds drink nectar outside our window and didn't even twitch. She's definitely got my genes--Wiggy women love a good massage!

I think my lack of sleep lately has made me hyper-sensitive and hyper-obsessed with sleeping photos. I just think it's the cutest and most amazing thing to photograph! Sleep looks especially good on Cora Sue, just look at those little fists above her head!

You're Lovable to Me

Sleeping issues still abound and I've found that my patience is low and my emotions are high. I'm a blubbering mess and have felt pretty overwhelmed by what feels like a never-ending cycle of the exact same day. After a particularly long night of no sleep and a busy morning and afternoon around town a desperate and inconsolable Quinny showed up at my feet this afternoon with her brother's comforter in tow. Her teary-eyes begged me to hold her and I was shocked she accepted my offer to cuddle her like a baby. No sooner did I swaddle her in my arms then she was fast asleep. At first I couldn't get over the shock of it (because my two hours spent walking her back and forth to nap time were met with such vitriol), but then I too closed my eyes and 30 minutes later when I heard the baby cry out from the back room I awoke feeling like a new and improved human. Never underestimate the power nap, that's for sure. Quinny needed some fishy crackers to ease her into happy wakefulness, but the rest of the evening she was so pleasant and sweet and I felt so happy to have my girl in her true colors by my side. 

After a Yakisoba dinner and a Melatonin dessert I sat with Quinny on her ice cream cone bed and read her one of our favorite bedtime stories about a Mama and her baby bunnies called You're Lovable to Me. It was a gift from Natania when we were leaving Stanford and as she warned it would, it makes me cry at every read. Tonight the Mama bunny felt particularly familiar as she told her baby bunnies that she would love them through every emotion. "When a Mama loves a bunny, she will love him when he's sad, or he's frightened, or she's lonely, or he's worried, or he's mad, or when's he's plain exhausted, or embarrassed, or just shy, or when they have the giggles and can't stop to tell you why." The Mama bunny herself was probably feeling many of those emotions as she made it through her day, I know there are times when I am sad and lonely and definitely exhausted, but that never changes the love she feel for her bunnies--and tonight I felt it more than ever. I love Talmage and Everett and Quinny and Coco and it is such an honor to be their Mama. Even on the hard days. Here's to hoping that tonight's warm fuzzies translate to peace and patience tomorrow morning!

 "No matter what your feelings are, whatever they may be...I'm your Mama, you're my bunnies. And you're lovable to me."

California Rain and Quinny Quotes

I love the smell of California rain. It's one of my favorite smells in the world--right up there with fresh cinnamon rolls baking in the oven and a Gerber-bathed baby. I also love the smell of onions and garlic sautéing in my new cherry red dutch oven and black sharpies on a school poster.

But California rain, nothing can beat it and no state or country can mimic the smell. As soon as cool rain falls on hot pavement my mind instantly travels back in a million directions and gives me an overwhelming feeling of peace, of childhood, of home. I longed for this smell every time we moved somewhere far and it's always the first thing I'm grateful for when we come back to Cali. This winter has been so different in Los Angeles because we've actually had rain--LOTS of rain--and although it makes school pick up the absolute pits, I breathe it in and can't help but feel immense gratitude that we've made this beautiful state home again.

 Other things I'm feeling grateful for today? These conversations with Miss Quinn:

Me: Quinny, please leave the boys alone. They're playing with big kid legos right now.
Q: {SCREAMS!}
Me: Don't scream Quinny. You're not a baby, you're a big girl, so please use your words.
Q: I a big girl? I a kid?
Me: Yes! You're a big girl!
Q: {Walking out of the room} OK. I a big kid so I going to play legos with big kids. I play with Evie and T.

Me: Quinny, what's your full name?
Q: Quinny Isabel
Me: And what's your last name?
Q: Quinny Isabel.....Dot Com

Missionaries: We're going to watch this video, do you guys know who this is?
Q: Is Donode Twump?! {It was not Donald Trump!}

 ^^^I was sitting on the floor with Cora and before I knew it T was behind me massaging my shoulders. "That's what we call a sneak attack!" he said. Love that boy!^^^

^^^My blondies are obsessed with brushing their hair back after bath time so that they look like Malfoy. And Quinn lives in these ninja turtle jammies which Everett stole from the bag of clothes meant for Lincoln. Oh bother!^^^

Solstice Canyon--Wigginton's Hike!

I've felt a greater urgency lately to foster an even richer Little Wig family culture. This is partly due, I am sure, to the realization that our children are getting older and will forever remember the things that we are doing right now. It's also caused by the knowledge that we're done having babies, so our complete Wiggy Team is here and ready to party in whatever ways we want. 

My parents did a great job at helping our family understand who McKee's are and what McKee's do. "McKee's are not quitters." "McKee's kick butt and take names." McKee's have banana split dinners, Brick House dance parties and pull weeds on Saturday mornings. McKee's bring the party (and invite all to the party). My parents always reminded us who we were and showed us that we were better together. My siblings and I are all very different and live far apart, but we ache to be close, are always planning a reunion and have a blast when we're together. I couldn't wish anything more for my babies someday, and I'm working hard to create a similar Wiggy culture.

Wigginton's are a lot like McKee's (because I'm their Mama and dance parties are my love language) but since we're raising our children in a different place, at a different time and with different personalities we are also trying to find ourselves--What do Little Wig's like to do as a family? Who are we hoping to become? We know Wigginton's love others, always look for an excuse to have a party, live for adventures big and small and eat ice cream every single Friday. "Wigginton's can do hard things" and "Wigginton's don't have to be perfect, they have to try their best." Wigginton's like to turn on music videos and copy the dance moves, Wigginton's love Shake Shack something fierce and Wigginton's like to share their lives, home and hearts with friends. Oh, and as of a few days ago, Wigginton's hike!

Since I've basically been pregnant, recovering or nursing for the last eight years straight we've not done a whole lot of hiking, but now that we're all here and Cora is big and happy enough to just hang out in the Beco we decided to go for gold. Ever Knight was my main concern because he gets more daunted than the others, but he got to pick out the hiking treats (M&M's, chocolate chip trail mix and chocolate energy bars) so he was clearly stoked. He also felt much better when he learned that hiking was just a glorified word for walking in the mountains and he didn't have to climb up a cliff! All four of the babes were angels for our 3.6 mile hike and I couldn't have been prouder. James is more of a mountain man and I'm an ocean girl and this beautiful hike in Malibu gave us both what we wanted--a hike through trees with expansive views of the Pacific. (It did not give James cell service though, pro or con, depends on who you're asking! ;))

Ever since we got back home the kids have been asking when we can go hiking again. Talmage said that he thinks we should make it a tradition that we go every Saturday. Quinn has been praying to Heavenly Father asking him to "wet us go hike. wet us see water." And Everett, the little one who held all my worries, he keeps telling everyone how awesome the trip was. "We awe such good hikers Mom. We'we wike a hiking family. Wigginton's awe hikers!" Yes, we are Ev. Yes we are! 

Soooo, maybe part of our culture is hat wearing?!

Wigginton's hike!

They thought the hollow trees were the coolest. I was glad they didn't get chased out by wildlife.

Little boy in a BIG world.

Quinn didn't want to hold anyone but "Tommersh's" hand. She loves him, and he loves how she says his name. My feisty little blondes!

Behind my shoulder is the Pacific Ocean. Pictures clearly can't do it justice, but the views were unreal.