evan's latest tricks

evan loves to feed himself now. he wasn't eating his yogurt well for me this morning and so i eventually just gave him the bowl and spoon and let him try to feed himself. pretty cute results (although i don't think yogurt was consumed as much as played with).

evan can now climb the whole flight of stairs. he is pulling himself to standing and just starting to cruise the furniture. he loves to grab faces (jake seems to be the only one who doesn't mind - he usually giggles while evan is digging his fingers in his face. i still promptly remove evan.)

we might have another performer. last night pat was holding evan at the piano (which evan LOVES). every time evan banged on the piano, he would then look at the rest of us to give him praise. he would pitched a fit anytime that you tried to take him away from the piano.

we sure do enjoy him!

more hair pix

i just love how evan's hair got "windswept" and so i took this picture!

hairdo

ain't big sisters great? gigi (gracie's nickname) had a snow day yesterday and did lily's hair. i thought it turned out cute. wish i could get lily to sit so still when i brush her hair.

welcome home picture

not sure why this picture isn't showing up with my last post. so i'm posting it again.

FYI - lily was asleep on the couch.

welcome home

pat returned home (uneventfully) last thursday evening. we were all happy to have him home. the girls helped me make cheesecake and signs. we didn't get everything done that we had hoped for (we bought dinner on drive home from airport), but we tried to welcome him home without too much usual chaos.

we're glad to have him home, but also glad that he was able to support his family. kirsten's funeral has been delayed until her mother can attend (she's still in the hospital). pat did make it in time (just barely) for a memorial service with high school friends and then his family gathered sunday evening to share memories with each other.

In Memory

"...Love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation." -Kahihl Gibran
"Earth has no sorrow that Heaven cannot heal." -Sir Thomas Moore

Pat's niece, Kirsten, died this past Monday at Trolley Square in Salt Lake. Her mother was also seriously injured. We are obviously shocked and devastated at the loss of Kirsten and hope a full recovery for her mother, Carolyn. There have been many acts of kindness from the community in Salt Lake as well as our family and friends here in Ct. Thank you.

Here is a statement from our family:

The Families of Kirsten Hinckley and Carolyn Tuft are, with all of our community
saddened and shocked at the events of the previous evening. We are especially
saddened by the loss of our sweet Kirsten, and the critical injury that occurred
to Carolyn, but our hearts go out to all of the people hurt by this Tragedy. We
would like to thank the entire law enforcement and medical communities for
excellent handling of this whole ordeal. We appreciate the many thoughts and
prayers that have gone out on behalf of both Kirsten and Carolyn, and join with
our community in wishing well to all those who have suffered at this time. We
ask the media and people for privacy.

Sincerely The Hinckley and Tuft Family

Due to weather, it's been a real struggle to get Pat to Salt Lake. He is scheduled to arrive tomorrow. He is anxious to gather and support his family. Thank you again for your support and prayers.

the kids

"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is mystery, today is a gift. That's why it is called the present." -Eleanor Roosevelt

p.s. i haven't been able to get lily to wear this dress since these pictures were taken. she has her own sense of style (which to be honest, she usually comes up with a cute outfit, complete with purse!)

boys and girls

here are more pictures from our photo session with my very talented sister-in-law!

as requested

here's the picture with our dog (and nose-picking daughter) as requested by annie. when we started to take pictures, the dog just came and posed with all of us. he also loves to join family wrestles/tickle fights! he's a nice dog.

wasted time, tea party & chocolate

ok, all, i just spent about an hour trying to get access to my blog. it turns out the "account creation process" didn't complete and i had to do it over again. i also found out today that there are replies written on the blog itself (yes, i'll admit to this - in writing nonetheless). thanks to all of you for your comments. it's great to hear from all of you. i'm such a greenie at all of this, but hopefully i'll figure it out sooner than later!

i'm so wiped out from trying to get on my blog that i don't feel like saying much anymore! tomorrow gracie is having a tea party with a few of her friends. her grandparents gave her a nice tea set from China for christmas and so we're having a party to break it in. should be fun.

evan likes his naps again. lately he keeps kicking his (straightened) legs up while he's in a sitting position. he does it which such energy and enthusiasm that he scoots back and forth. it's especially fun to watch him do it while he's in the tub. we'll have to think of a name for it. any suggestions?

i spent the day with a good friend. we made chocolate pretzels and lori's chocolate mice (i'll put basic recipe at bottom - they're very cute). we'll be eating some tomorrow at the tea party and the rest will wait until valentines day. jake is all better and his appetite is returning more and more each day. we are well at the hinckley home!


if you're interested, here's how to make chocolate mice:
*dip maraschino cherry with stems (or bing cherries) in chocoate (melted) holding it by the stem.
*push a chocolate kiss on front and put on wax paper
*put sliced almonds for ears in between kiss and cherry
*make two eyes on kiss with pink frosting tube

family shot

i'm just trying to learn how to do these photos. here's one for now!

let's begin at the...

well, i actually feel very modern with my very first blog. for some silly reason, the phrase "let's begin at the very beginning" from sound of music is in my head, but i think we'll skip that idea and just try to cover the past week. jake was in the hospital last sunday night (1/28/07) through tuesday due to a bad stomach bug. he had gotten dehydrated and it took a couple of days until he could hold food down. he is back to himself, although still not eating all four meals by mouth. he is mainly receiving formula through his G-tube. the stomach bug worked its way through the rest of the family (grace and i were left pretty much unscathed, but no one else). we received tons of help this past week from family and friends and were reminded of how truly fortunate we are!

today, i sent jake back to school and tried to face the long list of "To Do's", but since evan only slept for an hour total and was clingy at times, not much got done. evan has cut two more teeth this week, bringing the grand total to six teeth. he recently learned to clap and gets so happy and proud every time he does it. he also started repeating syllables ("mamama") and has pulled himself to standing a few times. he loves playing with a ball or the wheels on jake's wheelchair. he's lots of fun. lily continues to be a parrot and restates most of what you say. it's pretty cute. she also loves to do everything grace does which includes being DRAMATIC. the other week, i went to put evan in his crib for a nap, and after i walked into his room, lily walked out of his closet, saying: "GiGi (gracie's nickname) made me sad." for whatever reason, she often goes off and pouts when she gets mad, although half the time i don't even notice she's gone. i don't quite know what the payoff is for her. gracie is a good big sister and for the most part likes to play with lily. grace was a big help around the house today. it's nice when they get to an age where they can help.

well, pat's sister, ann, and her family have visited us lots in recent months, which means i have lots of WONDERFUL PICTURES!! so i think i'll stop my narrative and try to figure out how i get photos on the blog. i love spending (more like wasting) time on the computer and hope to update this often. i do still need to learn how to download pictures from the camera though. pat suggested that i call this blogspot "the hinckley chaos chronicles." i didn't do that, but i'm sure you'll read lots of craziness here (good thing neither of us have any political aspirations). there's never a dull moment with four kids and me at the helm!