polar plunge

The weather last Saturday was sunny and balmy. We spent hours doing yard work and smelling the heavenly blooms of the lemon tree. All of the outside loveliness put it into our heads that a little dip in the pool would be a good idea. The water was a chilly 68* - about the temperature it has been when we have started swimming in years past. Cori, Grace, and Grant jumped all the way in. Eden and I were content to splash around the baja step. The swim didn't last long- and we used the pool net to fish out the dive sticks Eden threw into the deep. No one was volunteering to dive in after them!

image diary: first game 4.16.2013

Lucky day

We hadn't really planned on making much of St. Patrick's Day. However, Grace's plans for the holiday went into action early in the week. She made a house for our patron leprechaun, Lucky (who, I remind, had no particular plans of visiting this year). We were also invited to a fun family party- corned beef, treasure hunt, yummy treats. After all this, Lucky decided to fit us into his schedule and dropped by for a nap in his house. He also left a couple surprises and a note ensuring Grace that she would never have his gold.

happy things

I feel like making a stink about some of highlights around here. It has been that kind of a Monday. But just count your blessings, right? Feeling better already.




For example, my phone case. It is a print of a Chopin Polonaise written in the master's own hand. It makes me very happy and feels so very me.

Spring break is around the corner which means our family babymoon is almost here. We are headed to Orlando for a week. This is a trip that has been a year in the making. Last Spring, we sat down and made a bunch of family goals. The reward for meeting the goals was to be a Disney cruise. We have chipped away at the goals (less than 20 pages of the Book of Mormon left!) and saved up some money. When the end was in sight, we set about making plans. Our pregnancy made the cruise an impossible family option. We are pretty darn thrilled about plan B. Somewhere in the interim, my parents asked if they could hang out with us for our spring break. We told them we'd love it, but they would have to meet us in Florida. And they are! Now, my mom and I are happily occupied with sketching out an itinerary and making reservations for special events.

The whole time we have lived here, we have talked about having a big neighborhood dinner at our house. We finally scheduled one in January, and our event got rained out. A few weeks ago we got around to trying again. Flyers were hand delivered around our block, and we ended up with a house and back yard full of wonderful people. I didn't get an exact count, but our number was close to 40. Brett and Tiff were with us that weekend and helped out a bunch. We had the missionaries over too. We grilled ribs and chicken and everyone else brought sides to share. The s'mores were a hit at the end of the evening. We loved spending some real time with these families with whom we have been exchanging pleasantries for the last two years.

After a lot of research, test drives, and craigslist adds (buying and selling) we got a new-to-us car that has enough seat belts for our growing group. Cori wanted to christen her Big Birtha. I find myself calling her The Nali. She is a large and in charge Yukon XL. She fits in the garage with just inches to spare and has nearly every single thing on our wish list. Ready for a serious road trip!

Our piano has a player system on it. It is a frequent sight and sound around here in the evenings for Cori to fire up the piano and dance it up with the kids in the front room. This also makes me very happy.

Gracie finally got up on her two wheeler. She wanted to come with me and Grant and Eden when I was taking Grant out to ride his bike. She had no interest in trying her bike, so I told her she could jog along with us - which she did and did a great job keeping up, and then, leading the pack. After a couple of these trips she was more interested in trying her bike again. And once she makes up her mind about something... We went on a couple of family bike rides this last weekend. It was a little dream come true for me and Cori.

Grantigus

Grant is a good buddy for me and Eden during the day. He is increasingly restless on his days off of preschool. But I am increasingly grateful to still have this time with him. He has suddenly started reading. He reads verses from the scriptures during our family reading time each night with just a little assistance. And we have made it part of his morning routine to read two books, usually by himself. He is very sweet about reading to Eden- she loves it. (Notice Stink 1 and Stink 2 in this picture, with the former being sucked on?...)

He has always been the best sleeper- and still needs a nap now and then. He konks out just about anytime he spends 3 minutes sitting still and unstimulated. This particular picture was the result of a brief time out.

Grant graduated from his strider bike when he finally got his two wheeler for Christmas. He was up and going on it right away, no problems. He LOVES riding this thing. I try to get out with him a couple days a week for a long ride. More correctly stated, I walk/jog/waddle Eden in the jogging stroller while Grant rides ahead. He will do up to 2 miles with a big smile on his face. 

His newest biking achievement is pedaling while standing up. He told me on the day I took this picture, "Mom, this is the second step to riding a bike. I don't know what step 3 is, but when I know, I'll do it."

Grant got this CTR ring on his first day of Primary this year. He wore it until it had turned half of his finger green. We made him take it off until the tarnish went away, and then it went back on his little boy hand, and there it remains. I do love that he loves it so much.

Something else he is hesitant to remove these days is this baseball cap. T ball has finally begun. Signups were way back in January and it has been a torturous wait for this little guy. His first practice was this week. His team is the Orioles. He was really frustrated about his team name at first because 'Orioles' is a hard word to say for a little dude who is working on his 'r's and 'l's. But after meeting Coach Bill, playing with his team mates, and receiving his uniform cap, he has decided that he loves being an Oriele.  Shortly after signing up, Cori took Grant to the sports store to get some equipment. We have been practicing catching, throwing and hitting from the T stand, and he felt really good about the team's first get together. Grant asks to eat, play and sleep in this hat. He is good about taking it off for prayers, and put up only a little protestation when I told him he couldn't wear it to school. It will be quite a sight by the end of the season, I'm sure!

baby girl, a story of two blankies and general catch up

In so many ways, Eden is growing up too fast. In other ways, specifically referring to her blankie, she is still our little baby. Despite my repeated efforts, Eden never had interest in a binki. Somewhere early on, she began sucking on her blanket to sooth herself to sleep, and then, to sooth herself in general. We were worried that she would asphyxiate, and tried pulling it out of her mouth when she was sleeping. But the blanket always made its way back in. In the mornings, her blankie would be soaked and the first words out of her mouth were asking for a drink. 

The blankie situation had other complicating factors. Only one blankie would do. And she would not sleep without it. Getting it washed was tricky. Traveling with it was... gross. And the smell... binki breath has nothing on blankie breath. Cori actually named the blankie "Stink."I had tried and tried to find a replacement. She would place the proffered article in her mouth and then hand it back to me. After our string of summer travels last year, I found myself in desperate straights. We had been on the road, and Stink had gone unwashed (after multiple hotel stays and a few airports - ach, my skin still crawls thinking about it) for far too long. We had just come home, it was time for a nap and I could not bring myself to allow Eden to pack that petri dish of fabric into her mouth. I considered trying to lay her down without it, but a heavenly voice in my head urged me to check the linen box one more time for a replacement. I had checked this box of baby blankets countless times in similar situations hoping to find something with no success. This time was different. Near the top was a blanket that was nearly identical to the favorite blankie. I offered it to Edes. She put it in her mouth and smiled. It was a miracle, in the very literal definition of the word. 

So now we had two blankies. I tried my best to only have one in the crib at a time. I feared what would happen if the possibility of having two blankies at a time was an option to her. Eventually it happened though, and soon the sleep routine involved two pink blankies. Once the weather cooled down, we also added the beautiful baby buggie quilt Grandma Sandy made for her when she was born. So now, going to sleep required Stink 1 in the mouth, Stink 2 snuggled in the other arm, and a burrito wrap with the 'big blue blankie'. 

Around the time she transitioned into her toddler bed, she happened upon a gallon-sized ziplock full of binkies. She got a kick out of walking around with one in her mouth, and would call herself a baby. Then she started asking for one at bedtime. I was pretty conflicted at first about this development. It seemed like a big step backwards. The Jesse of 3 or 4 years ago would have been shocked at current Jesse even considering it. On the other hand, if she could fall asleep with something other than Stink 1 or Stink 2 in her mouth, well, this was a big step forward. She wouldn't suck on the binki, just chew on it. And it was usually not in her mouth when I would wake her up. So we have been going with it. Silly baby girl. We still have mornings with soaked blankies and Stink breath, not every morning. 

Her transition out of the crib has gone really well. We had a week or so that she was really disruptive to Grace and Grant at bed time. But now she goes down without trouble and she enjoys picking a different bed everyday for her naps.

 Saturday cartoons, sans Stink, now with a bink

I hardly ever go out with her but that I get a comment about her hair and/or her blue eyes. Her hair is usually in crazy disarray. But it is getting long enough now that I can use head bands, clips and rubber bands. It is an eye-catching shock of angel white fluff that is hard not to notice.

Eden loves playing outside. This is very nice for Grant as he loves playing outside but only when someone else is out with him. Edes is always ready drop what she is doing, find her shoes, and run out the door with him.

Speaking of Grant, she is very much in love with her big sister and big brother. Many tears are shed multiple times a week that she cannot go to school with either of them. She wears her little backpack around the house and tells me she is all ready...

She is becoming a more confident, independent little girl all the time. We frequently hear from her "I do it myself" or "NO! Eden do it!"I love when I ask her if she is my big girl/good girl/baby girl and she replies, "No, I'n not a big girl/good girl/baby girl! I'n a Eden!" But my favorite is when she points at me and says, "Hey, it's my own mommy!"