Final Thankful catch-up Post

Now that its the end of November here is my last few things I am thankful for.

• A temple marriage sealing me to my husband and my kids.


• Forgiveness. The ability to be forgiven of the stupid things I do and the ability to forgive and feel better towards people who hurt me.
• Living in a day that has a living prophet on the earth. And for the media (Ensign and conference online) that allows Brian and I to read and listen to his words without the kids running around making it hard to pay attention.
• To live in a country which allows me the freedom to worship and live how I believe is best.
• For the ability to read and gain knowledge from all sorts of books and other media. And that I have access to the scriptures and can read them with my family.
• For this body that Heavenly Father gave me, which allows me to experience this life, raise a family. And for the general health I enjoy which allows me to play with my kids and Brian. And for access to good medical care when my body isn't so great.
• That Brian has a job and is willing and able to work to provide for our family.


• The Thanksgiving season which gives me a reason to focus on the many blessings I have and helps me to turn my focus towards Christ as we go into the Christmas season.

How do you fit in your bed?

Who am I?
My name is Ned.
I do not like my little bed.
This is no good.
This is not right.
My feet stick out of bed all night.
-Dr. Seuss, One fish two fish red fish blue fish

This is what Joshua used to look like in his crib. He slept in it most of the time until his cousin Jacob came to visit, and Joshua saw him sleep in his bed. Joshua has slept in his big bed ever since, and we have even taken the crib out of his room and soon Minna will have it.

What we did in Fall of 2010

• Spent as much time outside as possible


• Spent alot of time on the swings


• Looked at the caterpillars on the tree


• Picked up leaves and then colored the imprint onto a piece of paper


• Watched the clouds in the sky


• Listened to the acorns come crashing out of the trees, sometimes they sound like artillery


• Stomp leaves


• Picked up pretty leaves, put them in Joshua's bucket, then dumped pretty leaves out so he can put rocks in the bucket


• Named the colors of leaves we can see


• Saw wild turkeys


• Avoided housework whenever possible. I felt like I could do housework this winter, and besides if I can get the kids outside they can't make messes inside, so there is less housework to do.
  
• Had dance parties to the Ghost Buster song.


• Picked apples
• Went for a walk in the rain

Minna is 6 Months Old!

I can't believe it has been six months already. She is growing up so fast. This is what she is up to now.

• She can roll over from back to front easily and occasionally from front to back.
• She is on a mission to be mobile; she wants desperately to go forward but never actually goes that way, but she can go side to side and scoot around in a circle. I anticipate crawling, at least army crawling, by Christmas.
• She has decided that she does like the solidish foods. She didn't hardly eat anything for a while, then Brian discovered she likes dainty bites, because she is a dainty girl. No giant bites for her. We gave her sweet potatoes last night and that was her favorite so far.
• She still loves to nurse and gets almost hysterical in the 10 seconds it takes me to switch her sides.
• She is still sleeping well at night and takes 3 naps a day.
• She loves Joshua and this morning was quite upset because he slept in and she spent most of her morning without him.
• She is surviving and exuberant older brother who is still working on the concept of gentle. And most of the time enjoys his antics.
• She plays the little sister card. Sometimes Joshua will just bump her a little and she gets hysterical.
• She enjoys hanging out in the Moby wrap when we go outside, but screams when I put her in the double stroller. Hopefully this spring I will be able to use it more.
• She can sit pretty well, unless she leans too far to reach something. But she can even hold something in her hands and sit up at the same time.
• She is the cutest thing ever.

Another thankful catch-up post

I was sick last week and didn't feel like blogging so here are 8 more things I am thankful for to catch me up to today.

1. Antibiotics. I had strep throat last week, and just hours after I took the medicine I started to feel a little better. So glad I didn't have to just wait for it to go away.
2. That my kids were really good when I took them both to the doctor. Minna just sat in her car seat and flirted. And Joshua kept saying "Going to the doctor to get Mommy better". I really couldn't have asked for either one of them to be better.
3. The technology that lets the doctor put in a prescription and the pharmacist has it ready to be picked up by the time I drive over to the pharmacy.
4. TVs. I usually restrict Joshua's television usage because it makes him really cranky and demanding, but it was a wonderful backup when I was too sick to play with him.
5. Nap time for kiddos. It never can be as restful as when the kids are asleep. I am grateful they nap, and that Joshua adjusted his schedule so they take one nap at the same time.
6. Sunbeams who make me laugh. I only had three of them in class yesterday so I was better able to listen to each one of them, and they were cracking me up.
7. Web cams. Which let my parents see my kids. Joshua loves it when they read him stories over it.
8. Plastic grocery bags. I always feel better when I pick up my kid and she is covered in poop, to know that I have a plastic grocery bag in my diaper bag to put the nasty clothes into until I can get home to the laundry.

Grateful

Today I am grateful for the angels that come and help during the primary program so the spirit can be there.

I am grateful for the spirit of little children and how much they trust in God.

I am grateful for a husband who used one of his vacation days to help me manage 6 wiggly sunbeams after the primary program.

Humor-Vicks story

Yesterday I was grateful that when God made us he gave us the ability to laugh. I have so much fun laughing with my kids and my hubby.

When we drive in the car Joshua will often times try to make Minna laugh, so much better then whining and asking for things I can't reach. Sometimes Joshua doesn't have to do anything besides exist to make Minna laugh.

Yesterday I was holding Minna and chasing Joshua around and having Minna "tickle" him. So much fun and so much giggling.

Now this next story is one I could have laughed or cried, but I laughed. Joshua watched me do my hair yesterday morning, and I actually did it so I put mousse in it and curled it. I went downstairs for a minute and then I smelled Joshua coming down the stairs after me. He had found a bottle of Vick's Vapor Rub and smeared it all over his hair. When I went to get the bottle he took one more good swipe and rubbed it in his hair really good.

I washed his hair with shampoo for 15 minutes straight, then last night Brian attacked him with dish soap. It is a lot better but it will still be a few more washings before his hair isn't oily anymore.

But I am grateful I was able to laugh at it.

Thankfulness Catch-up

So I don't make it to blog everyday but here is what I was thankful for the last couple of days:

Wednesday the 10th-I was grateful for electricity. When I woke up that morning our power went out and with the power going out our heat, water, washing machine, dishwasher, and vacuum would not work. (Those were the chores I had lined up for the morning), but I am grateful that 99% of the time I have electricity to power these lovely machines.

Thursday the 11th-I was grateful for shift work because Brian had a random day off in the middle of the week and I went grocery shopping without Joshua.

Friday the 12th-I was grateful to live on a relatively quiet street so I could take Joshua on a walk down the road.

Joshua is 2 1/2 years today

Joshua is 2 years and 6 months old today. Happy half birthday. He is such a fun little kid this is what he is like now.

• He is obsessed with birthdays lately. I don't know why, but he likes me to sing the primary birthday songs and thinks it is his birthday almost everyday. Fortunately he doesn't remember that birthdays mean presents and cake. I think he thinks that Halloween is related to his birthday because he will see a picture of a pumpkin and say Happy Birthday and try to blow out the candle.
• He loves to sing. He knows the words to several primary songs and Disney songs, as well as some nursery rhymes.
• He is a good big brother. When we are going somewhere or getting back and Minna is fussing in her car seat he will go over and rock the car seat and sing to her. He also loves to make her laugh. If something he does makes her laugh he will do it over and over again.
• He loves to be outside. I think he loves the freedom because it is a lot harder for him to get into trouble outside, he can yell, run around, be rowdy and just be a kid.
• He still tries hard to please his friends, but he is starting to get opinions of how he wants things and what toys/stuff he wants. We were at the store the other day and I was pushing Joshua around in one of those gigantic carts that have a car in the front. Joshua saw another little boy riding in a car cart and started yelling at him "This is my cart. OKAY!" over and over again. I told Joshua that the boy wouldn't take his cart. But Joshua kept yelling it. But then he would be all friendly and wave and say "Bye, bye". The other mom and I were cracking up.
• He is getting an independent streak and is wanting to start to do more things for himself. That is great except for when we are trying to get out the door and he insists on doing his own zipper. I have started trying to do stuff like that while Minna is napping so I have the time and patience to watch him struggle through it.
• He is very strong physically, but not very graceful. He falls over a lot, but always bounces up. He still has the little kid pot gut, but it is all muscle. He runs everywhere he can, especially when he is outside. He also loves to jump.

Happy half birthday little guy.

Today I am thankful for the miracle of modern medicine which saved my little boy's life 2 1/2 years ago.

Jumping on the Thankful Wagon

I am finally jumping on the thankful wagon. I don't know if I will get it posted everyday, I was going to start Saturday, but it has been nice the last few days to more purposefully count my blessings. Here is my first catch-up post.

Saturday I was thankful for:
1-The beautiful weather that allowed me to get both my kiddos outside on a walk and they loved it.
2-For the physical strength that enabled me to carry Joshua a good portion of the way back to the house when he refused to go home.
3-For plenty of food to feed myself and my family. (When we got home from the walk Joshua started eating, and eating, and eating, his crankiness was partially attributed to his hunger, even though I fed him right before we left).

Sunday I was thankful for:
4-Wonderful people who help me out at church especially when Brian isn't there. Helping out with Minna and the sunbeams and helping me carry all the stuff and the kids to the car.
5-A husband who cooked most of dinner last night when I was too wore out to do it.
6-The wonderful electronic devices in our lives, even though they make us endure time changes twice a year.

Today I am thankful for:
7-Visit Teaching. I love visiting the sisters, and I love knowing I always have someone to call if I need help.
8-Umbrellas. This morning while it was still warm and raining I was able to take the kids on a walk and Minna stayed dry.

How do you like your covers?

Minna likes hers covering her head.

She does this herself. She doesnt' usually pull them off of her body so much, she just likes to bury her head into the blankets and cuddle and suck on them

Minna Starts Cereal

Tuesday was the long awaited day for Brian, he got to start Minna on cereal. When we started Joshua on cereal he quite enjoyed it and within a few days was chomping it right down.

This is how Minna responded to the cereal. She normally wears a bib, I don't know why she isn't here. I need to take a picture of her in the bibs, my mom made these awesome full coverage bibs.

We backed off that day and have just tried a little bit each day since. We haven't had tears again, now she will suck the cereal off the spoon, mush it around in her mouth a little bit, and then turn to the side and spit in on her bib. Occasionally she will fuss when we don't remember to feed her for a minute. Its progress.

Visiting Cousins

A couple of weeks ago Joshua and Minna's one and only cousin Jacob came to visit along with Brian's sisters Sarah (Jacob's mom) and Mackenzie.
Joshua was super excited, especially when I told him that Jacob would be here in time for dinner. When they got here Joshua and Jacob starting playing almost immediately The first couple of nights Jacob slept in Joshua's room. During that time they started getting along less and less well. A couple of days later they were fighting quite a bit and Joshua would just scream when Jacob came to bed. So Sarah moved Jacob in with her and then the kids started getting along much better. I guess they couldn't be together 24/7. By the end of the trip they could sit together without a fight. And Joshua and Jacob played together (not just side by side) voluntarily, and their game involved taking turns and sharing. I was quite impressed.
They did manage to get into some trouble together too. One evening we were eating dinner and the two year olds had hung around as much as they were going to and had gone off to play. It had been a while and we hadn't heard them at all. Quiet from them could only mean trouble. Sarah and I went looking for them and found them in the bathroom flushing a ton of toilet paper down the toilet and giggling. This was still when they were just starting to get along again, but I guess they could as long as they were getting into trouble.
They were fortunate enough to come in the most wonderful time of year up here, so we got to do lots of fall stuff.
We went apple picking.The boys had fun grabbing apples off the trees and eating them. It was a beautiful day and Sarah and Mackenzie were loving the beautiful orchard and scenery.

The next day we went to the library for singing time. I picked out Aristocats and Dragon Tales to check out for the boys. Each wanted to hold a movie on the way home and fortunately they wanted to hold different ones. Unfortunately they each wanted to watch the movie that they were holding and had a spat over it. Fortunately it didn't matter which movie I put on they didn't care once it got started.

Wednesday we took Sarah and Jacob to play group. It was our first field trip and we went to the Ellms Family Farm. It was really fun and there was a ton to do. They had a corn sand box that Joshua took a tractor from and pushed around in the surrounding dirt.They had giant tricycles that Joshua tried to ride.

One of Joshua and Jacobs' favorite things was the slide made out of a pipe. At the end they got to go down a giant pipe slide. They thought that was really really fun.

Then they got to jump on a giant jumping pillow thing.

Then we went through a corn maze. It was a kiddy corn maze so it was mostly just a walk through the corn. The boys went in separate groups here, so Joshua went through with Rowyn.

Next came Joshua's favorite part. They rode in a trailer behind a tractor around the farm.

Then they got to pick out a pumpkin to take home Thursday we just had a quiet day at home with the kids, but after Minna went to bed Brian and I left the kids with Sarah and got to go on a date. So wonderful

The last day they were here we thought we would take the kids to the mall to play in the play area. We got all the kids in the car and then Brian's car wouldn't start. We tried to jump it for a while, but it wasn't working. Sarah suggested that we try to push the car to see if Brian could get into first gear and then start it from there. So Sarah and I pushed the car while Brian tried to start it. We thought it was funny that the guy was in the car while the girls pushed. It didn't work and we got stuck at the bottom of a little hill. We tried jumping it again, and finally got it going.
The boys had a lot of fun and before we went home we even managed to scrounge up 3 quarters to let them ride in one of the cars.

We had lots of fun having them visit and Joshua still talks about Jacob.

What we learn in Sunbeams

This last Sunday's lesson was on reverence. Part of the lesson was the story of Moses and the burning bush. I was a little anxious about telling the story mostly because I wasn't sure how four year olds were going to associate Moses taking his shoes to not yelling and poking your neighbor.

So I started telling the story and I meant to say that Jesus has power over the elements on earth and can make it so the fire doesn't consume the bush. But what I ended up saying is Jesus has special powers and can make it so the bush doesn't burn up even though its on fire. The kids started going "Jesus has POWERS."

I even heard a conversation among them that went something like this:

Kid 1:"I am going to be Superman for Halloween."

Kid 2: "Superman can fly."

Kid 3: "But Jesus has Powers, he can not burn up the bush."

I can only imagine what they told their parents they learned in church this week.