JANE

 Here are the results from Little Jane's photo shoot (in her bedroom!) thanks to a talented young man in the ward.  We love our little Jane! We heard her first laugh on Brian's birthday (Jan 5), she rolled over for the first time right at 2 months, always has lots of smiles for her family, has just taken to vocalizing long speeches for us that we LONG to understand :), and she is generally a good-natured, easy-going darling (I think she'd have to be to survive here!). Love the quilt she's on that (my) Mom made for her! (sorry I couldn't figure out how to rotate!)

Fun February

 

Who doesn't love secret tomato messages? (left for me by Emily). Today's been good, so I'm anxious to record things while my focus is clear and positive.  In an effort to balance things, not being pregnant means my body, though SO much more mobile and energetic, is fitting back into its hormones and cycles, and sometimes they are WAY oversized, and I'll have a cloudy day or two, which, when my husband is striving valiantly himself to stay on top of things when his job anxiety coupled with horrible sleeping and financial stress, combines to spell disaster--or disaster for a day--I just tell myself we've been here before, and almost always, waiting 24 hours (sometimes 48) makes a world of difference, and to just not think too hard or make too many important decisions under such stress.  Inevitably, things do turn around, and I'm looking at my life wondering how I got so lucky (which is part of why I blog--because when I read it on those glum days, it makes things look so beautiful to me, and reminds me things can't be all bad!--it's also part of why I read books, partly to find other lives that hurt like, or usually, worse than mine, and partly to just leave my sorrow for a bit, and it so soothes me!).  Overall, I am LOVING these newborn-ish days with Jane! I often feel like I could do this forever (until I think of being pregnant, potty-training, or teaching to drive!).  It SO helps to have such a patient, GREATSLEEPING child!

Aside from all of my emotional events, February saw us at basketball games (Brent's continued to improve, getting more confident w/ his shooting, and plays some awesome Teacher ball w/ his quorum).

sending missionary and cousin valentines (what?!--I've wanted to do this for years, and it happened right after a baby?!?!--weird alignment of the stars for sure; the house was a wreck for a week due to one FHE of activity, and they were almost all late thanks to ice storms, but it felt GREAT to expand my horizons past nursing, cooking, nursing, laundry, nursing--It also felt great to revert back to that schedule of simplicity :) )

We celebrated Valentine's Day w/ heart pancakes, a Heart pizza (thanks Papa Murphy's), chocolate covered strawberrys, and (due to a wee one and crowded places) making Brian watch Life of Pi  w/ me since I'd just re-finished the book.  Brian also brought home some fantastic chocolates w/ FRESH raspberries on top!!--we felt obliged to eat them too, since they would go bad so quickly :)--YUMMMM.  I don't remember ever doing this, but in Elementary School, the older grades all decorate boxes to put the Valentines in, and it's quite the competitive affair! Thank goodness my children follow me in delighting in SIMPLE things :)--these were there creations for this year (Emily's is a "Box of Shame" reference to Despicable Me that I barely remembered) and though our printer was running out of ink for Spencer's, the sweetheart said, "Oh this is great--a pink tint will be perfect for Valentine's! :)

Then there was Blue and Gold Banquet: "Cubapolis"--racing around in boxes-turned-cars with parents providing "pit stops" after each lap to wash windshields (squirt goggles), refuel (give drinks), etc.--so hilarious!

 Then there was the ward "Daddy Daughter Night" so I took the boys out for a night on the town to Nickelcade and Del Taco (50 cent tacos!!).  I kept feeling kind of badly since it seemed a bit lame-o to me, but even Brent reassured me he was having a blast--the mystery of arcades to me, I guess!--they blew most of their nickels at the end on a Ticket Jackpot game, and Spencer got a big pay off, which he used to trade for 74 Root Beer Barrells :).  (they lasted about 12 hours)

We've also had to start working with Anne on teasing at school (she's doing the teasing, not being teased!--and as one who relates far more to the teased than the teaser this has been VERY trying!).  I got the email from her very balanced and fabulous teacher on what was probably NOT the best day, and I may or may not have worried that I was raising a potential murderer after having recently read In Cold Blood which was the true story of 2 seemingly normal people that killed a family (I know, my book club is crazy!).  After a couple of days, it felt more like a Kindergarten problem again, and I check regularly with Anne and her teacher now on nice things that she's doing for others.  Sheesh!!

I also had Jane on a DREAM schedule--sleeping through the night and eating every 3-4 hours, when we went in for a checkup, and I checked to see if that WAS enough food for her.  The Dr. then noted that her weight had dropped from 70th %-ile to 47th, so he'd be adding feedings, not dropping them.  Again, my ability to make mountains out of molehills is astounding, and I beacme pretty sure I was responsible for starving my once perfect baby! (she's still sleeping through the night, but I feed her every 3 hours now, and she's truly looking chubbier already).  The fact that she had a spot of eczema on the back of her neck did not add to my joy either.  When the Dr. said it was either eczema or a vascular hemangioma, I wasn't sure which to hope for! (it's eczema)

Those are just some silly STRESS highlights! Otherwise, we've had lots of playgroup dates at our house, visited a couple of friends, started cleaning out drawers and cupboards that were organized "Pre-Pregnancy," and enjoyed keeping things fairly simple.  Brian and I were able to make it to the temple one Saturday afternoon (hooray for Jane's great naps and great older siblings!), and got to have Elder Eyring in the session with us! For both of us, it was SO nice to have that taste of peace :). Those good moments and fun things like tomato messages far outweigh my (ridiculous) stressing--it is a fun, full stage of life we are in, and hopefully the bumps just help us appreciate the smooth days more :).  And I'm continually grateful just to have strength and energy to enjoy being able to do simple things like dishes and laundry and jumping on the tramp w/ the girls, that for the last year have been nearly grueling (or, in the case of jumping, impossible!)!!

LUCY TURNS FOUR!!

I LOVE the age of 4! Lucy's sense of time, and her cutie-bug way of talking are constant fun.  She still loves telling everyone, "I have a Birthday on Balentine's!" and "My mom just had her baby last night!--she's the cutest girl in the world!"
Here are some others:
"You smell so nice, like Jewelry."
after rubbing Jane's balding back of the head, she held up her hand to me and asked, "Do you see any baldness on there?"
"Actually, by the way, could you please..."
She also still LOVES performing, calls her black church shoes her "tap shoes," and the first thing she bought with her birthday money was a toy microphone.  She loves to run outside, wear dresses or skirts EVERY day ("Pants and shirts are boy clothes, 'cause that's what boys wear.")--usually 3 different outfits of them, and has joined most of the females in the nation, singing daily renditions of "Let it Go" or other Frozen songs--she loves to really belt it out, preferably, while standing on the picnic table out back where she can stamp her foot really hard, and make the earth shake a bit. :)
Lucy loves her Dee Dee (blanket), is VERY passionate about things--especially when she feel like no one is listening to her (so frustrating that we don't see her as the grownup she's SURE she is!), and I often worry she is not sleeping enough when she reacts so strongly, but then she is all sweetness the next minute, singing primary songs and loving everything from salmon to sweeping w/ total gusto.  We, like the TV show, LOVE LUCY!!

Her birthday was a busy one, w/ violin and a Mom's luncheon, but we managed to make a kitty cake (she called it "Daniel Tiger" when I was done, but ah well), w/ macaroni and cheese for dinner, and took the elementary gang to a magic show at the school while Brian had a City Council assignment, and Brent played church ball.  She opened her presents of a Dora movie, umbrella, and jewelry, leggings, and a new baby doll named Sarah early that morning.

AND, thanks to WUNDERSCHWESTER Emily (in cahoots w/ Cousin Makena), Anne & Lucy were treated to a fabulous princess spa party w/ crowns and nailpainting, and even gifts!! Why is it that the people who most deserve a surprise party are the best ones at throwing one?? They loved all the fun on a Friday afternoon, and I loved placating my guilty conscience about the family "party" to go see Frozen that didn't actually happen until 2 weeks AFTER all of the birthdays were over :).

 

But, make it we did! Frozen FINALLY came to the Dollar ($2) Theater at the end of the month, and right after Brent got home from his Yurt camping trip, and everyone else had finished cleaning, we headed over to the Kaysville Theater to stand in line for the show (no advance ticket sales, a real community bonding experience as you gather together a half hour--or more!--waiting for a CHANCE at tickets!)--MISSED the first show by about 8 people, and decided to stay nearby, since we only had another hour before we'd have to get back in line! Though it was February in Utah, the weather was warmer than normal, and we happened upon a playground, also next to some (albeit frozen--get it?) botanical gardens, and ran around there for a while, enjoying climbing trees, playground, and trails, oh and an ipod in the van if you hadn't slept the night before.  We also stopped by the library for a bit, right across the street from the theater, and got in line right as we saw the line forming, making it in w/ plenty of time this round.  We all (even Brent?) loved the show, and Dad loved the prices enough to splurge on popcorn :), and with a staff member dressed up like Anna shaking hands with everyone in line, it ended up being not half-bad for a birthday celebration.

Emily taught the FHE lesson last week on Faith (working on Personal Progress), and used this day as her example of how prayers aren't always answered in the ways we think they will be.  We talked about Joseph Smith not expecting the vision he had, while praying about which church to join, and she shared that, having anticipated the moment for so long, she was praying that we'd have a fun day, and be able to get into the movie.  She then said that even though it seemed like things weren't working out at first, it ended up that we got to have MORE fun things to do that wouldn't have happened if we HAD gotten into the first movie, so her prayers were answered in a sort of unexpected way.  

When she asked for other examples, this is what I shared:

We had to pray a while to get Jane here, and after all of our other children coming so quickly and easily, I didn't understand the delay, and though Brian gave me a blessing before I was pregnant, saying that we would be blessed with a child in the Lord's timing, and when it was best for our family, I kept waiting to see how that timing was better.  I would have liked to have had her with us during the Mildenhall Reunion, or right before or after, and though I was so grateful to have been able to travel to be with Dad at the end, and for the funeral, I felt I could have traveled with a baby too.  Then a couple of Sundays ago, our stake president was speaking--about I don't remember what, and the Spirit finally taught me that this baby came as a tender mercy when I would need her most! That her peaceful, veil-thinning countenance was timed perfectly to help my heart heal saying 'hello' to her just after saying 'goodbye' to Dad.  It wasn't the answer I was expecting either, but I am so grateful that divine plans are better than my big ideas, and really, really thankful for our sweet baby, in a way that I would NOT have been grateful had she come earlier. :)

Birthday and Blessing Day

We've had some fun Red-Letter Days for these 2 darlings!
Anne turned 6 last week, and had fun with new Barbies+car, new outfit, and even clipon earrings :).  Luckily, she thought it was exciting that she got to go to violin and the dentist on her birthday :).  We had Trix for her birthday cereal while she opened presents, and ate hamburgers, onion rings, and zuchinni before her Butterfly Birthday cake that we invited her dream family the neighbors over for quick cake and ice cream before Brent's basketball game, that she was also happy to attend.  We've promised Anne and Lucy a trip to see Frozen for a combined celebration once it gets to the dollar theater, but I have a feeling we're in for a bit of a wait!! Meanwhile, we hear all the music OFTEN with piano playing, youtube videos, and just singing :).
Anne is SO fun--her driving personality has begun to yield real payoffs, as she has learned the joy of doing jobs by herself, earning responsibilities like calling her own friends after memorizing their and our phone numbers, cleaning out rooms to surprise me, and regularly taking charge of her homework with enthusiasm (thank goodness!).  She also has a great love of, and ear for (!) music, and has got to be BY FAR the least shy of our children, as she befriends neighbors, teachers, and passersby w/ ease.  Just last week, as we gathered at Nate & Stacey's for a dinner together, she announced, "GUYS! GUYS!!" (and after commanding our attention)"I think you should all sing 'Happy Birthday' to me since my birthday is on Thursday!" (so we did).

Then, Jane was blessed by Brian today, and we enjoyed having Nathan's family, and Ron & Kathy join us for that and dinner afterwards.  Jane was a gem, and slept all through the rest of church, AFTER sleeping 10 hours last night!! She was given a beautiful blessing: of PEACE, of a knowledge that she is a daughter of Heavenly Father, and that she will hold tightly to that knowledge, and not allow the world to shape the image of who she is.  She was also blessed with patience, love and service.  She has brought so much peace to our home, and it was just a happy day enjoying her with family. 

I bore my testimony today of the power of covenants.  I had been studying Noah for Sunday School, and realized that our covenants bind us to God, which gives us access to his knowledge, power, and protection.  Covenants also strengthen us because they bind us to each other.  Being surrounded by all of the covenant people in our ward has really blessed our family and helped us through trials, and as I dressed Jane in white this morning, I knew we were being strengthened by all of the family, here and beyond the veil, we are bound to with covenants.  I also read a verse in 2 Nephi where Jacob quotes Isaiah by saying that the Lord will comfort His people, and make their wilderness as Eden, and their waste places as the garden of the Lord, which is a a beautiful picture of the beauty Christ can make out of our "waste places" and "wildernesses." We are blessed--it was so nice to have a day to soak in those blessings, and remember joy in our life.  Here is the next installment of baby adoration, and her updated nursery.