Curly Squared

Interview with Grace

2012-02-12T17:13:00.002-07:00

I'm not very good at taking videos, though I wish I was. This was a video Scott took of Grace with his ipod a few weeks ago and I love it. I wanted to share.

Mailboxes and farewells

2012-02-11T12:30:00.002-07:00

We're getting all ready for Valentine's day.

Everyone has a mailbox and the notes of love have already begun!

One of the most exciting notes is a goodbye to diapers from Grace!

She has danced into underpants with ease and grace. By day three she had no accidents! She's already gone potty during daycare at the gym (by herself) and while babysitters were watching her at home (again, by herself).

We're pretty excited about this new phase of life at our house.

Fresh Oranges!

2012-02-03T09:43:00.004-07:00

Our travelogue about Phoenix wouldn't be complete without a short note mentioning the citrus trees! They were everywhere - lemons, varieties of oranges, tangelos, grapefruit . . . it really made us want to have some fresh-off-the-tree oranges to take home with us.

We were perhaps the closest to picking our own when we were at the restaurant (see post below) eating under the canopy of an orange tree. We asked if we could take a couple and received permission from our hostess, but the fruit was too high to get without making a big commotion. In the parking lot were a few trees, but they had already been picked over and didn't leave us much good fruit.

We determined to find a grove the next day. Apparently, the large old groves in the greater Phoenix area are mostly gone, victims of development and urban sprawl, but we were able to find one only a little out of our way called "The Orange Patch" in Mesa, AZ.

The Orange Patch has an old country-story feel with acres of orange and citrus groves behind. Walking into the clap-board store front we were hit with the smell of fresh off-the-tree citrus. We tried a few sample slices they had prepared by the door (Britta like the Arizona Sweets best, while I liked the Navels) and ventured through the rows and rows of fruit ready for the picking.

Perhaps what most excited me was the size of the fruit (especially the navels); they were the size of small melons! Really! I took some pictures.

Here's one with a watermelon to give you an idea -

So, what?! I didn't have a REAL watermelon - we didn't pick any of those! I thought you'd all know what a standard JellyBelly bean size was, and could compare . . .

Okay, lemme put Grace in this one:

Britta suggested a tennis ball and a ruler would help:

I thought a collegiate football was a better idea:

Anywho~

Here's the bunch that we got - Britta's smaller, sweeter (and seeded :) Arizona Sweets, and my HUMONGOUS Navels, side-by-side.

They are SOOOOO good!

A trip to Arizona

2012-02-03T09:18:00.004-07:00

I have a couple of weeks off during the doldrums of winter - a perfect time to take a "snowbird" vacation. We were thinking of exotic places like Florida, San Diego, the Keys . . . and we decided to take a less expensive, lower effort trip to Arizona with the added bonus of being able to have Henry meet Scott's Grandma and Grandpa Pete! (We were sorry that we weren't able to hang with Alisha, Jeff, and their family - hope you're enjoying TX.)

Our trip was short - just from Sunday evening to Thursday, with only one full day to spend in Phoenix. It felt like one REALLY long road trip. By the end, I think we were all glad to get out of the car. Grace really liked staying in the same hotel room as mom and dad and Henry, maybe too much, as she didn't fall asleep until two hours beyond her bedtime (much to our chagrin), and she really liked having a hotel pool to swim in.

Here we are at Grandma and Grandpa's. We talked about a lot of things like family history, counting grand- and great-grand children, how Grandpa and Grandma met . . . It was really great to be able to visit with them and to introduce them to one of their newest great-grandchildren.

After our visit we ate lunch at a GREAT place called "Aunt Chiladas" which was part of a resort. We were surrounded by business-types on the power lunches brokering deals or whatever they do (eat, maybe) during their lunch breaks. We sat outside on a bright, sunny day beneath an orange tree overburdened with large, fresh, ripe fruit and chittering finches. The salsa was the best restaurant salsa I've had and their Chimichanga was good, too. (I judge all Mexican places by their salsa and chimis.)

We also stopped by a HUGE park in Tempe sponsored by the Kiwanis Club. Grace was most interested in the playgrounds.

Britta and Henry enjoyed the view from the duck pond.

Grace tried to feed the ducks her Smarties, but they weren't taking it.

All in all, we loved our trip. We tried to time the driving so that the bulk of it was during Grace and Henry's nap times, and it worked out fairly well. Grace loved to see the huge cactuses (cacti? cactren?), Daddy loved the warm weather and started to complain about Utah winter weather before we left, Mommy loved getting out of the car, and Henry, well, honestly, he won't remember this, but loved every minute . . . almost!

We love you Gma and Gpa Pete!

It snowed, it snowed, it snowed last night...

2012-01-25T20:43:00.004-07:00

We got our first snowfall this past week. It's pretty crazy that we didn't have any snow before now. Grace loved it. Henry tolerated it.

I think Grace believes snow and Christmas are synonyms. On Sunday morning after we got a light dusting of snow, she was so excited when we got to church she was wishing everyone a "Merry Christmas" as she walked down the hall. Sometimes when Henry wakes up after Grace, she crawls over him and instead of saying "Good Morning" she'll say "Merry Christmas, Henry, Merry Christmas."

More Grace notes: Grace loves Phineas and Ferb, so if you're familiar with that, you'll love this. We stopped at Scott's parents house yesterday and Grace saw Grandpa's giant, hard-core, complicated telescope and matter-of-factly said, "That's Grandpa's inator!"

Grace is super friendly. She meets random people, strangers, adults and kids, and says this rote, "Hi, my name's Grace, I'm twoyearsold, because I'm little."

Today at the McDonald's playplace she was alone with a six year-old girl and immediately became her shadow. Scott overheard her say, "Hi, girly, I love you. You're my best friend. I'm going to come to your house after your nap today... Your mommy and daddy are at work... (after the girl climbed up the slide) *applauding* Good Job! You did it! ..." There was essentially a continual stream of talking from Grace's side. We didn't hear it all. This is just what we caught and remembered.

She often talks about her "Halloween teeth" and how cool or scary they are. She has been telling people lately that it's her birthday and been getting such positive feedback (from strangers or casual acquaintances), I'm not sure how to dissuade her. She always wants to "play chase." She thinks orange plastic cones are "so beautiful." She's been really in to sleeping with toys, but the toys she picks are hard plastic animals or cars... they can't be that comfortable. She's really excited to share a room with Henry. We'll be trying it for the first time tonight. Wish us luck!

4 month stats

2012-01-17T10:57:00.002-07:00

Weight: 16 lbs (73%)
Length: 26.5 in (93%)
Head: 16.6 in (48%)

Henry is strong, happy, easy to laugh and smile, talkative, loves to eat (still, but now with real food too), a pain to get to sleep. He doesn't roll but he can sit up on his own for a few seconds at a time. He has just started not hating tummy time so maybe the rolling will come soon. We all love our little Henry bo Benry!

Dinner Adventures

2012-01-09T20:18:00.002-07:00

We got these totally awesome headlamps for Christmas (thanks Alisha!) and after pulling them out tonight, couldn't resist using them to eat dinner.

It was pretty cool. Grace loved it. She turned her light on and off and on and off and asked us to do the same.

Henry loved it, too. But Henry has always loved watching us eat. Ever since he could recognize our faces, he's been fascinated when we put things in our mouth. It makes him happy just watching us.

See those little arms flailing? That's the happy arm flail. Scott made the executive decision of inviting Henry to join our dinner fest. Boy, was he ready! He didn't even spit anything out! Look at how still he sat for the photo because he was so focused on that little taste of applesauce.

Grace wanted in on the action, too, so she came to "help feed Henry" which means eat applesauce herself. It was a fun night.

The January Hike

2012-01-04T13:20:00.000-07:00

I think yesterday it hit over 55 degrees! We went on a few mountain hikes in the spring, but during the summer I was too hot and big. Well, Grace has been asking about hiking in the mountains since then, even with the snow, so we decided yesterday was as good a day as we could get.

Henry was happy to get started.

So we packed up, headed to the canyon, and started our trek to the "G".

I love that Grace's socks match her sleeves.

Grace had a slightly worried look on her face most of the hike. I think she's nervous about heights.

We saw lots of lovely things that are normally covered by ice and snow at this time of year, like the river to the reservoir.

The moon was out - it was late afternoon... probably too late to start a hike.

We took a few wrong turns, but eventually got on the right track.

Aside from the normal freezing temperatures, one of the reasons January hikes probably aren't common is because the sun sets so early!

The trail got pretty steep, much steeper than I expected. We kept trekking! It was fun. Scott and I are both sore today.

With about ten minutes to go before we hit the "G" we realized the sun was kissing the top of the mountain on the other side of the valley. We were both dripping sweat and worried about losing light, so we took our photo-op with the "G" in the background and headed back down.

The worried expression is still there, poor girl. She really enjoyed the hike more than the above picture represents.

When we got to the bottom, it was getting dark. Goodbye G. We may meet again one day, but for now you will remain elusive...

p.s. Whenever Grace sees the G on the mountain she starts singing "G is for Gracie, that's good enough for me..." to the C is for cookie song melody from Sesame Street.

The hack-job

2012-01-03T21:01:00.003-07:00

Despite my irrational emotional attachment to Henry's hair, I decided it was time to see his ears. Here is the before:

And here is the after:

It is not easy to cut the hair of a 3 month old baby. I'm still getting used to his new 'do. I miss his shag. Luckily, hair grows back!

In 2012, I...

2012-01-03T07:08:00.002-07:00

Will floss my teeth more.

Will prepare myself for the unexpected.

Will learn how to cut baby hair.

Will be more careful to live within my budget.

Will read the Book of Mormon from beginning to end.

Henry's favorite new toy

2011-12-26T18:14:00.000-07:00

Is also Grace's favorite new toy...

Merry Awkward Santa Photo Christmas!

2011-12-25T15:45:00.001-07:00

This week's happy thoughts

2011-12-21T21:06:00.002-07:00

Here are some things that have made me happy this week:

I love Christmas cards. I love getting them in the mail. I love posting them up somewhere prominent in my house to look at them all month and think about how many people I love and who love me.

I got the card below in the mail as a belated birthday card and it made me laugh out loud for a good minute or two.

Inside she wrote, "Sorry, I ran out of birthday cards." Ha ha! It still makes me smile.

On Friday was the wedding of one of my dear, dear young women. She was in the first group of my Mia Maids class over five years ago. She's still a good friend. She asked me to be a bridesmaid at her wedding and it was beautiful! I love live sealing ceremonies!

I wish I had gotten a picture of her and me together, but I didn't bring my camera.

Last month I was release from YW and called as the primary music leader. As a primary we sang at the ward Christmas party last Saturday and will sing again on Christmas at church. I was really nervous when I was first called, but I like this calling more with each week. It's so fun to feed off the kids' energy. I especially love singing Christmas songs. I got to sing a solo at the Christmas party, too, because the original soloist fell sick. I feel so grateful for my talent that I can step in and be of service at the last minute in a situation like that.

One thing that hasn't made me happy this week is this:

Henry is sick with the croup, and we've all been struggling with viruses. Grace is near the end, but Henry and I are right in the middle of yuckiness.

Speaking of Henry, I discovered something today that makes his hair even more awesome.

Do you see that random streak of RED in his hair?!?!?! Most of the hair growing in is a medium brown color. Parts are blonder, but none are quite like this tiny streak of pure red. Neither Scott nor I have red in our gene pool that we know of so this is a fluke, and we don't know if it will last.

Lastly, Gingerbread houses. They always make me happy. We made this little one with Grace about a week ago.

She's been trying to eat it ever since.

Last night I finished this big one.

I think the part that makes me the most happy is the icing along the border of the roof. I think I've heard it referred to as frosting lace. I saw it first done on a cake competition on the Food Network and I've wanted to try it ever since. This is pretty simple compared to what they did, but it's a start. And it was fun. And it made me happy.

Happy Christmas!

Thankful Thoughts

2011-11-26T10:05:00.003-07:00

I have so much to be thankful for.
A handsome, hard-working, helpful husband who loves me,

Two adorable children, a family that is connected through eternity,

Basic necessities always abundant: food, shelter, clothing, indoor plumbing! heat in the winter and cool air in the summer,

A healthy and capable body, intelligence, competence, creativity, music

Knowledge of truth and reality, a testimony of Jesus Christ, the whole plan of why we're here and where we're going. I'm so grateful for life and mortality. I'm so grateful for beauty and truth. I'm so grateful for friends and family. Perhaps this sounds a little generic, but I genuinely feel so grateful for each of these things, along with so much more. I am so blessed! I hope you each had a Happy Thanksgiving and may our hearts be full of gratitude all year.

A Paradise of Leaves

2011-11-18T14:23:00.000-07:00

All about Henry: 2 months

2011-11-17T07:17:00.002-07:00

Weight: 12.8 lbs (73%)
Height: 24 in (84%)
Head: 15.75 in (48%)

We are so happy to have Henry in our family! He makes it feel more full and complete. Here are some things we love about Henry at two months:

The first thing anyone says about him is "Look at that hair!" I love his hair. Some people have mentioned how he already needs a hair cut, but no way. Not yet. It's too much fun. Maybe when he can hold his head up I'll reconsider.
He loves to eat and it shows! He's growing into a little chunk and he's heavy, especially compared to Grace at this age.
He loves to talk. If you make eye contact with him, he'll strike up a conversation with you and has been known to keep up back and forth banter for up to a half hour! During these conversations sometimes I sing to him and he "sings" with me, smiling all the while.
He is strong. I really have to work to get him dressed some days when he just wants to keep his arms and legs locked straight.
He poops out of his diaper at least once daily. I guess this goes along with the loving to eat thing. We don't love this part as much, but it is something memorable for the blog.
He doesn't spit up. However, he is a messy eater. He frequently lets go while nursing just to see how quickly he can latch on again, over and over. This results in a lot of dribbled and squirted milk.
He's a happy boy overall, Grace loves him and so do we! We're so happy they get along so far.

This is bedhead Henry (and bedhead mama)

Henry was blessed on November 6th. Here are some highlights of what he was blessed with:

With all the knowledge and information available, he will have an open mind and find what is good.
A willing heart to serve and lead
An obedient heart that will listen to wise council
A strong body with full faculty in pursuing goals, sharing knowledge and resources
Able to find joy that transcends happiness. This will enable him to serve.

31

2011-11-06T13:39:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Scott! We love you!

Trick or treat!

2011-10-31T21:03:00.002-06:00

This little lady came home with a boatload of candy. They couldn't resist the cuteness, and she took full advantage by taking handfuls of candy from the candy bowls. Good thing for parent tax.

Halloween Hooray!

2011-10-30T21:12:00.003-06:00

Guess what? I found a craft that Grace likes!

Painting! She still doesn't care for crayons, markers, paper crafts, play-doh is ok. It's acrylic that caught her fancy. She loves the vibrancy of the colors and the texture of the paint. While we were painting, she kept saying "I love blue" and then "I love yellow" and on and on with every color as she was using it. When she was all done she turned to me and said, "Mommy, I like painting!"

Oh, it makes my heart happy!

Cribs

2011-10-22T21:40:00.003-06:00

This is Grace's crib.

She loves it. She is the Queen of her crib.

We've been trying to ease her into a bed by putting her in the bed for naps. That has just given her more time to perfect the art of climbing in and out of the crib. We put her to nap in the bed, we find her asleep in the crib.

She is much more likely to climb into her crib than out of it. She will play in her crib for an hour at a time.

Such a silly girl! I thought kids were supposed to get all excited about not being contained in a crib, but not her. She likes the security I guess.

By the way, I gave Grace her first hair cut! Her nervous habit of pulling her hair out had resulted in a toddler mullet. Not anymore!

This is a classic Grace expression. I love it!

Updates

2011-10-14T13:44:00.004-06:00

I have had SO many ideas for blog posts lately, but alas, reality limits my time right now. Here's one of those posts that tries to catch you up on interesting points in each of our lives - oldest to youngest.

Scott is amazing. I don't even have words to praise him high enough. He's such an amazing, playful and attentive father. Grace adores him. I'm so glad he's done with his out-rotations so we can have him at home, even if he gets home at 7 every night and leaves at 5:45 in the morning (which is the case this month). His current rotation is Neuro-ophthalmology. I know, sounds impressive.

We were informed this week of some unfortunate events regarding Scott's residency potential. Of the four places he traveled to do auditions for residency, two of them are closing down their programs immediately and a third might also. This includes the rotation in Michigan that we were most excited about and Scott had the best impression at. Suffice it to say, we are seriously considering how realistic the dream of going into ophthalmology is with these new circumstances or wondering if we should look into a new specialty. Application deadlines have passed, so we're in a bit of a pickle.

Britta is kind of making everything up as she goes along. This week I've finally had days where I physically felt normal and happy! It's an interesting balance to have two kids, but so far we haven't had any catastrophes. I'm eating a lot more cereal and sandwiches than I used to, but hopefully I'll get back into the swing of cooking in the next couple weeks.

I'm also starting to work a little bit again. I finished the book cover for the sequel to Psion Beta, if any of you read that book. The new book, Psion Gamma, will come out 11-11-11.

Grace is adjusting to having a new baby brother really, really well. She is so smart, gentle and obedient! I am loving this adjustment. I guess I expected it to be a lot worse, seeing that she's two. The worse part is that I don't have the energy to play with her as much as I used to and that makes me sad. She watches a lot of Backyardigans and VeggieTales on the computer.

I decided at the new year that when she expressed interest in changing her own clothes, I would tackle potty-training. I assumed she'd be interested earlier, but sometimes it takes a kick in the pants, like a new baby brother, to realize that you can do things for yourself, like get dressed. This week was the first time she picked out her own clothes and got entirely dressed on her own (except I still put the diaper on). The ensemble is pictured above. She was so pleased with herself that she happily posed for the picture (rare) and even said with a big smile, "CHEESE!"

Henry is starting to focus and look at us more. He is such a handsome little man. He eats a lot and sleeps a lot and cries a lot. You know, the normal stuff that comes with a baby. I feel like he's huge now, even though he's probably only two pounds heavier than at birth. Some days I look at him and think, "you were smaller this morning than you are now." Seriously, he grows that fast some days. We don't mind, though. Every step is exciting.

I love his hair. I'm learning how to style it with a tiny bit of gel, but I don't do it that often because I feel like I'm soiling it somehow. Below is a shot of his unadulterated hair, freshly cleaned. It's pretty crazy, but it's also got cool blond highlights at the tips. If you enlarge either of these photos of him, you'll see it. As one of my sisters said, Henry has "cool guy quality." His hair is even getting in on the action.

2 week stats

2011-09-28T13:38:00.001-06:00

Weight: 8.5 lbs (41 %)
Length: 20.75 inches (50 %)
Head: 14.5 inches (42 %)
Hair: LOTS
Sleeps: Most of the night. And most of the day. Wakes up twice at night to eat, then goes back to sleep. Hope we can keep the sleeping at night thing up.

Oh Henry!

2011-09-18T21:45:00.003-06:00

I'm trying to make up for my delay in posting photos by posting many photos. Enjoy!

He's here!

2011-09-18T21:33:00.003-06:00

Henry Scott Peterson
September 13th, 4:39 pm
7 lbs 8 oz
20 inches

The above hairstyle is what you get when the husband is in charge of deciding baby's first hairstyle: baby faux-hawk.

Sister meets brother.

I'm so glad Scott got home in time for Baby Henry's arrival. I'm so glad my mom was here when Scott was gone to keep me sane and healthy. I'm so glad my mom could extend her stay to the week after Scott got back to help keep us fed and happy and to take such good care of Grace. I don't know what I would've done without her. I love you, mom! Thank you for everything you've done in the past three weeks.

p.s. the above is what happens when Grandma meets faux-hawk.

36ish weeks...

2011-08-21T21:50:00.006-06:00

So this is what a normal 36 week pregnancy is supposed to look and feel like... unlike last time (compare the difference) where my tummy was half as big, but my weight gain was higher. Tells you how swollen the rest of my body was. It was pretty grotesque. This time, I haven't had the same crazy pre-eclampsia symptoms as last time (thank goodness). At the time I just thought the absurd swelling, the higher blood pressure and the ophthalmic migraines were normal pregnancy symptoms. Now my biggest complaint is I'm HOT all the time. I love our apartment, but we don't have AC.

I've been telling anyone who asks that my due date is September 14th. This is my due date according to the ultrasound. According to LMP, my due date is September 18, but I'm banking on the September 14th date. I guess only time will tell. Scott is leaving on Friday for two weeks. I'm torn between wanting the baby to wait to come out until he gets back after September 10th, or getting this baby out of me, even if it means not having a husband there, so I can feel a little more comfortable sooner. There are pros and cons to both options. My mom will be here while Scott's gone, but not after...

Rise all loyal cougars...

2011-07-24T22:36:00.002-06:00

Did you know Grace can sing the entire Cougar Fight song? In spite of that, I think Cosmo terrified her. She had that wide-eyed stiffness the whole time we were near him when we saw him at Fiesta Days. I think it was a mixture of terror and curiosity.

4th festivities

2011-07-08T22:11:00.004-06:00

Despite being daddy-less and totaling maybe 3 hours of sleep the night before, we had a really fun 4th of July. We woke up early to catch the hot air balloon festival. Love it!

The weather patterns weren't cooperating, so they decided not to launch any balloons (except for one that was tethered), but they blew them up for spectators to walk around anyway. That's the funnest part. Grace loved it.

After less than a half hour there was a big gust of wind that instantly blew all the balloons down. It was chaos! Scrambling balloon workers yelling at each other to pull down the balloons, screaming people as the balloons blew on top of them, bystanders jumping on the anchor ropes to help save the balloons - and being dragged in the process. It was quite the drama. All the balloons came down in about 20 seconds.

I love this next picture of Grace eating the strawberry. She loved this whole botched event. She had no idea it was botched. They played music over the loudspeakers and she danced much of the time, even after the balloons had all been packed up.

Then came the parade! Grace whole-heartedly cheered for all the firetrucks and police vehicles that kicked off the parade.

Here's a rare photo of a chubby pregnant Britta and Grace characteristically licking the frosting off a doughnut.
Attention: These next photos are for you Star Wars fans out there. Valerie, I took them especially with your family in mind. Wish you could have seen these.

The parade had over 50 Star Wars characters marching together. The costumes were seriously impressive (and must have been SO HOT).

The afternoon was filled with BBQ fun with my sister's family and her in-laws. Grace was so pooped out that she fell asleep just in time to miss fireworks. Luckily with the new Utah firework laws this year, I had plenty to see from my kitchen window late into the night after she went down.

Hope you all had a happy 4th!

All About Grace: 2 year installment

2011-06-06T20:19:00.007-06:00

warning: long post from doting mother

Height: 34" (50 percentile)
Weight: 23 lbs (15 percentile)

There is so much personality in this little girl. She can talk up a storm, laugh at nothing - she's got a hilarious fake laugh, and can sing dozens of songs start to finish. In fact, she knows songs I didn't know she knew, like recently she bust out with this song in the middle of dinner, much to my embarrassment. She substituted "Mommy" for "Daddy" and when I sing it (absent-mindedly) I use the word "gosh" for any questionable profanity. Still, Scott and I just looked at each other with shock. She beamed at us like she was the coolest person alive as she sang and laughed. Honestly, I don't think we'd thought of that song for months before this incident.

If you're a regular follower of my blog, you know Grace loves animals. She is fearless.

Especially when the animals don't seem to want her attention, like random dogs at the park and most cats. She chases after them, begging them to come to her. Size doesn't seem to make an impact on her interest, either. She's been known to chase large weimaraners, getting knocked down in the process, but getting right back up to continue the chase. (Don't worry, I was there and knew the dogs were ok.) A couple months ago I let her outside for a minute while I put my shoes on. By the time I followed her out, this is what I saw:

"C'mere cows"

I think my breath froze as I saw 8 giant cows giving Grace all of their attention. I'm pretty sure she was trying to coax them to her by feeding them dead twigs. Luckily there was an irrigation ditch between them so the cows couldn't reach her.

She still loves soft things and is permanently attached to her blanket. She makes beds out of anything soft. One of her most common "beds" are baskets of clean clothes.

These are also one of her favorite hiding places. She loves to hide and play hide-and-seek. Her favorite hiding place is in our walk-in closet, hiding underneath the long black layers of my witch Halloween costume. The darker it is, the better when we're playing. She likes the lights off and curtains closed. She often says "be darker" and "close curtains" and "turn off the light" and then commands me to pretend sleep while she does the same.

She is a little explorer. She loves being outside, loves dirt, sand, worms, bugs, grass and rocks.

She's smart. I had a conversation with her a couple weeks ago that went something like this:

Grace - "Daddy at work."
Me - "Yup, Daddy's at work"
Grace - "Daddy a doctor."
Mom - "Yes, Daddy is a doctor. You are so smart to know that!"
Grace - "Daddy look eyes. Feel better."
Mom - (shocked) "Yes, he helps people's eyes feel better."
Grace - "Med-cine make cry."
Mom - "Yes, sometimes eye medicine makes you cry" (Scott brought home a Glaucoma book that Grace likes to look through. One of the last illustrations is of an eye with drops being put in and then the eye dripping.)
Grace - (with a happily-ever-after tone) "Feel better!"

It was a surreal conversation. She's really growing up and understanding more than I realize.

Grace eats like a bird, just tiny bits here and there. The only way we can get her excited about eating is letting her eat cooking ingredients raw. Like normal children, she loves licking the spatula when making cookies or sweets and loves pinches of raw bread dough.

But in addition, she begs for raw flour, raw oats (she will eat them by the bowlful), cinnamon, sugar, salt, cornmeal... she asks for the baking powder, too, but I have yet to give in to that one.

Just like her 18 month installment, she still resists the camera. She will look, but almost never smile without me tricking her. Here's the best I could do recently.

Still, how can you not love that face?! I sure do.

White coral bells upon a slender stalk...

2011-06-05T22:44:00.002-06:00

...Lily of the Valley line my garden walk.
Oh don't you wish that you could hear them ring?
That can happen only when the fairies sing.

Whenever I see lily of the valley, I think of my mom. These and lilacs are her favorite smelling flowers. I think of sitting in a canoe with my mom and sister in the middle of Many Point Lake on a foggy morning, hearing the eerie sound of loons, hoping to catch a glimpse of one, singing the white coral bell song in a round over and over again. Of course, we learned the song from my mom.

For the first time in my life, I have lily of the valley lining the path to my door! I have this song and memory in my head constantly.

A date with 'Doh

2011-05-30T22:08:00.002-06:00

I know I have shared with you Grace's short attention span with anything crafty, but occasionally we have a good time. This normally involves a lot of work or effort on my part, and not much craft on Grace's part.

Case in point, last week we spent about a half hour playing with play-doh. The catch? Grace doesn't make anything, she requires me to make toys for her. Her most requested toy is a baby.

What's funny about this is that she doesn't play with baby dolls. Given the choice between a toy doll and a car, she will 95% of the time choose the car. But somehow a play-doh baby fits in a different category... a category where she becomes the mother.

She always asks for a blanket for the baby. As I was making the blanket, she ran to the tupperware drawer to find a crib. She cuddles the baby, gives it hugs.

And carefully puts it in (and takes it out and puts it in and takes it out of) the crib.

Sometimes she sings a nice lullaby... or marching song to the baby.

Eventually her curiosity or boredom get the best of her and she squishes the baby.

Then requests a new toy.

It's fun to see her play so gently and motherly with the play-doh doll. It makes me wonder why the play-doh gets the mother treatment, but no other toy does.

Tulips everywhere

2011-05-14T14:00:00.004-06:00

By the end of this week, Grace and I needed a good escape to uplift our spirits. So we caught the leftovers of the Tulip Festival that officially ended a week ago.

As I suspected, Grace's favorite parts were the water features, splashing and throwing rocks

And feeding the fish.

When I looked at the hundreds of koi fish climbing on each other for the food pellets, I felt like I was watching an M.C. Escher drawing live.

Grace called this her "castle." Below she's beckoning me to join her.

We played ring-around-the-rosie over and over again in the castle.

One of my favorites of the 16 different gardens we visited is the secret garden. Here is Grace trying to close the door on her way out.

Tulips were everywhere. It was fantastic, breathtaking, and refreshing.

Grace really knows how to soak it all in.

We ended the day chillin' by the waterfalls. It was a great day.

So Big

2011-05-12T23:28:00.000-06:00

I think I'm incapable of going to sleep before midnight when Scott is out of town. That being said, I thought I'd share with you some pregnancy stuff. I know, your favorite :)

Today I got my first comment EVER about how big I am. I never even got that with my first pregnancy, but in retrospect, there were unfortunate reasons I was small. The comment went something like this:

Neighbor - "You're so big! You're not even six months yet, are you?"
Me - "No, I'm around five months"
Neighbor - "Gosh, you must be having a big boy."
Me - smile with a slightly perplexed look on my face.

Her comment didn't bother me, because I'm really not that big yet, but it got me thinking. I assume I'm bigger this time around because it's my second pregnancy and hopefully the baby is growing normally, which wasn't the case with Grace.

So I took a photo of myself (I'm at 22 weeks) and compared it to my Grace photos.

I'm about the same size I was at 24 weeks with Grace. Pretty much right on schedule. Plus I just had an appointment today and everything is right as it should be.

I decided that maternity shirts make you look bigger. I was wearing one today.

Barefoot, pregnant and running

2011-05-10T21:04:00.004-06:00

Like my shoes? They're like running barefoot. I decided to run with them in a 5K last week, before I get too big and it gets too hot outside. Here is me, running 5K at (almost) 5 months pregnant in honor of the 5 of May-o.

The day was perfect! It was one of the exceptionally few perfect days we've had this spring. Scott took some pictures of the area while I was off running.

Perfect, right? That little head running along the path in the above photo is Grace. She likes to run, too.

Running was a great experience. I felt like a rock star as I crossed the finish line at exactly 30:00. While pregnant. That's my not-pregnant time, and I know I've been running slower at the gym. I was actually shocked when I realized I had maintained a 10-minute mile the whole time! The location was awesome, running on shaded blacktop paths along a river. The sponsor was awesome, organized, and good at psyching everyone up, and the whole event was treated like a fiesta. We even ran alongside the three amigos! We got serenaded with "My Little Buttercup" around the first mile when they passed us. (We passed them about half a mile later when they started walking.)

I had a running buddy, too, which made it even more awesome. At the end of the race, they had a feast with overflowing platters of fresh fruits, vegetables, tortilla chips, a salsa bar, virgin margaritas and other drinks, tons of churros and candy. Then, to top it all off, during the awards ceremony (which was treated like a party) we won 18-holes of golf at a nearby club, a ball and frisbee for Grace, and a voucher for two theater tickets.

Probably the funnest 5K I've run. I think I'll try it again next year.

Happy Mother's Day...

2011-05-08T23:06:00.003-06:00

...to my dear, compassionate mom and all my beautiful sisters. Thanks for coming last week for Women's Conference and Grace's birthday. I loved being all together, wish we could do it more often. Can't wait 'til next time!

Easter recap

2011-05-07T22:04:00.004-06:00

Ready...

Set...

Go!

Collecting Easter Eggs

Riding the 4-wheel tractors

Going down the big slide(s) with daddy

And the highlight: Petting the animals!

Grace worked hard to try and pet or hold every animal within her reach. She loves animals.

"C'mere, chicken"

She tried and tried for that duck, but he was a quick rascal.

So she settled for watching the baby ducks and chicks.

By the time Scott caught the hot commodity, the baby lamb, Grace was getting too tuckered out to care. But Scott looks pretty cozy holding a baby lamb.

So we went for some lower-key fun: The animal train!

Again! With Daddy.

Finally, the hayride where Grace partook of the spoils of her egg hunt treasure. Hurray for a Happy Easter!

Eggs!

2011-05-07T13:08:00.003-06:00

I still struggle through the days (especially cold or wet ones) trying to figure out activities that Grace and I can do together that don't include running a lot, wearing me out, or watching a video. With the coming of Easter, I was excited to try to dye eggs with Grace.

I talked all about it, trying to psych her up: when we got the supplies at the store, when we were cooking the eggs, when I was preparing the table...

Side note: Grace doesn't really care for crafts. Coloring keeps her attention for .2 seconds. Play-doh keeps her attention for 3.5 minutes. The closest we've gotten to enjoying crafts is dragging fingers through spilled milk. I think that can last over five minutes.

So why did I think this would be a fun idea? I don't know. I guess I'm delusional. Right from the start, when I took out the dye pellets, Grace thought they were candy and wanted to eat them. As I put them in the glasses of water, she thought they were juice and wanted to drink them. She proceeded to get very mad and cried the WHOLE time, asking for a drink of "that juice." I tried to get her to color on an egg. She took the black crayon (her favorite color, btw), made one line, then threw the crayon and cried "all done."

When the first egg came out of the dye, she hesitated for a second as she noticed the color change, then cried that she wanted to eat the egg. I finally gave in, cracked the egg and got a plate for her. She refused to eat it, calling it a "yucky egg."

It seems about two weeks before her birthday, she instantly changed into an irrational 2 year-old. I used to be able to talk her through her frustrations, but not anymore. This is a whole new level of parenting that I am having a hard time dealing with. I've read books, I've heard advice, but you don't really know what your into until you go through it. And I'm just starting...

Wish me luck!

Two years of Grace

2011-05-04T19:57:00.002-06:00

Grace turned two on Sunday! She lucked out with lots of cousins and aunts and a grandma all at her birthday party! She's been singing "Happy Birthday" to herself for a month always ending with a comment about blowing out the candles. When the time finally came, she smiled big as everyone sang, then hesitated after the song. Luckily, we have a plethera of older cousins who are happy to help out.

We didn't get very good birthday photos, but we did get a good one of all the Erickson sisters and cousins! It was so fun to have us all together!

I think this is the first time we've all been together in about fifteen years. We had a full house! Here's a video my sister took to scan the room (after Grace went to bed) so you can get an idea of the fun birthday chaos.

It's a BOY!

2011-04-19T21:22:00.002-06:00

If you can figure out this picture without the doctor's circle around the tell-tale dot, then you are smarter than me. My babies have both been modest when it comes to ultrasounds. Grace crossed her legs. This little guy had all his fingers and toes in the same general area we were trying to see and I was so confused. But I trust the doctor and Scott, who both are convinced this is a boy. So there you have it! Hurray for a gender-balanced family!

Happy Conference!

2011-04-03T08:57:00.001-06:00

Hope your General Conference Weekend is fabulous!

Some dreams shouldn't come true...

2011-03-21T08:19:00.004-06:00

One of the amusing side-effects of pregnancy, in my point of view, is weird dreams (see here and here). Last night I had a LOT, but I only remember the last moment of the last one:

I was at a gigantic baseball field in the stands (which were more like chain-linked parking garages). The stadium seating was benches. I was sitting across a picnic table from a coach and he helped me make a drink? From my recollection, the drink contained "tomato juice" which looked like tomato sauce and "vanilla gin" which looked like curdled milk. He handed me the cup and I carefully swished it around because I wanted it "shaken, not stirred" ha ha ha. It looked rancid, but I drank it anyway. It tasted rancid, but I kept drinking until there was less than half a cup.

I brought the cup over to my sister who was sitting a couple sections away. I told her how gross the drink was and asked if she wanted to try. She asked what it was and after thinking about it I answered, "A Bloody Mary?" She tasted it, was grossed out and said, "We should probably get some water." And I said, "I guess you're right."

Happy St. Patty's Day!

2011-03-17T21:33:00.000-06:00

"Kiss me, I'm cute"

Ahem... testing, is this thing on?

2011-03-17T10:26:00.003-06:00

I know my last post was kind of lame, but the whole point was to show off our t-shirts, which I made. If you're still not getting the point, read the comments of the three people who DID see the t-shirts in the last post...

Today was a lovely day

2011-03-12T23:00:00.002-07:00

So we decided to walk around a little. We looked at cows.

We posed for pictures (perhaps painfully from Grace's perspective).

We jumped on the trampoline. Carefully. (The idea of jumping is more exciting to Grace than actually doing it.)

And we played in the grass, which was almost kind of green!

We're excited for spring and more days like this one.

Basketball is not a democracy

2011-03-12T08:13:00.002-07:00

. . . the best player gets to shoot all he wants."

That was one of the most incredible basketball games I have ever seen. I loved it! Go Cougars!

Kitty Cat Grace

2011-03-07T23:27:00.002-07:00

She now beckons to the imaginary cats, then becomes one.

She's been known to keep this up for up to a half-hour! Silly goose... cat...

Coolest playground ever... of my childhood

2011-03-05T23:52:00.004-07:00

I know it's still cold and wet outside, for the most part, but we're all dreaming of summer. I was looking through my pictures of last summer and had to share some.

The coolest park I can think of is French Park. Now, I may have been to parks that had different cool toys or playgrounds that were bigger, but this park is still at the top of my list for lots of reasons. This post is about the playground.

The French Park playground has a massive web-maze of nets. If you have ever wanted to feel like spiderman, this is the place to do it.

There are tunnels of nets, vertical and horizontal,

Large planes of nets to jump into and tiny wedges to balance around.

They built this when I was still a kid. It was a huge deal. I still am impressed every time I visit it. It's still fun, and a total workout to play on this maze of nets.

I don't feel like I can accurately portray it's awesomeness in pictures because you can't get the totallity of the three dimensions. But to summarize, here is a patchwork panorama for you to enjoy.

If there is ever a day when you and I and your children (or not) happen to be in Minnesota at the same time and during the warm months, I will definitely take you here. It's still one of my favorite places.

Today

2011-02-25T21:27:00.003-07:00

We woke up to 4-5" of perfect powder white snow.

Grace couldn't stop talking about it during breakfast, so we bundled up and went to play.

She probably wanted the snow as part of her breakfast, and that's why she kept talking about it. Well, if that was true she got her wish.

I thought this would be a fun time to introduce Grace to real snowmen. (She already knows them from pictures, songs, etc, but we've never made one.)

So I made a snowman. This is what Grace thought of the snowman.

She was traumatized that I used a carrot for the nose. So I took it out and let her gnaw on it for awhile.

We got the full effect of the "snowman" primary song (one of Grace's favorite songs) all in one day. Here is what the snowman looked like at 5:00 tonight.

Grace didn't pay it any heed. She was off to play with the big boys on the bball court.

If you've never seen it, Grace has quite a swagger when she walks.

It's a cute little walk that says, I'm the big man on campus, I know everything. She swings her arms wide and twists her hips.

I should get a video of it. It's adorable.

On another note, one of her most recent favorite activities is beckoning to imaginary cats.

"C'mere, kiddy cat. Kiddy caaaaaaaat."

Read This!

2011-02-05T13:30:00.003-07:00

This book was written by a friend of Scott. He wrote it years ago when he and Scott were undergraduates working in the same lab, and Scott had a big hand in influencing some of the early characters. Jacob decided last year he was going to self-publish the book through Amazon.

The novel's target audience is boys ages 12-14, but it is a fantastic read for adults, too. If you liked Ender's Game or Hunger Games books, you would like this book. The circumstances around the characters are unique and creative, and the writing style is quick-paced and clear. To learn more, check out his website PsionBeta.com. Jacob has already written the sequel and I want to know what happens, but he won't publish the second unless he sells enough of the first. So if you're even a little interested, give it a shot so I can find out what happens!

I also have another confession. If Jacob decides to publish a second book, I might get hired to do the artwork again. I did the cover art for this book, and it was a neat experience. I'd love to try my hand at it again.

Food Prices still rising?

2011-01-30T21:38:00.003-07:00

So I read a short article today about how food prices are bound to continue to rise through this next year, especially if there's any natural disaster.

My first reaction to this article was: Whew! I'm so glad we have a prophet who warned us to prepare a food storage and learn how to live from it.

My second reaction, after reading some of these comments was: Everyone has a finger to point at a different problem, government, or corporation. Food price is an extremely complicated issue and "fixing" any one thing probably won't make a difference.

Here is a comment I found particularly amusing, pointing it's finger at government subsidization programs:

Want some fun proof of how good intentioned laws can be super stupid. We subsidise corn crops, for lots of reasons and we did even before ethanol technology. Because of this subsidization corn syrup is the cheapest form of sweetener, and soda is cheap to make as a result. Due to climbing obesity rates many states have passed a soda tax. Let me break this down, the government is artificially cheapening an ingredient it is now over taxing on the other end. Any one else see a problem with this or am I crazy?

It kind of made me laugh. Crazy crazy world. Just learn to live within your control, I guess.

I {heart} Jimmer

2011-01-28T21:45:00.003-07:00

We love Jimmer Fredette. Really. Britta made these because I told her to. I {heart} Britta, too.

MLK

2011-01-17T14:06:00.001-07:00

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction ... The chain reaction of evil — hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars — must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation."

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1963)

Hiding in the bathroom

2011-01-15T23:36:00.002-07:00

Grace has been playing in the bathroom a lot more lately. She likes closing the door and telling me to "go, go, go" away. Then she squeals with laughter when I open the door to surprise her.

Then she closes it again in my face. She likes to climb on the toilet (which I definitely don't like), so we decided to get a toilet of her own to climb on. She loves it. It's her personal pedicure tub.

Thoughts of potty training are still far away, but at least she's getting used to the idea of a toilet... right?

A Soulful Christmas

2011-01-12T22:18:00.002-07:00

For posterity's sake, I wanted to mention Grace's first Christmas that mattered to her (*ahem* us *ahem*). Scott and I were totally excited for her! Although Grace's enthusiasm was hardly apparent, we're sure her mellow chewing bag after bag of Nemo fruit snacks while we opened her presents for her was really a cover for the bubbling excitement within her that defines Christmas morning.
But seriously, she was such a happy baby. All we need in the future are fruit snacks and her Christmas is set. We spent most of the morning hanging out listening to Scott play the guitar and Grace playing whatever she could get her hands on.
While laying, sitting or standing in the guitar case.
I remember wanting to curl up in a guitar case but being shoed away. The fact that I remember that probably means I was WAY too old to be in a guitar case.

In 2011, I...

2011-01-03T22:44:00.005-07:00

Will take more photos.

Will learn to control the angry beast that tries to burst out of me sometimes.

Want to make more puppets.

Will search for opportunities to serve people around me.

Want to feel closer to the Savior by studying the New Testament and reading Jesus The Christ by Talmage.

Won't create any lame-o blogs at the last minute because of promises I couldn't keep.

What are you going to do?

On the 10th day

2010-12-23T23:37:00.002-07:00

I love Christmas lights. I love Christmas decorations in general, but I LOVE the lights. They make me happy. I wish I had a nice, artistic photo, but I just have a boring plain-jane tree photo. But it's a pretty tree.

Merry Christmas Eve Eve!

On the 9th day my true love gave to me

2010-12-22T21:22:00.004-07:00

Hot showers.

In the winter I love long hot showers. My body temperature runs a good 10 degrees lower than Scott's, so I'm always cold. It doesn't help that we have a basement apartment. Normally my showers have to be super quick so I can get out before Grace gets in to too many things, but when Scott's home I can take my time. I love feeling the water massage my back, I love breathing the warm, steamy air, I love feeling clean!

Ah, simple pleasures.

8 days filled with music... x 40...

2010-12-21T23:18:00.004-07:00

How could I not include this one? Music does something to my soul that can't be replaced by anything else, all year long. I love it. Of course, there is definitely an irresistible charm to Christmas music. I have a choral history, so this is one of my favorite Christmas songs:

This is my favorite arrangement of this song. I sang it in high school. I sang other versions throughout my life in other choirs, but my heart ached to sing this version again. This fall I gave in and bought the sheet music because even if I didn't know anyone to sing it with, I needed the music just in case the opportunity arose.

Today the opportunity arose! Our dear friends, the Staceys came to town and they love to sing! With all of us we had all four parts. I was in heaven. We went caroling. I wish we could've done it for hours, but babies get cold and tired pretty quick. My heart is very happy. Thanks, Staceys!

On the 7th day of Christmas

2010-12-20T22:09:00.002-07:00

I have a little dysfunctional relationships with novels. When I start a book I don't get anything else done until I get to the end of the book. I love to get lost in the world of a book, in the emotions of the characters, the energy of the adventure. Right now I'm on the library waiting list for the last Fablehaven book.

Scott has read them with me. It's been SO fun for me to have him read them right after me. Every time he laughs I want to know what he laughs about. We talk about the characters and theories and twists in the plot. We are both itching to read the last book.

In the meantime I've started re-reading the Harry Potter series and I've picked up the 13th book in the Wheel of Time series - both are series that have had me hooked at one point or another. The problem with my dysfunctional relationship is even if I really don't like a book once I've started it, I have to finish it. So I've become kind of picky about starting books for fear they will be bad and my personality will force me to finish it anyway. Any good suggestions?

On the 6th day...

2010-12-19T20:18:00.008-07:00

There is a beautiful historic building in downtown Provo, Utah called the Provo Tabernacle. When Scott and I were first married, we lived near it, passed it frequently, went to every one of our stake conferences there and many special musical performances.

It's a stunning building, beautifully preserved. I wish I had photos of the inside. There is a large gorgeous organ with exposed pipes, lots of detailed woodwork and stained glass windows. It's beautiful. Or I should say, it was beautiful. On Friday it burnt down.

What a tragedy. It breaks my heart.

This fire did not make me happy. Since these posts are supposed to be things that make me happy, you have to know there is a miracle in here somewhere. Here it is. Amidst the rubble, the firefighters found a picture of Christ, a giclee print of "The Second Coming" by Harry Anderson. Most of the picture and the frame was charred black, but the image of Christ was miraculously preserved.

Pretty awesome.

Here's another image of the picture before it was removed from the rubble.

Pictures courtesy of ksl.com

On the 5th day of Christmas we got snow!

2010-12-18T13:09:00.002-07:00

I love snow.

I think Grace might like it, too.

Day 4 - Creating

2010-12-17T21:06:00.004-07:00

I apologize for not following through with my promise to post every day. I do enjoy blogging, I just have been surprisingly busy lately. It's Christmas, go figure. I hope you'll forgive me the backtracking.

I find tremendous satisfaction in creating things. I'm not picky about what I create, either. Really, most things that I create, even if they're kind of lousy, make me happy on some level.

One of my favorite forms of creation is culinary. Yum.

Now that I have a sewing machine, this is becoming another area of creation that I find much delight in. I only wish I had more time to pursue sewn creations.

We ordered a top hat for Scott's Halloween costume online only to discover it was about 8 sizes too small. I ended up cutting it entirely apart, getting extra materials and sewing pieces of it back together. It ended up being a very satisfying project.

I'm lucky to have a job in a field that is on my happy list. I create things every day for work! One of my most recent creations that makes me happy is the blackletter font I designed below.

(I also designed the little holly berries a few years ago).

I love this quote by Dieter F. Uchtdorf:

The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before.

Everyone can create. You don’t need money, position, or influence in order to create something of substance or beauty.

Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment. We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty...

You may think you don’t have talents, but that is a false assumption, for we all have talents and gifts, every one of us. The bounds of creativity extend far beyond the limits of a canvas or a sheet of paper and do not require a brush, a pen, or the keys of a piano. Creation means bringing into existence something that did not exist before—colorful gardens, harmonious homes, family memories, flowing laughter.

3rd Day - Babycake's piggies

2010-12-16T20:59:00.002-07:00

Seriously. How can those two little pig tails not make you happy?

2nd Day ... yeah.

2010-12-15T20:40:00.005-07:00

(We're going to pretend I actually posted this on Wednesday, he he he.)

I love to hang out. You may not know this about me, but I have a certain level of social anxiety. However, when I am at home or in a familiar setting with Scott and friends or family, I bask in happiness.

For some strange reason, when I am the hostess, even if I don't know everyone well, my social anxiety is less. You'd think it would be the other way around, huh? Not for me. I'd much prefer to host a big gathering of strangers than go by myself to a gathering of acquaintances. Anyway, I divert.

What makes me happy is hanging out. It's stress-free. It's relaxed. It's fun to watch the kids run around and play together.

These pictures are from Scott's birthday weekend. It was a great weekend for hanging out. Especially hanging out by a fire. That makes me extra happy.

On the first day of Christmas...

2010-12-14T23:23:00.006-07:00

Happy 1st Day of Christmas! My sister-in-law is counting down the days to Christmas on her blog with her favorite things and I think it's a great idea! I love having a blog to look forward to every day, so I am returning the delight to anyone who enjoys reading blogs. I will be counting down things that make me happy, whether seasonal or not.

First of all (tangent), can you believe there are less than 12 days to Christmas!!! Holy cow! What happened to the last two weeks?!

Now, down to the business of happiness. What makes me happy? Being me. I love my life. I love what I know and who I know and who I am.

Scott took dozens of photos of me in this dress, most of them with me trying to be serious, like the Queen of Hearts. The only photos that look decent are the ones where I dropped the facade and just did what I wanted to do.

Being me hasn't always made me happy, it's been just recently that I've been able to recognize how satisfied I am with my life. Maybe it has something to do with being 30. Maybe it has to do with being the mom of the cutest girl on record or being married to the perfect man. Perhaps it's recognizing how many blessings and talents I've been given by Heavenly Father. It might also have to do with having awesome friends and neighbors. Whatever it is, I'm happy with me, and that makes me happy.

Somebody to Love

2010-12-04T19:04:00.002-07:00

Happy birthday to my dear sweet wifey, Britta!

Three - Oh!!!

I am so blessed to have you for my wife - someone who's beauty and grace is only rivaled by the goodness of her heart. I love you, always.

How long do you wanna be loved?

2010-11-05T05:30:00.001-06:00

Is forever enough, cause I'm never never giving you up.
(I'm listening to that song right now by the Dixie Chicks, and it's just how I feel.)

Scott is 30 today!

He is the most amazing man I know. Grace is completely taken with him. I am, too. Sometimes when I examine my life I can't believe how lucky I am to have him by my side. He is ever thoughtful, helpful, strong, funny and handsome. He works hard and is brilliant. He has been floored by the raving reviews he's been getting from the Doctors he's been working with, but it doesn't surprise me. I'm just grateful that those doctors are able to see, as I do, how intuitive, bright and personable he is. But I'm also secretly pleased that he's surprised by their feedback. That he doesn't realize how awesome he is is part of the charm.

I love you, Scott, today and always. Happy Birthday!

All about Grace: 18 month installment

2010-11-03T20:24:00.002-06:00

I love this girl!

18 m stats
Weight: 22 lbs (almost) - 16%
Height: 31" - 45%

She says about 200 words. Her favorite movie (for the past few days) is Jack Jack Attack. At just under 5 minutes long, we've watched it a LOT lately... over and over and over. She understands a lot and is surprisingly obedient when I ask her to do (or not do) things. However she does have a mind of her own, too.

When she's happy and walking fast she swings her arms and swags her hips dramatically. She still loves to dance and will dance and applaud during the hymns at church. When I mix broccoli into her mac-n-cheese she will pick out the broccoli and eat it and leave the mac-n-cheese behind. She loves ketchup. She loves shredded parmesan cheese. Her current favorite book is any "Llama Llama" book. She loves tents. She loves soft blankets. She gets mad at the camera when I try to take her picture. Either I get her back, or I get this:

She is amazing. It is amazing to see her learn new things and see her body develop coordination and more refined motor skills. She can climb to the top of the piano in 12 seconds (or less, that's just how long I was out of the room). I'm so happy to be a stay-at-home mom. It is so much more satisfying than I ever imagined.

Happy Halloween!!!!

2010-10-31T10:06:00.002-06:00

Heeeeeeeere's Alice!

We did an Alice in Wonderland theme for Halloween this year. It's the first year I've had a sewing machine and I wanted to make the costumes. In my excitement, I picked an overly ambitious costume for myself, which meant I only had time to make one costume. But it sure was fun!

We started out Grace's first trick-or-treating experience at the mall, where we thought it would be safe and fun--plus it was pouring rain outside.

She was pretty nervous right in the beginning, but once she got her first piece of candy she was obsessed. In all the following photos you'll see she's constantly holding some piece of candy up to her mouth.

Scott and Grace were so cute together! It was crowded, but I could always find Scott with that uber tall hat.

After we left the mall it stopped raining so we thought we'd chance a trip around the neighborhood. Grace was adorable. She tried saying trick-or-treat occasionally, but what really took the cake was that she blew kisses at everyone after they gave her candy! She would smile big and laugh and giggle. She loved it! It made me love Halloween on a whole different level, seeing her so happy.

And btw, the Halloween lore is true: rich neighborhoods DO give out full size candy bars.

1 Day: Neighborly Spooks aka the corpses

2010-10-30T13:10:00.005-06:00

For all intents and purposes, today is Halloween for us so we will be taking costume pictures and cute baby pictures (providing we have a cooperative baby) so stay tuned for tomorrow!

Today I wanted to pay homage to the amazing neighborhood Halloween decorations. We have several full scale front yard cemeteries, zombies galore, giant pumpkins, a giant blow up haunted house, and even an alien invasion! Alas, I only took photos of one neighbor. Get excited. If you've been a long-time blog reader, you will recognize these neighbors decorations as the corpses. I've shown you how they decorate for Thanksgiving and Easter. I had to assume they'd get Halloween right. I was not disappointed.

First, they had floating dancing skeletons! Pretty cool, eh?

This orange light pumpkin was out for the Thanksgiving post, but now with the addition of the cats and a bat hanging upside down.

If you look past the pumpkin to the front door, you'll see an old man dummy with gray hair. I learned that each year they leave that dummy out all October, then dress in the same clothes, including the mask, for Halloween night and sit out and scare the trick-or-treaters.

And finally, what you've been waiting for, the corpses. They are darned hard to get a photo of with the house post and trees and such in the way.

Witch and Warlock? Plus, look at all those rope lights hanging from the gutter! Maybe we'll have to visit again tonight to see all the lights in action.

There you have it! Happy Halloween!

p.s. comments are welcomed, cherished, encouraged, and I will check every hour and hang on your every word. Just thought you'd like to know :)

2 Days: Haunted Tales

2010-10-29T05:25:00.004-06:00

I am disturbed by gore. It's disappointing to me that Halloween is riddled with hideous violence that is considered amusing.

I am intrigued by classic haunted literature. When Scott and I were first married, we purchased a book of the tales of Edgar Allan Poe from an estate sale. The book holds all the more fascination because of its age and mysterious history to us. One of my favorite Poe stories is The Masque of the Red Death. It's a story about the fear of a plague and the selfish opulence of a prince who tried to hide from it. What really intrigues me about this story is the visual depictions it paints with its words about a revelrous melee of color and gross indulgence. I thought of posting it today, but I think it is too long for a blog. I've made the title above a link to an online version of the story if you would like to read it. It's probably a 5-10 minute read.

Instead, I will share a shorter story from Danish lore told by Hans Christian Anderson.

In North Seeland they tell of a dark mystery that challenges one's imagination. The church of Roervig lies far out among the sand dunes by the stormy Kattegat. One evening a great ship came to anchor off the shore. It seemed to be a Russian man-of-war. That night there was a knock at the parsonage door, and several people, armed and masked, demanded that the minster put on his robes and come with them, out to the church. They promised to pay him well, and they threatened him if he should refuse to go. He went.

He found the church lighted. Unknown people were gathered there, and all was in deep silence. A bride and groom waited in front of the altar. The magnificent clothes they wore suggested the highest rank, but the bride was deathly pale. When the marriage ceremony ended, a shot rang out, and the bride fell dead at the altar. The people took her corpse and went away with it. Next morning, the ship was gone, and to this day no one has been able to give any explanation of these happenings.

The minister who took part in it wrote the whole story down in his Bible, which his family has kept to this day. The old church still stands between the sand dunes, near the tossing water of the Kattegat, and the story still lives in memory and in writing.

Do you have a favorite haunted tale?

3 Days: Bringing Halloween to the Grave...

2010-10-28T08:30:00.001-06:00

...Literally

p.s. I did not decorate this grave, I found it like this and it made me laugh so I thought I'd share.

4 Days: The Great Halloween Blizzard

2010-10-27T07:22:00.006-06:00

This morning we woke up to this:

It's our first measurable snowfall of the season and it's COLD and it's not even Halloween yet!

Halloween and snow in the same sentence always bring back vivid memories of 1991. If you know anyone from Minnesota at that time, they probably share my memories. You see, in 1991 was the historic Halloween Blizzard (cue spooky music). This was a big deal. It still holds records for the most snowfall in one storm. There are multiple wikipedia entries for this single storm. By the end of the storm, parts of Minnesota were under as much as 37" of snow.

(Photo courtesy of Paul Douglas's blog. He's my favorite weatherman ever.)

I remember this year. I was at the peak age of trick-or-treating glee--I was ten. That year was one of the first years I remember not having a hand-me-down costume. It was one of the first years I got to pick what I wanted to be and my mom made my costume. It was thrilling. I was a green M&M.

(Unfortunately I don't have a picture of me. This is not me. This is just for the visual representation. My costume was WAY cooler. I promise.)

For years I had heard trick-or-treating stories from my brother, 3 1/2 years older than me, of walking for miles to get to the rich neighborhoods where they had full-sized candy bars. He'd come home with pillowcases completely full of candy. It was like Halloween lore that I was determined to discover the truth behind.

The snow started around the time school got out on Halloween. No problem, just a little snow. By the time dinner had finished and it was getting dark, a few inches had accumulated. No problem, I'll put on boots. I was determined. I set off by myself that night in my puffy green M&M, cute white tights and purple boots. I think by house #5 I realized it was a hopeless venture. My legs were frozen solid and the snow just kept coming. My dreams of full-sized candy bars would have to wait for another year. School ended up being cancelled for the rest of the week.

I bet when I cued that "spooky music" you thought this was going to be a SCARY story. HA! Gotcha!

The end.

Countdown to Halloween: Day 5

2010-10-26T09:15:00.002-06:00

Five days until Halloween! I thought I needed a kick in the pants to get me blogging again so each day until this Sunday I will be posting a Halloween-y post. Hurray! Get excited!

For our maiden voyage into Halloween blogging, I thought I'd share with you my Halloween decorations this year. I got paid to make these for work and get to use them to decorate my house for Halloween. Lucky me.

Next to our four foot hairy spider, I think I like this one best:

These banners are ridiculously easy, but nice and big to cover a lot of wall space. I liked it! However, if I hadn't done it for work I would've picked different fonts. I was trying to showcase how to use a lot of fonts in a single project. I guess it worked, but it's not quite my style.

The tree looks better in person, I think.

The end! Stay tuned tomorrow for another Halloween post. (Cue spooky sound effects.) Bwa ha ha ha!

Heavy Thoughts

2010-10-17T17:11:00.006-06:00

If you haven't noticed, I haven't felt much like blogging lately. For the past few months I've been feeling a little apocalyptical. It may be because of the current economical situation, or the expressions of hate in the media, or the fact that our political system is in chaos with no possible way of simplifying... or a combination of all of that and more. I'm not looking forward to November's elections or the media war that bathes every American in its political bloodshed. I'm skeptical that our economy is in "recovery" when my neighbors are still losing their jobs and my company is on the brink of failure.

In my mind, without even consciously planning, I've been preparing myself for worst case scenarios. Suppose our foreign oil suppliers decide to stop their shipments. Suppose there is massive revolt against the federal government and each city or state fends for themselves. Suppose there's a revolution. Suppose there's massive electronic warfare that extinguishes power sources. Suppose the dollar fails completely and all economic commerce as we know it ceases. What would I do in these situations?

In all honesty, I feel like I'd be able to survive. I know how to plant a garden and store food. I'm learning how to grind my own wheat and make bread from scratch. I've even had experience taking care of chickens! I feel like I'm handy with resources I have access to.

One thing that's often left out of doomsday scenarios is the emotional turmoil. Based on current conditions and biblical/religious predictions we know that human trials, pain and suffering will increase. This I don't think I'm ready for.

Lately I feel like there's been a rash of divorce among people I know. The most recent was my next-door neighbors growing up. They are amazing people whom I love and respect and they'd been married for 30 years! Every time I hear about a divorce I feel like someone has died. It's so heartbreaking to me, I'm dysfunctional for at least a day after learning the news.

Another prevalent pain is all the hate expressed about the gay rights movement from both sides. I have friends on both sides and I feel the pain for both sides. In spite of whatever opinion you may hold, there is no need for all the hate.

The political hate is just as unbearable to me. I feel sad for those who harbor so much aggression towards so many. Their hate inevitably includes people who never wronged them or don't hold the opinion that is assumed on them.

There is a painful lack of understanding in the world at large. There is so much selfishness, so much apathy, so much darkness and hate. And it all breaks my heart.

One of the attributes I'm constantly trying to include in my life is charity. Not just the "generous actions or donations to aid the poor, ill, or helpless" as states the first definition in the dictionary. Rather, the kind of charity I'm working on was stated by President Monson: "Tonight, however, I have in mind the charity that manifests itself when we are tolerant of others and lenient toward their actions, the kind of charity that forgives, the kind of charity that is patient.

"I have in mind the charity that impels us to be sympathetic, compassionate, and merciful, not only in times of sickness and affliction and distress but also in times of weakness or error on the part of others.

"There is a serious need for the charity that gives attention to those who are unnoticed, hope to those who are discouraged, aid to those who are afflicted. True charity is love in action. The need for charity is everywhere."

I want to be like that. I read recently a statement that said, "We cannot really feel charity--Christ's love for others--without at least tasting His suffering for others, because the love and the suffering are but two sides of a single reality." Maybe in my attempts to have charity for others, I'm also feeling their acute pain and suffering. I hope when it comes down to it, and more of my friends and family have hard times and sad times, I will be able to be on their side, always. I will be able to be that "love in action."

I Love...

2010-09-17T11:15:00.002-06:00

...to leave the front door open and watch Grace flit in and out like a little butterfly. I grew up in the Midwest and spent the past two years in the Midwest. I love the Midwest, but you can't do this in the Midwest. Here I can leave my door open for hours and not see a single bug. It makes me happy.

I was evaluating my New Year's goals, since we are nearing the end, and I'm feeling pretty good about my progress. In 2010 I want to find happiness and love in every single day. Check.

Stuffed with berries

2010-09-08T15:28:00.002-06:00

We went raspberry picking for Labor Day with cousins. The berries were perfect!

Just being there made me happy. It made Grace happy, too. She gorged on raspberries.

And when she couldn't pick raspberries from the bushes fast enough, she would take our buckets that we'd already picked and shove handfuls of them into her mouth.

Confession of a Nerd

2010-09-05T18:02:00.003-06:00

Anytime I come across a Crytoquip in the newspaper, I have to do it. I prefer the ones without clues. When they're finished, I always feel good about myself. Same goes for crossword puzzles. The end.

Funerals are sad

2010-08-27T14:07:00.002-06:00

I sang at a funeral yesterday. After the funeral a lady from church in relatively good health came up to me and said, "I want you to sing at my funeral."

I think I smiled and said, "oh" because anything else seemed inappropriate...

"Oh, I'd love to."
"I'd be happy to do that"
"I hope it's not too soon"
"Just let me know, I'll schedule it on my calendar"

What would you say?

From the depths of the internet

2010-08-12T22:03:00.002-06:00

I found these gems. My brother visited me my freshman year at college. He took these pictures then posted them online October 1999 so I could see them.

Check out Scott's hair! I remember when he first got it cut after this I was surprised he didn't actually have blonde hair.

ha ha ha. These make me laugh.

Peterson Party Weekend

2010-08-12T10:54:00.002-06:00

The first of August was Scott's Dad's birthday. To celebrate all his children decided to come to Utah to surprise him! It was lots of fun. The surprise dinner happened in our backyard. It was fun to play with all the cousins...

Look at the chickens...

Hang out with the sisters-in-law while all the brothers played basketball...

And chat with the adults.

The next day we went to the lake and played and played. It was a great weekend.

Pictured above are all the cousins that were there. (Thanks to Nettie, who I stole this photo from. I didn't have my camera at the lake.)

Daily Dose of Sesame Street

2010-07-26T12:47:00.003-06:00

This is one of Grace's favorite videos. We have a book with a picture of a bat. She points to the bat and starts to dance, then goes to the computer, requesting this song. Enjoy! (at least until they realize I posted it and remove access...)

I must admit, it's one of my favorites, too.

Horses, ponies and cats, oh my!

2010-07-24T11:30:00.002-06:00

A friend of ours owns some horses and a pony at a local stable. Since they know Grace loves animals so much they invited us to come visit. Grace was delighted! On top of the horses and ponies there were a dozen or more cats.
She got to pet the ponies and horses.

She got to sit on a pony. She loved it. She sat there perfectly still, just beaming for about five minutes.

There was even a baby pony at the stable. You can't tell in the photo, but this pony couldn't have been taller than 3 feet.

Thanks Patti and Makell for inviting Grace to see the animals!

Random Quote

2010-07-21T01:05:00.003-06:00

from my niece after examining a CD player

"Wow, it's like an iPod dock but for CDs."

Photo Commentary: Lake Superior Cruise

2010-07-20T21:51:00.003-06:00

Lake Superior

2010-07-20T15:54:00.004-06:00

I love this photo. It tells such a great story. That's my dad as the photographer, my sister Amber as the entertainer, and my sister Kali's family is the subject. Every time we have a family reunion we all get family pictures per Dad. I haven't received copies of mine from him yet, but while Amber was being my family's entertainer, one of my other sisters shot this photo below.
We were at the North Shore in Minnesota. I love it there.
My dad has a cool panorama feature on his camera. He took this photo on the 4th of July.
Here are all the grandkids. Can you see all 17?

That was a trick question. #17 is hard to see, seeing as he's still in utero. However, if you have x-ray vision he IS in the photo.

Welcome to our new place

2010-06-27T20:56:00.003-06:00

As promised, here is a peek at our new place! I made this floorplan, which is completely not proportionate. I just guesstimated, but it's close enough. All the gray areas are closets. Seriously.

Now before we get to the photos, there are still quite a few things out of place and lots of bare walls. This is a work in progress.

Here is the kitchen of paradise: (click to view bigger)
I am in LOVE with the bay windows. They create a charming space for our table... and look at all that floorspace!
Reminder: This is a basement apartment. Can you believe all that light! It's a dream. Really.

Here is our completely unflattered main room:
Well, except for the exceptionally handsome man and the darling baby girl, this room still has quite a ways to go. Not much has happened to it yet. For example, the desk pictured below will eventually go into the 3rd bedroom and the bike trailer will go... somewhere else.
Next is what Scott has decided is his favorite room and my tied for favorite (with the kitchen): Grace's bedroom.
Again, check out those bay windows! *in love*
Here we have the master bedroom. We finally gave in and got real matching nightstands. We feel so grown up. (Please ignore the vast white walls. We have plans for them, but haven't gotten that far yet.)
Laundry room, with new (to us) washer and dryer. No more earthquakes!
I had a photo of a bathroom, but I guess it got lost. Who cares about seeing a bathroom anyway. They're all the same. So, on to the 3rd bedroom.
This room will eventually become my office/craftroom/storage/study room for Scott/guest room. It's a very versatile room. We decided after this, it will be really hard to not have an extra bedroom. This space is quickly becoming very important to us.

So there you have it! At least twice as big as our old place. We feel pretty lucky.

Welcome to our backyard

2010-06-22T23:11:00.007-06:00

...or front yard, depending on how you view a basement apartment.

Here is a tour hosted by Grace. Enjoy!

This is my front door.
This is daddy playing the guitar. I like when daddy plays the guitar.
I listen and dance and sometimes he lets me play, too.
These are my current favorite toys. I carry them around everywhere. It's my way of letting mama know I want to play outside.
But not just outside. I want to play at the playground in my backyard! I don't care so much about the playground part...
I only want to play with the sand! I love everything about it. It's soft and warm. I spend a lot of time here dragging things through the sand, burying my feet and fingers, and enjoying all the sensations.
Sometimes mama gets into it, too, once she lets herself get dirty. We play in the sand together.
She tells me not to eat it and makes a yucky face. Sometimes I make the yucky face back. She still lets me eat it sometimes in the hopes that I will learn that sand is yucky.
But I still eat it cause it's cool.
These are the chickens that live in our backyard.
I like to point at them and watch them peck the ground. Mama and Daddy get nervous around the chickens sometimes and pull me back. They say I have no fear and my fingers will get pecked. I wanted to show the chickens my chicken finger puppet to see if they could be friends, but they just pecked at it.

We also have a tennis/basketball court which daddy loves and a big garden and a lot of flowers which mama loves. We're so lucky to have such a cool backyard, even if we're just borrowing it. Come and play! I love visitors.

We made it!

2010-06-17T23:19:00.006-06:00

We arrived safely and our stuff arrived... not necessarily so safely, but it's here and we'll manage. In honor of our arrival I christened our kitchen with the welcoming Official State Food of Utah:

By the way, it's not very easy to photograph Jell-O. It looked better in person. And tasted better than it looks.

Mini updates: Scott has been consumed with studying for the Board exam which he is taking tomorrow (I mean today... boy it's late). Please send good vibes our way! Grace has been dancing up a storm to any rhythm she can hear, create or imagine. Her most recent move is stomping one foot. It's the best! We'll have to try and catch it on video. I've been trying to set up our new home and keep up my work responsibilities which are shifting yet again. I'll have more info soon along with a virtual tour of our new place.

A conversation we had today

2010-05-30T19:34:00.005-06:00

while I was cutting Scott's hair. I was trying a new tool to cut the hair around his left ear.

Britta:
*gasp*
(pause)
(trying to sound casual) "Hmm, that cut your hair shorter than I thought it would."

Scott:
"Are you trying to teach me a lesson?"

Britta:
"I'm trying to teach myself a lesson."
*laugh laugh*

(a few minutes later while working on the right ear)
"This side looks great!"
*laugh laugh*

It seems unfair...

2010-05-29T21:22:00.006-06:00

...that in the midst of packing up your house to move, working double hours, chasing after a baby all day, cleaning the messes and tackling the yard work you still have to figure out how to feed your family.

I looked in my fridge today and found three boxes of butter, a half jar of marachino cherries, garlic, Grape Jelly and two week old meat in a tupperware. Hmmm... what can I make with that? Throw in the fact that we sold our microwave, so we can't reheat anything easily. Also throw in the fact that all our dishes and glasses are packed away, so if it's finger food it's even better.

It was time to admit we had to go shopping once more before we move. Tonight we got bread and peanut butter. At least we can use the Jelly! Anyone need butter?

We've taken the plunge

2010-05-28T09:12:00.002-06:00

Just a couple weeks after holding the future of television in our hands, we have taken it a step further. We are now a TV-free family!

This will certainly make moving that much easier. We'll see how this works... I'm hoping the end result will be more productivity for me, more one on one time with Grace, and discovering different ways to unwind at the end of the day. I hope I don't go crazy!

Lucky 7

2010-05-16T21:39:00.003-06:00

Happy Anniversary, Scott! I love you!

Photo taken Fall of 1999 (I know, not 7 years ago at our wedding, but I took whatever picture I could conveniently find.)

We have the Power!

2010-05-12T21:24:00.003-06:00

For the past week we've been a Nielson TV viewing research home. The future of television is in our hands! (And they paid us $10! Lucky us.)

One Year Stats

2010-05-05T21:14:00.003-06:00

Baby Stats:

Height 29" (50%)

Weight 18.0 lbs (10%)

Number of teeth, 2.5 (one just came in last week)

Walking 40% of the time, crawling 40% of the time, falling in a helpless whining baby heap until I pick her up 20% of the time.

Babbles a lot, has maybe a dozen words including duck, dog, moo, num num, up, da da, book...

Sleeps 10-11 hours per night, takes two naps during day.

The doctor said she needed to drink more milk but she cries 80% of the time I try to feed her cow's milk. Still nursing 2-3 times a day.

Mama Stats:

Height still 5'9"

Weight back to pre-pregnancy weight, but body is different shape and has less tone.

Coordination down 60%, clumsiness up exponentially.

Sleep about 7 hours a night.

Patience down 40%, I used to think I was a patient person. Still working on this.

Working about 10 hours a week.

Stressed out a lot easier. Still working on this, too.

One of these things just doesn't belong . . .

2010-05-04T10:29:00.005-06:00

Can you tell which thing is not like the others by the time I finish my song?

We saw this in a store of the "TJ Maxx" ilk, though I don't think it was TJ Maxx, maybe it was Marshall's? Anyhow, we couldn't resist documenting this for posterity's sake. (Can you find me and Grace in the pic?)

Dogs

2010-05-02T20:22:00.002-06:00

Grace loves dogs. Her first word was "duck" but her second word was "dog." She gets super excited every time she sees one. She had no fear playing with Lily when we were visiting the grandparents, even when Lily nipped and jumped. For her birthday Scott ordered Grace this book:

We've had the "Cat" book since Grace was born and she loves it, but now a book about dogs? Even better.

Between Scott and me, I think we've read this book at least a dozen times just today. Grace carries it to us and sits in our lap. There's one page where you can make the dog shake it's head and Grace shakes with it. She kisses the dogs. She pets the dogs. She smiles at the dogs and wiggles with the dogs. It's adorable.

So tonight we thought we'd take it to the next level and bring out the BIG dog book...

oh. my. goodness. She loved it.

She even freely gave kisses. So cute. I love that she loves dogs.

Golden Number ONE!

2010-05-02T19:28:00.004-06:00

Happy Birthday, Grace! We had a picnic at the park, but it was cold and windy so the candle didn't say lit.

Our video camera broke, too, so I just have stills. Here is the play by play. Grace was pleased to have the cake in front of her.
However, she was so distracted by the crowd watching her that she just let her fingers do the work massaging the cake for about a minute or two.
She needed a little help from Daddy to start the tasting.
She didn't have much problem after that. Here is the final damage. Not too bad.
Cute girl. We love her so much!

Going . . . Going . . . Gone!

2010-04-30T14:36:00.003-06:00

It took 4 days from the time we put the sign out until we received an offer we couldn't refuse (but not in a "Godfather" sort-of-way).

Dedicated to Grandma Linda

2010-04-30T14:23:00.002-06:00

because she gave Grace this adorable jean skirt.

When we got it, she told me how much she loves little babies in jean skirts. Especially if they have striped leggings on.
And especially as they're crawling with their little skirt flapping up.
So here's for you, mom. Wish you could see it in person, but I hope this will do for now.
We love you, Grandma!

Mmmmm, Dirt

2010-04-20T22:02:00.005-06:00

I've decided to plant a garden this spring. For those of you who remember last year's garden, it failed. After I had Grace all my little plants died from neglect. This year that will not happen. My garden is already growing outside!

Today Grace joined me while I gardened. It gets complicated when Grace wants to be where I am

and do what I'm doing.
So to keep my plants alive, I had to intervene by picking Grace off the garden over and over. I was trying to plant seeds in the second garden box, but Grace kept crawling on the first. After 15 minutes of getting no gardening done, I gave in and let Grace have at it. I hadn't planted any seeds yet, so I put her on the dirt.

She reveled in it. She started by digging her fingers and toes in the soft, moist soil.
Followed by quality checks in taste
and rubbing the dirt all over her body.
I guess the soil passed her approval. After rubbing it all the way up her body, she rejoiced with hands in the air.
Then gave it an applause.
I didn't have any confetti on hand for her, but she was resourceful and celebrated by throwing the dirt up in the air
again
and again.
Needless to say, our dirt fest ended in the bath tub. It was a fun afternoon, but I hope this doesn't happen every time I have to weed my garden...