Little Man

When did this
turn into this?

Do mothers ever stop worrying about capturing the sweetness of every day?

At least I know he's still my little man... for now.

Waiting for Daddy to Get Home

I found this at the top of the stairs last night... two hours after I'd put her to bed.

Annual Hair Cut

It has been time for Leah's annual hair cut for about 4 months now. If her hair's not pulled back in clips or ponytails, it hangs in her eyes and looks so scraggly.

Leah has been very concerned about getting her hair cut (if you cut it all off then I will look like a BOY!), and it has taken a good 3 weeks of convincing to get her to agree that, yes, it's time. Her hair is a very real part of how she views herself, and it's probably her favorite thing about herself. And anyone who's spent more than 5 minutes with Leah knows that she twirls it for comfort like crazy. Cutting off too much hair would be like voluntarily shredding her baby blanket.

But, finally, today was the day.

Is it just me (and Leah) or do you always seem to have a semi-cute hair day as you're on your way to cut it all off?

We headed back to Cookie Cutters, the location of Leah's first real haircut and the 84 imaginary haircuts I have given her since then, and once the TV was on, she didn't even notice she was getting a cut.


Adam and I hung out near by for moral support.


And ta-da! The semi-final product. I actually took her back to the chair to get another two inches taken off after this picture, but this is essentially what it looks like now. Pretty much the same, and that is just what we were going for.


She hasn't mentioned the new length yet (much too busy eating the reward ice cream and lamenting over her lost-to-the-sky pink balloon), so I'm guessing the non-hair cut hair cut was a success!

Cucumber Boats

One of my favorite memories as a child is of making cucumber boats at my grandma's house and racing them in her little pond. So today we decided to make our own!

First, Adam did a quality control check.


Then we hollowed out the middle, added a sail, and sent them to sea!


Leah thought it was pretty cool that we could sail our veggies.


We even got a little passenger to test the waters!


See! I really do know how to play with my kids...

As She Sees It

If only I could remember all of the hilarious, insightful, and innoncent things Leah says every day.

*****

Me, to Jason: Let's go! You're killing me, Smalls!

Leah, to Jason: You're not small... You're killing me, Bigs!

*****

Leah, making up silly words: Lilo and Stitch! Filo and Fitch! Bilo and (B word that rhymes with Stitch)

Me: feigning indifference: That's silly. Don't say that.

Leah: Bilo and (B word that rhymes with Stitch)! Bilo and (B word that rhymes with Stitch)! Bilo and (B word that rhymes with Stitch)!

*****

Leah, watching people in a hotel lobby drinking coffee, points to an older couple: Mom, that must be Mr. and Mrs. Rogers... (points to a younger woman) and that must be Amelia Bedelia! (She's been devouring the Amelia Bedelia books lately, and the Rogers' are the only people she's seen drink coffee!

*****

In Sunbeams class, Leah's teacher asked everyone to share something fun they do with their family.

Leah: I broke my best jeweled hair clip and my mom threw it away!

Teacher: That's too bad, but what is something fun you do with your family?

Leah: Play tea party. But my mom doesn't have time to play with me. And she threw away my hair clip!

... that one's not really funny, just a pretty good glimpse of what it seems Leah remembers most. I post on this blog in hopes that some day she'll realize that we have lots of good times together, too!

Blueberries

We picked blueberries this weekend! I didn't know for sure how blueberries grow, so it was very enlightening seeing them fresh on the bush. Sad, I know.


Leah was completely fickle about the whole experience. "I don't like blueberries. (tastes one) Oh, actually, I do like blueberries. (20 minutes later) No, I told you I don't like blueberries."


Adam, on the other hand, has eaten at least 30 blueberries a MEAL for the last several days. He loves them!


And after writing a small poem about the joys of picking blueberries, Jason taught Adam the fine art of selecting the best ones.


Yum!

The Harvest

We enjoyed the first fruits of our labor this past week- a beautiful bunch of broccoli- complete with a little caterpillar!


Jason treats our little garden like his third child, which is probably for the best, since the rest of us have pretty much lost interest in it all together. We have a bit of Little Red Hen syndrome around here- none of us want to help with the work, but we are happy to share the harvest!

Trying New Things

Leah started swim lessons this week. So far, it has been a far cry from this experience (thankfully) but she is still uncertain about getting her swim dress or her hair wet. Apparently getting wet isn't what she had in mind when she signed up for the class.

Leah is such an observer. She needs to know ALL about something before she is willing to give it a try- the what, when, and why of it all. I am not exactly a risk taker, so I'm pretty sure I can guess where she got her cautious side from.

She told me yesterday before her class that she wasn't going to talk to anyone, "Not even my teacher". She isn't shy, necessarily, she just needs to know what to expect before she will try ANYTHING. I think that is okay.

But still, when I see her sitting on the sidelines, twirling her hair and refusing to participate, I want to step in and make her do it (whether IT might be twirling in dance class, getting her hair wet in swim class, or even just trying watermelon). I want her to trust me and know that I actually do know what I'm talking about!

But no, she has to try it herself after thoroughly examining the situation and deciding how she FEELS about it first. And I have to step back and let her go at her own pace. It's all about agency, right?I'm guessing this is going to be a lifelong lesson... for both of us.

Natural Wonders

I wonder if we'll ever live here long enough to no longer be amazed by the forces of nature that currently provide so much entertainment out our window.

The lighting-

wind-

and rain-

are just about all the fun and excitement we can handle!

Tempting...

The beauty of photos like this-

and this-
just might be enough to get me looking at SLR cameras. Any suggestions?

The Father's Day that should have been...

Jason and I are pretty lame when it comes to celebrating Mother's and Father's Day. We figure it's a chance for the kids to celebrate their parents, so until they learn to get out of bed to cook us breakfast and shower us with gifts, it's pretty much a regular day.

Of course, we still had the extra-special breakfast feast, and Jason still got to put his feet up for the major part of the day.

But I'm pretty sure that this day will go down in history as the Father's Day that I tried to get two uncooperative kids to answer interview-style questions about their daddy while recording them on the video camera, only to later discover that I was actually recording over the only footage we have of Leah and Adam meeting for the first time in the hospital.

I hope some day that Father's Day video is the most cherished glimpse I have of our 3- and nearly 1-year-old children.

But still. Happy Father's Day to the most amazing dad Leah and Adam could ask for. Even if they didn't express it, I'm sure they were thinking it.

A few Adam extras

When naptime is over, it's over. I came into Adam's room yesterday to find his monkey and crab tossed over the side of the crib, the blanket that covers his window pulled to the ground, his pants off, and his diaper full of poo (although, thankfully, still in place).

I discovered today that he can shake his head when he wants to tell me "no". So helpful! This should greatly reduce the chapstick throwing incidences I mentioned yesterday.

Oh, and he really loves this little obstacle course that he made for himself, too.

Adam's Day!

I can't believe that we are in the final month of Adam's first year. I get a little panicky when I realize he will be 1 in just a few short weeks!


Adam loves to point at everything right now. He's getting to the point (no pun intended) that he can show me what he's interested in.


He's starting to "talk", or use sounds we can actually recognize as words. He says "mama" for me, "da" for Jason (or any other adult male), and something like "Eeeeehhaaaaahhh" for Leah.

He knows how to get my attention when I'm distracted- yesterday we were handing a bottle lid back and forth to each other, and when I missed my turn, he opened up my hand for me and put the lid in my palm. He also loved pulling up on me and wrapping his entire body around my leg.

He throws darling (at this point) little fits if I set him down, and will throw things when he's mad. I'm guessing this will be a topic of greater conversation on this blog in years to come.

And his favorite activity continues to be putting things inside other things...

whether it be a play-doh mold into a bowl,

a straw into a smoothie,
or, in this case, an arm into a bracelet.

We have got to come up with some good, manly toys for this little guy's birthday!

The Fingerprints Get Higher and Higher...

... and then they disappear.

Have you ever heard that quote? So true, and so depressing.

Some days it drives me crazy that the house is wrecked, the dishes are piled high, and the dinner should have been started 30 minutes ago. But lately I mostly just feel happiness and contentment. Happy that I can be home with my babies while I am still their favorite playmate, and content with the endless stories, make-believes, hugs and smiles that go along with it.

Wii!

It's all fun and games...

...until Mom steps on someone's finger while she's doing step aerobics.

Who needs a pool?

When it gets too hot, we just hose each other off in the backyard.

Leah is a pro at working the sprayer.

Of course, no one likes to be sprayed too much.

Revenge!

I managed to stay fairly dry (this time)!

Kentucky Fried Chicken

We are about equal distance from the Chicago and Louisville, Kentucky temples, and this past weekend we decided to head south. Louisville is a beautiful little city- there are HUGE bridges and the Ohio River cutting right through the Indiana and Kentucky state lines. The drive was beautiful, the air was muggy, and the temple was tiny! Those mini temples really are mini!


We wanted to get a family picture in front of the temple, but there was no one around to take it. Jason balanced the camera on top of a car across the parking lot, but then didn't get to us in time for the picture to take. Oh well- at least we are all in the picture!


It was a great day trip, and while we considered getting real Kentucky Fried Chicken for dinner, Ruby Tuesday won out. It's one of my most favorite restaurants, and there isn't one in our town.... mmm... tuna noodle skroodle...

And the rains came tumbling down

It is tornado season. The air is thick and wet and chewy all the time, and it rains almost every day. And every rainstorm is actually a thunderstorm which usually turns into a tornado watch. The tornado warning sirens go off constantly.

On our way home from Kentucky last weekend, we watched as a mighty storm came rolling across the sky and followed us all the way home. We passed several cars that had stopped under overpasses to wait out the storm.


We got caught in a rainstorm yesterday as we were walking home from a friends house, and I found myself RUNNING home, dragging the kids behind me in the wagon. I couldn't tell if they were laughing or crying, but I didn't turn around to look until we were home.

I think they were too stunned to do either.


Our family home evening lesson last night was about tornadoes and what we will do if one hits. The thunder literally shook the house and knocked pictures off the wall after the lesson.

Miraculously, we haven't lost power during a storm yet. And while the rain and thunder wake me and Jason up almost every night, the kids sleep right through it.

And when the rain subsides, we get beautiful flowers and full arch double rainbows.

It is terrifying being the Responsible Adult in situations like this. We are trying to teach Leah the seriousness of the weather, but she is too busy enjoying the rainbows to notice the storm.

Huh. That kind of sounds like a life lesson, doesn't it?