Springtime Memories

Besides aforementioned birthdays and field trips, lots of playtime, naps and Arthur, this spring wasn't too eventful.

But there are some highlights of the past few months I don't want to forget:

-running/jogging our first 5K together in April around the beginnings of the new Kansas City temple--even with Mike not trained and me pregnant we made under 10 minute miles, so we were happy. Hopefully, it was the first of many!

-chaperoning the Stake Prom with Mike (also April), where I was both asked to dance and questioned when heading out to the parking lot unchaperoned...I'm guessing I won't get mistaken for a teenager much longer, so I am trying to enjoy it.

-my girls' concern, sympathy and occasional laughs from Kate at my morning sickness

-enjoying salad and green onions from our garden (and it looks like the zucchini, squash and tomatoes are about to really get going)

-singing for a funeral for an elderly man in our church--it was such a special experience and such a lovely song ("How Great Thou Art"). I am so grateful for opportunities like that (and so grateful for my sweet sister-in-law Nadine who brought her kids over and watched the girls so they had fun while I was gone).

-lazy Sunday nights--baking treats and sing-alongs with the girls (which sometimes turned into twirling sessions)

-watching and laughing at e-How episodes on the Blu-Ray with Mike--we now know more about gardening, relationships, babies and dating (though the dating advice is about five years too late). Favorite quote from "How to Make Someone Jealous": "Well, the first thing you have to ask yourself is, 'Why do I want to make this person jealous?' "

A Semi-Typical Day

Do you ever get overwhelmed by all the things you know you'll forget? The thoughts and epiphanies you had. The songs and shows and books you liked. The recipes that were your favorite. The cute and funny things your kids said and did. The stories your mom and dad told you. The fun times with siblings and friends. The sweet moments you and your husband shared. Even the hard times you faced.

Sometimes it makes it worse for me that there are so many ways to record these things: Handwritten journals, letters and e-mails to family and friends, date books, blogs, video and audio recordings, photo albums, scrapbooks. At times the thought that I will only manage to get down a tiny fraction of all those little moments that make up my life makes me want to give up. Also, because I am crazy, I sometimes worry about a fire, flood or other natural disaster wiping out all of my physical efforts at recording or some sort of huge internet glitch wiping out all of my online ones. But I know I will be forever grateful for whatever I find it feasible to record, and that keeps me trying. Just the act of recording and thinking about recording, helps me cement some of the memories and experiences in my brain as well. And, of course, I know the most important thing is, like I said in the marshmallow post, to enjoy the moments at hand while I have them. And I think I usually do a fairly good job of that. (By the way, were any of you impressed with the amount of times I used the word marshmallow in that post? It may be as many as I have in the rest of my life combined.)

Since I rarely, if ever, journal a day anymore, I thought it was about time. Just so I can remember what this stage of life is like.

Kate woke me up a little after seven. I was a bit tired. Actually, Mike and I had been up a bit late the night before planning how to better organize and store our photo records. So I brought Kate back to bed with me for twenty minutes so she could crawl on my head and try to tussle with Mike. I finally got out of bed and Kate and I played for a little while. Then Maggie started to stir and Kate hurried to greet her, followed by me. (I love that my girls always run to greet each other when the other wakes. They usually beat me.) We had family prayer with Mike, who then left for work, enjoyed an easy cereal breakfast and talked about the day's plans. (Maggie didn't fall asleep last night thinking about having cinnamon chip scones for breakfast, so we didn't have to make those this morning. That was last week.)

After breakfast, I gave in to chants of "Do-ra, Do-ra" since the girls have been so good about not watching TV on Sundays and I had some things to get done. (Dora really is the favorite lately. A month ago it was Arthur. And before that Curious George, Angelina Ballerina, Kipper, Pooh Bear, Little Bear, and Elmo all had a turn.) I got in a little scripture reading, prayer and made my bed. Then as the girls played, I tidied up a bit and finished some year-end financial records for a local group for stay-at-home moms, where I am helping out as treasurer. (Sometimes I feel a little silly to be in a stay-at-home moms club, but I joined when we first moved here and feel it's a good way to be involved in our community and have made some great friends through it.)

We met up with some friends at the local coffee shop where we had yummy, chocolate, non-coffee containing shakes, chatted and finished up MOMS business while the kids played. Maggie was thrilled her best friends Molly, Brock, and Dalton were there. Afterwards, I dropped some checks at the bank, then got the grocery shopping done while the kids were amazingly good in the car cart. (The fun mom in me came out this past winter and I finally realized I needed to start seeking out the car carts.) Maggie enjoyed helping me look for items and putting the produce in bags for me.

We got home a little later than usual for lunch, but managed to still catch Mike for a few minutes. He helped me unload the groceries and played with the girls for a bit before heading back to work.

After lunch, I cleaned up the kitchen and finished putting away groceries. Then I read to the girls before naptime. Maggie helped me read a story about Dora (surprise!) to Kate and the girls enjoyed laughing like Swiper the thieving fox, "Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha." Maggie has been amazing at filling in words in stories she's heard for the past year or more and I since the fall I sometimes find her "reading" Kate entire books from memory.

After that, Kate went down for her nap. Unfortunately, I can't usually let Maggie take a nap anymore, because, if I do, she is up until past ten. Even if she's in bed. She will talk to herself and get bored and keep calling me. So Maggie and I played doctor. She was the mom (and later Dr. Maggie) and I was the baby/patient. When I voiced my fear of going to the doctor, she was very reassuring: "Don't worry. The doctor is so nice. You will get a sticker. It won't be so bad."

I would have never known she was the same girl who was bawling at just the thought of leaving for a doctor appointment a week-and-a-half ago. Who when I tried to comfort her, reminding her she was not up for any shots and that the doctor just wanted to measure her, told me that we had a measuring tape at home. Luckily, during that visit the doctor was very kind and reassuring and Maggie ended up coaching Kate through her measurements, saying "It's not so bad Katie. You're just fine." In fact, she later floored me by telling me going to the doctor was her favorite part of the day.

Anyway, my visiting teacher Jennifer arrived for her appointment interrupting our doctor play. (We have a wonderful program known as visiting teaching in our church where we each look out for a couple other woman in our congregation. As visiting teachers, we try to visit or contact our teachees with our visiting teaching partner once or month or so and see how their life is going and if we can be of any help or special service. It is a wonderful way to make friends and serve each other.)

The girls were thrilled that my visiting teacher's teenage daughter was with her and enjoyed playing with her/bugging her to read them stories. And I had a lovely visit with my friend, so I didn't mind giving up my normal nap/chore/play/dinner prep time. Jennifer and I also work together in the Young Women's presidency at church, a group for girls ages 12-18, and I have enjoyed getting to know her and her wonderful family.

Mike arrived home around five and we used his new grill wok to make some delicious steak fajitas. While we prepped dinner, the girls were playing pretend. Kate's pretend is usually just dressing up and pretending to eat play food or coins (I don't know why she thinks coins are fun to pretend to eat, but she often offers me one). Maggie is encouraging Kate to become a little more sophisticated in her play. Today when I went down to see what they were up to, Maggie and Kate were packing bags with all their play food and dishes. I asked Maggie where they were going and was told "the Soda Shop." Later, it was to college and class. College is a recurring theme lately. Last week, Maggie and her cousin Ava were going to high school one minute and the next to college and to get married! Time really does fly. Then they took their play outside and played on the playset while Dad grilled. Kate loves to swing on the side bar of the swing set lately. She really is my little monkey.

Our fajitas really did turn out wonderfully. They were made even more amazing by the fact that I made fresh and delicious guacamole and pico de gallo to accompany them.

This is the best fajita marinade:

¼ cup fresh lime juice (about 3-4 limes)
1/3 cup water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons apple cider or red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons soy sauce
½ teaspoons chili powder
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon liquid smoke
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon onion powder

I got it off my favorite go-to recipe blog, melskitchencafe.blogspot.com, and have been using it for over a year. I usually use it on cut up chicken (or the occasional steak) in the skillet and it is always delicious. But over the grill? I felt like I was at a mid-scale restaurant. Up the decor and dinnerware and it would have been upscale. I was really glad that the top sirloin was on such a good sale today.

After dinner, it was Family Home Evening. We are missing Family Home Evenings with our cousins this summer, but are so glad to have Mike around a little more. He still has school work, but not as many classes, as more of his work in online this summer. And responsibilities as president for Young Men's (the boys' youth organization) at church have eased a little right now and he isn't having to devote as many weekend hours, which is nice. We'll have to invite the cousins here!

I will have to film a Family Home Evening sometime because the girls are so cute. Or a Family Council. I love talking in an organized fashion to the girls and seeing how they react. Kate usually wanders around, randomly participating, and Maggie either gets really into the lesson or discussion or tries to take it over and lead it. She conducted family night tonight. She opened with the "Aloha!" that is tradition since Mike's parents' Hawaiian days. Then gave us a prayer and conducted the song (I love that both my girls have mimicked conducting soon after their first birthday). Mike gave us a lesson on reverence (we love the lessons from the nursery manual) and I was again amazed by how much little kids understand and pick up on. Not long ago, Maggie told us she was giving the lesson and picked up the nursery manual and gave us an entire lesson on the prophet Joseph Smith using a picture from it as her prop. She knew the whole story. And last week when I gave a lesson on obedience and asked if she knew what it means to obey she said, "Umm, it's... like...to listen." (Obviously, I say "umm" and "like" too much.) Kate was so cute joining it for the action rhyme. She loves those now.

We ate yummy donuts for dessert and then rushed to get baths in before bedtime. Lately, Kate has started "swimming" in the tub (lying on her tummy and swishing her arms back and forth) and Maggie always wears her "goo-goo goggles" during bathtime (I don't know why she calls them that). Luckily, Kate has stopped her habit of parasailing on the towel bar in the tub every time she is put in the tub. She now only does it occasionally. And Mike was sweet enough to do the dishes for me while I was bathing the girls, even though he had already done much of the cooking.

After that, the girls pretended to hide for a few minutes under their hooded towels and we got pajamas on. Kate is always trying to get her own clothes on now and actually does a good job. The only problem is that she usually puts on clothes she finds in the dirty laundry and half the time they are Maggie's anyway. We had a mini-dance party to Coconut Records, then we hurried to read scriptures and say prayers with Dad before he headed out to mow. We always sing a Primary song, then read a few scriptures (anywhere from one to several, depending on the girls' moods) and say prayer. We sang "Reverently, Quietly" tonight, but my favorite to hear Kate sing is "I Lived in Heaven." She has an adorable way of holding out the last word/note in every line. What's really cute about it is she doesn't hit that many of the words, but she gets a lot of the pitches and watches your mouth carefully to try to catch the words she knows, all with a huge smile.

After Dad went out to mow, we did a quick pick-up to "Clean-up" by Ralph's World and then read Llama, Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney, one of the girls' favorite stories. Kate LOVES to be read to and favorites over the past six months have included Clip-Clop, Dr. Seuss's ABC, Goodnight Moon, Llama Llama, and Katy Duck. The past month she has gotten increasingly reactive to stories and gets extremely concerned during a climax. She will make worried whimpers and even try to turn the page early or close the book sometimes.

My girls don't do well with conflict (unless they are causing it). We joked that's why Maggie loves Little Bear so much: It's the perfect show. No conflict. No plot. Just happy things happening.

Well, after storytime, I turned on the girls' "songs" (they like to fall asleep to the Primary Songs CD) and we talked about our favorite parts of the day while I held Kate's hand for a couple minutes. Maggie always wants me to not only tell her my favorite part of the day and listen to hers, but also speculate as to what Kate's and Dad's favorite parts were and anyone else who happens to come to mind. I left when she was thinking about cookie-making, so I'm guessing she will wake up wanting to bake tomorrow. Kate was being goofy and hiding under her blanket when I left. Typical.

No two days are exactly the same around here, but that was our semi-typical day. Had it been an ideal day, I would have woken before the girls. Started some laundry first thing. Walked to the coffee shop to get some exercise. Done a "school-time" activity with Maggie. Practiced our scripture of the week (which usually turns into our scripture of the month). Finished my Monday chores. Practiced piano. Finished reading the manual to my camera. The list goes on. But hey, it was about as ideal as it gets. My ideal day is 36 hours long. So I just have to rotate through all my good ideas. :)

And now you all see why and are really glad that I don't journal every day. I'd be impressed if many of you get to this point.

Field Trips

Between morning sickness and the exhaustion of the first trimester and trying to put any newfound energy this trimester to catching up on household projects and enjoying time with my family, I have neglected recording many of our comings and goings. Over the coming week I intend to get some of our favorite memories of the spring recorded, so get ready to tune in or tune out, depending on your interest in the trivial events of our lives. :)

Over the past few months, I have started doing some little at-home preschool activities with Maggie and we went on several fun field trips with friends.

We visited the Kansas City Zoo for the first time in March. Maggie loved seeing the animals from a safe distance (she is not super brave around animals...takes after her parents that way). The polar bear was swimming around close to the window when we saw him. Maggie loved to be right up to the window, until he swam by. Then she would back away, turning her face into my legs. I just love that little girl. Kate loved to point and laugh at the animals too. And they enjoyed stroller-hopping between my double-stroller and their friends'. It was a beautiful, hot day, out of place in our cool and dreary spring. By the time we took that picture together before we left, we were rather warm and sticky, but were glad to have gotten some time outdoors. Maggie kept asking if we could go swimming like the polar bears. Economically, it ended up being a perfect time to go too because both the girls were under three and free. And my ticket was half-price because part of the zoo was closed, but the portion that was open was more than enough for us. I know the trip was a huge success in Maggie's eyes because the next week, she put on the same dress she wore to the zoo and said, "I'm ready to go to the zoo again!" She was rather disappointed when that didn't play out as she'd hoped.

In April we were able to visit a children's museum in the area called Wonderscope. The girls loved it and I really want to take them back again. It's an old school and all the rooms are transformed into different stations: These include a farm-to-grocery discovery zone, ramps and slides for tots, a water play area, an art room, a large room with ball ramps and shoots, and a lego creation area. Both girls loved the water play and ramp room. Maggie could have stayed in the art room, painting glue all day. And Kate was adorable with one of the kid-sized, metal grocery cart. She wanted to take it exploring all over the museum with her. For a while I let her, but then we finally hit some stairs. She was devastated when I wouldn't let her try to take it down them.

Our May trip was to a children's farmstead and petting zoo with some friends. We visited back a few weeks later with Mike. Kate was so cute with the goats both times. I wished I could have gotten her on video. (We tried, but it didn't really come out. It's so hard to catch those cute moments.) She was so excited by them she kept waving her arms and laughing. She wanted to feed them, but then would chicken out right as she held the food up to the goat and would pull it back again and give it to me, preferring to live vicariously. After the goat took the food from me she would giggle and gasp with this cute little "oh" face. Finally, on our second trip, she got up the courage and fed a few herself. I love Kate's adventurous, fun-loving spirit.

Marshmallows

I hope your Father's Day was happy. Ours was. I am so blessed to have a husband, father, and father-in-law who are all so devoted and loving examples of how to be a good dad.

Today the girls made up for last Sunday when they spilled 3 lbs. of almonds over the bedroom floor and water all over the kitchen and bathroom floors. (I guess I wasn't supervising very well.) They were cute as can be, as always. Twirling after I helped them get their Sunday dresses on. Singing little Primary songs as they bopped around the house (Kate really tries to sing a lot now--she loves to sing the "meee" in "I Am a Child of God"). Maggie rolling up "present" (aka crescent) rolls for our Father's Day dinner. Kate toddling upstairs to give Mike their Father's Day card, but then playing keep-away with it instead. Maggie running upstairs with Mike's gift bag announcing, "We gave you a tie for Father's Day!"

We are still waiting on the grill baskets we ordered for Mike's Father's Day present, but we didn't let it deter us from a lovely grilled Father's Day meal, and we enjoyed our meat and veggies as kabobs instead. And I am so happy raspberries are in season. They topped delicious dark chocolate brownies and whipped cream. :)

Around this time last year I fell in love with a conference talk by Elder Uchtdorf called "Continue in Patience". In it he references a study that tested the will-power of four-year-old children. They were left with a marshmallow and told that if they waited to eat it for fifteen minutes, they could have two. You must watch the following video, which includes clips from his talk and video of adorable children waiting for their marshmallows.

Anyway, when I fell in love with that talk, I was struggling to be patient for a "marshmallow" I was (and still am) waiting for. We all have "marshmallows" we are waiting for. A new car, a better job, a bigger house...It could be non-material, like an attribute or skill you want to develop. Or experiential, going to college or getting married. Maybe you're four and it really is just a marshmallow. But the nice thing about life is that Heavenly Father doesn't make us wait empty-handed (or empty-mouthed--whichever you prefer). He blesses us with other marshmallows, sometimes unexpected ones, to enjoy along the way. He gives us opportunities to work towards future marshmallows, making them all the more meaningful. And if we will ask in prayer, he will help us align our will with his to make sure we are working towards the right marshmallows, the biggest and best of which being eternal life with Him and His Son with our families by our sides.

Five years ago, I loved to daydream about this stage of life I'm in. I wanted to know when and who I would marry (and was growing more and more certain I had found one right for me). I wondered where I would live and what I would be doing. I couldn't wait to have little children running around. I tried to imagine how it would all go. It was a fun way to pass the time. But I hope I didn't overlook the marshmallows I was already enjoying (a college education, going on dates without needing a babysitter, uninterrupted sleep, plenty of me-time, self-development without guilt...). I am realizing more and more that the process towards a desired goal can be a marshmallow in and of itself. Sometimes if you skip right to a marshmallow you think you want, you can miss out on others you may have had along the way.

I still do a lot of daydreaming. I have days when I think more about marshmallows I don't have than the ones I do. When I do too much longing and not enough enjoying. Or alternately when I worry about losing the marshmallows I currently have, because most marshmallow don't last forever and some necessarily exclude others. But my happiest days are when I remember to enjoy the many marshmallows I have now and work on progressing towards those future ones, continually checking to make sure they are the right ones for me and my family.

I just want to say I really love my life. That's not to say it doesn't have it's challenges. And I do want to remember those too, so that I can always be compassionate when friends or loved ones face similar challenges. But I love the marshmallows I have right now. I love life as a homemaker and full-time mother of two darling little girls. I love that a few months from now we will have another sweet baby join our family. I love that Mike works nearby and comes home to lunch with us daily. That we frequently drop by his work to say hi or drop off a fresh-baked treat. I love that we live in such a quaint community where we have many friends and acquaintances and, if not all the stores I want, all that I really need. I love our lovely shaded park where we can always find a swing and our town swimming pool with the it's fantastic graded-entry shallow end including water spouts, baby slide and huge umbrella that keeps my fair girls from getting too much sun. I love our library and fantastic story times and our librarian, Ms. Deb, who lets the girls sit on her lap and check out their own books. (One time last fall we went to the library and Ms. Deb was not there that day. Maggie went peering around shelves at the library going "Ms. Deb? Where are you?") I love that I can take walks with the girls almost anywhere I want in town. I love that church is a mere three miles away. I love that the girls are old enough to be left while Mike and I go out for a date (though I still love our at-home ones as well). I love that my girls get to play with their cousins often and that my wonderful sister-in-laws here in Kansas have become close friends.

Even cleaning up almonds with my girls was a bit of a marshmallow. I won't get to do things like that forever. And they were awfully cute about it.

Yes, I have a lot of marshmallows I am waiting for. And many others that I miss. But life is good.

A Year-and-a-Half!

Kate is eighteen months as of last Thursday. And she is too adorable for words. We just love her to pieces. (Not literally, of course.)

Our little girl is incredibly loving. Kate gives great hugs (the best are when she tucks her arms in) and kisses (which have thankfully graduated to closed mouth, with a loud smack). She often enjoys making the rounds to give a bit of affection to everyone whenever we gather with friends or family. She runs to the door saying "Dadda" whenever she hears the garage door and greets Dad with a big hug. (She actually started doing this months ago, back when she was still crawling. But she has gotten more consistent and a lot faster. :) ) I get my call of "Mama" first thing in the morning when she wakes up. She never leaves her bed without a blanket and her baby doll or stuffed animal for a quick snuggle. I love snuggling with Kate and all her stuff. (It's cute because Maggie often insists on bringing her blanket and animal or doll to snuggle too, so sometimes I'll bring them both on the bed with Mike and me for a few minutes and we are quite the jumble.) Kate adores her big sister and often goes looking for her when she is not around calling "Maah-meee!" [Maggie]. They love to give each other hugs and kisses, especially through or over their crib bars.

Where many things about Maggie's personality often reminds me of myself, Kate is definitely my little look-alike. She's got the curl, hair color, eyes and face shape. (Though she does have a little more olive in her complexion, which I envy.) It's fun to look in the mirror when I am carrying her and see the similarities. I'm sure she will love/hate me for the curl as she grows.

Kate loves to have fun. She seems to run everywhere she goes. She loves to laugh and is constantly making the rest of us laugh too, especially her sister. She is rather independent and loves to explore and go off on her own. It is a struggle to get her to hold my hand in the parking lot or on the sidewalk and is usually just easier to carry her. She loves playing chase or hide-and-go seek with Maggie and Dad. And she still loves to climb into or on top of boxes, tables, and baskets. She loves to plunk on the piano with sis or dance and twirl with Mag if Dad is playing or music comes on. She loves going to the pool and going down the kiddie-sized frog slide or having me help her jump in. Still she has enough inherited enough caution to want me nearby and to pause before going down, which I appreciate.

As you can see, Kate loves to accessorize. She loves to wear bracelets, necklaces, crowns, hats, purses, etc. It started early. Not long after her birthday, I remember her bringing her baby doll and purse when we were running some errands one day. A couple months ago, she was so into bracelets that one Sunday she insisted on wearing some bangles to church and the entire rest of the day. I couldn't even get her to take them off at bedtime. I guess a lady never knows when she might need to be ready. Her latest craze is for shoes. Especially mine. She also loves getting into my makeup with Maggie at any opportunity and continually tries to use glue-sticks as lip gloss.

We joke that Kate is our little puppy dog. She is always scampering about trying to get someone to play with her or give her a treat. She loves to climb up on you and tussle on the floor. She still doesn't talk a lot (though she has picked up a lot more words lately). She has a cute little head bob when she wants to say yes and shakes her head emphatically for no. She brings me her shoes when she wants to go outside and her cup when she is thirsty. And she willingly fetches items for Mom and still enjoys helping throw laundry in the washer or drop dishes in their drawers, so she does her part around here. She is still my little climber and one of her favorite places to sit is on top of the table, if I'm not around. If a yummy snack is up there, all the better. Months ago she started carrying around her step-stool, for easier access to hard-to-reach areas. Maggie is frequently an ally in escapades.

Little Kate is getting good at peg puzzles and enjoys coloring and painting when I give her the chance. She knows most of her body parts and will point to them on command. She has been loving nursery this past month: She has learned to dip her goldfish in water, fold her arms and say "meeee!" whenever we ask who would like to offer a prayer and has developed an affinity for marshmallows. Her favorite show is Dora the Explorer and she frequently attempts the theme song, "D-d-d-dora....DORA." She also likes to say a lot of action words and will bop around saying "hop!" or "mahr!" (march). When she gets in the car or I am cooking she says "hot" and blows. Another favorite word is "coo-kie." She is getting better at posing and says "cheese" for pictures now. When we brush the girls' teeth for bed, we always say, "Oh no! What's that?" and then name something they ate that day. Kate picked up on that about a month ago and is so cute always saying "beans" whenever we brush her teeth now. And she nearly always asks for "bay-bee" at bedtime. She loves babies and is so cute trying to pet, kiss and hug little babies (or even those her own age) when they are near.

I am so glad you are ours, little Katherine. I love your scrunched nose smile, funny fish faces, and adorable giggles. We love your cute voice, terrific hugs, and the way you pull your blanket over your head when you are trying to go to sleep. What would we do without you?