Fast friends

Mary may be goofy and gleeful, but she's not as outgoing as her older brother.  It takes her a while--sometimes a very long while--to warm up to people.  But Mary took to Aunt Rachel like a fish to water.

I think it all started when Rachel fitted Mary with a fashionable turkey crown.  Mary likes shoes, socks, hats, jackets, and all things accessory.  So giving Mary a headpiece of her own was bound to win her over.

Rachel also sat Mary on her lap at the piano, and they happily played Christmas duets together.  For a little girl who likes music so much, this was quite a treat.
By the time we picnicked at the park Friday afternoon, Rachel was Mary's dear friend.
Look how thrilled Mary is to be with Rachel and Sadie.  What a happy trio!

Cousins, cousins, cousins

David spent the weekend in heaven:  Two and a half days of nonstop play with three fun-loving, energetic cousins.  Really, I cannot describe how happy he was.  

Uncle Matt and Aunt Rachel have a bright, child-friendly house, and David immediately made himself right at home among their toys (and children).  With the weather so nice, the action quickly moved outside to the zip line.  Sadie announced that David was the youngest child to ever conquer the zip line.  Unfortunately, I don't have the pictures to prove it.  (He was also, on his fourth turn, the first child to ever fall off of it.  He was fine.)  

David and his cousins played on the swings,

jumped on the trampoline,
and David and Calvin spent hours together over the course of our visit in the sandbox.
David wasn't the only one enjoying the company of cousins.  This is Mary with Sadie and Caleb, all three watching David and Calvin in the sandbox.  (I love this picture.)
Sadie was extremely attentive to Mary, and showed her a good time.  Caleb was very good at helping Mary too.

On our last night, Sadie, Calvin, and Caleb treated David and Mary to a puppet show, the family classic "Sam the Turkey Snake."  And the best part is that afterwards they let David have a turn too.
This visit was further proof of that eternal truth: 

Cousins are so much fun!!

64 degrees and sunny

That's the weather forecast for Thanksgiving Day in Atlanta, Georgia.   

Greg is running the Atlanta Half-Marathon, which is Thursday morning, and we are visiting his brother and sister-in-law.  Greg's parents are also going to be there.  Greg can't wait to run his race.  David can't wait to play with cousins.  And I can't wait to not wear a winter coat.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Christmas is coming

Christmas is coming.  How do I know?  Because you can buy mint M&Ms at Target now.  That means I can now eat the bag of mint M&Ms I had stashed away from last Christmas (for fear I may have gotten a craving for mint M&Ms in July...which I didn't because I had completely forgotten about them by then).  Munching on mint M&Ms--yum!  

Because Christmas is coming, and because this next week and all of December will be busy, and because we were feeling a little bored this weekend, we decided to put up the Christmas tree.  

Building the tree is Greg's responsibility.  David is always an eager helper.

By the time Mary woke up from her morning nap on Saturday, the tree was complete.  She was thoroughly unimpressed with it. 
Actually, I think she was a little overwhelmed by the chaos.
Today David helped me decorate the tree.  He watched with excitement as we unpacked the ornaments, and he asked me to explain the significance of each one.  (In a stroke of good fortune, the first ones we unpacked were nativity figurines.  He was eager to learn about shepherds and the hay in Baby Jesus' bed.  He even requested that I teach him a song about the shepherds!)
David was a super helper.  But 70% of the ornaments ended up on just 20% of the tree.  Notice the high concentration of ornaments in the picture below.
When Mary woke up from her nap on Sunday, the tree was trimmed.  And she was much more impressed with the tree this time.
Mary has already begun the game of pulling ornaments off the tree.  
This afternoon David and Mary played hide-n-seek under the tree:  They both lay under the tree, and David would count to five, then "find" Mary, after which I would count to ten (on Mary's behalf) and then she would "find" David.  Since they were both under the tree the whole time, the act of "finding" consisted primarily of giggling.  (I wish I had pictures--it was so cute, the two of them hiding under the tree.)

Mint M&Ms and cute kids under the Christmas tree.  It's the most wonderful time of the year...

David gets an allowance

We have started giving David an allowance.  $3 a week.  Thirty cents for tithing.  One dollar goes in my wallet, so when we go to the store and he wants a treat or small toy, he can pay for it himself.  And the remainder goes in his money jar for "long-term" savings.  "Long-term" for David is anything more than two hours.  But we envision being able to encourage him to save up for several weeks or months in order to purchase something "big" (like one of the horribly obnoxious monster trucks he regularly admires in the Target toy aisle).  

He has already had the opportunity to pay tithing.  We were excited to introduce this concept to him, and, as expected, he was a good sport about it, handing over his three dimes to the bishop.  But, on some level, I think he found it troubling that Jesus wanted a cut of his money.  Ever since he paid his tithing, he has announced, on numerous occasions, "I don't like Jesus.  I only like monster trucks."  We have explained that he can like Jesus and monster trucks, but he insists that he only likes monster trucks and that he doesn't like Jesus anymore.  There's nothing like teaching your children good Christian principles only to have it backfire.  

David, has, however, embraced the principle of sharing.  He climbed on a chair to reach the top of the computer cabinet, scooped out a handful from Dad's spare change jar, and sprinted to his room to deposit the money in his own jar.  When Greg tried to stop him, he exclaimed, "Daddy, you share your money with me!"  It's good to know that we instilled in David a desire for more money?

Anyway, we'll see how this allowance thing goes.  We are prepared with a stack of one dollar bills and a big bag of dimes.  (We realized that we couldn't pay an allowance unless we had some cash with which to do it--including change for tithing.)  Greg and I have generally been of the opinion that allowances are to teach children decision making and money management.  (Whereas everyday  "chores" are simply expected of children because they are part of the family.)  But we are very new (and idealistic?) at this parenting thing.  We'll see how the issue of allowances unfolds over the years.

Right now we can only hope that David might like Jesus again.  And stop stealing from his dad.

Can't help myself

I posted one picture in this series a week ago.  I simply couldn't resist posting a few more.  What a funny girl!

A major breakthrough

Mary teethes unbelievably slowly.  Four teeth (yes, four at once) finally broke through on the top.  (We've been anticipating this for months.)  But I'm sure that those teeth will descend so slowly that it will be months before her smile looks any different.

Here is what her current grin looks like (improved, of course, by dirt around the mouth and a dribble of snot).

Why the Universe is so big

The Universe is at least 93 billion light years wide.  That means it takes light 93 billion years to travel from one edge of the Universe to the other.  That means the Universe is really, really big.

Why is the Universe so big?

It has to be.  Because of our presence in it.

The complex chemistry of terrestial life requires elements like carbon and oxygen.  It takes about 10 billion years of stellar evolution for stars to generate significant quantities of these elements from the early Universe's primal gas of helium and hydrogen. Since the Universe is expanding, its size is related to its age.  The Universe is as big as it is because it is so old--and it has to be so old so that we can exist.

Is it possible, then, that for 13 billion years, generations of stars were born and died churning out carbon and oxygen in 100 billion galaxies...so that I could give birth to my daughter?  Is it possible that light must travel 5,878,625,373,184 miles 93 billion times over to cross the Universe...so that I can watch Mary toddle across the room?  Is it possible that the Universe is so big...so that I can hold my baby girl close, our cheeks pressed together, the smell of baby shampoo and green peas in my nose?

Yes, I believe so. 

(Credit goes to Peter Coles's Very Short Introduction on Cosmology for this epiphany of mine.  And to Wikipedia too.)

Post-nap snuggle

Yesterday after his nap, David and I lay on the couch together.  I held him tight.

He really is going to grow up, isn't he?

The simple life

As I was reminded yesterday during the Mormon Monday night ritual of Family Home Evening, all it takes to make our children supremely happy is a rousing game of ring-around-the-rosies.

Life is simple.  Life is good.  

May I cherish it.

  

First snow

David has been practicing making snow angels on the living room floor for the past month in preparation.  

It wasn't much, but enough to be official:  Our first snow of the season.  

This afternoon, Mary, with fascination and excitement, watched out the window the snowflakes fall.  Finally, by evening, after we'd returned from our errands, enough snow had stuck on the ground to warrant a bit of running around outside.

Dad was home already from school, so he joined in the fun.

Look at this sweet baby girl of mine, with snowflakes in her hair.  (Notice David in the background "making tracks.")
My beautiful boy.
It was barely snow.  Yuck.  (I love snow--but only if it's real!)  Doesn't this look like thoroughly nasty weather?  It was.
Eventually David slipped and fell.  He refused to put his hands on the ground in the snow, so he couldn't/wouldn't get up.  Dad finally came to the rescue.  
Maybe I have to accept that it's time to dig out David's mittens and buy Mary a hat.

P.S.  Yes, Teresa, I am jealous!!!

Junior

Backyard pics for my soul

Having young children is hard.  I'm not very good at it.  So I often feel discouraged.

But looking at pictures of my children helps soothe my soul.  (It also helps when my children are asleep.)

Here are some pictures I took today in the backyard.  They (my pictures, and the children in them) make me happy.

Hanging out

David and Mary spend a fair share of time hanging out together.  Rather, Mary spends a fair share of time trying to hang out with her brother.  Often this takes place in front of the T.V.--it's the only time David isn't a moving target.

David sings in church

Yes, I missed David's first school performance.  

But at least I didn't miss David's first performance in church.  David and a couple of other boys from his nursery class were invited to join the Sunbeams in singing "I Am a Child of God" as part of the annual children's program today.  I think David had his hands over his mouth the whole time and only sang about three words, but at least he marched right up there without an ounce of hesitation.  He was as pleased as punch to be there.  (On the way to church he had told us that he was going to sing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" instead.  I'm glad to report that he did not.)  If a bunch of three- and four-year-olds singing "I Am a Child of God" doesn't melt your heart, I don't know what will.  

The children's presentation is my favorite Sunday of the year.  This year I was on the stand with my class, so I didn't get to see the children's happy faces.  But I did get to watch the parent's faces beam with joy, and I think that was even better.  

Trophy

Guess what Greg got in the mail last week.

 A trophy!  It turns out he took third place in his category at the Air Force Marathon.  He didn't even know that fact until the trophy showed up in the mail.  Congratulations, Greg!

(David, who has been admiring the swim team trophies at the YMCA, was very impressed that Daddy got his own trophy.)

Lost and found

Today I lost Mary.  

She was sitting under the table eating the crumbs off the floor (yum) while I cleaned the kitchen.  I momentarily stepped out of the room to put something away.  When I returned, she had vanished.  I looked around.  No Mary.  Then I called for her.  No response.  She always responds.  This is when I panicked.  I was convinced she had put something in her mouth, crawled away, choked on it, and was lying unconscious somewhere.  I started tearing through our little house.  She had to be here somewhere!

That's when Greg came in from the backyard with a baby girl covered with potting soil.

Apparently, she had managed to sneak out the back door.  (How did she get it open and closed again?)  When Greg saw her, he assumed she had been driving me nuts and that I had simply plopped her out on the back patio without a word.  He also didn't think much of the fact that I had sent her out into winter weather without a coat.  But when he noticed that she was only wearing one shoe and that the other foot was totally bare, he began to wonder if perhaps she had come outside on her own accord.

That's when he found me inside frantically searching the house.  

Oh, Mary!  She had a cold foot and fists full of dirt, but she was found.  

Worst mom ever

Now that more than a week has passed, the guilt and shame has eased enough that I can tell you all how I am the worst mom ever.

On the Thursday before Halloween, David's preschool class had a little celebration.  Parents were instructed to

1. Send their children to school with 17 special Halloween treats to share with the class.
2. Arrive 20 minutes before the end of class time to participate in a celebration, which was to include the performance of some Halloween finger plays.

I failed on both counts.  

I am always 5 minutes late, and apparently not even the love I feel for my children is enough to break this habit.  Thus, I arrived five minutes after the appointed time.  But I wasn't overly concerned because I assumed the first 10 minutes would be chaos.  Instead I walked into a room packed with parents and grandparents, all armed with camcorders pointed at a circle of adorable, costumed preschoolers singing their last song.  I even missed that one song because I was digging around in my bag for a camera.  That was it.  Five minutes of singing songs.  It was over.  That's when I realized the gravity of my sin:  I had missed David's first school performance ever!  (And from the teacher's reaction to my tardiness, David had definitely been concerned about my absence.)  I didn't know it was only going to last five minutes!  I didn't know it was going to be the kind of thing to which you bring your camcorder!  I didn't know it was something I would never in a million years want to miss!  Needless to say, I felt pretty crummy.

I felt even worse when I looked in David's treat bag.  It was filled with huge Halloween cookies, fancy homemade treats, and cute cellophane bags stuffed with assorted goodies.  I was shocked.  I had sent David with 17 "fun-size" bags of M&Ms.  So, while the other children were passing out their gloriously decorated pumpkin cookies, David's like "Here, have this microscopic bag with 4 M&Ms in it."  Not that David cared, but I sure felt like a loser mom.

So there you have it.  I missed my son's first ever holiday school program.  And I seriously underperformed with the whole "special treat" thing.  Okay, so I know this doesn't make me the worst mom ever.  But it sure feels like it.

And thus begins the list of reasons why David is going to need therapy.  Or rather, why I am going to need therapy.

(I did eventually find the camera in my bag.)

Back in David's good graces

On Monday David told me he didn't like Obama.  So I asked him if he liked McCain.  He responded in the affirmative.  (I naturally suspected that of late he must have been clicking around on wsj.com instead of pbskids.org.)  I asked him again, just to be sure.  He had definitely made up his mind.  Oh well.  It's a free country.

Then last night we went to the little going away party for our field organizer (who, just out of college and having traded a job in D.C. for total sleep deprivation, is so dedicated, earnest, talented, and humble that it makes you believe this next generation may save the world after all).  

I told David we were going to an Obama party.  David is always up for a good party.  And there was cake.  I'm pretty sure he likes Obama again.  A little cake can go a long way.

(The cake was really good.  But, for me, the best part was again seeing some of the people I've met through this experience.  Our group started out small, just a dozen or so, and grew to be hundreds of volunteers strong.  Pretty amazing for our quiet, little and very red town.  I love America, and Ohio is growing on me too.)  

Cincy Museum

For months David has been talking about going to a dinosaur museum.  So, while my mom was here, we decided we'd check out the Museum of Natural History at the Museum Center in Cincinnati.  The Museum Center is in this fabulous old Art Deco train station.  It's worth the trip just to see the building.

Since David had preschool in the morning, we went in the afternoon.  Poor David.  He loves his afternoon nap, and without it, he's not quite his chipper self.  Despite having been thrilled at the prospect of seeing dinosaurs, by the time we made it to the dinosaur exhibit, he couldn't have cared less.  (The museum has a wonderful exhibit on the ice age--I can't wait to go back for a better look at it.)  Here is a token picture of David and an Anklyosaurus, which, as you can tell, he didn't care one bit about. 
Why watch T.V at home when you can drive 50 miles away to watch T.V.?
Despite the presence of sand for eating and steps for climbing, all Mary wanted to do in the preschool play area was sit at the table and hold crayons.  I think she felt like a very big girl.
I can't speak for David and Mary, but I know my mom and I had a really fun time.  Thanks, Mom!

Skate park

Earlier this week with my mom:

Want to see something weird?

A political map with Utah (and most of Idaho) painted blue.  (It's actually quite interesting--and possibly also either disturbing or heartening, depending on your point of view.)

Now that the election is over, I intend to view on the Internet only those websites with pictures of adorable kittens and/or recipes I will never try.  So don't expect any more nifty links to the nytimes.  (They have plenty of recipes I will never try, but not enough adorable kittens.)

Comfort in the Universe

Recently, I started reading a book on Cosmology every night before bed.  I found that reading about the Big Bang, dark matter, and the space-time continuum helped put things in perspective.

 Trust me, worrying about if the Universe is flat, closed, or open and whether or not space is really curved can be a relaxing diversion.  You might want to try it.

David on the importance of keeping the bathroom door closed

David offered a rather lengthy explanation of why we keep the bathroom door closed.  

To summarize: 

 If we leave the door open, Mary will get in and fall in the toilet and get lost down, down, down in the pipes.  

Then he told us that, if Mary were to get lost down, down, down in the pipes, we can buy a new baby.  (But I think we will just try to keep the door closed.)

The vote of a pretty neat lady

 My grandma called me to tell me she voted for the black man.  She said she knew he was the better choice, but she wasn't sure she could actually do it when she got in the voting booth.  She did it.  

This made me laugh.  And cry.  In fact, I started crying uncontrollably.  All the emotion I had folded up and pushed aside--to make room for more rational thought on issues and policy (as well as for the stressful mechanics of finding time to volunteer)--came unraveled all at once.  

But I was also crying because, as I told her, my grandma is a pretty neat lady.  

I, having been born after the civil rights movement, and my grandma, who long ago decided she was set in her ways and nothing could change that, have not always...how can I put this?...shared the same sensibilities about race.   

It can be hard to eat your words, especially if you're as stubborn as my grandmother.  (I'm not very good at it.  Ask my family.)  But my grandma did it.  She voted for the black man.  And she shared the news with grace and humor.  Like I said, she's a pretty neat lady.

Change is hard.  But it is possible.

We've been GOTV'd

Baby biker

What we do in Ohio

Since my mom is here, and we can't let her leave without a trip to the farm, we visited Young's Jersey Dairy.  This time we saw the milking of the cows.  Now we know where ice cream comes from.

Mary was helpful and pointed out the cows to Grandma Evie.

Besides watching the cows be milked, feeding the goats, driving tractors, and eating ice cream, we also went on a wagon ride around the farm.

If you come see us here in Ohio, rest assured that you, too, will visit a farm or two.  Because that's just what we do in Ohio.