Kudos for Kiddos!

So while I'm on the topic of how much I love my children, here are some darling pictures of their current stages in life!Say Cheese!
Really these two are the greatest pals! Whether playing on their bellies, taking tubbies or just making each other laugh they sure do realize that life is better when they're together!
Emmett is now 7 months old and I am constantly asking myself how time could possibly go by so fast? He is getting so good at getting up on his hands and knees but whenever he pushes with his arms he usually ends up going backwards. It is so funny to watch him because he is trying with all his might to get to a toy and the harder he tries the further away he gets. Poor sweetheart! He is also getting good at bringing food to his mouth, drinking out of a sippy cup and babbling! Emmett is such a mellow baby and it is a delight to see him just happily chillin' all day long. I am truly blessed to have such a happy and easy going baby. I really can't imagine our lives with out him. I love this next picture of him trying to eat his toes. He was getting hungry while we were taking pictures and so he began to resort to self satisfaction!
Guy Smiley is a good name for him and as you can see he usually has a smile on his face!
I'm amazed at how quickly he is growing and just this morning Lydia said, "Mama Emmett is Growing to such a Big Boy!" At his last doctors appointment he was 17 lbs 11oz and 27.5 inches long. Go Emmett Go!
Here is our little lady Lydia! Speaking of growing I can't believe what a big girl she is growing into and a beautiful one at that. She is our constant entertainment and little love bug! Last night she smothered each of us with kisses ranging from big smooches on the lips, to eskimo kisses with the noses, to butterfly kisses on our cheeks! She loves to do sign language "like mommy" and her favorite is to sign and say I LOVE YOU with enthusiasm!
Lydia's vocabulary and memory are also growing dramatically. We love hearing her talk and she loves to do it. Often she will get carried away in her own little world with her own little monologue of non stop talk barely pausing to breathe along the way. Entertaining is an understatement. Words like "Actually," "Scrumptious," and "Wahoo, Yipee, Whoopy!" are among our favorites. She has some adorable little traits that we've taken note of and grown rather fond of. We noticed that sometimes when a word started with the letter S she would leave it off. Dan finally figured it out and discovered that if a word starts with the letter S and is followed by a vowel she can say it with no problems; like Sink and Sailboat. But if it starts with S and is followed by a consonant she leaves off the S. For example you will regularly hear her say, "Ports," "Tairs," and my favorite,"Mom I'm Peaking Panish!" Other verbal entertainers are her ability to add the letter O to the end of all words ending in L. "Lets play Ballo," or "Lets go get the mailo!" Again my favorites would have to be last week when she said,"That's so coolo," or "Daddy is tallo and I am smallo!" Listening to Lydia talk are some of our favorite things but her most recent favorite things consist of playing games, especially making obstacle courses, singing songs (her favorites are BINGO and I am a Child of God)and coloring or drawing pictures. She is actually getting good at drawing pictures of people (well they have legs arms and eyes now) and I'll try to include a picture of one soon. She also loves to write letters and I had no idea that she even knew how to do so many. Last week we made a card for Grandma and Grandpa and she drew an L, p, o, D, B and i, telling me each one as she drew it. I turned to my little sister in amazement and pointed out how bright my little girl was to draw all these letters on her own since I haven't taught her any of them. Just then Lydia finished drawing another big scribble circle which looked just like the dot on her previous letter i. Thus when she pointed to it and I said, "oh look another beautiful dot for an i," I was surprised to hear, "no Mom, it's a man carrying sticks!" Hilarious! I'm just glad she loves to draw and knows what she's drawing! We love having Lydia in our lives!
Children are Love made Visible!
Every child comes with the message that God is not yet discouraged of man. ~Rabindranath Tagore

Best Friends!

 

These two were made to be brother and sister! Yesterday Lydia was sitting on the floor playing with Emmett when she hugged him and said, "Emmett, You're My Best Friend!" Precious, I know! I hope they always feel this way about eachother!

Why?

Why you might ask? Why, is my subject line Why? WHY is a very good question and a popular one among three year olds. My little Lydia has recently developed a fondness for the question Why and as a result I am the lucky recipient of the question Why on average of about two hundred and twenty nine times a day! You would think hearing this question so much could make you crazy but instead it makes me laugh. I love seeing her little face with it's sincere curiosity as she makes her inquires. She is also rather bright and rather than just say Why over and over she will often rotate it with saying something like, "Mom what you mean by ___?" or "Mom what you do that for?" All of her wondering Why has caused me to stop and think before I just answer her.

I think she's rubbing off on me and today I found myself in a moment of self pity saying WHY? WHY? WHY?! Why is it that I have to be sick at the same time that my children are? Why couldn't I be healthy while they're sick so I'd have more energy to nurse them back to health? Why is it so painful to watch your six month old baby cry? Why do we have to be so helpless when a baby has a fever and is sobbing in pain because of his own helplessness. Why do I start having a coughing attack just at the moment that my baby falls asleep in my arms after being awake half the night? Why do my babies get sick the same weekend that my husband has to go on the Scout Klondike (Why in the world would boy scouts be crazy enough to go sleep outside in the middle of the winter?)and Why of all weekends would our garage door choose this weekend to crash down and break?

I'll spare you a full account of all the Whys! However I will share with you the humbling realization that comes after the Why. It is the BECAUSE! Why do we have to get sick? Because it makes us appreciate all the times that we are healthy! Why do I have to be sick while my kids are sick? Because I am more empathetic! Why is it so painful to see your baby cry? Because it makes you realize how much you love them. Why is it so hard to see them sick and feel helpless? Because it turns you to your knees in fervent prayer for their recovery. Why do we all have to be sick the same weekend my husband is out of town on the Klondike? Because you will discover that you married the most amazing man in the world and that he loves you so much, because he will drive all the way up the mountain to the Klondike to drop off the things he was responsible for bringing. Then he will find someone to take over the activity he was in charge of for the next morning and then he will surprise you and will turn around and drive all the way back home because he just doesn't want to leave you alone with sick kids at night when he knows you're not feeling well! That's right my husband is the most remarkable husband in the world! And as for my garage door breaking I'm not really sure. Maybe it is because the man who had to come fix really needed some work?!

Regardless I am thankful for all of the Because's in life and hope that my daughter will soon learn to say Because after her Why's!

Traditions!

“Tonight, I want to tell you the story of an empty stocking. Once upon a midnight clear there was a child's cry. A blazing star hung over a stable, and Wise Men came with birthday gifts. We haven't forgotten that night down through the ages. We celebrate it with a star hung on a Christmas tree, and a cry of bells, and gifts; especially with gifts. We bind them and wrap them, and we put them under the tree. You give me a tie, I give you a book, Aunt Martha always wanted an orange squeezer, Uncle Harry could use a new pipe; oh, we haven't forgotten anyone, adult or child. All the stockings are filled, all that is, except one, and we have forgotten even to hang it up! The stocking for the child born in a manger. It's His birthday we are celebrating, you know. Don't let us ever forget that. Let us ask ourselves what He would wish for most, and then let each of us put in his share - loving kindness, warm hearts, and an out-stretched hand - all the shining gifts that make peace on earth.” (quoted from the movie The Bishop’s Wife)

 

This year we started a new tradition. We hung a stocking for the Savior (the white one on the end with green trim)and during the entire month of December we would write down acts of love and service that we did or were done for us. Then we would fold up the pieces of paper and put them in the stocking. This was by far the best gifts given this Christmas. After our scrumptous Christmas dinner we sat around the fire and took turns reading the gifts that were given to our Savior. It was a nice way to end the day thinking about Him whom we were celebrating!

One of my favorite things about Christmas is all the fun family traditions we make and keep. I already mentioned a few we're starting in other posts, like Christmas Eve pajamas, stockings on the beds, watching Christmas movies and I think we may need to make lobster dinner a tradition! Others we love is putting up the tree as a family, letting the kids plug in the lights for the first time and providing a secret santa dinner and gifts for a family in need. Reading the nativity is also one of my favorite traditions and I'd like to borrow a tradition I heard about this year. It is something a family in our ward does. They don't put any presents under the tree until Christmas Eve and instead they just have a nativity under the tree. I love that idea. It would help you and your kids to focus all month on what the holiday is really about.

One of my favorite traditions is one that we had as kids when we'd get a new Christmas ornament each year. We've carried that tradition over into our family and try to pick an ornament that reflects our past year. We have a hot air balloon from when we were in Albuquerque, Hershey kisses from Hershey, PA, and this year a gingerbread house representing that we bought our first home. This year also marks Lydia's third Christmas so we went to pick out her third ornament. Her first one is a baby's first Christmas ornament, last years was Santa on a surfboard from our trip to Hawaii and as we were looking for this years I suggested a cute little tricyle since she learned to ride one this year. At the same moment Lydia said, "Oooo I want this one!" No, she wasn't pointing at the bike, it was a hot pink cowgirl boot! Wow, I thought ok let's keep looking so I showed her a few different ornaments that were much cuter! I suggested another bike and even a ballerina dancer but no, she really wanted that bright pink boot. I finally decided hey, why not, it's her ornament. I guess we'll look back and always remember that this is what she wanted when she was almost three! Dan thought it was hillarious and just requested we hang it near the back of the tree! No matter where you put it sure does stand out!