Slow Down!

Friday Kenely cut her first tooth and started to crawl. I thought that milestones were supposed to have a little bit of time between them! She is growing up so fast. It seems strange to see this tiny twelve and a half-pounder chomping down on her Cheerios and making her own way across the floor. She's wanting to make the best use of the 1/32 of an inch above the gums tooth of hers and is eyeballing all solid food like it is going out of style. I haven't found any foods that she refuses (which is refreshing after trying to get Isaac to eat anything).

It's amazing to me how I can't remember life without her. When Isaac was born it was like he had always been here, always been a part of our family. I thought it might be different with the second child but it's not. They're both an eternal part of Jeremiah and I and I hope to never again know life without either of them.

5 Years for the Newly-Weds

AND HAPPY AS EVER!

9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1

9 Lasts:
Last place you were on vacation: Washington DC
Last cigarette: Never
Last beverage: Ice water
Last movie: Land Before Time V (thank you Isaac)
Last phone call: From Kate about a recipe I didn't have
Last store you shopped in: Wal-Mart
Last CD played: Kelly Clarkson Breakaway
Last bubble bath: Probably on my Honeymoon?
Last time you cried: The other night as I read through my journal about how I felt about Jeremiah while we were dating - (happy,grateful tears)

8 Have-you-Evers:
Have you ever dated someone twice: Yes
Have you ever been cheated on: A huge, resounding No
Have you ever kissed somebody and regretted it: Yes. I've also not kissed someone and regretted it.
Have you ever fallen in love: Have I ever!
Have you ever lost someone: Yes.
Have you ever been depressed: Yes.
Have you ever been drunk and thrown up: Never been drunk, but I have thrown up.
Have you ever lost your keys: I think a better question would be have I ever had a week when I didn't lose my keys.

7 States you have been to:
1. Idaho
2. California
3. Nevada
4. Arizona
5. Kentucky
6. Indiana
7. Washington DC - ignore the fact that it's not technically a state

6 Things you've done today
1. Exercised! (I'm just so proud of me!)
2. Checked my e-mail
3. Used the potty (TMI, I know)
4. Hugged and kissed both my kids
5. Wished I were getting a massage
6. Contemplated what I should get Jeremiah for our anniversary (in two days)

5 Favorite things:
1. Food
2. Family
3. Food
4. Friends
5. Did I mention food?

4 People you can tell pretty much anything to:
1. Jeremiah
2. Mom
3. Kate
4. Alisha

3 Favorite color coordinations to wear:
1. Blue jeans with any color t-shirt
2. Plaid pajama bottoms with matching t-shirt
3. Is there anything else?

2 Things you want to do before you die:
1. See both (or all, should I have more) of my kids married in the temple
2. Become perfect - or close to it - or at least really working on it

1 Reason to Live?
Family

Couldn't Resist

I watch a little boy on Mondays who is the same age as Isaac. Today he came over in the same Jersey-shirt set that Isaac recieved for his birthday so I just had to dress Isaac in it and get the picture of them together. A few more of them and I'll have a whole team!

A Mile in His Shoes

Or rather a mile and a half in his new sandals.

Thursday night Jeremiah took me out to dinner and I absentmindedly left my purse in the car when we got home. So of course the next morning as I was already in a rush to get the kids out of bed, clothed and down to my mother's house and into town so that I could make it to my haircut appointment, I was slowed down by the need to find my keys. Yeah, they were locked in the car with my purse.

Well, I wasn't about to sit at home all day so I strapped Kenley into the stroller and convinced Isaac to wear his birthday sandals - which he has refused to wear, for whatever reason, since he received them - and walked to the school to get a key from Jeremiah.

Isaac walked the whole way without complaint. He also insisted that he wear his hood - his fleece-lined hood - on the warmest day we've had in ages! We finally made it home and into the car and off to Gammie's house we went.

I didn't think anymore of our little jaunt until I noticed Isaac walking funny last night. He was rolling his feet to walk on the outside edge of them and was little bow-legged. He asked to play outside so I grabbed his sandals and as I grasped his little feet I noticed a nice blister on the arch of each foot. (Here's where I beat out the competition for Meanest Mommy Award.) I didn't want him going barefoot, so I strapped those sandals right back on him.

This morning the blisters have popped and he's been walking on tippy-toes. But I think it made him feel better when we put on Batman band-aids and Neosporin. Now I'm looking forward to the day he cries because the wounds have healed and he can no longer have superheros strapped to his skin!

I was curious just how long our walk had been so on the drive home last night I clocked it in the car - 1.6 miles round trip.

And also, I missed my haircut appointment.

How Exciting is Lunch at our House?

Time it took to heat chicken nuggets in microwave: 1 minute 15 seconds
Time it took to convince Isaac to come and sit at the table for lunch: 3 minutes 42 seconds
Time it took for Isaac to fall asleep at the table: 30 seconds

We may be having chicken nuggets every afternoon!

Revisiting the Drama

While going through my cedar chest the other day I came across some of the things that I wrote in High School . I used to write poems and even a few song lyrics when I was all hyped up on teenage drama. Most of my poetry was about love, pain, feeling lonely and the like. The following poem wasn't really written for anyone - although it sounds like it could have been. But I remember writing it. I was "inspired" by a book title and this is what came from it:

I walked last night to a river,

a river running through your heart,

and with the love that I found there

I'm asking for a brand new start.

I looked in the past where you loved me

and I saw where I'd caused you pain.

But the love still inside you has healed that,

you're ready to start over again.

I didn't have to ask for directions

to find where your love for me hid.

But I just couldn't find why you let me

hurt you the way that I did.

Then I saw a part of you before never seen,

hidden away from my outside view;

the part inside of you dying

because of things I've done to you.

I saw that I am part of you,

realized you're part of me too.

Now I feel the pain that I've caused

because I'm dying here inside you.

I realize the hurt that you've suffered,

but I know you hold me inside you still.

If you give me a chance to mend your poor heart,

Love, I promise you that I will.

So...why share this now? Because it is so much in contrast compared to what I might write these days. Even though this wasn't based on a single person, it's pretty indicative of how I viewed relationships. Painful. Hurtful. Dramatic. Blah Blah Blah!

I'm happy to report that all such views of relationships were long ago abandoned. I now know that the best relationships are fulfilling and buoying. They add to your life in such a way that you can't imagine life without them. And these are the type of relationships I now cherish with my husband, my children, my family and a few good friends. Each is very important to me and I hope I let them know how much they really mean to me and how they make my life worth living.

3 is a Good Number

Isaac had a fun birthday. He got to go to his first Easter Egg hunt. (Yes, even though he's three, this is the first year I've awakened early enough to get him to the football field so that he could stare at all the other kids as they load their baskets with eggs and refuse to touch anything laying on the ground.) After explaining to him that a plastic Easter Egg on a football field meant that he got candy later he agreed to pick up three of the little suckers. Then he played with cousins at Gammie's house. In the evening lots of family came to help celebrate the big day and we all enjoyed pizza, breadsticks & pop. After Isaac opened gifts he was delighted to be presented with the only part of his birthday he had been looking forward to - The Spiderman Cake.

Amazing how one's cake decorating skills can improve in just ten days!

He had so been looking forward to this Spiderman cake that if you asked him how old he would be on his birthday he would answer "Spiderman Cake." Also, should you have asked him what he wanted for his birthday the answer would have been "Spiderman Cake." And pretty much any time you were to mention anything that had to do with his birthday his only response would be - you guessed it - "Spiderman Cake." I worked really hard on decorating this cake that it almost made me cry to cut it in slivers in order to serve some to everyone, but for the hour or so that it sat on the table and made Isaac smile - not to mention the fact that he wasn't disappointed in it after having looked forward to it for so long - it was worth it. And he really had a great birthday.

To Do or Not To Do

That is the question.

It is safe to assume that we all have a "To Do" List hanging on our fridge or placed in some other prominent place so that we can see a list of all the things we can look forward to accomplishing. I've found in the last couple of days the only thing I feel like I've accomplished is to add several things to my do list.

I get frustrated because I feel like I work all day at home, but at the end of the day I've crossed nothing off my list and my house is still in the state of organized chaos it was in when my day first began.

So I'm taking my mother's advice and BURNING MY TO DO LIST. (Well, she didn't say to actually burn it, but that's what I'm going to do because I think it's more poetic.) Instead I will be making a "Got Done" List. As I add items to this list it will be because I accomplished something. I have a sneaking suspicion that I do more than I give myself credit for at the end of the day. Plus I'm hoping this will let me know where I spend all my time and maybe in a week or so I can look over my daily lists and evaluate what I've done versus what needed done.

Then again maybe not, that's sounds an awful lot like something "To Do"...

Isaacisms

Wow, I can hardly believe that Isaac is almost 3! We are looking forward to his birthday very much. He has been very excited about having a Spiderman cake. And he is well practiced at opening gifts after helping Daddy - okay, more like opening all of Daddy's gifts - last week.

I am so thankful to have little Isaac in our family. I can hardly believe that he is that same little 4 pound 7 ounce runt I brought home from the hospital. He's grown 4 inches in the last ten months an has only put on 3 pounds, so he might always be little runt. But what he lacks in weight he more than makes up for in personality. So to celebrate the kid Jeremiah lovingly refers to as "Terd" here are some Isaacisms from his formative years.

Sensation - 4 months
Isaac used to scratch anything that he could get his hands on. He loved to feel different textures and was constantly scratching at walls, floor, books and every other surface within his reach. The only thing he would not scratch at was a texture book that Gammie gave him.

Dancing - 6 months
At least, I think it was dancing. He used to lay on his back, arms and legs out to his sides and raise both up and down as his head moved from side to side, with an animated grin on his face the whole time. He kind of looked like a dancing puppet, or like a bear trying to scratch his back on a tree. Whatever it was, it was hilarious to witness.

Learning the Language - 15 months
Drink: Neek
Snack: Nack
Lotion: Nook - Still not quite sure how that one worked

Reasoning - 21 months
Isaac: Let''s watch Nemo.
Mommy: No Isaac, you already watched Nemo today.
Isaac: ...How 'bout Shrek!

Delegating - 30 months
Isaac (pouring out a 100 piece Power Rangers puzzle): Okay, I do the blue "powanger" and you do the red "powanger."
Mommy picks up a piece of the blue Power Ranger.
Isaac: No, you do the red "powanger."

Music Appreciation - 34 months
Isaac has been singing everything lately. His most recent favorites are "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star," "Happy Birthday," and "Dinosaur Song".

"Dinosaur Song" as you know, he made up himself, but it is not his only original. Other songs in his repertoire include "Engine Turtle Song", "Sharptooth Song", and "Snake Song". But they all do sound curiously a lot like "Dinosaur Song".

Compliments - 35 1/2 months
Isaac (to Aunt Alicia): You're a genius!

And just this morning he saw Baby Bop on "Barney" and said, "Oh, look it's Baby Bop! And she's a princess." pointing to Kenley, "See? Just like her."

How thankful and blessed we are to have Isaac. He is really a delight to have in our family and we can't imagine our lives without him.

Dinosaur Song

Words and Melody by Isaac

Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs.

Youuu like to RUN!

And youuu like to FIGHT!

And youuu have to FIGHT WITH YOUR TAIL!

And youuu have SHARP TEETH!

Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs.

Tips from the composer: This song is best when sung repeatedly and will delay the onset of sleep at bedtime.

To Jeremiah

You've had a birthday; shout "Hooray!"

We want to sing to you today.

One year older and wiser, too,

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy 27th!

(The Batman cake was by request.)

Mmm Mmm

Isaac likes it when mommy makes no-bake cheesecake because she'll let him lick the beaters. Mommy likes it because she gets to eat the cheesecake!