Monday, January 26, 2009

Life lessons from crooked teeth

My dear sweet Zane. The hardest part of your day today was when you bent the teeth on your comb and this is the best job mom could do at setting them back to straight. Oh, how you cried those big wet tears. Oh, how that bottom lip turned down and you looked at me, begging me to make them perfectly straight. No matter how I tried to tell you that it was the best I could do, or convince you that it was still okay and your comb could still perform the many functions it had been performing today, you would not be consoled. Eventually, you moved on to your phone and your cars and found joy in them. You even made your way back to your comb and the crooked teeth didn't seem so bad after all.


As I thought about that, I suddenly wondered how many times in my life, especially the last few weeks, has Heavenly Father looked at me and said "Oh, my dear sweet daughter. It's okay. Even though things aren't perfect, they are still good and as they should be. Not only that, you too, will soon outgrow this stage and move on to other things, and these 'crooked teeth' will not seem so significant." Sometimes I'm sure my big problems seem so silly, like crooked teeth on a comb.
Thanks son, for helping Mom gain a little perspective today.

You turn your back for five seconds. . .

and this is what happens. Kevin's been putting in long days lately and so it's left to me to bathe the kids and get them to bed some nights. I try to bathe them at the same time--Nora in the infant bath on the counter and Zane in the tub. It's one of the few times in the day that they're both perfectly happy and content. This is what happened as I was undressing Nora. I guess Zane just couldn't wait his turn tonight. If only bath time could last for a couple of hours.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Happy Baby

Nora has really started cooing and smiling and giggling a lot this week. Here are a few of her smiley faces. It's so much fun for me to start seeing her personality and to get to interact with her more. Nora's problem is that she won't sleep for longer than 30 minutes unless she's being held. Any tips, anyone?

One of my favorite things is when I have both kids sitting on my lap (no one crying) and we are reading a book or watching a home video . Zane will look at his sister, put his arm around her and then we go on watching or reading with big brother's arm lovingly around his little sister. Awww.




Saturday, January 24, 2009

Bed Time

"A soothing bedtime routine is a must, so give yourself plenty of time to prepare for bed physically and emotionally. By that I mean leaving time not just for bathing, toothbrushing, and pj's, but also for calming down. . . . " (Good Night, Sleep Tight: The Sleep Lady's Gentle Guide to Helping Your Child Go to Sleep, Stay Asleep, and Wake Up Happy by Kim West).

This book was such a huge help in getting Zane to sleep through the night long ago. I wonder what she would think of our bedtime routine now. . .

Poor Zane. He is such a skinny little thin'. We do feed him.

Monday, January 12, 2009

Five things tag

Kristi tagged me, so I guess I'll do this. I think I ignored the last time I was tagged. . .I guess I was a little busy.

5 things I was doing 5 years ago:
1. Trying to conceive
2. Teaching elementary school
3. Putting Kevin through school
4. Apartment living
5. Finishing Graduate school

5 things on my to-do list for TODAY
1. Change at least a dozen diapers
2. Go to Babies R Us for more undershirts and other various items
3. Bills/paperwork
4. Thank-you cards
5. Make dinner

5 things I would do with a million dollars
1. Buy a big house with lots of room for the kids and a big ol' yard
2. Buy Kevin a new 4-door truck and me a Honda Odyssey
3. Pay off a loved ones medical bills
4. Take a great vacation.
5. Invest/save

5 places I've lived
1. Star Valley, Wyoming
2. Logan, Utah
3. Lake Oswego, Oregon
4. Clackamas, OR
5. Portland, OR

5 jobs I've held
1. Car hop/cook at a drive-in restaurant
2. Cashier at Wal*Mart
3. Case Manager for troubled girls at a mental health center
4. Phone-center caller
5. Teacher

5 things I want to be doing in 5 years
1. Living closer to more family
2. Being pregnant with or caring for my last baby
3. Creating lots of beautiful things--maybe knitting, sewing, artwork, who knows?
4. Laughing every day with my kids and hubby
5. Preparing for another half-marathon, or maybe a marathon (Of course, not if I'm pregnant. I'm not as ambitious as some people I know.)

5 people I tag
1. Dad (you have to do it)
2. Tara
3. Aimee (come on, let's get your blog rollin')
4. Jodi B.
5. Keri B.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Images of Nora

This is for Aunt Kristi. Thanks for the cute bow.

Quality time with Daddy.
Thanks for the bouncer Aunt Tara. It's one of my favorite places to hang out.

Musical Beds

We have been debating whether to buy a second crib or move Zane into a bed. Since Zane has mastered the art of climbing out of his crib, but has learned to stay inside we figured we might try the bed. I fretted a bit yesterday morning wondering if we were asking our baby boy to grow up too fast, but then decided we would just put the bed in his room and let him decide where he wanted to sleep that night. Well, let me tell you, we had a hard time getting his jammies on and finishing his bedtime routine because he was so excited to get in his new bed. The funny thing is that he would not just climb into bed on the open side. Oh, no. He had to climb over the foot of railing at the head of the bed and hoist himself over to get into bed. He went right down and went to sleep just as if he were in his crib. Of course I checked on him several time throughout the night and only found him on the floor once. He slept great and I even had to wake him up at 8:15 so we could be on time for church. He loves his puppy, blanket and new pillow case from Grandma Pickup. The last few mornings he has thrown his pillow and his puppy out of bed in the morning and tried to walk around with them all morning. Puppy comes to breakfast with us and it takes some coaxing to get him to leave his pillow.
While we were setting up Zane's bed we put Nora in the crib. She seems to have taken nicely to her new bed as well, even with a lot of noise and the vacuum going on and off. It will be a while until she's in there permanently.

Footprints in the snow


Maybe this is why Zane has had two colds this winter already. He hates to wear his shoes and socks and his daddy thinks he should be able to experience the sensation of walking in the snow barefoot if he wants to.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Christmas in Idaho

We spent Christmas in Idaho this year. We were able to spend almost two entire weeks there. It was quite an eventful trip with a toddler and a newborn. The kids traveled pretty well for most of the trip. It was a trip of firsts: Zane learned to climb out of his Pack 'n' Play, he got the flu, and got carsick. Unfortunately, my dad was recovering from a surgery and my mom got the flu on Christmas eve. Because mom and dad were under the weather we went to Chris and Kristi's for Christmas Eve and the Nativity. It was nice to spend some time with them.
Zane and Daddy spent some time out in the snow. Zane wasn't too sure about it. It was all too new for him. Kevin got to blow the driveway a lot since Mom and Dad were under the weather.
Once Grandma was feeling better she was back to her old self--basically spending hours in the kitchen. Her grandkids will always remember fun times with her, cooking up new or fun recipes. Zane enjoyed popping popcorn and pushing the button on the food processor.

Zane also really enjoyed playing with Grandma's Christmas train. He loved to "poosh" the button to make it go. He would get upset if it was turned off, even if he wasn't watching. He just wanted it to always be going.
Nora was so excited about her Christmas gifts!
Zane loves cars, truck and tractors!
Zane enjoyed playing with cousins. He and Maggie Sue were a lot of fun together. Of course, he is more interested in everyone else's toys than his own.

Of course, there are too many pictures to post. We had such a great time. It's always fun to stay with Mom and Dad. I'm sure we stayed too long. Some day we will live closer.

Great-Grandpa Pickup's Birthday December 23, 2008

Kevin's Grandpa Pickup celebrated a birthday in December. Kevin's mom put together a birthday celebration for him. It was great fun including a life quiz, Grandpa bingo, pony race and monster-truck race. Grandpa seemed really happy. It was a lot of fun to celebrate with him.
Happy Birthday, Grandpa!

Auntie Jennifer and Nora

Champion Pony Racers

Nora's Blessing--December 22, 2008

Nora Pickup was blessed by her father on December 22, 2008 at Grandpa and Grandma Tolman's home in Rigby, Idaho. For our friends who aren't familiar with our LDS customs, an infant in the LDS church is given a name and a blessing by someone who holds the preisthood, often his or her father. This is similar to a christening. She was a very good girl and didn't cry at all. Nora's blessing dress was made by Grandma Tolman. There is around 200 hours of needlework in the little dress and it it certainly going to be a treasured heirloom for years to come. Because the weather was so awful some of our family were not able to make it. We missed them but understand. The roads were terrible and many were closed before the night was over. We were happy to have Grandpa & Grandma Tolman, Grandpa & Grandma Pickup, Jessica, Chris & Kristi and their family. Nora's blessing was so sweet. She is such an easy-going baby (most of the time). We are starting to see more smiles. She brings a really special spirit to our home. We are blessed to have her here.

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Uncle Chris, Grandpa Tolman, Bishop Mylar, Grandpa Pickup, Daddy