May News

Okay, well it's now almost the middle of June. I can't say that I can even remember most of May already. Pretty sad, I'd say. Perhaps the most significant event was the passing of Kevin's maternal grandmother, Grandma Lee. Her health had been deteriorating for some time, but it seemed to happen very suddenly toward the end. Death is often a bitter-sweet milestone, especially when it's someone elderly who has lived a long and full life. Yes, we will miss Grandma dearly. I'm sure her daughters and sons will miss her especially. But it was so sweet to have so many of the family gather together and celebrate the person Grandma was. Also, the Gospel of Jesus Christ makes death a bit easier to endure I suppose, as we have a knowledge of life beyond the grave. We really did enjoy being together as a family. There was a memorial service in Hockinson on Friday, May 22nd followed by a graveside service in Pasco, WA and funeral in Basin City, WA on Saturday the 23rd. This was my first time visiting Basin City. Not sure why it's called a city. It's even smaller than the town I grew up in. Very cute though.

Nora accomplished sitting independently in the beginning of May. She seemed so much more content once she was able to sit and grab things and watch all that was going on. However, by the end of the month, sitting would no longer do. Now she often stiffens if I try to sit her down because she would much rather stand. So I have to either have her stand on my lap or find something for her to hold on to and she'll just stand and stand. She is even beginning to pull herself up to stand. However, she refuses to spend time on her tummy. She often puts herself in a crawling position from sitting and then screams in anger, "Who did this to me?!" She loves to watch Zane, and he can make her giggle more than anyone except Mom. They are now sleeping in the same room. After a few very early mornings, I think they've finally compromised on a wake-up time between 6:30 and 7:00. (Still too early for me, but I guess I'll live with it).

Zane loves any sort of transportation. Most of the books he gets from the library are about trucks, tractors, or trains. We will read them over and over again. He likes to walk down the street to Stark Street Lawn and Garden just to look at the "maw-mowahhs." He loves to visit Grandpa and Grandma Pickup and asks almost every day for "papa." He is going through his first spell of separation anxiety. He always seems so afraid that I'm going to leave him. He now refuses to go to nursery or let me leave his at anyone's house. The only people he will stay with other than Mom and Dad are Grandpa & Grandma and Adrienne. If anyone has any suggestions, especially with nursery, please send them my way! He is beginning to talk in sentences and it is exciting to be able to understand so much of what he says.

Kevin keeps busy with work and Elder's quorum responsibilities. I try to keep busy with mommying--play group, park outings, Children's Museum, cooking, cleaning, diapering, bathing, wiping runny noses (constantly!). Anything new and exciting rarely happens with Kevin and I. You know, it's all about the kids.

Hungry?

I guess Zane can get his own snacks now.

Powell Butte Hike

On Saturday, the 9th, we went for a little "hike" up Powell Butte. We wanted to go out and enjoy the beautiful day but stay close enough not to interfere with naps. Powell Butte was the perfect solution. It was a beautiful day and Zane was so happy to be out in the sun and nature. We took a little picnic. It was a clear day, but not clear enough to see Mt. Rainier or Adams this day. We could see Mt. Hood and Mt. St. Helens. We saw A LOT of airplanes and dogs. Nora was a champ, but there aren't many pictures of her since she was being worn by the camera lady. We spent just enough time hiking and had plenty of time to come home and do some chores and have naps. For a Mother's Day gift Kevin cleaned my car spotless inside and out, changed the oil and filled up the gas. What a great gift.

Nora's tricks

Sitting up

Playing the piano

Sitting up

Circus Act

A favorite place to sit

Sick

I haven't posted in a long time because I have been SO sick. I don't think I have ever been so sick or for so long. I'll spare the details, but I pretty much spent a week in bed. I'm so thankful to Kevin for picking up the slack--shortening his work days, going in late, taking care of me and my messes and the kids. I'm also really thankful for Kevin's parents who live so close and came and took Zane over night so he could spend a couple of days having fun instead of watching too much TV while mom stayed in bed. They didn't hesitate to help. I'm also thankful for my mom who bore with me in my daily phone calls/whining and crying. I'm pretty much better now, just some leftover yuckiness from a sinus infection. I'm just glad I didn't spread it to the rest of my family and that it's done with!

April Update

It seems difficult already to remember what happened in April. Can it be May already? Of course, Zane and Nora just continue to change. Zane not as much as Nora. His favorite things are still books and transportation--cars, buses, airplanes, "choo-choos". He gets into everything, but really is the sweetest boy. He enjoys going to the library and bringing home new books every couple of weeks. He likes to get the step-stool at the library and help scan the books at the self check-out. His favorite books are books about big machines, trucks and tractors. He often asks to go see Papa-Moooo (Grandpa and the cows).

Nora finished the month by learning to sit up on her own. She is still a bit teetery, but loves her new independence. She just seems like a much happier baby now that you can just hand her a toy and she can sit and play with it. She refuses to spend any time on her tummy, though. She sleeps great, but unfortunately, is an early riser. How do you teach an infant that 5:30 am is not an acceptable wake-up time? I also figured out that she was starving in the evening--just not enough supply there by that time of night, so we've started supplementing with a bottle and she seems much happier about that, too.

Kevin celebrated his birthday. Somehow I neglected to write about it earlier. He finally got the shotgun he had been wanting for so long and I was glad his birthday finally came so I could stop hearing about how disappointed he was the day he thought I got it for him and then told him I didn't. He was pleasantly surprised. He tried to inform me what our next gun was going to be but I think I made it clear that I thought one gun per hand was enough. We were at the beach the night of his birthday and he seemed to really enjoy himself. He has been really busy with Elder's quorum and trying to fill that responsibility well.

Not much has changed with me. I have had a really hard time getting motivated to consistently train for my half-marathon, so we will see how that goes. I did get a new calling as the Primary Music leader. It is so much fun. I have really loved it so far. It might be the best calling there is, although cub scouts was pretty fun too. Other than that I pretty much spend my time doing laundry, at least that's how it seems some days!

We enjoyed a visit from my mom and dad toward the end of the month. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures. Zane loves it when they visit. We went to the beach for a day and then we spent a day downtown. It was nice just to be able to visit with them, play games and enjoy time together. They can never stay long enough and I've decided we just need to move closer.