Say "Cheese"

Or not! Maybe our kids just sound very educated. Every time we go to take a picture what comes out of their mouth (thanks to Clark's prompting a few times) is "Onomatopoeia".

How Big Is Baby?

SO BIG!!

At Eliza's 4 month doctor appointment a few weeks ago she was weighing in at 17 lbs 2 oz. Just a mere half the size of her 4 year old brother. (For those of you who can't do math - Jaron weighs 35 lbs.) They say the reason her weight is so high is because she is so tall - 27 inches. I went back and looked at the boys records. Jaron weighed 16 lbs at 6 months. Russell weighed about 15 lbs at 4 months but at 1 year he only weighed 18 lbs and I think he is struggling to maintain 23 lbs. He just runs it all off.

Anyway, that is all interesting to me. We do love her chub. It's just cute. She is wiggly and giggly. She's found her feet. I love watching my children discover new things. It's all new all over to me again because I forget. When she isn't grabbing her toes she rolling and wiggling. She is just wiggly. And when she isn't doing that, well, she's just barfing up. Sorry, it's true. Good thing she is so cute because I'm starting to lose my sense of humor for her Sunday-morning-just-about-to-walk-out-the-door barf sessions. I think next Sunday I'm going to plan on wearing pjs to church. Just watch, this time she will keep it all in her tummy and I won't need that last minute change.

Hunkering Down

We had our first real tornado warning last night since moving to Oklahoma. I'm still having a hard time figuring out why a place like Oklahoma that gets tons of tornadoes doesn't have many homes with basements. I'm grateful for our small little Harry Potter cupboard under the stairs. It offers a little piece of mind even if the quarters are cramped. (And the added benefit of being closely situated to our food storage and 72 hour kits.) Obviously, as you can see from the picture, the kids were completely unconcerned about the whole thing. They all happily slept. I had fond memories of my parents dragging me out of bed in the middle of the night to sleep in random places in our basement as we waited out tornadoes. Luckily all was well. That is except for the fact that after 30 minutes of being cramped in the storage closet my legs were aching. They still tingle just to think about it.

Tummy Time

"Hey Mommy. I love being on my tummy. Check out my skills."

"Mommy, I've been on my tummy for a little while. It's starting to not feel so great."

"Yep, that was the problem. Much better."

What?

Conversations in our house have gotten a little tiring lately due to the 4-year-old wielding a 4-letter question.

What?

I said, I'm getting a little tired of repeating myself.

What?

Jaron, I was just telling you that I don't want to tell you that again.

What?

I'm just going to stop talking.

What?

Nothing.

What?

I can't even remember now what I was trying to tell you.

What?

Jaron, por favor pare de fazer a sua mãe louca por continuamente perguntando o quê.

. . . Blank stare . . .

Thanks Clark. Now onto other topics.

What??

Eating Cake

Our resident 4-year-old loves trains. He is also slowly indoctrinating his little brother into the wonderful obsessive world of trains. Anyway, we are pretty boring parents. We've opted to have just small family parties for our children's birthdays. I decided this year I wanted to do something to make Jaron's birthday a little more exciting. Thanks to the help of a wonderful friend/neighbor I was able to pull off this adorable train cake!

I don't take too much credit for this other than finding a recipe/picture and then envisioning the red caboose. Making and decorating the cake really didn't take that long but it was a late night (11 pm) when I finally arrived home with cake in tow. I was ready to drop into bed when Eliza decided to wake up and request some attention. Which continued on until past 1 AM. Then she proceeded to wake up every hour or so throughout the night to check up on us. So fun!

But it was all worth it to see the surprise on this little boy's face (captured best on video). And he happily proclaimed while consuming cake, "Mommy, I'm eating the couple." Or "Mommy, I ate some of the coal from the coal car!"
Of course, when he declared the next day the best thing about his birthday was his train cake I was already making plans for an elaborate cake for Russell. I'm addicted. Maybe next time I can get a little more sleep.

Offending the Postal Gods

Yep, I did it. I officially have offended the US Postal Gods. They lost my Mother's Day gift in the mail; not to me, to my mother. Forget that it was a perishable item that if they held it long enough and then delivered it, it would be ruined. Nope, they officially up and lost the whole darned package. That is truly offensive.

And no, I didn't chose this form of shipment. When I placed the order through an online company I had no idea they shipped through the postal service. I thought it was UPS. I am officially branded and cursed. Be forewarned.

Oh, there is such humor in life. Such humor.

Enjoying Motherhood

I am not a perfect mother. I probably fail more times than I succeed. But I try. My kids aren't perfect either; most likely that's my fault. But I'm learning lots from them. My Mother's Day comes early this year like it does every year since Jaron was born. He joined our family 4 years ago just 3 days before Mother's Day. Thanks Jaron. I was always grateful for that. Of course, when I found out that the hospital gave diamond necklaces to the women who had babies on Mother's Day I was little jealous. [Although Russell came on Father's Day and no gifts were given out that day; at least none that we saw. Clark even missed out on the large chocolate candy bar they gave out in church. Poor guy. He lucked out and got a son instead.]

For weeks I've been feeling reminiscent and very thoughtful about my role as a mother. I love it! I am grateful to see these little people learn, grow, change, and progress. It truly is amazing. However, there are days that it can drive me a little crazy. How do you juxtapose the sheer delight of seeing, doing and enjoying every moment with your children throughout the day with the misery of Clark leaving the house every morning and seeing how many hours stretch out before me? Some days feel eternal. Quite possibly because I have three little kids.

I'm told again and again how fleeting this time is. I know that motherhood doesn't end when a child grows up and leaves the house but it changes. The intensity of my role is right now. I'm helping to shape, mold, guide and direct. I'm a creative force in action (even if my mediums are very resistant.)

Watching home movies tonight of both the boys as babies I couldn't get over how quickly they've changed. How does one go about best enjoying it? I truly believe it's in those small moments even if they are hard to find. I think a little dose of humor helps too. I confess, I've very selfish about my babies - I want to hold them! It's hard to share because I know they won't be babies for long. I hate to give up Eliza- even when I'm playing the piano in primary. (Hey, I've managed to serve as Primary pianist every time I have a baby so I'm pretty good at playing-the-piano-with-baby thing.)

I am always in awe of other mothers. I love to see what they do, or what they recollect, or what they love. My sister always offers such great perspective to me. Partially because she has teenagers - I use to hold her babies!! - but she also has such a great sense of humor and adventure. She has told me how she loved chasing her toddlers around the house to catch them and change dirty diapers. It has changed my perspective because I would just view it as a frustrating challenge. Now after prayers when Russell decides to do laps around the couch I find it enjoyable instead of annoying. I know he'll out grow it some day and then I'll miss it. My sister is such a great example to me of a woman who loves motherhood.

My mother . . . everyone's mother is great but she is incredible. She is the mother of seven children (5 boys!!). Every time I'm pregnant she always says to me, "I wish I had had more children." That to me just says it all. Of course, I'm always thanking her for making it to number 6. I'm at three and having a hard time thinking that long term! She has taught me about love, selflessness, compassion, and the love of learning. She's always reading a book and my children love that she is always ready to read them a book. I don't do that enough. My mother is such a great example to me of a woman who loves motherhood. Thanks Mom, you're the best!

It's been a long week, a very long week. I regularly face each morning and think to myself "not again". I want to change that attitude. Instead I want to replace it with what continues to come to my mind "This time is fleeting; have an eternal perspective." As seasoned parents know: the babies learn how to sleep through the night, the toddlers grow out of their tantrums, and the preschoolers eventually learn how to do things themselves; enjoy the season, enjoy the change, the challenge, the monotony and the unpredictability. To my three darling little children: thanks for making me a mother. I'm enjoying it.