A million pictures today...
- We put Layla's hair in a high pony and she couldn't stop looking at herself in the mirror. When she sports this hairdo, we call her Nadine, which is a character from Arthur who has a pony tail right atop her head like this and it makes us all happy to have a little Nadine walking around the house.
- We went to visit the giant snowman in Orem. It was pretty remarkable and just huge. We were all impressed.
- Layla came home from nursery singing "Once upon a snowman..." and that is just adorable.
- We tackled another project in our house a couple weeks ago. We call it our ancestor wall, because, well, it has pictures of our ancestors. So I guess we've been using that word more frequently than usual. After someone mentioned the ancestor wall Ellery turned to me and said, "What about an-brothers?"
- The other day McKay and Ellery had done something to make me upset (not listening continually probably) and I was clearly angry. I was upstairs for awhile and when I came down, they led me into the front room and sat me down on the couch. Ellery sang a made up aplogy to me, and then McKay sat down on the piano. He played Away In A Manger but made up his own words to the tune, "I'm sorry dear mother, you are the best mom..." How could I stay mad? I love those naughty kids.
- The girls playing mermaids in the kitchen. I love that my girls have each other. They play so well together and I hope that continues forever. I want them to always be close and always enjoy each other.
- The kids, especially McKay, have been super into Kid History lately. It's cute to see them think they are so funny and I love hearing Mack quote lines from them. It's even cuter to hear Layla suddenly break out in, "Kyle! Kyle! Kyyyy-le!"
- Look at this kid. His tooth is gigantic. Thankfully, the other one is on it's way down now, but it's been a long wait. The sweet thing about him is that he knows how awkward teeth look on kids in this stage of...um...teeth growing. He comments on his own from time to time, and many other people do too. It's hard to ignore that chomper!
- All winter I've been asking McKay if I could cut his hair. He's deflected by saying if he cut it, he would be cold. The other day at Grandma's it came out what was really going on. He told her he wanted to grow it out into a bowl cut. Oh my! Brian told him bowl cuts were kind of old fashioned, so now he's open to cutting it. But now all I can think about is how cold his head is going to be.
- McKay came home from school and told me about a little dispute he had on the playground. What happened was while playing chase, Kylee pushed him down and she said it was an accident but it wasn't and he and his friends all knew it wasn't and his socks got all wet. They all went to talk to the recess guard and after hearing this whole story from McKay he ended with, "But mom, I won the talk. I won it." I guess that means that the guard sided with McKay. Victory.
- Brian took McKay skiing a couple weeks ago. It was the coldest day of winter- twelve below! I was so worried they would be frozen to the mountain, but they had a blast. Brian came home and told me how much he enjoyed being with McKay all day. And it really was all day- they left at nine and didn't come home until five!
- McKay took a half day ski lesson. His instructor was named Jeremy. He must have done a good job, because when Brian went down the mountain with him for the first time, he was shocked at what McKay could do. He was flying down the mountain and Brian actually had to try to keep up with him. McKay loved it and can't wait to go again. Ellery was super jealous. Brian told her she could go next year and she hasn't forgotten about that. Whenever skiing comes up, she reminds us all that she gets to go next year.
- Mack also joined the Lego club at school. The first day was super boring because all they did was sort Legos. But the second class was a success and he's totally into Lego club!
- This boy is also reading chapter books. He's read several of the Magic Treehouse series books so far all by himself. I was absolutely shocked when one day he told me he had read one of those. He loves reading, probably mostly because he gets to put off bedtime to do it, and he's improving all the time. Proud of him.
- One morning Ellery and I decided that she needed a haircut right away. I cut five inches off and she felt like the most beautiful thing in the world. She kept looking in the mirror and telling everyone she saw. Her hair was so long and I always know it's time for a cut when it won't stay untangled for more than five minutes after brushing it out. She looks cute.
- She learned all about Martin Luther King Day at school. She even learned a song and sang it often. At dinner on MLK Day I asked her what it was all about. She said, "He had a dream that little black girls and little white girls and little peach girls would all hold hands together." When I asked what color of girl she is, she said, "I'm a peach girl. But Miss Melva said there really are white girls. Like for reals."
- So yeah, I was feeling all proud of my color-blind peach girl who knew so much about Mr. King's dream, but that all came to a sudden halt when she told Uncle Alex that she didn't want to kiss baby Wayne's doll because he had black skin. It just went downhill from there. I guess it should be a constant conversation...
- We had Alyssa and Ashlyn over for a fancy tea party one Saturday night. The girls got all dressed up and we talked like fancy British ladies and it was really fun. We love living close to all our fabulous cousins!
- Ellery has been into snuggling lately, especially at church. She fits right on my lap and fits like a puzzle piece against me. This makes me happy and I remember doing this with my own mom at church. I got sad though, when I imagined a day when my kids were too old to snuggle. How tragic! I don't like to think about it and I asked them if they would still snuggle me when they were teenagers. Everyone agreed, but we'll see.
- I took Ellery to the bathroom during Sacrament meeting today. She had a note, folded tightly, in her hand and asked me if I wanted to read it. The note: "Dear Jesus. Please bless that church will be short. Ellery". Amen!
- One last thing about this girl, because I don't think I've noted this lately- Ellery is absolutely our best sleeper. She rarely comes out of her room after being tucked in, she sleeps in unless Layla wakes her up and she hardly ever complains about going to bed. I am so glad that I have at leasat one easy sleeper, because McKay stalls and thinks of any reason to come out at night, and Layla is a maniac since her souci's been gone. So I'm grateful for Elle.
- So speaking of my little maniac, just look at her. She is wild. There's a lot to report about this one. As I snapped this pic and asked her what she was up to, she said, "I'm just brushing my tooth."
- She is constantly trying (and usually succeeding) to get naked or changing her clothes. We've had days where her outfit changes are in the double digits. She can only reach clothes in Ellery's drawer, so often times they are either clothes from the hamper or Elle's 5T pants and skirts.
- You know when you have a problem that is just weighing on you and no one really cares about it the way you do and your husband kind of cares, but not enough, and you ask sisters to pretend it's their problem and just care about it like you do for a second so they can feel what you feel and give you brilliant advice about your heavy problem and they try but they just can't? Anyone? Well, my little Layla is that problem for me right now. Oh, there's so much to say here. She is a different child since she's stopped napping and is sans souci. She is just into more things- more destructive, more whiney, more cranky, more demanding. Her sweet little self is being masked by this fussy, stubborn, exhausted child. I miss her. I see glimpses. Like yesterday when she was all of those about mentioned things all day at our house and we were ready to sell her, but as soon as we got to my parents house to visit she was this sweet little perfect thing. Glimpses like that are not fun.
Just some of Layla's handiwork
- Anyway, I don't know what to do to help her through this phase (please let it be a phase) except just give it time. I find that that is true with so many things when it comes to issues that arise with my children. It's easy to give that advice and have that perspective with others "It's just a phase. It won't last forever. It will be over and done with soon." But I have a hard time thinking that when I'm in the middle of an issue with one of mine. In hindsight, I've learned that most difficult things that arise with my children are not long term. They seem like these huge problems when I'm going through them, but they rarely are, and they almost always are gone and forgotten before I lose too much sleep over it. I am hoping that soon I can look back on this phase of Layla's and say, "Wow, that was rough, but now it's over."
- I write these things on my blog, hoping that whoever is reading will understand my heart as I explain the not so glamorous side of my mothering. Like, hoping that whoever reads this understands how after a long Saturday at home with a cranky baby, you joke about selling them. (Layla can joke about it, she told us she was going for $2.50). The bottom line is, even with the difficult things I go through with them, I sure love them all the time. I will go through this phase with Layla, and I will love her through it, and sometimes I will ask if anyone's interested in a two year old girl, and I will worry about how we're going to get through it. But I know we will.
- On a lighter note, this kid is growing up fast. After potty training my two older kids I swore each time that I wouldn't potty train the next kid until three. Ellery took like two years to fully train, so I was determined to stick to my three year old rule with Layla. I'm afraid Layla is kind of potty training herself. The last couple weeks she's gotten super into going potty and asks to do it most every day. Always naked from the waist down, she sits atop the toilet like a pro. In fact, Brian compares her toilet-top antics to the pommel horse- and that is a perfect description of what she looks like- her arms holding her up and her body swinging around the middle of the bowl, legs dangling in fron of her. She doesn't go potty every single time I let her try, but she does it quite often, and today she went poop twice. So I'm pretty sure I have to break my rule and go with this. Wouldn't you say she's ready?
- With potty training comes the idea of putting her in a big girl bed. I kind of wanted to keep her in her crib until she was five, but I might have to give up that dream too. She can get out of her crib, although she doesn't do it very often, surprisingly. The other day I was putting her in a time out in her crib and she threatened me, saying, "I'LL FALL OUT!" It's a good way to put how she gets out of there- she kind of just plops onto the floor in a heap. No wonder she doesn't do it often. Anyway, a big girl bed is imminent. Boo for me, but she's going to be SO happy.
- She may be growing up, but she is content to be a baby, all day long actually. She wants to play baby with anyone who's up for it all the time. She's sometimes the mom, but usually she's a baby named Gabriella. It's weird when your baby is doing baby talk.
- Friday was a big day for me. After probably twelve years, I went skiing. Brian's work has passes that we can use, so Brian took me up to Sundance. It was so weird being there- I haven't skied there since I was a kid. This was a big deal for me because I feel old and I was scared that I wouldn't be able to do it. I actually didn't want to go, but the fear in me was so strong that I decided I needed to do something hard- it would be good for me. Plus, it was free! Surprisingly, I wasn't as horrible as I had feared, and although I was slow, I could still ski. Brian was patient with me, even though I would stop mid-mountian to just look around at everyone whizzing by me. I reaffirmed that I don't love skiing, never did, but I actually liked it, which is more than I thought I would feel. I think I might want to go again. Part of what was so fun was that it was just me and Bri doing something fun together in a way different environment. Maybe I'm a skier!
- This is Brian in my PopPop's hat. I want him to wear it all the time- he looks so handsome in it!
- This winter has been extremely cold and snowy. Consequently, our roof has been subject to icicles, and a newly learned term for me- ice dams. Brian has kind of obsessed about the state of our roof for weeks- the melting, the snow, the icicles, and especially the ice dam. Today was a great day- the icicles and ice dam are gone and Brian is breathing easy for the first time all year. It was over thirty degrees today and as we walked to church it was like a spring morning- so warm!
The willow tree is still beautiful, even in this frozen weather.
- It has been super cold but that hasn't stopped Brian from running. People in our neighborhood tell me that they see him running in the mornings and they cannot believe their eyes. Negative temps or the horrible inversion don't keep this guy inside. He's crazy.
- I am extremely ready for a vacation to a warm, sunny place. It's going to happen mid-February but I hope I can last that long. I sometimes think back to the Oregon winters- and although they're quite rainy, the grass is green, the trees are alive and you get some days where you can play outside. I can't think about that too much.
Happy Sunday!
