Jessica gets the "Super Sister Award!"

As a mother, I have proud moments of my children all the time. Some are small... "You shared your toy so nicely, Lia, good job!" or "You zipped your zipper all by yourself, Jessica, way to go!" or "You ate all your vegetables, Jackson, good for you!" And, some are big... "You went pee-pee on the potty, Lia!" or "You wrote your name so nicely, Jessica!" or "Jackson, you're reading!" Every day, I look forward to these moments, big and small. And, I'm sure all parents would agree, it's a wonderful thing to witness your children make good choices; to watch them turn into the good people we, as parents, work so hard to teach them to be is very rewarding! The other day, Jessica had a proud moment that sort of took me by surprise because I didn't know she was yet capable of being so helpful without me asking her to do so... Lia had fallen down on the sidewalk and skinned both of her knees, bit her upper lip, and scraped her face a bit from falling onto the pavement. She was, of course, quite a mess --crying and bleeding! So, I was doing the best I could to soothe Lia, carry her back home (we were on a walk and about a block away), and to keep the rest of the daycare kids calm. This was Jessica's role: To Lia she said, "Are you ok?" "It'll be alright." Then, without another word, Jessica raced back to the house. By the time I arrived home carrying Lia in my arms, Jessica had cleaned up all the outside toys and was waiting patiently in the garage with a kleenex box in one hand and a box of wet wipes in the other. As I was cleaning Lia off and placing a band-aid on her knee, Jessica asked me, "Mom, is Lia going to be ok?" I'd like for this proud moment to always be remembered, and for you, Jessica, to know that you are indeed a "Super Sister!"

Not all "firsts" are good ones

It's inevitable...all kids are going to fall down at one point or another. All kids are going to have bumps and bruises from time to time. In fact, every child is almost certain to know what pain feels like by the time they are 2 years old. True, scraped knees and pinched fingers are minor pains in life, yet seemingly so cruel and wrong when the victims are children. As a mother, I feel like I go through the same pain my kids feel whenever they get hurt. As much as I wish I could take the pain away instantly for them, I realize it's a part of growing up. So, as a mom, I'm going to continue to be strong for my children; for each occasional boo-boo, and every infrequent owie, I will be there to wipe the tears from their eyes and tell them "it'll be alright." Which is exactly what I did for our little Lia, who just received her first scraped knee.

Lia is 2!

Dear Lia, We can hardly believe you are two years old!...and what a wonderful two years it has been. Your birthday fell on a Sunday this year. We already had the big birthday party celebration; so, we decided to keep things simple with a cake, a few happy birthday songs, and the enjoyment of watching you blow out your birthday candles one more time...

Lia, you are a very special girl! Beginning with your birth story -having been born "in the caul"-- is unusual and special in itself. You slept through your birth, snuggled your way through your first birthday, and melted the hearts of all your family members on your second. If we had to describe you in only three words, your dad and I would say you are: Loving, Quiet, and Determined! We very much enjoy how snuggly and affectionate you are. Each morning when we go into your room to lift you out from your crib, we are greeted with a smile, a "Hi Momma/Daddy," and open arms just waiting for us to embrace you. Throughout the day, you find several opportunities to share a hug, kiss, or cuddle --whether it be with me, your daycare friends, or your puppy and blanket. And, nothing beats how genuinely happy you are to see your Dad and I return home, even after a half hour errand, it's wonderful to come home to see you waiting at the top of the stairs with your arms wide open waiting for a big hello hug and kiss. At this point, your Dad and I are indifferent about your quiet disposition. We can say that we find it rather refreshing to listen to your soft, sweet voice in our otherwise noisy house. And, as for your dermination--we don't exactly care for this particular trait of yours...at this point in your life anyway. While we know someday we will be grateful you have been blessed with a strong will to persevere, that day is not today! As a two-year-old, your determination can be a bit of a struggle at times for your Dad and I. "I DO MYSELF!" we hear from you quite often. "OK." is what we tell you --as we've learned not to intervene until you ask for help. Luckily, you have a stay-at-home mom with a very seldom need to be "in a hurry" to go somewhere or do something. While we stick to a very strict routine at daycare, if the need for you to practice doing something on your own happens to arise, I simply let you "do it yourself" until one of two things happen: 1) you do it yourself! yay!, or 2) you surrender to your frustration and ask for help. While this can be a difficult stage, we realize you are becoming more and more independent with each day that passes. In the meantime, your dad and I have learned how to maintain expert control over our patience. Lia, here are a few random "noteworthy" thoughts about you as a 2-year-old: -You are a "momma's girl" right now...which I do love, and know won't last long. -You sleep with four special buddies at night: puppy, baby, panda bear, and baby genius dog. You also sleep with your special blanket, aka - blanky, or "neeny" as you call it. -You love to dance! Kidz Bop CD and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 'Choo Choo Express' are a few of your favorite music choices. -You LOVE to be read to, and also enjoy paging through piles of books independently. -You can repeat most anything we say, and you're learning to make sentences. -Your laughter and the way you can find joy in anything you do always make us smile. Like I said before, you are a special girl, Lia. We are very proud of you! Love, Mom & Dad

Birthday party for Jessica and Lia

Jason and I decided to combine Jessica's and Lia's birthday parties this year. We figured we can get away with doing that for at least one more year as well, before Jessica will want to have a seperate party with her friends. The big event was held on Saturday, March 31; all sides of the family came to our house to help us celebrate. Here are a few pictures of the girls opening their gifts...

I made a Dora cake per Jessica's request, and we bought a Mickey & Minnie Mouse cake at Linda's bakery for Lia. They each had a seperate cake to blow out their candles.

Singing 'Happy Birthday' to Jessica and Lia...

Mom's home-made Dora cake...

Bounce house fun!--Always a great party idea!...

The "King of the grill" --aka Jason Mahlum - did a hec of a good job supplying our party guests with some delicious burgers :)

A few pictures taken with some of the grandparents...

Thanks again family, for joining us, and for helping make Jessica's and Lia's big day so special!

Happy Easter, 2012

We had a not-so-great experience attempting to do an egg hunt at the YMCA this year...it was too cold and windy to find eggs outside, and we had a couple of ornry, complaining kids! It ended up being a complete bust, but before we left I managed to snap this picture of Jackson standing with the Easter Bunny. Jessica wouldn't dare get close enough to the bunny for a picture; and Lia, although she kept her distance (and held tightly onto puppy) was willing to be in the picture...

The Saturday before Easter was a family celebration with Grandma Barb, Grandpa Terry, Uncle Ryan, Maddy, Logan, and Uncle Zach. The kids had a nice time hunting for eggs, and baking little cakes with Grandma Barb. ______________________________________________ On Easter Sunday, our family went to church and continued the Easter celebration at Grandma and Grandpa Gundy's house. Again, the kids had fun hunting for eggs inside their house. ______________________________________________ Waiting for church service to begin...

Playing 'Memory' with Grandpa Bob...

Decorating eggs...

Lia, few pictures taken in March 2012

What's wrong with this picture??



...I'd say it's time for bed!...only an hour and a half past your bedtime.

Maybe time to cut down on the afternoon naps because we have been struggling with getting Lia to fall asleep at a reasonable hour.

Deck weather already?

Last Saturday morning, March 18 2012, was a typical Saturday morning around our house except for the fact the kids were playing outside on the deck by 8 o' clock in the morning.



On this particular Saturday morning, three days before the first day of Spring, it happened to be about 65 degrees F by 8:30 a.m.!




Another noteworthy topic of discussion...

Sitting on Lia's chair with her are yellow blanket, puppy, and baby doll:



Sitting on Jackson's chair with him are fox and lion (both sitting in the cup holders) and snake:



Sitting on Jessica's chair with her are puppy, kitty, triceratops, frog, baby doll:


Jackson and Lia both have strong feelings for their special objects sitting with them in their chairs. Jessica, however, is more interested in organizing and arranging her animals on her chair than she is about the objects themselves. The chosen few she has on this particular morning could've just been whatever she happened to find laying around the house first.