Proverbs

Here are a couple to stand the test of time...

You can lead a horse to water but you cannot make it drink.

You can put a baby to bed with clean diaper, full tummy, and droopy eyes, but you cannot make him sleep.

Poor Mindy...

This is what happens when you bequeath your most beloved childhood toy on your firstborn and it isn't properly appreciated.

I promise that Mindy NEVER lost her head during our play years... just don't talk to my brothers. Doesn't every Cabbage Patch Kid come with a yarn through the neckline to help hold the head in place?

Birthday Fun

This is really picture heavy--I went a little camera nutty yesterday. But we had a fun play day for Anna's birthday. We drove Dan downtown to work and then Anna, David, and I went over to Hermann Park for the morning. We rode this fun train and Anna had a blast!


Anna's still working on holding up those 3 fingers.


Waving to everyone we passed.

Just chilaxing.


Then we blew some bubbles and watched ducks on the little pond.



She found a feather

And then another feather

and discovered their proper purpose


David was a good sport even though we made him miss his morning nap.

At home we spent the afternoon playing with her new play kitchen. This phone is her favorite part of it. She picked it up and "called" Grandma and Grandpa all afternoon long.

Can't forget the fun birthday balloons

And of course birthday cake. We brought it outside and had cake with some of the neighbors on our circle.



Fun birthday!

8:44 pm

The minute Anna was born 3 years ago! Well, Mountain Daylight time, so we had to pause in our evening twice to acknowledge the time she was born at 8:44 Central time, but then again at 9:44 which was actually 8:44 in Utah where she was born. Did you follow that? We're kind of funny that way in our family and remember the minute and make sure to wait and watch the clock turn from 8:43 to 8:44 and then officially proclaim Anna a 3-year-old. Or whomever may be the birthday boy/girl that day.

So Anna is officially 3 years old! I know I say this all the time, but where has the time gone? I can not believe that it has been 3 years since I was first pregnant, buying pink blankets and clothes, planning how to fit a port-a-crib in our little 1 bedroom apartment, still relatively-well sleeping through the night (only getting up around once a night was nothing!), anxiously anticipating the birth of our sweet little girl. And then 3 years ago today going into the doctor for my 37-week checkup and learning that stubborn little Anna decided to turn breech at the last minute, while my blood pressure and worrisome pre-eclampsia symptoms dredged near enough to scary levels to send us over to the hospital for monitoring as well as an attempted external version to turn this breech little girl. And 3 years ago this evening receiving the disappointing news that despite the very uncomfortable pressure and pushing of that external version, this little baby girl had decidedly dropped and was not budging, while I was actively progressing into early labor. With those unfortunate circumstances stacked up against us, 3 years ago this evening our sweet baby girl was born via c-section. I remember being so scared 3 years ago, nervous for the unknown, nervous about being a mother. And then when I heard her little cry at 8:44 pm in the O.R., everything was all right. I cried, but it was very good crying. I was still nervous, still anxious, still had a long recovery ahead, and still 3 years later have a whole lifetime ahead of learning how to do this parenting thing. Today I sat and went over that day in my head just to remember, and funny enough, it's the random little details that stick with me more than the fears, though. My parents and my brother Jon came to the hospital that night and brought me a fountain drink from Harts gas station (before I knew I was headed in for a c-section). The discussion the doctors had during the surgery, looking back, was pretty hilarious. Weird Al Yankovich, anyone? I had no idea that my doctor, who used to sing for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, knew anything about Weird Al! Oh, and one of the attending nurses had just returned from a month trip to Europe and had great tales of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. I think I'll remember those details forever. Funny how little things stick in the memory, huh?

But I'm so grateful to have this sweet little girl and be her mother. Anna is very independent and loves to do things on her own. She can be really obstinate and headstrong at times, but she is also really loving and kind and aware of others' feelings. She surprises me often with new little things she has learned or connections she makes in her mind. I love seeing her personality develop day to day and watching her grow.
Happy 3rd Birthday, Anna!

Crawling

Because he did so much better today, here's a little more of David crawling. He really took off now that he realized he can move! We made a little trail of cheerios on the ground to get him going, and then he came all the way across the room and found the little bowl of them. I love the way he kicks with his legs and flops forward onto his cheek as he crawls. Funny kid.

Happy Pioneer Day!

We sure missed having a nice state holiday off of work today for Dan to stay home. Oh well, I guess we'll just have to wait for Labor Day. I celebrated anyway by singing "Pioneer children sang as they walked, and walked, and walked, and walked..." umpteen times today with Anna while I sewed this fun bonnet for her. It's actually an apron also that you button back into a bonnet, but I didn't get a picture of it as an apron. Then tonight we had a ward activity with a fun little children's parade and some service projects to work on. We had a fun time getting to visit with and meet people in our new ward. David sure was enthusiastic... I guess there was too much for him to see and focus on instead of smiling for the camera. Of course, this was Anna's favorite part. Tonight when we got home, though, David made up for his unenthused state. Looks like we have a crawler on our hands! I think more baby-proofing is in order. The video doesn't show it very well, but he actually started further back by Dan, and then we kept moving Dan's glasses (why glasses, you ask? I have no idea, take it up with David, or any baby, as to why glasses are so fascinating. He pulled them off Dan's face, and thus a motivation was born) around and having him crawl for them again and again. We're such mean parents.

All in all, a good Pioneer Day. I enjoy this time of year to remember and honor the heritage of our church and think of the sacrifices made and strong faith of the early pioneers of the church, as well as all pioneers around the world past and present. I'm grateful to have the Gospel of Jesus Christ in my life. I'm grateful for the examples of courage, sacrifice, love, and faith that I find when remembering and reading about pioneers, and the hope and strength it gives me to boost my own faith and testimony always, through struggles and happiness.

Auntie Christiana

My sister Christiana is here for the week visiting! It's been so fun to go all over the city exploring and spending lots of fun time. Anna and David are having a grand ole' time with all the extra attention from a doting auntie also. I wish we didn't live so far away so that we could see Christie more often--and all of my brothers and sisters.
We've spent the last several days driving around seeing some of the local sites, seeing the Houston temple, going to Market Street in The Woodlands, downtown at the museums, and down to Galveston for some fun beachtime. And today I've roped Christie into sewing some projects with me. What a good sister I have! I'm so glad for a fun visit, and we still get to keep her until Wednesday--what a great week!