Bunny

Since Easter, Caleb has had an invisible friend.  He isn't around all the time, but he comes out a few times a day.  His name changes once a week or so, but his friend is always a bunny.  He has been called Easter Bunny, Bunny, and Hop. 

Sitting Up!

Elinore has been sitting on her own for awhile now, but this weekend she mastered getting herself into a seated position!  My mom and I first witnessed it Sunday and she did it several more time and again this morning.  Keith has yet to see it and she'll still lay down and whine until someone sits her up, but she can do it! 

Outside

One of my goals for 2013 was to spend more time outside.  It's early in the year, but we've done a few things in our yard that will hopefully help motivate me.

First, we're gardening again this year!  And we're much more focused on it than in past year.  Usually we needed the help of our neighbors and their equipment.  They moved away last year, and I was expecting so we didn't garden at all last year.

This year, Keith bought himself a tiller from Craig's List and he's committed!  He's got a co-worker who is menotring him along the way.  So far, the soil looks better, which I suppose is a great first time.

Second, we're composting!  I've been wanting to compost for a few years now, but Keith has been very against it.  His co-worker/gardening mentor is a big composter and got him on board!  Keith built us this awesome composter and we're using it!  We have a 5 gallon bucket with a lid in our kitchen next to our trash can we collect it in.  We are putting fruit and vegetable leftovers and scraps along with other food scraps, but no meat!  After I run the sweeper I empty my canister into the bin too, that helps keep the smell down and is completly fine to go in the composter!  Once the bucket is full we are taking it out to the bin, dumping it in and covering it with a layer of peet moss. 

Our third and final thing, is this awesome fire pit Keith built for us!



Sometime last summer we moved several plants to help the look of our flower beds.  We removed some of the flower beds and planted grass seed and the plants from those we filled in holes in the flower beds we still have.  Hopefully that helps things look a little better around the house and keeps things easier to maintain. 

All three of the kids love to be outside, we like food off the grill and have a great picnic table in the backyard, so I hope to see a lot of the outside this summer!  We are so blessed to have a wonderful place to live our lives!

Chruch Acrobatics

I was talking typing with a close friend of mine the other day about Elinore's activity during church services on Sundays.  She's quite the acrobat and tires my arms out by the end of the service!

My friend asked "he doesn't like to sit still and be held either?"

I responded:
Hahahaha.

No.

Almost never.

She's looking behind me she's looking ahead she's reaching for this and trying to eat that.

She's leaving backwards looking up at the ceiling, she's fussing to sit back up and lean over to touch her toes.

She's reaching for Caden's glasses or to pull Caleb's hair.

She's trying to eat my bulletin.

One of the ladies asked me yesterday if I would be surirsed if she grew up and ran away to the circus with her acrobatics.  

My Grandpa

I was at our church serving the SOUP supper tonight when a man I'd never met before walked up to me and asked if I was Edson's granddaughter.  I thought about it for a second as my Grandpa has been gone for almost 15 years, before I said yes, yes I am. 

He went on to tell me that he had worked for my grandpa when he was about 14 years old.  He said he was hired to do farm work many many years ago.  He talked about how my Grandpa always had a story for everything, and that is so true. 

He told me my Grandpa once told him that marriage was like bath, once you're in it for awhile it's not so hot.

We chucked and I listened to him talk about the farm work and the people who worked on the farm for a bit.

Later I found out he is actually now married to my Dad's cousin.  They were married last year and coincidentally he and my dad share the same first name too!

Playing in the Gray Area

In a recent performance review I had at work, my boss complimented me on my ability to "play" in the gray area. My job is very full of gray area. There is little black and white when it comes to underwriting. I've always known this about my job and just gotten on with it, never giving it much thought.


Then my boss called it out in my review, and I started thinking about it.

Playing in the gray area is something I do often, more than just when I'm at work.

Parenting is a very gray area.

There are so many choices we make as parents, and none of the are right or wrong, just different. We all choose what works best for our kids and our families.

Aside from those bigger decisions, I find gray area every day in parenting in trying to decide how to teach them about respect and appropriate behavior. I pray about how to handle situations sometimes, though not nearly as often as I should.

It's all about being comforatable playing in the gray area and dealing with a changing game every day. 

Parent Tot Swim Class

The first weekend in April, Elinore and I started a parent-tot swim class. 

I was so looking forward to it.  Based on Elinore's limited exposure to water, I thought she would like it.  She loves bathtime and she really enjoyed playing in the water when we went to Great Wolf Lodge earlier this year. 

We went to a new to us rec center to take the classes because it's closer to home, and I'm so glad we went and tried it.  We'll certainly be back with the boys for swim later!

Elinore did excellent at swim class!  She was the youngest there; there were 5 kids in the class.  Most of them were toddlers, but there was one other baby there with his dad.  Elinore did really well with most things, as much as expected for a tiny one who can't follow directions!  She didn't cry in the water and she splashed and kicked and played.  She wasn't a big fan of floating on her back after awhile, but she still did well. 

I'm looking forward to continuing classes with her!