Feeding Stations

This is too funny. Definitely post-worthy. Who said kids couldn't eat like hampsters?

I was unloading the CLEAN dishes from the dishwasher the other day. When I turned back to the dishwasher I found Lydia trying to suck the living daylights out of this sippy cup lid. Thirsty anyone? Normally she just unloads all of the silverware onto the floor so drinking from the lid was a first.

But it got me thinking... maybe I should set up a feeding station at my house. Cheerios in one, juice in another, and fruit slices in another. This would totally solve the "what to eat for lunch/dinner" dilemna.

Hmmm...

Fun in the Sun... and another cake

It's finally warmed up here. I'm sure I'll be pining for cooler weather in a few weeks, but for now, we're enjoying the sun.

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The warmer weather also brought enthusiasm for planting a garden. Everyone has said not to plant until after Easter, but with Easter so late this year, I couldn't wait. We'll see if things frost over in the next few weeks...

We spent a full day prepping the garden box, bringing in a truckload of manure, putting up fencing, and tilling another section for more garden space. Then last Saturday we landscaped and planted. I'm pretty excited about the whole thing. We might be overrun with produce (is that ever a bad thing?), but being as we're starting everything from seed, I'm fairly confident everything won't thrive.

List of what we planted:
Rosemary, Basil, Cilantro, Parsley
Raspberries, Blueberries, Blackberries
Carrots
Green Onions
White onions
Peppers
Cantaloupe
Watermelon
Pumpkin
Green Beans
Peas
Corn
Zucchini
Squash
Broccoli
Lettuce
Several flower varieties
And a few rogue grapefruit seeds that sprouted inside the grapefruit

I'm hopeful we'll be eating lots of good produce this summer! (Pictures coming soon)

P.S. Here is the latest cake I did. I only had 3 days notice, and I did it while we had family in town visiting, so I'm pleased with how it turned out. If only I could make buttercream as pretty as fondant. Maybe one day...!

A little dirt is good for you, right?

See? Once I get past my efforts to keep my kids clean, I really can be a lot of fun.

Q-Tips: A thing of the past

Throw out those Q-tips.

Introducing the proper method for cleaning out ears.

Ahh bathtime. I never know what new discoveries will be made.

1st-- (and last?)-- haircut

It's hard to imagine that I waited 2 1/2 years to give Brooklyn a haircut... I finally couldn't take the uneven ends anymore.

Ironically, they are now even more uneven. But in my defense, 2 year-olds don't have a great track record for sitting still. Apparently they don't (at least mine doesn't) seem to care whether or not their hair is cut straight.

I think I'll stick to just cutting Tim's hair. I'll let the professionals do my daughters' hair.

8 months old

Lydia's 8 month-day and went before we even realized it. She is getting so big! I feel like she was born just yesterday.

she...
-is now weaned and takes a bottle great
-is either smiling and giggling or crying
-doesn't think she is ever getting enough to eat
-has two teeth
-is in size 3 diapers
-is wearing 9-12month clothes
-successfully steals food from Brooklyn often
-is VERY attached to her mom
-sleeps through the night
-takes two naps a day
-loves bathtime
-is very opinionated
-can throw a fit with the best
-likes being outside
-crawls everywhere
-pulls herself up on everything and walks around holding onto things
-has a funny smile that looks a little vicious
-travels well
-does not like to be left alone
-wants her pacifier and blanket at bedtime/naptime
-pulls her blanket over her head to sleep

I'm afraid she'll turn one if I shut my eyes for too long...

Our Snow Family

What I didn't mention in that last post about Grandma's visit was that we also got lots of snow while she was here.

When we moved in last April, one of our volunteer move-in helpers threw our snow shovel out of the back of the truck while asking, "What the hell is that for?!" (Excuse my language. I just really thought you needed to hear it how I heard it. It really gives more flavor to the comment). So I figured we wouldn't be needing our snow shovel much. But I-- excuse me-- HE, was wrong. We missed the snow in December because we were out of town, but our weather transition from February to March did not disappoint. We woke up Sunday morning to this:

I wish I had taken a picture out front so you could see the sun on the snow. It was BEAUTIFUL. The trees were full of snow, the sky was blue, the sun was shining, the roads were covered... it really was the most beautiful snow morning I have ever seen. We got about 5 inches.

So after church, with the snow rapidly melting, we decided we needed to make a snow family.

It's a good thing we did. Because by the next day, they were disappearing and falling over.

Thank Goodness for Grandmas... and the airplanes that bring them

This blog post says it all. Thank goodness for grandmas that will come visit when we can't go see them.

Grandma Heaton came to visit for about a week. We were disappointed when our warm weather took a turn for snow-like weather right as she came into town. Though she was thoroughly warned about the possibility of having absolutely nothing to do (aka being bored) if the weather was bad, she still decided to come visit. And honestly, we're very glad she wasn't swayed.

With frigid weather outside, we had the perfect excuse to make lots of treats-- rice krispie treats AND chocolate chip cookies. Besides the goodies, we had plenty of time to play with toys. But thanks to Grandma's special surprises, we had fun things to break up the regular routine.

Grandma recently quilted a paper doll quilt, complete with dresses, hats, and shoes to match. Brooklyn spent hours dressing and re-dressing the dolls, saving the clothing from Lydia's never-quite-satisfied appetite, and informing us when we dressed the dolls in outfits that didn't match. It was the hit of the week.

We were also surprised with beads to make necklaces, and bubbles. And if that wasn't enough, a surprise kite from daddy.

Thank goodness Grandma isn't hard to please. She might have a long recovery after her week visiting us, but we are so glad she came. Please come back!!!

"I don't love you"

Just over a week ago Brooklyn told me that she didn't love me...

Let me back up.

Brooklyn wet her pants and was disciplined. After telling her how disappointed I was, I gave her a hug and told her that I still loved her. Her response, "I don't love you."

I can't lie, it did sting a little (though not as much as I had imagined it would). I probably would have said the same thing if someone stripped me down and put me into the shower too.

Anyways, it made me think-- it gave me a little perspective. How it must hurt Heavenly Father when we tell him that we don't love him. Whether we're actually saying it, or saying it through our actions.

Just a thought...