Easter!

I love Easter. It was fun to have my parents here for Easter again this year and to look back and recall that last Easter I was very large with child. I am glad it's now and not then. I am also glad that the weather was much nicer this time of year than last.

The Easter Bunny visits our house on Saturday. By the time Michael and the kids had come up from playing plasma cars/scooters in the basement, the Easter Bunny had come and gone, leaving behind some eggs to find.

"Look, Mom! I found one!" I love those Batman boots.

 Ooh--a golden bunny in the dump truck!

The Easter Bunny even left an egg for Henry to find, but he forgot to take the candy out first. Fortunately Henry was just interested in the plastic egg while I snatched the candy away.

"What is this, some kind of cruel joke?"

"I'll get you for this, Mr. Easter Bunny!"

Group photo attempt.

After the egg hunt, Michael and my dad and Robbie worked hard spreading mulch around the yard. I love the look of fresh mulch beds.

While I wasn't paying attention, Henry discovered an egg with some melted chocolate in it.

He was thrilled. I am so sorry, dear third child, that I wasn't watching you closely enough. I know you were thrilled that I wasn't.

 Clara and Robbie dyed some eggs later that afternoon. When I came back out after having gone inside for a few minutes, Clara showed me her yellow hands and Robbie his blue. That dye is hard to get off, fyi.

We capped the day off with the girls--three generations!--going to the General Women's broadcast. It was wonderful. I was so glad to be able to go with my mom and Clara.

Easter Sunday was great. We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast of sausage, hard-boiled eggs, green smoothies, and resurrection rolls (marshmallow crescent puffs).

I was running late so I plopped the boys down in front of the kitchen cabinets for a quick matchie-matchie photo attempt before church. I am going to start dressing them just before we leave because Robbie keeps getting his Sunday clothes dirty when I dress him too soon. Church was a mixture of wonderful uplift and stress--uplift from the messages of the joyful resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ and stress from trying to wrestle the kids during Sacrament meeting and teach Sunday School while also trying to figure out what to do with Henry who refuses to sleep during church and is also dealing with separation anxiety.

Here my mom is showing me how to make pear bunnies for dinner. We enjoyed meatloaf, mashed potatoes, asparagus, and leftover resurrection rolls, with strawberry trifle for dessert.

I am so thankful that my Savior was so brave as to suffer for my pains and guilt and sins and to die for me. I am so happy He was resurrected. I know that He lives today and wants us to come unto Him.

Happy Easter and thanks again, Mom and Dad, for coming!

Fun times with Nana and Bapa

Last weekend we were treated to a visit from my parents. It was the end of a very long road trip for them, but they were so great and hung out and helped around the house and played with the kids.

On Thursday, we surprised Clara at lunch and then went to the book fair with her. She was happy to see us but a bit confused as to why we came. :-)

 That afternoon we went to the library and were thrilled to see a therapy dog there. Clara loves the dog (Skye) that visits her school library sometimes, and this one (Jemma) was so laid-back. Henry loved her and just crawled all around (and over) her, even crawling between her legs once while she was standing up. Robbie wasn't very interested in her.

 On Good Friday, we visited Montpelier, the home of James Madison. The weather was just gorgeous and the spring blossoms were beginning to bloom. I want to go back when the garden is in full bloom.

 Robbie and Henry weren't very interested in being quiet for the tour, so we enjoyed the grounds for awhile. James and Dolley and Robbie--three peas in a pod.

Such a beautiful view.

Robbie got to dig in the archaeology lab (a big sandbox filled with dirt and artifacts planted in it) where there are real archaeologists excavating pieces from various sites around the estate.

 Here are Bapa and Clara checking out the sundial. Apparently the sun hadn't gotten the memo about daylight savings time and it read an hour behind.

A visit from the Heiss family

This past weekend we had a great time with Michael's sister, L'Anita, her husband, Erik, and their four beautiful kids, who drove up from Georgia.

 They arrived in the evening and immediately wanted to get on the trampoline. Uncle Michael, awesome as always, jumped with them and played Duck Duck Goose, among other things.

 Robbie and his cousin Samuel, only six weeks or so apart, got along very well (minus a few age-appropriate spats) and enjoyed sharing a room, riding scooters in the basement, playing in the playroom, drawing, riding together in the car, and just having fun. Frankly I don't even know all that they did because they just would go off and play together. It was so nice.

 Henry and Lucy enjoyed sharing toys and staring at each other (with some interested pokes from Henry). Both are happy babies, so that made it really nice.

Despite some chilly weather (it snowed on Saturday throughout much of the day), we had a great time on cousin Abigail's ninth birthday, enjoying pancakes for breakfast, going to the children's museum, opening presents, and eating pizza.

We celebrated Hyrum's birthday (today!) as well, so they got to share an extreme fudge moose tracks mud pie.

 Blowing out the candles!

 Cousin Anne was so sweet with Henry (and Clara and Robbie--she drew such sweet pictures for Robbie of him as a fireman, as well as drawings for me and Michael)--she got some great giggles out of him. Wish I had snapped a shot of the three girls sharing a room and hanging out together--Clara had a great time with Anne and Abigail.

 L'Anita had the kids do a fun family bingo activity from the Friend magazine using old photo albums on Sunday morning. She is awesome and an inspiration to me of motherhood skills, faith, self-improvement, and kindness. Michael did some fun "scripture story" videos with iMovie with the cousins--they were pretty hilarious.

 Happy baby Lucy took awesome naps and just smiled and practiced trying to crawl while she was awake.

 Erik and L'Anita even generously babysat Robbie and Henry on Monday night while we went to a special 5th grade chorus concert that Clara sang in. It was really special.

Thanks again for coming, Heisses!

Bedtime at our house

I thought I might do some posts about our home and routines for posterity's sake (and mine down the road as well as anyone else who is interested in such things).

This is our room. I think it's my favorite room in the house, even though it's not quite done yet in terms of decor, etc. Our bed makes me really happy--the bedding, the amazing memory foam topper we got from Amazon several years ago, and the anticipation I have to crawl into it every evening after putting the house and the kids to sleep. I fully recognize that it's just a thing, an earthly thing that could be destroyed and holds no eternal value. But I am thankful for it. The only thing that isn't really accurate about this picture is that it's missing a tissue or two, a book, and sometimes my retainer or a hairband on my nightstand along with a book or paper or two on Michael's side. Oh, and a basket of laundry is often on the chair. The polka-dot bag is my scripture bag, which keeps rotating places around the house as I don't have my desk anymore and can't decide my favorite place to study my scriptures.

This is typically how Henry looks when I come to get him after a nap or bedtime. He sleeps in our closet. It is a funny room because it was supposed to be much smaller, but when we built the house we needed it to be bigger because it was the room right below Robbie's, which we didn't want to be too small. So we used it for our desks and sewing table. When Henry was born, we moved Michael's desk to the basement, and Robbie's old crib is there now. My desk remains but is mostly used to keep random piles and papers (see bottom corner of above pic for a peek).

These days, Henry goes to bed around 6:45pm, Robbie goes to bed around 7:30 or 8:00pm (depending on whether he's taken an afternoon nap), and Clara is usually in bed around 9:00pm. Henry really likes to be swaddled. He still flails around when he is tired, but we have gradually been weaning him off various swaddling devices. First we wrapped him in those awesome muslin blankets, but then he wriggled out of those. I bought "the miracle blanket," which is an ultimate swaddling blanket with a flap that goes under the back, but he started getting out of that, too. Then I bought the "Woombie," which is like a sleeper without any arms. He liked that, but then he would get an arm out of the neck hole. So now we are currently using the "zipadeezip" (see above pic) which we had gotten for Robbie (he had the same need for swaddling but I don't recall him having it quite so long). It has little "batwings" but no hand holes, so it is still semi-snuggly. At ten months I think I will take that away and just let him deal with it. I am quite the poster child for spending money on swaddling stuff, I know. Funny that Clara never needed any swaddling. I think it's that the boys are so active that they like to be held tightly in order to relax and go to sleep. How's that for scientific? I know the Moro reflex is outgrown by now, but before when I'd put him down without being swaddled, he just would cry and cry with his arms and hands all over the place and then calm right down when he was wrapped more securely. Now I think it's just habitual comfort. For both of us.

This is an accurate picture of Clara at 9:30 each night. Or 10:00. I honestly don't know what time she goes to bed--she enjoys staying up and reading. She insists on having her lamp and closet light all night long. This drives me nuts, but it is one of the things I let go because it wasn't worth all the battles. Her bed and floor are scattered with various books and articles of clothing. This drives me more nuts than the lights on and is one of the things I can't let go. She has to clean her room once a week (it used to be every day, but I decided to back off), which is difficult to get her to do even with the consequence of no screen time or items being removed if they aren't cleaned up. Clara has some adorable bedding but she prefers this pink comforter most of the time. I am grateful that she likes to read. When we have time, I read to her before bed, which we both enjoy, although she wants me to read Geronimo Stilton books and I prefer to read classics like Pollyanna. So we compromise sometimes, and sometimes Michael will read Calvin and Hobbes to her. I am thankful that she doesn't have night-waking issues. I need to focus on the positive!

I really like Robbie's room, too. I should show a pic of the other side of the room sometime. Since getting him a twin bed, he has for some reason preferred to sleep with his head at the foot of his bed. I think it's because it's closer to the door and lately he has been scared of monsters, etc.. Robbie really loves books, and we love reading to him. However, sometimes it is a negotiation process of how many and how long. Before bed and nap time, it is generally two books, or sometimes one long, one short, or maybe three if we have time. Dora books, Clifford, Richard Scarry books, and Curious George are current favorites. A real favorite, however, is when Daddy tells Robbie a pirate bedtime story while Robbie lies in bed. He enjoys it when I tell him stories in bed (which isn't too often), like The Three Little Pigs or Goldilocks and the Three Bears, but Daddy's own stories are the best. His stories consist of two characters, Miguel and Hob, and their pirate adventures. These stories remind me of the stories that my dad would tell us as kids. I hope that Michael will record his pirate stories so Robbie and our other kids can enjoy them for years to come.

So that's our bedtime in a nutshell. Now it's time for me to hit the sack.

A mother's body: a living sacrifice

One of the challenges of being a mother is the toll it takes on the body. (The emotional, mental, and spiritual challenges are a whole other matter entirely.) Pregnancy, labor, delivery, nursing each child several times a day and night for months on end, then carrying and holding the baby as it grows bigger, not to mention the diapering, feeding, car-seating, etc. etc. etc. With each successive child, I have found it harder to recover, harder to "bounce back."

(bad photo of a photo, the night before going into labor with Clara)

I was thinking about all of this and the sacrifice that a loving Father in Heaven asks me to make by becoming a mother. I thought about the Savior and the Sacrament. At the Last Supper, the Savior breaks bread and shares it with the twelve apostles saying, "This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me" (Luke 22:19). When a woman gives up her body to be used as a sanctuary for a growing baby, a portal for a spirit to enter the world, and then uses every part of herself thereafter to care for that child, she is following the Savior's example. He gave His body for me, and now I am following Him by sacrificing my body for another.

 (pregnant with Robbie)

Because we live in a fallen world with gravity and stretch marks and fat cells and aches and pain, my body is forever changed after having a baby. Each additional child is an additional toll on the body. However, it is not a sacrifice in vain. Indeed, "sacrificing" my vanity helps me become more holy and keep an eternal perspective in a world that focuses almost solely on the body and the outside appearance.

Will I ever "get my body back"? No, not the one I had before. And why should I want my body to be the same? Do I want to look as if I had never had a child, that having children and the changes of childbearing and nursing are shameful and should be erased? While I don't think that having children and being fashionable and fit are at all mutually exclusive, I also think that there is honor in having a changed body.

 (pregnant with Henry)

In the mean time, I am trying to "present [my body] a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is [my] reasonable service" (Romans 12:1). Is it not "reasonable" to ask me to use this glorious gift of a body to raise others of His children when He has sacrificed His own Son's entire body on my behalf? He accepts the sacrifice of our bodies when we are serving Him, even when those bodies aren't working quite right or don't perform at the level we wish they would. Christ's own body is a constant reminder to Him, and us, that He loves us:

"Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands" (Isaiah 49:15-16).

 For a nursing mother, that comparison is powerful. I want to embrace the body I have now and give thanks for the opportunity to sacrifice, in a small way, the same way the Savior sacrificed. As a mother, I want to rejoice and lift other mothers up in our joint efforts to follow His example instead of feeling less than other mothers because my body doesn't look as svelte. I want to look at myself in the mirror with the confident assurance knowing that I am doing a good work with this body of mine, despite my weaknesses and imperfections. Through the noble service of mothering, I am choosing to give my body back to the Lord--the body He has given to me--knowing that He will, in His mercy, replace this one some day with a resurrected body, pain-free and totally awesome in every way.

Better than I deserve

Lehi tells us, "Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy" (2 Nephi 2:25). I think one perspective on this scripture is that we are sent to earth to prove ourselves worthy of a future joy, an eternal joy with our families in a state of exaltation with our Father in Heaven and His Son, Jesus Christ. However, I know from the countless scriptures to "rejoice," "be glad," and "lift up your head," I am supposed to be happy and find joy now, too.

It is a lot easier for me to be joyful when I feel on top of my game--when I feel good about my body, when I've had quality time with Michael, when my house is clean, when I've studied my scriptures and am prepared for my callings/service, when my kids are playing nicely, when I've had some social time with other girlfriends, and when I've gotten enough rest. That's pretty much the magic formula for me . . . how often do all those things actually happen, much less on the same day?

Maybe I need to change my magic formula and use Robbie's, which is pretty much Being Alive = Experiencing Joy.

I love this quote by Sarah Ban Breathnach:

“Both abundance and lack exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we will tend… when we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that’s present— love, health, family, friends, work, the joys of nature and personal pursuits that bring us pleasure— the wasteland of illusion falls away and we experience Heaven on earth.”

 Another great quote, this one from President Monson:

"If you are still in the process of raising children, be aware that the tiny fingerprints that show up on almost every newly cleaned surface, the toys scattered about the house, the piles and piles of laundry to be tackled will disappear all too soon and that you will—to your surprise—miss them profoundly" Oct 2008 General Conference). 

Maybe my magic formula for happiness should be the following: (1) I am alive on this beautiful earth + (2) I am loved by my Father in Heaven and my Savior, Jesus Christ + (3) I am trying = Happiness. With that formula in mind, I can find joy everyday, in every circumstance, in good health or poor, no matter the state of my house, my body, my children's behavior, or the crazy state of the country and world.

I like my dad's response to the question, "How are you doing?" He invariably answers with this cheerful response: "Better than I deserve."

Isn't that the truth? Not in a self-deprecatory, "woe is me" way, but we truly are blessed beyond our efforts, beyond all that we try to do that is right. Through the Savior's Atonement, darkness will be turned to light, and even days of sickness or self-loathing or discouragement can be seen through the lens of faith and hope. That's the "garden" I want to grow.

2016: Be Thankful

So it's nearly March, but I thought I'd write about my year's theme. For the past couple of years, I've taken a page out of my sister-in-law Emily's book and have had a yearly theme or mantra. 2014 was "Be Present," and I worked on being more in the moment. 2015 was "Be of Good Courage," which was helpful for me as I prepared to have Henry and make the jump to three children. I decided at the end of 2015 that 2016 would be "Be Thankful." I felt that I was complaining and not looking for the good enough. I am also reading Pollyanna with Clara at bedtime, and I love the "glad game." In theory it is awesome; in execution it is challenging. The Apostle Paul "In every thing give thanks" (1 Thes 5:18). I want to keep that commandment better.

Tied into gratitude, I am trying to be more content. I am throwing away the catalogs (well, most--I got sucked into Lands End today) I get in the mail and trying to avoid Target, which tries to convince me that I need those new pencils in the $3 section and new socks for the kids, that cute shirt, more school supplies or more home decor. Even not looking as much for new recipes online is helpful because I already have a ton at home but for some reason get itches to get new recipes sometimes. Not that that's bad, but just that searching for more and more feeds into a sense of unfulfillment. A huge help in this effort was a few years ago when I stopped reading Better Homes and Gardens and Southern Living magazines from the office, which always made me feel like I needed more--more recipes, more style, more cool house stuff, etc.

So here are a few random bedtime selfies with Clara in honor of being thankful, grateful, glad, and just looking for the good, both this year and always!

Robbie tidbits

Robbie is just growing and learning so much these days.

Last Monday, Robbie prepared the living room for FHE, putting scriptures on each chair and spacing them evenly on the couch, along with the mini-hymnbooks. He said happily, "I'm orgazining!"

Robbie is quite good at making things symmetrical. These Smartmax magnets are really fun and he gets very creative with them, telling us stories about what the magnets and cars are doing.

A couple of Sundays ago, Michael got ready for his early bishopric meetings. Robbie saw him and said indignantly, "I want to be a Sunday man!" after which Michael helped him get ready. He likes "being handsome" by going into the bathroom and wetting down his hair and brushing it.

A few weeks ago when I went in to wake Robbie up from a late nap, I was surprised to see him cuddled up with the backhoe. Mmmm, comfy!

Robbie is really great at being grateful and positive. He'll say, "Thanks for playing with me outside, Mom," or "What a beautiful day!" He gives nice compliments, like, "I like your shoes, Mom." He can be very good at sharing (not so much with Henry yet :-)) and will often spontaneously share his food. Today I was sleepy and was lying on the couch in the playroom taking a "nap" for about fifteen minutes while he played with his Duplos nearby. He ran and got me a blanket so I could be warm. Such a thoughtful guy!

He is also great at checking me for consistency. I have been reading a great book called Setting Limits for Your Strong-Willed Child. Robbie is more of a fence-sitter, according to the book's definition, in that he is sometimes a "tester" (or, as the author calls it, an "aggressive researcher") and other times he is compliant and cooperative the first time I ask. Daily quiet time--an hour in his room playing (or sleeping) with the door cracked and without coming out--is often a testing opportunity. If he comes out, the door is locked. He will sometimes kick his door for the entire hour, which pretty much drives me nuts. But as I trying to be more consistent, he is learning that I will follow through. At the moment he is in his quiet time and asleep. :-) He likes to keep me on my toes.

On Sunday, his Sunbeam teacher told me that she is so grateful for him and that he does a good job following instructions and is a good example for the other kids. Several weeks ago she emailed me and said that she had asked the class, "How do we get back to Heavenly Father?" Robbie responded, "We could drive a car!"

He is at such a fun age. We love him so much!!

Valentine's 2016

I enjoy Valentine's Day more now than I did when we were first married. Maybe it's because I am more specific about what I want and don't feel guilty asking. Maybe it's because we have kids, which makes our celebration more fun and more about familial love. Maybe it's because Michael and I just continue to enjoy each other's company more as the years go by and we have less time together than we used to.

Be that as it may, I told Michael that I did want flowers and chocolates this year. Stereotypical? Absolutely. But I loved them. In the past, especially for the first decade of our marriage, I told Michael not to get me flowers because they were so expensive and would just die, not to mention we were just feeding into the forced, Hallmark holiday concept. But now I told him that I do want them. I should have taken a picture of the delicious See's candy box of assorted chocolates he had selected and ordered himself. Super yum, and I was even generous enough to share with my family. The roses were beautiful, too. Gifts are not my first love language, but I enjoy the tradition and most especially, the thought that went into the gifts. That's what I appreciate most.

 We enjoyed our traditional amazing pizza courtesy of Michael along with chocolate milk, broccoli, and a really awesome trifle I made (which was supposed to have been chocolate cupcakes but they messed up somehow, so it turned into a trifle with pudding and Cool Whip and Oreos). 

Michael took Clara to the Daddy-daughter Valentine's dance at Cub Run, her last one, sniff! They had a fun time together, which was nice. I also had fun making valentines for each of the family (except Henry) and putting them on their plates along with some candy at breakfast. That weekend we enjoyed Tabitha and Tommy's company for a brief visit as well as Hyrum, so they got some candy as well! That night we hosted a youth fireside which Michael gave--he presented a great PowerPoint presentation on standards.

Good times. Happy Valentine's!

A homemade bow and a single stick

I love how I can learn new things each time I read the Book of Mormon. Last week, I was again struck by Nephi's faith in making a new bow after his "fine steel" bow broke (1 Nephi 16). The fact that he made "out of a straight stick, an arrow" as opposed to "many arrows, because they were made of sticks and looked pretty lousy and useless" impressed me. A single arrow? Wow.

But what further impressed me this go-around was reading in chapter 17 about them living upon raw meat and becoming strong and complaining less. Unless Nephi found some ore and made a new steel bow, it's quite possible that he was still using the homemade bow to hunt. Unless Laman and Lemuel somehow fixed the springs on their bows, perhaps they had made their own weapons as well. With such limited resources, the Lord blessed their small, seemingly hopeless efforts and prospered them. As Nephi says in chapter 17 verse 3: "And if it so be that the children of men keep the commandments of God he doth nourish them, and strengthen them, and provide means whereby they can accomplish the thing which he has commanded them; wherefore, he did provide means for us while we did sojourn in the wilderness." Maybe the means He provided was that they found game that was really slow with soft hides so that the stick/arrow could penetrate. Maybe the Lord made Nephi's aim truer. The Lord didn't give him a new bow like He gave them the Liahona. He didn't say, "Go back to Jerusalem and get another bow from your old house." The Lord took what Nephi offered and made it enough.

I liken this to my circumstances. My resources in terms of my abilities and talents are limited. The resources for my children are somewhat limited in terms of our location, the strength of the church, schools, etc. My efforts at mothering/homekeeping/wifeing/teaching Sunday School/visiting teaching/exercising/you name it sometimes feel like I'm using a dull straight stick and a homemade bow. Mercifully, with the enabling power of the Atonement, my puny efforts combined with faith in the Savior will make what I offer sufficient. And that gives me hope.

Henry at eight months

Oh Henry! What a happy, fun baby boy you are! He just lights up the room whenever he's around.

He is now army crawling all around and is getting quite speedy. He likes chasing the vacuum when I'm vacuuming the carpet. He will also lean on one side and elbow and look around, which is pretty funny to see. He is getting to be a good eater and will now tolerate the green beans that he used to gag on. He really wants to eat whatever we are and will try to grab whatever we have.

Henry loves his siblings and Clara is very sweet with him. Robbie likes to mess with him sometimes but Henry thinks he is hilarious and laughs at his antics all the time. Henry has a ready smile even for strangers. Just recently he has become quite vocal and can trill his tongue and yell loudly. He doesn't yell because he's crying, just because he likes it and wants attention.

Henry can sleep until around 5am sometimes without a feeding, which is very nice. He still takes two or three (typically three) naps a day, sometimes 45-minuters, sometimes longer (like right now :-)). He's a great car-rider and likes his pacifier, although he'll spit it out if he sees something he's rather snack/suck on.

We just love this guy so much and are so glad he is in our family!

Great things about January and February

On Facebook, there are often polarizing views about winter and snow. Some people are like, "Bring on the snow!" and "If it's 15 degrees, there should at least be snow, too." Others post memes of beaches and say how much they want it to be summer. Still others make fun of the school cancellations and then there are the opposing photos of school buses in ditches on icy roads, etc. I know that with the dark and cold, it can be struggle keeping your spirits lifted, and the mess that the snow brings (along with the salt, etc.) on my van and my house is annoying, not to mention the state of my dry, cracked hands.

Whenever snow days would come for Clara, I used to struggle and stress out a lot because (1) my plans for that day were messed up, and (2) I had to figure out how to help Clara and Robbie not quarrel and get along while still trying to accomplish my original plan. I was critical of the county schools and of the state in general because of school cancellations and not being able to handle a few inches of snow. However, I have improved in my attitude the past year or two because I realized that (1) there will still be 180 days of school, however they arrange them; (2) I can't control it, so I might as well just "come what may and love it; and (3) after having driven up in the mountains one winter after a snowfall, the roads really are quite dangerous for those families who are in our county even while the roads near me are quite clear.

I have always had a tendency to look to the future, to wish I was where I was not. I am really trying to work on this and feel like my conscious efforts at being in the present (still a work in progress) help me to just enjoy the now.

With that in mind, here is my list of some great things about these two months:

1. January is a new start--always motivating for me as I write new goals for the year
2. Cold weather means not having to wear a bathing suit or deal with body blues
3. It's easier to put the kids to bed when it's dark outside
4. No yard work (minus snow shoveling)
5. Boots are fun to wear
6. Fresh snow makes everything look clean and beautiful
7. The weather provides an equalizer--something that affects everyone and is an easy thing to talk about with strangers and friends alike
8. No bugs!
9. Valentine's Day is a fun day to look forward to and prepare for kids and adults alike
10. The sunsets are beautiful when the trees are bare

Happy January!

Eleven years old

Clara is now the big eleven. One year from twelve. Two years from thirteen. Wow.

The lucky duck got to have her teeth cleaned the day before her birthday. She really really really doesn't like going to the dentist, but this is another one of those examples of Clara improving in her ability to do hard things. This visit was the first time ever that Clara had laid down with the chair reclined entirely. Each visit she improves--two visits ago she let them take full x-rays for the first time, another huge milestone. Last time she sat in the chair but was too scared to lay all the way back. This time she did it! (And no cavities minus one she's had for three years that hasn't changed and is doing fine)

 She started off her morning with breakfast in bed with her chosen cereal (Frozen) and hot cocoa. She normally refuses to eat breakfast right away (she often doesn't eat before school--makes me crazy--I adore breakfast!--because she's not hungry for an hour or so after waking up), but she managed fine that morning.

 Robbie helped me bake and decorate cupcakes (all homemade--so proud haha!) and then we delivered them to Clara's class during lunchtime. Made me a little sad--last time bringing cupcakes to school for her.

For dinner, she picked pizza. My camera was on the wrong setting, but I love her smile so I had to include this shot.

After dinner, we hid presents and played "hot and cold." She was so excited for presents that she hardly ate her piece of pizza. I reminded her firmly that she needed to express appreciation after each gift, and if she didn't or was rude, there would be no more presents. Period. Fortunately, she did a great job. (She has had a hard time in the past if she hasn't wanted something, she would just be like, "No! I don't that!" and get upset instead of saying "thank you" and taking it anyway. We've worked on it a lot but she still struggles with that.)

Hyrum came over during the week (normally he just comes on the weekends) and gave her a candy bar and a sweet note. She was so happy he was there.

Clara had asked for a beret (I think she'd seen it in the American Girl catalog?) and was happy with it. She also got a little porcelain temple from Grandma and Grandpa, the book Mandy from Nana and Bapa (one from my childhood), a air popcorn maker (she loves popcorn), and, so exciting, an autographed photo from Studio C. She was thrilled with it.

 Clara didn't want a cake this year and instead wanted to go out for frozen yogurt.

Buddies!

 So glad you've been with us for eleven years and will be ours for eternity!