Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Ta-Da!

Maren is almost 2 1/2 months, and we finally got some sibling pictures!  We tried it for the first time after our ward trunk-or-treat party when Ezra was distracted by a lollipop.  On Sunday we tried it again, this time with a pumpkin muffin as distraction.  It worked pretty well.  I have great respect for professional children's photographers!  I think these few pictures represent our best out of 25 tries.




 

Monday, October 21, 2013

Little Moments

Last night Maren had a first.  She laughed.  Not a half-chuckle, but a true all-out laugh, and it was in response to Ezra!

Daddy was at a stake orchestra rehearsal, so just the three of us were doing our bedtime routine.  After Book of Mormon reading, we sang songs.  Ezra was very animated and chattering between songs about construction sites, and muffins, and the moose at Cabela's.  Maren was grinning and cooing at him, highly entertained by his silly jabbering.  And then, Ezra did something--I'm not even sure what--and Maren let out the most beautiful delighted laugh.  It was only a moment, but what a moment!  I think better days are coming.  Maren loves Ezra!  Maren enjoys Ezra's company!  Perhaps in a coming day Ezra was realize that Maren is wonderful too.   

Success!

Today I was forced to endure a strange sort of torture--a trip to the DMV with two children.  When we arrived, I pulled number 169 from the ticket dispenser; the electronic screen showed the current number as 102.  After thirty minutes of waiting, a crying baby, and an exasperated toddler, I realized I had grabbed the wrong piece of paperwork.  Dejected, we went home and had lunch.  After lunch, I took a deep breath, cinched up my belt and tried again.  This time we went to a different office, with slightly shorter lines.  

By the time our turn came up, Ezra was ready to burst with frustration.  Three times while I was at the counter, he ran out the front door and into the lobby.  By that time, Maren had had it too.  I had Ezra (the 30-pound bucking bronco) in one arm, while I bounced Maren in the car seat with the other arm.  Somehow, I was also trying to carry on a civilized conversation with the woman employee behind the desk, provide the required paperwork, and put my signature on a piece of paper.

Despite the fact that I looked like a frantic mother with an out-of-control toddler and a screaming baby, I felt like a conquering hero.  We had a successful DMV visit, and it only took two tries!  And, unless we decide to buy another vehicle, it will be a very long time before I have to do that again.

As an added perk, I also got a nice bicep workout.    

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Kudos to You

My mom is like most good mothers I know; she is highly interested in the health, well-being, and happiness of her children (whether or not they recognize it as such), but most of the time her efforts receive little praise or thanks.  My mom is also unlikely to toot her own horn.  So, it seems appropriate to toot a horn in her behalf.

My dad and sisters flew in for a quick weekend visit in late September, but my mom stayed for another full week after they left.  She read to Ezra, tickled Ezra, cuddled Ezra, listened to Ezra, and did a dozen other all-star Grandma things for my sweet (needy) boy.  She spent cuddly time with little Maren too.  She cooked dinners, washed dishes, mended clothes, did laundry, helped me run errands, worked in the yard, and watched kids so I could take naps.  We went on outings to the zoo and the children's museum together.  She baked us a homemade apple pie.  She gave me time to go to the temple.

And, she helped me with one of my many wouldn't-it-be-nice-if-I-had-the-time projects.  The kid bedrooms in our house face full west.  The light intensity in the late afternoon even with plantation shutters is intense.  I thought it might be nice to put up curtains, which would help with the heat in the summer and cold in the winter.

My mom happened to have two panels of nearly brand new curtains that my Grandma had made for her house shortly before she passed away.  She was an expert seamstress and the curtains are heavy duty and finely made.  My mom had them stored away for a future need.  She brought them along in her suitcase, just in case.

As luck would have it, the cream and sage green curtains matched very nicely with the existing pastel color scheme in Maren's room.  The other panel, which was also cream and sage green, was retrofitted by my mom with some lovely fine wale chocolate brown corduroy.  (I am in the process of making a new brown, green, and blue patchwork quilt for Ezra that will match the newly installed curtains.)  Not only did she give me the beautiful curtains, which saved me time and money, she retrofitted the curtain for Ezra's room, and then hung rods for them.

I probably could have made curtains, and I probably could have gotten them hung, but it would probably be another six months from now.  So, thanks Mom.  Thanks for the visit.  Thanks for the fun outings.  Thanks for the Grandma snuggles.  Thanks for the naps.  Thanks for the curtains.  Thanks for everything.             

Monday, October 14, 2013

Mohawk Maren

Do you believe me when I say that this is her natural look? 


The more I comb, the more it stands up.  She is quite opposed to any and all hair or head accessories; she turns beet red, shakes her head, and squawks until they are removed.  So, I am embracing the hair, and letting it do its thing.  She will most certainly have bragging rights for coolest baby hair!



Saturday, October 12, 2013

More Fun with Family

Before my Dad and sisters flew back home on Monday afternoon, we had a little more family time together.  Ezra craved all the attention from the extra guests.  Interestingly enough, Bear was all but forgotten for most of the weekend.  Why cuddle with stuffed animal friends when you have two lovely aunts, and two adoring grandparents at your disposal?


Our first outing on Monday morning was a field trip to the alpine forest, err...the local Cabela's, just up the road from our house.  We might as well have been in the mountains, the hunting-boating-fishing-camping-shooting everything store boasts an impressive taxidermic wonderland.   We got up close and personal with deer, cougar, bear, mountain goat, wolf, polar bear, and moose--to name a few.  Ezra was awestruck.  He still talks about the moose.

Maren's Baby Blessing

So many wonderful things are happening around here!  Like this:


The last Sunday in September we blessed Maren at church.  There were two other babies being blessed the same Sunday, and since that time, two more women in our ward have had babies, with another due in late October.  Hurray for babies, and crowded mother's nursing rooms.  The more the merrier! 

Maren wore the same blessing dress that I wore as a wee one.  Does that make it vintage?  Certainly nostalgic for my parents, who were able to fly in for the weekend, along with two of my sisters.  Sunday morning was busy as six adults and two little people scurried around our little house getting ready for nine o'clock church.  My Maren soothing-feeding-changing-burping-cuddling efforts were successful.  She was content, drowsy, dry, and free of bubbles when Daddy took her up to be blessed.  Both grandpas, an uncle, and daddy were in the circle for the blessing.


After church we hosted a lunch for Quinn and Mara and their family, and for my parents and sisters.  It felt wonderful to have a house full of family!  We attempted a group picture, which is getting more and more difficult.  This is the best of our seven attempts.  As my mom said, "It's history."  Ezra had to be held in place and tickled frantically to produce any kind of successful result.  Not bad, not bad.
            

After food was a much needed boy cousin romp in the back yard.  Our yard is kind of shabby right now, but I think the dirt, weeds, rocks, and sticks made it all the better for three active boys.  Their antics were highly entertaining!  Here are some favorite candid shots: