This & That

In the last two weeks or so--

• Maren discovered how to roll from back to tummy, and has started scooting backwards to get places.  Inevitably, she gets stuck and frustrated, but she is on the move.
• Maren speaks!  She now says "da-da", and an occasional "ba".  She is very vocal, and hollers as loud--or louder--than Ezra.
• Maren started rice cereal.  (My baby is growing up too fast!)  If I don't give her cereal before bed, she wakes up hungry in the middle of the night.  
• Ezra conquered the crib.  He now climbs in and out with ease.  He also figured out doorknobs.  In one fell swoop, he disrupted our well-established bed-time, nap-time, and time-out set-up.  So, we re-grouped.  Ezra's crib was converted to a toddler bed, I made him a kid tent to make nap-time more fun, and put a door knob lock on the inside of his door.   Not much I can do about Maren's crib, though, he climbs into her bed constantly.
• Ezra has clothing issues.  Most every day he removes pants, shirt, socks, and diaper--sometimes all at once, sometimes one article over a period of time--and roams naked.  Often, this new behavior coincides with wanting to try to use the potty.  Unfortunately, several visitors picked rather inopportune times to drop in, and were greeted by my naked toddler.
• Ezra has a heightened love of water.  He has become obsessive about hand washing, begs to wash the dishes, and wants to take a shower or a bath (or both) many times a day.
• Bear has developed a personality disorder.  In any given day, Bear becomes a tiger roaming the jungle, a camel taking Ezra to Egypt, Grandma's black cat (named Ben), a baby who just learned to roll over, a puppy who likes to lick faces, the whale who ate Jonah, or Andrew (as in, Andrew, one of Jesus' apostles), etc.  Ezra's imagination is fascinating!       
• Ezra said this to me: "Mommy, come, come, quick like a bunny, I need a drink right now."  Umm, yea...the "quick like a bunny" bit is a mommy phrase, coming back to bite me.  

Little Indulgences

I am not in the habit of buying much for myself, or doing much for myself, but my sweet husband does.  On occasion, he will go to the store with a shopping list, and come home with a few unexpected, but welcome, additional items. 

One of my current favorites is Noosa, Aussie-style Colorado-crafted yogurt.  It is rich and creamy, more like custard than yogurt and perfectly delectable.  Dallin discovered it when I was pregnant with Maren, at a time when precious little looked, smelled, or tasted good.  It became my go-to snack then, and continues to be my occasional indulgence now.  This morning, for example, I opened the fridge and discovered two new containers of Noosa.  So, my palette was dancing while I enjoyed mango goodness for breakfast.

Another current favorite comes from a company called Que Bella Beauty.  I love their mud masks.  Dallin filled my Christmas stocking with a great assortment of these little pamper pouches.  It is my once-in-awhile 15-minute "single serving" do-it-yourself spa treatment.  This morning I had a few extra minutes and was in the mood, and indulged in their detoxifying dead sea mud mask.  (As an added perk, my blue face gave Ezra and Maren quite a thrill).

It was a lovely day, made possible by a sweet husband who takes good care of me.

New Beginning

I love new beginnings.

A new year is a good opportunity to try again--a little better, a little harder.  But, so is every new day, which is why I feel so grateful for prayer and repentance.  What a gift to start each new day with prayer, and ask for that extra bit of strength to make good with your time and resources.  What a gift to seek repentance for falling short (again) and feel hope in the fact that you can, and always will, have another chance to improve.

January actually did bring one official new beginning: a new calling at church.  I am currently the visiting teaching supervisor, was a short-term Relief Society substitute teacher, and now, I am also a Primary teacher.  My assignment is with the four-turning-five-year-old children, including one severally autistic little boy.  I was 18 the last time I had an official Primary calling, so I have some learning to do, but I already love it.  The children in my class are adorable.

The autistic boy in my class cannot talk, still wears diapers, rarely makes eye contact, wanders the room aimlessly, and seems wholly disconnected from everything we are doing--until I sang a song.  

Last week, in class we sang one of my favorite Primary songs, "I'm Trying to Be Like Jesus".  The other children were listening, but were also fidgety, and slightly distracted by other attentions.  The darling little autistic boy, however, stopped in mid-stride when the song started, and didn't move a muscle until the last notes concluded.  It was miraculous.  He was absolutely riveted by every note; it was obvious that his little spirit connected with the message of the music.

I am excited to see what this year will bring for these precious children as we learn about the gospel of Jesus Christ together.