On Growing Gardens & Growing Children

It is amazing what a week can bring.

Last Sunday (Easter), Maren cut her first tooth.  Yesterday, she cut her second tooth.  Yesterday, she also discovered the army crawl, which in her case looks more like a roll-and-reach body flop.  She is my buoyant little happy girl once more.  Her tooth pain is lessened, and she can play with any toy in the room.  Alas, our season of peaceful sibling relations is coming to an end (again).  We are all learning to adapt!

Last Sunday (Easter), our little early spring hardy vegetable garden was barely poking through the soil.  Today, every row of vegetables displays a healthy crop of little seedlings.  Rocky, clay soil notwithstanding, there is green life out there!  We now have spinach, kale, Swiss chard, green onions, carrots, romaine lettuce, two types of peas, and cilantro growing in the garden.

Last Monday, Daddy taught our family home evening lesson.  We talked about planting and nourishing our faith like a tiny seed.  We let Ezra plant his own little pea seeds in one corner of the garden.  He is now very interested in the garden and its watering need; he comes out with me every morning to "help the garden grow."  We often sing the Primary song On A Golden Springtime as we water.

Yesterday at church, Ezra had some extreme wiggles, so we took left the chapel and took a hallway tour to talk about all the paintings on the wall.  When we came to a picture of the First Vision, I asked Ezra to tell me about what he saw.  "This is Joseph," (pointing appropriately).  "This is Jesus and Heavenly Father," (pointing to each one).  "And then Heavenly Father says, 'This is my Beloved Son.'"  Ezra's faith is growing!  He understands, and he loves to learn about the gospel.

We have started to have more piano exploration time.  It is hardly a "lesson"; Maren is banging on one end, while Ezra and I find white and black keys on the other.  But, he enjoys it, and comes to the instrument more often of his own accord to play little songs.  He will also occasionally play me a song on his cardboard violin.  Without any prompting, he holds his violin under his chin with one hand, and moves his bow with the other hand.  His favorite song is one of his own creation: "Mommy," he will say, "I play 'Cat and the Hat' now."