Maren Funnies

My little Miss Maren is lovely, except when she is not well-rested, and then she can be an emotional roller coaster at best and a screaming terror at worst.  She is very open about expressing precisely how she feels, which is a good thing--I like honesty--but sometimes her honesty can be a little startling. 

For example, she doesn't always love all the children her age in nursery.  Often, when their names are mentioned, I get this response:

"I no like [fill-in-the-blank].  I knock her.  I push her.  I bite her.  I put her in prison" (angry eyebrows and growler voice included).

Play with me and my little friends= best daddy ever!

So, we change the subject and talk about her other friends of the inanimate sort.  She is very attentive to them.  They are all regularly fed and swaddled and put down for naps and invited to picnic parties.  They join us at the breakfast table, at story-time, on errands, and bedtime.  She likes to report their status to me on a regular basis:

"Mommy, bunny had a nightmare.  I love her."
"Mommy, Cora (baby-doll) pushed me.  I put her in time-out right now."
"Mommy, baby Emma is crying.  I comfort her."
"Mommy, Kanga needs a drink.  I help her."

Last week I was invited to one of Maren's picnic parties.  We very carefully laid out several large blankets on the floor and then assembled every stuffed animal we could find.  When all the friends had arrived, Maren invited the group to sing "Happy Birthday" to every attendee in turn, and eat celebratory ice cream after each verse.  I think we sang about 20 renditions of the song, and Maren was positively tickled.

Maren's new bed, with bumper pad so she doesn't fall out

Maren recently graduated to a big-girl bed.  She now has a twin mattress and box spring (on the floor) just like Ezra, and she LOVES her new bed.  But, when the crib left, so did her remaining nap.  She absolutely, positively, refuses to sleep.  Apparently, some children her age will go to bed and stay in bed at a parent's request without door locks or crib-cages to keep them in place.  I do not have that type of child.  Interestingly enough, she makes her friends all take naps every day!

Supervising her friend's nap-time, but she doesn't sleep!

Earlier this week I invited Ezra and Maren to make stain glass pictures with me.  We found lots of fun paper scraps and string and laid the bits on contact paper.  Ezra loved the idea and jumped right in.  Maren, who is very much Miss Independence, would have nothing of our craft.  Mostly, I think because it was my idea, and not her idea.  So, she pouted, fussed, and observed from afar, and then, she had an idea.  She found her partially eaten container of yogurt from breakfast, and started painting the window with yogurt.  I saw her, and almost said something, but then, in a moment of inspiration, shut my mouth.  She didn't know I was watching her; she was so free and expressive--she had found her way of creating!

Our creative window art!

Maren's favorite book this week was I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen.  I read it to her at least twice a day every day, and then she "read" it to herself at least twice a day every day.  She is also in love with several Maurice Sendak classics, and was often found in quiet corners reading aloud to a stuffed friend or two.

Maren loves doing laundry, eating cuties, wearing mommy lotion and chap-stick, singing, and playing hide-and-seek.  Oh, and she loves to do things without my interference!

Ezra Funnies

Ezra is about 4.5 years old, and I really like his age and stage.  He is bursting with ideas and scenarios, and new twists on the normal.  He seems very genuinely happy with life and content with his little world.  Everyday he comes up with a new version of his favorite theme: the life and times of sea creatures.

One day, four of Ezra's toughest creatures (horseshoe crab, polar bear, Ankylosaurus, and great white shark) were generals in an army battling against one horrible foe--Tyrannosaurus rex.  When I checked back later, the generals had amassed a battalion and they were all in formation in neat rows and blocks advancing toward the enemy aggressor.  

Marching into battle

Another day he built several aquarium tanks out of building blocks.  In the first aquarium he assembled all his sharks; the menu of the day was a good chunk of meat--the poor T-rex.  In the second aquarium he assembled all his whales (the non-carnivorous types) and they were gorging themselves on a several different types of vegetables from Maren's play food collection.

The vegetarian tank

This week the building blocks were put in many groups of short lines as life-boats after pirates capsized the dinosaur cruise ship.  Each little block life-boat held one or two dinosaurs, and each little life boat was being pushed along to shore by a friendly local whale.

Sometimes the train station is managed by aquatic life.  Other times the used car lot of Matchbox cars has been over-run by sharks eager to acquire a set of wheels.  Almost always there are towers, creatures, and a story to tell.  I love that he is so entertained by such simple things.

Ezra also loves art projects.  This love didn't just drop out of the sky; I love to create, and I make artistic projects available most every day.  He has definitely taken to that freedom of expression.  Sometimes, the first thing he says in the morning is, "Mom, I need to draw.  I need paper."  As you may have guessed, most often he is author and illustrator of his own sea creature adventure series.  "Mom, this narwhal got trapped in the fisherman's net and all these dots are the mice coming to save him."  Only on a very rare occasion does he draw people, and most often, his drawings don't really look like much to me, but they are so very real to him!  

My favorite Ezra drawing--a portrait of the beloved Bear!

Ezra loves trying to sound out words and group like letters.

He is also in love with letters, books, and pasta.  And speaking of pasta, here is a darling little Ezra conversation from last week:

I was making dinner, and Ezra discovered it was pasta.  He approached with a troubled look on his face, "Mom, I was thinking that I needed to learn some words, but now I can't."
"Oh, really?  Why is that?"
"Because pasta is too distracting!"

Last week Ezra came to me all distraught with a bundle of papers covered in neat little rows of chicken-scratch.

"Mom, I have a big problem.  I need someone to say the prayer at church, but the only one who said he would do it is Bear!"  (Dallin is executive secretary in the ward, and he has to find people to say prayers every Sunday for sacrament...it can sometimes be a difficult responsibility.)

New Year

I love the sentiments involved with a new year, and truly feel a new desire every January 1st to try again, make a better effort, recommit, and start fresh.  This year I knew what my goals for the year would be in late November, and had them written, posted and started on the first day of the year.

Because I am a Primary teacher, a new year also can mean a new class assignment.  For the last two years I have been with the same class, which includes one sweet, severely autistic non-verbal boy.  Based on a lengthy conversation with the Primary president, I felt certain that I would continue on one more year with that same group of kids.  Toward the end of last year, our class had a terrific established routine in class that was working great.  Everyone was happy and learning, and I felt successful.  To my great surprise, the last Sunday in December I received my 2016 Primary binder with a new assignment--Sunbeam teacher!  I was completely surprised, and delighted.  So, my Primary experience this year will be all new.  I am a little rusty though; the last time I taught a Sunbeam class was when my now 23-year sister Kristen was three...

One of my students from the previous Primary class, a cute boy named Elliot, brought me cookies and this hand-written note after we had our last class.  We had our ups and downs in class, but his note made me feel like the ride was all worth it!

Breckenridge

I hope these Breckenridge winter wonderland excursions can continue to be a little part of our holiday tradition because they are such a fun treat for all.  Our quick two-day trip to the mountains (before Christmas) was much anticipated, especially by the kids.  This year our visit coincided with the last few days of Grandma and Grandpa's ski week, so we were suite neighbors and enjoyed visiting and dining in their spacious rooms next door.

Grandma introduced us to two different sledding hills, one just around the corner from our condo, and the other in the next town over.  Maren would have none of the sled.  The one time she sat in the sled with me, she howled and cried from start to finish.  She did enjoy holding my hand and just running down the hill; I think she felt more in control.    Ezra loved the sled, and was happy as a new puppy racing down the hill at Breckenridge.  The other hill farther away was much larger and probably quite overwhelming for a little person; he chose to be a spectator.  Once again, snow was quite the novelty, but the biting mountain cold wasn't quite as fun.  Despite three or four layers each, we were all done after about an hour.

My little miss and I on a winter walk.

Daddy used this wood and metal runner sled when he was a boy.

The kids wouldn't do the big hill, but we did!

Aww...this needs to be the cover photo for a ski magazine!

The heated pool and hot tub is definitely the highlight for Maren and Ezra.  Maren was a little grumpy about the snow, but was all smiles in the pool.  Ezra was ridiculously giddy with the abundance of water and his new life jacket.  He was all confidence with a little flotation help, and was our busy little fish!  Maren loves the "dolphin pool", a one foot deep pool featuring a dolphin tile motif and a little circular current.

We also took a tour through the town of Breckenridge and made a candy stop at Fuzziwig's, a cookie stop at Mary's Mountain Cookie Shop, AND a toy stop for early Christmas presents--all courtesy of a most generous Grandma!!  Ezra was invited to pick his heart's desire within a certain monetary value, and within two minutes in the store, he had made his selection.  A small toy replica of a sperm whale, a great white shark, and a narwhal (fancy that!)  Maren fussed and wandered over the prospect of picking one toy from such a impressive collection.  In the end, she settled on four quarter-sized pink rocks, and a little heart with a pleasant bell-chime inside.  Go figure.

Sharks and whales--found!

Snow Day!

Last week we had our first good snowfall, a solid nine inches in one night.  We do get snow here, but not often a lot at one time and not very long-lasting.  Both Ezra and Maren were most insistent on having snow play time, and they had fun for about an hour and a half.  They played on the fort, swung on the swings, scooped and piled snow all the over the yard, filled dump trucks, and plowed snow with the toy lawnmower.  We started a snowman in the front yard, but it never amounted to much more than a lumpy hill about two feet tall because our snow is so light and fluffy when it first falls.       

Maren and Ezra on the run, pretending to be polar bears in the Artic.

Maren loves the snow this year--hooray!

Happy boy!

My Maren-girl & My Ezra-boy

I am not sure why I have had such a hard time blogging of late, but it has all but fallen off the radar for two months.  No excuses; other things were just higher priority.  Instead of trying to redeem Halloween, Thanksgiving, and half of December, here is a picture of where we are currently.

Maren has three inseparable friends, Baby Emma, named for the newborn sister of one of her friends; Baby Daniel, named for her new cousin; and Baby Cora, named for a friend in nursery.  The first two babies are about the size of an adult's hand, so she carries them around inside her shirt (genius!), which means she still has two free hands to hold a blanket, a purse, a baby bottle, and Baby Cora.  We usually don't go anywhere without at least one of the babies.  She also loves to cook in her play kitchen.  Today she made me beef patty soup, a vegetable medley bowl, and chocolate cake with copious amounts of black pepper.

Hardly a day goes by without some musical performance.  She sings bits of lyrics from "I Know My Savior Loves Me," "I Love to See the Temple," "I Hope They Call Me on A Mission", and "I Am a Child of God".  She absolutely adores her nursery leader Lori, and talks about singing with Lori, doing lessons with Lori, coloring with Lori, etc.

Maren says most words clearly, and can talk a blue streak if anyone will listen.  Just this week she recounted Tigger's sad day when Rabbit banned him from bouncing.  It was complete with the "he said", "she said" of different characters, Tigger facial expressions, and Christopher Robin's response.  Pretty adorable.  She likes to carry around The Book of Mormon and tell me about different characters.  Abinadi, Joseph Smith, and Baby Jesus are her current favorites.  She is a wonderful little praying girl.  She is always first to kneel and fold her arms, and can already say her own simple prayer without help.  Sometimes in church, if she sees someone at the pulpit praying, she will start praying too.  She seems to have come with a special love of prayer. 

Some of her common phrases include:
"Probably yea" (she says this instead of just "yes")
"My Ezra-boy" (her pet name for her brother)
"I'm OK Mom!" (she hollers this as she climbs on counters, pulls random things out of the fridge, removes all my pots from the cupboard, tries to pour her own glass of milk, or starts furiously pushing buttons on my cell phone, etc.  Anytime she thinks she might be doing something she shouldn't, she will first say, "I'm OK Mom!")

Ezra is still enamored with sea creatures.  He wants to talk about what they eat and where they live all the time.  With the aid of the world map on our kitchen wall and the "OK Google" feature, we discuss such things as the migratory route of humpback whales, the eating habits of orcas, and approximate growth patterns of the colossal squid.  Ezra is a curious little guy, who loves to understand his world.  Today he was concerned about our neighborhood squirrels out in the snow, and said, "Mom, quick, ask Google if squirrels have blubber!"

Bear is still his loyal friend, three + years after they first met.  Earlier this month his right leg was hanging by a few tired threads, and in danger of falling off, and after a talk about Bear's future mobility, I finally convinced Ezra that sewing Bear's leg on again was in everyone's best interest.  Happily, with his leg sewn on again, we no longer has Bear fluff in the house.  I was beginning to know where Ezra had been on any given day because he would leave a trail of fluff everywhere.

Ezra's new interest is letters.  He uses scrabble games, my cell phone keypad, a Microsoft word document, chalkboards, notebooks, and alphabet refrigerator magnets to practice his letters.  He likes to try to sound out little words, try to find the letters on a keyboard, and then type them.  His favorite (or most practiced) letters on scrap paper are Q, D, O, A, H, L, and E--the E is drawn with at least ten horizontal lines).  Cute!

Books are Ezra's chosen happy place.  If he is feeling sad or needs some downtime, I often find him on the couch with a stack of books, quiet as a mouse, in deep concentration.  He loves a select few shirts, and will get very motivated to do the laundry, and sort an entire basket of kid clothes by himself in order to find a favorite shirt.  He likes to do art projects with me; recently he has tried watercolor pencils, pastels, and acrylic paints, as well as other cut/paste/glitter type creations.

This month Ezra and I have had a number of deep conversations.  I love his thirst for truth!  Yesterday he asked me, "Mom, can God give wicked people blessings?" and "Why doesn't Coleman (our neighbor) go to church?  Is God mad that he stays home?"  Earlier in the month he wanted to understand why poor kids needed our help at Christmas since Santa should be giving them gifts.  He also was confused about how Santa came into our house without a chimney and without a key.  "Is Santa just a Spirit like the Holy Ghost?"  And, "How does Santa know what I like?--we didn't talk at the Christmas party."  He keeps me on my toes, and I love our talk time! 

Sightseeing

My parents came for a visit earlier this month.  We decided to spend our time seeing some of the unique natural wonders in our local area.  My dad is a geologist at heart, and thrilled over the formations at Red Rocks.  The bottom wall of the amphitheater offered good climbing opportunities for Ezra.  The stairs and trails gave us all a good bit of exercise on such a perfect fall day.  We also stopped at the Dinosaur Ridge museum, which certainly helped me appreciate what a treasure trove this area is for the paleontologist. 

I love this picture!  Ezra is saying, "I love you," with fingers, and Maren is trying to say, "Thumbs up!," with fingers.  She hasn't quite figured out how to stick up just a thumb, so a raised index finger is her way of saying it.

We also walked through a section of downtown Golden, and enjoyed the view along the creek trail.  Ezra and Maren couldn't leave without throwing several pounds of pebbles into the creek.  We picked a safe looking rock outcrop and gave them some throwing time.

Butterfly Pavilion

The Butterfly Pavilion is our new favorite place.  We recently got a dual children's museum/butterfly pavilion membership, so we can visit as often as we like.  Sometimes we stop over as often as once a week.  The best time of day is usually 11:30 or later, after most of the school field trip groups are winding down, and the museum is quieter.  If we head over to the pavilion directly after Ezra finishes preschool, its a quick ten-minute drive.  We bring a picnic lunch and stay awhile. 

The butterfly pavilion is devoted to butterflies, of course, but also celebrates many other types of invertebrates.  At the facility you can pet live hermit crabs and starfish, see a baby octopus, lobsters, fish, sea urchins, shrimp, and dozens of types of insects and spiders.  Rosie, the Chilean Rose Hair tarantula, is available to hold--briefly, and Ezra got up his nerve and did it!  The half dozen varieties of scorpions are always fascinating and frightening.  Ezra seems to have a special love/phobia of these nasty critters.  Maren loves to go digging for earthworms in the indoor soil bins and watch the indoor bee hive buzz with activity.  The butterfly conservatory is actually their least favorite part; they aren't too keen on hundreds of small winged creatures swooping in random flight patterns over their heads.
    

Science and biology are fun topics for me too, and I am excited to have an interesting, indoor, nearby destination for the kids when the weather turns colder. 

Snapshots of Summer Fun

Playing in the "sand dunes" at the Children's Museum

Fill bucket, dump, repeat...30 minutes of uninterrupted fun.

Little firefighters in costume and truck at the Children's Musuem

Ezra found this awesome tree on a mountain hike

Enjoying the great outdoors at 9600'

Homemade fishing poles and good fisherman squats--no fish

Primary temple trip and some of our favorite friends

Birthdays, etc.

We had a busy week.  Labor Day family BBQ and Grandpa John's birthday, first day of Ezra preschool, Ezra's fourth birthday, second day of Ezra preschool, and a marathon doctor appointment day for the kids.  In my spare time I painted the garage door, the front entrance/porch area of the house, and painted more kitchen cabinets (the unfinished part from six months ago).

I am so pleased to report that Ezra had a glowing first impression from his new preschool.  As he bounded out the door after his first day, with a big smile on his face he said, "Mom, my teacher is nice, and the kids aren't scary!"  Hallelujah!  My Ezra-boy seems scared of his own shadow some days, so meeting--and liking seven new strangers is a BIG deal for him.  His second day was equally positive, in fact, he asked me twice on Friday when he got to go back to preschool.  It is hard to fathom that he can be so contented after the knock-out-drag-out fight we had last year with his very informal preschool friends group, but, obviously, he has found his good fit.

Maren had her #2 birthday a few weeks ago, and Ezra had his this week.  It is birthday season here at our house, so I will share their birthday celebrations together.  When I was growing up, my mom made a special request dinner on our birthday; I decided to continue that tradition in our family.  Maren and Ezra requested the very same thing this year: homemade macaroni and cheese and a fruit bowl.

Maren isn't much of a cake eater, so we put two candles in a bucket of strawberry ice cream, and she was tickled.  Ezra had a very specific request for a very special birthday cake.  He is enamored with ocean life right now, so he asked for a chocolate cake with an iceberg, icy ocean waters, and lots of cold-water sharks and whales, and if possible a narwhal.  I had fun creating his request, and aside from the narwhal, I nailed it.

Ezra and the shark cake, he was so pleased!

Maren (non-cake eater) loving her cake-on-a-stick

No surprise here, Ezra's favorite gift was the $6 tube of sharks

Grandma joined us for Ezra's birthday and had a few belated Maren gifts too.

Maren's birthday ice cream

Maren was VERY focused on her birthday ice cream

Maren--and Ezra (by association) got an IKEA kitchen for her birthday

Sweet Reward

 I haven't said much about the garden, but it is thriving, despite a heat wave/drought after our early summer flood.  Our late summer garden is not a very pretty thing--everything is overgrown, partially covered in powdery mildew, and limp from the baking sun, but productive.  Pictured below is a sampling of the first tomato pick, as well as a few squash, cucumber, and zucchini.

Dallin thought it might be fun to try an heirloom black tomato this year, and it is the hardiest and happiest of the lot; it will soon be as tall as him.  The heirloom black aren't quite black, but more of a purple-green, and truly melt-in-your-mouth delicious.  We planted the yellow pear again, and it gives us cups and cups of sweet treats.  We also have two different types of cherry tomatoes, one of which makes fruit the size of a golf ball, and wonderfully juicy.  
 

My Little Miss!

Maren Marie is TWO years old! 

I wanted to celebrate her special day by documenting some of her cute mannerisms.  She has become much more verbal in the last six weeks, and is able to communicate fairly well in a monosyllable style.

For example, she might say the following: "Mommy come.  Boots me.  Wee-wee.  Help."  (Interpretation: "Mommy come with me.  Help me put my boots on.  I want to go on the swing.")

Or this one: "Daddy come.  See room.  Pretty.  Ezra, me.  Wow." 
(Interpretation: "Daddy come with me.  Do you see the family room?  It's so pretty because Ezra and I cleaned it.  Wow!")

Or this one: "Mommy!  Ezra no-no.  Boom me.  Sad me."
(Interpretation: "Mommy, Ezra hurt me.  I'm sad.")

Maren has never used her own name.  She refers to herself as, "Me," and when she describes her actions she uses that pronoun with it, "Sleepy me."  "Happy me."  "Pretty me."

She rarely ever uses the word, "yes," even if the answer to a question is in the affirmative.  Instead, she communicates her approval with "Huh."  So, people who talk to her, but don't know her well think she is hard of hearing (he he).

"Maren, do you like to play outside?"
"Huh."
"Do you like to play outside? (a little louder)
"Huh."
Puzzled looks and knowing giggles from Mom follow... it is just one of her funny quirks.

I hope Maren doesn't hate me later for this, but I think the moment is precious: fancy free with her favorite pink boots--and little else, watering the vegetable garden.  We love our sweetie girl!

Summer Highlights

We have had such a great summer!  The best part was spending lots of time with both sets of grandparents, many aunts and uncles, and most of our cousins!

In mid-June we saw my six siblings, my parents, and my niece and nephew in Utah.  In late June, we met Ian for the first time, and spent a few days with Rhys and Liz.  We attended the wedding of a close family friend, and saw more extended family on Dallin's side.  Reva and her kids spent nearly a month at Grandma Roslyn's house, and we had many opportunities to socialize with them while they were here.

Here are some of our summer highlights with family:

Family camping trip at Redman Campground in Big Cottonwood Canyon.

Camryn and Ezra in the meadow next to the campsite.

Judd & Camryn (Utah cousins) with Ezra & Maren at Grandma's house

Celebrating the marriage of Dustin & Liliya at the Salt Lake Temple

We got to meet Ian for the first time!

Playing with the Wisconsin (in-transit-to-Texas) cousins at a water park

Hanging out in downtown Golden at the favorite ice cream shop

We celebrated three upcoming birthdays for Forster (almost 6), Ezra (almost 4), Maren (almost 2)