Thank You

Thank you everyone for the Birthday love this past weekend. I actually ended up getting a horrible head cold (luckily after we visited the tulips)- so a lot of my actual birthday was spent in bed completely without a voice (Happy Birthday to me!) I've never lost my voice as badly as this time. I could hardly even whisper for 3 full days and am just now getting a raspy version of my voice back. I have discovered that parenting a toddler without a voice is very "interesting" (read: "frustrating"). But I think it's been a good experience for Leta in learning to obey mama and listen better :)

Bless his heart, Matt did still try to make my Birthday enjoyable. He took Leta to church that morning so I could stay in bed (& even took over my nursery duty for me). He made me cinnamon rolls for breakfast (my favorite), bought me tulips and a few gifts, and completely cleaned & detailed my car (the one thing I told him I really wanted for my birthday this year). And we were able to spend a good chunk of the afternoon enjoying the sun outside with a bunch of our neighbors (& their huge collection of outdoor toys- which I think Leta now thinks are hers to play with whenever she wants).

I also got such a fun Birthday gift from my mother-in-law (I wish I took a picture of it when it was all together). She gave me this adorable basket she put together, complete with not only an Anthropology GC (whcih I'm VERY excited to use), but also all kinds of fun gardening-themed items, including the book I Love Dirt in response to this post! So much fun!

And, per usual, I'm dragging out the BirthDAY into a BirthWEEK and have more fun plans to celebrate this next weekend! So, thank you again for the comments, texts, phone calls, gifts, etc... I truly felt loved!

Skagit Valley Tulips

Last Friday, as a birthday treat for me, Matt, Leta & I drove up to Mount Vernon to see the tulip festival. This used to be an annual tradition for Matt & I, but we were realizing that it's been at least 2, maybe 3 years since we'd been up there! And of course, this was Leta's first time, which she actually enjoyed- at least the running in big fields part:

Intently "reading" the tulip signs:

Running some more- this time, after having stolen dad's hat:

Family picture on the stone frog:

...and kissing the stone frog:

...and climbing on the stone frog:

Hanging out with Dad, taking a little breather from all the running:

...and of course, running some more! Seriously- the girl ran for an hour straight. Maybe it was the Calico Cupboard cinnamon roll I shared with her :)

A Little Paint, A Little Thanks

A friend asked me the other day if I do art projects with Leta all the time. No, I don't. In fact, other than coloring (which she likes to do-for a short amount of time- most days) I probably post the majority of our projects on this little blog. So, no- not all the time. Maybe about once a week, if I'm organized enough.




Yesterday we tried a new little one. I still haven't bought Leta any paints. I just keep forgetting. So, we've still only been painting with homemade "paints" so far. Yesterday, I read the following idea with food coloring:

I put water in separate bowls and enough food coloring in each for the color to be pretty dark. I recommend a painter's smock or this smock/bib from Ikea, since food coloring stains.


Then they just paint the colors on peices of paper towels and watch as the color is soaked up to make interesting designs. Dry and mount on white paper.



This photo really doesn't do the finished product justice. Once it's flattened out & matted it looks pretty cool. Nothing big, pretty easy, but Leta still liked it.



And since it's thankful Thursday- just a few:

• All the tulips in bloom in our yard!
• The beautiful sun returning this afternoon
• Getting some cleaning done while Leta naps
• Going to the tulips with our little family tomorrow and having breakfast at my FAVORITE spot - the Calico Cupboard!
• Laughing with Leta this morning as she danced and somersaulted on our big bed
• Good (almost daily) chats with our across-the-street neighbor
• That I don't have to work tomorrow because I worked yesterday instead- yay!

Catching Up

I haven't posted in awhile because we've just been so busy doing fun things... mainly outside in the beautiful weather we were having! The past few days have been full of trips to parks with friends, BBQ's all weekend with friends and family, some good yard work (& plenty of time for Leta to dig in the dirt and mud), and on Monday...the 2009 innagural use of the kiddie pool in our backyard. Leta was very excited about the pool's re-appearance. But maybe even more excited about her new bathing suit that she finally grew into. Here she is pointing out the strawberry and modeling the suit:

A few things that are on my mind these days:

• Looking so forward to a birthday weekend, possible trip to the tulips, and a much-needed date night with Matt.
• Wanting to get more time out in our yard. It's so funny how much time I've already spent out there weeding, pruning (later than I should have), planting a few new plants from my dad, and clearing out beds. And really if you were to look at it, you probably couldn't even tell. But that's because it was so far gone that it's going to take a lot of work to turn it around. Hopefully this weekend we'll get more time to work on it. I never thought I'd like gardening, but it's such a productive, rewarding activity.
• A slight bit paranoid about a sudden ant colony we just found in our foundation next to one of the flower beds. We had someone come bate & spray today & they haven't been seen inside our house at all (thank the Lord!) But I'm so fearful of them getting in our house like they did last summer. It just makes me feel oddly vulnerable- like there's an intruder in my home. yuck!
• Excited to try some new outdoor activities and art projects with Leta that I read about.
• Excited for garage sale season (as I already mentioned).
• Convicted by a great discussion on the book of James in our Bible study last night. I feel so blessed to have this group of girls that I can learn so much from and be challenged by!
• Looking forward to a night with my hubby tonight (we've only seen each other in passing the past few nights)- to catch up & watch the next episode of a DVD series we're completely hooked on!

Garage Sale Season is Almost Here!

I just realized today that, along with this beautiful, sunny weather ushering us into spring and then summer, comes that season that starts my adrenaline pumping and my bargain-seeking brain buzzing...Garage Sale Season! And oh, am I excited already.

A few things I'm keeping my eye out for this year:

• Play clothes for Leta. Now that we've discovered that her favorite pastime is playing in the dirt outside- shoveling it, raking it, pouring water into it to create mud, etc... (we did this again yesterday for close to 2 hours) I've decided that her nice little clothes just can't take the constant abuse and still hold up. So, I want to find cheap play t-shirts, pants, etc... And since they're going to just get ruined soon anyways, I want to find them for CHEAP! So, that's my #1 goal in my garage sale ventures.


• Frames for our hallway. I've been wanting to basically cover our hallway in framed photos of family and friends, but need to start collecting the frames. What I want to do is find silver ones (not shiny silver, but more brushed/ matted silver- does that make any sense? Slightly more antiqued looking, I guess) or find ones that would look good spray-painted silver. So, goal #2 is to find any wall-hanging frames of all shapes and sizes that I can spray paint and hang in our hallways.

So, those are my 2 goals this year. I've already started scouting annual neighborhood garage sales, since I know a lot of them start in May. Richmond Beach's is May 16th.
Anyone know of any other good annual neighborhood garage sale dates yet?

18 Months Old

On Monday, this little monkey turned 18 months old! Another milestone age in my mind- they seem to fly by so quickly! But I can't get over how much fun this stage is! It amazes me how much these little ones know!
For Easter my mom got Leta this adorable picnic tea set, so we've had numerous picnics the past few days. On Monday we started the day with one in the living room. New Easter bunny & "Jelly Cat" were in attendance:

It's so funny how much these little ones watch and absorb what we say and do. On her own, Leta started setting out each napkin and plate- just like I do to set the table. Then, after seeing me do it once before, she actually took one of the napkins and draped it across her little lap and tried to do the same to bunny. Then gave them all kisses and sips of "tea".
After the morning tea party, we went to her doctors appointment. 34 inches tall and only 24 pounds- she still seems to be pretty long and lean. Still a tall-y. I had promised her a treat after the appointment, so we went to starbucks, picnic basket in tow and even had another tea party picnic at the table in starbucks. And of course, a 3rd one once we got home after naptime.

I really am enjoying this little 18-month personality more than I can adequately say. Yes, she is a willful one! This girl spends most of her day pushing the limits as far as she can (and often beyond) and she's extremely independent. And I already feel like I'm scrambling to figure out how to best discipline, etc... But yesterday I met with a mother of 2 girls who are now in college, whom I've always respected for the ways she's chosen to raise her girls. And she reminded me that we want to raise independent children in the long run, don't we?

My heart's desire is to foster independence, compassion, creativity, and a love for God and others in this little girl. My prayer is that God would show me what I can do to do that. I'm so blessed by her!

(This last picture is the face Leta always makes when I ask her to smile for the camera)

A Few More Easter Pics

Playing it pouty when getting kisses from daddy:

The "Living Cross" outside our church Easter morning. Families bring a flower to decorate the cross- a much-needed glimpse of beauty and color on the gray & rainy Easter Sunday we had this year.

Playing with Easter eggs at Matt's parents (where we went for lunch):

Hunting for eggs (indoors due to weather) at my parent's house (where we went for dinner):

Feeding her new Eater bunny that Grammy McDonald got her with the picnic teaset she also got from Grammy (I don't remember Easter presents- other than an Easter basket, but it's pretty obvious what my mom's love-language is, don't you think? I just hope this little grandaughter doesn't get completely spoiled!)

Our little family:

Hope you had a wonderful Easter weekend!

Leta's First Easter "Eggstravaganza"

Each year our church has an "Easter Eggstravanganza", starting with a free pancake breakfast and then a program for younger kids (I think up to age 8) that includes an Easter egg hunt, bouncy house, craft time, puppet show, and carnival games. This year was Leta's first time experiencing the festivities. Although she was technically younger than most (it's really for 2 years old & up) she really seemed to love it!

Decorating an Easter bag for her eggs with Daddy

On the hunt. Although we've had many "dry runs" this week (she's been wanting me to hide eggs for her to find numerous times a day this past week), I don't think she was quite prepared for the competition aspect :) She often saw eggs and then watched them be grabbed up by older kids before she could get there. But she got plenty and loved it anyway. Maybe next year we'll teach her to throw some elbows :)

With friends Olivia & Addison

Decorating a windsock in the craft room

I did discover that letting her run around for 3 hours (& she did literally run everywhere all morning) equals a record-breaking nap. I just heard her starting to make noise after a 2 hour & 45 minute nap!

10 on 10 (& 400th post)

Thankful Thursday- 1 Day Late

Sorry for the delay in Thankful Thursday. Yesterday I spent the day having so much fun with Leta, but that meant that I wasn't near my computer at all. Here are a few of the little things I'm thankful for today:

• Lots of freetime with Leta yesterday. I don't think either of us got out of our pajamas until 11am (which NEVER happens). She going through quite the mischevious streak- waiting to make sure I'm watching before doing something she's not supposed to do. Unfortunately, she has the most hilarious mischevious grin that it makes it SO hard not to laugh every time. She definitely kept me "entertained" all day!
• Easter weekend with tons of fun plans- celebrating with both sides of the family, going to our church Chidren's Easter "Eggstravaganza" on Saturday, Easter Sunday service, and Leta's first year of Easter egg hunts (she's been practicing the past 2 days- apparently hunting for empty plastic eggs is her new favorite game).
• Making Easter cookies & crafts with Leta yesterday to give to friends and neighbors. Leta got pretty into all the crafting and baking - needless to say: fun time=messy kitchen.
• Good friends I get to spend time with this weekend.
  

The Girl Who Hated Dirt

This is a story about a little girl named Mandy.

Unlike most little children, Mandy hated dirt! I mean, had NO desire to play in dirt, sandboxes, mud, etc... In fact when told she was going over to a certain friend's house to play (sorry, Kim) Mandy would throw a fit because she knew this friend would want to make mudpies and Mandy couldn't handle it.

Fast forward a few years to Mandy's school years. Often asked to help her parents by weeding the garden, Mandy would pout and do it unwillingly because weeding entailed having her hands in the dirt, actually having to touch spiders and worms, and...heaven forbid, get her hands dirty. The obvious answer to this dilemna would be to wear gardening gloves, but Mandy's parents never gave her any and so she somehow was oblivious to their existence. (You'd think she would have thought of it, but I guess if you've never seen them, you could not know they exist. You'd also think her parents would have given her some, at least to end her boisterous pouting, but for some reason they never did).

Fast forward again to Mandy's late 20's. Finally the owner of a large yard and flower beds that require tending, Mandy buys said gardening gloves and spends all day Saturday weeding. Does she touch dirt, spiders, and worms? Yes... but she's wearing gloves- so she doesn't care! In fact, Mandy is surprised to find that she LOVES it! She could pull weeds and work in the dirt all day! She loves the feeling of helping something grow, of knowing that soon she will see the fruits of her toils in the form of multi-colored tulips, daffodils, roses, raspberries, herbs, and later hopefully some veggies!

Does Mandy's daughter share her childhood disdain for dirt? I'm going to say...no:

Is this sometimes hard for Mandy- watching her daughter play for hours in the dirt, becoming more & more covered with it- and even trying once or twice to put it in her mouth? A bit. But Mandy pauses, realizes it's only dirt, and resolves to let her daughter get as dirty as she wants...and then plunk her in a bath.

The Perfect Spring Weekend

This weekend was JUST what the doctor ordered!

Such beautiful sunshine,

warm weather,

the city suddenly alive with people,

neighbor kids coming out of their houses in droves to play baseball and ride bikes,

doors and windows open throughout the house,

the smell of just-cut grass wafting in...

I feel like I've been waiting for this first spring weekend for a long time!

As the first sunny Saturday without plans, we spent the day out in the yard, finally giving our flower beds a little bit of the attention they've been needing since last fall! And it felt so good! As a complete novice in the gardening world, I was unfamiliar with that satisfied feeling of completely clearing a bed of weeds, mixing coffee grounds and mulch into the soil to create a better environment for the flowers and hopefully soon- vegetables.

I worried how this little one would stay entertained in the yard all day as we worked. But my worry was completely unneccessary! She LOVED it! Leta spent hours shoveling dirt with the little plastic shovel & rake I got her at the dollar store. She found an empty pot & carried it from place to place in the yard, tranferring dirt in and then out. Apparently feeling that the windowsill needed a bit more dirt, at one point.

Add to the weekend some great time at a local park, game night with friends, Leta having an overnighter at grandma and grandpa's, a picnic dinner with my family, and a clean house- and you have the makings of the perfect spring weekend!

Thankful Thursday 4.2.09

Honestly, I think this wet, winter weather (how's that for an alliteration) combined with some health issues are threatening to squelch my thankful attitude these days. But, I refuse to let them! Here are things today that I'm so thankful for:

• A little more energy today. The last few days I've spent Leta's nap time napping myself. I'm glad to actually have some time to be productive during naptime today.


• Taking it slowly this morning. Sitting on the floor watching Leta run around her room in only a diaper- skinny little limbs moving every which way. Rubbing the soft skin on her little bare back as she sat in my lap reading books. Going through a sticker book she found and watching her collect more and more stickers on her tummy, arms, legs, and feet.


• Working on a little Easter craft with Leta at her art table. I'm so excited for Easter this year- especially after such a long, cold winter. I'm so ready for furry bunnies, yellow dafodils, pastel Easter dresses, brightly colored eggs. Bring on Spring!


• Just-out-of-the-oven bran muffins this morning. Katie gave me a recipe a long time ago for bran muffin batter that lasts in the fridge up to 6 weeks (although it never lasts in this household longer than a few days). So as soon as I got up this morning, I measured out batter into muffin tins, popped them in the oven and we had warm bran muffins with raspberry jam for breakfast.