If I could freeze time...

If I could freeze time, I would keep

his six-year-old giggle

when something is hilarious

the way his glasses never stay clean

his missing-tooth grin

and the way he still holds my hand

and squeezes it tight

while walking into his big school

her wild, pretty hair

always in her eyes

that she combs and combs while looking in my mirror 

her gap-toothed grin

and smile of glee when I walk in the door

her non-stop chatter quickly replaced

by bashful thumb-sucking in public

his big, big blue eyes

full of love for his Daddy

his sweet chubby cheeks

that I could kiss forever

his sweet sleeve-sucking to comfort himself

and the cute army crawl that gets him places

up and over my lap and back again

Fortifying the Family

We're into forts lately at our house.

There's just something about a blanket fort that makes you feel so comfy and safe and protected. Especially when you're in there with your two favorite boys, having family home evening and reading some stories about Jesus, eating ice cream and watching a movie.

We hold in our arms the rising generation. They come to this earth with important responsibilities and great spiritual capacities. We cannot be casual in how we prepare them. Our challenge as parents and teachers is not to create a spiritual core in their souls but rather to fan the flame of their spiritual core already aglow with the fire of their premortal faith.

The stories of Jesus can be like a rushing wind across the embers of faith in the hearts of our children. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The stories of Jesus shared over and over bring faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and strength to the foundation of testimony. Can you think of a more valuable gift for our children?

-Neil L. Andersen

James couldn't get enough of this fort, so we've built one almost every day since. I love the wonder in his little eyes when we put those blankets up over the furniture and climb right in.

I think that every home should be as comfy and happy and safe as this blanket fort. For isn't that just what our children need and deserve? We need to fortify our little families against the storms that will come. Spending time with our children, being there, showing them that they are the most important thing to us, holding family prayer, loving each other, making fun memories, teaching our children the gospel.

There has never been a greater need for increased faith and personal righteousness. There has never been a greater need for strong families and homes.

-Julie B. Beck

Can you believe how many talks there were in General Conference that were all about families and parenting, about teaching our children and about the importance of motherhood? I think the Lord must be trying to tell us something ;)

Parents must bring light and truth into their homes by one family prayer, one scripture study session, one family home evening, one book read aloud, one song, and one family meal at a time. They know that the influence of righteous, conscientious, persistent, daily parenting is among the most powerful and sustaining forces for good in the world. The health of any society, the happiness of its people, their prosperity, and their peace all find common roots in the teaching of children in the home.

-L. Tom Perry

Those bright, shining eyes on the face of my two-year-old remind me every day that we need to keep our family strong. I guess we'll keep on building those forts.

Hair

Today I decided to cut James' hair before his bath. He was seriously beginning to look like a wild child.

Mistake attempting a haircut without Daddy's help? Oh yes. He was not a happy child. But once you run those clippers through the very middle of a kid's head of crazy hair, there is no stopping. I ended up cutting his hair sitting on the floor; I had a sad, sobbing boy laying his head in my lap, tears streaming down his snot- and hair-covered face, screaming:
  
"Put it back, Mommy! Put it back!!"

We quickly finished the job, he looked in the mirror and was rather pleased with his handsome haircut. And I think he has forgiven me.

teaching children kindness

I love how my James is learning and growing and discovering the world. Life really can be magical through the eyes of a toddler, can't it? The simplest things are just amazing to him and he finds joy in the smallest things - like playing with balloons or carrying a flashlight around the house, shining it on everything in sight, and learning to make shadow puppets with his Daddy.

And while, yes, this is an amazing world to discover, it can sometimes be harsh and scary and not so magical. I only hope we can teach him what we need to in order for him to be a great man (like his Daddy and all of his uncles and his two amazing grandfathers) who will influence the world for the better.

I hope we can teach him to be kind to others. I feel like this is one of the very most important things we can teach our children. This is something I have been thinking about lately, and I think that for many in our world today, being kind is a lost art. It is probably one of the most simple yet powerful ways to help and influence others, to serve the people around us, to share our beliefs, even to be successful.

It is so easy these days, especially with the technology we have, to share our opinions and put others down in order to make ourselves seem cool. I am sure we are all (myself included) guilty of judging others at times. I hope I can teach my boy to give others the benefit of the doubt before judging them, to steer clear of categorizing people, and to be slow to take offense.

What a lot of responsibility that comes with being a mother!

"Perhaps the greatest charity comes when we are kind to each other."
- Marvin J. Ashton

rice-challenged

Lately, whenever I make rice it just doesn't work. Seriously, ANY kind of rice I try to make - white rice, brown rice, minute rice, rice-a-roni - turns out all nasty and the water never cooks away completely. I used to make rice a lot, and it used to turn out great. What is my problem? I feel very rice-challenged as of late. I think we'll steer clear of it in our house for awhile.

Last Sunday I cooked some rice for some chicken teriyaki bowls, and again it didn't turn out (and this was rice-a-roni, folks, not rocket science!) So frustrating. So I quickly came up with a plan B for my hungry boys and we had chicken caesar salad (well, chicken nuggets for James), and I decided to make a fruit smoothie to go with it. Unfortunately I soon realized that the bottom of my blender wasn't screwed in all the way, and this happened:

Sad day. Do you ever have nights where you think dinner will never ever make it on the table? This was definitely that type of night. I got the smoothie cleaned up and started over.

Ahhh, much better. Who doesn't love smoothies - man they are the best. It's almost like eating ice cream for dinner. So our dinner actually turned out alright. Also, thankfully, I had made some yummy funfetti cupcakes for dessert...which got eaten right along with our late dinner. We were so hungry that I didn't even frost them. Great dinner, eh?

I am really thankful for my Mom who always made such amazing dinners. Being a mom who cooks dinner every single day can be hard sometimes! It is so...DAILY :). Agreed?

My James.

Today my sanity slowly slipped away as James held up M&M after M&M, saying, "What's dat?? He asked with each one.

He wonders "what's dat" all the time. Constantly. And he loves to do things by himself. "Self!" he says.

In fact he climbed into his high chair by himself, while I was on the phone, and when I heard little yelps I ran into the kitchen, and there he was, feet barely touching the ground, his little white t-shirt stuck way up high on the high chair. As sad as it was I couldn't help but laugh out loud, it was pretty funny. I asked him afterwards "where does it hurt?" to which he responded by poking out his round little belly as far as it would go. I kissed his tummy and all was well.

Seriously though, this kid is a keeper. He's all about being happy lately. He constantly says "I happy!" or "Daddy happy!" The past two days, though, if I exhibit any sign of any emotion other than happiness (be it frustration, exhaustion, determination or just plain being bugged), he gets a major pouty face and says, "Mommy? Happy?!?" I have been working on keeping a happy face, despite my inner feelings. If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy....am I right?

Here's a fun conversation:
me: "James, do you feel sick?"
James: "No. I happy."

Today James was a hyper little doggie who wouldn't take a nap, crawling all around the house licking things. "Dog food!" he said. Of course.

He wanted to go somewhere really badly today..."Go sumpin'! a-Go sumpin', Mama!"

It was quite the day and I am quite the exhausted Mama...but I wouldn't trade it for anything :)

stick it on the fridge

Is it weird that I just can't bring myself to throw away any of James' little pictures he colors in nursery every Sunday?

We've got 'em on the fridge and in his closet and they just keep on popping up in various places throughout the house. Why is it that I just can't get rid of a picture of a little boy (with yarn attached for wearing it, mind you) that says, "Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ Love Me" that James so beautifully colored (er...scribbled) all by himself? (Even though he used red and black, like for the face and eyes...)
I still just find it so dear (and so crazy!) that my boy is old enough to color pictures and bring them home to mommy. Maybe if I hold onto all his cute little drawings I can hold onto him at this age for just a little bit longer.......or maybe not. But I can try, right?

Can you just see me when he's in grade school, bringing home artwork and worksheets and the like? I'd better get me a filing cabinet...

overheard

I just told James he had 5 minutes to play before nap time...and as he played with his cars on his Radiator Springs rug and narrated everything that went on, I couldn't help but write it down because it was so entertaining. My family will especially get a kick out of this:


Go down a-Bapa's car...down a-Bapa's car...go down a-Bapa's car....

A-go down a-Annie's car...down a-Annie's car...down a-Annie's car...

Hounk hounk! Hounk hounk!

Go down a-Annie's car....and dis way....and dis way....

Go backwards! a-Carrrrs

Red light....red light! Red light a-Annie's car.

Go down a-Annie's car. A-park. A-park-a right there. I home!! I home a-Annie's car a-Giki's car!

Oh, harder......aaaaahhh, oohhhhh (apparently a car was trying to get over a bump)

A bump! A bump! Annie's car a-bump! a-wheels too! 3......4......5.....Go!! Bapa's car right there. Home! Home, Bapa's car! Bapa? A-go-a-Giki's car. I home too! Yay! Sump sump sump! (which means "jump")

Bapa's car! Bapa's car red! Oh, a-Bapa's car red! Ahhh!! A-on top a-Bapa's car! Uh-oh....inside! Inside....look inside!

Beep beep! Beep beep! Beep beep Bapa's car!
Beep beep beep Annie's car! Beep beep Annie's car!

Go down, cars! Go down, cars! Go down cars!
Go up, car!

Bump!
A-bump! A-bump! Down a-bump!

A-stop-a red light.


Ahh, I love it. Life with a little boy is great. Now to get him to bed so I can finally take a shower and get dressed for the day!

the art of deception

As the parent of a toddler, I have learned that a certain amount of deception goes a long way in keeping your kid healthy and happy. No, I'm not talking about teaching your kid to be deceptive and dishonest - I am talking about getting your child to eat healthy! What a struggle this is with a 2-year-old, as I'm sure many of you know.

I remember when my brother was a little kid, my parents could get him to eat almost anything by telling him that it tasted like hot dogs. I've tried this trick, and James does not fall for this at all. (Well, he's never even had a hot dog, but what I'm saying is that it won't work with any food that he likes!)

I have discovered a few things that have helped, though...oh, and trust me, we still have a LONG way to go with this kid...


1.) You can hide almost anything in a smoothie...

2.) Fish sticks look like chicken nuggets. hey, maybe still not the healthiest thing but they are another form of meat that my kid will now gladly eat, bringing his meat repertoire up to a whopping total of 2 things.

3.) James LOVES pancakes, but doesn't like anything ON them, he just picks them up and eats them - same with french toast. So, what do I do? I add some kind of fruit (like applesauce and/or bananas) to the batter, and voila! He (unknowingly) gets some extra fruit in his diet. hehehe.

4.) Thanks to this great book, my family has been eating more vegetables than usual. James even tried a little bit (he will now begrudgingly try one bite of whatever mommy makes him - hey, I am happy, it is one more bite than usual. Our favorite was his bite of mac and cheese - he put a huge bite in his mouth, gagged on it, but continued chewing and swallowed anyway - what a champ!!)


But seriously, Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld is a pretty awesome book. It is all about adding fruit and vegetable purees to recipes, making them much healthier for your family. All of the recipes we've tried so far have been awesome, and you can hardly tell there is squash or sweet potatoes in your food! Thanks to this book, our family has recently enjoyed several new yummy, healthy recipes, such as:

*mac and cheese with cauliflower
*sloppy joes with red peppers, sweet potatoes, celery and carrots
*chicken quesadillas with butternut squash

So, friends, how do you get your kids to eat healthy? I'd love to hear your brilliant ideas!

phew.

That is my sigh of relief that James is in bed. And quiet. [I take that back, he just sneezed...crossing fingers that he falls asleep soon!]

This week he has been awful with his naps, and it's making me crazy! I don't know about any of you, but I can never really completely relax until I know he's actually asleep. I can only get so much done when he's up there calling my name!

Any mommy knows that nap time is glorious. Not that we don't love our children and want to play with them and hug them and read to them, but you cannot stay sane without some amount of time to yourself during the day, am I right? Even if it's taking a hot bath or reading a magazine OR, better yet, leaving the child with your husband and getting out and going somewhere (even if it's just to the grocery store) by yourself (it's always nice when you can pick the tiny shopping cart and not the HUGE one with the car on the front that is impossible to maneuver through the aisles and you get in everybody's way and your child is hanging his head out the side).

I think that yesterday was particularly exhausting. James is usually pretty good about playing by himself while I do the dishes and get a few things done around the house. But yesterday he wanted my FULL attention. I'd leave the room and he'd start calling, "Mommy?? Mommy??" He wanted me to "make his toys talk" over and over and over again. There is only so much you can make a little wooden person say to his wooden buddy, or a car say to another car (unless you are my husband or my dad, in which case you can go on and on for hours and never seem to get tired of it).

After he'd been in his bed yesterday for an hour or so of "quiet time" (since he never fell asleep), I went in there and we had this conversation:

me: "why didn't you go to sleep?"
James: "awake!"
me: "well, did you try closing your eyes?"
James: "no. eyes open!"
we then had a sort of stare down and he started to grin.
James: "out? met? one met?" (one minute)
me: "you want to get out?"
James: long pause........................"ok!"

sigh.
Calling all mommies: What do you like to do during your "alone time" while your kiddies are sleeping or with daddy? How do you recharge your battery so you remain pleasant and patient? :)

The simple joys of childhood

While visiting my Mom today, James and I looked out the window and saw a black cat climbing across the top of a fence! Oh the excitement! James loves cats lately. He went shopping with me yesterday and while I was trying on clothes in the dressing room at Old Navy, he got very bored and so he decided to be a cat. He crawled all around the dressing room meowing, rubbing up against my leg and climbing on me. And he tried to lick the wall. Yuck.

So anyway, we were looking out the window at this cat, and James opened the shutters, spooking the cat a bit. I told him that maybe we shouldn't move the shutters so we don't scare the cat. Then the cat moved closer and STARED at us with its big green eyes. James turned and reached for me and said, "Cares me!!" [scares me] (I can't say that I blame him, I am so not a cat person; in fact, I really dislike cats most of the time. Kittens are kind of cute though.)

He felt much better, though, after we looked out a different window and scared the cat, making it run away. James just laughed and laughed!

Isn't it fun discovering the world through the eyes of your child? Like the excitement of seeing a cat or a bird or a bug. Or taking long, looooong walks and stopping to look at everything along the way. If I wasn't a mommy, I so would not be blogging about seeing a cat outside the window. :) But I am a mommy, and I just love it. I am so happy to get to re-live childhood vicariously through my little buddy.

we've done it...

...we've resorted to bribery.

We have recently discovered that James loves m&m's (or 'ems' as he calls them), and that he will do almost anything to get some. So, when he starts to refuse to eat his dinner, I now know I have a great way to get him to actually eat his food. It worked today for lunch (granted, lunch was just a peanut butter sandwich and a banana, not like a chicken casserole or something, but still - he was rebelling and wouldn't eat it!) And he is just so happy with 3 or 4 m&m's, as long as he gets at least one red one...

a little jealousy...

"There is no other closeness in human life like the
closeness between a mother and her baby...
they are just a few heartbeats away from
being the same person." - Susan Cheever

As my Dad likes to say, James and I are pretty much the same person. As he is getting older, though, he is realizing more and more that we actually are, in fact, not. I suppose this can cause for some feelings of possessiveness toward his mommy.

Lately James cannot stand it when Jonathan and I show affection for each other.

We hold hands, and his little brow starts to furrow. This means business. Ever since the day he was born (when someone had the gall to straighten the little man's hat), whenever James furrows his brow it means he is bugged. He pushes his Daddy's hand away and says, "Mom!!"

We kiss, and he just can't stand it. He yells "Mom!!" and pushes Jonathan's face away.

Apparently we have some jealousy issues here.

(discovering his love for rolling in the dirt - now he's a real Boster boy!)

Sleepy-time Struggles

Help! I am just about going crazy here. Lately James has decided that he doesn't like to nap! He has always been a great sleeper, and still sleeps very well at night (no crying, just goes right to sleep). For awhile now he has been on kind of a late napping schedule (but it has worked) - where he'll go down for a nap in the afternoon around 2 or so, and sleep for 2 or 3 hours. Then, he just stopped. I realized that he was probably tired earlier, so I started putting him down around 12:30 or 1, which sometimes does work. But for the most part - I'll lay him down (doesn't matter what time) and he will just happily play and talk in his crib for about an hour, until I've had it and I go get him up. Then he gets so grumpy and obviously still needs a nap, so I try again an hour later and he sleeps great (but then he naps too late, and it throws off the whole schedule - or lack thereof).

Any suggestions? Is anyone else going through this same thing? He will be two in December, so he is really little to give up naps. And I am definitely not ready for that yet!

Walks

My little buddy and I went for a fun walk today around our neighborhood, then we had to go slide down the slide, then James held my hand and ran home. He is very into running lately. And holding hands, and going on walks.

I once read a great quote about motherhood - "The walks and talks we have with our two-year-olds in red boots have a great deal to do with the values they will cherish as adults." (Edith F. Hunter)

Being a mom can be hard sometimes! There are so many things demanding your attention, particularly your child, and it can be so hard to do everything you want to get done. It's easy to let your patience wear thin.

But lately, I have realized how good it is to just slow down, sit on the floor for awhile and pull out all the stuffed animals in your house and play with them (who cares about that load of laundry when you have this cute little face looking up at you?).


Or to lay on a blanket and read favorite books over and over and over (The Little Red Caboose, Goodnight Moon, The Polar Express...). (It can actually be quite relaxing, and make you feel like a kid again!)

Or to go on the slowest walk ever (those little legs can only go so fast, even at running speed) but to notice everything around you through the eyes of a toddler - apples on the ground, speed "bums" to walk over (those are speed bumps if you were wondering), orange pumpkins, bugs, pine cones.

I am so glad to be a mommy, and to be able to do these fun things with my boy every day. I am grateful for the slow walks we take and the sweet little talks we have. And I do think they are important - I hope every little kid gets to go on long walks with their mommy, too.

Slides

Our apartment complex has a tiny little playground, and James just LOVES to walk over there and slide down the slide. The playground really is for older kids, so one of us has to carry him to the top and slide down with him - and he just insists on doing it over and over and over again!


One of my very earliest memories (I was probably around James' age, maybe a little older) is at a park in Oregon, where we lived. I am sitting on top of a really big slide...of course I was very little, so it's all relative...and my Dad is at the bottom with his arms outstretched, ready to catch me. It really is a sweet memory, and I remember just feeling happy and safe. I hope James feels the same way.

My cute boys are waving and saying "Hi!!!!!"

best. job. ever.

I was just thinking how glad I am to be a mother. It is seriously the best job ever, I can't imagine doing anything else; nothing in the world would be more important to me (or to James). James and I are best buddies (along with Daddy, of course), and what is more fun than having your full-time job (yes, definitely full-time) be hanging out with your cute little buddy?

My "job description" includes duties such as these...

Feed the little man. Easier said than done, folks. Sometimes I think he'll turn into a giant graham cracker, because it seems like that is all he'll eat! Is that bad?

Kiss his owies when he gets hurt. This occurs almost daily. But once I kiss him, he's all better. Just like magic.

Change the diapers. Maybe not so enjoyable, but seriously, you get used to it after doing it for so long. Once he was grumpy and whining when I was trying to change him, so I threw the clean diaper high up in the air and caught it (one needs to be creative in times of desperation) and he just thought that was the funniest thing he'd ever seen. Now we must play this game during every diaper-changing session.

Clean up after him. Seriously, how can a kid's room get so messy so fast? Luckily he is getting to the point that he can do little jobs to "help" Mommy. Today he even helped me with the laundry. He carried two shirts (one at a time) from the dryer to the pile on Mommy's bed. Now if only he knew how to fold, then we'd be in business...

Run around and play together. One favorite game we like to play these days is that I try to take a picture of James, and he just runs and runs and laughs and laughs, because he won't stay still long enough (he's a tease like that). Then I, of course, have to run after him and tickle him until he runs again.

Run errands together. James loves to hold hands and "run run run!!" into the store or library. Sometimes we go for walks and chat about all the things we see - like pumpkins, or "bums" (speed bumps).

Read books. We love to read books together, and James will often bring a book to me and say "read!" And sometimes he likes to read all by himself, too. But even so, he is VERY insistent that I look at every page with him. Like if I try to read my OWN book (heaven forbid), or do anything, for that matter, it gets interrupted for every single page with a "Mama??" Once I comment on the picture I am off the hook...until he turns the next page, that is.

Teach him. Wow this is a big one. Despite the fact that as parents we must teach our kids everything, it's amazing how much they teach us. Or how much they do know that we don't realize they know. Or just how smart/clever they really are. Today James had his juice cup in his hand, and then not even ten minutes later it was nowhere to be found. I searched everywhere but couldn't find it, so I got him a new cup. Later in the afternoon, James ran into the kitchen, said "Juice!" and immediately opened up the bread maker, pulled out his juice cup from earlier and took a big drink. Guess he was saving it for later. What a smart boy.

Give him a bath. This is one of his most enjoyable times of day. He has come up with some fun games, such as lining all of his bath toys up on the edge of the tub, then one by one saying, "we - go! we - go! we -go!!" or "3 - 2 - 3 - 2 - 3!!!" and pushing each toy into the water. Splashing Mommy is also great times. My favorite part is when we let the water out, and he lays down on his tummy with his little bum in the air, waiting for "Mr. Tornado" to appear above the drain. Once he's there, James SMACKS him and waits for him to return.


Hug him, kiss him, sing to him, love him. Here's the fun part. Sometimes he freaks out when I start singing a certain song, because he knows bedtime is soon. But sometimes he just lays his head on my shoulder and listens. So cute. I love it how he kisses me on the lips before bed, and how he is learning to say his own prayers (with our help). And lately he just gives the best hugs.

I love my job!

Hugs

This morning as we were getting ready for church, I was rushing around trying to get dinner in the crockpot and trying to do my hair. James kept saying "Mama?? Mama??" and I would respond with "Just a minute, Bud!" This continued on for awhile, when he finally came to the door of the bathroom and grabbed onto the door frame. He kind of squished his body up against it and held on really tight. I asked, "what are you doing?" He said "HUG."

So I scooped him up and gave him a big old hug that lasted forEVER (this kid LOVES hugs lately - he gives great ones!). It was so sweet and a good little reminder of what is most important. I just love my little boy.

Victories of Mommyhood

My child ate applesauce!

I know this may not seem so amazing, but seriously, it is! My kid is such a picky eater. His entire food repertoire consists of graham crackers and milk, apple juice, Gerber oatmeal, grapes, graham crackers and milk (yes this is his favorite), chicken nuggets and mashed potatoes. Ok, ok, so there ARE more things he will eat, but sometimes it seems like he won't eat ANYTHING. And yes, he used to eat applesauce all the time when he was a baby, so I have no idea why he wouldn't eat it for ages.

But today, he ate it! And he liked it! I made it into a game and we said "1, 2, 3!" and put our spoons (full of applesauce) in our mouths as fast as we could. He was hesitant at first, but once he got a tiny lick of it he said, "Mmmmm!" I am so happy. It's funny the things that make you happy when you are a mommy :)

Now onto veggies...

You know you're a mommy...

...when you can hardly even take a shower in peace without it being interrupted by the pitter patter of little feet, and a little voice from the other side of the curtain saying, "Mama?? Mama??"

(I peeked out from behind the curtain to a happy, huge-smiley face and a cheerful, "Hi!!")