Spring Hiking

We decided to take advantage of the reasonably warm weather on Saturday to go walk around in the canyon. We took some lunch and headed out down the paved trail at the mouth of Provo Canyon. So maybe it's more of a running trail and we were only out for a stroll, but we saw some nature. That's what's really important here. Ty has been working so hard and such long hours lately, that it was a stress relief to get out with the family. We climbed up hills and crawled over rocks and visited the bank of a river. I couldn't ask for a better Saturday. Alli and Maddie love to throw rocks in a river, so we spent a good amount of time doing just that. Here's Maddie showing us her rock: This is her throwing her rock: (notice the rock flying through the air by her feet- my camara caught something in motion, I can't believe it.) And this is Maddie picking up the next rock. This really could go on all day.

There's a little bird shopping the real estate inside our dryer vent. It's warm and cozy in there, apparently, and he sang me a pretty little song the other morning as I came down the stairs, which resulted in some screaming by the kids(and me too). Then some frantic flapping noises ensued followed by silence after he finally found his way out. A couple of days later he was back. Dangerous neighborhood, but the climate is good and the other tenants are all talk and no bite.

Birthday

So I have this goofy, hillarious, awesome little girl named Maddie. Maybe you've met her? She's the one that's always hiding her face in my leg whenever you're around. She just turned two! For weeks she's been singing "happy birthday to you" and having long conversations with me about her birthday party, consisting of lists of everthing she knew would be apart of the event: "Cake, and 'bloons, and grandmas, and presents..."

Then she would stop and repeat "presents?" over and over until I confirmed that, yes, Maddie, there will be presents. It was funny, I tell you, but do you think she would sing one line of "Happy Birthday to Maddie" or even look at her birthday cake when we finally sang to her for real? Nope.
In fact, she was perfectly healthy until about 3:00 on her birthday, when we started hanging streamers, at which point, and I am totally serious, she developed a fever and stopped eating any and all food or drink. She didn't take one bite of her cake, although she did consent to open her presents... Ahem. Before she went to bed, she threw up to solidify her sickness alibi.

The next morning at 6:00 freakin am she woke up chipper, with no sign of fever or illness, and ate four pieces of toast and, yes, some cake. Gotta love that stinker.

We did have lots of fun with all of Maddie's grandmas, even without her consent, and I made my first ever cake. I know that almost everyone I know can make a cuter cake, but I am particularly proud of the frosting. I made it myself and it tasted oh so yummy. MMMM... frosting.

2 Year Old in the House

I have a two year old! I can't believe this day has finally come.

We can play picnic in the playroom, or dolls, or play dough. In church today, Maddie leaned over and smashed her mouth right into my ear to whisper, "Hello Kitty, upstairs, playroom." After a full body shiver, I passed the message on to Alli.

I love to watch Maddie throw a tea party. She is so serious about it. First, you have to put the teapot under the play kitchen spout. Then you bring it back to the table and fill the cups. This is done by picking up each teacup and hanging it upside down on the spout while making a shushing noise. (Since there isn't any liquid involved, nothing spills). Then the guests arrive, and she divides up the food. "Hungly, mama," she'll say as she puts the plastic chocolate bar on her itty bitty plate.

Her vocabulary is growing every day and my favorite laugh of the day is listening to her sing "Give Said the Little Stream" before bed. "Seennin seennin all a day..." Maddie-speak is always entertaining and cute. "O-lo-me" means, "I just spilled food all over me," and "hose me" means "pick me up."

When Alli was born everything was scary and new to me. When she was a baby, she cried, and I would panic. It was like every moment was a test. "If I can't stop her crying in the next two minutes, I have failed as a human being..." She cried a lot, so there it was. I figured I was a failure.

But this so called failure has also been one of the greatest lessons in my life. You can either walk around all the time thinking you're incompetent, or you can move on. I learned from Alli that I don't have to take myself so seriously all the time. Gasp, I'm not perfect? Oh, no, other people can do things better than me? Sometimes you have to let go of it all and laugh. And then cry. Then repeat as necessary.

As I look back on Maddie's first two years of life, I can see where I've grown, and how we've all enjoyed the moments more. I don't worry myself as much. All I can say is, "Sorry, Alli." I guess someone had to break me in.

Conversations with Maddie

I came to get Maddie out of her crib the other morning, and I found her stark naked. This is the conversation we had:

"Where are your pajamas Maddie?"

"Jammas, OFF"

"Did you take them off?"

"yeah"

"Maddie, you need to wear your pajamas so you don't get cold."

"I'm freezin" (Brr motions and gritted teeth)

"Tomorrow, can you wear your pajamas all night long?"

"No- jammas -ON!"

I actually already knew that her pajamas were off. She took them off before she fell asleep the night before and the night before that... What am I going to do with this kid?

Ball Pit Bubble Bath

I've known this day was coming for a year now. Anyone who has ever put one foot inside a Chucky Cheese's is aware of the problem. It's the balls. They stink. So when I hauled that $20 dollar clearance Easy Peasy ball pit up to the check out at Target last year, I thought, "This is an awesome deal, but some day I might regret this." That day was today.

My ball pit wouldn't stink. Not in my house. After all, my kids bathe and change socks every day, so why would that McDonald's Play Land mustiness invade my ball pit? I don't know, but it's happened. You know how you can smell everything just after you shower? Well, I had just taken a shower this morning when I was nearly knocked down by the smell in my living room.

I immediately decided to give the balls a bubble bath in my jetted tub. I figured the jets would work kind of like the swishing of the washing machine. I cannot even express how much fun this was. If laundry was like rolling brightly colored balls in mounds of bubbles, I'd do it every day and not complain.

Rinsing off the bubbles wasn't so fun, though, and I realized that a Clorox bath would have been more practical (but certainly not as fun).