Michael is growing up.

I am learning that I am a mom who enjoys spending time with my kids when they function somewhat independently. This will probably come across sounding naive. But I do know that it is more difficult for me to spend time cradling and feeding a baby, than to talk with, understand, and cheer my children on.

Today was one of the more emotion-oriented payoff days for the nitty-gritty of daily care-taking. I am enjoying working together with Michael as he spreads his wings.

Here are some of his more recent accomplishments and landmarks:

• Michael is more or less potty trained.
• He swims by himself--with a life vest (not clinging to Mom or Dad).
• He rides a bike by himself--with training wheels.
• He has a verified crush on the neighbor girl.
• He has learned to communicate well enough to negotiate...He doesn't stop talking....

He is our loveable superhero!
Thank goodness those moments of gratitude come to help us continue forward.

Jordan's Daily Menu

• milk
• yogurt
• fruit juice
  
• sometimes V-8
  
• stick pretzels
• select cereals
  
• cheese
• oranges or pineapple chunks
• pancake or French toast
  
• Quaker chocolate chip granola bars
• noodles (if I'm lucky)
  
• French fries (if he's lucky)
  

Occasionally Jordan will eat some muffin, sausage, potatoes, or white meat.
Of course he'll always go for ice cream, creme puffs, chocolate or candy.

He used to eat tortilla, pureed fruit, cottage cheese and eggs.
Every few months we'll have a few good weeks and Jordan will try new things.

Is it OK to vent on your blog?
Feeding my sweet, active, skinny one year old is a daily struggle.
Any new recipes or tips??

Michael Miracle!

Michael is potty training! And it isn't as hard as I thought it would be. Michael took a little step, Jared gave a little push and I kept it going. This is day two. Of course it is worth the challenge, so we are committed. Yea!

Scripture Power

Our lesson from the Joseph Smith manual on Sunday was about the Book of Mormon. As a R.S. teacher, I seem to be the best learner in the class. How better to learn about the Book of Mormon than from the perspective of the prophet who translated it.



Our ward has a challenge to share the Book of Mormon with friends. I am enjoying the opportunity to think about the different ways each person can appreciate the message of the sacred record.

It seems that life’s lessons often come in waves, or waves of events that lead me to learn a lesson. We are working on our scripture study at home as of late. For Family Home Evening tonight we used the Scripture Power reading challenge and coloring page from the February Friend.


p.s. I wanted have to share the handout idea for a lesson on scriptures. Jared’s mom showed it to me after a lesson in her ward. The picture above is the version I made.

And Then There Was The Blog...

The creation of a blog is amazing to me. Click on the google blogspot icon. Type in a name, and pick a template. Enter your first post. Thirty minutes later you are "published."

I think we'll take this slowly, though. I'm lucky if my journal sees me every three or four months.

Family Traditions

Becoming our own family with unique traditions is becoming easier as our boys get older. I need to make notes for reference next year so they will happen on purpose and not by mistake.

Michael's valentine from Mom comes after a treasure hunt. I think this idea comes from one too many episodes of Blue's Clues.

Another tradition that has hung on for the past five years on-and-off is a special Salmon/Seafood dinner for Jared. It is his favorite. We both love fish, and it's so good for your health. I don't know why I forget to prepare it more often.

Valentine's Day Excitement!

I love my Valentine's gift this year. I wanted to bring a little ray of spring into our home. So, we found some silk flower sprays at Michael's and I arranged them. The other part I enjoyed was only spending $8.57!

Jared's biggest excitement was the first letter from law school admissions. It was an acceptance from Ave Maria with a full-tuition scholarship! We're lucky now because the weeks of waiting and deciding that are ahead of us seem less gruesome.