And speaking of snow...

Before this winter passes, I wanted to jot down a few snow memories of the kids:

-Ben LOVES to shovel snow. Seriously. When we get more than an inch, as soon as I will let him, he will bundle up in his snow gear and head outside to shovel. Sometimes the neighbor kids will come and shovel our walk for us, and he always worries that they will shovel too much of it and there won't be any snow left for him. He's actually pretty good at it, too. I don't even have to go out with him. I will get him ready and send him out, and then just sit by the front window. He knows to make sure that he can always see the window, and can just shovel and play out by himself for as long as he wants, which is often over 90 min! Molly will last 30 to 45 min usually, but he LOVES to be out in the snow.

-Speaking of snow gear, it is still a pain to get them both dressed for outside play, but it is unbelievably better than last year. Last year, Ben would fuss and whine the whole time...now he is completely aware of the benefits to himself of participating well. He can't wait to get outside, so he works hard to help me dress him. He is way more patient with getting his gloves on, and does his hat and coat independently. Molly has never fussed much, and is now even easier to dress because she insists on putting her own coat on. Less work for me! She is so cute with gloves, though. If I help her with gloves, even if all fingers and thumbs are clearly in their right place, she will still go finger by finger and feel each spot from the outside to make sure everything is in it's right space.

-Molly loves to make snow angels. However, for some reason, she doesn't like to do them while on her back. Instead, she flops face down in the snow and goes to town waving her arms and legs. Seems chilly to me, but she seems to love it.

-We always...every.single.time...come in from snow play and head straight to the kitchen for hot chocolate. We all love it, and it is just one of those things that I know I will miss when they some day grow out of it. The chilly tromp to the kitchen...getting the water/milk heated...picking mugs...stirring for waaaay too long...and for Molly, the adding ice to cool it down until it is really more cold chocolate rather than hot chocolate, but she insists! :)

Here they are...shoveling away! Molly even got into the action this time, using a little kids broom. This is not our sidewalk, by the way. Some random lazy neighbor who couldn't be bothered to shovel was saved from neighborhood shame by a 5-yr-old and a 2-yr-old!


And, of course, the proper snow-angel demonstration. Make sure you flop face first into snow, and then have at it. Fun times!


And here, Ben gets into proper snow angel form with Molly.


Cute kids, along with their trusty snow-shovel-side-kick!


Warm weather toys are even more fun on snowy days.


Ben had a great time creating a huge snow pile at the end of our tiny slide and crashing into it. Though he reported that it wasn't nearly as fun or soft as he thought it was going to be.

Snow Days

What do you do on snow days? We have enjoyed a few good ones around here lately.

We don't have a terribly rigid life around here, (that comes next year and I am DREADING it) but we do have some formal plans every day, from preschool to my work and things like that. And since we are usually headed out at some point, I often make plans for getting to other places like the Science Center, or running errands. But when the snow has been a bit deeper lately, we have just been staying in jammies all day and coming up with a number of winter-time indoor play plans. It has been a lot of fun!

Here was our latest inside diversion: an obstacle course. It was fun just setting it up in the first place. Then the kids went through it a ton, and even convinced Mommy to give it a shot. Man, that tunnel is tight! Fun times:)

We've been busy!

We have had an exciting 6 months around here. Ben and Molly had 1 cousin this time last year, and now they have 4!!

In July, Aunt Gigi and Uncle Martin had little baby Hazel. She was a sweet little infant, and has become a delightful baby. We love to see her whenever we can.

Baby Hazel, born on July 27, 2010.


6-month old Hazel with her adoring cousins:)


Then, this month, Uncle Marty and Aunt Aubrey welcomed little Arlo. He came a tad early and needed oxygen for a while, but is now happily home and doing very well. We can't wait to head up to Davenport and see him again, this time at home and away from the NICU.

Baby Arlo, born 1/11/2011


And then, to keep things exciting, Aunt Riri and Uncle Curt and cousin Anna welcomed baby Elizabeth just last week. We have already been to Jefferson City to snuggle her, and can't wait to go again.

Baby Elizabeth, born 1/22/2011


Cousin Anna is still awesome, as always. Here she is, giving her very best "say cheese" face to the photographer, cousin Ben.

Interview with Ben - 5 yrs old

I did this interview with Ben right after his birthday in November, and a nice "selfie" picture that he took. Enjoy!

1. What is your favorite color: “blue and green”

2. What is your favorite book: “The Curious Garden”

3. What is your favorite movie: “Ice Age…I like it is someone is with me”

4. What is your favorite food: “cous cous”

5. What is your least favorite food: “I don’t like spinach or salad”

6. What is your favorite fruit: “apple”

7. What is your favorite vegetable: “green beans”

8. What is your least favorite vegetable: “I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can answer that question. I think I like all vegetables.”

9. What is your favorite t.v. Show: “Cat in the Hat”

10. What is your favorite song: “Row Your Boat”

11. What is your favorite thing to do with Mom: “Go to the Science Center”

12. What is your favorite thing to do with Dad: “See the Gardenland Express”

13. What is your favorite game to play with friends: “Tag”

14. What is your favorite store: “Noodles & Company and Target”

15. What is your favorite sport: “Soccer”

16. What is your favorite Bible story: “I don’t know what you mean. Oh, I like the 3 Jesus Bibles that I have.”

17. What is your favorite place to go: “Target”

18. What is your favorite restaurant: “Noodles & Company and Lily’s”

19. What is your favorite toy: “My model train”

20. What is your favorite thing to do with Molly: “Play coo coo town. We tickle each other and wrestle each other”

21. What is your favorite drink: “chocolate milk”

22. What is your favorite thing to do at school: “play blocks”

23. What is your favorite thing to do outside: “Play in the snow”

24. What do you want to be when you grow up: “A train driver”

25. What can you do now that you are 5: “Go sledding. I couldn’t go sledding when I was little.”

26. Who is your best friend: “Beatrice, Mina, Aiden and Colby” (kids from school) “My best brother is Alex” (he calls one of his close friends his brother)

27. What is Mom's job: “I don’t know. Um…therapy.”

28. What is Dad's job: “Work”

29. What does Mom always say: “I love you”

30. What does Dad always say: “I love you”

31. What is your nickname: “Benner”

32. What makes you laugh: “Daddy tickling me”

33. What makes you sad: “When my brother Braeden doesn’t play with me.” (Braeden is the other close friend that he refers to as his brother)

34. What are you thankful for: “Nana and God. And you and Papa and Daddy and Molly”

35. What does Mom love about you: “That I am your lovie bunny”

Interview with Molly - 2-and-a-half

(Did I ever post this pic??? This is, in fact, the exact combo she wore to Church on Easter...the fabulous dress, and the froggy boots!)

A while ago, I did an interview with Ben, somthing that a lot of blogging mommies were doing. It was fun to get a snapshot of his thoughts/feelings at the time, and so I tried to do it with Molly, too. Some of the interview questions were a bit out of her league at the time, and I got a whole bunch of "I don't know" responses.

Well, I was working with Ben on doing another one for him now that he has turned 5, and Molly seemed to really be excited about the idea. So I tried it with her again, and we have had success! There are a few tricky spots, but she got pretty close on most!

Here is an interview with Molly, when she is 2-and-a-half years old, in Fall of 2010.

1. What is your favorite color: “yellow" - still pronounced "ley yow:)

2. What is your favorite book: “Froggy" - which we only have in Spanish. I read it, and she listens happily, even though she can't be understanding more than about 10 words in it!

3. What is your favorite movie: “Thomas"

4. What is your favorite food: “Pizza...and beans and rice!" - this girl loves her Mexican food!

5. What is your least favorite food: “Spaghetti"

6. What is your favorite fruit: “Vegetables" - hummm...the interview may still be a bit over her head:)

7. What is your favorite vegetable: “Grapes"

8. What is your least favorite vegetable: “Flowers" hummm, again:)

9. What is your favorite t.v. Show: “Mr. Rogers"

10. What is your favorite song: “ABC's"

11. What is your favorite thing to do with Mom: “go to gymnastics"

12. What is your favorite thing to do with Dad: “Get lemonade"

13. What is your favorite game to play with friends: “Ben and me with you guys!"

14. What is your favorite store: “Target"

15. What is your favorite sport: “No sports here"

16. What is your favorite Bible story: “Read books"

17. What is your favorite place to go: “Mackalan Deli" (Macklind Avenue Deli is a place in the neighborhood that we walk to for meals occasionally)

18. What is your favorite restaurant: “Mackaleno Deli" (playing with words a bit here!)

19. What is your favorite toy: “A baby toy...I give each a baby toy to babies"

20. What is your favorite thing to do with Ben: “puzzle jumble"

21. What is your favorite drink: “Juice, water, milk"

22. What is your favorite thing to do at school: “puzzles" (this one wasn't really fair, she doesn't go to school yet!)

23. What is your favorite thing to do outside: “Play in the backyard"

24. What do you want to be when you grow up: “A gardener - to guard Mommy's plants" (love this one!)

25. What can you do now that you are 2: “Snuggle beddy" (play snuggle bed, which we do often)

26. Who is your best friend: “Ben" (so sweet!)

27. What is Mom's job: “I don't know"

28. What is Dad's job: “To go to work"

29. What does Mom always say: “I don't know"

30. What does Dad always say: “I don't know"

31. What is your nickname: “Molly - Mollykins"

32. What makes you laugh: “Grandpa calls me Mollykins and then I laugh!"

33. What makes you sad: “Of Mommy and Daddy be frustrated" (this one makes me want to cry a little bit)

34. What are you thankful for: “God, Nana, Papa, Gigi, Hazel, and Martin" (Don't worry if you are a beloved family member and she didn't say your name. She often starts with one person, and just files through names that are related to that person! She'll list you next time, I'm sure:))

35. What does Mom love about you: “Cuz it's just so sweet to snuggle!"

You learn something new every day!

Ben has been picking up skills at the speed of light lately. He has really been enjoying cooking. It is one of his favorite things to do. When we make anything with eggs, he always cracks and stirs the eggs. In fact, he can make scrambled eggs all by himself from start to finish. I do insist that only I turn on the stove, but that is it. I make sure to stand near for fire safety, but I never have anything to do! Aaron and Ben love to bake home-made bread together, and Ben is actually quite helpful in the process. He can also make a box of shells and cheese by himself (it's just like mac-and-cheese). I usually do the milk and get the pot of water on the stove, but he does the rest. He is so cute when he tests a piece of pasta to see if it is done enough. He will hem and haw and need to test at least 10 pieces before he is sure it is done. But he knows when it is done!

Another fascinating thing that is happening in our lives right now (**warning, this may be extremely boring to anyone in the entire world who is NOT a speech therapist;)**) is that he is learning to correctly say the "r" sound. He says all the other sounds correctly, but the "r" has still been sounding like a "w". Now, being a speech therapist, I know that the "r" sound doesn't really need to develop until a kid is 7 or 8, so I never once gave it a moment's thought. But out of the blue, about 3 weeks ago, I heard him over-emphasize the "r" sound at the end of a couple of words one evening. I noticed it, just because it was something he had never done before, but I didn't say anything because I didn't know what exactly he was doing.

Well, in the past 2 weeks, he has started doing this with "r" at the end of lots of words,and at the beginning of some. And the correct sound is starting to pop out really frequently.

The reason this is so amazing to me personally is that I have never actually heard a person develop this sound on their own. Everyone I know either can already say "r", is too young to say "r", or is a speech therapy client who is struggling to learn this sound. So to have the experience of actually listening to this skill develop in the course of natural development...SO cool! (you know, to a speech therapist)

To Be Honest...

Emily Confession:

So, I know I put on a very good show, but the honest truth is that I am not nearly as awesome of a mom as I thought I would be. I'm not saying I'm terrible, I'm just saying that I am not nearly as good as I thought I would be before I had kids. Seriously, I was the perfect mother, until I actually became one.

I think my kids know well that I love them, and want to do my best by them. But I also know that there is disappointment every day...every single day...in some event/sutuation/interaction for me. I loose patience when I don't think I should, or I want to check email when all they want is my attention. Maybe I put them off while I wash dishes, telling them that I will be there soon to play...all the while knowing that my hope is that they will end up playing something on their own and not wanting me anymore.

I'm not a terrible person or a bad mother, but as I am working through this year, the last one with Ben not being away from me more than he is with me on weekdays, I am struggling with staying focused on enjoying this time in my life and their lives. After this year, "real" school starts, and things will change. I waited my whole life to be an at-home mom, and now I really battle with enjoying each day for what it brings, rather than getting it over with so I can get them to bed and have some time to myself and finish the chores!

I will say though that I have been trying to work hard on this during the past few months, and have been feeling really good about how I am doing. My children are amazing, so that helps:). And, tonight, I stumbled upon a paragraph in some stranger's blog that just stopped me in my tracks and seemed to sum up everything that I have been thinking/feeling in my parenting lately.

From: mamabirth.blogspot.com, here it is:

"Yes, your hands are full. No you can not afford them. Yes, you sometimes mix up their names. This is not actually an indicator that you have trudged too far down the path of insanity. It is just LIFE. And life can be hard, but children are still awesome. You see the beautiful moments, where everybody gets along and where there is just a touch of the divine in your home."

Truly, those beautiful moments, the ones that only I see because I am the at-home mom...are honestly SO SO touched with the Divine. My heart almost bursts with the joy and the peace that I am honored to see and to be a part of...you know, during 1% of my day. Now the other 99%...well, we're working on that :)