Playdates Are, Like, the Bomb!

We’ve had lots of friends to play with in the last few weeks, so first things first, I’ll post a movie of Anna and Sahara playing together. To prepare you, the thing they’re standing in is a pop-up tent on its side.

Happily, that little activity only lasted for five minutes or so. *sigh*

We’ve played with Kayleigh a few times, too (including a little Valentine’s Day party this morning), and we had Lily and her family over for dinner, so we’ve been very busy. We went to Jump Planet again, this time with Sahara and her family, and had a blast. Her mom took lots of pictures, but they didn’t turn out, so once again, I promise that SOME DAY I will post some pictures of my delighted, grinning, wide-eyed girls flying down the 20-ft. slide. They both love it, and it ain’t too bad for me either.

We also had lots of fun delivering and receiving Valentines last weekend. Anna was insistent that every one of her church friends receive one from her, so we did lots of delivering. She’s a little young for the knock-and-run concept (luckily – I always hated doing that), so we just walked up and handed them over. Lots of people weren’t home, but she got lots of thanks at church yesterday. And each time, she came away just glowing. Hopefully she learned her first lesson about how good it feels to be kind to someone else. Hopefully.

Adam and I had a little Valentine’s gift exchange on Saturday night. We don’t usually exchange gifts for Valentine’s, but Adam announced early last week that he’d thought of a good gift for me, so he was going to get it, but that he wouldn’t tell me how much he was spending. That, of course, opened the door wide for me, but I was still concerned about spending too much, so I spent about $30 on various little things that I thought he would enjoy (garden gloves, juice, a magazine subscription, and a block of some most beloved cheese). So Saturday night he gives me his gift: an airplane ticket. One airplane ticket. Just for me… all to myself… no kids on board. If there’s anyone in the history of the world who’s gotten a better V-Day present, I’d be surprised. I get to spend an entire weekend visiting my family by myself. I already know they’re disappointed because I’m not even interesting to them anymore—it’s all about my kids. But tough rocks! I need a kid-vacation, and when I get back, I think I’ll be a better, more loving, and more patient mother. It would be better if Adam and I could go somewhere together, but that just isn’t working out logistically, so for now, I’ll be grateful to have the best, most thoughtful husband possible.

That left me feeling a little sad about the lame little block of cheese I’d given him (I really had tried to think of something better, but it was all too expensive), but apparently it was a good gift. Sunday in Elders Quorum, he announced to the group that the highlight of his week was that his wife gave him cheese as a Valentine’s Day present, and they thought it was the coolest thing they’d ever heard. Apparently most wives don’t give Valentine’s Day gifts at all. Why didn’t you girls tell me that years ago? I wouldn’t want to set the bar too high in our marriage! :)

Anna is having much success with her potty training. It’s been at least a week with no accidents, and she’s now sleeping in panties every night, so things seem to be going along swimmingly (knock on wood). Now I just get to look forward to the day when she’s not announcing to everyone she meets (e.g. the hometeacher, the neighbor, the primary teacher, the clerk at the grocery store) that she’s “a big girl now and can pee and poop in the potty really well.” Although it is almost worth the mild embarrassment to see the people’s faces. Some think she’s adorable. And some… ahem… don’t. :)

Speaking of adorable, here are some matching pictures of Anna and Mariah. I think it’s obvious who is who, but maybe it won’t be as clear to everyone else. Yes, those are both yogurt, and yes, those are both the same shirt. Why change a pattern that works for you?

As for Mariah, she’s passed another important and dreaded milestone: she’s learned to climb onto chairs. She first did it on the bench at our kitchen table, but now she can get on almost any chair. When Anna learned that, I was just happy because it meant she could get up herself. But Mariah is a climber, and now nothing is safe. The kitchen counter is no longer off limits, and nor are the table, the upper shelves, the sink, or the toaster. I love her determination and vigor, but I hate having to watch her all the time, and I ESPECIALLY hate saying no so much. I feel like I never say anything else to her. I’m consciously watching that, but it’s hard when she’s so determined and able. Ah, the curse of a precocious child.

By the way, here’s a fun picture my cousin found of me, my mom and my little brother in 1986. I was around Anna’s age then, and it’s interesting that even from this distance, that little girl with the bat could be Anna. My favorite part of the picture, though, is my little brother. Although today he is a tall, slim, well-built and good-lookin’ young man, he was a very bow-legged baby. Sorry to point it out, Nate, but it really is SO CUTE.

Next week, I’ll try to post a picture of our first little seedlings sending up shoots. One of our projects right now is getting our garden planned, so Adam started some seeds on Saturday and some are already sprouting. It’s so exciting for us—we’ve talked about gardening for years, but this is the first chance we’ll really have to do it. For now, I’ll just post a picture of the blanket I made for Mariah a few weeks ago. I needed something highly washable and really warm, and it turned out very cute. Now if only Mariah would stay under it.

Ciao.