Day Twenty-Three

This baby...



...got her first tooth today. And it only took 4 months as far as I can figure. But the only really thing that was negative was when she bit her finger and made herself cry. But at that point I didn't even know that she had a tooth through!

And we took in story time at the library this morning. At this point they were checking out Mr. T (the turtle). And as you can tell, Mae is usually more interested in what Etta is doing than what else is going on around her.

Days Twenty-one and Twenty-two

Day Twenty-one was another travel day. But on Monday we went to the Museum of the Rockies to look at frogs and dinosaurs. It was really fun!

Etta went "fishing".



And dressed up like a fireman. That's what she wants to be when she grows up.



Mae "explored" by a Bobcat Boppy with a Bobcat blue block.



And today was an exciting day.

It started out playing farm with Baba Eddy.



And then a hair cut for Etta!

Getting ready to shampoo.



It feels SO good!



The cool cape.



Getting a trim.



Blow dry and a curl.



New 'do, new girl!



No trims for Mae yet. :)

Day Twenty

22nd Birthday and 35 Month Annibirthery. Happy Birthday Uncle Eek!



What a cute pair!!

Days Eighteen and Nineteen

Saturday (Day Eighteen) we spent about 11 1/2 hours on the road driving to Bozeman. We actually made pretty good time. The main stop was an hour and forty minutes in Butte to visit our good friend Haley Nelson. The roads were fine, the weather was great and the traffic was light. You really can't ask for much more for a full day of driving!

We made our first true pit stop in Coeur d'Alene to feed Mae and let Etta play.



Then again in Missoula at the carousel and huge playground. To feed Mae and let Etta play.



Sunday (Day Nineteen) we stayed pretty close to home and just relaxed. Etta loved being able to play with Dara and Dirk.



[On a side note...after leaving Missoula Etta piped up from the back, "Fill it up mommy. Put water in it". I could not figure out what she was talking about.

And then she handed up the "Soothie" (the pacifer).

There was a hole.

Soothie was broken.

The plan had been to "throw Soothie in the garbage" when she turned three anyway. So I guess now at least we won't have to ruin her third birthday party.

BUT...it has made for a long couple of nights and almost no napping. Being away from your own bed and out of schedule is bad enough. And not having your "best friend" makes it nearly impossible. She just keeps crying and crying, and when I ask her what's wrong she sobs, "I don't know!". And when she was trying to go to sleep last night she kept whimpering, "Soothie...Soothie..." Hopefully by the time we return to Idaho Soothie will just be a pleasant memory...]

Day Seventeen

Today will be Flashback Friday as most of the day was spent cleaning and packing preparing to leave tomorrow for MONTANA! There will be plenty of fresh and fun pictures starting tomorrow.

So today enjoy a camera phone picture of Etta at a third birthday party on March 5th. I was at a Seventh Day Adventist church service where my band was performing. Bob took both girls and Baba Steve to McDonald's (or "Old McDonald's" as Etta calls it) to par-tay. Apparently Etta ate about two bites of hamburger, four fries and wouldn't even play in the play place.

Oh well...

Day Sixteen

Chillin' before bed.

Day Fifteen

Happy Birthday Great Grandma Barb!!

Day Fourteen

Bedtime stories with Daddy.

And a story:

As we were driving home from the dentist this afternoon (where they said that we will be needing to look into orthodontia for Etta sooner than later...seriously?! She's not even three!) We drove by the airport because I saw a fire truck parked outside. (And you do know that Etta is going to be a fireman when she grows up, right?) As we turned to drive away Etta said, "The airport! Let's get on a plane and go visit Aunt Molly!" Her memory amazes me. We love you Aunt Molly!

Day Thirteen

Enjoying a nap on a drizzly spring day. (Go here and here to see if you think that they look alike.)



"Mom, where's da frog thing with da water in it?" I don't know how she remembered, but we got it out.



Practicing sitting up like a big girl.

Day Twelve

Happy First Day of Spring! You wouldn't have really been able to tell here in Lewiston today, yesterday fit the bill much better. But I am not trying to complain. Ran at night and fairly nice days.

Etta spent the night at Grandma Cathy's house on Saturday so Mae got some extra attention this morning. On one hand she loved being able to play with more toys - but she really misses her sister too.



We got outside to celebrate the first day of spring. Here is everyone waiting to plant.



Etta helping mommy.



Etta being a big girl all by herself.

Day Eleven

Was a very exciting day.

One in which I did not have my camera with me most of the time.

So instead of a picture here is a list of the really fun stuff that we did.

1. Had a big breakfast with fried egg sandwiches, little smokies and hash browns.

2. Etta and I went to Safeway where she got to drive the "drivey cart".

3. She then asked to go to the pet store, Petco, to look at the animals. Alas, there were "no Nemo fish".

4. Got home, unloaded the groceries and immediately walked over to the Lewiston High School Track Invitational. We watched for an hour. Kids were jumping, throwing things and running. There were a lot of "booms" (the starting pistol) and we even got to see kids jump over the "turtles" (hurdles).

5. Lunch

6. Practicing scissor skills while prepping old newspaper for the compost.

7. A nap. (I got in a run.)

8. Stopping by Rosauers to buy some marigold seeds to plant tomorrow because it's the first day of spring. (I am thinking that those will be good pics!)

9. Going to Grandma Cathy's house for dinner and for Etta to spend the night so that...

10. Bob, Mae and I went to a wedding of one of my former students. Was going to try to get a pic there but someone was tired and crabby - and it wasn't Bob.

So there is a run down of our relaxing Saturday. Actually, it was super fun. Almost too fun to stop for pictures.

Day Ten

Doing puzzles.



We also walked over to watch tennis but I forgot my camera...

Day Nine

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Enjoying an open-faced green egg sandwich. (With a side of green milk.)



Matching green girls.



Twins!! Etta & Jackie always seem to be wearing matching pants...

Day Eight

Gearing up to help give Mae a bath.



"Da goggles are too tight mommy!" (But really I have them about as loose as they can go without literally falling off of her head...)

Day Seven

Story time at the library with Evan. Peaches (Josie) was there too, but she preferred to wander about.

Something interesting.



Someone must have been being silly.

Day Six

Some very rare Mae/Mommy time. Etta ended up going down early for a nap today. All morning she kept mentioning a headache and kind of went between laying on the couch and playing with her toys. This time change seems to be affecting her more than past fall...

Mae is usually a very happy baby!

Day Five

Checking out the baby chicks at D & B.

What dey sayin'?



Little chicks looking at the little chicks.

Day Four

Breaking out the jump-a-roo. I think she is going to like it!

What are you doing Mae?



Sister for sure.

Day Three

Setting up the train track so that it can stay set up and therefor be more easily accessible.

Day Two

A post-breakfast tea party (when I normally would have been "just checking my Face Book really quick").



And hand holding at lunch. "Mom, take a picture! We're holding hands!!"

Day One

Working on her Heart Tug from church. Coloring in the lines and memorizing. "Jesus is great! Jesus is the Son of God! Jesus is kind!"

Fifty Days of Freedom

Raise your hand if you think Lent is 40 days. (Pick me! Over here!! Me! Me! Me!)

But alas, last year I figured out that it is 47 days give or take. When you decide to give something up for FORTY days, that extra week can really test your resolve.

Last year I gave up Face Book. I figured, I don't spend that much time on the computer, how hard can it be?

Surprise, surprise.

It was way more time than I thought.

I am feeling the need to free myself up from the constraints of the computer and other forms of technology for awhile. Hence the "Fifty Days of Freedom". (Forty-seven Days of Freedom just doesn't have quite the same ring.) Many days I do well with my computer time. Limit it. Leave it off. But some days I let it consume me. I get irritated with the kids when I can't finish what I'm reading, or irritated with the computer when it just. isn't. loading. fast. enough. Too much stress.

Now, don't get me wrong. Computers are a wonderful thing. Obviously, I'm using this medium to get these feelings across. (And I am aware of the irony.) But like anything else, for example: wine, eating out, cupcakes...there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. I need to step back, take a break, re-examine and refocus my life and energy right now. Spend more time with those kiddos that are clambering for attention.

I've actually gotten some great ideas from a blog. "The Frugal Girl" did a series on productivity that has really inspired me to make a few changes. Sometimes being a stay-at-home-mom can put you in a rut. Not that that is a bad thing, but for me it can be. The house slowly starts to get way more cluttered than it needs to be, funny smells start permeating, stuff starts disappearing to who knows where. I need some focus in my life. Some "deadlines" as it were. I'm too much of a Type A personality to just go with the flow. (Although I am working on that...)

So here are some of my goals:
I want to purposefully spend my time. I will try to do this through:
*No Face Book
*No blogs
*E-mail for work and basic communication only
*No frivolous texting. (C'mon now, it's really becoming a necessity. But I will stop randomly texting my brother things like, "Are you still alive?" and my mom, "What are you doing now?".
*No TV - Except for "The Amazing Race". I'm trying to cut back, not be a complete martyr.

And hopefully the outcome will be more quality time for God, my family & friends:
*Read and finish "The Purpose Driven Life"
*Daily devotional time (stories, prayers, etc.) with Etta
*Daily prayer time with Bob
*Purposeful blog posting. I am planning on posting one picture a day showing what we are able to do by my NOT being tethered to the technology in our home. (Irony, again, I know.)
*I would also like to reacquaint myself with my sewing machine. Toward the beginning of 2011 there was a Face Book status having to do with giving the first five comment-ers a hand made gift. No fear Cynthia, Sariah, Stephanie, Annie and Michelle. I have not forgotten. Sometime this year something home made will be headed your way!
*And while I truly love being able to "Google" ideas for the dinner menu, I have an entire cupboard full of recipe books that I know I have not cooked every single recipe out of. And while it may take me longer than 0.24 seconds, that will be okay.

I am not trying to be "holier-than-thou". I am not trying to say that technology is evil and those that partake of it are sloth-full heathens. I just need a break. I need to pry my eyes away, put my focus else where.

I've read that it can be done. In the last Reader's Digest there was an article entitled, "Digital Detox" written by Susan Maushart. I can not seem to link to the actual article, but go here to check out the book from which is was an excerpt.

This plan has been brewing in my head for quite awhile. But I've always been able to think, "Oh well, that's a ways off, I've still got plenty of time".

Gulp.

The time has come.

Happy Lent. Happy Spring. Happy Life.

Thirty-Four Month Annibirthery

I majorly dropped off doing monthly observances of Etta's birth after she turned one because, while she is still growing and changing exponentially, it is not as obvious through pictures. And I am terrible at remembering to write down the cute little things that she says on a daily basis. But it has really been striking me lately just how "big" she is getting.

As I was watching Etta and Bob leave to walk to church this morning I knew that I needed to get a picture. And, (after going through six dead batteries and trying two different cameras) I was able to get a shot.



My camera is 5+ years old and my photography skills leave much to be desired, but I just can't believe how she is growing up.

This morning during her bath she said, "I can't wait for Mae to get big and to talk so that we can play together. She will have a car and I will have a car. And we can share toys".



And as much as I love my baby I am pretty darn excited myself.

Six Month Annibirthery

Six months.

I remember that it took a reeeeeeeally long time for Etta to get to six months.

And then she just seemed "older".

But this time with Mae has flown by. And sometimes I think that I am still thinking of her as much younger than she really is.

Tonight I was making dinner and she was motoring around the kitchen in her walker. She zeroed in on Tubs and went for it. Surprised him! And then she explored. Opening doors, checking out anything that was hanging down.

Seriously?

Does it really go by this fast?

The rolling is progressing and she is able to kind of sit up for little bits of time. But I know that she is going to be getting around all by herself very soon. And the well-baby check went well today. 13 lbs. 14 oz and 25 1/2 inches long. Still in the same approximate percentiles. Just under 10% for weight and between 25-50% for height. She is happy and healthy!

And whereas photo sessions used to be a bit easier...

I think that they are becoming a bit more fun.



Although she still doesn't want to stretch.



And here is some more "together" play.

Progress

The girls (or should I say Etta) are making progress in playing "together". Or should I say "playing" together. Either way, it's starting to get fun!

Playing and reading.



Watching the "Scamper" squirrels. (Etta said, "I'm gonna hold Mae's hand. Momma, take a picture!"



Playing Little Bed in the dining room.