ABCs

It's part of my duty as a father to dote on my daughter and show off her many, many talents and abilities. Today, she wowed us with her singing of the ABCs. She turned two a week and a half ago and it's getting harder and harder to keep up with her new phrases and songs. But this is one everyone needs to see! (PS: We did her hair and make-up extra special for this shot) :)

Encouraging Words

So today I was driving to the library with the kids.  I was singing the ABC song for the twentieth time in a row and decided to switch it up and do an opera voice at the end.  At the conclusion of my aria, Lydia yelled, "Good job Mommy!  I proud of you!"  I guess I should sing opera more often :)

You like rice?

So, last night we gave Luke rice cereal for the first time in an attempt to increase the odds of him sleeping through the night.  Expecting him to hate it like Lydia did, I had bibs and burp cloths ready to mop up the mess I was sure he'd make.  He was the exact opposite--he loved it!  He was grabbing my fingers pulling my hand with the spoon toward his mouth and fussing if I took a second too long to reload the spoon.  It was still a bit messy, but he ate almost the entire tablespoon of cereal in about 5 minutes!  Sadly, he still only went about 5 hours between feedings and then reverted to every two hours, but I have faith that he will be able to go longer between feedings at night if I keep at it with the cereal.  He is a beautiful growing boy and we love him!  

Hooray for Blogs!

So, I am going to attempt (again) to blog as a way of journaling my life as a wife, mommy, and nurse.  While most of the time I feel that I go days or weeks between having experiences that may be interesting to someone else, I have little moments every day that I think "I want to remember this forever."  I hope that I get on here often enough to record some of them for myself and my posterity, and if they are interesting to anyone out there, then that will be an added bonus!

P.S.  Tyler is going to upload some of our old posts from our now-defunct website, so if you see posts from many moons ago it's not because we've had a blog for six months and haven't told anyone.  We're just back-blogging!  

New Year’s fun with Wii

Yeah, well, we’re a little late getting our New Year’s blog posted. Was anyone actually expecting something anyway? First things first, Happy New Year! 

We spent the New Year’s weekend with Grandma/Grandpa Stoddard, Travis and Melissa and crew. Bre and Tony joined us for a little bit, too. Shelly and Eric? Where were you guys? 

We had a good time, of course. We went to the mall and played on the squishy Mercedes Benz toys while Grandma/Grandpa shopped and shopped. We watched some sporting events and ate whatever was available. We even put Travis to work, and Ashley and I both have wills now. But the most fun was probably had while playing on Trav and Melissa’s Wii. It was intense all around - some Mario Kart, some tennis and some boxing (you gotta watch the video!). The Grandpa vs. Karsten boxing matches were with little doubt the big-ticket events. Despite Grandpa’s valiant efforts, he was no match for the reigning, undisputed super-duper lightweight division champ - Karsten. 

Thanks to Travis and Melissa for allowing us to crash their party. And thanks to the humble champ for giving up his prized bunk-bed for us to sleep on. And thanks to Grandma/Grandpa Stoddard for a good show.

Christmas in Puerto Rico

Rather than stick around here in Portland to enjoy the white and cold Christmas we headed to Puerto Rico to enjoy a little different Christmas flavor. 

We had a blast staying in an authentic Puerto Rican house  near Rincon beach with all of Ashley’s family. We were thrilled with how well our kiddos traveled. Luke wasn’t too much of a surprise - eating and sleeping most of the way. And  Lydia, despite having to sit on my lap, was a good sport. Naturally, she loved the taking off and the landing. 

Each day we visited a different beach. At the first beach Lydia just stood still in the sand not wanting to move. It didn’t take her too long to get used to it. It was pretty funny to watch her in her floaty thingy in the water yelling to anyone who would listen, “I swimming! I swimming!” It reminded me of the sailing scene in “What About Bob?” 

Ashley and I were content to lounge around the house or the beach and make frequent trips to Pollo Tropical - a grilled chicken and rice and beans restaurant. We also gave boogie boarding a shot in the waves surrounded by real surfers. 

Now we’re back home safe and sound. Of course we’re cold, and we go to bed at 8 PM and wake up at 4 AM because we no longer have any concept of time. Here’s a link to some of the pictures taken on our trip. Enjoy!

It’s snowing! It’s snowing!

Snow in Hillsboro? And it sticks to the ground? Apparently so. It started snowing this morning, and for Portland standards, it built up in a hurry. The roads were covered enough that they actually cancelled our Sunday church meetings. Lydia had only ever been in the snow once before  (she was less than a year old and had just started walking) and wasn’t a big fan. But today she was in heaven. Of course, the most fun part was stuffing snow down mommy’s coat. Who knows where she got an idea like that. :)

Pious Lydia

Lydia said her first prayer all by herself the other day. We were sitting around reading a book when all of a sudden she looked down, folded her arms and said a prayer to Heavenly Father. I didn’t understand much of what she said other than, “Heavenly Father.” But I guess she just felt the need to pray. She looked up and smiled when she was done. It was so cute!

She prays all the time now - sometimes when we ask her to and sometimes just because she feels like it. Yesterday, she thanked Heavenly Father for the Cosby Show and that was it. She’s sincere, I’ll give her that.

Christmas lights

Earlier this week we pulled out some Christmas lights to make the house a little more festive, and Lydia has been in heaven ever since!  She loves to see them twinkle and takes me by the hand to look at them with her several times a day.  “Mommy, come here!  You sit right here,” she’ll say, patting the ground beside her.  “Look, oooh, so pretty...”  She also enjoys looking out the window at the neighbor’s outdoor Christmas lights, shrieking “Look, look at Christmas lights!  Whoa!”  Lydia isn’t much help putting up lights, but if you want someone to admire your work and make you feel like you made the best Christmas light display in the history of the world, she’s your gal.

Spit-up Happens

Oh, the joys of motherhood! But seriously, isn’t his spit-up the cutest looking mucus-bile-milk mixture you’ve ever seen? :)