Joy In Our Journey

2012-01-31T22:54:00.004-05:00

Today I'm thankful for...

1. The end of January! It means we survived this hard month of Bobby's general surgery rotation! He was on call last night so we got to see him today and he was home for dinner. He picked Lillian up from preschool, which is a special treat. He took the girls to the park in the nice weather. He stayed home so I could go to my Young Womens activity at church and he fell asleep with Lillian and Sydney in our bed. It's so nice to have Daddy home! Februrary isn't looking easy either, but if we survived this month we can survive next month, too!

2. Left-over birthday cake and dessert picnics. My mom made an amazingly delicious triple layer chocolate brownie fudge cake for my birthday (at my request...she spoiled me)! There was a lot left over- not because it wasn't good enough to eat, but because it was HUGE (and because I didn't invite enough friends to eat it with us). So tonight Lillian had a brilliant idea to have a dessert picnic, kind of like how we have a picnic dinner when Daddy is on call (see yesterday's post). Daddy was honored to be a guest at one of our picnics and we all enjoyed eating bite-size pieces of the delectable brownie cake.

3. Facebook. It's amazing to see how Facebook can be used to easily reach out to individuals who are experiencing an emotional tragedy, and how it can be used to mobilize and motivate groups of people to act. I'm grateful for this technology. It's a truly meaningful use of social networking, beyond mundane status updates and bad photos that family and friends tag you in.

2012-01-30T23:30:00.000-05:00

Today I'm thankful for...

1. Miss Jodie. She's one of the preschool moms, and she's so nice!! She saw me in the parking lot at Lillian's school and offered to take Lillian into class for me so I didn't have to haul Liam and Sydney out of the car. It was pretty darn cold outside, so I took her up on her offer and was very grateful for it! Another preschool mom did the same thing for me right after Liam was born. I'm so lucky to know such wonderful preschool moms!

2. Speaking of preschool...I'm also thankful for Lillian's teacher Mrs. Magdavitz and her patience. I was about fifteen minutes late picking Lilly up today. I called ahead of time to let her know and so Lillian wouldn't feel forgotten. I was shopping with Mom about 15 miles way, and right when we were supposed to be leaving both Liam and Sydney decided it would be a good time to poop. Liam pooped straight out the top of his diaper, which required a time-consuming clean-up and clothing change. Sydney pooped in the little potty in the van (yay!!), which required a time-consuming cheering session to encourage the poop to come out. Mom was so grossed out by all the poop (and I don't blame her) that she had to go back inside the store to wash her hands. By the time we got on the road and through the traffic we were late getting to Lilly's school. But being the kind teacher that Mrs. M is, she just smiled when I came in. She had put Lilly to work setting out the purple play-dough on the activity table. Lillian had also set out all the Name Apples and lined them up in a neat row (each preschooler has a different colored paper apple with their name on it. When they arrive in the morning they are supposed to find their apple and put it in the basket). I was worried that Lillian would be upset that I was late, but she seemed happy to be a special helper. She's such a sweet girl and I'm glad her teacher was so nice about me being late. It won't become a habit, I promise!

3. Picnic dinners on the floor. It's become a tradition when Daddy is on call to eat our dinner on a "picnic" blanket on the floor. My mom is a good sport about it and joins us, and she even led the girls in a few rounds of "cheers" with their cups of milk. Good times!

4. Family and friends. I learned tonight that a friend from high school was killed in a car accident. She was best friends with another friend of mine. My heart goes out to her family and friends, especially to her husband. Hug your family and friends today. Tell them that you love them. You can never tell them enough.

Seventh Heaven

2012-01-29T22:03:00.004-05:00

Seven years ago today I woke up at my parents' house, put on a beautiful white dress, went to the Washington, DC Temple and married my best friend.

Today I woke up to Sydney climbing in bed with me, I put a cute white suit on Liam, we went to church, and his daddy gave him a precious baby blessing.

It was a lot of fun to having Liam's baby blessing on our anniversary. All day long I thought about how different our lives are now seven years later, yet how similar our day was today as it was in 2005. The biggest similarity is that we spent it with a lot of family. My parents were there, as well as Bobby's, and four of his sisters and their families, and two of his brothers and their families. Needless to say, the "Doran Clan" boosted the numbers at church today. :) Between uncles, father, grandfather and friends, Liam had quite a large (in numbers and in stature!) blessing circle around him. Afterwards Bobby showed him off to everyone in the congregation, and he held him up on the stand with him during the rest of Sacrament. Sydney kept asking, "Where's Baby Liam?" so I kept standing her up in my lap so she could see him sleeping in Daddy's arms. Then she would say, "My baby brudder!" So sweet and tender!

After church we all went to my parents' apartment for lunch. My mom was so kind and generous to make enough food to feed the crowd. The kids far outnumbered the adults 14 to 9, so it was a little crazy, but the cousins had a great time playing with each other and I don't think there was too much damage done to walls, floors or furniture. :)

Before church started this morning a neighbor friend took all three kids so Bobby and I could have a nice, quiet breakfast together. I made our favorite oatmeal bake...yum!

All in all, it was a great day and a great way to spend our anniversary. Seven years has given us a lot of adventures, fun times, growing experiences, and a beautiful family with three beautiful children whom we love very much. I truly am in my own seventh heaven.

2012-01-28T20:10:00.005-05:00

Today I'm thankful for...

1. The flashlight app on my Droid. I heard something fall out of the van and hit the pavement when I opened my door. I had no idea what it was and I couldn't see anything in the dark. I quickly pulled up my flashlight app and soon the whole parking lot was lit up! I discovered Sydney's sparkly pink water bottle had fallen out and rolled behind the tire of the SUV next to us. Using my "flashlight" I sprawled out on my belly [on the nasty pavement] and grabbed the cup. If you don't have a flashlight app, you should really get one. Bobby used his a few weeks ago at the movie theater (we went to see "Sherlock Holmes" which, by the way, was awesome)- some guy dropped his keys in the dark theater and couldn't find him. Bobby's flashlight app saved the day! It's also cool because it has different light settings- one that flashes like police car lights, another one that changes colors when you swipe the screen and yet another that changes the color and brightness of a light bulb when you swipe the right way. When not in use for practical reasons, the colorful, blinkie lights are always good entertainment. Anyways, you should really get the app. It's great.

2. All the moms and their daughters who spent their Saturday morning with me and the other young women church leaders. We served them breakfast and had a little "kick off the year" event, called New Beginnings. It was wonderful to have everyone together and to have some bonding time. I love the young women at church and I hope this year will be wonderful and happy for them!

3. Sydney and Lillian's "deer hunts" with Daddy. Last night we got home after dark, and during the drive Sydney wanted look for deer. She often makes this request when we drive through a particular part of Fairmount Park at night that is usually heavily populated with deer. Being the good dad that he is, Bobby drove around a little bit and pointed the headlights across a few fields, but we didn't see any deer. Sydney was so disappointed (and tired) that she was in tears by the time we got home. To make up for it, Bobby took the girls to Valley Forge National Park this morning (while I was at New Beginnings with Liam) to hunt for more deer. There are usually a ton of deer in the park. Unfortunately they didn't find a lot of deer today, but they did see one big group of about six deer. Both Lillian and Sydney were very excited to tell me about it when they got home, especially how they got to eat lots and lots of goldfish crackers (Sydney calls them "go-fish cackers") and gummy treats in the van while they searched.

4. Male bonding time. As I'm typing this, Bobby and Liam are laying on the couch together. Bobby is making [not so masculine] baby sounds and funny faces that are making Liam smile and squeal in delight. Bobby is smiling and laughing just as much. My boys are so cute!!

2012-01-27T19:54:00.005-05:00

Today I'm thankful for...

1. Training chopsticks for kids. I have a friend who worked in Korea for a few months and she brought back 2 pair of training chopsticks for the girls. They're really cute- they have bunnies on the top and little loops for kids' fingers to fit through to help them hold onto the chopsticks and open and close them easily. Lillian found a pair this morning and insisted on using them to eat her Cheerios (in milk, mind you). It was quite a difficult task, but I think she managed to grab a few before using her spoon. Sydney tried it out too, but quickly decided that a spoon was a better utensil for breakfast cereal. :) As for Liam, he still doesn't need any utensils to eat his meals. :)

2. Dave & Buster's. Last summer Bobby and I were invited to an event at Dave & Buster's held by his residency program for all in-coming interns. They gave each of us a Power Card, which we used on about 2 games each before we left. The cards were still loaded with tons of points, so we brought the kiddos this afternoon and let them play endless rounds of dumb-luck games that would spit out lots of tickets (which, of course, was their favorite part)! Two very nice ladies gave the girls a whole ton of tickets, which doubled the amount we had! We used up all the points on our cards then redeemed them for fun, cheep-o gifts in the rewards shop. Sydney immediately went for a Hello Kitty backpack, picked up four of them and, after she put one on herself, distributed the other three to me, Bobby, and Lillian. We only had enough points for one. With the few points left over Lillian picked out a kazoo and two sparkly bracelets. Compared to the Hello Kitty backpack, it may seem like Lillian got shafted in the deal, but she was absolutely thrilled about the kazoo, so we figured it was fair in the end. Besides, we keep telling the girls that they have to share the backpack. We're trying to be fair parents. :) Bobby and I hope that we get invited back (as out-going interns- WAHOO!!) so we can get more Power Cards to use with the kids! Family entertainment [paid by someone else] is the best!!

3. Sleep. Bobby is post call today. He left for the hospital at 4:30 am on Thursday and he came home at 10 am today. I think he got barely 1 hour of sleep last night. He only napped for 2 hours when he got home. Now he is passed out on the couch. We had plans to watch Downton Abbey together, but I don't have the heart to wake him up. The poor guy needs to sleep for a week straight. This month of general surgery has been killing him (and us), and I'm so glad that it's almost over. He only has one more day left...he'll be on call again, but at least he only has to go back one more time this month! Then he'll get to do ortho next month which he enjoys much more (even though it's just as demanding on his time). We've gotten through this month so far- I know we can survive the last couple of days.

Phew, what a day

2012-01-26T22:10:00.004-05:00

Today I'm thankful for...

1. The sound and smell of a Skil saw cutting wood. When I brought Lillian to school this morning we could hear the high-pitched whir of a saw blade spinning and we could smell sawdust in the air. It immediately reminded me of growing up in my dad's wood shop and it brought me back to the familiar sounds and smells of saws running and wood cutting. It's amazing how a simple noise or smell can conjure up such vivid memories and feelings of home and comfort.

2. My mom. I know I mention her a lot and I don't mean to sound repetitive, but I would've had an emotional breakdown today if it weren't for my mom. She saved me on multiple occasions. My toilet decided to overflow while I was trying to get out the door to bring Lil to school. My mom arrived as I was on my hands and knees in the bathroom (still in my pj's) trying to clean up the mess. My mom insisted on finishing the job so I could get Lillian to school (of course she went above and beyond and cleaned the entire bathroom while she was at it). While my mom was busy scrubbing my dirty bathroom for me, I was having fun with Lillian and her preschool friends. We got to go outside and play hopscotch and draw with chalk, we read stories about bears, we put together floor puzzles, and- for the third week in a row and much to my pleasure- we got to play with the sand table. :) When we got home, my mom entertained the girls and played along with all of their games, many of which required her to answer an imaginary phone every 30 seconds or to order food from Lillian and Sydney's kitchen store. My mom folded my laundry, put it away (and organized the clothes that were already in the drawers), she cleaned my kitchen and did my dishes and she changed all of Liam's poppy diapers and let him spit up on her. She corralled the girls during our picnic dinner (it's become a tradition when Daddy is on call) to get them to eat. Then, while I got my haircut she gave the girls a bath and got them ready for bed. They would've been running around all over the place until 10pm if it weren't for her help. Btw- the girls got their hair cut, too! It was Sydney's first time and she did great!! My mom didn't leave until 9pm. She stayed at my house for 13 hours to help out. She felt bad leaving me at the end of the day, and I felt bad that she had stayed so long. I hope she gets a good, long night's rest. I love her lots and I don't know what I would've done without her today. I think I'll start calling her "Saint Mom."

3. My sleeping children. Peace and quiet never sounded so good.

Starry Nights

2012-01-25T19:55:00.003-05:00

Today I'm thankful for...

1. The YMCA and Melissa who teaches the best kickboxing class ever! It's been close to 3 months since I've been and it felt soo goood to go back! Even though I was getting my butt kicked during the class I couldn't help but smile the whole time because I was just so happy to be working out again. Now I'm sore all over!

2. "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." When Lilly asked me to sing it at bedtime she said, "I like that song at night because I LOVE watching the stars at night!" She has two framed Van Gogh paintings over her bed- "Starry Night over the Rhone" and her own water color rendition of "The Starry Night" that she painted at school.

3. My children's birth order. Tonight I decided that it's a good thing Lillian is the oldest, Sydney the middle and Liam the youngest. Lilly is the most emotional of the three and she demands a lot of individual attention. Sydney is very independent and Liam is so patient and chill. It would be very hard to get anything done if Lillian was the baby right now who needed all the attention all the time (like she did when she was born). I'm pretty lucky to have two younger kids who are pretty happy-go-lucky and content on their own- they let me tend to Lilly's needs fairly well. (Can you tell that we had kind of a rough night tonight? Poor Lillian is still adjusting to things, or maybe this is a long phase we're going through? I don't know, but we'll survive it somehow).

Here's my gratitude list from yesterday 1/24/12:

1. Reading "Goodnight Moon" with Sydney on the couch before nap time. She practically knows the whole story by heart and she could finish each sentence before I got to it. She kept asking where the "old lady whispering hush" went to at the end of the book, so I told her she went to her own bedroom to go night-night. Then we had to look at all the pages to see where the old lady was.

2. Lillian's plea to go to "Martha's Park" with the swings. It was 15 minutes before sunset, but we threw on our coats, got Liam in the carseat and we drove to the park for a last minute visit. G-pa arrived on his bike as we were leaving the house so he came with us, too. The girls had fun on the swings, going down the twisty slide, watching the pretty orange sunset, and taking turns going potty in the van on the little portable potty we keep stowed away for occasions such as that. :) After dark G-ma met up with us and G-pa pulled out his huge binoculars to do some Venus and Moon viewing. But the clouds refused to get out of the way, so Lilly and G-pa spied on residents in the high-rise apartment building about half a mile away instead. (just kidding) :) Before our fingers and noses got too cold we hurried home and had hot chocolate and popcorn at the girls' request. We'll have to try our night-sky viewing again, but it was a fun night.

3. The best news of the day- Bobby passed Step 3 Boards! YAY!! So glad to have that behind us!

Good Times

2012-01-23T20:39:00.003-05:00

I'm thankful for...

1. My birthday and everyone who made it so special!! So many family and friends wished me happy birthday all day long- it was great! My parents sneaked into our apartment while we were at church and they straightened things up, did my laundry, and set the table for my birthday dinner (complete with balloons)! Bobby made dinner, which we enjoyed with some friends, then my parents came back over with a delicious [very] chocolate brownie cake and some ice cream. On Friday Bobby and some friends took me out to dinner to Fat Salmon, a sushi restaurant in Old City that we recently discovered and really enjoy. My parents watched the kiddos and it was fun to go out. On Saturday morning Lillian and Sydney decided they didn't want to wait until my birthday to give me my birthday cards, so I got them a day early! They made the cards with Grandma and Grandpa during the week and they were works of art that will truly be treasured for a very long time. :) It was an awesome birthday weekend!

2. Pedicures. When Sydney woke up from her nap this afternoon she asked me to paint her fingernails and toenails. How can I say no to that request? So we pulled out my finger nail polish and sat on her bedroom floor and had a little pedicure party. She sat on her ladybug pillow as I reminded her to stop squirming so I wouldn't get polish all over her toes and fingers. She kept saying, "Thank you Mommy for my fingers and toes!" Her toes are now bright blue and her fingernails are sparkly. When Lillian got home Sydney proudly showed off her "pretties." Of course Lillian wanted a touch-up on her nails as well (her red polish has worn off- her nails have been neglected since her little brother was born). So we three girls pulled out the polish again. Lillian now has purple fingernails and sparkly blue toenails. My mani/pedi will have to wait, but I'm glad my girls are all sparkly and glam. There's just something about getting your nails done that makes a girl feel happy!

3. G-chat and my cute little niece Anna! We spent a long time watching 6-day old Anna make cute little scowly faces and sleep on her daddy's chest. She's adorable and I'm so glad she's part of our family! Lillian, Sydney, and Liam got to say hi to their new cousin, too. Lillian showed off her Razor-riding skills and Sydney showed Anna how to bounce on Rody. Liam shared some of his smiles (as well as some manly tuba sounds in his diaper, to which Anna responded with a little stinky toot...they're bonding already!). G-ma B was with us and she got to ooh-and-ah over her new granddaughter (whom she'll get to hold in just a couple weeks!!). We're so thankful for awesome technology and wonderful family who take the time to share their lives (and their family!) through the webcam.

My Thank You's

2012-01-19T22:36:00.013-05:00

Today I'm thankful for...

1. The wonderful shopping trip that my mom took me on yesterday. My dad watched Sydney and Lillian was at school (then Bobby picked her up because he was post call) while Liam, my mom and I hit the mall so I could buy some much-needed clothing. My wardrobe is pretty pathetic overall, but it's doing much better now due to my mini shopping spree! And I can't wait to wear my new RED pea coat! Thanks for giving me a fun day of nothing but shopping!!

2. Sydney's angel face. Just look at how sweet she looks!

3. Liam's new bib. Auntie Audrey will be a stud magnet when she takes him out in public! :)

3. The sand table at Lillian's preschool. She held her own with 5 other boys digging in the sand, burying "treasure" and building sand mountains. That's my girl!

4. Story time with Lillian. She spent nearly an hour "reading" to her friends today. She read "Bad Dog Marley" (a favorite from Great Aunt Sharon, especially the part when Baby Louie says 'ba boo-boo, waddy!'), as well as "Blue Hat, Green Hat" by Sandra Boynton and "Amanda Pig." I have a cute video of her reading "Amanda Pig." I'll have to post that tomorrow.

5. The nice cashier at Target who rang up an un-marked clearance item for $4.98. It's a cute suit for Liam when he turns 12 months (it's never too early to buy off the clearance rack!)- it has a little vest and a clip-on tie! So adorable!!

So much to be thankful for!

2012-01-17T21:05:00.005-05:00

Today I'm thankful for...

1. My new niece Anna who was born this afternoon! I'm so thankful that she and her mom and her dad (my big bro!) are doing well. I'm so excited for their new little family and I can't wait to meet her in person!

2. A visit from my mother and sister-in-law. They took us out to lunch and surprised the girls with new winter hats and Liam with some cute little outfits. We love visits from BB! (she also brought us some yummy cheese from Di Bruno's- thank you!!) The cousins were so happy to see each other. Gabe kept saying hi to "Ill-ian" (which kind of sounded like "alien" sometimes) and he gave her a big hug. Evee was so cute- she sat by me during lunch and every time she looked at me she would wave and say, "Hi Aman-uh." I just love family!

My little moose and panda bear- thanks for the cute hats, BB!!

3. The stranger at PCOM who told me that I dropped my cell phone. I was carrying Liam in his car seat across campus toward the parking garage (we had just finished his 2-month well visit) and I didn't even hear it fall out of my pocket! I'm ever so grateful that she noticed it and picked it up right away. It was raining outside, so even if it laid on the ground for a while and I managed to find it later it probably would've been ruined by the water. Thank you, kind, observant lady! :)

4. Liam's 2-month well visit. This kid weighs 12 pounds, 15 ounces (by the way, that's more than half of Sydney's weight and she's 28 months old!) and he's 23 inches long! What a strapping young man! Miss Karen (who is my favorite nurse there because she wears neon colored Crocs and sometimes her hair is orange) spent five minutes talking and flirting with Liam while she weighed him and got his measurements. She got so many smiles and coo's out of him! He's such a charmer!!

5. The names that people here in Philadelphia call me. While getting on the elevator today (again, at PCOM), there was an employee getting off. When she saw me holding Liam she said, "Come on in here, Little Mama!" Little Mama? That was a first! The gate attendant at my parents' apartment complex likes to call me "Sugar." "Honey" and "Darlin'" are other pretty common names. People in Philly are just so friendly. :)

6. Sydney's life lessons. While I was feeding Liam this morning she so matter-of-factly informed me that, "Liam eat your milk!" Then she said, "Bats eat bugs!" I'm glad she cleared that up for me. I was confused, but now it's much clearer. :-D

7. Lillian's honesty. Last night for Family Home Evening we read a story in The Friend (a church children's magazine) about honesty. [Link to the story is here- download the PDF for the illustrations]. It's about a little boy who is questioned about starting a fire near his home. The little boy tells the police officer and his mom that he didn't do it. Evidence seems to point to the boy, so the police officer asks his mother if the boy tells the truth, to which the mom responds, "He has never lied to me. If he says he didn't start the fire, then he didn't do it." It turns out the boy was telling the truth and the police later figured out who actually started the fire. It was a great story about telling the truth and gaining trust. Tonight, while I was helping Sydney use the potty, Lillian rushed in and said, "Mommy, my drink spilled and made a mess!" She had knocked over her bright red kool-aid slushy drink and it left a mess in the fridge and on the floor. We cleaned it up together and I made a point to thank her for telling me right away and for being honest about what had happened. She's a smart girl (with a great memory) and she immediately tied it back to the story we read last night. She re-told me the story and said she's just like the boy that we read about who tells the truth. I'm so thankful for wonderful publications that help me teach good principles to my family and for a daughter who listens to them and is learning to embrace them.

Happy MLK Jr. Day

2012-01-16T23:40:00.003-05:00

Today I'm thankful for...

1. MLK Jr. Day of Service. Sydney, Lilly, Liam and I joined Grandma B at Lilly's school to participate in one of many service projects going on throughout the city. We assembled dream catcher craft kits to give to kids at the children's hospital.

2. Lillian's ballet performance. She was wearing her footsie pj's for bed (the ones with cupcakes all over them) with her green fairy wings and her tu-tu. She twirled and danced and pranced around as I nursed Liam on the couch. It was a wonderful performance! Sydney joined in for a few twirls as well. And then there were three or four encore performances before bedtime was finally announced. :) I really need to enroll Lillian in a ballet class . . . .

3. Leftovers. They make dinner so quick and easy.

4. Bobby's job. Although I often complain about how much money we don't have, I'm thankful for the money that we do have. It's a blessing to have an income, regardless of how big or small it is. When I was growing up we had an elderly neighbor who told my parents they were millionaires because they had a family of wonderful children. I keep reminding myself of that about my own family. :)

Happy Sunday!

2012-01-15T20:25:00.006-05:00

Today I'm thankful for...

1. Liam's 2-month birthday! He's growing so fast and time is flying. I better not blink or he'll be walking and talking before I know it. I love my little guy!! Also grateful for his two big sisters who love him lots and lots! And for his big, adorable smile and the cute little dimple in his left cheek!!

2. A husband who loves me, supports me, and honors our marriage. I'm thankful for the sacrifices he makes for our family, for the good example he is to our children, and for love and respect that he gives me.

3. My crock pot. And this yummy Thai Chicken recipe that cooked in it while I was at church. It was ready for us when we got home and it was delicious (and oh-so-EASY)!

4. A little book called "For the Strength of Youth." It describes principles and standards that youth (and the rest of us, for that matter) should live by in order to live righteously and make good decisions in our lives. I work closely with the young women (ages 12-17) at church and I sincerely hope and pray that they will choose to live by the standards in this book.

Weather, Bells, and Dates

2012-01-14T23:00:00.000-05:00

Today I'm thankful for...

1. The Weather Channel app on my phone. It makes it super easy to look up the weather for the day or the week. There are a lot of things in my life that revolve around the weather, like what I'm going to make for dinner (warm soup on a cold day or lighter fare on a cooler day?); my daily activities with the kiddos (nice enough for an afternoon at the park or stay inside and go to the library instead?); what I'm going to wear- even my mood is often influenced by the weather. The best thing about the app is that I can look up the weather in Nome, Alaska whenever I start to feel glum about the gray, bitter cold outside my door. Seeing -19 degrees F as the current temperature and -32 degrees F as the "feels like" temperature always makes me feel better about the weather I'm facing. I don't know how people live in places that cold, where the sun rises at 11:32 am and sets at 4:46 pm. Not only am I grateful for the app, but also for living in Philadelphia and not Nome, Alaska (even though that's where Balto lives, as Lillian always reminds me).

2. Scooter Bells. Lillian's Razor scooter has a bell that makes a high-pitched, ear-rattling DING (thank you, Uncle Alan). She likes to ding it when she zooms by. Grandpa just bought Sydney a princess bell for her Radio Flyer scooter. Hers makes more of a "ching, ching" noise- not so offensive to the ear drums. After Grandpa installed the bell, Sydney got on her scooter and started down the hallway with her hand on the bell and she said, "Now ME have bell too!!"

3. Daddy-Daughter dates. Bobby took Lillian ice skating today- just the two of them. It was Lillian's first time and she was thrilled! She said, "Daddy tied on my little skates! We both fell down on our butts! But Daddy got up first and then helped me up." After their ice-capades, Daddy and daughter hit Starbucks for some hot cocoa and warm caramel apple cider. I'm grateful for these bonding experiences between Bobby and Lillian. I hope she will always want to go on "dates" with her daddy, even when she gets older.

Close Call

2012-01-13T19:59:00.004-05:00

Today I'm Thankful For...

1. The brakes in my car. They prevented me from hitting a big boat-of-a-car on my way home from the store today. The young lady driving the old Buick decided to pull out from her parking spot on the side of the road without even looking to see me coming. It was a close call, and other than the box of diapers that went flying off the passenger seat next to me, no damage was done.

2. Our Please Touch Museum Pass. It was a bitterly cold, windy day so we went to the Please Touch for some warm, inside fun. The best thing about having a pass is that we can go an hour before the museum closes (when all the other kids are leaving) and not feel like we're wasting money on a short visit. The other fun thing about going at closing time is the "End of the Day Parade" with a very animated guy who dresses up in ridiculous costumes and bangs a drum around the museum with a trail of enthusiastic children. It's a little too much for the girls to handle, so we haven't actually participated in the parade yet, but it looks like so much fun! I wish they would join in so I could too! I'm thankful to live in a city with such great museums. I'm also so, so thankful that Bobby got to come with us!

3. This Gratitude Journal. It keeps me positive and it helps me recognize all the wonderful things around me and all the blessings in my life. Throughout the day I find myself looking for things to be thankful for so I can write about them. Since I started doing it my attitude has been better and I've been feeling great! I highly recommend anyone to do it. It will really help you feel more joy and happiness in your life.

What a Great Day

2012-01-12T20:54:00.005-05:00

Today I'm thankful for...

1. The opportunity to help out in Lillian's preschool classroom this morning. My mom came over early and stayed with Sydney and Liam while I went to Lilly's school with her (thank you, Mom!). First I manned the math center and did geo-shapes with the kids, then during activity time I got to supervise the [very popular with the preschoolers] sand table! It was a lot of fun to see Lillian interact with her classmates and to watch little minds hard at work. After lunch I joined Lilly in the circle on the rug while her teacher read two stories about Martin Luther King, Jr, then we skipped out before nap time and ran some errands together. At home we did a gingerbread craft together with Grandma and Sydney to get ready for the gingerbread party she's having in class tomorrow. I'm so thankful for Lillian's teacher and all the fun things that she plans for the kids (and how she manages to keep 20 preschoolers occupied and disciplined for 6 1/2 hours a day...I don't know how she does it).

2. Baby Naked Time! To speed up bath time tonight, I challenged the girls to have a race to see who could get naked first. Lillian stripped in record time. Getting her diaper off slowed Sydney down a little bit, but she came in a close second. Before I knew it I had two stark-naked girls streaking through the house yelling, "naked baby! naked baby!" They like to wave their arms in the air and shake their bums back and forth when they say it. It was great. It was all I could do to contain myself from pinching their cute, naked bum cheeks. Then Sydney announced that she pee-ed on the floor. Oops! Naked time over!

3. Potty training. I'm trying really hard to be thankful for this one, because honestly, I think potty training is a pain. It's very time consuming. I'm thankful that Sydney has taken so well to using the big potty, even if it takes 15 minutes of me sitting in the bathroom with her before her "poops" come out. After she was in bed tonight she got up FIVE times to go tinkle. And yes, she went tinkle every.single.time- she wasn't just using it as an excuse to get out of bed. That's the problem when you're potty training- you can't say "just hold it!" or "I don't think you really have to go!" As the potty trainer you are obligated to put the potty trainee on the pot each and every time they say they have to go. It drives me nuts, but the process is worth the end product...no more stinky diapers piling up in the hallway waiting to go out to the trash and no more wipes! I must keep this positive image in my mind. Yes, I am thankful for potty training.

4. Liam. I'm so thankful for my little boy. He's a gem. And so patient. I just love him so much and want to hold him and cuddle him all day long.

The Best Things in Life Are Free

2012-01-11T22:00:00.006-05:00

Today I'm thankful for...

1. Bobby, who washes his cereal bowl and spoon at 5 am every morning after he has breakfast. That's just two less dirty dishes that I have to worry about during the day. :)

2. Books. I love books! I love reading stories to my kids. One of my favorite times of the day is our book time before bed time. I love that Lillian and Sydney love books, too. And I'm oh-so-grateful for our library and all of the FREE books it provides (as well as the very nice librarians who put up with Sydney running around in circles and taking books off all the shelves...Lillian has grown out of that phase, thank goodness. Although, I'm sure that by the time Sydney grows out of it Liam will be growing into it)!

3. Pandora Radio and the sound of Josh Groban's angelic voice filling the room.

4. My healthy family. Other than Liam's slight wheezing, my family is pretty healthy overall. I'm so grateful for this. This time of year can be tough with germs and babies. I'm constantly reminded of how blessed we have been with health when Bobby tells me about the patients he is caring for in the hospital. Just yesterday he said a 3 year-old coded in the ER. My heart goes out to the family and friends. It makes me want to hug my little ones a little tighter and hold them a little longer.

Doctors and Grandparents

2012-01-10T20:47:00.004-05:00

Today I'm thankful for...

1. Medicine and Doctors. Liam has had congestion and cough for a couple of days. At 1 am last night his cough sounded pretty bad, so I fished out the stethoscope from the girls' toy chest (it's a cheapie, disposable kind from the hospital that Bobby brought home one day to add to their doctor kits). Bobby listened to Liam's breathing and heard some wheezing. He diagnosed him with RSV and prescribed an albuterol breathing treatment and recommended that I call the pediatrician on call. I have to admit that at first I thought he was being a little bit paranoid and I didn't feel like getting out of bed to do all of that. I was tired. He had to be up in 3 hours to be at the hospital, though, so I didn't feel it would be fair to ask him to do it. This morning I brought Liam in to see the pediatrician. He confirmed everything Bobby said last night- slight wheezing, probably RSV, give him breathing treatments. I'm grateful that Bobby is observant of our children's conditions and is knowledgeable on how to treat them. There have been numerous occasions when he has noticed something wasn't normal and we were able to start treating it right away. I'm also grateful for modern medicinesvand that we have access to them. With Lillian's asthma and Liam's RSV, their conditions could be much more serious without proper medication that we so easily have access to.

2. Grandma and Grandpa B (my parents). My dad decided to take a temporary job assignment in Philadelphia so he and my mom could live near us for a few months. Having them 10 minutes away has been wonderful. They rearrange their schedules to watch the kiddos so Bobby and I can spend time together, they bring me dinner and help me get the girls ready for bed when Bobby is on call, they fill their apartment with toys to keep the girls entertained...they do so much for us. My mom buys endless packs of gum to supply Sydney's addiction, she won't leave my apartment until all the dishes are cleaned and put away, she knows our family routine so well that she's always one step ahead of me when it comes to brushing the girls teeth or reading them bedtime stories or giving baths, she always gets me water when I'm nursing Liam, she takes Sydney for an entire day at a moment's notice (like today), she picks up Lillian from school every day and brings her home . . . in short, my mom's full time job is taking care of me and my kids and I don't know what I would do without her (and I don't know what I'll do when she leaves)! My dad rides his bike in sub-freezing temperatures to meet my mom (who has the car) at our house, he empties his pockets to make a "smooth lap" for the girls to sit on, he eats dinner with a grand-daughter in each lap, he lets Sydney play with the cochlear-implant magnet on his head, he holds Liam while he toots, he teaches Lillian about the solar system. I'm enjoying this time with my parents and watching their relationship with my children grow and deepen. I have a lot of friends who are living thousands of miles away from their families- I don't want to take this opportunity of having them live so close for granted.

3. Grandma BB and Grandpa D (Bobby's parents). We don't get to see them as much, but we feel so much love and support from them. The girls and Liam get cards and treats from them in the mail frequently. Just yesterday the girls got gift cards to Wendy's for a free frostie and some money to buy lunch. I'm looking forward to taking them out for this fun date together. Little things like that from grandparents are so much fun and it makes us feel so special and loved! I'm so grateful that my children have the opportunity to know both sets of grandparents...they're so spoiled! (and so are Mom and Dad!)

The Little Things

2012-01-09T22:04:00.002-05:00

Today I'm thankful for...

1. The way Lillian talks with her hands and makes facial expressions when she's telling me something really important.

2. The way Liam holds tight to my thumb when he's nursing.

3. Sydney's love for Santa and Jesus. She still talks about sitting in Santa's lap (even though she was too scared to do it when we visited the Macy's Santa this Christmas). Today she noticed the picture of Christ that we have up on a shelf. She said, "I see Jesus up dare!" Then she turned to me and said, "I sit in Jesus lap? Jesus hold me? I love him!"

4. The bright, cold, crisp air outside.

5. Season 2 of Downton Abbey. I can't wait to watch it!! If you've never heard of it, you should check out Season 1...you'll get hooked!!

Lift Up Your Voice and Sing!

2012-01-08T22:04:00.004-05:00

Today I'm thankful for...

1. A little girl named Ashley who sings her heart out at church every Sunday. I can always hear her singing the hymns above the rest of the congregation. If she doesn't know all the words, that doesn't stop her- she just hums and sings along as best she can! This sweet five year-old is a good example to me in that I should lift up my voice and sing a little louder and with as much confidence and enthusiasm as she does.

2. Speaking of singing...I'm also thankful for Lillian's rendition of "The First Noel." She is still singing Christmas songs around the house, and this one has been her favorite lately. Her version goes like this: "Noel, noel, noel, NOEL!!! Born is the King-dom rise and shine!" (Israel = rise and shine? I guess it's close enough?!) :)

3. The Hokey-Pokey. Sydney learned it in Nursery a few weeks ago and now she wants to sing it all the time! It's so cute to watch her shake her bum to "do the hokey pokey" and turn herself around, then ask to do it all over again!

Oh, how I love kids and their singing!

My Gratitude List

2012-01-07T22:35:00.002-05:00

Today I'm thankful for:

1. Friends. I have such great friends. Two of them came to visit today. They played with the girls, coo-ed over Liam, and joined us for an afternoon trip to the zoo. They supplied the girls with a steady stream of pretzels to keep them happy, pushed the double stroller around everywhere and up the monster hill to see the cheetahs, and they even let Sydney and Lillian drag them into the barnyard at the children's zoo (with their nice boots on!) to brush the goats and the sheep. They're troopers! I'm so grateful that they decided to spend their day with us, especially with Bobby being on call. I'm also grateful for my wonderful neighbor friends who rescued me and Liam! I was down to only two diapers (probably not enough to get me through the night and definitely not enough to last through Sunday) and they went to Target for me and dropped off a pack of diapers. Thank you, thank you! To top it off, I got a surprise phone call from a friend who recently moved. She gave me hope and encouragement that we can and will survive residency. :)

2. Cell phones. Bobby left his home today. It made me realize how fortunate I am to be able to get a hold of my husband so easily, no matter where he is (as long as he actually has his phone with him...leaving it on the night stand does no good). Today he was restricted to using the phone in the on-call room. Lucky for me he wasn't super busy, and he had enough time to sing the girls some songs over the phone at bed time. I had the phone on speaker, set up on the dresser while the girls were in bed and I was holding Liam. Liam kept craning his neck and looking around as if he was trying to find the face that went along with the voice he could hear.

3. The wonderful, unseasonably warm and sunny weather that we're having. It felt so good to be outside and not need a coat!

Today I'm Thankful For...

2012-01-06T22:05:00.002-05:00

1. Sunshine and warmer weather.

2. Miss Mills- She's the "food lady" at Lilly's school. She sets out the breakfast and serves the lunch to 20 preschoolers in the classroom. She goes above and beyond her duties, though, and I often see her playing puzzles with kids on the rug, cleaning the nap cots, or helping the teacher. She always gives Sydney a little juice box when we drop Lilly off in the morning (so Sydney loves Miss Mills, too! On the way to school she always says, "I dwink juice at Lilly's school! Ask Miss Mills!). She loves each of the kids and takes a personal interest in them. She even bought gifts for all of them for Christmas. Lillian usually can't remember what she learned at school, but she always knows what Miss Mills served for lunch. And there are quite a few things she prefers "Miss Mills' way" instead of the way I make them- like her mashed potatoes and the tator tots. Before Lillian started preschool I was worried about her eating "school food." But she seems to like it, and I know Miss Mills has a lot to do with it. After all, it always tastes better when it's served with love! :)

3. My friend Tana who's coming to visit tomorrow!!

My Kids

2012-01-05T22:08:00.005-05:00

Today I'm thankful for my kids.

1. How Liam is able to fall asleep wherever I put him.

On the couch.

On the floor.

In the swing.

2. How Sydney is such fun playmate. And how I have the time to play with her, and the desire to play with her. Sometimes when my depression and anxiety kick in I get preoccupied with everyday stresses and I completely lose the desire to do anything fun with my kiddos. I would rather clean my dishes or fold my laundry. I play with them out of obligation, not out of joy. Wanting to play tea party or Mr. Potato Head or magnetic doll dress-up is such a wonderful feeling to have. It makes play so much more fun!

(See the laundry baskets full of clothes waiting to be folded in both of the pictures? Guess what I wasn't doing while I was busy playing with Syd. In fact, I don't think I ever got around to doing it. That's what tomorrow is for, right?) :)

3. How Lillian finally fell asleep tonight. She's been having a hard time lately. It usually starts when it's time to brush teeth. She puts up a big fight. I threaten with various punishments and restrictions. She finally gets into bed, but then starts to cry saying she can't fall asleep. Tonight I tried a different approach and told her that she didn't have to fall asleep, she just had to lay down and be quiet and stay in bed. We said a prayer together asking Heavenly Father to help her feel comfortable and to go to sleep. About 30 seconds after we said the prayer, her bed-side fan miraculously turned on- it had refused to work (as it often does) when she tried turning it on when she got into bed. I smiled and said, "See?! Heavenly Father heard your prayer already!!" :) Within five minutes she was sleeping peacefully.

Gosh, I love watching my kids sleep.

I just have to add more. . .

I'm also thankful for:

4. Dear friends who I can have long conversations with on the phone no matter how long it's been since the last time we talked or how far apart we live. And how, for a moment, it feels like they live next door again.

5. Lipton's Herbal Orange Tea. So soothing and warm on a cold day!

6. My "laundry room." It's just a partitioned off area in the basement, but I love it. It hides the piles of clothes waiting to be washed and it's right next to where the kids play. The girls can bake me a cake in their kitchen set and Liam can bounce in his bouncy chair while I throw laundry in the washer or the dryer- it's great! There might be lots (LOTS) of things that drive me nuts about this apartment, but I really do like the laundry arrangement.

Today I'm Thankful For...

2012-01-04T22:00:00.003-05:00

1. The "gym floor" in our apartment. 15 degrees was too cold to ride scooters outside so we rolled up the rug and let the girls ride down the hallway into the living room area. When Lillian saw the wood floor exposed she exclaimed, "It's gym time!" (also grateful to Uncle Alan and Aunt Aimee for getting Lil her scooter for Christmas, which prompted Mommy and Daddy to get a 3-wheelie scooter for Syd as well- they LOVE riding them!)

2. Good advice. And Thomas S. Monson, who is full of good advice like this: "be aware that the tiny fingerprints that show up on almost every newly cleaned surface, the toys scattered about the house, the piles and piles of laundry to be tackled will disappear all too soon and that you will—to your surprise—miss them profoundly. Let us relish life as we live it, find joy in the journey, and share our love with friends and family." More is here.

3. The 6 1/2 hours of [mostly] uninterrupted sleep that I got last night!!

A Good Book is a Girl's Best Friend...

2012-01-04T10:02:00.006-05:00

A group of great ladies recently responded to one of my FB posts asking for good book suggestions. Now I have a lot of reading to do (the bold titles are ones I've already read)! If you have any more suggestions, fiction or non-fiction, please let me know!!

Book List

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

These is my words

Sarah's Quilt

The Star Garden

Rapunzel's Revenge by Hale

Calamity Jack by Hale

The Princess Academy

Ender's Game

The Maze Runner (trilogy)

The Giver, Gathering Blue, and The Messenger by Lois Lowry

Books of Bayern series (Goose Girl, Enna Burning, River Secrets, and Forest Born)

Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

The Help

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

Bossypants by Tina Fey

The Forgotten Garden

Pillars of the Earth

Molokai

Last Lecture

The Girls from Ames

Phillippa Gregory

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Blind Your Ponies by Stanley West Gordon

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde,

In the Garden of Beasts

Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

Red Princess Series by Lisa See

River of times series by Lisa Bergren

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Pathfinder by Orson Scott card

Water for Elephants

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

The Girl who Played with Fire

The Girl who kicked the Hornets Nest
Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich (18 books in the series)
My Sister's Keeper
Twilight Series
Confessions of a Shopaholic
Eat, Pray, Love
Bridgett Jones' Diary
Stones Into Schools
Mao's Last Dancer by Li Cuxin

Author List

Anne Perry

Emily Griffin

Jane green and Jennifer Werner

Nicholas sparks

Shannon Hale

Sharon Shinn

Dresden Files

Marr and Armstrong

Melissa Marr

Jim Butcher

Sharon Shinn

Kelley Armstrong

Karen White
Malcome Gladwell

Today I'm Thankful For...

2012-01-03T21:26:00.003-05:00

1. Lillian's teacher asking how she's been doing. At our parent-teacher conference before Christmas I told her that Lillian has been having a hard time since Liam was born- more temper tantrums, emotional episodes, more clingy, being stubborn, disagreeable...all that fun stuff. Her behavior hasn't changed at school, but I'm grateful that her teacher cares about her enough to think about her outside of the classroom and to ask me how she's feeling.

2. Sydney's creative vocabulary. She calls blueberries boo-boo-blerries. I love hearing her say it so much that I try to get her to say it by holding a blueberry in front of her and asking, "Sydney, what's this??" She says, "Boo-boo-blerry!" then gives me her look that says, "duh, Mom."

3. Pretzels and Nutella. What a delicious combination!

4. Liam's chunkiness. He has fat rolls on his legs and he's already in some of his 3 month outfits! I tried to fit him into a cute 0-3 month church suit my mom bought him for Christmas and I couldn't stretch the shirt across his big belly to button it! After worrying so much about Lilly and Sydney's weight it's awesome to have a big kid!

5. My parents for enduring a hotdog and mac 'n cheese dinner with me and the girls tonight so they could help me while Bobby is on call; my dad for teaching Lillian about the stars, the planets, the sun, and the moon; my mom for washing and putting away all of my dishes so I can go to bed tonight not feeling stressed about waking up in the morning to a dirty kitchen.

6. Bobby who sang Lillian a lullaby over the phone and talked to her to calm her down and help her fall asleep. I know Lilly misses her daddy when he's on call, and I think that's often why she acts a bit on the difficult side. I'm grateful that Bobby is willing to take the time to give her the love and attention that she needs.

Gratitude Attitude

2012-01-02T22:05:00.002-05:00

2012 is going to be tough. I'm not trying to be pessimistic, just realistic. The second half of Bobby's intern year is looking difficult with two months of general surgery and another month of ortho, both of which are very demanding. Then ortho PGY-2 starts this summer, which everyone says is harder than intern year. Bobby will have at least one two-month away rotation in the summer. He won't be too far away, but the program will be putting him up in a one bedroom apartment- not too sure how convenient that will be for a family of five. In 2012 we're also looking at another move. Thankfully it won't be far, just a mile or two across the county line (into a much better school district for Lillian who will be starting kindergarten in September!!) but it still means packing and hauling and trying to fit our stuff into another small apartment.

So to try and keep a positive outlook on the year I've decided to keep a "Gratitude Journal" in which I'll write three things I'm thankful for each day. Here's my first entry:

I'm thankful for...

1. All the things I have to look forward to in 2012- Bobby finishing intern year and starting ortho which he loves; Lillian starting kindergarten; my brother and sister-in-law's baby being born (can't wait to meet my niece!); and who knows what else the year will bring!

2. How excited Lillian and Sydney are to get out of bed and start their day in the morning. Too often I'm complaining about how early it is and how I wish they would just learn how to sleep in so I could sleep longer, but I should appreciate their energy and enthusiasm. As soon as their eyes pop open they get themselves out of bed and say "I'm ready for breakfast!" I wish I could do that.

3. The baked ziti I made three months ago and put in my freezer to save for a night when I needed a quick dinner. It came in handy tonight. :)

Mighty Man

2011-12-09T11:29:00.005-05:00

Our little Mighty Man is here! He arrived on November 15th- his daddy's birthday! So not only do father and son share the month and day of their birth date, but also their first and last names are the same. I only hope their social security numbers aren't similar.

William Thomas Doran was 8 pounds, 2 ounces and 21 inches long. A big boy! He's almost up to 10 pounds now. At this rate he might surpass Sydney's size by the time he's one (she's only 23 pounds)! We're calling him Liam for short. No Billy, no Tommy, and please, PLEASE no Willy. :)

Big-Big Sister Lillian and Big Sister Sydney love their little brother. They always want to hold him and check on him when he's sleeping. Lillian keeps a close eye on his little hats to make sure they don't fall off or slip over his eyes, and when they get slightly askew she quickly rectifies the situation and returns his hat-wearing to a perfect state. Sydney is fascinated with his hands, toes, and hair. She is always trying to pull off his hat or his socks to inspect them. She informs me when he is awake or crying, and she likes to rush up to him and say, "Hey Buddy!!" This usually scares him and sends his arms flying up in the air by instinct response and his eyes get really big (then of course Sydney declares, 'He awake! See him eyes?!' They awake!') All in all we're adjusting well to having the little guy around. He's a champ at sleeping through temper tantrums, taking naps on the couch, and nursing while his big sister tries to climb into Mommy's lap. We're so happy to have him with us and to love him and cuddle him!!

Liam- Tell Aunt Aimee that Mommy made the shout out before you reached one month! :)

Fairies in Philly

2011-11-13T21:37:00.006-05:00

photo courtesy of Lillian D.

Lillian and Sydney had their first "real" trick-or-treating experience this Halloween. A lady that Bobby works with at the hospital recommended some good trick-or-treating streets in the neighborhood and the girls scored quite a bit of candy! Lillian warmed up to the routine right away and she went right up to everyone and said "trick-or-treat"! She told us which houses we shouldn't go to because the lights were out, and she reminded us to bring a flashlight so we could see in the dark and not fall down. Sydney caught on quickly that the whole point of the outing was to get some great candy. It took her a while to get the "trick-or-treat" out, but when the bowl of candy was brought out she immediately reached for her portion. She wouldn't let anyone put the candy in the bag for her; she insisted on taking it herself and carefully putting it in her bag. Grandma and Grandpa B joined us for the evening as well and it was a lot of fun to see the girls interact with everyone and get excited about decorations, candy, and costumes.

the very first candy stop!!

Speaking of costumes, don't look too closely at the girls'. The sewing machine and I somehow managed to produce semi-wearable outfits for the occasion. Lil and Syd still use them as dress-ups and prance around the house in them, but I'm not sure how long they'll hold up. Next year I'm going to hit the Halloween Special at Wal-mart and save myself some sanity (and a broken sewing machine needle flying through the air and almost poking my right eyeball out). Despite the long, hard, sweat-labor at the sewing machine, it was worth it. My little fairies were pretty darn cute. And by the way, Lillian wasn't any old fairy...she was Tinkerbell. Sydney was just a cute little fairy, but she picked out the red wings. Mommy was a jack-o-lantern (or a lady who swallowed a pumpkin whole), and Daddy was the pumpkin patch farmer. Yay for Halloween and bottom-less bags of candy!!

my little home-spun fairies

daddy-daughter moment (or farmer-fairy moment?)

Polly-Pops!

2011-11-13T21:31:00.002-05:00

Sydney has a new obsession with polly-pops...that's lolly-pops to the rest of us. It's so cute to hear her say "polly-pop" that I can't bring myself to correct her. :)

Pretty Princesses and Cute Little Monsters

2011-09-14T21:58:00.014-04:00

Lillian turned four in July. She wanted a Princess birthday. Sydney turned two last week. Mommy decided that she wanted a Little Monsters birthday (because she likes to play the "monster coming!" game where she runs and hides- if you ask her what color the monster is she will most likely say "ba-lue!").

Both birthdays were lots of fun. Auntie Audrey was able to join us for both days, which was a nice treat. Daddy was able to dodge being on-call (barely!) and had fun with his little girls as well, which made it extra special.

My little girls are growing up!

Lillian's Birthday

Sydney's Birthday

Big Day at Preschool

2011-09-13T23:05:00.003-04:00

Lillian had her first "big" day of preschool today! She had two mini sessions last week to help her adjust to the new schedule and surroundings. She kept asking me when she was going to get to stay all day- and the day finally came!! She loves her teacher and she said all the kids were nice to her- she's even made some new friends already. Her teacher said she had "not just a good day, but a GREAT day!" She blew bubbles outside (and popped all the teacher's bubbles), and she made a "Summer Counting Book" which she read to me in the car before we drove home. She even fell asleep during nap time. Sydney loves Lillian's preschool, too. When I was saying goodbye to Lilly this morning I told Sydney to say goodbye, too. She turned to me and said "bye bye!" and gave me a hug, as if I was the one leaving and she was staying! I told her she had to say goodbye to Lillian instead. That made her kind of sad. She loves all the fun toys in Lilly's classroom and she loves to play with Lillian.

I'm so grateful that Lillian has a fun classroom and a great teacher, and that she has the opportunity to be in an intellectually stimulating environment. It was also nice to have some one-on-one time with Sydney.

This morning I told Lillian that her great grandpa likes to scribble signs with a big sharpie marker for important occasions like the first day of school and birthdays, and then make the "person to be celebrated" hold the sign while he takes a picture. She liked the idea, so we started the tradition for ourselves! Sydney thought it was great, too!

Ch-Changes!

2011-08-24T22:06:00.005-04:00

Before we reach the one year anniversary of blog inactivity, I better do some updating! A few things have changed around here since last September:

Bobby is a DOCTOR! (Holy smokes, it really happened!!)
Amanda is pregnant with bambino numero tres! Little William Thomas (shall we call him Liam?) is due to arrive in mid-November.
We moved to a different apartment. Same city, same street, but new none-the-less.
Sydney has much more hair. (Bobby has a little less, but don't tell him I told you). She's also walking and talking much more than one year ago.
Lillian will be starting preschool in a few weeks! She's now four, and she won't let you forget it.

That's about it in a nutshell. Although short and sweet, this is a good start for now. More will be coming. If you don't believe me (with my track record, I wouldn't believe myself either), come back and check later!

Proof that we're still here:

Going down the wooden slide at Smith Playhouse on Lillian's 4th birthday. Weeee!

-July 30, 2008-

2010-09-16T20:46:00.005-04:00

Dear Tasha,

Tomorrow Sydney will be one year and one week old. That's how old Lillian was when you stayed with us for the first time- for the first time for the next 15 months. A few days prior, we had gone to a church BBQ at a friend's house. I knew you were going to be there and I knew that you were staying at a church leader's house because of some problems at home. But I had no idea how the chain of events following our first encounter would change my life forever.

I remember being outside with you during the BBQ while kids jumped around in the inflatable jumper. It was a bright, sunny day. I deliberately sat next to you so I could try to get to know you better. I had no idea who you were until a few days before that, when Bobby briefly mentioned the situation you were in- I know you don't like people knowing your business, but with Bobby being in the Bishopric it was his responsibility. I wanted to help. I felt awkward trying to break the ice. I didn't know what to say or how to say it. You were very quiet and soft spoken, and you didn't open up much or elaborate on any of the answers to my questions. But you smiled a lot and you seemed happy. We invited you over for dinner that Wednesday night. After dinner we would bring you to the church activity, then bring you back to the friends' house where you were staying.

Or so we thought.

You were a chatterbox on Wednesday. You asked me a million questions about a million different things. You seemed particularly interested in cars and driving- how to buy a car, how to pay for a car, what it was like to drive a car. You were curious about everything. I was curious about school and your likes and dislikes. I talked so much that my throat was sore at the end of day. I was thrilled that you had opened up.

Then, during dinner we got a frantic phone call from the friends you were staying with. They had just received a call from DHS saying that your mother didn't know where you were. She was threatening to press charges for kidnapping if you weren't returned home right away. After a bit of chaos, Bobby and I got ourselves together and started driving you to your mom's house. A million thoughts were going through my mind. You started to cry when you told us that you were afraid to go home. Bobby and I couldn't justify dropping you off on your doorstep in tears and driving away from the situation. We called your DHS caseworker and told her what was going on. We refused to bring you home without a DHS escort into the house to assess the situation. She finally agreed to meet us on the side of the road where we had pulled over, just around the corner from your mom's house.

The caseworker didn't seem very sympathetic at first. She tried to convince you to go back home because your mom was worried about you and she missed you. This seemed a little ridiculous to say about a woman who had a history of alcoholism, drug addiction, and neglect, a woman who allowed other family members to physically abuse you, and who hadn't raised you for ten out of your fifteen years of life. You were stubborn and you kept saying no. We offered to go in with you and talk to your mom to let her know that you were safe and that you had a lot of friends who were willing to help out. The caseworker seemed all out of ideas, so she agreed to it.

As we pulled up to your house, I felt like I was taking in the deepest breath of my life- preparing for something unexpected and frightening. We followed you and the caseworker to the door, and as I was about to go in, she told us to wait on the porch- she didn't know what the emotional climate was going to be inside, and she didn't want to upset anyone by bringing us in right away. I felt like I was hiding out and eavesdropping as we stood outside on the porch, out of sight between the window and the door. I felt very out of place. As soon as you walked in the door, it was like a bomb went off. You were verbally attacked by three or four people, who seemed to have been waiting for you to show up- your mother, and at least one sister and one brother. The yelling, the accusations, the cursing, the name calling- all of it was horrible. It was horrible to hear. It was horrible to imagine how it made you feel. It was horrible to imagine you living with it every day. It was horrible to imagine leaving you there to fend for yourself while I went on to my loving and peaceful home.

Bobby was standing behind me and he wrapped his arms around my shoulders when I started to cry quietly- while standing there on the porch listening to everything that was going on inside. I wanted to burst in and haul you out and away to safety. I wanted to yell everyone who was yelling at you. I wanted to scream at the caseworker for bringing you back here. I wanted to overturn all of the injustices that had brought you to this moment in your young life.

I was surprised at how quickly- and how loudly- you responded to your attackers. You yelled right back at them- not with the same language- but with just as much vengeance and force. Your survival instincts emerged when you were in a hostile environment. How else could you have survived in it for so long?

I don't know how long we stood there- silent on the outside- while hatred roared on the inside. I think things had calmed down a little bit by the time we decided we were never going to be invited to go in. I think the caseworker even stepped out for a moment to tell us to go home. I'm sure we lingered a bit longer. Then, feeling completely useless, we slowly walked down the steps, away from the house, and toward the car. We felt uneasy driving away. Bobby did a u-turn at the end of the street to circle back around and pass by the house to see if you and the caseworker were out yet. Nothing. We did it again. This time, we noticed you sitting in the backseat of the caseworker's DHS van.

She flagged us down and told us that you had threatened to run away if she left you there. (Good for you! I thought). She was trying to figure out who you could stay with that night. We immediately offered our house. She needed DHS authorization and your mother's authorization since you were still under her legal care. She said she would go back and talk to your mom to try to convince her that this would be the best situation- for you to stay with us for the night. You told the caseworker to get your mom outside and away from your siblings. Your mom was usually more rational when she didn't have other people interjecting their own opinions.

We waited around the corner, in the car, while you sat in the DHS van and the caseworker talked to your mom. Never in my life have I ever prayed so intently and so earnestly as I did that night. I prayed for the caseworker to say the right things to your mom to convince her to let you stay with us; I prayed for your mom to realize what was best for you; I prayed for angels from heaven to surround her to comfort her and help her agree with the caseworker. In the end, your mom agreed. DHS gave us an oral authorization to let you stay with us. You got back in our car and we took you home.

And so began the fifteen most challenging, most rewarding, and most character building months of my life.

I'm sure you remember the evening much differently. But I wanted you to hear it from my perspective, since I don't think I ever really told you. I'm grateful for the seemingly unimportant events- a BBQ and a Wednesday night dinner invitation- that lead us to a life-long influential event. I'm thankful for the quiet inspirations of the Spirit that guided us through the experience. I'm thankful for you.

I love you and I miss you.

Heavenly Messenger

2010-08-24T21:48:00.003-04:00

This was Lillian's lunch time prayer today:

Dear Heavly Fodder, thank you eating wunch, thank you Charlotte, thank you getting pwesent for her, thank you watching Ratatouille, thank you Daddy at school, thank you I miss him. Name of Jesus Kweist, Amen.

Bless her little heart.

The Castle on the Hill

2010-08-20T22:32:00.006-04:00

Dear Tasha,

I drove past Overbrook High School today. It was this month two years ago that we drove all over Philadelphia together, trying to get you enrolled in school. I had no idea what I was doing. All I knew was that I wanted you in the best school possible. I have to admit that I got very frustrated. I felt like I was on a wild goose chase, not knowing which way to go or even where I was.

I didn't understand a lot of things.

I didn't understand why you said you were supposed to be in 10th grade, but all of your records said you were in 9th grade. I didn't understand why you denied going to a particular middle school that was listed on all of your transcripts. I didn't understand why you had to go to the neighborhood school that had dismally low test scores, horrible attendance rates, and frequent suspensions.

I didn't understand why you were enrolled in kindergarten a year late, then held back to repeat kindergarten a second year- making you two whole academic years behind your peers. I didn't understand how you managed to make decent, passing grades throughout elementary and middle school, while going in and out of the foster system, dealing with abuse, and changing schools every few years. I didn't understand how anyone could give up on you or not want the best for you.

I still wonder about all of those things. I will probably never know the real answer to most of them, which I tried to come to terms with when you were living with us. Instead of dwelling on your past and everything I had no control over, I tried to focus on your future and how I could help.

Eventually, we managed to get you into a different school. Mostly because of Bobby's adamant determination to change things and my endless worrying about your education. The school was new. The teachers were educated. It made us feel better. You didn't like the uniform or the mascot. But you did like the laptop they gave you (except for the bright orange bubble case it came with), and some of your teachers. It still wasn't the best education, but it was by far the best option under those circumstances.

I could go on forever about this. Instead of rambling, though, I'll just get to the point of why I feel like I need to get all of this out- I still worry about you and the quality of education that you're getting. A few nights ago I had a dream about you. (I dream about you a lot, but I'll save that for another time). In the dream, we were talking. It felt like I hadn't seen you in a long time and I was very happy to be with you (and for some reason your hair was in a weird short style- nothing like the long braids you usually had- but that's not relevant). Anyway, you were telling me that, since you moved, you hadn't been able to get back into Arise Academy where you went last year. You were having trouble getting into a new school. You were getting frustrated by it and were about ready to give up on it and not graduate. I tried to convince you how important it was to go to school and graduate and how it would be impossible to do anything with your life if you dropped out. I hugged you tight, and while I cried on your shoulder, I begged you not to give up.

By now you would be telling me not to get all mushy, mushy on you. :) I'm sorry that I care so much. :) In the last note you gave us, you said that you were advanced to the 12th grade and that you wanted to go to medical school like Bobby. You are capable. Don't let anyone deter you from your path. Bobby and I will always be here- encouraging you, pushing you, and expecting you to do your best.

love,
Amanda

Little Steps

2010-08-20T22:23:00.003-04:00

The record stands at three. That's how many steps Sydney has taken unassisted before losing her balance and falling over or deciding that was far enough and plopping down on her diaper-padded bottom. She took those first little steps tonight when Bobby and I were bribing her with a little toy doctor kit to go back and forth between us (she had been carrying the bag around with her all night long- it's currently one of her favorites). I think she'll have the walking thing down before her first birthday in three weeks. Between this new mode of transportation and her tooth coming in, I'd say it's been a big week for the little girl!

(She has also been climbing on EVERYTHING. Over the couch, up the back of the yellow Fisher Price chairs, up the box onto the kitchen set, on the rocking chair, on the toy lion, up the side of Lillian's bed to get into it.....everything. She either wants to peek out the window, or she wants a better view of what's going on below. Her acrobatics are going to give her mom a heart attack.)

Toothless No More!

2010-08-19T22:47:00.003-04:00

Bobby made a monumental discovery tonight- Sydney is FINALLY getting her FIRST TOOTH!! After 11 1/2 months she decided it's about time she be able to bite into something instead of gum it into a mushy mess. The baby pearly white is the top front right tooth (sorry to all the dentists, I don't know the official position name), and it looks like there might be more coming, too.

So she'll have at least one tooth before her first birthday after all. You go girl.

We Miss Our Neighbors

2010-08-09T22:34:00.004-04:00

Because there's nothing like an early Monday morning, watching the trash truck go by from your bedroom window with your best friends. :)

We miss you lots!! We can't wait til next week!

The Big 0-3

2010-08-06T09:40:00.009-04:00

Lillian turned three a couple of weeks ago so it's about time I told you about it. Apparently, 3 is a magic number. Lillian can now do everything by herself. Any time I try to help her with something like put on her shoes or wash her hands she says, "Mom, I can do it by my own! I thwee!" Today she asked me to help her lock the baby lock on the kitchen cabinet. Before I could get to her, she figured it out. She turned to me and said, "I got it! I thwee." That explains it all.

Being three also makes a difference when you go to the dentist. Six months ago Lillian kicked and screamed when they tried to take pictures of her teeth and we had to practically hold her down while they cleaned her teeth and fixed her cavity (which I'm ashamed to say she had, but I blame it on her bad teeth genes). This week she had her 6-month check-up and she was a champ!! She sat in the chair all by herself and played with the chair up/down button. She chatted with the hygienist and the dentist and she even let them use Mr. Thirsty (remember him?!). Wow, what a difference six months make.

I'm still waiting for the three-year-old magic to kick-in in the temper tantrum department. That's one area where we haven't seen any progress yet. Oh well.

To celebrate the special day, Grandma B, Mommy, and Sydney took Lillian to the Crayola Factory in Easton, PA (it was a hike, but worth it!!).

So many crayons!!

There was also a free Canal Museum that was lots of fun.

The tiller made the floor rotate, simulating a boat.
It was Lilly's favorite part of the museum.

When we got home we had Lillian's favorite foods for dinner- flower noodles with butter, shrimp, edamame, cheese, and olives (she has such refined taste).

Then she tore into her presents.

We sang Happy Birthday, she blew out candles, and we all enjoyed some birthday cupcakes.

We couldn't get enough of birthday festivities, so on Saturday we had a little birthday party. There was more cake and ice cream and lots of birthday fun.

Happy Birthday, Big Girl!!

Tacos

2010-08-05T23:10:00.004-04:00

Dear Tasha,

We had tacos for dinner last night. It reminded me of you because tacos were your favorite thing to have for dinner. It was one of the first meals we had together; you stuffed yourself with six whole tacos and had a stomach ache afterward. Later you told me that the reason you like tacos so much is the conversation they create around the dinner table- there are so many toppings sitting all over the table, that in order to get what you want, you have to ask, "will you please pass the ____" and, "could you pass the ____ please." This interaction and passing around of food was appealing to you. I always thought that was endearing.

Little things like this remind me of you on a daily basis. I'm not the only one who remembers. Lillian saw a blow dryer in the YMCA bathroom a few days ago. As she blow dried her hair she said, "Tasha have a pink one!" She frequently asks me, "Where Tasha? Where her bed?"

I ask myself the same questions. I wonder where you are, who you're with, how you're feeling, if you're safe....if you're thinking of me. If you know that I'm thinking of you.

I miss you.

My relationship with you made me a better person and it made our family stronger.

I wish I knew how you were doing.

No matter how much time goes by, I will always want to hear from you.

I love you,
Amanda

Photographer In Training

2010-07-12T21:11:00.005-04:00

Lillian is a budding photographer! All of her practice is paying off- no more knee shots or cut-off foreheads! Here is some of her recent work:

Here are some that Mommy and Daddy caught:

So...who's ready to book a session? :)

State of Emergency

2010-07-12T21:00:00.005-04:00

I found this photo on my camera today. It's from a couple of months ago.

Holy smokes! It looks like Hurricane Lillian passed through in full force. President Obama must have declared a Federal State of Emergency that day. I'm still waiting for relief efforts to arrive . . .

Poo-Pee-Palooza

2010-07-09T14:10:00.005-04:00

Sydney has been on a roll lately. Yesterday she sprinkled me with a fountain of pee while I was changing her diaper. Later that afternoon she soaked her carseat with pee (in her defense though, she was wearing a swimmie diaper because she was on her way to the pool....proves every mom's theory that swimmies don't hold a darn thing).

But today was the kicker. I finally got the girls and the jogging stroller loaded in the car and we were heading out for a nice, leisurely jog down by the river. I heard Sydney grunting in her carseat behind me, which was soon followed by the unmistakable smell of poo. No big deal, I thought- BEFORE I saw the mess. Sydney blew the poop straight out the right side of her diaper, all over her leg, her arm, and even some on her face!! Ewwww! I drove right back home, stripped her down and put her in the bath tub. So much for my jog. Too bad the effort alone isn't enough to burn the calories.

Adoption

2010-06-08T22:41:00.002-04:00

I got an urgent phone message from a case worker from the foster agency that we used to work with. Our file has been closed for about seven months, but they were desperate for help. They have a little boy who just turned five who has been living with his very elderly great-great grandma and great grandma (70 and 90 years old). The agency and the state don't think that's a good environment for the little boy, so they want to place him in another home. His mother's rights have already been terminated and his father has an abusive record. No one else in the family is able to take him in. He's already been bounced around four or five foster homes. The little boy is Caucasian, so they want to place him with a Caucasian family who is interested in adoption. We were the only Caucasian foster family on record with the agency. I wish we were in a position to help, because it breaks my heart to think about that little boy and the situation he's been forced into. I just want to wrap my arms around him and make him feel safe and secure.

I know this is a total long shot, but I'm just wondering if anyone knows anyone who is interested in adoption and would be interested in taking this little boy in as a foster child (with the possibility of adoption). Unfortunately, I don't know anything else about the little boy, except that the case worker said he doesn't have any medical conditions (I don't know if that includes psychological/behavioral problems). I do know that if you go from foster care to adoption, the state will pay for all of the legal fees associated with the adoption. They will also expedite the process of approving you as a foster parent.

If anyone is interested, please let me know and I can put you in touch with the case worker who called me.

Silly Comcast

2010-05-04T08:53:00.003-04:00

FOLLOW-UP 5/8/10: I made it back to the Service Center to try to get yet another modem. However, after standing in line, the only thing that the lady behind the scary bullet-proof glass said was, "Those are the only types of modems that we have." I feel bad for all the other poor souls out there who have taken the advice from the service tech on the phone and tried to get a "new" modem from the Service Center. I wouldn't be surprised if they turn around and give my old, broken modem to the next sucker who goes in there, AFTER I emphasized the fact that it was old and it didn't work. I'm no Comcast customer care specialist or anything, but it just doesn't seem smart to hand out old, turned-in modems to people who need new ones. Did you ever stop to think about WHY the person was turning in the modem in the first place? Maybe that's too much to ask....

Despite all my efforts to fix the problem before Wednesday, we were left with no choice but to wait for the tech guy to come to the house for an appointment. I think he was sent straight from heaven. He arrived on time and he got the job done. He even checked out our wires and switched out the unnecessary splitters so our internet connection would be faster. Thank goodness for reliable technicians with real, brand-new modems.

Our modem is working like a charm. However, we have yet to get the wireless router and Vonage to work. Oh well. You can't hope for too much at once, I guess.

- - - - - - -

Comcast wins the "that was dumb" award this week. Our internet has been cutting out several times a day for the past few weeks. I called tech service on Sunday and they said a tech couldn't come to the house until Wednesday morning to look at it. That was too long to wait, so I found a babysitter for the girls and went to the service center in the shady part of town to turn in our old modem for a new one since the tech lady on the phone said it was getting a weak signal.

I proudly came home with our "new" modem and Bobby got to work setting it up. After 45 minutes on the phone with Comcast trying to get the modem registered and working, we finally got an internet signal. I fired up Firefox and watched in dismay as google.com took more than 10 seconds to load, got stuck in middle of the Google sign, then finally finished loading. It was slower than dial-up!!!

It turns out that they gave us the same modem that we had FIVE years ago when we first signed up with Comcast! So we got an even older modem to replace the modem that they told us was too old. Go figure. Way to go, Comcast. That's what I call intelligent customer service. So guess what I'll be doing AGAIN today? The nice thing, I must note, is that we will be credited one month's billing fee for the inconvenience- now that's good customer service. If only the rest of Comcast could figure it out.

Now I will click on "Publish Post" and wait 10 minutes for the slower-than-heck internet to do it's work. Geez, I've become so dependent on fast internet....

Hey, Cuz!

2010-04-30T22:13:00.006-04:00

Yesterday we were lucky to get a visit from Grandma BB, Aunt Amy, Becca, Abigail, and Sam (or Sam-Sam as Lillian calls him). Lillian and Sydney are so lucky to have cousins!!

My Baby Blues

2010-03-26T10:01:00.005-04:00

And by "baby blues" I don't mean the emotional state a lot of women get after having a new baby (although I've definitely had my fair share of all that- but that's another post another time). I'm talking about the beautiful blue eyes that my two little girls have. I just can't get enough of them!

An Eventful Wednesday

2010-03-11T15:50:00.017-05:00

Wednesday was a big day for Sydney and Lillian. Sydney turned 6 months old and Lillian got her first haircut (after 2 1/2 years, it was about time)!!

To celebrate Sydney's half-birthday, we had a little photo shoot.

Then we went to the park and she took her first ride in the swings!

At dinner, we decorated a blueberry pancake with a whipped cream number 6 and stuck a candle in it. We figured she should have half a candle for her age and half a candle for good luck, making one whole candle! We sang Happy Birthday and Lillian helped her blow out the candle.

Then Sydney stuck her hand in the whipped cream and snatched out the candle- she must be practicing for the big cake in six more months!

Sydney is almost sitting up on her own. She can hold herself up for a few seconds before she slowly starts to slump to one side, then bottoms out on the floor! She grabs for everything in sight and anything she manages to get a hold of, she tries to put in her mouth. She drools 10 gallons a day and soaks the fronts of all her shirts. Most of her hair from birth has fallen out, but it's starting to grow back on top in fuzzy little tufts. The back of her head is still quite bald (and slightly lop-sided), but she's still CUTE and we love her LOTS!!

Lillian was a champ through her haircut. We turned on the TV, gave her a lollipop, and plopped her in the chair.

Two lollipops and a handful of marshmallows later, she was nicely trimmed up with a cute little flipped-out do. If only I had the patience and the know-how to make her look that cute every day!

BEFORE

AFTER

I've been keeping track of some of the things Lillian says. She's really exploring the English language and coming up with her own grammatical structures and phrases. Here are some of my favorites (with translations when needed):

"I can't how to do it!"
[I don't know how to do it!]

"I'm big just a little bit."

"I don't want to maybe."

"You wanna get 3 like me and go pwekool?!"
[Do you want to turn 3 like me next year so you can go to preschool, too?!]

"Don't wash my haircut!"

"I can touch him. He not wild like a bear."
[Referring to the 9-month old I babysat this morning.]

"My birthday on July, on summertime."

"She tired, pwobawee."
[Sydney is probably crying because she's tired, Mommy.
You should put her to bed so we can go play together.]

I love my girls!!

"It's hard, but it's worth it!"

2010-03-09T22:18:00.002-05:00

I'm borrowing a Winsor Pilates DVD from a friend. I have to stretch myself along the small space between the TV and the couch in our very small living room in order to do the exercises. Even then, I can't fully extend my legs for the scissor kicks or the big circles that I'm supposed to draw in the air with my foot. However, it's still a good work-out! Just when my buns are beginning to burn so bad I want to stop, Mari Winsor says, "I know it's hard, but it's worth it! Keep going!" When I heard her say that this morning, I immediately thought to myself- hey, that sounds a lot like motherhood. It's hard as heck sometimes, but it's the most gratifying thing I've ever done. So all I can do is "keep going!" (and by that I don't mean keep having more babies...just keep going with each day! Just thought I should clarify!) :) So, thank you, Mari Winsor, for giving me my new daily motto. When the day gets tough I start chanting to myself, "It's hard, but it's worth it! It's hard, but it's worth it! Keep going! Keep going!" If it can help me get through a hard day, maybe it can help tone my buns, too.

In Our Hearts and On Our Minds

2010-03-02T22:06:00.003-05:00

Little Charlotte Amalie has been on my mind a lot lately. She decided to make an early entrance into this world on Sunday- at only 24 weeks, 2 days gestational period and weighing 1.2 lbs, 11 inches long. I had the privilege to see her today and she is the tiniest, most precious and delicate thing I've ever seen. I've been thinking a lot about her mom, too, and how she is such an example of strength and optimism. Charlotte has a wonderful mommy, daddy, and big brother who love her very much. Her friends love her, too.

I told Lillian that I was going to visit her today. I told her that she's at the hospital so the doctors can take care of her. Lillian got concerned and asked, "Charlotte have legs? Charlotte have eyes? Charlotte have a bum?" Yes, Charlotte has all those things, I told her. Then she asked, "I hold her?" When she gets bigger and stronger, I said, but for now we can blow her kisses! So we both blew kisses out the window. While I was away, Lillian stayed home with Grandma and drew some pictures for Charlotte. On one of them she had my mom write, "To Charlotte's Mommy: I love Charlotte. I hope you get better." Children are so precious.

We love you, Charlotte, and you and your family are in our thoughts and prayers every day.

Five Years of Marital Bliss

2010-02-25T22:31:00.004-05:00

On January 29th Bobby and I hit our 5 year mark- hurray! We went out to eat at a nice Thai restaurant in Old City called Pad Thai. If you're in the area, it's definitely worth a visit.

While we reminisced over the past five years, we thought about all the different accomplishments we've made and all the things we've done together. Here's what we came up with (not in any type of order of relevance or importance!):

1. Completed 2 bachelor's degrees, 1 master's degree, and 3/4 of medical school
2. Bought (and renovated) a house
3. Moved 5 times
4. Doubled the size of our family with two beautiful daughters
5. Visited some exciting places- Nauvoo, IL; Palmyra, NY; California (twice!); Salt Lake City (twice!); Chicago; and lots of other places in between
6. Bought 2 cars, 1 van, and 1 scooter. Sold the car that Bobby brought into the marriage and one of the cars we bought later.
7. Held 11 different jobs (6 for Bobby, 5 for me!)
8. And the list is still growing!

The Past 3 Months

2010-02-24T21:36:00.007-05:00

Now that it's been over 3 months since my last post, I figure it's about time I wrote something new. (Thanks for the motivation, Marla!) So let's see . . . what's new?

Lillian hit the 2 1/2 year-old mark on January 23 (just one day after my 27th birthday, which we'll get back to in a moment). She can't wait to be 3 years old so she can go to preschool (or "pwe-kool" as she calls it), just like her best friend Lydia. She reminds me several times a day that she's 2 years old, just in case I forgot, I guess! Then she says, "I be three on my next birthday, like E-ya (aka Lydia). I go pwe-kool like E-ya!" We saw Lydia this afternoon right before she left for her preschool. After we walked her to her car and went into our house, Lillian got really sad and she said, "I want to be three." I told her that I was happy that she was 2, it's a good age to be. As hard as the terrible two's can be on both of us, I don't want my little girl to grow up too fast. The thought of having her gone all day in preschool is enough to make me want to play kitchen set and doctor kit with her all day long just so I can enjoy the time while I have it with her. I've been debating about what to do in the fall when she'll be 3 and could go to preschool. As far as I understand, the Head Start program would be free, but they're all-day, Monday-Friday. That seems like too much for a little one who just turned 3. A friend has offered doing a shared pre-school teaching sort of thing where we would switch off every other week teaching a lesson a few times a week. That could work for the first year, I think. Then when Lilly is 4 I might be ready to ship her off to "real" preschool. I'm afraid she'll be disappointed with "home school pre-school," though. Do you see how this little 2 1/2 year old already runs my life?? :)

Over Christmas break Lillian practically potty trained herself. She now wears big girl underwear and is very proud of it. She still has the occasional accident (like peeing on the floor in nursery during church. I didn't have a change of clothes for her, so she had to go through the rest of church wearing only a shirt, a borrowed pair of underwear from a friend, and her tights that she thankfully wasn't wearing when she piddled on the floor. Aaah, that was a proud Mommy moment for me...). Anyways, I'm very proud of Lillian and the progress she's made. I ask her a lot if she has to go potty and I always emphasize that she should tell me or another adult when she has to go so she won't have an accident, so all day today she kept telling me, "Mommy, you tell me when you have to to potty, ok? Mommy, you have to go potty?" I had to keep telling her no, that I was fine! She's a fire pistol of energy, from the minute she wakes up until the second before she falls asleep at night (and she's starting to outgrow her afternoon naps, darn it!), but I love her a ton, even when I don't have the energy to keep up with her.

Sydney is my sweet little smiler. If she's not sleeping or eating, she's smiling and laughing. The biggest thing that gets her going is when Lillian jumps out and surprises her and starts laughing in front of her- that cracks her up every time! She's already 5 1/2 months old, and she's growing so fast! She's developed so much in just the past few weeks- grabbing her toes and putting them in her mouth, reaching for everything, rolling over (and over and over), responding to her name and other voices, and she's even started eating some fruits! She had a well visit a few weeks ago, and she weighed in at 12 lbs, 9 oz and was 23.5 inches long. That puts her in the 25th percentile, which is much bigger than Lillian was- such a relief for Mommy!

Around Christmas time, Sydney and I started having trouble with breastfeeding. She didn't seem to be satisfied during or after most feedings and she was fussier than normal during the day. By January I was supplementing with formula to make up for what I couldn't provide. I tried everything I could to increase my supply- I chugged fennel tea, drank tons of water, took more naps, pumped after every feeding, and tried to be less stressed (hah, like that ever works!). Luckily, we were staying with family, so they were able to help me. But when we returned home to our normal routine at the end of the month, I couldn't hold on any more. Sydney wasn't happy and neither was I because each feeding was so stressful. I cried the night that I realized I couldn't breastfeed any more, but after the next day of going formula-only (with a few scant ounces that I was able to pump), Sydney was so much happier, and what a relief that was! We're both feeling much better about the whole thing, and I feel like I've bonded with her more than ever over the past few weeks. I love how her eyes crinkle in the corners when she smiles- just like her Daddy!

Enough about the kids- what about us adults? We spent half of December and all of January bouncing between my parents' and Bobby's parents' houses while Bobby completed a pediatric rotation at Kent General Hospital. It was great to spend so much time with family and to watch Lillian and Sydney play with cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. I feel so fortunate to live close to both our families. I have so many friends who live half a country away from their families, and I don't think I realize how difficult that is. We were busy while we were gone! We celebrated Christmas, New Years, 3 birthdays (including mine), and we fought several rounds of illness- Lillian got pneumonia and spent the night in the ER a few days before Christmas, then a couple weeks later she got the stomach virus that was going around and threw up for 24 hours. Bobby and I got some sort of stomach bug that lasted a couple days, but we weren't throwing up like everyone else. After two more random days of running a fever, Lillian seemed to finally be done with being sick. But not me! At the end of the month I got the worst sinus cold I've ever had. I think my face would have exploded if it weren't for the OMM that Bobby did (the best thing ever!!) Thankfully, Sydney avoided most of the sick germs through it all.

Anyways, about my birthday- it was great! I have to admit that 27 seems a little old (the odd years always do, for some reason- I don't know why). The day before, my dad took me and Sydney on a walk at the nearby Arboretum. It was a little chilly, but very refreshing to be outside. We bundled Sydney up so her eyes were barely showing, but when she fell asleep we covered those, too! Then we spent about an hour in the local coffee shop talking about Haiti, church, life, and other stuff. Sydney slept snuggly in her car seat on the table during it all. We stayed past closing time and had to have the door unlocked so we could leave! While we were gone, Lillian and Grandma were busy baking my birthday cake and decorating the house with pink and yellow streamers and balloons. Lillian was so excited about the balloons in my bedroom and about eating my cake! She kept telling me that my birthday was on Friday when we could eat my cake! On my birthday, my mom spoiled me. She let me go out by myself to get my hair cut, then she watched both girls so I could work on a quilt (the one I've been trying to finish for almost a year now)! That night we had cake and ice cream for dinner so we could celebrate with Lillian (she helped me blow out all my candles!) then we left with friends to go out for a real dinner. It was a fun day!

Bobby just finished his February rotation in ob/gyn at Lankenau Hospital. He was surprised at how much surgery there was and he had some interesting experiences. Next week he starts psychiatry at an inner-city hospital, which should also be interesting! I've vamped up my efforts to lose a few pounds and firm up my loose just-had-a-baby muscles. :) I'm trying to make it to the YMCA 3 days a week for pilates and kickboxing, in addition to crunches at home and cutting down on snacking and eating late at night. We'll see how it works!

I know I've been rambling on forever now, about stuff that no one probably cares about, so thanks for sticking it out to the end! Phew! I shouldn't let so much time go by again...it takes a lot to catch up!

My Happy Baby

2009-11-19T21:44:00.004-05:00

For only being 2 months old, Sydney sure smiles a lot! She has a mild case of croup, but she's still happy as can be. We had to suction all the mucous out of her nose this morning, and in between wails of objection she would look up at us and smile! It almost broke my heart!

10 Birthdays

2009-11-18T21:30:00.008-05:00

Bobby's birthday was on Sunday. It was a bit anti-climactic because Lillian and I were sick, but we tried to make the best of it anyway. I made Bobby's favorite pumpkin cake roll and we set it ablaze with candles! Then Lillian helped him open his present (she would have done it all by herself before Bobby got home if I didn't hide it from her)!

Every year when Bobby's birthday comes around I feel so grateful to his parents for not stopping at six kids. Heck, six would've been more than enough for me, but they decided to keep going and [lucky] number seven was Bobby. My world would be much different if their number seven never came along. Not to steal your thunder on your birthday, Bobby, but I think your mom deserves a party, too- thank you , BB!

As Bobby and I were getting ready for bed that night, we realized that we have been a part of each others' lives for his last ten birthdays. We tried to remember each one, and here's what we came up with:

2000 - 19^th birthday- I paid some friends to take Bobby out so I could sneak into his bedroom and decorate it to the hilt with balloons, streamers, and birthday signs.

2001 - 20^th birthday- Bobby was on his mission and I was a freshman at American University. I sent him 20 birthday cards (many of them hand-made because I was poor...whew, it was time consuming!)

2002 - 21^st birthday- Bobby was still on his mission. I was going through my less-frequent writing stage, but we’re pretty sure I still sent him a birthday card.

2003 - 22^nd birthday- Bobby was trying to rekindle our relationship. He made a lot of trips to DC to visit me, and this year we went to Bucca di Beppo for his birthday. It remains the best Bucca meal we’ve ever had (and a few months later I was baptized).

2004 - 23^rd birthday- We were engaged and scheduled to be married in June 2005 after I graduated AU. For Bobby’s birthday I gave him a paper chain count-down to the wedding. This caused an emotional break-down and we decided that we couldn’t wait that long. We moved the wedding up to January instead.

2005 - 24^th birthday- We had been married almost 1 year and were living in Newark. This was the year I made Bobby a birthday sign (the one I can’t find now). I hung it in the doorway between the living and dining rooms and took a picture of Bobby standing under it, pretending to hold it up (that's all we could remember).

2006 - 25^th birthday- Still living in Newark. Bobby was waiting to hear back from med schools (a few weeks later he got his acceptance to PCOM). This was also the month that we got pregnant with Lillian!

2007 - 26^th birthday- First year in med school. I brought Bobby out for lunch to Tommy Gun’s, a great BBQ place on Ridge Ave. They have the best fried mac and cheese in the world. I made an ice cream cake and we had friends over.

2008 - 27^th birthday- The weather was beautiful so we went for a walk along the Wissahickon. We got cheese steaks at Larry’s and ate them on the trail. This was the first year that I made a birthday pumpkin cake roll.

2009 - 28^th birthday- That brings us to this year!

Happy Birthday, Bobby!

From Philly to Seoul

2009-11-18T21:10:00.010-05:00

I love technology! I have a friend who is working in Seoul, South Korea. Despite the fact that she is nearly 7,000 miles away, we just had a quick little chat online. It amazes me that information can travel so quickly and so efficiently (most of the time!), and yet I often take it for granted. So here's a big thank you to all the geniuses out there who came up with the idea of the internet and for the super geniuses who invented it and continue to make it faster and better. You rock.

The Simeone Foundation Museum - Vrrrooom!!

2009-11-15T21:14:00.003-05:00

I don't know anything about cars, but this race car museum was awesome! Bobby, Nate and I went with Lillian and Sydney on Saturday. It's been in South Philly for about a year and a half and it's comprised of Dr. Fred Simeone's personal car collection. We actually got to meet Dr. Simeone and he's a really nice guy. His dad was a general practitioner who got through med school by fixing cars. He said his dad was his hero and he wanted to be just like him, so he started collecting race cars at a young age, mostly in the 70's, before anyone knew their worth and history. He said most of them are so valuable now that he wouldn't be able to afford them. He donated his collection to the Simeone Foundation so that the public could enjoy it. And enjoy it we did! There were lots of Ferrari's, a couple Aston Martin's, an Auston Healey, some Bugatti's, a few Stutz cars, a bunch of Alfa Romeo's (these must be Dr. Simeone's favorites), and many, many more. I've never heard of most of these cars before (please excuse my ignorance for all you car experts out there), but it was still fun to look at them all- especially the pretty, shiny ones! I highly recommend a visit, I know you'll have fun.

The museum is located at 6825 Norwitch Drive in South Philly, right off I-76 and Passyunk Ave. It's only $8 for students, $12 for adults, and kids under 8 are free. They also offer yearly memberships. Their website is www.simeonefoundation.org.

My favorite quote in the museum is right above the entrance door: "The first race was conceived when the second car was built." Thank you, Dr. Simeone for your generosity and time in constructing this museum! Vrroooom! :)

Survivng Lillian

2009-11-13T21:22:00.004-05:00

Sydney is one tough cookie. Her big sister loves her, but sometimes her lovin' is a little rough. In her short 2 month, 3 day life, Sydney has thus far endured the following from her good-intentioned sister:

-countless pokes in the eye
-mach-speed pushes in her swing and bassinet
-heavy duty bouncing in the bouncy chair
-a few attempts to pick her up (to her mother's horror!)
-tight squeeze hugs
-runny nose kisses
-she's been stepped on, laid on, and rolled over

Despite the tough love, Lillian is a great big sister and a good little helper. She always gets me diapers and wipes for Sydney and she likes to inform me when Sydney has pooped or tooted (just in case I hadn't noticed). After Bobby gave Sydney a bath tonight, Lillian came running into the living room with a pair of pj's for her. She likes to make her smile and she thinks it's the coolest thing ever when Sydney holds onto her thumb. It looks like they're already becoming good friends. :)

She's Here!

2009-09-17T22:01:00.006-04:00

Sydney arrived last Thursday on September 10th- right on her due date (she's already more punctual than her mother)! She's doing great and everyone is adjusting well to having a new member of the family. Lillian loves being a big sister and Tasha is so sweet and tender with her. It's amazing to have a new little life to take care of. I'm trying to enjoy her newborn phase as much as possible because (as I have learned with Lillian already), they grow up so fast!!

(I don't know why the pictures are so fuzzy. I'll try to post better ones soon!)

I could sit around and wait for FOUR hours, or I could . . .

2009-08-05T20:13:00.003-04:00

go shopping!!! And that's exactly what I did today.

I got to the West Philadelphia County Assistance Office at 10:30 this morning. I took a number to wait to be seen by "the man behind the curtain" who would or would not be able to fix the mess with my Food Stamps account. My magic number was 100. They were currently on 60. I sat and waited patiently for one hour, then decided that my life was too valuable to be wasted by sitting on my butt, waiting with no end or solution in sight. Number 67 was being served when I left to go to the mall to find a dress to wear to my brother's wedding next week (not an easy task, considering it had to be modest AND maternity AND within my budget). But with the help of a deeply devoted friend and a few small purchases from the candy store to keep 3 toddlers happy, we succeeded! [If you really want to know, it's a cute, black v-neck dress. You'll see pics after my bro's wedding.] :)

I got home at 2:30 pm- 3 hours after leaving the CAO and 4 hours after I first arrived there. Out of shear curiosity, I went back to the office to see what number they were on. To my surprise (or maybe it was to be expected), they were on 101- only 1 past my assigned number of 100. I dug my crumpled number out of my purse, showed it to the front desk receptionist/security guard and she said, "Honey, they just called your number. Where were you? Stay right here and someone will see you next."

I never told her where I had been, but five minutes later it was finally my turn. I can't believe that I could've sat there for four hours waiting to be seen. What I can't believe even more is that I actually left for several hours and was still able to come back in time. What a system . . .

**Note: I don't want this post to make it sound like I'm ungrateful for the County Assistance Office, any of the people who work there, or the Food Stamps program. I'm very thankful for all of them and the tremendous help they give to me and my family. I'm just amazed with how inefficient and short-staffed the office was (largely due to the fact that the entire state of PA has been running without a budget for the past few weeks, but that's an entirely different story). Anyways, I'm very thankful for this country and the many welfare assistance opportunities it provides to families like ours who need it temporarily.**

Birthday Video & Pics

2009-07-24T22:18:00.009-04:00

Here's what the paparazzi picked up on Lillian's birthday!

That's Lillian's friend Hannah, keeping an eagle eye on the cake.
Listen to what she says at the end of the video, it's hilarious!

The Pre-Party with Lydia

My friend Tara made the birthday cake. It was AMAZING!!! She is so talented!

Party Mayhem

Presents, Presents, and More Presents!
Dora book from Tasha

Stickers from Granny B (she put every single one on her shirt!)

Money from Grandma BB went straight into her piggy bank

Whew!! What a day! Needless to say, we all conked out by the end of the night! Happy Birthday, Lillian!

Happy Birthday, Lillian!

2009-07-23T20:36:00.006-04:00

Lillian had a fun-filled 2nd birthday. She did all of her favorite things- went to Miss Martha's music class with her best friend Lydia, played at the park, built tall towers with her blocks (then knocked them down), ate noodles, olives, and tomatoes for lunch, took a nap with Daddy, watched her all-time favorite movie High School Musical, and had a party!! All day long she kept saying, "My happy birthday!!" and she wanted me to sing "Happy Birthday" over and over.

It's amazing how much she's grown in the past two years. When she was born she could hardly do anything on her own. One year later she was starting to walk and talk a little bit. And now she's running around all over the place, jabbing away, and turning into her own little person. She's learned how to do so many new things in such a short amount of time. I definitely can't say I've learned as many new things as she has in the past year.

So here's to growing and learning . . .

July 23, 2007

July 23, 2008

July 23, 2009

Change the baby's "biper"!

2009-07-21T12:41:00.002-04:00

Lillian likes to change her baby doll's bipers (aka diapers). This morning she pulled two of them out and said, "Wet! New biper!" She got a baby wipe, wiped them clean, then put on the new diaper (with help from Mom). Then she said, "All clean!" I told her that baby Syndey would need help changing her diaper when she comes. I asked her if she would help me do it and she said, "Yes!" Then she grabbed her wipe and started wiping my belly!! She knows that baby Syndey is in there! We just have to wait a little bit longer until we can change her diaper for real.

My Sister and Her Dog

2009-07-03T23:33:00.006-04:00

Lillian loves my sister. She'll pick up my cell phone and say, "Hi Auggy!" Whenever I tell her that grandma is coming to visit, she says "Auggy coming tooo?" Blondes like to stick together, I guess. :)

Lillian also loves my sister's dog, Chico. His breath stinks, his skin is dry and flaky, and he looks like a big brute, but none of that stops Lillian from smothering him with hugs and kisses whenever she's around him. He's the sweetest, calmest dog you'll ever meet.

I'm so excited that my sister is moving here next month to start vet school, and I'm glad Chico is coming with her! He'll be a great city dog and Lillian will think she's in heaven, with her cool Aunt Audrey and Chico living so close!

Great News!

2009-07-03T22:18:00.004-04:00

Bobby just found out that he passed the COMLEX Step 1 Boards! Yay!!! Now we can get on with our summer without worrying about it anymore! I'm so grateful that all the endless hours of studying and studying and studying some more paid off and I'm so proud of him! :) I'm sure all the delicous dinners, positive encouragement, and unconditional love from his wonderful wife helped him the most. :-D

"Book of Morning"

2009-06-14T22:22:00.003-04:00

Lillian has discovered the "Book of Morning"- that's her way of saying "Book of Mormon." I've been trying to read a little bit every morning at breakfast time because our Relief Society has challenged us to read the whole thing by the end of summer (that means 5 pages a day- whew!). Now, whenever Lillian sees a copy she picks it up and says "Book of Morning!" Then she opens it up to a random page and pretends to read it by saying "book of morning, book of morning, book of morning . . . . " and so on. She's so proud of herself when she finishes "reading" a passage and she closes the book with a big smile on her face. I'm not sure if she calls it the Book of Morning because I've been reading it in the morning, or because she can't pronounce "Mormon" and "morning" is the next closest word she knows (and it's just a coincidence that that's when she sees me reading it). Either way, it's pretty funny.

Shooting at Holocaust Museum in D.C.

2009-06-11T11:20:00.003-04:00

Yesterday afternoon an 88 year-old white supremacist walked into the United States Holocaust Museum and started shooting a rifle. He killed a security guard and was shot himself (he's now in critical condition at GW Hospital).

Apparently this guy has an extensive track record of racism, hate crimes, burglaries, weapons charges, attempted kidnapping, run-ins with the federal government, and a long history of associations with neo-Nazis and Holocaust deniers. His history is so bad that "officials and others who track conspiracy theorists have long been familiar with Mr. von Brunn [the gunman]."

So my question is this: Why are we spending so much money to wage a war against terrorism abroad when anti-Semitism, bigotry, and hatred is strong enough in this country to compel a man to shoot innocent people within the walls of a somber memorial that reminds us of how far hatred can go in claiming the lives of millions?

Ignorance, lack of education, poverty, indifference, apathy, misunderstanding (I could go on) are the real threats of terrorism in the United States. The scariest part is that they're in our backyards, not thousands of miles away.

Just my thoughts. What do you think?

The full NY Times article is here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/11/us/11shoot.html?th&emc=th

A Day in the Life of a Med Student

2009-06-11T10:52:00.006-04:00

Bobby is now a third year med student- wahoo! Classes are over and rotations have begun (I like to call it "playing doctor"). :) For the next 4 weeks he will be at Chestnut Hill Hospital on a General Surgery rotation. Yesterday was only Day 2 on the "job", but it was anything but uneventful. Let me fill you in on some highlights of his day:

During a colonoscopy with a patient who had a highly infectious disease (I'm not sure how much detail I'm allowed to put here for patient privacy?? Let's just say this patient had something that you definitely don't want to get)- anyways, while the attending surgeon was injecting medication into the patient the needle broke and sprayed the medication everywhere. Of course my husband was standing right next to him and got sprayed all over. The likelihood of contracting anything is about one in a bajillion, but just to be safe and to follow procedure the nurses and doctors sent Bobby down to the ER to have his eyes flushed out (some got on his glasses) and to have some blood tests done. Everything looks fine and we're not worried about anything. Of course when he called me to tell me what happened I almost burst into tears, but I blame that more on my preggie hormones than anything else. I feel fine now. :)

Later in the day the chief resident was giving assignments to the students to do with the other residents. Someone needed a surgical consult (for something, I can't remember what), so Bobby volunteered for that one (because the chief resident said it would be "quick and easy"). He started to follow the resident, assuming he was going to the consult as well, but it turns out that he wanted Bobby to do it by himself!! He gave Bobby a quick list of specific questions to ask and sent him on his way. Bobby spent 20 minutes going over the patient's chart, then went into the room to start the consult (sweating bullets, no doubt). Immediately after he introduced himself and told the patient why he was there, the patient's daughter said, "This is the first time we've heard of this procedure. Are you sure you have the right room?" Sure enough, he was in the wrong room. He found the correct patient and the correct room and proceeded with the consult as scheduled. Good thing they give students lots of training and practice before they ship them off to be real doctors. But maybe that's why they call it "practicing medicine"- because you're always practicing and getting better. It's not a definite science, that's for sure!

Despite these events, Bobby is having a good time and he feels like he's learning a lot. He stayed at the hospital until about 8 pm to help one of the residents with a patient in the ER. I'm very proud of how far he's come in school and how well he's dong! The day that we can call him "Dr. D" isn't that far away!

English as a Second Language

2009-05-30T07:43:00.004-04:00

A few weeks ago my church asked me to help teach a beginner/low intermediate ESL (English as a Second Language) class. The first class will be this morning in a couple of hours! I'm teaching a really simple (hopefully not too boring) lesson on how to introduce yourself and others.

We don't know exactly who our students will be, or how many we'll have yet. I know of 2 that are coming from my local ward- one is an older gentleman who's native language is Italian. He lives with his daughter and her 4 teenage children. The other is an older lady from Germany who is visiting her daughter and family for a few months. There's a significant African population in the area, so I assume that the majority of students will be from that area. We'll just have to wait and see!

I'm a little nervous about teaching, since it's been 2 years since I graduated with my Master's in Teaching ESL and I haven't taught it in a long time. But it's been exciting to get all my old books out and to plan a lesson! Teaching methods and learning strategies have been slowly coming back to me....hopefully they keep coming!

Teaching English is such a rewarding experience and I'm really looking forward to being involved with this class. English can seem so boring, but it's actually quite entertaining. I would recommend it to anyone. To prove my point, here's a funny commercial for ESL software. It circulated around my Master's program for a while:

Here's another funny one from Steve Martin's Pink Panther. Sooo funny, I can't help myself!! :)

Happy Memorial Day!

2009-05-25T22:06:00.005-04:00

Here's our little American, wishing a Happy Memorial Day to her Uncle Paul and to all of the government officials and military personnel who are serving our country (as well as those who have served in the past). We are grateful for your service! And especially to Uncle Paul- we love you and we miss you!

The Ending of an Era

2009-05-22T08:36:00.012-04:00

About a month and a half ago Bobby and I decided to take Lillian's much-beloved "chupie" away. If you're not familiar with the vocabulary at our house, "chupie" is just another way to say binkie, pacifier, passy, ba-boo, or whatever you may call it at your house. Lillian started calling her's an "uh-oh" because that's what I would always say when it would drop on the floor and bounce away, which was quite often.

In any case, the big green chupie has officially gone "bye-bye" and is "all done." I was surprised at how easy it was to take away and how little Lillian asks for it. I was sure she was a hard core addict and that she would suffer from severe withdraw when we took it, but the process has been mostly painless. She probably cries a little more without it, but a few more tears won't hurt her.

Now I have quite a collection of chupies that I don't know what to do with. I have to keep them hidden from Lillian becuase if she sees them she is suddenly reminded of her old habit and feels the addictive urge to start it again. At $4-$5 for a 2-pack, I just can't bring myself to destroy them, although that would probably be the most sanitary thing to do. I'm sure that recycling them isn't a good idea, no matter how economically or environmentally sensitive I'm trying to be. :/

In memory of the days of old, here are some classic chupie pics!

2 months

6 months - "must get chupie!!"

12 months

15 months

18 months

20 months - the last chupie pic we have!

22 months - chupie free and loving life!

Forget New Year's Resolutions!

2009-05-21T09:10:00.004-04:00

They don't work!! :) I apologize to everyone who has been relentlessly checking and rechecking my blog only to be disappointed with the same old post time after time.

Summer is just around the corner, so it's time for a fresh new start!

Yesterday our friends Brandon and Melanie came to visit with their 8-month old Zoey. She is the best baby I've ever seen! She never cried!!

We went the the Jamaican Jerk Hut for lunch (as seen on In Her Shoes). We ate jerk chicken, curry chicken, and snapper (with the head and everything still attached!). Then we saw the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, and all those horse drawn carriages.

It took a while to get around because Lillian insisted on pushing her own stroller all by herself. She's still a little too short to reach the handle bars and she can't see over the top, so she was driving blind and kept running into things. Not to mention it was her nap time, so exhausted frustration eventually took over and resulted in an emotional melt-down. Thank goodness Daddy was there to carry her on his shoulders while Mommy pushed her empty stroller. I honestly don't know why we even bother with strollers in the first place because that's usually what ends up happening.

After our friends left we had other friends, Susan and Dave, over for a BBQ. They're moving to Indiana tomorrow and we're really going to miss them!! Their son Jarom is almost 6 and he loves playing with Lillian- well, at least he does a great job playing with her, who, of course, follows him around and thinks he's the greatest thing in the world! While we were waiting for the food to finish on the grill, they found one of Lillian's little balls and Jarom would throw it and Lillian would retrieve it like a little puppy! After dinner they spent the rest of the time playing in the car. Lillian was in the driver's seat as always, and Jarom was in the passenger's seat playing with Lillian's toy laptop. They make such a great pair!

Btw, Susan and Dave's house is up for rent, so if you or someone you know needs a place to live in Philly, let us know!!

Finally legal!

2009-01-19T09:15:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was Lillian's last "illegal" Sunday in Nursery. She'll be 18 months old this week, and next Sunday she'll be a real, legit Nursery kid! Yay!

A cow in the stairwell

2009-01-11T22:21:00.003-05:00

Lillian got a possessed toy for Christmas- a wooden puzzle with farm animals that make noises when you put the pieces in and out. The cow in the puzzle has a mind of its own and it likes to moo when no one is even near it. It got kind of annoying one night, so we stuck it out on our balcony- maybe the cold weather would shoosh the cow, we thought. But the next night it started to rain, so we brought it back indoors and stuck it outside our apartment door, in the stairwell. Now the cow moo's every time I walk up the stairs!! It scared the dickens out of me the first time I heard it and almost sent me flying back down the stairs. By now I've gotten used to it, and it's kind of becoming a "welcome home" moo that echoes in the stairwell. Makes me feel like I'm in the country again! Moo!

Sunbeams

2009-01-11T22:02:00.003-05:00

Today was my first day with the new Sunbeam class. I have 5 students who come on a regular basis- 4 girls and 1 boy, with 2 sets of twins!! I knew the first day was going to be a little difficult because I don't know the kids very well and what their learning styles are. But it didn't go too badly. They have a much shorter attention span that I expected, and I quickly learned that I have to have a lot of activities planned to keep them busy. I thought the CTR 5's (who I taught last year) kept me on my toes, but these Sunbeams will definitely keep me on my tippety-tip toes! I was just talking to a friend last night and told her that teaching experiences like these mold the best teachers (and the best memories). It's going to be a fun year.

I don't have to prepare a lesson for next week because a presidency member is going to teach for me so I can attend Relief Society (it's a new program they're starting this year- bless them!). But I already started reading Lesson 3 from the Primary 1 book, and here are some of my ideas:

1. Towards the end of the lesson it says to use all the pictures from the "Preparation" section. Lay all the pictures on the floor, face down. Let each child take turns tossing our bean bag onto a picture and have them turn it over and describe the picture and how it shows something that we should do/learn to return to Heavenly Father (like pray, share, love our families, go to church, etc).

2. For Enrichment Activity #3, cut out 6 pieces to make a snowman (three balls of snow for body, two arms and a hat). Write one question on the back of each piece (I added one question, "Who created the earth?"). Scatter the pieces on the chalkboard. Let each child pick a piece of the snowman and answer the question. The snowman will be "put together" with each question that's answered.

My little princess

2009-01-09T00:09:00.002-05:00

Last night I brought Lillian into our bedroom to say goodnight to Daddy (he was studying hard for his test on Monday). Daddy gave her a great big hug, then kissed the back of her hand like a prince would kiss a princess. Then, to my surprise, Lillian turned around and stuck her hand out for me to kiss also! She really is a little princess!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T22:35:00.003-05:00

Wow, 2009 is here!

We had a really quiet and relaxing Christmas together. It was the first time that I didn't spend it at my parents' house, but it was nice to be with my own little family and to start our own holiday traditions. On Christmas Eve we had a big dinner with some friends and we finished wrapping and decorating Christmas presents. Lillian woke all of us up on Christmas morning to let us know that Santa had visited during the night! We had a fun time watching Lillian and Tasha open their presents, and Lillian kept going back to the tree to look for more to open! She finally found one hiding in the back that she proudly presented to all of us (it was actually for me, but I let her open it anyway). When they were finally all gone, she kept putting her hands up as if to say "what happened to all of them?" and she kept touching the ground like she was trying to make some presents spontaneously appear on the spot. After a waffle brunch we all took a nap and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon and evening.

On Friday we packed everyone up and went down to Delaware and Maryland to visit family for a few days. On Monday, Bobby and I left for a little retreat to the Poconos! It was my first night away from Lillian and I'm proud of myself for not having a nervous breakdown! It was wonderful to be alone with Bobby and to feel like a "real" married couple again. But after a few days, it started to feel like something was missing and I missed my little family. We're all home together tonight, and it feels like everything is back where it should be. What a wonderful way to start a new year! I wonder what 2009 will bring . . .

Happy Belated Birthdays

2008-12-21T22:41:00.005-05:00

Tasha and Bobby both celebrated their birthdays in November. This is a little late, but I finally got the pictures off my camera.

For Bobby's birthday, we got Philly cheesesteaks at a new place near St. Joseph's University we'd never been to before (going to lunch at a new place has become a birthday tradition). We took our lunch to go and ate them during our walk along the Wissahickon. Luckily, there were still some fall colors left on the trees.

Instead of a traditional birthday cake, I made Bobby (as requested) a pumpkin roll. It didn't turn out too bad for my first try. I promised him a second one, which I haven't made yet (but he's been bugging me for it!). Our neighbor-friends made a cookie message that said "Happy B-day Bobby." The letters got kind of fat and illegible after they baked, but they were still good to eat and they held the candles very well. :)

Later in the day, Lillian helped Daddy do push-ups on the new push-up bars he got from Mommy! (Now, every time Bobby says he's going to do push-ups, Lillian runs into the living room and gets the bars for him. Then she gets on the floor and does her own version of baby push-ups!)

For Tasha's birthday we decorated the whole living room and dining room with balloons and hung up some banners.

Lillian helps us decorate for Tasha's birthday

I made her pancakes for breakfast and she only had a half day at school! A friend brought over lunch when she got home and she opened all of her presents. Then she and a friend from school hung out until dinner (which was a special request for McDonald's...that girl is obsessed!)

Tasha's new, bright pink comforter (it's obviously keeping her warm!)

Tasha went to Young Women's that night, but I brought them birthday cake and ice cream at the end and we all sang Happy Birthday to her. I hope she had as much fun as I did!

Happy Birthday!

Ornament Party

2008-12-18T00:08:00.005-05:00

Have you ever been to a Christmas tree ornament party? They're so much fun!

My dear friend Alena, who I met when we lived in Delaware for 2 years, introduced me to the Christmas tradition. I've continued the tradition here in Philly for the past 2 years and I plan on doing it for many years to come.

Here's how it works: You invite people (obviously). Everyone brings one new, wrapped Christmas tree ornament. Then everyone draws a number to see who goes first. The first person picks a wrapped ornament and opens it. The second person can steal the first person's ornament or open a new one. If a person's ornament is stolen, they can either steal someone else's ornament, or they can open a wrapped one. This continues until everyone has taken their turn and all the ornaments are gone. An ornament can only be stolen twice, then it's "safe" with the lucky owner to has it (this rule is debatable. some people have no stealing, others change the number of times it can be stolen, or have no limit at all- it's up to the hostess). It's lots of fun and everyone goes home with a new ornament!

This year I didn't do a very good job of planning, so it was a bit last minute. Next year I'll definitely plan it for earlier in the month before everyone starts packing and leaving for the holiday break.

Thanks, Alena, for introducing me to ornament parties! If anyone else has fun Christmas traditions that you like to do, please share them with me! I'm in the market for some good traditions to start incorporating into our family.

My New Year's Resolution

2008-12-17T23:58:00.006-05:00

I usually don't like New Year's resolutions, mostly because I can never think of a good one. But this year I already know exactly what it should be. In 2009 my New Year's resolution will be (drum roll, please) to be a better blogger! (and also to avoid the dollar bins at Target- they always suck me in!- but that's just a secondary resolution) :)

As for blogging, I need to be more dedicated so that friends and family can stay updated on what's going on in our crazy lives. It's also a good way to document our experiences so later on in life we can go back and read it and say, "wow, we had crazy lives." :)

I like blogging, so I'm going to try really, really hard to be better at it. In fact, I've been thinking for some time about starting a blog about teaching my Primary class. I taught the 4 and 5 year-olds this year, and I have lots of funny stories and good teaching ideas (at least I think they're good). Next year I'll teach with wee-little sunbeams (3 and 4 year-olds), which I'm sure will be a unique experience all of its own.

So there you go. My best ever New Year's resolution. Be a better blogger, including starting a Primary blog. And look at me- I'm already starting my resolution! Go me.

Laurel Hill Cemetery

2008-11-12T12:49:00.013-05:00

Last week my dad and I went to Laurel Hill Cemetery. We thought we would be taking a "Heroes Killed in Action" tour to commemorate Veteran's Day, but when we got there we found out that we already missed the tour on Sunday! Ooops! We grabbed a map instead and decided to go on our own tour. The fall colors were beautiful. It felt more like we were walking through a historic sculpture garden instead of a cemetery.

It was amazing to see all of the old headstones and sepulchers. The oldest one we saw had a death date of 1786. Many sculptures were so worn that they were barely distinguishable, and much of the writing on headstones was washed away. It made me think about the people burried in the cemetery and the lives they must have lived so long ago. To us they're just a headstone with some writing on it, and the only proof of their existence are the few words written about them. When those words become illegible, the only thing remaining is a piece of smooth rock, essentially.

It sounds depressing, but it got me thinking. I don't want to waste time and money on something extravagant that's only going to be destroyed and forgotten over time. So, when I die, deep-etch my name in some granite and bury me under a big, beautiful tree. :)

Here are some more pictures.

General George Meade, Commander of the Union Army during the Civil War. I was surprised at how modest his family plot was.

3 Days & 2 Nights

2008-11-11T09:27:00.016-05:00

On Saturday night Lillian decided that we needed to get out of the house for a few days. So we spent the weekend at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia! She had been running a high fever with an ugly cough for a few days, and with her recent diagnosis of asthma I felt like she needed to be checked out.

Lillian was admitted at 5:00 a.m. on Sunday morning after a chest x-ray showed some signs of pneumonia and/or adalectasis (when small areas of the lungs collapse). She had to be hooked up to oxygen because her levels were a little low. She looked so sad with the little tubes in her nose, but she tolerated it quite well. The thing on her right arm is an IV hook-up that they had to put in and secure tightly so she wouldn't pull it out.

After some early-morning tests, the doctors determined that Lillian had the parainfluenza virus and viral pneumonia, which aggravated her asthma (or maybe the asthma aggravated the virus or they both aggravated each other? either way, she got hit with all 3 at once . . . lucky girl!)

The doctors put her on some medications to help her asthma so that her lungs could combat the pneumonia more effectively, since there's nothing we can do to fight the virus directly. They also performed some chest PT every few hours to help break up the mucus and make Lillian's coughs more productive. Everything is easily treatable at home, but the doctors didn't feel comfortable letting her go because her oxygen levels were still a little low on Sunday. The nurses slowly decreased her oxygen to help ween her off.

On Monday morning they took her off the oxygen and her levels stayed high enough while she was awake. The true test was to see her levels while she slept, when levels naturally decrease. When she fell asleep for her first nap I crossed my fingers. Her levels stayed barely high enough to keep her in the safe zone - yay!! The doctor wanted to monitor her for one more nap before letting her go home. It felt like a long afternoon waiting for Lillian to get tired again! She finally went down at about 2:30 p.m. and again her oxygen stayed high enough. I decided to celebrate by taking a nap myself. :) I knew we would be going home when Lillian woke up.

Bobby had to take a big test Monday afternoon, so I stayed with Lillian on Sunday night. We kept ourselves busy with lots of books, toys, and frequent visits from the nurses and the respiratory staff. We were still napping when Bobby arrived on Monday afternoon and it was a nice surprise to see him when we woke up! Soon after, the nurse came in and told us that she had been checking in on us while we were asleep. Since everything was ok, the doctor had already written our discharge papers. An hour later we were in the car on our way home! Lillian didn't realize what was going on until I drove the car out of the parking garage. She looked out the window and said "yay!"

All of the doctors, nurses, and staff at CHOP were fabulous. They were friendly, thorough, and they answered all of our million questions. The facilities were great, too. There was a playroom down the hall with lots of toys, crafts, and computers. I highly recommend it to anyone who lives in the Philly area.

Lillian slept really well last night. She still seems a little tired, and I can tell she doesn't feel 100% because she just wants to be held quietly. Grandma and Grandpa came last night, so she has plenty of people to take care of her! It'll take a few days for the virus to pass and for her to be running at full speed (literally).

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts, prayers, concerns, visits, and meals!! You are much loved and appreciated. I'll keep you updated!

A Good Time to Be in Philly

2008-11-07T23:57:00.002-05:00

In case you haven't heard, Philly has had some pretty exciting things happen recently. A couple of weeks ago the Phillies won the World Series! The entire city shut down for the "Championship Parade" through the city. I don't think anyone went to work, and hardly any kids went to school. Less than 30 showed up at Tasha's school! (We were mean, and we made her stay at school, but we tried to convince her teachers to give her extra credit for her. See, we're pulling for you, Tash).

The other exciting news was announced by President Monson, the prophet of my church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in early October during General Conference. Philly is getting a Temple!! It will be right downtown, on Broad Street between Hamilton Street and Noble Street (look it up on Google Maps!). Right now it's just an ugly parking lot, but in a couple of years it will be one of the most beautiful landmarks in the city (that's what I think, at least).

So even though Philly has one of the highest homicide rates in the country, it's a pretty cool place to live! :)

Impressive

2008-11-07T12:42:00.003-05:00

Wow, I actually have 2 comments on my last post! I'm impressed that you still check in on me, even though I've been the worst blogger ever. Thanks for not giving up on me! (that's why we're friends) ;)

Back on the Blog, Baby

2008-11-06T22:53:00.004-05:00

Ok, so two more months have gone by since my last post. What can I say? I'm all out of excuses. So I'm just going to jump in right in where I left off!

The biggest news is that our family grew over the summer! We now have a fifteen year old foster girl living with us. Her name is Tasha and we know her from church. She had some unfortunate things happen during the summer and she needed a place to stay. One event led to another, and Bobby and I decided to offer ourselves as foster parents. It's been quite a learning experience and a huge life adjustment, but things are going well and we enjoy having Tasha with us. She and Lillian get along great and I enjoy the extra company when Bobby is away for late study nights. Tasha turns 16 in a couple of weeks (November 19!), so if you have any good party ideas, let me know!

Lillian is just as adorable as ever. She started walking a few days before her first birthday in July. I'll never forget the first Sunday that she was walking. We had a Munch and Mingle (this is when everyone gets together in the cultural hall to chow down on food and talk) and I felt like a chicken with its head cut off trying to keep track of Lillian. It was a new experience to have to watch where she was going!! One dear little boy in my Primary class tried to help me out by "carrying" her across the room to me, but it turned out to me more of a head-lock drag that Lillian didn't like very much! He was just trying to help, bless his little heart.

Now Lillian is babbling away and trying to tell us everything she's thinking. With the exception of a few words, we still have no idea what she's saying. We're waiting for the "baby talk" edition of the Rosetta Stone to come out. :) Her favorite word is baby (which she signs and says all day long). She also says mommy, mama, bath, bubble, night night, Paul (our neighbor friend), ball, bye, hi, wow, uh-oh, and owie. She refuses to say daddy or dada, but she says Bobby very clearly, and when you ask her "Where's Bobby?" she always points at him (she does the same thing when you ask "Where's Daddy," but she just won't say daddy!!).

The big news in Lillian's life is that she's almost 20 pounds (we're working on one pound per month), and she has two molars coming in!! Bobby noticed them today, which explains the fever she's had the last two days.

Bobby is almost done this semester. He has an OB/GYN test on Monday, then the new semester on the endocrine system starts on Tuesday- nice of them to give him a break, eh?? As always, he's doing well but always stressed. Fortunately, he's been able to spend more time at home studying than he did last year. We just decided to apply for an OMM fellowship at PCOM that would take place between his third and fourth year of school, adding on an extra year. We're ready to be done with med school and move into residency, but the fellowship would be a great experience and it would pay for 2 of the 5 years' tuition (plus a stipend for one year); it would also make him more competitive for residency applications. We should know some time in January if he's accepted. Cross your fingers and say your prayers for us!

I'm trying to think about what's new and exciting in my life. As I was in Target today I realized that I'm capable of steering a fully loaded shopping cart with one arm while holding a squirming child in the other- I consider that an accomplishment. :) On a more serious note, the most exciting thing I've been a part of recently is Obama's election this week as 44th president of our country. I was hesitant to be hopeful for his election (for fear of disappointment), but as we watched the results come in on Tuesday night I felt more and more relief wash over me. For the first time in a long time I am very proud of my country and the decision that it has made. I'm excited for our future, but especially for Lillian's, because this historic election has taken place so early in her life and it will surely set the precedent for more historic elections (and events) to come.

And on that note, I'll end this long-winded post!

Oh My Gosh!!

2008-09-09T22:15:00.002-04:00

It's been 4 months to the day since I made my last posting! I knew that it had been a long time, but I would've bet my life that it hadn't been more than 2 months at the most. Holy smokes, where did all that time go?? I have tons of catching up to do. I sincerely apologize to anyone who might be anxiously waiting for an update....although I'm sure at this point everyone has given up and no longer checks my blog!! So if anyone is still out there, let me know!

SO MUCH has happened in the last four months. I wish I could start explaining it all now, but here's my dilemma- I promised myself that I would get to bed early tonight, and I'm already 18 minutes past-due my 10pm goal. So I will have to leave you waiting once again- sorry! But don't worry, I'll start writing the next blog entry in my head as I fall asleep. (I swear I've written about a million blog entries in my head, I just can't seem to get them down in writing...ah well). And I promise that I'll be back online manana to put my "mind blog" into my real blog! Buenas noches!

It feels good to be BACK!

Counting Calories

2008-05-09T16:24:00.004-04:00

Whenever Lillian takes me out with her friend Caleb and his mommy (also named Amanda), everyone thinks they're twins! Despite the fact that they look nothing alike (except that they're both babies), this became a little concerning to me. Reason being: Caleb is 5 months (well, really 4 months and 29 days...but who's counting?) YOUNGER than Lillian. Granted, Caleb weighs more than Lillian does, but so do most 4 (and some 3) month olds. In fact, at Lillian's 6-month check-up in January she was "barely approaching" the 5th percentile, according to her doctor. So we have a small baby. Yay for me, who thinks the car seat alone is heavy enough!

At Lillian's 9-month check-up two weeks ago I was sure she was at least 13 pounds, maybe 14 pounds, but I knew that was probably wishful thinking. When the nurse put Lil on the scale (she wasn't very happy about it, by the way) Bobby and I were shocked to see that she was only 12 pounds, 11 ounces. "Bad Mommy Syndrome" hit me for a few minutes, but the pediatrician and Bobby reassured me not to worry about it. We were instructed to hike up Lillian's caloric intake to 1,000 calories per day (that's as much as a 1 year-old should have!) and to come back in 2 weeks for a weigh-in.

I went into Mommy On A Mission Super-drive. I stocked up on Lactose Free formula, oatmeal, and baby food. I made "Calorie Intake" charts and "Daily Summary" logs to record every single calorie that entered Lillian's little (but expanding!) tummy. Getting her to take the formula from a sippy cup was hard at first, but now she prefers that over me! (Don't worry, Lillian, I'll get over it). There were several nights that Bobby would be feeding her as she was falling asleep, but we kept spooning the calories in, determined to get her weight up. We spiked her food with mashed avocado and butter (sounds like a real Doran, huh?) and we snuck extra ounces of formula into every meal. Slowly but surely, we started to notice her belly pudge out a little bit. Caleb's mommy said Lillian finally had some "fat leg wrinkles" like Caleb (but not quite so many).

Yesterday was the big weigh-in day. I marched into the pediatrician's office with final exam-like anxiety- would I pass the test? Bobby and I eagerly watched on as Lil was lowered onto the baby scale. What would it be? Did all of our hard work pay off? When we saw the weight we practically jumped for joy- 14 pounds, 4 ounces! Little Lil gained nearly 2 pounds in 2 weeks. Now that's packing it in! Give her 2 more weeks and she just might catch up with Caleb! :)

Mommy and Daddy are relieved that Lillian is capable of gaining the weight she needs. We'll continue her diet (but I am resigning my efforts to record everything) until her 12-month check-up. This summer she just might fit into all those cute 9 and 12-month old dresses after all!

Round of Applause!

2008-05-08T22:38:00.003-04:00

Lillian is a fast learner. Bobby and I taught her how to clap this morning, and now she's doing it all the time! It's so cute to see her two little hands hit together and make a soft clapping sound. She likes to hear other people clap, do it herself, then wait for encouragement (usually a "yay!" and more clapping from her audience), before doing it again. I captured her in action during lunch this afternoon. I'll try to catch her waving next time!

Lapse-i-dazy

2008-05-03T10:33:00.010-04:00

Sorry for the lapse in postings! We had our big moving day last week and we're still working on getting everything settled in. Not to mention, our car needs major work, we bought a couch (I love craigslist!), and we're in the market for a portable dishwasher. Busy, busy. I can just see the $$ flying out of our banking account. *Sigh*

Despite the stress, this past week has been great. We love our new little home. It's cozy and cute. We wake up to the birds chirping every morning! My mom came to help us move on Wednesday, then my dad and sister arrived on Friday for a weekend visit. Of course, Lillian kept them entertained and "goo-goo ga-ing" the whole time! On Saturday we went for a walk around the Horticulture Center in Fairmount Park. Grandpa B carried Lillian around while she kicked her legs and waved her arms in delight. The grounds were beautiful! Everyone left on Sunday afternoon, but our friend Amanda (another Amanda!!) came Monday night. Lillian couldn't have been happier- more guests to adore her! :) We went back to the Horticulture Center on Tuesday and got to walk around the grounds at the Japanese House. I'm ready to move to Japan!

Now that things are settling back down and getting into a routine, I'm taking measurements for window blinds and pantry shelves. Finding a place to put everything is such a chore! Can't we just keep it all in boxes? ;)

These are some pictures from Amanda's visit. Pictures of our new place will be up soon!

You can see the BIG goldfish in the lower left corner.

Japanese House

All the petals made a pink, powdery blanket on the ground! They "rained" down on us while we were taking these pictures.

Amanda has such an artistic eye!

Lillian is at one with Mother Nature. :)

Little Lilly Lizzard . . .

2008-04-16T21:38:00.003-04:00

. . . as Grandpa B now calls her! She is crawling around everywhere! When she's not crawling, she likes to stand up against chairs, her walker (she refuses to actually sit inside of it and wheel around), and all of the boxes that I'm packing. She'll hold on with one hand and squat down to pick stuff up, and she likes to shake her exersaucer to hear all of the toys rattle. Her favorite thing to do is to "walk" from her exersaucer, to the wall, to the refrigerator, to the dishwasher. I won't be surprised if she's walking soon- she seems ready for it!!

Temple Trip

2008-04-14T21:12:00.003-04:00

On Saturday Bobby, Lillian and I went to the Washington, DC Temple. Four members from our ward went through for their own endowment. We gave one of them a ride, and given that it's a nice two hour trip there and back, we got to know him really well! The weather was beautiful and sunny (even a little hot!) and the session was wonderful. Some other members and their families went, too, including a few ladies who hadn't been in many years. Friends watched Lillian for us (along with about 10 other kids, all under the age of 6- they're angels!!) so Bobby and I could go in together. We haven't been able to do that since last June, right before we moved to Philly and Lillian was born. Afterwards we went to Neisha, our favorite DC restaurant near AU, with two of the families. We got home late and tired, but it was a great day. Now we're talking about setting up a monthly rotation group so there's always someone available to babysit while Mom and Dad can go to the temple together!

Lillian's Pearly Whites

2008-04-07T22:14:00.005-04:00

I finally got a good picture of Lillian's two little teeth that are coming in!!

She put them to good use this afternoon and tore into a juicy pear (which is sticking to her nose in the picture). She had fun making a big mess all over the table and I had fun taking a million pictures of her!

My Testimony

2008-04-06T21:37:00.002-04:00

I'm so grateful to be a woman, and to be a mom. I'm grateful for my husband who loves me. I'm grateful for the leaders of my church who value women and recognize the crucial role they play in society. I'm grateful for the women in my church who know who they are and how important they are. I'm grateful for my Savior and Heavenly Father who gave me a divine heritage and who want me to be happy.

I'm grateful for General Conference that we had last weekend and the opportunity to listen to the prophet and apostles of the Lord. You can hear their words, too (in 76 languages!); click here.

Reason to Celebrate

2008-03-31T22:42:00.002-04:00

We finally got out of our lease! Yay! We'll be moving at the end of the month. Don't worry- we're not going far! The new place will be smaller, but cheaper and with a much more pleasant living environment. Fairmount Park will be our backyard (literally) and I hear that there's a family of deer that often come to visit. (Lillian will get to meet Bambi in the city!) :) I'm excited about moving, but not about packing. In fact, I think I should be more excited about the change, but I feel so stressed from the process of moving that it's taking away from this joyful occasion. I need to find a way to celebrate. Maybe tomorrow I'll take Lillian out for some ice cream, or we'll make a yummy dessert together (of course, I'll help her out by eating her share for her!) :) More details to come about the move . . .

Pink Lint

2008-03-28T17:57:00.003-04:00

Every time I do Lillian's laundry, it makes pink lint. It's the cutest thing ever! I've never loved doing laundry so much!

Here's a cute picture just for the fun of it!

BTW, Danica Nelson took this photo about one month ago. You can see more photos on her website, DanicaPhotography.

A Leftie Among Us?

2008-03-28T15:34:00.002-04:00

I just got done feeding Lillian a mid-afternoon snack of prunes and rice cereal, and now I'm sitting at the table giving her her favorite snack- peach puffs! I hand them to her one at a time so she can practice grabbing them with her fingertips (instead of clenching them in her fist, where they ultimately get lost and soggy, never to be eaten). I've noticed that she grabs most of the tiny, sweet, air-puffed treats with her left hand! Is she a leftie?? My dad is the only left-handed person I know of in my family. We might have to recruit him to teach her how to write her name and throw a baseball, as I am not very ambidextrous. Although I do remember my dad teaching me how to throw a ball when I was younger. He was my "mirror image"- I guess that turned out alright, because everyone said I could throw like a boy. Maybe there's hope after all for a left-handed daughter and a right-handed mom. :)

How to survive a sinking car

2008-03-17T13:20:00.004-04:00

I had a dream last night that I was riding in a car that drove off a bridge and landed in the water. I woke up just as the water inside the car was rising and was about to cover my head. Drowning in a car that plunges off the side of a bridge is one of my biggest fears- just thinking about it makes me feel like I need to take a deep breath. However, I have no fear of bridges or water by themselves, and I have no problem driving over bridges. In fact, I love the water- it's beautiful! I grew up near the water and I want to live near the water. I just don't want to drown because I'm stuck in a car that's sinking!

So, due to this fear, I decided to look up some survival tactics in case I ever find myself in this situation. Basically, the best thing to do is to stay calm and break the window to get out. Here are some links with some more tips (in case you ever find yourself in this unlucky situation- which I hope you don't!):

How to survive a sinking car

Myth Busters video

BTW, the photo above is the sunrise on December 30, 2004 at Cape Henlopen State Park in Delaware, where the mouth of the Delaware Bay feeds into the Atlantic Ocean. Bobby (my then-fiance, now-husband!) and I have a tradition of watching the last (or near last) sunrise of the year, preferably at the beach. It was absolutely freezing cold that morning, but one of the most beautiful and peaceful sunrises I've ever seen.

My Daughter's Eyes

2008-03-15T01:00:00.004-04:00

Martina McBride has a song called "In My Daughter's Eyes" which says:

In my daughter's eyes I can see the future
A reflection of who I am and what will be
Though she'll grow and someday leave
Maybe raise a family
When I'm gone I hope you see how happy
she made me . . .

Although Lillian is crying her eyes out right now because she wants to be held and rocked to sleep (we're trying to break her of that habit), she makes me happier than I thought I could ever be. I love her more than I thought I was capable of loving. When I look into her eyes I see little "twinkling lights" and "blue stars," as her Grandpa B said when she was born. She is my life and my future, and I hope that some day when she grows up and looks into my eyes she will see them smiling back at her- telling her how special and loved she is.

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

2008-03-07T11:40:00.011-05:00

We took our first trip to the zoo on Thursday!! We got in for free with our friends' year pass (the best way to go!) There was hardly anyone there, so we got to see lots of animals up close. It was sunny and warm until the sun went down, but even then it wasn't too cold for early March.

In the monkey house, Lillian and I posed for a quick picture. She makes such a cute little monkey! One of the mama monkeys just had a baby, and we got to see her carrying around her little one, too.

After the monkeys, we saw hippos, rhinos and elephants. Then it was on to the big cats. There were lots of lions prowling about and we saw a beautiful black jaguar up close- he was pacing on the other side of the see-through wall directly in front of us! He was literally only inches away!

We saw three tall giraffes, and then Mommy's favorite safari animal- zebras! By the look on Lillian's face in the photo, she didn't seem too impressed (or maybe the sun was in her eyes).

After the fun afternoon, Lillian and her friend Caleb played on the couch together. Lillian was very interested in touching Caleb's hair and she continually tried to suck on his head. She even put her arm around him as he leaned into her. We'll have to keep an eye on those two! :)

Some recent pics of Lillian

2008-02-14T08:41:00.007-05:00

I finally got a picture of Lillian sleeping in her crib. My friend Alena made the quilt. What a sleeping sweetie!

This was taken one morning a few weeks ago. She was playing on our bed, reaching for her chupie (aka binkie). She's such a morning person!

Lillian LOVED playing with this ball of yarn. Maybe she'll be an early knitter or chrocheter!

This was taken on my birthday when we had friends over for cake and ice cream.

When Lillian turned 6 months old on January 23, we had a cupcake party. She clearly isn't excited about growing up!

Grandpa Barker and Aunt Audrey kept Lillian entertained during my surprise birthday party last month.

When we got home from church, Lillian fell asleep while I was feeding her. When I stood up to put her in her crib, Bobby noticed her little hand making the I Love You sign! I think all my baby sign language is starting to pay off!

Lillian practices her social skills with her new friend Caleb Knickerbocker.

Daddy's little girl (who has him wrapped around her finger)!

Courage & Faith

2008-02-13T08:35:00.005-05:00

Berit Price is the most amazing woman I know. Her husband passed away on Friday, February 8. They were only married a little over three years. He was the bishop of our ward. We quickly became friends after we moved to Philly and found out that they lived only half a mile from us.

A little over two weeks ago Berit revealed the severity of Rob's health condition to us. He had been in and out of the hospital a lot over the past couple of months, but we weren't really sure what was going on. Doctors weren't hopeful about his condition, but Berit was. Listening to her talk that night was humbling. She knew her husband was close to death, but she was optimistic and her strong spirit was carrying her through. She had the faith to make a miracle happen, but at the same time she knew Rob was on Heavenly Father's schedule and she was ready to accept whatever His plan might be. As I watched Berit over the next couple of days, not knowing what the outcome might be, I was inspired by her positive attitude and the strong relationship she was developing with the Lord. She was at peace, free from fear or resentment.

Over dinner later that night Berit told us some stories about their last day together. She said it was the most joyous day a married couple could have had as their final time on earth. She was holding him when he slipped away, telling him it was ok for him to go because they were sealed together.

At Rob's funeral his father-in-law told us that he and his wife had some concerns about Rob's health when Berit told them that they were getting married. Her response was, "I would rather have one day with him than an eternity without him." Their mortal days together may have been limited, but now she truly has an eternal life with him to look forward to.

Berit's courage inspires me. She is facing my greatest fear with astounding strength and unfailing faith. I will always treasure the example that she is to me.