Happy Birthday Amelia!

My dear sweet baby turned 5 years old this week.  Here are a few of my favorite "faces of Amelia":

"Where are we going in this thing?  And why are you guys laughing at me?"

 "What?  This is smiling!"

 And sometimes it seems like I have a 2-headed monster living with us ;)

Amelia celebrated her birthday by having a party with friends, donuts, and painting a flower pots (I honestly don't know what I was thinking planning a painting craft for 8 little girls, but they turned out cute . . . and I survived thanks to a wonderful neighbor/ friend.)

And despite my lack of enthusiasm for buying "character" toys/clothes/etc, Amelia got an Elsa doll and was so excited. 

In Primary last Sunday, Amelia answered a few questions about herself, so that the kids could get to know her better.  A few of her answers made me laugh:

• "What superpower would you like to have?"  Amelia said she's like to have the superpower that got her dressed and ready for the day.  Apparently she hates getting ready for the day as much as I hate getting her ready for the day.
• Least favorite food: chicken - true statement - she hates it when I cook chicken for dinner . . . unless of course, it's "on the bone" and then she's more likely to eat it.
• She said she wanted to be a scientist when she grew up . . . that might explain the messes and all the questions she asks.
• And finally - her favorite thing about herself - that she is a good whistler.  Another very true statement.  Amelia whistles all the time and everywhere.  I am frequently asked by random strangers in stores if that is Amelia whistling because it sounds like an adult.

Happy Birthday to my caring, thoughtful, silly, strong-willed girl.  We love you!

Organized Chaos

• I'm not sure why my life has felt so chaotic lately, but it has felt a bit like this: everyone running around trying to do what they're supposed to do, but not quite getting it.

• Amelia's favorite part of today (and probably the week) was picking up garbage - something I never let her do, and today I not only let her do it, I encouraged it.  It was a ward service project and the girls raced/fought over each piece of garbage they found.  I love that they love to clean up.
• After a 2-week break, dance classes started back up this morning.  I know I've mentioned it before, but I just can't get enough of pictures of Sophia with her tongue sticking out - she always does it when she's in great thought/concentration . . . and today she even did it during "warm-ups".

• I probably shouldn't giggle at kids learning to dance, but today, I just couldn't help myself.  First it was Sophia's class with kids not able to follow the leader (see above video) and then it was Amelia's class with kids concentrating so hard that they lost track of who they were following.

Randomness

• It was warm and sunny this week, so we went to the park a few times.  I discovered that Amelia has no fear of heights or maybe it's that invincible feeling that she's not going to fall.  Either way, my toes were curled just watching her climb up, up, up.  Once I was sure she was confident in her repeated efforts of climbing up, I had to stop watching . . . but then wondered how quickly I could get down from where I was if she fell . . . and whether or not I would have to do something uncomfortable to get to her.  After anxiety filled moments (on my part), I suggested we go play on something else ;)
• My Dad's recovery is going good; thank you for the prayers that have been said on his behalf.  He has a positive attitude and is his normal cheery, joking self on the phone as he heads into rehab/therapy for the next few weeks.
• The other day when it was Sophia's turn to choose the movie for "quiet time", she wanted to watch "Blue Planet" - a movie she had watched in part with Daddy a few weeks ago.  She was intrigued and fascinated watching all the fish, dolphins, and whales.  Amelia liked it too until the Killer Whales attacked and killed a baby Grey Whale.  She cried . . . and I did too.  I've never liked watching nature films - they're too "violent" for me.
• Dance class didn't go so well for Sophia this week.  She mostly just wanted to dance on the sidelines.  But judging by this picture Ken took, Sophia wasn't the only little dancer that wasn't "into it" ;)

•  Amelia still loves her tap class . . . and thank goodness for thrift stores where I found a pair of tap shoes Amelia's size, to replace the original ones I had bought that were too big.

• Seattle and any city surrounding us, has been caught up in Seahawks fever for the last few weeks (okay, the last year).  I have never been a big NFL fan - not against it - just not a fan.  I feel a bit guilty not jumping on the "band wagon" to cheer for the "Hawks", and feel like I'm the only one in the whole city not watching the Super Bowl today.  Although I can tell when the Seahawks score, based on the fireworks I hear, and then I must admit that I check the internet for a score . . . just to keep in the know, you know.

An Interesting Week

I haven't posted anything deep and meaningful lately, and I'm not sure this blog post is going to end up that way, but here I go.

On Wed, I got a phone call from my sister that my Dad had had a really serious heart attack on Tues. night.  My Dad, ever the practical one, had actually driven himself to the urgent care, and was surprised when they told him he'd had a heart attack and checked him into the Hospital.  The next morning, the Logan hospital, after discovering how serious the heart attack was (they called it a "widow maker" - 2 arteries 95% blocked), transported him to the Ogden hospital, who scheduled him for open heart bypass surgery on Friday.

Friday came and the triple bypass surgery went great.  My brother and sister-in-law were at the hospital all day and sent us all text message updates regularly to keep us all in the loop.  My Dad is doing so well, they took him out of ICU on Sat. and is scheduled for discharge from the hospital on Wed. The nurses say he is recovering like someone 65yrs or younger, not like someone who is almost 85.

Through this whole experience, I have felt peace, not scared; comforted, not stressed.  I have felt my prayers answered and know prayers have been answered on behalf of my Dad.  It's been an amazing experience.   I wish I lived closer to be able to help my Dad, but I will do what I can from here and know that my brother and sister and their families are doing a great job helping and supporting my Dad.

Birthday, Ballet and Tap Dance

I love my birthdays, every one!  I wanted to throw myself a party, but decided to go for a simpler way of celebrating.  I spread out my birthday for 3 days, and spent one-on-one time with 3 of my favorite people . . . oh, and I spent time with these 2 silly goofs too . . . and of course, my wonderful husband.  This was the best we could do for a group shot.  Happy Birthday to me!

The next day was Sophia's first ballet class.  She looks so tiny out there, but she did great and was so excited to tell me all about it when she got home.

This was my favorite video from Sophia's class.  We've been practicing our galloping vs. skipping.  You can tell by her tongue sticking out that she's concentrating so hard on doing the skipping just right.  Love that!

And this session, Amelia decided to try tap dancing.  She was a little nervous before the class because it was something new, but she did great too . . . until the too-big shoes that she was wearing started to hurt her feet.  We've already remedied the problem, so she'll be on top of her game for next week, ready to tap, tap, tappity tap.  And even though this video isn't of her actually "tapping", it's one of my favorite songs to dance to in the kitchen with my girls.

A Sunbeam . . . a Sunbeam!

My baby is growing up.  No more Nursery - she's a Sunbeam now.  One of the ladies in our Primary Pres. made these cute shirts for the 4 new Sunbeams - just like she did last year for Amelia's group.

Sophia is usually more smiley, but she had a bad cold and this "serious" look is, I guess, as good as she could give.

Sophia told me she had a good time in Primary, but she didn't want to go back.  Funny thing - that's exactly what Amelia told me a year ago when she went into Sunbeams.  But Amelia went happily and excitedly back the next week, and I suspect Sophia will too.

The Aftermath and Resolutions

• The Thankful Tree was so successful in November, that I created a Service Tree for December - a blank paper Christmas tree, with paper ornaments added every time one of us did something for someone else - a friend, neighbor, ward member, family.  Amelia especially liked it and I loved it when she recognized that someone had done something nice for her.

• Does anyone else suffer from post-Christmas angst as new toys/gifts are broken/ruined/lost within days of Christmas?  Ken tells me it's just me, but I gotta think that someone else out there feels at least some of what I do.
• We got Sophia an "Anna" dress from Frozen - it was torn and shredding by the next day.  I spent an hour the other day fixing the dress in the hopes that it will last a few more months.
• Amelia has lost and/or damaged parts to a simple game she got.  She doesn't seem to mind, so I guess I shouldn't either.
• And don't even get me started about how much sugar is in this house and how much we've all consumed.  I think I'll deliver veggie/fruit trays to our neighbors next year!
• Last year I was quite philosophical about my New Year's resolutions/ theme for the year.  Overall, I don't think I was very Charitable last year, at least within my own home . . . but the fact that I can remember what my resolution/ theme was, should count as something, right?
• So this year, I've simplified my goal to my Top 3:
• Read the Book of Mormon every day.  It would be great to finish it in 2015.  It would be awesome to study it intently.  But the fact that I haven't really read from this amazing book that I truly love, since before Amelia was born, tells me that I have to start small to get back on track.
• Build up our food storage to a 3-mon supply.  This has been on my to-do list for over a year now.  I have a great plan, I just need to implement it.  How hard should that be, right?  We'll see if I have more than pasta and diced tomatoes by Dec. 2015 :)
• And the hardest, but probably the most important of my Top 3:  Be more patient, loving and understanding in our home.  I pray for this daily.  But I don't always do my part daily.  Being a mom is hard.  Being a mom who is a control freak makes it really hard.  I'm just hoping I figure out how to be more patient, loving, and understanding before the girls go away to college.

Happy New Year . . . and may your resolutions be with you!