Belated Valentines

Here are my two cute Valentines.

They are starting to love each other.

Perhaps they have always loved each other,

but now they are starting to tolerate and play with one another.

The sweetest sound in the entire world

is the sound of the two of them laughing together

when we are driving in the car

or when they are playing in a room together, just the two of them.

I also love hearing Henry read a book to Maggie.

He is doing a lot better lately with his role as a big brother.

He is more helpful, 

more able to understand my requests, 

and is learning when it is appropriate to rough house.

We're still working on it, but I've seen good improvements.

He's a loving boy and a great big brother.

Maggie is very patient.

*****

Brendon and I spent our Valentine's evening with me over the toilet throwing up,

Brendon running to the store for some popsicles and soda pop 

(we still don't agree on what to call carbonated sugar),

and watching a movie.

Ahh, real life. It's so romantic.

But really, it was perfect (aside from hanging out with the toilet).

I got my requested letter and he got his practical gift.

Nothing says "I love you" more than that.

Not Far Removed

I've been thinking lately...

Maggie is nearly 15 months old

and she is a joy.

A piece of heaven.

(Almost) Everything she does warms my heart:

her squinty-eyed cheesy smiles,

her "thant to" (thank you),

her excitement to see Dad when he comes home,

the way she cuddles when she first wakes up,

when she touches my nose over and over again,

her "bye" as she waves flipping her hand from the wrist,

the way she claps and smiles when I say, "Good job, Maggie!"

her kisses...

and the list goes on.

And on.

Maggie is so young.

She was in God's presence not so long ago.

She can probably remember what it felt like

and she has brought a piece of that heavenly experience with her.

Joy.

Happiness. 

Serenity.

Forgiveness.

Trust.

Peace.

Love.

All things good.

There is something special about babies. 

And I think it is the feelings they invoke in us.

They help us remember

because they remember.

Unlike us, they are not far removed from their pre-mortal experience.

They remember perfect love.

And they help us remember what that feels like.

Good-bye Crib

Good-bye crib,

Hello big boy bed,

Hello trampoline,

Hello horse rides.

Good-bye three-hour naps,

Hello early bedtime.

Hello random naps in the car,

Hello early mornings.

I've been dreading the transition to a big boy bed for a long time. 

And, just like I thought it would, it changed our schedule and Henry's naps. 

After being frustrated about the changes for a couple days, 

I realized my schedule will constantly be changing for the rest of my life. 

No need to complain, I discovered (after complaining), just readjust.

It's okay that I need to wake up 30 minutes earlier to get my exercise routine in--

and that sometimes I miss it. 

It's okay that Henry doesn't nap as long--

it's nice to have alone time together while Maggie naps. 

It's okay that I don't get as much done around the house during the day--

now I have more time at night to clean or to hang out with Brendon. 

Good-bye old schedule.
Hello new routine.

Daily Happenings

We are back into a routine after a three month hiatus.

A get-out-of-the-house-most-mornings routine.

We play with friends, go shopping, attend Story Time at the library, and go to the museum.

We're trying to keep busy and sane.

Dad has been working a lot: (at least) twelve-hour work days for 13 days straight.

We made it through--with tears--but we made it, just like we always do.

I don't know why I've been so emotional, but I'm blaming part of it on winter.

I know I have nothing to complain about, but I'm not a fan of winter.

It's cold, dreary, and I feel cooped up.

Thankfully, in Texas, we have days of relief (like today) with warmer weather.

So we play on the swing set, in the dirt, and chase bubbles.

Maggie swings while Henry explores, chases me, and plays with his dinosaurs.

We took a small break when Henry ran full-force into Maggie, who was swinging, while chasing a bubble.

He was so focused on that bubble.

He fell hard to the ground on his back, stood up, ran away and cried for a minute, then requested more bubbles.

I love how tough Henry is. 

I love that he enjoys pushing Maggie on the swing. 

And I love his bear hugs, even though Maggie doesn't. 

I love Maggie for being so content on the swing today.

I love that she mimics words and likes reading certain books before bed.

And I love her kisses and cuddles.

I love being a mom to these two cute kids.

I am grateful for the countless humbling lessons I am learning right now about being their mother.

And, although I've been dwelling too much about how hard it is to be a mom, I know in my heart of hearts there's nothing else I'd rather be doing than be with my kids 24/7 (with the occasional break).

Our Christmas, December 27th

In the days leading up to Christmas, I wanted to do a few Christmas activities with Henry. We've been singing "Once There Was a Snowman" for the past few weeks (when Henry would tolerate the singing), but in an effort to be even more festive--something that doesn't come naturally to me for any holiday--we made a Santa puppet and a graham cracker Christmas train. I thought we might even start establishing a few family holiday traditions while we were at it, this being our first Christmas with just our little family.

The Santa puppet was a success, after I single-handedly put him together. (Henry isn't one to sit long to do any project.) Henry adored the Santa and was obedient to his every command. If Mom asked Henry to do something and he wouldn't do it, Santa would ask him and all was well. If Mom started singing and Henry didn't want her to, Santa would sing and all was right in the world. I guess Santa was a good friend to the both of us, while he lasted.

Although making the Santa puppet together wasn't a success, I was sure Henry would be interested in making a train from candy. But I single-handedly did that, too. Henry sat there long enough to eat nearly the entire bag of gummy bears along with some handfuls of Smarties, marshmallows, and M&M's, but had no interest in creating a train. He did put a few pieces of candy on the top of our train cars, but only when I threatened to take away his bag of gummy bears. After he filled himself with sugar, he ran off to play while I made the train (and ate loads of frosting with graham crackers). I believe this will become a tradition, although I'm hoping in years to come it will be more of a family activity.

As already mentioned, this was our first Christmas without family. I was excited about staying home and doing our own Christmas, but when December 24th came, Brendon was working and the kids and I didn't have much to do. We did go to see Santa, however. That was an adventure. Poor Henry didn't understand that he wasn't the only child who wanted to sit on Santa's lap and what it means to wait your turn. We battled it out for an hour, he and I, as I tried to explain/reason with a two-year-old. I wasn't successful with helping him understand, but I am still stronger so I held him as he wiggled to try to escape to Santa's lap. When it was our turn, Henry was thrilled. He didn't say a word to Santa, but he was so happy. Maggie was her content self, showing no reaction to jolly St. Nick. (And I have no proof of this because I couldn't get myself to pay for a Santa lap-sitting experience.)

We finished our Christmas Eve with grocery shopping and a casual dinner when Dad got home from work. But in all honesty, I knew in the back of my mind that the Gibson and Holmes families were enjoying time with loved ones and I missed being with them. When Brendon called me after work I said, "It doesn't feel like Christmas Eve." He agreed.

The kids and I made the most of Christmas (although the kids had no idea it was Christmas). We visited some people and went to a children's IMAX movie. It was a good day.

Thankfully, Santa was willing to bring our Christmas a couple days later, when Dad had time off from work. Our Christmas morning was a lot of fun with our little family. We opened presents and played and played and played. My parents came to visit us and arrived on our Christmas Day, which made the day all the better.

We spent over a week loving Grandpa and Grandma's presence in our home. Henry kept hugging my dad when we first walked in from picking them up from the airport. The kid loves his grandparents and rightfully so. He enjoyed every minute with them and kept them busy. He played outside in the freezing cold on his new swing set (or "higher," as Henry calls it) with Grandpa despite any efforts to explain how cold it was (his rebuttal was, "Iss no cold") and he was constantly playing tag with Grandpa and/or Grandma. He got all the "goose" (juice, which is really soda pop) his little heart desired and when we went to Toys R Us to let him pick out whatever toy he wanted, he could have cared less about walking away with anything (so Mom and Grandpa picked out toys we would enjoy playing with him). Mom was out of the picture for the week, as far as Henry was concerned, as he requested Grandpa or Grandma to do everything for him from buckling him into his car seat to playing with him.

Maggie was in heaven, too. She received more attention that she knew was possible. Her favorite activity was walking while holding hands with Grandpa or Grandma. She even took some of her first steps for them. She was held even before she had a chance to cry out for attention and she loved on her grandparents with a lot of warm cuddles and laying on the shoulder (a family favorite--we cherish cuddly babies). She kept up with the adults at our BBQ dinner and grabbed some ribs for herself, which she thoroughly enjoyed.

Lubbock offers food, shopping, and a children's museum and we accomplished doing all three. We did an insane amount of eating and a lot of shopping, playing with the kids, card/board games, iPad games, talking, lounging, staying up late, waking up early, and laughing together. We even managed to get some time with just the four adults and went to see Les Miserables and out to eat.

My family was spoiled with gifts, service, and time from my parents. I'm pretty sure they could live with us forever and I would be happy about it. (Pretty sure.) It was a great week and a wonderful Christmas celebration.

Thanksgiving to Christmas

Thanksgiving was a month ago. We are almost back to our normal routine. Any trip throws me off my groove, but post-trip chores accompanied with Christmas shopping threw me for a loop this year. My poor children have been lugged around everywhere and our usual mornings dedicated to do something fun hasn't happened for awhile.  There was awhile when I felt up to my ears in things to do that never seemed to get done. But I'm back to normal. My new mantra has helped: don't be lazy. I repeat it in my head often some days.

This year we made the 2-day, 16-hour drive from Lubbock to Norco to spend Thanksgiving with Brendon's family. Have I ever mentioned that I love road trips? Especially with Brendon. Nothing to do but sit, talk, and enjoy each other's company (when the kids comply); no to-do lists, no computers, and no internet access. Our rule is that the passenger keeps conversation going when the driver needs stimulation. On our drive home, Brendon (who drives most of the time) requested conversation and I told him I had nothing left to say to him. We had been driving for a total of four days by then. I couldn't think of anything to talk about...maybe I should put a conversation starter together for our next trip.

Our week spent with family was too short, as is often the case. We did a lot with family while we were there: Henry went to Disneyland with Aunt Randi, all the cousins went to Pretend City, we went shopping a few times, Brendon and I got together with old friends, Grandma Sheryl hosted several dinners with six of the eight siblings and their families, Brendon and I were both able to exercise (separately) and without kids, we played games with family, talked, got our family pictures taken, and we had a big Thanksgiving celebration with the Pitt family. It was perfect and, aside from a lack of sleep due to my children, I was not ready to come home.

{Pretend City}

{Thanksgiving Fun}

We love hanging out with the Holmes family and wish we could do it more often. (Have I mentioned that already?) It is always fun when my children get to play with their cousins, but living far from family always helps me cherish time when my children see their grandparents. There simply is no replacement for grandparents who love your children the way they do.

Miss Maggie was introduced to many of the Holmes family for the first time, just short of her first birthday (we see them much less often than is preferred). We celebrated her birthday a few day early with the family, just the way we like to celebrate birthdays: we had a big family dinner with everyone and she ate her first piece of cake. She was a champion cupcake eater, just like any child of mine should be, and was a happy camper with sugar on her plate.

As for an update since our trip, this month has been filled with hustle and bustle, excitement for Christmas, a lot of playing in our basement--with a recent favorite of "Dinosaur Train" (playing trains while singing "Dinosaur Train"), moments of feeling overwhelmed, reminders to slow down, times of frustration and impatience, reminders to cherish my children, a sense of joy with the developments in words from Maggie and improved behavior from Henry, thoughts about other people, gratitude for life, sorrow for those who have lost loved ones, gratitude for the gospel, and moments of feeling peace, comfort, and love from the Savior.

Maggie is One Year Old

Miss Maggie turned one this week. Just like when Henry turned one, I feel like I remember so many things about the past year. Our little Maggie has only added joy, love, peace, and happiness to our family. She is the sweetest little girl who has a content spirit about her. All of these things have only made life easier with a second child. She has been a constant reminder of the sweet spirits our Father in Heaven sends to us to raise and love.

I have cherished everything with Maggie: changing her diaper on my lap, holding her while she lays in my arms, feeding her a bottle before bedtime, nursing, cuddling her after a bath while she is wrapped up in a fluffy towel, comforting her when she gets hurt, and the rare moments when she lays her head on my shoulder.

She has been the perfect baby. Maggie always did well with nursing and is eating everything I offer her like a champ. Sleeping through the night has never been a problem: no sleep training required. And I have received countless comments in church and in public about the good, content child she is. She is always happy in her stroller as we try to keep up with Henry and she is always content sitting in my lap. I've often called her Mary Poppins because she is "practically perfect in every way."

Maggie is learning several skills right now and it is always a joyful experience to see your children discover their capabilities. The army-crawl has been replaced with the "right way" of crawling, she is pulling herself up and trying to be on her feet as much as possible, and she is talking and has learned to sign "more." I adore the way she waves and says, "Bye," and when she says anything remotely close to any word. She is the champion of little sisters and is a blessing to our whole family.

Happy Birthday, Maggie! Thanks for making life more enjoyable and for being so easy-going. I don't think it's possible for us to love you any more than we already do.