Swingin' The Day Away

Yesterday the weather was fairly nice so we decided to spend part of the day outside.  And as always, Grace went straight for the swing.

Matt was able to acquire the swing on the left from a house in the neighborhood (they were setting it out for the trash, and after asking permission to take it we had a second swing!) and it is the perfect size for Grace.  And Glen loves his baby swing.

Grace dressed herself on this day...stripes, polka dots, jeans pushed up to the knees, and to top it all off snow boots in high 60/low 70 degree weather!  At least she was dressed and happy.

Slowly we are turning our backyard into a great playground for the kids.

A Tradition In The Making (I Hope)

When I was growing up we could almost always count on two things to eat during the week.  Sunday mornings we had donuts (from the store) and Saturday nights we would have homemade pizza.  I remember raving about my mom's homemade pizza and was quite surprised when people talked about how good the chain (delivery) pizzas were because my mom made such better than that!

Now that Grace is getting a bit older I wanted to try to start a tradition like that with her.  So we shall see how this goes.  I decided that it might be nice to have Thursday pizza night (since our weekends are so unpredictable).

On Thursday I started around 2:00, soon after Grace finished lunch, and we made the dough for the pizza.  Grace helped me measure things out and dump things in, and stir it all around.  Later she helped me kneed the dough, I pulled off a little ball for her to punch down and kneed.  Then I raided her play kitchen for some plastic knives and a rolling pin.  I let her roll out her little ball while I rolled out the large portion for our pizza.  I gave her a few slices of ham to "cut" with her non-serrated play knife while I chopped up the rest.  She helped me sprinkle on the mushrooms and the cheese, then happily when back to playing with her "play-dough").

I had the pizza assembled and ready and Grace happily played with her dough for about a half an hour longer.

The pizza turned out really well and it was a great one-on-one time with Grace and I.  Each time she does this with me she might be able to help a bit more.

Yeah, I think that this could be a good tradition (if I keep it up.)

Mainly Pictures

On Sunday morning I was greeted to this sight.  A very happy Glen who was giving me the biggest smiles.  I tried to capture a few of them, but I only was able to get a partial smile out of him with the camera ready.  Still it is very cute.

 

 He discovered himself in the mirror!

 This weekend Matt and I also were brave enough to go out to eat (which we have not done for a LONG time).  But, we were smart and went to a child friendly place like Red Robin!

 As we waited for the waiter and our food, Grace took it upon herself to play with all of the sugar packets.  She would pull them out and hand them to Matt who would hand them back to her.  This happened a couple of times till Matt got an idea.  He took one of each color (blue, white, pink, yellow) and made a pile for each color.  And each one that Grace picked up, she was to put in the correct pile.  She ended up sorting the colors perfectly most of the time.  There was a time when Matt did not make the piles first and he just started handing her the sugar packets and she made the piles for herself, and sorted them herself.  I am so proud of her.

 Glen was there too...though he was sleeping the whole time.

 Nothing is better than sleeping on a bed of clover!

This is just our daily life.  I hope you enjoyed the pictures.

Busy

Life has been a bit crazy around here lately.

Lots of travel and lots of activities.  Then add on the colds that all four of us have had in turn this past week, we have been busy.

I would like to write about two of our activities.  One day Carol, Amy, Grace, Glen and I went to visit my dad's oldest sister (Gladys) and her husband (Floyd).   

We had a very nice visit with them.  We got caught up with the news of their family.  They got to meet Glen for the first time.

Looking at this picture and seeing Grace who looks a bit like me when I was little (much darker hair though), I am reminded of when I went to visit Grandma and/or Aunt Gladys when I was younger.  I remember that same vase that is on the table, they had similar toys, and my goodness Aunt Gladys looks so much like Grandma (at least from my memories).  I am glad that Grace and Glen can have this similar experience.  It is neat to see it through their eyes.

Even at 87 years old, Uncle Floyd was able to keep up with and play ball with Grace.  That was so much fun to see.

Yesterday Grace and I went to a local park for a play date with my friend Jennifer and her two year old Jessica.

Grace loves this park.  And I think that she tried out every element that they had.  But she always seemed to go back to the horse (above).

But she did love driving the car.

And flying the helicopter with Jessica.

But the sandbox was a favorite for both girls.  I was so happy for once to have such a messy car because I was able to find buckets and bowls for the girls to dig with and fill up.

It was a long and fun day at the park.  She was ready for a long, wonderful nap.

Sister and Brother Love

Yesterday Grace and Glen were spending some time on the couch and we decided to get a few shots of both of them being fairly still (which is a miracle).

 This one is Matt's favorite.

 This one is my favorite.

 I love this one too.

 It looks like they are sharing secrets already!

 Here is one of just Grace.  I thought it was beautiful and she looked very much like a model in it.

We got snow today and Grace spent the better part of the afternoon running around in it.  I am glad that even though we have mild winters here, we have snowsuits and boots that help Grace play and play and play in the snow.

Presents and more

Last weekend we went to Harrisonburg to make plans for Glen's dedication that will happen in the next few months.  When we arrived we were welcomed by a gift bag from a very kind lady in my mom's Sunday School class.  I have met this woman and have talked to her a bit, but I would not say that I know her well.  So the fact that she took time out to do gifts like this for Glen (and also Grace when she was born) mean so much to me.

Shirley is a very talented woman with a very giving heart, and here is evidence of both.

 Grace found the hat and decided that she needed to put it on, and it fit.

 So we tried on the sweater, and it also fit.  Glen will partake of these items in a year or two.

 So we have the sweater, and the hat, and finally the blanket that they are sitting/laying on which all three are a duck theme.  There is a duck button on the sweater and on the blanket there is a large yellow duck.  I am looking forward to when Glen can put these items to use.

 Yesterday Grace was playing in a dirt pile in the front yard.  And the sun was shining on her and the colors (especially of her hair) was just stunning, so I decided to try to capture it with a camera.

 It did not quite work, but I got some good pictures of Grace.

 Here I had fun taking colors out of the picture.  I kind of like the effect.

Glen now has a name for his hairline.  The boy has a hairline which goes from ear to ear and is a ring around the back with a bunch of light fuzz on top.  At church this past Sunday his uncle Mike dubbed this hair style as "the Picard."  I laughed so hard!  I love it...My son is sporting the Picard :)

Valentine's Meal 2012 (When Lana Learns What Valentine's Is Really All About)

Matt and I have a tradition.  We do not really do gifts on Valentine's Day.  Our celebration is to make a meal together that we would not attempt on a normal day, and certainly not attempt alone.  So we spend a few days in January planning the menu.  On the morning of Valentine's Day we go grocery shopping.  Then spend the rest of the day in the kitchen together cooking, dancing, singing, etc.  It is wonderful and has brought to light many wonderful recipes that I have used many times since.  

Until this year it has pretty much been just Matt and I.  For the first two years, it was just Matt and I.  Then the third year we had a two month old who was pretty content in her bouncy seat and so it was still kind of just Matt and I.  Last year we had a one year old who tried to help but for most of the preparation she played or slept.  So once again it seemed as if it was mainly just Matt and I.

This year was a wildly different experience.  With a newborn and a very active two year old we had to re-look at our menu and also what Valentine's is all about.  In the past it has always been about being a couple and lavishing our love on the individual that we married.

This year I learned that Valentine's is not just about the individual that you share rings with, it is love for those in your family.  Sharing the celebration with Grace and Glen did not make the meal prep tedious or a challenge.  It was a joy to experience it with our little ones for we are celebrating our love for them also.

Valentine's also looked very different than it did in past years.  To start off it was not as "glamorous" as it was before (however glamorous as you can be when cooking all day).  I got a shower in the morning (a rare event) but Grace hid my comb so I never got to comb my hair all day.  Glen decided to spit up on Matt's pants and my shirt throughout the day.  Grace had a very disastrous blow-out of a diaper which led to an immediate bath for her.  And there was an abundance of water, brownie mix, pudding powder, and other items on the floor from Grace helping.  But there was also a lot of playing, singing and dancing not only with Matt but also with Grace.  Joy abounded.

 In making the menu for the meal we made sure to add at least one item that Grace could help make.

 We made a chocolate trifle for dessert.  Grace helped make the brownies, and the pudding.  She also checked each of the items for quality :)  Her face shows that each part was good!

 Glen had a very important job this year.  He was the supervisor.  He sat back and watched to make sure that everything got done as it should.

 He did such a good job that Grace just HAD to give him a hug.

 Our meal this year was simply following the ABC's...Alton Brown's Cooking.  Each of our new recipes came from Good Eats.  First we had Broiled Salmon with a Beurre Blanc sauce (Beurre Blanc is a spicy butter cream sauce...VERY GOOD!).  We also had home grown green beans, homemade bread, and a ceasar salad where the dressing was made from scratch.  Finally we finished off the meal with the chocolate trifle which is brownie, pudding, cool whip, and heath candy bars layered over and over and over.  Very rich, very good, and a dish that Grace could help the entire way through.

By the looks of it, Grace approves of the meal.

What a wonderful Valentine's Day it was.  And to celebrate with  my three Valentine's rather than just one...oh, how special that was!