Back

I am back after a five year break. 

Is anyone still out there? Is there life on Mars???

What better day than my firstborn's 13th birthday. 

She is amazing. I stand in awe. I love, admire, and respect this perfect soul. 

Happiest of Birthdays, my Sydney. 

Baby in a High Chair

Baby in a high chair,
baby in a bib,



baby in a stroller,
baby in a crib.



Baby with the giggles,
baby with a smile,




such a lovely baby,
happy all the while.




Poem by Jack Prelutsky

Rock-a-bye Baby

My last baby-
she sleeps in my bed and I rock her to sleep as much as I want.
I don't care what those baby books say!

Making a lullaby playlist to really rock to:

One Magic Kiss -Brandi Carlile
What a Wonderful World -Louis Armstrong
Fields of Gold -Eva Cassidy
Like An Angel Passing Through My Room -ABBA
Baby Mine -Alison Krauss
Blackbird -The Beatles
When She Believes -Ben Harper
I Only See You -Benton Paul
Oh Dear -Brandi Carlile
Because -The Beatles
Can't Help Falling in Love -Elvis Presley
Hold You In My Arms -Ray Lamontagne
I Will Always Love You -Dolly Parton
Falling Slowly -Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova
When The Boats Come In -Mason Jennings
That Moon Song -Gregory Alan Isakov
Fleet of Hope -Indigo Girls
River -Joni Mitchell
Shovel -Katie Herzig
A Kiss to Build a Dream On -Louis Armstrong
Ballad For My One True Love -Mason Jennings
All The White Horses -Ray Lamontagne
Far Far -Yael Naim

If you want a copy just ask, I like to share. :)

Chiquititas

Can it be just a coincidence these girls were both born with bilateral cleft lip and palate (not only that but identical types, they vary), born just two days apart, and happen to live 5 minutes from each other? Us moms met in the Dr.'s waiting room, also having chosen the same surgeon. We might not have met had we not had close appointment times that day.

I think these photos portray their similar personalities.





We hope they will be great friends!

Chiquitita tell me what's wrong
I'm a shoulder you can cry on...
How the heartaches come and they go
and the scars they're leaving
You'll be dancing once again and the pain will end.

-lyrics to ABBA's Chiquitita

Daisy Caroline

My Daisy. Spirited, strong, serious...and SEVEN months old!
(4 months in this picture)

We are loving each busy day with baby "Day Day".

She's starting to wave and we think she says "hi"!

She loves to eat, just like her big brother, and giggles after each bite, especially when it's something she really likes.

We also get the smug giggle when she gets her way, such as getting picked up out of bed after a good protest.

She's sitting up, and happier with each new milestone. Being a newborn was a frustrating experience for her lively spirit. Always wanting a friendly face to talk to, anxious to move and explore the world --it's no wonder Daisy forced entry early and in such a dramatic way!

summer

School is starting in just 2 weeks. yikes! Hoping to live these last weeks of August to the fullest-summer is just too short! But we've had a good one, for sure. I fill up with so much happiness when I see pictures like this one. so thankful!

This was taken on Father's Day. We went for a long Polaris ride through American Fork Canyon. It was a gorgeous day I hope to remember always. The kids laughed to tears when Chad drove into a stream over and over again. We must have done it 10 times. It was a real life Indiana Jones ride! We stopped several times for the kids to pick wildflowers. Then again at a reservoir on the way back and watched the kids chase prairie dogs into their holes. It was a real life game of Wac-A-Mole! They would have played for hours, but this pregnant mama couldn't stand in the sun for hours. Lots of tears when it was time to leave. My happiest days are when we are all together outdoors, just like this.


Hoping to post more highlights of our summer over the next few days...

sad tune for the butterfly with a broken wing

After getting 10 caterpillars mail ordered for her butterfly habitat (a Christmas gift), watching them eat & plump up, turn into chrysalises, and reemerge into 10 beautiful butterflies, Sydney decided yesterday was the day to set them free to enjoy the rest of their 2 weeks lives.


I thought she'd be sad to let them go, and maybe want to keep them in the habitat longer. She has loved watching each one dry it's wings and learn to fly after first coming out of the pupa, and feeding them sugar water on sliced oranges & flowers. But she told me she's actually been excited for this day.


Allie, Jack, and I watched her take each one out gently while explaining how she thought they were feeling...a little hesitant, because "they feel safe in there". She waited patiently, holding each until it decided to take flight, clapping and jumping with joy when it it did.


All of them had perfect wings and eventually took off, disappearing within a second or two,


except this one. Didn't take long to notice that one of it's wings was split in half. We watched as it tried to launch itself into the air and failed, no matter how hard it beat it's imperfect wings.

I explained to the kids, this butterfly's wing didn't develop right. Sydney said, it has a broken wing just like our baby will have a broken lip, but we can fix our baby. I said, yes exactly...wish we could fix this butterfly, so glad we can fix our baby.

Then Jack said, I'll play a sad tune for the broken butterfly...

Sydney made a little bed for it, and says she'll bring it flowers and take it outside every day, and bring it back in at night if it's too cold. She's not worried about birds eating it, because the colors on it's wings are a signal to the bird that it's poisonous.

But there are 2 she is still taking care of...one of the butterflies never flew away and stayed near the butterfly with the broken wings, although it's own wings appear normal. How sweet to think, perhaps a butterfly is capable of selfless love.

And I've been thinking, just because a butterfly's life is only 2 weeks doesn't mean it matters any less than our own.

we had a fun sun-day!

I LOVED last Sunday. After another long, cold week this gloomy May, the sun finally came out and we were so happy!

Here are my new baby Aspen trees, I so enjoyed



while laying my big pregnant belly on this blanket and reading my new favorite cookbook



while Jack watered his tree, Apa...



Sydney gave a poetry read-aloud, the kids had puppet shows,



and made collages,





After Chad was done mowing the lawn and assembling the new storage shed, we planted more veggies in the garden...



and picked our very first harvest of the season: arugula & parsley!

It was a very good day. :)