Little Raindrops

Today Matt and I have been married five years. We met in 2004 when I moved out to Vandenberg AFB. We worked in the same unit and lived in the same dorm. We became friends and watched anime together on our lunch breaks. Matt quickly became my best friend and we soon fell in love. I separated from the Air Force in 2005 to continue school, but didn’t have a place to stay in California. We were planning on being married in the summer, but decided to bump it up to March so we could move out of the dorms and find a home together. It was a sweet, small courthouse wedding with some of our good friends. We had a celebratory lunch of sandwiches and on-the-house berry trifles and a rainbow shone overhead as we walked through the park. It was a beautiful day and the beginning of a wonderful life together. We wanted to celebrate with our friends and family for a larger ceremony, so we had our Yosemite wedding in June.

For the past few years we had been celebrating our June anniversary because that’s when our fancier wedding was, it’s the date that is cross-stitched into Mom’s beautiful work which hangs in our hallway, and the date which is engraved into our knife block. It was easy to remember! Last year Matt and I talked about confusing matters and celebrating on the actual day we were married, March 3rd. So this is our first March anniversary!

Five years does seem to have just blinked by so quickly. At the same time, it feels like Matt and I have been together our whole lives, and the time before we met was a blur, a lifetime ago. Aside from my salvation, meeting Matt is hands-down the best thing to happen to me in my life. Every day with him is better than the last and I am so blessed to be celebrating five years today and look forward to many more beautiful years ahead!

7 Reasons You Need To Start Reading Manga Today @ Rainbowhill Language Lab

Now that I can read hirigana and am working on learning katakana, I’ve picked up a few manga to practice. Matt has a few that he’s been working on. I’ll let you know how it goes once I get past the first page!

Free Waldorf Playstand Plans @ Against the Grain Carving

I really like the idea of these playstands for imaginative play, but really don’t want to dish out the big bucks for one (and to have one shipped here!) Maybe soon I can get away from babies and get some time in the wood shop to make one with these free plans!

Lego Soap @ Roots & Wings Co

Love it! Can’t wait to try it!

Mod Sampler Quilt Quilt-Along @ Oh, Fransson!

I’ve wanted to learn to quilt, but it’s kind of terrified me. This gorgeous thing (with awesome instructions!) looks like just the kick to get me going. Who wants to join me?

Homemade Chocolate Syrup @ Small Notebook

My mom was surprised to hear last week that I make my own chocolate syrup. It is super easy, yummy, and much, much cheaper. I don’t have as cute of a bottle though, we just keep ours in an old, clean peanut butter jar.

How to Be Happier: Ten Tips for Being a More Light-Hearted Parent @ The Happiness Project

I am pretty happy all ready, but it won’t hurt to try out some of these tips!

Peanut Butter and Fruit “Sushi” @ the kitchn

I’ve seen candy “sushi” (rice crispy treats, Swedish Fish, green fruit roll-ups, etc.) but I like this healthier snack idea even better!

Scented Painting- 5 senses activity! @ No Time for Flash Cards

I’ve done something like this with Kool Aid and a little water to make scrach-n-sniff paintings. I’ll definitely be doing this with the boys, too!

Helvetica Cookie Cutters @ Beverly Hsu

Every since I watched Helvetica, I’ve definitely appreciated typography and especially this particular typeface in a way I didn’t think I ever would. Now I just wish we could purchase these cookie cutters.

When You Know Better, You Do Better @ Feels Like Home

So many good things to keep in mind regarding children and food. I wonder if I shouldn’t be using the M&M method of potty training right now.

Good Books for the Young and Old(er): Best of 2009 @ ohdeedoh

I haven’t read any of these yet, but am really hoping the base library has just maybe picked some of them up.

Hilarious yet delicious-looking science cookies @ Jannypie Crafts

I love science. I love cookies. There is even more great science cookie goodness at Not So Humble Pie.

Photographer Nick Brandt @ the Young Gallery

All his photos leave me breathless. I need one of his books for our coffee table so I can look at them every day!

Grocery Ad Playtime Menu @ Money Saving Mom

Such a fun idea! I’m all ready saving grocery ads for when the boys master scissors.

Let’s be friends

I always love a cute animal picture, but this site is just beyond sweet.

Making giant bubbles @ Monkey Lobster

I remember making giant bubbles with coat hangers as well as standing inside cylindrical bubbles made with hula hoops. I love this yarn idea, though!

5 Good Things Booklet – Printable Download @ whisker graphics

I look forward to “how was your day” conversations with the kids over dinner. This is a great exercise to help look at the good things in life.

One Boy’s Forest @ checkout girl

Beautiful work. I’m so envious inspired!

Finger Knittin’ Good @ Craft

I remember playing with a Nifty Knitter when I was little, which is a spool that makes an I-cord. It didn’t occur to me to make one with your fingers! In a couple years, I hope this will be a fun activity for the boys!

Avant Yard: 75 tricks to get your kids outdoors @ DiY Life

Now I’m tired of the winter and ready to take the boys outside for some sunny fun!

He turned 2, so for his party he had two little friends (plus parents and siblings.) It was the perfect size party and a great time with our friends!

There were lots of balloons on the ceiling and the floor. Blue, green and yellow.

There were cheese and crackers, veggies and fruits, heart-shaped cream cheese and jelly sandwiches, ants on a log, and an assortment of juices. All of Rhino’s favorite snacks. For lunch the kids made mini pizzas. Rhino really loves his cheese!

Rhino loves to color and paint, so after lunch we took out large sheets of paper. There were carefully thought-out blobs of color on one, a beautiful rainbow and mother and daughter on another, gentle strokes of light blue and yellow on a third, then Rhino’s: large marker circles and goopy smears of handfuls of finger paint.

We were going to do presents after the cake, but Rhino snuck away and tore into them without us. I heard from the other room an overjoyed “Elmo! Elmo!” as he discovered his new Elmo microwave! I couldn’t say no then, and let him open up the deluxe Mister Potato Head (40 parts I never knew about!) and tote bag of Play-Doh and accessories. The kids were all mesmerized by the microwave until we drew them away with the cake.

I wanted to make a Blue’s Clues cake because it’s his favorite show. Tanja loaned me a dog-shaped pan and I dyed the batter and the frosting blue and did my best to resemble Blue. Rhino was so overexcited as he danced in his chair and sang along to the birthday song (“happy, happy, happy, happy …”), immediately blew out both candles, and lifted one out of the cake and bit off the bottom of the candle. After we recovered the wax from his mouth, we directed him towards his slice of cake and he wolfed it down in record time!

He’d never seen a party blower before, but it didn’t take him long to figure it out. Soon enough he was blowing it so the extended end would knock his cup over, poke friends in the head, and dip into his fingerpaint (and then roll up again, and extend on the blank paper making little party blower paint marks.) We partied for about two hours and then our friends left and he crashed on the floor, with blue on his face, next to his Elmo microwave. What a party!

Heron, honey -

You are seven months old now! We will see the doctor a little later to find out how much you weigh and how tall you are. You seem plump and happy to me, though! You have big, beautiful cheeks and flabby little thighs that I just can’t get enough of!

One big milestone you hit this month is teething. Your first two teeth popped up a few weeks ago! They are your bottom front teeth and are just adorable. You’ve tasted a few solid foods for the first time, but so far don’t seem too impressed. You’ve tried some peaches, pears, peas, and a Cheerio (thank your older brother.) You’ve gagged on everything and haven’t kept it down, but we’ll keep trying every few days until you feel comfortable with this new sensation. You’ll still have mommy milk, but I’m excited that you’ll now get to sample all these wonderful foods, too!

We finally decided to have you dedicated at church this month. We were always planning on it, it just took us a little while to get it down. It was a sweet moment in front of our whole church as Daddy and I promised to raise you according to God’s will. You chatted with Pastor as he held you and were pleasant and curious the whole time. You received a small, blue bible that you will get to take with you to Sunday School in a few years!

We’ve all been having such fun with you! You can sit up on your own now and love to play with all sorts of toys and watch us as we go about our day. Your face lights up whenever you see your brother. Even when he hugs you too hard, takes the toy you’re playing with, forces various objects into your little hands, or twists your head around so he can plant a kiss right on your mouth, you don’t seem to mind. He’s starting to like playing with you more lately, too! You two take baths together in the evenings and sit and splash at each other. You try to grab at floating toys and Rhino dumps cup-fulls of water over your head or tries to help scrub you. Giving the two of you baths has just gotten a lot more enjoyable!

We are so blessed to have such a beautiful baby in our family! Your smile melts my heart and your hearty giggles are one of the best sounds ever. I love watching you grow and can’t wait to see what the next month will bring. Thank you for a wonderful month, sweetie!

Love Always,
Mommy

We celebrated a little early this year. On Friday our church had our annual Valentine’s banquet at the club. We got all dressed up (woops, we didn’t get a photo of us together this year!), dropped the boys off at their own kids’ party (thank you Vira + teens!!) and had a lovely dinner with other sweethearts from our church. We had a nice dinner (we always get one of each – chicken or beef – so we can split it in half and share), and chatted it up mostly with Jason + Tanya and Eric + Katie. There was a sweet message from our pastor after dinner, then we played some games, as usual. Matt and I volunteered for the first game, which was was round 2 of the blindfolded, no-hands Ho Ho eating contest! Last year Tim amazingly (disgustingly?) sucked that thing down in probably 4 seconds! I thought we would have had an easier time, but we had some serious hangups. We sat across from our partner, couldn’t use our hands, couldn’t see, and had to unwrap and consume a Ho Ho together. I held one end of the wrapper between my teeth and Matt attempted to rip open the other side. In the 45 seconds it took the winning team to swallow the Ho Ho (including some plastic…) we had only made a small hole in one end of the wrapper! That’s all right — I didn’t really want to chow down on it, haha! Then we were given questionnaires and played a Newlyweds-type game. We left in the middle of that because Matt still had to go home and change for work. It was a great time, though! Oh, and the boys seemed to have a great time at their little party! Heron only cried a little bit, but didn’t get any sleep (it was way past his bedtime!) Rhino had a blast eating lots of sugar, singing songs and playing games, coloring, and hitting at a pinata!

We did have special Valentine’s treats for the boys (Heron didn’t get any chocolate this year.) Once again, Rhino got into Matt’s chocolates and ate half of the box. He needs to stop leaving them where Rhino can snatch them up! We did get each other gifts – I gave Matt a new Wii game and he scheduled me for an hour-long massage (which I go to on the 22nd.) I made a heart-shaped red velvet cake for him (again – no photo of this year’s, but it was prettier) and splurged and also made a delicious red velvet / chocolate pudding / raspberry / whipped cream trifle. I really wanted to use my new trifle bowl! We don’t really celebrate Valentine’s Day extravagantly, but it’s nice to have a special day with my sweetie (and now my mini-sweeties, too!)

I do think traditions are important. In the past years, Matt and I have been lazy about our celebrations and traditions. Now that we have children, I think it is essential that we pass on traditions we grew up with as well as begin and maintain our own. When Rhino turned one last year, we didn’t really have many traditions in place. He opened presents, ate his first cupcakes, and had a little party. I did quickly sew him up a felt birthday hat to wear, which he hated! I want to keep the birthday hat tradition, so this year I made him a felt crown. Both hats are specific to his age; last year’s hat had a big “1″ on it, and this year there’s a “2″ right up front. I’m thinking that next year I’ll start a little earlier (I made both the hats very hastily the day of his birthday) and make a special crown that he can reuse for birthdays. I’m going to get started early on making Heron a special first birthday hat, too!

Rhino loves to color. Scribble, whatever. He still eats crayons, though. We have his first masterpiece hanging in the boys’ bedroom, which he scribbled on his first birthday. He completes many works a week, which we (shh) recycle, but I thought it would be great for the boys to make a piece of art on their birthdays for us to keep. Rhino’s medium of choice is crayon (unless he finds a pen!) but he has used plenty of paint this past year. He loves painting with brushes, and his 2nd birthday was actually his first experience finger painting. Matt had to demonstrate for him and Rhino seemed pretty hesitant. He still doesn’t really like to be messy. He was pretty upset that his hands were covered in paint.

I don’t have many Rhino hand prints. I have ink footprints from the day he was born and Andrea and I gave a clay slab with Amelia’s and Rhino’s hand prints in them for Christmas last year. That’s it. I wish I had started on birthday #1, but this will have to do. I thought I would sew his hand prints. He loved having his hand traced onto paper for a template. We made a whole bunch because he enjoyed it so much! Between making the crown and this appliqued, embroidered hand, it was a lot of work for me in one day. So they were both extremely rushed and sloppy. I really meant for the apples to be rotated and right-side-up but I don’t know what I was thinking (I just wasn’t.) And the outline stitching is so messy — I am terrible at turning with my machine! I know very little about sewing, so it’s possible I’m using the completely wrong presser foot or something. That was very tricky for me. And I cut out the reverse applique kinda messy. It’s still charming, though! I embroidered Rhino’s name above his hand and his age below. I’ll put it in a wooden hoop or something and hang it on his wall. Hopefully I stick with it (or something similar) every year for the boys. Maybe I can use them to make a quilt or something in the future!

So those are some of the traditions we’re working on for birthdays. There will be more, most likely food-related. I loved having a special meal on my birthday, which was usually tacos (which is not what I’d be choosing now!) I received birthday spankings growing up, but I don’t know about using that one … To the one or two of you that read this blog… what are your birthday traditions??

How to Read a Bread Bag: Searching for Whole Grains @ Kitchen Stewardship

What is is the difference between all these healthy-sounding breads?

miniature soft pretzels @ smitten kitchen

I’ve made soft pretzels before and it was fun. These are just adorable and I’d like to try a different pretzel recipe out.

Amateur – Lasse Gjertsen @ YouTube: lassegg

This is way old, but I love it. Matt found his Hyperactive video ages ago, which we like – but I love Amateur.

Japanese Mall Fountain @ Youtube: shh959

Amazing! I haven’t run into one of these in any of the malls near us yet!

Super Mario Bros 3 Cross Stitch @ Radical Cross Stitch

There’s a lot of old-school video game cross stitching, knitting, and crocheting out there because it’s easy to chart. Whenever I see stuff like this I think of all the millions of things I’d like to make Matt. Someday!

Chop Chop @ American Felt and Craft

I’ve made plenty of felt food, and Rhino received some awesome wooden cut-apart food for his birthday that he is in love with, so this seems like a great idea for something to make!

The Philosophy of Charles Schultz @ adventures in babywearing

I’m working on my list right now.

Top Ten Eco-Lifestyle Changes @ No Impact Man

Some of these we’ve been doing for a while and the others seem like a great idea to start thinking about.

Family Rituals and Traditions @ SIMPLE mom

I’ve been thinking about ours a lot lately.

Outlined Placemats @ ohdeeoh

Look at what I’m going to make this week!

Today you are two years old! You are having a great day so far! We are having a family celebration right now and next week you will have a small party with some of your good friends. Last night you went to a party while Daddy and I went to our church Valentine’s Day Banquet, so you were out late and playing hard! You got to color, listen to music, play games, hit a pinata, and have lots of snacks! So you wanted to sleep in this morning. As soon as you woke up, we went to the Weasels’ Den for the Pajama Jam, where you played on the playground and bounce house, had a big breakfast buffet, saw some friends, and watched some Ice Age on a big screen. When we came home, you opened presents from us, from Grandma and Grandpa, and from Grammy and Uncle Ron. You were given some fantastic toys, snazzy shoes, and a Blue’s Clues DVD and CD! We talked to Grammy on Skype while you opened gifts from her, then we traced your hand and you painted a picture. We have more fun lined up for you, but right now you’re enjoying playing with Heron and your new Blue doll.

I thought it would be nice to keep track of some of your favorite things and see how they change from year to year. Love you!

Favorites
Fruit: mandarin oranges; apples
Vegetable: carrots
Snacks: cheese; tuna salad; scrambled eggs; peanut butter
Meal: breakfast
Drink: apple juice
Songs: the Itsy Bitsy Spider; Skinamarinky Dinky Dink
Movies: Aliens vs. Monsters; Potty Power
TV Show: Blue’s Clues
Cartoon Character: Elmo
Book: I Love You Through and Through
Friend: Carson
Toy: Duplo blocks
Stuffed Animal: Yellow Bear you got from Uncle Matt your first Christmas
Playtime Activity: blowing bubbles
chores: sweeping; unloading dishwasher
Place: the Thursday Playgroup room at EDIS

Hi again, sweetheart!

Tomorrow you will be two years old! It is so fun to watch you grow, but it also makes me sad to see your baby years fly by so quickly! I really feel like just yesterday we were cuddling in the hospital on your Birth Day, but I also feel like I’ve always known you and you’ve always been a part of our family.

You keep learning so many new things, I can’t keep up! It seems like every day you’re saying something new. Here are some of the new words/phrases you’ve started saying this past month: apple juice, aww man, bear, blue, cake, clue, cookie, door, Elmo, please, purple, red, see ya, three, toes, watch, and water. You’ve also started to pretend to count, by moving small objects or looking at your fingers and saying “two… three… two… three….” Your ABCs are very similar, and you imitate most of the letters but when you come across something too difficult, you replace it with “Eee” (which ends up being most of the letters at the end of the alphabet.)

You love your little brother and are such a sweetheart to him. You can also be quite a stinker! When Heron is doing something like crumpling paper or knocking toys around, you come to us and tattle on him. My favorite deception so far is when you framed him a few weeks ago. Daddy and I left an opened bag of chips downstairs and I had to run up the stairs for something quick, leaving Heron on the sofa and you to your own devices. As I walked back down the stairs, I heard the crumple of the chips bag and knew you were into them. Before I made it to the living room, you ran to me with a mouth full of chips, complaining and pointing to Heron. You had shoved the bag of chips in his hands and came to me to tell on him for getting into the chips! You can be such a naughty boy, sometimes! You definitely know when you’re doing something wrong. You were supposed to be asleep in bed one night earlier this month and Daddy and I were downstairs in the living room. We heard a crash of toys from upstairs and Daddy went up to investigate and scold you for being out of bed. He checked in your bedroom and didn’t see you, so checked the other rooms unsuccessfully. He went back into your bedroom and found you silently pressed against the wall behind the door, trying to hide. You can’t hide for too long!

You like to help out around the house when I cook or do chores. You love stirring and pouring, unloading the dishwasher and putting things away, and sweeping with your tiny broom and smiling dustpan. You also help yourself to the refrigerator to make your own snacks. A few days ago I had left you at your small table to eat some soup for lunch – and you were doing just fine, so I took care of something with Heron. When I came back, you were no longer in the kitchen, so I went to clean up your soup. I noticed a raw egg in the bowl. I didn’t see any shell pieces at all, but did find two perfect halves of an eggshell in the sink, right where I put them. I am still baffled at how you managed to perfectly crack an egg — I still get bits of shell when I do it! It is sweet that you like to prepare food and look forward to teaching you more kitchen skills.

It has been a very fun month with you, Rhino, and a fantastic two years! I hope you enjoy your special day tomorrow!

Lots of Love,
Mommy