Spring Is Here!

Some people mistakenly think that all it does in Washington is rain. This is not true! Especially in the area of Washington in which we live. Sure, we do get rain. Sometimes it rains for longer than any of us would like, but living amid the green is so totally worth the little issue of "rain." However, it has been a bit of a transition for us because even when it was raining in DC, the sun was usually out. Or it came out the next day. Here, sometimes the sun hides a little longer than I have been used to - especially during the winter. So we were all happy to welcome the spring the past week or so! The sun has been out, the temps have been warmer, and the rain has been intermittent and, some days, nonexistent! So - HOORAY for SPRING!!!

In case you didn't mark it on your calendar (oh, you ALL did, you know it!), Caroline turned 5 months old about... 2 weeks ago. HAHA! Here's some pics of her on the day it happened:



That's my girl! She's just had her tubby and is getting shmeared with lotions! I can't believe she is smiling here - for some reason the lotion part is the part she hates most when it comes to bath time!





Another smile after one of the worst parts of bath time - getting OUT of the tub! Noooooo!!! Isn't the towel fab? Thanks Auntie Jen!!!



Our little princess love, love, loveeesss to stand. She'd prefer to be on her feet to almost anything. You know, aside from being held, eating people's faces, crying, etc. No noodle legs here. I figure she'll be walking long before she masters the art of crawling. Kind of like her brother.

So we also had Caroline's first Easter and Soren's 11th. That's strange to say. I don't think I'll say that anymore. I honestly failed at taking pictures of everything, but I did get one of Caroline in this fabulous dress her Grandma gave her for Christmas.



We had an Easter Egg hunt, but I think she was asleep for the whole thing. And dinner with most of my family (sans my sisters and their families since they don't live here.... ). It was all pretty mellow and casual. That's how we roll. Well that's how *I* tend to roll, anyway.

Last weekend we took the whole family to the temple and walked around outside for a bit and enjoyed the beautiful weather.



It was a gorgeous day and super nice to go and enjoy the sweet feelings we all had while we were there. Soren and Caroline headed back home with Nana and Papa and Alan and I stayed at the temple and did some service there. It was very nice, but hard to be away from my kiddos!

So that's the latest with some recent pics. I will leave with this picture - which is posted mainly for my friend April, but also because baby feet are cute to share with anyone:



Do you see those socks? Those are HAPPY socks! And they are on cute, finally chubby, little baby toes! And feet.

Yay!

O.. Hai!

Remember me?

Did you think I got lost and stuck on my trip home from DC? Well, if you live in DC, you know I didn't, else I would have been stalking you all and spending copious amounts of time with you.

Honestly, I don't know why I've been on my own personal blog-vacation, but I have. I guess I feel like life is pretty much the same, ya know? How much do you want to hear about Soren and Caroline, anyway?

Oh.

You DO want to hear about them? And see pics? My bad.

Really, I've just been pretty sleep deprived because someone I know (name withheld to protect the not-so-innocent) has decided that sleeping is for babies and she's a big girl. Or something. I dunno. I mean, I love spending time with (name removed), but when most of it is spent with loud screaming in my ear? Well, let's just say I've upped my dosage of Tylenol. The sleep deprivation causes me to spend a very limited amount of time on the computer, mainly because when I am slightly awake, I usually have my adorable daughter wailing laying in my arms.

I really do love being a mom. Honest! In fact, I'm anxious to have another child join the ranks of our little clan (which is a totally fitting word because we are Scottish!). Of course, who knows how long THAT will take. Oh well. Heavenly Father obviously wants me to learn patience and none of the many, many, many lessons I have had thus far seem to be working, apparently, or else I wouldn't need any more, right? Hee hee.

Oh, right. You wanted pictures. Unfortunately, my camera is upstairs. So all you get are a few that I took with my phone:



They are so cute! Every few weeks I take a picture of the two of them and stick it as the wallpaper on my phone. This is the latest version I have.



A rare image.... so precious, though!



Our goofy boy being... well... goofy!



So cute!

Ok, that's it for now. I've got "someone" yelling again.

I'll try to get those pics off my camera soon for those that are hungry for more!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

For those of you who are unaware, I happen to adore St. Patrick's Day. For some strange reason, it's seriously one of my favorite holidays! I'm not Irish, I don't drink beer, but I just love to celebrate the day where we wear green and all pretend we are Irish. You see, I've secretly always wanted to be a red headed, green eyed, Irish gal. It's true.... I even got green contacts in high school and dyed my hair red. Yeah, for real. I know - I'm crazy. But you all knew that already, right?

Some of you may recall what I did last year, though I forgot to take pictures of our yummy Irish Stew. This year I am (finally) in DC, so I didn't get to go crazy with my celebrations. Jen, however, knows about my psychosis and we had green lime-ade, green grapes, green broccoli, green salad, and potatoes (with all those yummy toppings). We also dressed up our munchkins in green and pulled out the camera. Check out the fun:





Aren't they adorable? We're planning their wedding already. Ok, I'm kidding - but ya know, we have to joke about it! The first time we put them next to each other, Timmy tried to grab Caroline's hand and she leaned in for a kiss. Looks like I'll have to keep a close eye on her as she gets older!!

Well, it's time for girl's night, so I should go. I leave you with a few pictures of my princess, who has really been an incredible angel on this trip.









Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Pretty carpet, no?

This is my current view. Stuck at the Portland Airport. It's ok, though. In all of this fun, I'm ending up getting to stay the night with my sister in Phoenix. Luckily, this is what's been hanging with me for most of the day.



Except now she is mad. So, I am going now.

Hope to be in DC sometime tomorrow!

Losing My Mind

Someone asked me today how old Caroline was. I said - Almost 4 months old.

Someone asked me about 20 minutes later how old she was and I happened to be looking at my watch at the time. My watch has the date on it. Apparently she IS 4 months old. So I corrected myself.

Then I wondered how I could have missed her little 4 month milestone.

I sometimes feel like such a crummy mom because I've watched so many of my friends coo and love all over their babies and celebrate each moment with joy, pictures, bragging, and all of that kind of stuff. Me? I miss half of it, record even less, and don't do nearly as much hoorah-ing or picture-taking. What's wrong with me? It's not that I don't care. It's that I'm a scatter-brained idiot quite frequently. This is why I have to write everything down. Like, seriously, everything.

Anyway - so this is me saying - HEY, CAROLINE, I recognize how old you are. May you look back at this entry and realize that your mom is just as spacey as you probably think she is.... but she still loves you.

Also - it really needs to warm up. Soccer practice is COLD.

Such a Kidder!

Yeah... I'm a kidder. I was totally joking about posting every day. Really. I bet you fell for it, too, didn't you? Bwahahaha!

Caroline rolled over from her tummy to her back yesterday. There was much clapping. I'm sure it's only a matter of time (duh!) until she can roll the other direction. This will mean no more hanging out on the couch/bed/other surfaces for her. Oh well! I just don't want to discover that the hard way... ya know - her falling off the couch because she's figured out how to roll and I haven't figured out that she's figured it out. Did that make any sense? It's late and I'm tired.

Soren started soccer last week. He practices at a school about 15-20min away. That's kinda annoying, but I'm just glad to have him back in soccer! We are excited to start going to games and showing Caroline the ropes - even if she won't remember them. Gotta get her into the family sport!

I think I've gotta start setting less ambitious goals for myself. Blogging every day is a little much for me yet. I am really close to being to that point, but I'm just not there yet. My new responsibilities at church mean another change, plus my trip to DC, plus I've got to re-evaluate my health when I get back. So for now.... I will update as I'm able. What I'd REALLY like to do is start including more pictures! Goodness! I haven't had the camera out in ages, just my cell phone. I do have quite a few cute pictures on there.

Caroline also had her first taste of cereal on Monday. She wasn't a fan. We'll try again after DC.

You know what's good, though? I'm finally getting out of the house. Today I had a meeting (for church), then headed to the park (it was FREEZING, by the way - the wind was killer) for a friend's son's birthday thingie that ended up getting cut short because of the cold. But, ya know, it was worth it - even though we weren't all there for very long. I got to visit with people. Then I took a break (so Caroline would sleep), but after that I was running errands. After that I cooked dinner (Chicken Fajitas - it was Mexican night... have I talked about my theme nights for dinners? I love it!), then dealt with screaming like a wild banshee girl.

Did I mention that Caroline screams a lot? She does. But at least she smiles and giggles and squeals enough now to balance out the screaming. Mostly, anyway.

I'm looking forward to my trip to DC. I'm also looking forward to coming back home and really getting into the swing of post-birthing a baby life. I finally feel like I'm ready to move forward. Hooray!

Ok, it's time for me to find my pillow. Plus, I think the Cobert Report is on. That show cracks me up.

Night!

Barely Squeaking A Post In

With 52 minutes left in the day, I'm posting. It's going to be short and quick because I'm exhausted.

Caroline must be going through a growth spurt because she's been a mess today and had a lot more food than usual. So she's been screaming and trying to eat my face and I'm like - WHY are you trying to EAT me? You JUST ate! Goodness! So it's been a long day and not very productive, but also not NOT productive, either. Have I confused you yet? Good. Stay with me.

I found out today that a little girl who's life I have been following for nearly a year passed away due to complications after a heart transplant. She was almost a year old and was born with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. I found this out quite early on in the day and I have to say that it led to some emotional outbreaks off and on all day. No, I do not know the family personally, but I've been following her story for so long that I feel like I know them. It just broke my heart to hear that sweet Gracie was gone from this life... Ugh! I just want to hug that whole family.

Anyway.... I spent the day getting a few things done around the house. I'm a step closer to cleaning up all the paperwork in my bedroom. I hope to have it done before I leave for DC.

Oh and since I stink at commenting in response to my comments:

Trina ~ Same calling as you! I hope I enjoy it as much as you seem to be!
A-Dog ~ Girl, you better know that I'm going to be seeing you! I plan on being at church on the 15th so be there, yo! Also, are you going to Mer's baby shower? Cuz I'll be there, too.
Tiff ~ We're excited to see you, too! Sorry that I'll be a little late showing up but at least we'll get a day or two together.
Jen ~ Dude. So freakin' excited to see you. SO excited.
Nancy ~ My stroller is too flippin' big and bulky. I might regret it later, but for now I will take my cozy Moby and call it good. If I had a more compact or easy to travel with stroller I might think about it.

Did I miss anyone? I'm sorry in advance if I did. But seriously - I'm going to go to bed in like... 2 minutes.

Ok, I'm going to take my 'feeling out of it and wondering if I'm getting sick' self and lay my head down on my pillow and find Mr. Sandman.

Night!