Forgiveness

If there is anything I hope Grant knows about me, it is that I am trying. And that I'm praying for his forgiveness. I am impatient, I am irritated that Grant doesn't yet know how to answer the question "What's wrong" when he's upset, I let his messes get under my skin and I get soooooooo fed up. But I am trying. Trying to be patient, trying to let things roll off my back, trying to remember that he is still so very little and has so much to learn. I am trying not to view him as an antagonist who is purposely making more work for me, although it is especially challenging when he throws food on the floor just because he knows it is wrong, pulls movies off the shelf for no reason, or pours apple juice all over the carpet.

Those irritants make me forget. I forget how precious his childhood is, how his self-worth is being shaped, how his respect for others is being born, how my tone of voice sounds to his little ears. I forget how fragile his spirit and his psyche are, and I forget that being loved and cherished when you are two years old is more important than a clean kitchen.

So I am renewing my resolve to remember that my children only have one childhood, and that it is more important for me to be kind, patient, and respectful to them that it is to have a clean floor. And although most days I think I will still be determined to have both, I will remember which one matters in the long run.

So please, please, please forgive me - and let me join you in your world of wonder and happiness. I will bring juice and cookies.

Also, I want to share a sweet story that makes me happy. When I put Grant to bed a few nights ago, I snuggled him in his bed until he fell asleep and I dozed off for a few minutes too. Then, I went to my own bed and went to sleep. In the middle of the night, I heard Grant saying "Mommy, where are you?". I went in and he was standing in the middle of his room saying it over and over, "Mommy, where are you?". I asked him if he wanted me to get back in his bed with him and he said yes, which I did happily until he fell asleep again. I would have probably even stayed all night, but I can't turn over and I still need my space, so I left again once he was asleep, but it was so sweet and special. It's a good thing they go to sleep (eventually), turn into sweet little angels, and remind me why I love them and that I can keep going in the morning.

Sweet little loves... childhood slips by far too fast and I spend most of it wishing the kids would stop being so messy. Shame on me. Forgive me.

Dress

I just bought myself this fabulous dress today. I fell in love with it when I first saw it months ago, but just thought, No way. As in, it won't go on sale, they won't have my size if it does go on sale, I'll miss the sale, the sale price will be too much anyway.

Not this time! I went to the sale today (even though Trevor's out of town so I had to take the kids), it was 15% off, I get a little extra spending money this month thanks to Trevor's overtime/out-of-town work, and Grandma Baker (a close family friend) was there and said I had to get it. And - a final push from the cosmos - it was:

the very last one!

And the very last one did happen to be my size. That's good enough for me.

Daddy

Just a quick post and a picture of the sweet daddy of my little bebes! I helped Grant make a card for him with his handprints on it, I made a banner that didn't look anything like the one I drew my inspiration from (scroll down a little and you'll see it), we bought him some chocolate and a new tie - the most token Father's Day gift ever. But he does need some ties. I'm always pushing him to get a new tie since I feel most of his are unworthy. They were 50% off at Sears for Father's Day weekend, so I bought two - one of which has yet to be altered to fit Grant - but MAN is it going to be cute. (Here is the tutorial I've used before if you want to make one!)

Grant and Rachel just adore their daddy. He tickles them, plays with them, sings songs to them, cuddles them, feeds them, and although they don't know it yet, provides everything they have by going to work every single day and bringin' home the bacon!!! So THANK YOU!!!

Unfortunately, Trevor had to go back to work at 2pm to drive to Lake Louise without being too tired, so his day wasn't all that special - but he's gone all week, so all three of us will be extra happy to see him when he gets back and we are going to love him to pieces!

Photoshoot

I know this is SO long overdue, I don't even want to discuss it. Click to see it bigger!!! (Look how white these kids are! There is absolutely no non-European blood around these parts!) And thank you to Lindsey for the little black and pink outfit that I LOVE! Obviously I didn't spend any time editing these, and some of them could really use it, so just try to overlook that fact!

Photos

The kids are both sleeping, so I am desperately trying to get our pictures folder organized. Here's some pictures of the kids being cute back in March. (March 24th to be exact). Guess the token Father's Day post that I've seen on every other blog will be coming soon...

And you really should click on each photo individually to see it full screen, the thumbnail version hurts my feelings. These are really good photos, if I do say so myself!

Girlthings

I have already starting planning what to get Rachel for her first birthday. You may think it's insane. But I am a lover of all things girly, pink, frilly, flowery and sparkly, and every day I love having a little girl more - and her birthday is a chance for me to spend a ridiculous amount of money on things that I would only consider buying for a special occasion. And with how fast time is flying by these days, I figured I better get a head start on asking opinions from friends, because I simply cannot choose on my own what to get her...

I already bought her a backpack:

I also want to get her an outfit. Be prepared that my madness might be much too over-the-top for you. You can even say so, I won't be offended. I want to order her this skirt - with a matching headband - and maybe even a matching skirt for me! Now maybe you don't want to match your kids, but hey, we can still be friends, right?

I can even pick from the fabrics she had posted on her website and choose my own! Seriously, look how insanely cute these are:

You can see my dilemma! They are even cuter in person, and the picture just cannot do the headbands justice! There are just too many possibilities. I could even get her one of the dresses - although I was thinking skirt because they are a little more casual, and I'm not totally as in love with the dresses. And the skirts are cheaper, which is why I started considering getting one for myself too. 

I believe every girl is a princess and should have at least one princess skirt to prove it! 

And to wear when doing the worst housework. (My cousins and I on my mom's side all have princess skirts - it really picks you up when you're feeling down. I know my older sister sometimes wears hers to do chores like packing. It's an instant mood booster. If you don't believe me, you've never worn a real princess skirt.)

AND if that weren't enough, I've been drooling over these since before Rachel was born. Here are some of my favorites - and keep in mind that she can do any color or design that I want, making the possibilities totally endless. I want to get some that will be neutral enough that she can wear them with practically any outfit, every day of the week.

Now it is time for YOU to tell me what your opinion! 

What would you pick for my little Rachel's first birthday?

Go ahead and give me your two cents in the comments below!

Thank you in advance, and a big thank you to those of you who voted on my diaper bag dilemma - it's back here if you missed it. And thank you if you voted on my backpack decision for Grant! I think I've decided... so stay tuned. Once I buy it I will post. It was so fantastic having friends give their input that I thought I'd do it yet again!!!

Backpacks

I've decided to start celebrating half-birthdays, and the main reason is that Grant's birthday is immediately after Christmas and then he has to wait another entire year for new toys and games. At his age, I want to always having age-appropriate toys in the house, but I don't want to buy him gifts, particularly toys, for no reason - bringing me to the conclusion that we will celebrate half-birthdays from now on. Besides, I know how lame it is to have your birthday right close to Christmas and then have to wait and wait to get something new... so we are also celebrating my half-birthday - hurray!

But to the point: I need help deciding which of these adorable backpacks to get Grant. I simply cannot choose! He has a smaller moose backpack from my Aunt Pat (thank you!) which is very cute, but it has some damage from something being spilled inside and the liner is ripping. We all love it, but it's just time for something a little bigger.

Tell me which one you would choose for Grant, and I will be eternally grateful! Your votes will go a long way towards my decision!

Thanks everyone! Here is a little tidbit: from the beginning, some of the decisions in Grant's life have been determined by a vote, including his name. For those of you fortunate enough to participate, you were right, it's perfect! And, by the way, can you believe our little Grant is about to be two-and-a-half! I can't!

Bribe

I've found that bribery works great with kids. When Grant hated the bath, I would give him little gummy candies that looked like fish while he was getting his hair washed - he couldn't cry and eat them at the same time - and after doing this two or maybe three times, he was cured and now loves the bath. The hair washing thing still not so much, but it's okay. No more screaming-as-if-he's-being-tortured type of behavior in the tub.

Now yesterday I stopped by a garage sale and found THIS:

Or maybe I should say Grant found it. He is totally crazy about lawnmowers and I knew it would be an awesome gift for him - then to top it off - the lady said "It blows bubbles." My head almost exploded. Did she realize what she just said? Seeing the realization of all your two year old's dreams coming true  generates at least as much happiness for me as for him. I could have shouted for joy. Now, give me some credit, I knew these existed, but I hadn't thought about them in a while or seen them in a store. And now, she just offered me all that happiness for only $5? Too much, I say! If I could have imagined a perfect gift for Grant, it would include: a) bubbles (what toddler doesn't love bubbles?), b) wheels (lawnmower, tractor, bicycle, etc), and c) a handle so that he could push it, or a seat so he could ride it. 

I was really excited but I had to run it past Trevor first, and his response was, "You HAVE to get it!" I went back to the garage sale later. I know it seems crazy that after my little rant I would take the chance of someone else buying it, but Grant was good about leaving it at the garage sale, he's not a brat, so it would have been no big deal if someone else had already bought it. I don't want to give him everything he wants... BUT seeing as how the garage sale was way down a side street, and on a tuesday (who does that?), it was still there when I went back after a Costco run. 

Grant is not yet allowed to play with it, because I told him that he can have his new toy if he is reverent and folds his arms for family prayer for FIVE DAYS. Usually it's a bit of a power struggle at bedtime to get him to sit still and fold his arms - but when I reminded him about the deal last night and this morning - WOW! He's a whole new kid. He sat there for the entire prayer with BOTH arms folded, said Amen at the end, and then said "Lawnmower." Cheeky kid. So on Saturday, if he's been good every day, then he will have his reward!

And on another, mostly related note, Grant has chores. He doesn't earn anything for doing them (I didn't want him to earn the lawnmower for doing his regular chores, I want his chores to get done just because they are there and they are his), but he knows what is expected. I plan to make little cards with pictures and words on them to remind both him and me of what his chores are, but I haven't as of yet - here's where I got the idea. 

I want to get them laminated, which might actually make it cheaper to buy them from that website, but they can't seem to provide me with a shipping quote so I'll have to wait to hear back from them. 

Grant's chores right now include:

1. Making his bed in the morning

2. Getting dressed, putting dirty clothes in the hamper

3. Combing hair (I always forget this one)

4. Say family prayer (is this a chore? I don't know.)

5. Put toys away

6. Put on pajamas and put dirty clothes in hamper

7. Say family prayer

8. Say personal prayer

9. Read scriptures

10. Get hug and kiss

Ten might sound like a lot, but it seems to me that Grant appreciates being given the chance to be responsible and loves being expected to do things like this. He does lots of other things too that maybe I should add to his list, such as sweeping, vacuuming (he pretends by moving the vacuum around the house, but it'll be a while before he can actually do that one), setting the table, etc.

And one last thing, the whole chore thing was inspired by a book (the website is by the same people) called The Children You Want with the Kids You Have. I've only read the first chapter and I feel as though it's already changed my life; it provides ideas and charts and guides for different ages and so far I love it. Grant has responded so well to doing chores that I highly recommend starting some chore routines for your kids, especially if you've been thinking about it! As soon as my other kid(s) turn two, that's when I will start them on the program, they just eat it up at this age. I will post again once I've made the little chore cards! =)