cold inside and outside

This weeks well check doctor visit- Bennett was 100% (head, height and weight). Darla was 10% weight - well you get the idea. Basically we have a solid guy and a dainty gal. With the temperatures being cold outside and us battling our colds inside, we've been keeping to ourselves a bit these days. I feel so bad for Bennett with his congestion. It makes me so grateful that we are usually a healthy bunch. I've also re-realized how wonderful of a baby Bennett truly is.
Darla is very involved with Beauty and the Beast these days. Almost every time she watches it she'll say something like, "I love Beast," or "He is so handsome". She walks around the house singing, "No, ones big like Gaston. No, ones, la la la la". Darla has also taken on the job of saying the prayer at dinner, at family prayers, etc. Erik will say, "Jenny, will you say it tonight?" All in the same breath Darla will say, "Darla say it! Dear Heavenly Father....".
Well we have heard back from Minnesota and OF COURSE Erik got accepted for the PhD program here. We are still waiting to hear back from the other three schools he applied to (Berkley, North Carolina, and Washington). So we will see. He is amazing. I'm SO grateful for a husband who is willing to put in the time and effort to make our lives so brilliant. What a wonderful life.

enlightened

As I was scrolling though the photos of our month long trip to Utah . . . these were the two that depicted our trip the best. Darla was all smiles the whole time - her face full of light and learning as she watched and played with her cousins, grandparents, aunt and uncles. She was enlightened by the interactions - the relationships.

Bennett was surrounded by people (babies) his age. Everywhere you'd look all day/night long there were babies. His face was full of light and learning as he watched and sat by his cousins, grandparents, aunts and uncles. He was enlightened by the interactions - the relationships.

Erik and I were thrilled to have a break - so many helping hands and enjoyable outings. Wonderful time together. Once again - I repeat myself because it's true - we were enlightened by the interactions (the family discussions, the Spirit, the dinners, the evenings bouncing babies, the treats, the laughter, the reunions, the humbling moments, the music etc). I am changed for good.

most wonderful time

don't worry - we are still in UT having a grand old time. Happy New Year everyone. I'll post pictures when we get back to MN!

advice?

So I am needing some advice from the mothers that read/check/glance/pass by my blog. I have two wonderful children. Darla will be 2 on the 28th of December, Bennett is 3 1/2 months old. Frequently there are times where both of them are crying at the same time. This happens at all different kinds of moments. The one that happened tonight; Darla didn't want me to nurse Bennett when it was time for him to eat. I began feeding him and she cried the whole time - which made it difficult to feed Bennett because he kept crying on and off since he could hear her. That is just one example. Other times they are both crying for whatever reason. That happened this week and they both were crying for about 30 min straight. Mind you - I was trying to get them to stop some how, some way.
So, mothers - anyone - what do I do? How do I not let it get to my nerves. How do I stay calm?  Sometimes I just break down and cry with them, other times I am so frustrated I cannot think, I feel like I'm just reacting (which is no good). Oh the joys of motherhood right?

december

I love the month of December. My whole life it has been full of birthdays, holidays, family, friends, vacation, delicious food/treats, music, and celebration. Darla and I celebrated our birthdays together by going on a little Mommy-Darla date. We were lucky enough to go see Disney on Ice. She didn't move for two hours straight. She'd never beheld anything like that in her whole life. What a wonderful adventure to share together. On my birthday I woke up to Darla saying "Mommy, there's a happy birthday for you downstairs mom!" We walked down the stairs and she ran over to the kitchen table where there were a few wrapped presents, "Open them for you mom? Yeah? Sure?" She was so excited. I felt VERY celebrated. But I do have to say this is the first birthday that I have ever thought twice about my age. 26 has made me feel like I am actually getting older. Or may be it's the fact that I am a mother of two children? Who knows? I love my little family.

This week I had the energy to throw together some Christmas Sugar Cookies. Darla was a great help and LOVED that she could eat the dough (in comparison to Play-Doh, yuck).  She also thought it was pretty neat that she was making her own little gingerbread man. This Tuesday we are off to Utah for about a month! I'm so excited. Instead of taking the presents to SLC we are going to have our own little Christmas morning tomorrow! Darla must have been a good girl if Santa is coming to our house tomorrow and Crazy Grandma's house on the 25th. :) Erik has just a few more finals to wrap up and then he'll be ready for the last semester of his Masters program. How crazy is that? You can do it Erik - we are so close. For all of you who don't know this . . . Erik is incredible (simply put). Once again I love the month of December.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town.

Once again Darla was in tears on Santa's lap. She had been talking about going to see Santa all day long and as soon as the moment arrived with the man in the red suit - break down. She was very thoughtful and polite through her tears saying "thank you" for the Christmas pin he gave her. May be next year Santa. Cute girl. What is it about Santa that scares kids so much? When we were done, Erik said "That would be the worst job. Sitting in a chair waiting for crying little kids to come take a picture with you." Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas.

hard at play

Hours and hours later the play-doh is almost dried out. It was a great purchase at Target this week. But, then again look at Bennett - who needs play-doh when life is already so great? :)

thanks

Happy Thanksgiving. I am full of thanks today as I watch my two beautiful children. How lucky am I to be able to be a mother, especially the mother of Darla and Bennett. Every single day I am awed and amazed at these two little people. Darla is almost two - her personality ever so present and character so kind. The conversations that we have will be forever cherished. Bennett is growing, and learning - interacting with him is one of my favorite things. I love newborns. Why does that stage have to disappear?
I was talking to my sister the other day and she said how she loves that the world hasn't quite figured out how to commercialize Thanksgiving - meaning they go from Halloween straight to Christmas. Thinking about it, I'm not surprised. The world doesn't have time to slow down and give thanks - it goes from "where's the candy" to "give me presents". If only it would slow down and be grateful, just think what a difference that would make. May be then in those moments of thanksgiving all would notice that there is something greater. Someone who gives all. Someone who loves all. I'm grateful for that Someone because He has given me my life - my family.

My Darla Anne

I love this picture!

two little kids

I finally got up the courage to give Darla a little trim. I didn't know if it was going to be crazy to try and have her hold still. She held very still - considering she was glued to the Little Einstein's DVD.
Once again it's another weekend and I cannot believe it. I have decided that time disappears because the days and nights all run together right now. There was a day this week that suddenly turned into night and then the next thing I knew it was 7 AM and I was doing the dishes - had I slept? It was already morning? :)
These two little kids continue to teach me. This week my mom (an incredible mother) gave me a piece of advice that she received sometime in her life - treat your children like they are your best friend. For example you wouldn't get frustrated if your best friend was walking too slowly, you would most likely slow down to walk with them, or if your friend broke something, or got something dirty you would most likely react patiently and help them. Ever since she said this, I have been thinking about Darla and our interactions, about Bennett and our interactions. I hope I can apply this idea as I strive to raise my children with love and patience. There is much to learn. I love being a mom.