Day 176

6/16 Playing in Allie's room, fun getting stuck under the bed!

Happy Birthday Allie!

Allie made this little mag cover

She's 11!  Yep, 11.  That sounds unreal to me.   11 years ago, I had this girl, all 9 lbs and 10 oz to be exact.  She was a busy body from day 1.  11 years later, this baby girl is still a busy body.  Constantly thinking of things to create.  Multi-talented and has super skills on the computer and a good eye for design.  She loves hanging at home and is a great big sissy to Collin, Maddie, and Zane.  She is so much like her Dad, and is good at a lot of things.  She loves to play the piano and can play some songs (like Paul Cardall's Gracie's Theme) by ear, chords and all.  Crazy!  We love hearing her play the piano.   We love her and are so happy to have her in our family.  Happy Birthday!!!

Take time!

"Mothers, when your children begin to ask you questions, even about the delicate things in life, don't turn them aside. Take time to explain to their childish minds, or as they grow up, to their older minds. A successful mother is one who is never too tired for her sons and daughters to come and share their joys and sorrows with her." 

President Harold B. Lee

What a great reminder for me to take time to explain.  to take time to explain a story, or even read a story.  Maddie came up to me while I was responding to emails yesterday, clutching the Friend magazine.  She wanted me to read the story we discussed at family home evening the night before.  And she patiently waited and stood by my side til I pressed "send".  Then because I was in a hurry to finish responding to even more emails, I concatenated the story and just told it mostly in my own words.  I knew she wanted to hear the words "No, I will not do it for anything." - a phrase the boy in the story said after being offered a cigarette.  So I made sure to say those exactly. 

But what happened after was the best.  - after I said, The End.   She quickly turned to grab the magazine, told me "Thanks for the story, Mommy". I gave her a quick peck and said "you're welcome".  And just like that she ran off.  How fleeting are those moments! But how often do I actually welcome those moments when they happen during my "busy" times. They always seem to happen during those busy times.  So after she left, I sat here and thought that in a few years she wouldn't come to me and ask me to read to her anymore! It stopped in 1st grade for Collin, although once in a while, he would come and peek over my shoulder when I am reading to Maddie.  Sniff. Oh so when I found this quote, it reminded me to take my time to have those conversations, to take advantage of the moments, even if they happen when we are busy.

Day 175

This little guy isn't the youngest Harris grandbaby anymore.  Baby Boy Merrill and grandson #10 (#12 grandbaby) was born tonight at 9:15!

 Zane makes it a challenge for me to get a sharp shot nowadays.  He loves to scoot towards me and wants to feel my camera.  He is always trying to grab my lens or strap (so I gave him my lens cap to keep him occupied for a second).

Day 174

Day 173

When Zane wakes up around 5:45, he nurses to his heart's content and then he's happy like this for an hour before he goes back down for a nap.  He loves it when I hold his feet up to my face when he's nursing and always has to hold my fingers close to his face.  I love this baby!

Day 172

My cuddle bug.  We love this little guy so so much!

Illustrator?

Allie is a wonderful illustrator, both on paper and digitally.  She drew this free-handed using Paint, and I think she has great mouse control and eye for color and design!  She will be taking an Adobe Illustrator class from Alma Loveland this summer to polish and grow her interest in graphic design.  Some samples of her logo and web design.  I like the name "scrapbook soiree" (she made it up, she is good at branding things) and love the logo she made up in Photoshop.

She is growing up to be a very talented and awesome girl.  We love her!

04/09 - Disney on Ice

Maddie and I got to go to Disney on Ice with Mindy and Maizy back in April.  Mindy had 2 extra tickets so we went.  We were in the Fox News Suite, so it was nice and had a good view.  Maddie loved all the princesses, but best of all she wanted a "white princess treat", whatever that means.  To this day I do not know exactly what she meant by that -- she must have seen something at the US Airways Center that she wanted.  The prices were super expensive for such little toys so I told her I would take her to the Disney Store if she wanted a treat on a later date.  Luckily, she was fine with that. 

 

Maddie wouldn't smile or look at the camera for anything. Turkey!

Dentist

I know, I know.  It's not all that important.  But I had my camera in my bag, and I couldn't resist taking photos.  Especially of Maddie in those star sunglasses while her teeth are being cleaned.  Too funny.  This was right after school on the day of Maddie's dance recital, May 13th.

 See what I mean?  It's pretty funny.

 No cavity club member

 No cavities for this girl, but ortho appointments are coming up!

The only one with a cavity this time around