Care Bear's party

We decided we could get away with doing a family party for Caroline this year.  She was on board until she realized that meant that none of her friends were coming over.  Maybe next year.  She still had a great day.  Here's how she celebrated.

 *Played dress up and got a makeover with Whitney.

  *Helped set the table and test the birthday blowers.

*Decorated.

*Pinkalicious*

*Helped me decorate cupcakes.

*Enjoyed her birthday flowers.

*Got a mani-pedi from Whit.

What a great big sis!

*Helped plan her birthday dinner: chicken,

fruit salad, rolls, and corn on the cob.

*Presents.

*Kung Fu Panda 2

*Danced

*And danced some more.

*Blew out the candles.

So fun!

Hoping for a great year, sweetheart!

In memory

Great Grandma Rose passed away last week.  I will never forget going to meet her in her beautiful downtown Salt Lake apartment.  I wasn't even part of the family yet.  She gave me a big hug.  And then she kissed me on the lips.  That was unexpected.  I quickly learned how to hug and turn my face to get a cheek-kiss instead.  :)

I'm grateful for her love, her confidence in us, her quiet testimony of the gospel, her generosity, her endurance through the last few years of health challenges. 

The annual Christmas party will never be the same without her seated as the guest of honor.  We'll miss you, Grandma!

Out of the Mouths of Babes--May

5/2--Whit was reading a book and said: I wish I was this American Girl.  She lives on an island and gets to swim every day.
Me:  Why does she get to swim every day?
W:  Because they don't have school on islands!

5/7--We were driving with the windows down today.  Whit said, "Every Saturday smells the same."

Brandon suggested, "Like gas?"

Whit replied, "Like the hot tub."

The sweet smell of Saturday.

5/8--I was wearing these new earrings today:

 

Caroline said, "Your earrings look like cherries.

Can I eat them?"

And proceeded to make fake chewing sounds.

Yikes.

5/10--Caroline and I were playing together this morning.  When she got part of our puzzle done, I told her, "I'm proud of you, Caroline!"  She said, "I'm proud of YOU, Mommy."  

5/13--Andrew was joking around at dinner and saying he was going to go clubbing.  I don't know if we've ever used that word around the house before.  Whit said, "Does that mean your going golfing?"

5/16--Random graffiti of the month:

I like it.

5/17--The girls have been having campouts on their bedroom floor for the last few nights.  Caroline can NOT remember the correct word for her sleeping bag.  This morning she told me, "I slept in my back pack....  I mean I slept in my guitar....  NOT my guitar...my sleeping bag."

5/18--Caroline's simile of the day, "Watermelons are kind of like wild dogs."

5/18--When I asked Caroline if she was ready to take her nap, she said no.  I asked, "What do you need?"  I thought she would say she needed a drink or a story or to use the potty.  Instead I heard, "I need to check my e-mail first."

And she's not even three yet.

5/19--Care Bear wears a pull-up when she takes her naps.  Today, when she got up from her nap, I was outside with the big kids, so I told her, "Go back up to your room and put on your pants and panties."

She listened.

5/29--I did my CPR certification earlier this month.  Since then, there have been a few times when Caroline has "played dead" when she didn't want to do something.  I use the evaluation skills the red cross taught me and she ends up laughing.  Well, she listens closer than I realized.  Today during church, Brandon was sitting back with his eyes close.  Caroline started shaking his shoulder and said, "This boy is not responding!  Call 9-1-1-1-1-1-1."

Caroline to the rescue!

Brandon's sweet BMX photo of the month:

Three

Our baby is three!  And if she heard me say that, she would quickly respond, "I'm NOT a baby!  I'm a big gull."  She's still working on pronouncing those R's.

I took her out on a birthday photo shoot.  She is going through that fake smile phase that makes photography challenging.  I have never been so grateful for a digital camera.  I took over 200 pictures of this cutie in thirty minutes.  And then I quickly narrowed it down to my favorite 75.  :)  I won't post *all* of those.  But here's a glimpse of Caroline at three.

 She has started sleeping in a little bit--at least for her.

She now wakes up between 6:45 and 7 most mornings.

She has been a milk chugger most of her life,

but has recently grown out of it and prefers OJ.

 Has also become our pickiest eater.

Some days we wonder how she gets by

with consuming as few calories as she does.

Is done potty training.  Yay!

But now we're working on potty perfecting.  Boo!

Has developed some intense fears lately.

Some nights she's afraid to go to sleep.

She's terrified of bugs. (I sympathize!)

Even when we're driving, if I take a corner too fast,

she yells, "Slow down, Mom!" because she's frightened.

I hope this is a phase.

In this photo, she's trying to figure out how to hold up three fingers.

It's tricky!

A few of her favorites:

TV show:  Phineas and Ferb

Movie:  Tangled

Food:  Chicken

Treat:  Candy--especially fond of Airheads

Toy:  Any of her stuffed animals or dolls

Things to do:  Hang in the tree, ride her kitty bike,

go to the science center, have friends over to play.

Caroline is a fun and silly girl. 
She makes us laugh. 
She is a great shopping buddy. 
We.  love.  her.

Nature walk

Just about every Monday, you can find Caroline and I on a walk with our friends.  We love our walking group.  Or stroller brigade.  Whichever name you prefer.  I love getting some exercise.  Care Bear loves playing with her friends on the playground when the walk is finished.

A few weeks ago, we had a more exciting walk than usual.  It was full of animal life. And Caroline was LOVIN' it.

First we saw baby ducklings in the lake.

They are just WAY too cute.

I wish the duckling phase lasted longer.

Then we spotted an adorable baby turtle crossing

our walking trail.  Clara picked it up and showed everyone.

But the BEST part was when we got back to the park

and TJ let the kids play with the baby chicks he got for Easter.

Caroline picked out the one she loved.

And she didn't put it down until TJ left.

She even took it for a ride down the slide.

Weeeeee!

Every week since this one Caroline has asked about the baby ducks, the baby turtle, and the baby chicks.  And we haven't seen any of them since.

But last week we did see this cool duck:

At least I thought it was cool.

It was not a baby,

so Caroline was unimpressed.

How our garden grows

It's garden planting time.  We LOVE getting our seedlings in the ground, caring for them, and watching what happens.  Last year's garden was a bust.  We had beautiful, big plants...and hardly any veggies.  Frustrating.  So, this year we decided to go with fewer plants and see what happens.

 We went with tomatoes (big and small), lettuce,

 sugar snap peas, and zucchini.

Plus, our raspberry bush from last year is still alive.  Yes.

 We'll have to wait and see if our new planting methods work.

 For now, these little sprouts

 and blossoms hold the promise of good things to come.

Celebrating Moms

Some of my greatest joys are found in motherhood.

 I absolutely love being a mom.  

 I love having mommy friends who serve me, 

set examples for me, 

and help me along the way 

as I learn and grow as a mother.

  It will be a lifelong journey.

I am blessed with two amazing mothers in my life.

 the one who raised me 

and the one who raised Andrew. 

They continue to serve me.

 And teach me.

I hope I can be like them when I grow up.

 Happy belated Mother's Day!