2020, Week 9

I like the idea of journaling each week but haven't yet figured out a format I love.  Forgive me as my thoughts are all over the place.

A few highlights from the week:

• Sunday night TJ and I joined Nana and Papa at the Tabernacle for a fireside.  Papa sang in the choir and they were magnificent: it was such a treat to hear him sing in that sacred building.  

• Tuesday morning we drove to Orem to be with our sweet new nephew, Oliver.  My sister ran errands while we held that precious one month old.  Reed especially loved meeting him.

• My dad had a knee replacement on Tuesday and - after TJ worked a long day - I was able to go visit him in the hospital that evening.  He is an incredible man.  My heart just filled with love for him as I watched him greet every visitor to his room with a "Good morning!" and crack jokes as they poked and prodded him.  He did a very brisk walk around the floor while I was there and I tried to help him with techy stuff.  I was so glad I could go.

• Wednesday my niece opened her mission call!  She is heading to the Guam Micronesia mission at the end of July and I felt all the emotions as I watched her and my sister as she read it.  So much bravery and courage.  What an adventure up ahead!

• We made it to story time at the library with Miss Allison, who we adore.  

• A few days were 50 degrees - HOORAY!  We spent a lot of time outside, walking (with Reed riding his scooter), digging in the dirt, visiting Nana, and TJ and I even spent our date night walking for an hour at Daybreak lake.  It was really glorious.

TJ

Work has gotten crazy - and pretty miserable - for TJ over the past week or two.  He's putting in long, stressful hours and comes home pretty beat each day.  He did get a new electric toothbrush (that Reed calls a "fuzzy" toothbrush) and is trying out new hairdos with his hair a little bit longer.  He knocked out our taxes on Saturday night and even booked our flights for Mexico in June!  He's been enjoying the mint cookies and cream ice cream I got him.  

Rachel

I am adoring this sunshine and even spent one nap time just reading on the back porch.  I've also been pretty concerned about coronavirus (that is just starting to spread throughout the US) and spent many hours (...and dollars) last week shopping.  My goal is for us to be able to comfortably hunker down for 6-ish weeks and I think we're nearly there.  My old boss reached out to ask if I want to start working again and I'm mulling that over - pros and cons both ways and I'm trying to decide which way to go.  I finished the 2018 scrapbook I've been working on for months and just need to get up the energy to edit (all 440 pages of) it.  

Reed

On Wednesday I was very late getting Reed down for his nap and - after fighting him unsuccessfully for some time - ended up bagging the whole thing.  He's only missed his nap a handful of times in his nearly three years and he did great.  We started bedtime early (around 6) and he slept soundly from about 7-6:30.  Thursday I let him choose if he wanted to nap and when he opted to skip it we enjoyed the 6:30 bedtime again (the standard for the past few months has been between 8-9).  Friday we started doing quiet time, which we worked up as a thrilling opportunity to play whatever he wants in his room by himself.  You know what?  He's doing great!  He's been in his room for nearly an hour now and has only come out once to ask for help with his audiobook.  (Make that twice: he just sauntered into the room and said, "Mom, I just came to visit you.")  TJ and I are loving the earlier bedtimes and we are all waking up happier to see each other at 6:30 when he comes into our room.

During Reed's first quiet time he played with his Legos and - after some hard work - came to tell me all his "guys" were taking naps.  Here they are, all lined up, sleeping.

Holland

Our sweet girl had a rough week and I blame teething.  For the past two weeks her top two teeth have been poking through and when I just looked before her nap (she HATES having us look) I am nearly positive she's got all four top teeth coming in.  So.  No wonder!  She did clearly say, as I went to put her down, "Nuh nigh" to Reed, which was both darling and exciting. 

Her cries told me where she was stuck.

Holland: 11 Months Old

Boy oh boy - Holland is 11 months old today.  Reed and I have been singing happy birthday to her and I've been feeling a bit emotional? reflective? wistful? thinking about this sweet little girl and how dearly I love her.  When she woke up from her morning nap I took a few hundred pictures of her with Reed as my assistant.  She is just such a sweet girl.

• Holland first crawled at almost exactly ten months (just like Reed).  She's logged a lot of practice over the month and is officially on the move!  She fell down the four steps to the landing once and has since been really good about not going near them (we also practice having her go backwards down them every couple days).
• On February 3 (10.5 months) she said her first word!  We were at the doctor's office and needed to pass the time so we Facetimed TJ and as soon as his face came on the screen she said "Dada!"  
• Holland has an extra special love for TJ.  She says "Dada" now with some frequency (still no Mama but she does say Nana!) and she follows him with her eyes almost anytime she's near him.  She loves her daddy.
• Holland is BUSY.  In reality, she's probably not the busiest little baby out there, but after reflective, contemplative Reed she seems like it!  We borrowed a number of toys from the Petersons and we've got them all - along with ours - in a big bin in the toy closet.  When I get that out she no longer even crawls to it: there are dozens of toys in that bin and she is done with all of them!  She has started "exploring," crawling all over the house, eating things off the floor, opening drawers, grabbing anything in reach.  (This "exploring" makes Reed quite protective, both of his things and of her.  If he sees her grabbing something he shouldn't he screams "NO, HAHN!" and yanks either the thing from her or her from the thing.  Many tears are shed over these daily tiffs).
• As we sat at dinner last night, all four of us eating the same thing, I pointed out to TJ how long we hoped for just this!  We've had these long time aspirations of being a family who loves eating and delicious food and eating our red coconut curry with shrimp last night I felt like maybe we've arrived.  :)  Holland is the best eater of us all and will eat anything and everything we give her.  We have, to date, found two things she doesn't like: the first is formula and the second is milk.  But ice cream?  Give her all the ice cream.  And all the other food, though we have learned that variety is important to her - she gets mad if we feed her the same thing meal after meal or if she doesn't have more than one thing to eat at any given meal.  
• Her favorite food has got to be blueberries, which she eats dozens of every day, carefully picking them up with her little pointer finger and thumb.  She also adores shrimp, which got Reed to love shrimp, and now we eat a lot of shrimp!
• A couple weeks ago, in the middle of nursing, Holland started screaming and refused to drink any more.  That was that.  I tried dozens of times in the following days to get her to breastfeed, but to no avail.  She quit - quite on her own! - cold turkey.  She and I both had a rough transition (which for her included a lot of applesauce pouches in the middle of the night) but she is completely fine now and seems no worse for wear.
• After several months with just her two bottom teeth Holland's two top teeth came in - just two days ago!  They are just barely poking through - and we haven't yet managed a picture - but they are definitely there.  I can't wait to see her little smile with four teeth.
• Though she isn't yet great at sitting through books, Holland does have a particular love for eating paper.  Any paper.  She will crawl across a room to pick up and eat a book.  She grabs the papers hanging on the fridge anytime I carry her within arms' length.  She pulls bookmarks out and pops them right into her mouth.  She knows where the gift bags are in her closet (I store the wrapping paper there) and I find her in her room, arms looped through the straps of one gift bag, chewing on another.  
• Cute Holland loved the beach and ate handful after handful of dirt.  I mean it - the girl loves to eat anything she can get her hands on!  
• Nana and Papa taught Holland the nursery rhyme "Patty cake" and she claps her hands for it and raises her hands in the air.
• Holland has gotten pretty darn good at waving!  It is darling and melts my heart every time.  We have to ask her a few times before she actually does it but I always love seeing which one she chooses: she sometimes waves one arm or both arms and other times she holds her arms straight out and slowly opens and closes her fist.  
• One of my favorite things about Holland is that she loves being held tight.  She doesn't care for being rocked but holds completely still for a tight, long hug.  She loves it, and I do too.
• Holland is such a light sleeper.  It sort of kills us.  Reed sleeps through everything - including being picked up and moved, or tucked in, or having his clothes put away in his room, or even through Holland screaming - but Holland almost always wakes up just to the door in her room opening.  It's inconvenient, certainly, but the worst part is missing out on sneaking in late at night and rocking her while she sleeps, which I definitely miss.
• Holland is also pretty particular about where she sleeps.  We have two options: her bed or her car seat.  Anything else is unacceptable and she'll cry and fuss until she gets to one of those locations.  Last week she fell asleep in TJ's arms (in California) and it was pretty amazing - it's been months since she's done that.  
• This girl loves her tongue!  She makes so many fun noises by moving her tongue around and is especially pleased when you do it back to her.
• Holland has gotten pretty clever about interacting without words.  She has "conversations" by shaking her head back and forth with someone (ie she shakes her head at me and I do it back and she does it again) or clapping her hands back and forth or "talking" by making "blah blah blah" noises back and forth.  
• She tells you she's excited by waving her arms or kicking her feet.  Man, she sure kicks her feet a lot!  I've told TJ that the soundtrack to our life is Holland kicking her feet - ha!  In her high chair she kicks all the time (with Reed requesting to see and putting his head under the table to watch her) and she kicks faster the more excited she is for what bite you're about to give her.  :)  She kicks on the floor - sitting up with her legs straight in front of her - when she's excited to see someone or have something.  She just loves kicking.
• Holland is also strong!  When she was tiny she would do those "hollow holds," which she's stopped doing, but now when I'm changing her diaper and have her feet in the air she lifts her whole middle off the ground so she's just on her shoulders.  It is pretty amazing (and pretty tough to put a diaper on when she won't keep her bottom on her diaper!)  If I lay her on her floor with her head under her crib she will reach up and grab her crib and lift her whole upper body off the ground - if I hold her feet up she does pull ups with her body parallel to the ground.
• She loves phones and is so quick to grab them and suck on them.
• She also loves seeing people on FaceTime.  One day when we were driving home from Provo Holland was inconsolable, screaming and screaming for the drive.  In desperation I got Nana on Facetime and passed the phone to Holland.  Silence.  As long as Holland held the phone and looked at Nana she was absolutely happy, but the second I would take it from her (to give Reed a turn) she absolutely wailed.  (Conversely, as soon as I returned it to Holland Reed would scream - not enough Nana to go around!)  When Reed Facetimes someone whose voice she knows while we're on the road Holland will crane her neck forward to try to see them.
• Holland is learning to give kisses, but they (so far) feel a little more like attacks.  She will grab your face and just come right at you with open mouth.  She will kiss whatever she reaches - your mouth, your cheek, your neck.  It's all fair game.
• One of her less endearing traits right now is her love for my hair.  She sticks her hands into the middle, twists to wrap the hair around her fingers, and pulls.  It is ROUGH.  (She also pulls TJ's chest hair in the shower the whole time he holds her - OUCH!)
• She also has a painful habit of grabbing the back of my upper arm when I'm holding her and squeezing the skin, pinching it pretty painfully.  
• If Holland sees something she wants in her mouth she spits out her binky immediately.  This applies with food, a drink, a piece of paper, medicine...any and all.

When Reed wakes up one of the first things he says is "I wanna see Hahn" and that pretty much sums up how we feel about her - we can't get enough of this darling, fun, blue-eyed, loving girl.  We sure love you, Sis!

The Kids Are Talking -3-

I've got so many notes and emails all around with things that Reed has said lately that I think I better compile them all here.  That boy makes us laugh daily.  He's got such an imagination and the vocabulary to express it!  There are times we cannot figure out what he's saying, not because we don't understand the words, but usually because he's referencing something so obscure we can't even figure it out.  He asked me two days about what I thought Ashley was doing - he was referencing the person who answered the phone when I called the doctor's office two weeks ago!

November

TJ and I were complaining about something that was quite a "process" (I don't even remember what).  Later, as we carried him to the bathtub he screamed, "Stop the process!!"

Rachel: Reed, I want to get out the door, hurry and get dressed.  You'll wear your red pants, gray shirt, and orange [thinking Crocs...]
Reed: Tiger.

One day while I had my hair flipped upside down before I dried it off in the shower he looked at me and said, "Mommy have noodle hair."  (??)

After Facetiming with Papa Reed kept asking me what the "red spider" was at Poppy's house.  We eventually had to Facetime him back and Papa walked out to his garage where we saw a red bike rack on the wall that, sure enough, looked like a red spider.

Reed's nonsensical phrase is "Conky no no" which has led to us using "conk" instead of bonk ("Be careful or you'll conk" or "Don't conk me," for example).

Calls our toaster a poster.

I gave him a treat and he hollered back, "Holy smokies!"

Reed (holding Holland's binky - dangling on a binky clip - in front of her face): I catch Holland.  (I think that's the product of watching fishing videos with Papa.  :)

Reed: Want pancakes for lunch.  Tiny little square pancakes.
(I was panicking trying to figure out how in the world I'd pour SQUARE pancakes when I realized he just wanted them cut up.  Ha!)

(After picking his nose) "I got a bug!"

Reed continues mixing "yours" and "mine."  A few examples I jotted down:
Want your binky.  Want own.
Cut mines toenails.
Want yours!  (Really wants his)


December

Rachel: Holy smokies.
Reed: I'm not holy smokies.  I'm Reed Morris.

Reed (after hearing his binky when we were moving blankets): Where's binky?  Heard it snap.

Reed kept turning off the lights in the house when the Christmas tree was plugged in.
Rachel: Reed, I need you to leave the lights on.
Reed: Need to leave 'em off.  Christmas shining.

One day while walking home from shoveling snow at a neighbor's house TJ turned around to see where  Reed was and Reed was laying in the gutter, drinking/licking the snow.

Rachel: Reed, what do you want to give Hahn for Christmas?
Reed: A....big digger?
Rachel: Do you think she'd like a big digger?
Reed: No.
Rachel: What do you think she'd like?
Reed: Um....a pusher?

Over a period of a couple months we read "Freight Train" by Donald Crews dozens of times.  One day reading another book with a train in it Reed was pointing to things in the picture and asking me what they were.
Reed (pointing to a house next to train tracks): Whose house is it?
Rachel: I don't know whose house that is.
Reed: It's Donald's house.
Rachel (baffled by how he could know who Donald Duck is, since we've never seen him): Donald who?  Donald Duck?
Reed: Donald Crews.

Started calling out pallet jacks in December.

Calls the wise men "wise mans."  :)

One night Reed was laying totally still on the ground, holding his raggedy, precious blankets above his face, rubbing the tags.  I heard him say, "Sometimes it's really pretty, my white blanket.  I just stare at it."

For Christmas I thought I was quite clever to wrap each person's presents in unique paper: Reed had red trucks and Holland had white snowflakes.
Rachel: Reed, that one is for Hahn.
Reed (looking at the present, then Holland): Merry Christmas, Hahn!  (Tears it open)

The day after Christmas we helped Reed throw away his beloved binkies.  It was a rough transition (that really took several weeks to get through) and the first few days were especially hard.  He put them in the big garbage can in the garage by himself - us cheering him on and Facetiming everyone he loves for them to cheer him on - and on Friday as we watched the garbage truck drive past I commented about it.
Rachel: Look, there's the garbage truck.
Reed: It lift up garbage.  Bye, binkies.  Have a good ride!
Rachel: (silently sobbing)

At a stoplight, pointing to the birds on top of the light:
Rachel (pointing at the birds): Reed, see those birds up there?  On the sign?
Reed: What kind?  Pigeon?  Peacock?
Clearly we need to review peacocks - ha!

Reed (pointing at a neighbor's inflatable moose decoration that was up for Christmas): What's happened to moose, Mom?
Rachel: Oh, it looks like it fell down, huh?
Reed: It have owie?

Rachel: Reed, are you sick?
Reed: No, I'm not sick.  I'm nice and smooth.

January

Calls eggnog egg squash (took a LONG time to figure out what he wanted).

Reed, noticing the darkening sky: Mom, it's getting nighter?

Calls a frog a "tog"
Calls a fork a "toke"
Calls a fox a "tox"
Almost always calls TJ "Daddyo"
Waves his hand in front of him when he says no.

We got tired of changing Reed's stinky diapers and bribed him with TEN M&Ms if he'd go in the toilet.  Success.  The first time was just thrilling.
Reed (looking into the toilet): Fish!  Daddy fish!  Mommy fish!  Tiny baby fish!
Every time he went more he was thrilled to find another fish.
On day two when he went he insisted that his "stinkies" were "scrambling out my leg."  When I asked if he was pushing them out he insisted, "No, SCRAMBLING."  (???)
In the coming days his reported findings became more and more preposterous.
Reed: Dolphin!  No, three dolphins, Mom!  And stable.
Reed: Lizard.  No, not lizard.  (I affirm, "Nope, that's your stinkies, huh?) Nope.  Alligator.  (Clearly he had just seen the wrong reptile at first)

Rachel: Where do you think that bus is going?
Reed (no hesitation): To Jerusalem.
(Note: this is probably a combination of numberless recitations of the Christmas story as well as Tiny being in Jerusalem on study abroad).

Rachel: Reed's runny nose has turned green again.  Reed, look at Dad and show him.
Reed: What's happened to my face?

Papa (wanting to keep a secret from Reed): Rachel, the b-i-n-o-c-u-l-a-r-s [spelled it out] came if you want to use those as an incentive.
Reed: What ya talkin' 'bout, Poppy?

In the middle of scripture study:
(Reed hits Holland)
Rachel: Reed!
Reed: Wicked!
(Hits Holland again)

We see an excavator driving down the road.
Reed: Digger going to Befhem (Bethlehem) to see baby Jesus.


February

After putting both hands on Holland's head and pushing down:
Reed: Mom!  I baptize Hahn!

Rachel: What do you want to do today, Reed?
Reed: Wanna walk to Befhem (Bethlehem).
Rachel: Oh, that's too far away.  We can't walk to Bethlehem.
Reed (crying): Wanna walk to Befhem!

Rachel: Reed, come get your pajamas on.
Reed: I'm grateful for Dad.

Reed: Where's Dad?
Rachel: School.
Reed: I miss him like crazy cats.

Rachel: Reed, what did you do with Nana and Papa while we were gone?
Reed: Just played like crazy cats.

Rachel: You're my baby boy.
Reed: No, I'm growing up.  I'm getting taller.  I'm going to grow up to be a tall, tall man.

Reed (listening to TJ and me talk about putting on sunscreen when we arrive to the beach): I love sunscreen.  I can just smell it.

Reed (walking through the zoo): What's that?
Papa: A bearded dragon.
Reed (seeing a bearded dragon for the first time in his life): I love bearded dragons.

We stopped at the bank to deposit a check.  I didn't have a pen in the van so grabbed one that was in the little "drawer" that pops out in the drive through.  I pointed out the drawer to Reed and told him they leave pens in there for people who don't have any.  I also tried to explain that the bank is a place where you put money.
Reed: Who's that worker?
Rachel: His name is Robert.  He works at the bank.
(Five minutes later, as we're driving home)
Reed: What does Robert do at work?
Rachel: I don't know.  What do you think?
Reed: Him give pens to people.

Reed (calling from his bed at 6 AM): Mom!  (Pause)  Mom!!!
Rachel: Hi, Brother.  What's happened?
Reed: Who's that talking?
Rachel: Everyone is asleep.  I didn't hear anything.
Reed: It's Debi.  Debi is talking.
(Debi is our neighbor that lives a quarter mile away)

2020, Week 7

In the dead of winter I'm not sure there's anything better for my soul than warm, sun-filled days.  We were lucky to spend the better part of this week in southern California, joining TJ's parents in a house there while we all visited TJ's sister and her family.  We flew down Wednesday and returned late Sunday night and I wore shorts - glorious shorts - every day we were there.

Wednesday - we were the very last ones to board the flight heading down (which I fear gave Nana quite a fright!)  After landing we drove down Pacific Coast Highway, gawking at the beauty of the beaches and the ocean, as the kids napped in the JEEP WRANGLER the rental car company gave us.  Huntington Beach was so incredibly beautiful.  Made me want to move there!  We met Nana and Papa at the park near Sara's house and all the kids played together outside (while I spent a while on the phone helping my parents book a direct flight home from their cruise, given how poorly my dad was feeling).  TJ helped Colette build a little house out of twigs, the boys took turns driving Wesley's little Jeep (sometimes with screaming involved) and dumped water and mud all over the volleyball court, and all of us soaked in sunshine.  We met sweet Olive with her wild hair :) and sat and chat and enjoyed being there.  Papa and TJ picked up dinner while Nana and I drove the kids home (somehow arriving after them) and we did dinner and bed!

Thursday - after a low key morning we headed to the beach!  I'm not sure what I was thinking but I didn't actually pack any beach things, so I went to Target and spent $300 on swimsuits and hats and toys and was pleasantly surprised that we found functional things for TJ, Reed, and Holland.  I did self checkout and failed to remove the ink tags from my stuff, so saved us some money there.  :)  Maybe because it was 60 degrees out (and 59 in the water) and a week day, we had the beach to ourselves!  It was pretty amazing.  Colette and Wesley ran straight into the water, leaving Wesley shivering in towels for the remaining 2 hours and 58 minutes we were there.  Reed could not get enough of digging in the dirt and Holland ate what probably amounted to half a cup of sand, her little hands shoving fistful after fistful into her mouth.  TJ and I traded off using our new camera, trying to figure out the right settings to capture all that goodness with those people we so love.  

Took this one my phone as we were walking to the beach then used the camera the rest the trip, but I'm too lazy to pull the camera out for a better picture.  Ha!

Both our kids loved the water.  :)  It took Reed a while to warm up to the idea of going in but then he insisted on standing on shore - letting the waves wash over his legs - until he couldn't walk he was so cold.  Holland kicked like crazy while the water came near and did not want to leave it.  Just before we were leaving I told TJ to catch a few waves on the boogie board.  He was brave and jumped in and came in smiling.  After watching him a few times Reed said he wanted a turn and laid right down on the board!  We helped him ride a few waves before getting him showered off and wrapped in a towel to get warm.  Mexico is going to be a blast with these kids!

Friday - we headed out first thing to the Irvine Spectrum Mall with Nana and Papa (where I returned the $200 of stuff we didn't use to Target).  The mall is largely outdoors and has loads of fun things.  Reed started on the playground and then we headed over to the carousel.  [While there we got a phone call from sweet Julianne who was at our house delivering us lobster tails as a Valentine's Day gift!  Can you believe that?  Gosh, we love her.]  Reed was so stoic on the carousel I don't think he smiled once, though he did love it.  Holland was a bit more expressive, especially when I ran around the carousel a few times keeping up with her as she rode with TJ.  After the carousel we headed to the Ferris wheel.  Reed has been wanting to ride the Ferris wheel at Scheel's but Holland isn't tall enough to go on it and Reed can't go alone, so this was especially thrilling for him.  All six of us fit in one bucket (what's the right name for that??) and we had spectacular views as we went around a few times.  I also realized I have a decent fear of heights, ha!  

Just steps away from the Ferris wheel is a Haagen Dazs, the source of Nana and Papa's favorite dessert in all the land.  We all got ice cream and sat in the sun, letting Holland crawl around the pristine turf, taking pictures, and chatting.  Reed's ice cream had a big spoonful of mini M&Ms on it and he was content to just spoon those off and ignore the ice cream.  :)  

After Friday naps all the Muirs (including Kipp!) came to the rental house where we had a pretty delicious dinner together.  The kids ran around like banshees and the games we hoped to play together never happened, but it was a good get together regardless.  

We were lucky to be in town for citrus season and there were trees everywhere just dripping oranges and lemons.  The trees came in every shape and size and they were gorgeous.  The backyard of our rental house had an orange tree overflowing with fruit and Colette climbed it and threw down dozens of oranges.  TJ persuaded her to pick them all up by telling her he'd make fresh orange juice: bless him for spending a good hour hand squeezing orange after orange for everyone's enjoyment at dinner.  

Saturday - the Muirs had plans with Kipp's family all day so we headed out with Nana and Papa to Irvine Regional Park, which we had heard so much about.  What a park!  It was pretty unbelievable.  We went on the train first thing - it was leaving about 4 minutes after we parked - and had a great ride.  It was especially exciting for Reed.  After the train we went over for pony rides (where Holland missed out because the minimum age is one).  TJ led Reed's pony around and Reed had a great time on his horse (Gypsy).  We walked along beautiful paths to get to the zoo, stopping to look at birds on the way.  There are a number of woodpeckers throughout the park and Poppy played a woodpecker sound from his bird app and a half dozen woodpeckers came right over!  We also spotted wood ducks and cormorants and a heron at the lakes.  

The little zoo was a perfect fit for us.  It was just $2 to get in and really small, making it super accessible!  Peacocks, bears, a bald eagle, a golden eagle, snakes, mountain lions, porcupines - it was a neat place.  One of the zookeepers was out holding a falcon that we could see up close and Reed just soaked everything in - he was especially fond of the button at one exhibit that played different bird calls and pushed it probably 25 times.  Holland was exhausted and fell asleep in TJ's arms which is a real rarity (it's still more likely for Reed to fall asleep in our arms than Holland).

As we were walking towards the parking lot to leave Reed asked to ride one of the surreys the park rents out.  As I debated whether to push for naps or ride the surrey I couldn't help but think, "Live in anticipation of the memory."  Rentals were half off before noon so at 11:58 we rented a surrey that held all six of us and spent 30 minutes pedaling around the park, pausing frequently for breaks from fatigue.  Ha!  Those suckers are not easy to pedal.  My favorite stop was when we saw a man with a huge camera lens - he was shooting a barn owl, perched in a tree about 20 feet from the ground!  Poppy said it's pretty rare for them to be seen during the day so we stopped and looked at it for a few minutes.  So gorgeous.  

While the kids took (3+ hour) naps Nana and Papa went out for acai bowls.  When they got home we grabbed dinner for the kids and TJ and I got to go on a date of our own!  I really wanted to go to a place called South of Nick's but they were booked solid from 6-10 PM!  Can you believe that?  We went to another place called True Food Kitchen, which was delicious.  When we go back we're getting a double order of those brussels sprouts.  :)  

Sunday - we got everything packed up (thanks in large part to Nana and Papa) and left the house by 9:15 to get to the Muirs for baby Olive's blessing!  Austin - who was in town for a cheer competition - grabbed an Uber to join us at Sara and Kipp's house.  Kipp's parents and a couple cousins were also there.  It was a really beautiful blessing and we were so glad we were able to attend.  We took some pictures afterwards and TJ and I took our kids to Sacrament meeting while Nana took Papa to the airport (he had a required choir practice at the tabernacle and needed to be home early).  

After church we stopped at Cava (delicious Cava) for a long lunch before driving Pacific Coast Highway again.  Our hope was for both kids to get long naps and Reed complied beautifully, sleeping peacefully through Holland's singing and humming and yelling and crying and talking (she stayed awake the full 90 minutes).  We got gas and returned the rental car - and still Reed slept!  We were flying out of LGB, which is a tiny airport, so I stayed at the car while TJ went and checked our luggage.  We opened the back window of the Jeep and let Holland just play back there - and still Reed slept.  He probably slept for an hour after we parked, airplane and car noises, Holland playing, and us opening and closing doors to consolidate our packing notwithstanding.  What a kid.  We headed in the airport, got through security, and were the last ones to board the flight (again!) about ten minutes later.  :)  Holland was so tired but couldn't sleep on the flight - she fell asleep within about two minutes of getting into her car seat in the van.

As I think about the week I realize that we didn't do anything really big or grand but I think it's the little moments like these - a ride around the Ferris wheel, an afternoon at the beach, a surrey ride through the park, fresh squeezed orange juice - that stick out in memories.  So grateful to have all these experiences to remember and cherish!

2020, Week 6

So many highlights from the past week here.

• TJ, Holland, and Reed spent most of the week sick.  The kids are now nearly back to 100% but TJ has spent the past three nights sleeping propped up on the couch with a terrible cough.  We're all grateful I've stayed healthy.
• We had a big snowstorm roll in Sunday night that dropped quite a bit of snow across the valley.  Our yard had between 6-8 inches, but both our parents' houses got 10-12 inches and on the east side there were homes (in Sandy!) with 24 inches.  School was canceled in several districts and TJ's evening class was canceled at Westminster.  While Holland napped Reed and I shoveled snow together.  What a difference it makes to have warm clothes when you're outside!
• We made Reed his first hot chocolate on Tuesday.  He drank it for a minute.  :)
• Wednesday was still cold so we burned time in the morning at Scheels where Reed and I lived wild and rode the escalators while Holland sat on the main floor and watched us!  It may have been one of the more thrilling moments of Reed's life (he LOVES the escalators but we almost always have the stroller).  Cute Holland loved watching the fish and the ferris wheel.  I also loved that when I was taking this picture Reed said to me "Someone is waving at me - that grandma over there."  Apparently a woman that was there was waving from behind me - ha!

• Thursday morning TJ drove us through a snowstorm for Reed's doctor appointment at Primary Children's.  We're trying to figure out what's going on with his legs.  It took over an hour to get there and then was nearly an hour wait, which made for a long morning.  The kids did great and the doctor was so wonderful (but has no idea what's going on).  

• Thursday evening the kids went to bed at Nana and Papa's house so we could surprise our favorite babysitter and take us to a play WITH us.  We so loved The Man With the Pointed Toes that we saw it twice and got some good laughs both times.
• Friday night we did a triple date at our house after the kids went to bed, welcoming the Merkleys and Curtises for snacks, games, and a lot of chatting.  We love both couples and had a great night (even though we stayed up way too late).
• Saturday morning we went to a family concert at BYU featuring their folk music groups.  Both kids loved it and TJ and I so enjoyed seeing them take right to something we love so much!
• Saturday afternoon TJ and I went back down to BYU to see Hamlet, set in a modern setting (with Hamlet as a skater) using the original text.  I didn't know the story beforehand and had no idea everyone dies.  We had some good discussions about what we think Shakespeare was trying to teach with that one.
• I want to remember how Reed says "I don't know" as "ah no" and the way he pretends to be various construction things ("I'm jackhammer" as he hits a rolling pin on the floor, turned vertically, or "I'm grader" as he rolls a laundry basket across the floor or "I'm log loader" as he grabs Holland's leg).
• Holland gave up nursing - cold turkey - on Tuesday night, making us both quite miserable for the rest of the week.  I've tried so many times to get her to eat but she just screams, so we're calling it good and moving on.  We've had a couple rough nights as she learns to sleep without that milk and my body is adjusting slowly, but we both seem to be doing better.  I mentioned to TJ last night that it's been more than 3 years that I've been nursing or pregnant, so this is quite an adjustment. 
• I've been working HARD on getting our 2018 book finished and opened the book last Sunday night to see all the pictures gone!  TJ spent quite a while working on it and recovered an earlier version that was only missing a month, so I've redone that month and am now about 80% done with the whole thing.  I'm trying to finish quickly, both because I have a hard time working on them in the summer (when the sun is shining) and because I now feel paranoid about losing it again!

2020, Week 5

Last Sunday night Reed woke me around 2 AM, coughing.  Disappointment hit me pretty quickly as I nudged TJ and said, "That's croup.  Reed has croup."  As I finished packing all our luggage on Monday morning for a week away TJ hurried Reed to the doctor (who thankfully squeezed us in) for steroids.  TJ's sweet parents helped us to get to the airport to make our flight. 

For Christmas we asked TJ's parents to join us in Texas for a week.  We chose Austin because we had never been, heard the weather was great, the culture was fun, and we thought it would be the perfect getaway to beat winter blues.  We rented a house for all six of us and headed down for sunshine and exploration.  After five days there, I think Austin is pretty great.  And for the next time we go we have a whole list of things to do that we never actually got to.  :)

Life doesn't always go as we plan, does it?  We'll never forget this week ("Remember that time when the kids were little and we went on vacation for a week and they were so sick we hardly left the house?).  It definitely wasn't the vacation we were planning on, but there were lots of great moments and we left with scads of new memories to cherish. 

Reed was sick all week - sick enough that we rotated sleeping with him at night as he just couldn't breathe clearly - and by Wednesday Holland was sick too.  Nana and Papa (saints!  seriously, saints!) were up with Reed every morning by about 5 AM so TJ and I could get some extra sleep.  We packed a puzzle that we thought would be far too ambitious for a five day trip but on Thursday night we placed the last piece - we had a lot of down time and that's okay!

Tuesday was a nice day and we went out for lunch before heading to Zilker Park, a Central Park-like space in downtown Austin.  The sun was out and we all marveled at the people swimming in the river (it was about 65 degrees outside).  Reed tromped around the playground with Nana, Papa, and TJ as I pushed Holland's stroller along the path that paralleled the river.  I could've spent days at that place - botanical gardens, a train for the kids to ride, an outdoor science and nature center, loads of paths through loads of beauty.  Eventually I convinced Reed to leave the playground to explore the river, where he ended up in his diaper playing in that same cold river as all the other crazy people.  :)  I joined him (up to my knees ;) and Holland seems to also have inherited the cold water gene because she, too, was happily splashing around.

Wednesday morning we hit Mt. Bonnell for the gorgeous views overlooking Lake Austin (and the magnificent estates along the river!)  Reed had a complete meltdown so we called it quits early and headed to explore the Texas State Capitol, an imposing structure (with a pink hue!) that was just gorgeous to explore.  After another meltdown we headed home for naps, did takeout for dinner, and had a low key night at home.

Thursday Nana and Papa headed to Waco to explore the world of Chip and Joanna Gaines.  TJ and I spent the whole day home with the kids, just venturing out in the evening to explore the Austin Central Library with Nana and Papa prior to getting crepes for dinner.  The library was so beautiful - I wished for several more hours to see it all.  TJ and I were especially enchanted with all the board games they had (including a bunch of really nice ones we'd never want to buy without playing first). 

Friday morning we scrambled to pack up, return the stroller, buy snacks for the flight, and travel home.  Reed and TJ joined Nana and Papa to explore a Bass Pro Shop and go bowling while Holland and I traversed the (numerous) highways to get everything together for our flight home.  We were so worried about the kids' sinuses on the flight but they did great - probably due to the Benadryl we gave them. 

And now we're home.  TJ picked up this yucky sickness on Friday and has spent both yesterday and today in bed, the doctor told us yesterday that both Holland's ears are infected, and we are feeling a bit of trepidation as we look at the busy week ahead.  Instead of focusing on that, here are a few things I want to remember from last week:

• The two morning runs I was able to do in Texas.  It was so refreshing to be out in nature, running along paths in the green spaces that seemed to be everywhere.  Those quiet moments with the birds singing and my legs moving were beautifully restorative.
• The family walk we did one evening, where we ended up at a pond we didn't know was there.  Poppy and Reed had both brought their binoculars and it was my first time bird-watching with binoculars.  We saw hooded mergansers that were captivating.
• Tacos!  Turns out Austin has some really great Mexican food and we fell in love with Tacodeli, eating there three days in a row.  
• The relief I felt when TJ made our flight home.  Man oh man.  Seeing his face coming out of security, literally five minutes before they shut the door, made me breathe a huge sigh of relief.  So glad we didn't have to decide whether we'd split up to get home.
• The river swim.  It was just so fun - spontaneous and adventurous and maybe a little crazy with sick kids, but probably the highlight of the trip for me.
• The kind cowboy who helped me to the car in Salt Lake City.  TJ had gone to get the car out of parking while I gathered our luggage and this cowboy - who saw me with two kids, wearing a backpack, pushing a luggage cart (carrying two precariously-balanced car seats) with one hand and pulling two full-size suitcases with the other - turned to his friend and said "watch my saddle." and turned to me and said, "Let me help you out, Ma'am."  It was just so incredibly kind.  Before he walked away he said, "Come see us at the rodeo this weekend if y'all have time."  So nice.
• The date TJ and I had one afternoon.  It was lovely to sit out in the sunshine and eat tacos together without juggling kids and who got to eat food while it was hot.  ;)
• The unbelievable sunset on our flight home.  It was the most brilliant red-orange I've ever seen, vivid as could be, and we chased it for more than thirty minutes.  

What a week!

A post-river swim picture - thank goodness for jammies in the diaper bag!

Holland: 8 Months Old

I feel like I have a million and one things on my to do list, but I'm trying to prioritize pausing and journaling about this sweet girl because I know I'll be more grateful for this than for completed Christmas shopping lists or a clean kitchen.  So let's hop to.

This little lady is now eight months old:

And, goodness, we have sure lucked out to have her.  She is such a SWEET baby (which I must tell her often because several times every day Reed is in her face, his little voice an octave higher than usual as he says "Hi, sweet go-whoa (girl).")  She is nearly always content and so quick to smile: sometimes I get her out of bed at 10 or 11 PM to feed her and even as she blinks away sleep and squints from the light she smiles.

Speaking of light, Holland sneezes anytime the sun is in her eyes: whether in her car seat or outside, it's always consistent.

She has not yet met a food she doesn't like.  I remember Reed at this age making the most humorous faces with new foods but we don't get that with Holland at all: instead we get screams and sobs when we stop putting food in her mouth.  :)  Smoothies, applesauce, yogurt, eggs, potatoes, carrots, bananas, cheese, apples, blueberries - anything goes.  She is simply delighted with whatever she eats.  In fact, Reed is trying more things now because he sees her so happily eating them, which is a win for us all!  I am still nursing Holland but the frequency and duration have dropped quite a bit.

In fact, nursing Holland deserves its own point.  Ha!  She is such a funny girl when she nurses: she's easily distracted, which means I have to feed her somewhere quiet or she simply can't focus enough to eat (eating on the go, in the van, at someone's house, etc. simply don't work).  While nursing she does some pretty funny things with her arms: sometimes she flails them wildly, sometimes she pinches and scratches my arm, often she just reaches for and holds whatever she finds, etc.  I most frequently feed her in the glider in her room and after she's done she always leans her head back until it gets stuck between my leg and the edge of the chair, at which point she rolls over so her belly is on my leg while her head is still stuck. It's such an odd, but consistent, routine and I worry one of these days she's going to roll right off my lap.

Holland's first tooth poked through on October 12 and the second came through on October 23, so she now has her two little bottom teeth.  Nothing else has come through yet!

If I had to choose one word to describe Holland right now it would probably be curious.  She wants to grab, hold, and eat everything she can get her hands on.  It's hard to read to her because she cries if she can't grab and hold the book.  She tips over while sitting because she's reaching for something that's caught her eye.  She looks up for noises, reaches for whatever she sees, and is not really content to just sit - she has to be doing something.

Probably driven by her curiosity, she is getting pretty close to crawling.  She hasn't yet gotten up on all fours, but she will lay on her belly and wriggle her body forward until she can reach what she's going for.  She makes her way across a room pretty efficiently now (by rolling) and I'm sometimes surprised to leave a room and come back after just a minute to find her 8 feet away.  She fell off the couch last night for the first time (our fault for leaving her there.... we felt awful) but hasn't yet fallen down the stairs.

Her routine of going to sleep is so funny.  We have largely abandoned swaddling her arms.  Instead, I typically swaddle her from her chest down with a swaddle blanket.  Then I hand her her saranoni blanket (a gift from my sister), which she grabs with both hands, and pulls up to the top of her head.  She then puts her feet straight up in the air, rolls onto her side, and puts her feet between the slats in her crib.  She does that exact thing probably 95% of the time when she goes to sleep.

This girl still loves her big brother.  More than once I have been telling him to give her some space when I hear her giggling at whatever he's doing.  He pushes her over, lifts her head to sit her back up, rolls her like a log, lays on her, sits in her lap, kicks with her (which often results in actually kicking her), takes her toys, gives her toys, kisses her, licks her, and just overwhelmingly loves her.  Some of our tenderest moments are listening to him talk with her: "What's happened, Han?"  "Han, look - covered dump truck right here."  "Mommy, Han dropped it.  Get it."  "Deep bref, Han (when she's crying)."  Every morning when she wakes up and starts talking Reed shouts, "Han awake!!" and zooms to her room, where he climbs up to talk with her in her crib.  I also just melt when he, in his baby voice, says "Hi, sweet sistow" or "Hi, sweet go-whoa."  Be still my heart.

Reed still typically calls her Han (rhymes with "on") or Hanuh, but he can clearly say Holland and sometimes calls her by her actual name too.  Actually, we taught him that her full name is Holland Eileen Morris and he calls her that with some frequency.  :)  TJ and I most often call her Han, Holland, or Sister.  I also call her Sweet Girl, Sweet Sister, Lady Lover (no clue why), Little Lady, and Munch.

A few other things that come to mind.

Holland:

• Loves kicking her feet on her mattress.  Well, she loves kicking her feet anywhere/anytime.  I often hear pounding in the house, caused by her feet hitting whichever surface she's laying on.
• Kicks like crazy when someone walks into her room while she's in her bed.
• Has the cutest blonde hair that - after several haircuts - has really filled in and is now starting to grow out.
• Talks like a grandpa all the time.  
• Sucks on her teeth and sticks her cute tongue out in such a darling way.
• Pulls her headbands down to suck on the bow (sometimes until she gags herself and then spits up on them).
• Changes outfits 3-4 times a day due to making a mess while eating or spitting up.
• Is pretty darn ticklish and especially laughs when I bite her sides.
• Is a mediocre sleeper.  She usually does a 6-ish hour stretch, but I am almost waking up at some point when I'd rather be sleeping to feed her (usually around 4 AM).  We tried waiting her out but after two nights of her just talking and talking and talking for more than an hour I decided it's faster to feed her for ten minutes and go back to sleep.  Ha!
• Is a little trooper as we are almost always on-the-go during her morning nap.  She isn't one to fall asleep just anywhere (unless she is completely exhausted) so usually gets a very abbreviated morning nap in her car seat during an uninterrupted stretch driving.
• Has some stinkin' adorable, chubby cheeks.  Oh, I love them.  I kiss them so much.
• Still really adores her daddy.  She lights up when she sees him or is with him.
• Loves bathing!  When I put her in the bath she kicks until I am covered with water.  :)  On vacation last week we had a huge jetted tub and I put her in with Reed (he LOVES when she joins him) and she laid right down in the water, no hesitation at all.  She seems to love being in the water.
• Sure likes her binky.  It is most often clipped to her when she'll need it (at night, during naps, in her car seat), and she knows just how to grab it and plop it into her mouth.
• Isn't much of a cuddler.  In fact, after I nurse her when I go to bubble her she pushes herself away from me by putting her hands on my shoulders and just pushing back.  Given this tendency, I try to just hold her whenever she'll let me - if she falls asleep right after or while nursing I sit and just rock her and hold her close.
• Does love hugs and - I've recently discovered - tight hugs, where I have both my arms around her and pull her tight.  
• Wears size 3 diapers (for several months now), 12 month pajamas, 18 month dresses, and needs to bump up on pants from 12 months to 18 months (I've had some 12 month pants that will no longer fit over her cute, chubby thighs.  :)  
• Was a darling little ladybug for Halloween.

She can't actually stand yet - we propped her against the wall with her knees locked while I stood just barely outside the frame to catch her if she fell.  :)

Gosh, we just love and adore this sweet girl.  I often look at her and wonder how we got so lucky to get her in our family.  She is such a happy baby, busy but content, and fills all our lives and hearts with so much joy.  Reed, TJ, and I are all over the moon that she's ours.