Thursday, April 30, 2009

Catching up is hard to do


Sorry that I have totally been MIA in the blogging world. Don't you worry your pretty little head though; I have been keeping up with all of your blogs so I have been enjoying the blogging world, just not actively participating. Two kids is surprisingly busy--more so than I thought it would be.

We had a fabulous Easter. On Saturday, we went with some friends to see the Easter bunny and do the egg hunt thing at a local church here in Kennewick. Niev LOVED it. Unfortunately, the parents don't know quite how to control themselves at these sort of events so Niev went home with a very small amount of eggs, but she was happy. She even saw a boy that was sad because he didn't get any eggs; Ian then encouraged her to share one of her eggs with him. She is becoming a very sensitive, bright girl. (Now if we could only stop the biting and hitting!) She even gave the Easter bunny a hug and waved hi to him. Pretty cute.

We dyed Easter eggs together as a family in an unusual way this year using silk ties. Things got so busy I didn't take an AFTER picture, but here is the before!


Niev woke up to a fun Easter basket left by the Easter bunny on Sunday morning. In it were marshmallow chicks, marshmallow bunnies, bubbles, a book, a big bouncy ball, eggs to hide and some eggs already hidden by the Easter bunny. She loved the candy and was more excited about eating the eggs' treasures than actually finding the eggs. (Can't really blame her!)

One FHE, I gave a lesson on temples and got a great idea from one of the blogs I follow (thanks Katie) to build your own temple using sugar cubes. Ian and I participated in a friendly contest of "best temple" while Niev enjoyed licking the "temple".

I've recently been called as Primary President and am a bit overwhelmed with the calling. We luckily have a small primary and so it is quite manageable. Our first Sunday was Easter Sunday and the bishop hadn't replaced me as chorister so I was over Sharing Time and Singing Time. By the end of church that day, I was exhausted and felt like I had been riding a rollercoaster for two hours. I think once I actually get things under control, I will really enjoy this new calling. I have three fabulous counselors/secretary. Each of them are so enthusiastic, creative and a great support to me.

The girls are so much fun right now. Rowan is laughing and smiling pretty regularly.

She is eating oatmeal/cereal from a spoon and really gobbles it down. She hadn't been sleeping more than a five hour stretch so the doctor told me to put it in her bottle, but it still wasn't enough so she eats meals with us now. Niev thinks Rowan's food is pretty tasty and is always asking Rowan to share her food. At her last appointment she weighed 14 1/2 lbs and seems to have beefed up since then a bit. When we took her to Spokane for her eye appointment, the specialist couldn't see anything! She said her eyes looked perfect. At Rowan's 4 month appointment, our pediatrician (who originally saw it) looked again and couldn't see what he saw before. So who knows what it was, but at least it disappeared on its own. I'm not complaining!
Rowan just stares at her dad. She is so intrigued by him. She will reach up to touch his face (probably because it is rough) and will smile the biggest at him. It really is the sweetest thing!

Rowan is a big fan of Niev's. She thinks Niev is hilarious. Ian and I were worried that she would always live in fear of Niev, but to the contrary. She brightens up as soon as she hears Niev's voice or sees Niev paying attention to her. It really is the cutest thing. I'll try to upload a video of the two of them playing on Niev's bed together. Adorable! stay-tuned...

Niev is potty training and has been for at least a month. She is still taking a duke in her panties at least every other day if not more (anyone have any advice for me! We have tried everything!). She loves Mr. Rogers, Bill Nye the Science Guy and Sesame Street. (We get all the old school stuff from the library and we own some SS.) She loves going to nursery and playing with all her friends, especially Olivia and Emma. She loves having her friends over to play. Normally, this involves her taking her bed apart (two twin mattresses stacked on top of each other) and jumping from one mattress to the other mattress. I'm just waiting for someone to get hurt (does it sound like I'm neglectful???) She is hilarious and loves to be a show-off.

She is very independent and has learned to open the fridge (hence the need for a fridge lock), climb up on the counter (hence us taking all the barstools away from the counter), turn on the DVD player (hence us shutting it off manually), etc. As soon as she sees me start to feed Rowan and begin pumping, she runs out of the room to see just what she can destroy in five minutes. But as soon as she hears me coming, she will say, "I put it back, I put it back." She goes a mile a minute and still is even though she has been sick the past two days.
Notice the remote--now you know who really wears the pants in this family!
She is very picky about her footwear. She doesn't really care what I dress her in, but she MUST wear her "boots with cherries on them" everywhere she goes (including church--yes, we get MANY comments on them, good? bad? who knows.) We are in the process of trying to find replacement shoes for those boots. I love them but not chapel attire!

12 comments:

Brandon and Amber said...

Yea for an update! I've been a blogging slacker too. Hey, we've been busy, right? I LOVE the picture of you and your girls. Very sweet.

Jen said...

Such sweet girls! Emma loves Niev. On the way home the other day she kept asking to go back... so cute.

Love Sweet Love said...

Um FINALLY!! I hope things are getting a little more manageable for you in the having two kids department, I feel like I am just now getting ahold of my life-4 mo. later!! Wow, Primary Pres. what an exciting, and very big, calling-you'll be great!

Tyler was sitting next to me when I opened your blog and I said, "do you remember Niev?" He got this really shy look on his face and said "her cute. I want hug her." Ha ha! She IS a cutie!!

Maria said...

So fun to see your adorable kids. Sounds like they keep you busy. And Primary President will just add to it but you will be awesome. I'm sure the kids already love you from singing time. Thanks for the update!

The Webers said...

Wow! That was great to read all about your happenings! The girls are adorable. I really miss them! Congrats on your new calling. I love primary...best place in the world to be!

Shelly and Scott said...

Congrats on the new baby. Your girls are so cute. New Primary President too. Wow. I'm the Primary Pres. in R2 Ward. I did music and sharing time too this last sunday. It is wild sometimes, but very fun. We have only 17 kids, 4 teachers. It some how works out. Enjoy this special time. Glad you had a great Easter. Say Hi to Ian, I do check your blog from time to time and it is really fun to see. I'm friends with Paula and my daughter Kelly Carter is friends with Alyx up in Utah now. Love the Strawn. Have a great week. Love,
Shelly Carter

Katie said...

Glad you guys had fun with the sugar cube temples.

I just got called to be primary pres a few months ago. I'm still exhausted ever Sunday when I get home. Its always so busy. But I love it. You'll be great.

The Despain Gang said...

It's been too long since I've seen pics of Rowan. She's so cute; she look more and more like you to me. Anyway, I loved all the pictures and although most of the news we discussed over the phone, it was so nice to hear a recap, digest version of that last several months, it was fun to read. YAY!

Jared & Larisa said...

It's great to see what's going on with you and your cute family! It makes me so sad we haven't seen each other in 4 years. What's the deal with that?? You look fabulous with your 2 girls (they are precious!) And good luck with the Primary President calling ... whew! That will certainly keep you busy.

Megann said...

Niev is beautiful and Rowan is getting so big! I love her big eyes. Wow. Primary Pres. You'll do great!

Aileena said...

I'm jealous!!!! I just saw you won one of the hats on grosgrain sewing blog. No fair! You have to take pictures with it on.

Elizabeth said...

Oh my gosh, Lora she is so gorgeous!!! And all grown up! I can't believe it.