My precious little loves

 

(Cute matching panda t-shirts from Grandpa Barrus who brought them home from Beijing.)

I love these little people.  They are bright, funny, interesting, sweet, occasionally frustrating and frequently really loud.  They are dramatic, kind, and thoughtful of each other.  I love their hugs, their stories, and to watch and listen to what interests them.  I am finding full-time parenting rewarding and challenging and sometimes irritating, but never, ever boring.  I can not imagine my life without these people in it.  I want to hold them, snuggle them, smother them with kisses so they know how much I love them.  Brandt wanted to hide under the bed today, so I climbed under with him.  I was gazing at him, just drinking him in.  I do the same with Blythe.  As I rock her at naptime and as I put her to bed for the night, I just want to squeeze her.

Our brand new niece, Lyla Mae, is in the hospital.  She has a heart defect and it is making it difficult for her to breathe.  We are praying for her immediate recovery and a delay in the surgery that will be necessary to repair her heart.  Although she has only been a part of the family for two weeks, we love her already and want her to get better quickly.  These little children, and all the children in our extended families, have wrapped themselves around our hearts and we treasure every moment we get to be with them.                            

Me with two children on me.

Easter baskets and wheat grass

I recently learned how to sprout wheat to have actual grass for Easter baskets.  

I'm not really a crafty sort of person, but this required little effort for a cute result, so I tried it.
The children were naturally keen on participating in the whole process.

They both helped fill the containers with dirt.

Of the two children, Brandt's attention span lasted longer.  

How could he not be interested in shovels and dirt?  He is a boy, afterall.

They both enthusiastically "planted" the seeds.  

The initial preparation of the Easter containers was several days ago.  

Here is what our containers look like today.  

Brandt was delighted to water them this morning--giving them a good spritz with a spray bottle. 

We are both excited at how quickly they are growing.  

I think they will make a darling centerpiece on the table for Easter, filled with brightly colored eggs--

(a project for later in the week).

A ceremony

We continue to struggle with potty training.  

For some reason, Brandt has a hang up about doing his business in the big toilet.

He has had a little potty, but it reeks of nastiness and can't be cleaned.

So we had a ceremony.  

A very important ceremony.

A ridding of the toilet ceremony.

First, we smelled the toilet and thought nasty thoughts.

 (Not too difficult as it stank horribly!)

Then we marched the toilet to the trash, chatting, 

"The toilet must go! The toilet must go! P-EW the toilet must go!"

Then we had Brandt hurl the toilet into the trash.  

We are finished with the potty!

Now begins the concerted effort to help Brandt feel comfortable taking care of the

"bare" necessities on the big toilet. 

Wish us luck.

A sunny day's contraption

We were outside practically all day today.  

In an effort to protect his gear from Blythe, 

Brandt cleverly figured out how to transport all his stuff.  

He had the shopping cart and the neighbor's trike on the sled.

The pull cord on the sled is wrapped around his waist, and he is pushing his lawnmower.

Remarkably, he was able to stay just ahead of Blythe.  

Blythe was far more interested in being the stroller.  

She was content to be pushed up and down the street with her kitty in the stroller with her.

Brandt took this picture of her squinting in the sun.

We were all so happy to be outside.

Brandt's photos

Brandt always wants the camera.

We bought him one for Christmas, but it doesn't look real, even though it is, so he won't us it.  

He insists on using mine.  

He loves to take self-portraits.

Otherwise, our little photographer has such an interesting view of life.
He takes pictures of the strangest things.

Here are some of his shots.

And my favorite this week

Grandma Hare

Today is my Grandma Hare's birthday.  She is 87.  She has no idea it is her birthday.  I'm not sure she knows who she is.  Grandma was fiery, opinionated, active, and dynamic.  She entertained lavishly (my father says she threw great party), cooked wonderfully, and made things happen.  She has a somewhat racy past I always wanted to hear about in great detail.  She had a good, sincere, and generous heart.  She encouraged and supported those she loved, and I palpably felt her love and concern for me.  She never did things by halves, but threw herself into projects and continued to work to learn and improve herself late into her life.

Now Grandma sits quietly, is confused, and when she speaks, makes no sense at all.  I took the children up for a visit today and Grandma looked marginally scared when I went into her room to say hello.  She obviously had no idea who I was and was uncomfortable with the children.  I said hello and beat a hasty retreat so as not to upset her.

It makes me sad that the woman I know and loved is no longer with us.  Her body is there, but her mind is so altered.  I still love her, of course, and grieve for her loss, even as she is still physically here.  I'm sure it must be so frustrating for her to be awash in mental fog.

I am grateful to know that our familial relationships last through eternity, and that the vibrant woman I know and love will be restored to full health and mental faculty.  I am sorry my children won't know her in this life, but rejoice that they will know her in the future the way I knew her.  Happy birthday, Grandma.  I love you.

A good dad

In the early evening of an early spring day,

Kent came home from work and played outside with the children while I made dinner.

He wrestled with them in the grass and read them two stories Brandt fetched from inside.  

I had a wonderful view of it all from the kitchen window.

I loves these people.

Homage to Cookie's Week

This is a delightful book.  

The children love it.  

They have taken Cookie's actions to heart.  

Here is my homage to Cookie's Week.

I call it Brandt and Blythe's Week

On Monday, Brandt played in the basement.

There were tools everywhere.

On Tuesday, Blythe opened a kitchen drawer.

There were baggies everywhere.

On Wednesday, Brandt discovered the art supplies.

There was finger paint everywhere.

On Thursday, Blythe spied an open cupboard.

There was cinnamon everywhere.

On Friday, Brandt emptied the entryway basket.

There were shoes in the dryer.

On Saturday, Blythe carted Brandt's toilet across the room.

There was pee everywhere.

Tomorrow is Sunday.

Maybe the children will rest.

It's eternal!

Blythe was sealed to us today and we couldn't be happier about it.

Can you see how we are beaming?

The children were angelic in the temple, perfect and beautiful in their white clothing.  I'm not sure there is anything better than taking your children to the temple.  

It brought tears to our eyes just seeing them dressed in white.

Blythe was somewhat reluctant to participate as she was supposed to, but Brandt stood next to us and encouraged her kindly. 

It was sweet and tender, touching and spiritually moving.

We are grateful for family and friends who were there to support and celebrate with us.

We rejoice in being an eternal family.

Can you see how we are beaming?

Doesn't Brandt look perfectly handsome in his white clothing, with the emphasis on the "perfect"?

He loved the tie!

Loved ones all who joined us to celebrate.

We're beaming again. 

Or still.

We've had The Dad and The Lad at our house for several years.

Now we have The Mom and The Miss.

It's official!

Here she is--our daughter!

Blythe Isabella Barrus

Adopted 3 March 2010

Blythe officially became ours today in a sweet court session.  Grandpa and Grandma B and Grandpa De and Grandma Sue joined us in welcoming Blythe into our family.  During proceedings, Judge Bazelle put Kent on the spot by asking him when we were married.  He got that "deer in the headlights" look on his face and stammered out our wedding date.  We both cried as we shared why we wanted to adopt Blythe.  She is such a charming little person, happy and cheerful, funny and bright, and she brings such a sweet spirit into our home.  It has felt, from the beginning, like she belonged.  Now she does.  

  

Blythe with Grandma Sue and Grandma B

Brandt, ready for anything -- bored with everything.

And he's only three and a half.

During proceedings, the children cleaned their hands with hand sanitizer.

Repeatedly.

Who knew court could be so fun?

When all was said and done, we were invited to join Judge Bazelle on the bench.

Blythe was able to sign her adoption decree and make it all legally binding by rapping the gavel.  

Judge Bazelle then offered both Blythe and Brandt a stuffed bear.  

Blythe accepted both as Brandt very shyly would not take his.  

He has learned well the lesson about taking things from strangers.

Judge Bazelle and our little family.  Brandt would not look at the camera for any of the group shots, and Blythe has her eyes closed in this one.  We struggled to get a good shot. 

Is it spring?

The first of March brought 50 degrees and sun.  

Could it possibly be spring?  

While I hope so, I would really like one more significant snow storm so we can go sledding again.

In the absence of snow, we enjoyed the park.

Brandt emerging from an underpass on the river trail.  

Intent study of the river.  

I dreamt Blythe threw her kitty and kiki (her security blanket) into the river, 

and I had to go in and fish them out.  

They smelled like fish.  

We saw funny graffiti on our outing.  

On the play equipment was this offering:

Apparently A.Y. can't make up her mind.

And further on--

  

Who tags about Toy Story 2?

"Dante" is the film critic.  

He must be something of philosopher, in spite of the Toy Story tag--

Inside the underpass he wrote,
"I'd rather live kiss to kiss than paycheck to paycheck."

Too true.