Updates

No new pictures, sorry. I'll just give a quick update anyway. Life is keeping on. This cold rainy spring is sapping my motivation. I don't even have the motivation to go on vacation right now, and that's pretty sad. I did get some spring cleaning done last Friday, which was energizing, but there's always more to do...

Clara, having learned to walk, has now decided to revamp her entire outlook on life. Where before she'd want me to hold her all through large gatherings like church and family parties, she's now down and going. At a Mother's Day barbecue a few weeks ago, we caught her practicing going up and down the step into the house, climbing behind the grill, and into my aunt's waterfall. She's also decided to learn new words like jacket, uh-oh, and all gone. She's learned where her eyes are, and when you ask, she grins as she carefully points. It's hard to point to eyes without poking them, she has learned. She also likes the feel of eyelashes on her fingers. A month ago she would curl up her toes in protest when I put shoes on her, and now she brings me her shoes and lifts up her feet for me to put them on--she knows shoes mean she can go outside. In short, she's turning into a very fun little person.

Her brother is also a very fun little person. But he's three, and that brings its challenges. I'm trying to find the balance of letting him have his independence and still getting the obedience I need. Also, I need to teach him there are times to play and times to sit. I cannot get him to sit in sacrament meeting, or at storytime at the library. Things he will sit still for: television, reading books, and eating (sometimes). I went in nursery yesterday and he couldn't sit still even during snacktime. And since he's one of the oldest in there, he runs and the others follow suit. So, wiser and experienced mothers and grandmothers, how do I teach this kid to sit still?