Of Herb Gardening

For Christmas, I received from Philip's grandparents a Chia Gourmet Herb Garden - which was exciting as this would be not only my first Chia experience, but also my first opportunity to grow our own herbs.  It was a couple of days later that I realized the process of planting and growing would make for a fun family activity.

Not understanding just how much my daughter was gleaning from Sid the Science Kid, I entirely underestimated her enthusiasm for the project.  At the simple mention of growing plants, my three-year-old cried with delight, "We're going to plant seeds?!"  That's right, my daughter gets the fact that plants come from seeds - and I did not tell her that.  Thanks, Sid!

And, so, we ventured to the backyard with our supplies.

I was genuinely surprised by how interested the kids were.  I never had to ask them to come settle in so we could plant some herbs.  From the second Micaiah saw me holding the box, she was by my side, asking what everything was as it was pulled from its cardboard home.  As I laid it all out on the concrete, she kept an eye on the proceedings.  And, of course, where Micaiah goes, there goes Emmett.  So this photo of them seated and waiting was not contrived.  They were intensely interested in the process.

Next, we watered the Chia sponges - because apparently that's what you do with Chia.

Finally, the pouring of the seeds.  I would say this was Micaiah's favorite part, but I think the entire project was her favorite part.

And now, we wait for them to grow.  (Yes, it looks strange seeing those seeds just sitting on top of the dirt, but the instructions were clear, and we followed them - we'll see how this goes!)

One thing Sid failed to teach our daughter is that, unlike on his half-hour show, plants take time to grow.  After Philip and I carried our filled pots into the house and placed them atop the fridge (again, we do what they say), Micaiah continued to ask, "Where are the plants?  Did they grow?"  We continued to explain that it will be a week or so at least until she sees something, but she was undeterred.  Clearly, those plants had grown and we were just hiding them from her.

And, so, she ventured forth and decided to plant her own garden.  Using "seeds" of grass in a pile of dirt in the backyard.  Frankly, I was just impressed the girl was putting her hands in dirt - the same girl who wouldn't get in a sandbox because, "It's dirty!"

Meanwhile, Emmett and Daddy just chilled.  Herb gardening can really take it out of a guy.

Of Enjoying the Weather

Three years ago - Micaiah's first winter - the only snow seen falling in our backyard did not come early, in November, or even during any of the normal winter months.  It came the last day of March.  I was very sad that winter - clinging to hope that one day we would see a single snowflake - Micaiah's first snow - and cursing the fact that we lived in Oklahoma - where we would never have any guarantee of a white winter.

Since that year I have had little to fear - ice and snow storms have plagued our winter months for the past two years.  And it has been wonderful.

And right now, I am praying for a repeat of that winter three years ago.  In planning for our Christmas travels and preparing for a baby who will arrive at the same time of year during which Snowmageddon 2011 hit, I have had not one inkling of desire to see any solid precipitation fall.

Thankfully, the weather has thus far cooperated.  Now, I understand, we still live in Oklahoma - where we can have two blizzards back-to-back with a day of temperatures in the 60's sandwiched between them.  So I hold no false delusions.

But for now, I'm rejoicing in the fact that today neared 70 degrees and praying our unseasonably warm January sticks around for the long haul.

And the family celebrated by taking to the outdoors today - for some late morning play until the kids' cheeks flushed red and an early evening walk followed by Tag in the front yard with Daddy.  Maybe if these higher temperatures feel appreciated they will stay where they're wanted.

Fingers crossed.

 Coloring her rock - the same one she railed at Emmett for coloring until she learned it wasn't off-limits.

 He calls our cat (Annie) "Nee!" - it's pretty adorable.  This is also about as close as he'll get to her at the moment.

 I love family walks.  This is actually Emmett's first time as a participant in the "walk" aspect of the activity.  He seemed a fan.

Emmett didn't quite grasp the game - but he thought it was fun all the same.

 Daddy was getting a little worn down by this point.  This is why I don't play Tag.

Of Our Amazing Kids

I will have to admit: a babymoon is one of the greatest inventions ever.  I feel as though I came out of it more in love with my husband - thanks to the quality, child-free time we able to share - and ready to be a "mommy" again.

I've now felt myself truly cherishing these final moments, days, weeks before our time is channeled, once again, into caring for a newborn and suddenly divided between three, rather than simply two (not to mention time for each other!).  It's these little moments, like snuggles with our little cuddle-bug of a son or playing dolls or hide-and-seek with our adventuresome daughter (whose favorite, and almost cutest, phrase is, "Wanna play wit me?") which are held so dear.

But it's also those moments in which I get to be simply an on-looker which are so priceless.  Like yesterday when I really didn't want to put them down for a nap as they sat in the entryway of our home simply playing together - so happy, so peaceful.  Or today, as Micaiah played on her own and Emmett came to see over her shoulder what she was doing; noticing him back there, she leaned her head back onto his shoulder and he placed his tiny arm around her.  Seconds later, when I thought she was going to yell at him for playing with an unapproved toy, she, instead, leaned in and pecked him on the cheek.

I love these two.  And I love how much they love each other.

Given the above anecdotes, I'm sure you can imagine how the room-sharing is going.  They adore waking up to each other.  When I went in to retrieve them this morning, this is what I found:

It took a full two or three minutes before Emmett even looked up and Micaiah never even noticed I was there until she saw the flash of the camera.  They were both so engrossed in their reading material, as they lounged on her bed.  Yeah, they're pretty much the greatest.

And on an unrelated note (except for noting the amazingness of our children), Micaiah announced this morning, "Mommy, I'm going to go into the potty and make water right now."  And then she did!  In case you're unaware, this is not exactly the first time she has gone on her own, but this is the first time she has done so on this particular leg of this seemingly endless potty training journey - as in, it's been months almost since we've heard her announce her intentions and then follow through.  Just for that, she got not one "white donut," but two.  She pretty much could have asked for a pony in that moment and I might have tried to figure out how to work it into the budget.  Have I mentioned I am so ready for this girl to be potty trained?

Of Doubling Up

While my official "due date" has remained February 6th, our 20-week ultrasound showed our little one as preparing to be ready by February 1st.  I'm not sure if you've looked at a calendar recently (or, you know, remember celebrating the New Year's arrival), but the latter date is less than one month away.  

Less than a month.

I knew this baby was coming, but for some reason, as others continued to inquire about the arrival of our newest and insisted "that's so soon," even in October, I have maintained the feeling that we still had plenty of time.  I knew, though, that when the holiday season had ended, this baby was right around the corner.

And here we are, heading around the corner.  

Yikes.

To prepare for the impending invasion, and also in recognition that a home-birth does not come with room service following the actual birthing process (a fact I will miss about the hospital - I'm a big fan of being lazy in a reclining bed, watching cable television and phoning in my lunch order - sigh), I had announced to my husband that during the month of January we would begin doubling any recipes that could be frozen and saving the extras for baby's arrival.

Today was the first day - the first real moment of knowing we were counting down the days - to cook that little extra in preparation.

Note to self: the Crockpot was not made for a double recipe of Chili.  Good to know.

PS This recipe is called "Chocolate Chili" because of its secret ingredient: dark chocolate!  We love it!  (Further note, if you try to copy it, I started leaving out the marjoram and coriander after I realized they're just not my kind of flavor.)

Of Her Penmanship

Had I been blogging over our Christmas vacation, this is a story I would have shared then.  Instead, I'm sharing it now.  And I'm vaguely cheating (although, recognizing this is my project and my blog, thereby my rules, there's really no cheating, right?) on my picture of the day, because it's not something that happened today, but I don't care.  It's what we're remembering today, anyway.  Deal with it.

After opening the last of her Christmas day gifts, Micaiah was settling in to play and began by doodling on her new art pad which came with the lapdesk given to her by Grandpa Ross and Grandma Veta (ie, Philip's grandparents).  Noticing her name written on the desk, she decided to mimic what she saw.  And, thus, she began:

"It's a 'M'!" - and then, carefully inspecting the lines in the letter, she began to draw her own - "and an 'i'" - at which point she drew a short line, topped with a single dot (and then did it again for some reason).  And thus it went, looking between her inspiration and her work, she copied half of her name before moving on to another task (she is three, after all).  Having never seen her attempt to write all on her own, this was an exciting moment for all the adults in the room.  Our daughter is learning and her little brain is growing.

We are so proud of her.

Her "name" is in the brown (if you squint and tilt your head just right, you can see half of an "M", two "i's", a "c", a vague "a" and the clear sign she was ready to move on - I'm not sure if that's supposed to be her face in black or not).  Clearly she's a long way from penning the great American novel, but recognizing she's three, we're hopeful she'll develop her handwriting in due time.

Of a Few Final Gifts

Today, our family celebrated a vague rendition of Three Kings Day - which really had none of the aspects I had originally hoped for, other than opening presents.  But it was a good day nonetheless.  Watching our children, bathed in morning light, enjoy the few remaining presents (a couple from us and those which arrived via postal service from my family in the weeks surrounding Christmas) residing under our tree, and taking the time to be slow and extract each toy from its packaging as it was opened, giving them something to do as they waited for everyone else, was quite enjoyable.

It was also interesting noting their differences in attitude and/or age as Micaiah, throughout the day, took the time to play with each individual gift - moving from one to the other and back again until every toy had been thoroughly explored.  Meanwhile, Emmett spent a few seconds with his newly acquired playthings before resorting to old favorites (or trying to hijack sissy's toys - another favorite activity of his).

Either way, enjoying the child-like simplicity of "Christmas" morning for one final time of the season was the best gift of all.

A few favorite photos of the morning:

Of Our Baby-moon

I must beg forgiveness for my extended absence through the latter part of 2011.  We enjoyed a splendid Holiday with Philip's family and, after, he and I left our children to enjoy a week with Gram, Grandy and Aunt Dia, while we spent a week at home, blissfully alone.   Days spent on the town, nights spent playing games at home.  We contemplated a thoroughly scandalous evening of a late-night movie (without having to call a sitter!) before realizing we were too much of home-bodies to really get any kind of pleasure from heading out once we were comfy at home.

Though we relaxed quite a bit, we accomplished some work, as well, procuring a vehicle large enough for our growing brood and also converting "Micaiah's room" into "Micaiah and Emmett's room" so we could begin preparing the nursery for its pending occupant (well, not that we've started that process yet, but it will happen soon).  I feared the overwhelming amount of "new" might freak out the kids, but they were just so thrilled to see Mommy and Daddy, they didn't seem to mind.

Well, one of them was excited to see us, anyway.  The morning after we appeared at Nenaw and Papaw's to retrieve them, Micaiah climbed up on our bed and asked, by way of welcome, "Why are you here?"  Emmett's tears of anger any time his parents were out of sight did much more for our egos than his sister's inquiry.

And when we arrived home, they were both ecstatic at the new living arrangement.  Micaiah, after inspecting the dismantled nursery, told me, "I want to show you something in Emmett's room!" - to which I responded, "Micaiah, this is Emmett's room.  This is Emmett and Micaiah's room."

Her face almost couldn't hold her joy, "Yeah!  This is Emmett and Caiah's room!" - then, turning to her brother, she announced, "This is your room and this is my room!"

We'll see how long it lasts, but for now the living is good.

PS It has been a goal of mine for a few years now to participate in what has been known as "Project 365": to take a photo each day of the year, to capture all the moments, both small and large.  My determined sister-in-law accomplished the goal last year and has decided to embark on her second year.  As I have long desired to include more photos in this blog, I am aiming to attempt the photo-a-day task as well.

Our new co-habitants playing in Emmett's newly-converted big-boy bed: