Goldy Locks & the Three Grapes

Miriam sat on the floor with one of my braille binders open and as she
turned a page she said "Once upon a time there were three grapes."
This seemed noteworthy since it's the first time I've heard her make
up a story from scratch. It's also possibly the longest sentence I've
heard her utter. To my knowledge she's never heard Goldy Locks and the
Three Bears; I think instead the genesis was from a Vegie Tales TV
episode based on The Grapes of Wrath. I'll have to ask her tomorrow
what happened to the three grapes in her story.

Moving, Milestones, & Madness

Last week I would have begun this post by saying, "It's official—I'm
going bonkers!" but this is a new week and maybe there's hope that
I'll be okay after all (not that life has gotten any less crazy
though).

The cause for such mother madness has been a combo of the upheaval
associated with moving house and Caitlin reaching a rapid succession
of milestones. So, I wrote previously that Caitlin was sitting up and
about a week after that, the week we moved into our house with stairs;
she learned how to crawl—Perfect timing. If that wasn't enough, about
a week after that I caught her pulling herself up onto her feet in her
crib or beside whatever else she could grab onto. She was only seven
months old by this point. Then a week after that she began
experimenting with letting go of whatever she was holding onto and
attempting to stand by herself, although she hasn't succeeded for more
than a teetering moment yet. Somewhere in there she also grew her
second tooth (that's two on the bottom now). Also she started moving a
step or two along furniture and has thankfully not progressed further
than that as yet because if this keeps up, I'm in for double trouble.
Oh, actually I might have to revise that and admit that further
trouble has broken out in that she is now climbing up the stairs every
time I look away for more than a second and she has no clue how to get
down yet except with the end result of biffing it. At eight months old
she possesses none of the needed caution. Thankfully to date I have
managed to pluck her off in time to prevent any major spills but she's
getting faster and more excited by the challenge. I've been avoiding
the hassle of a gate but perhaps it's inevitable.

Meanwhile Miriam has been transitioning okay, but bedtime has been a
challenge. For the first couple of weeks we'd be chasing her back to
bed constantly for at least an hour or two after bedtime; now I'll
admit that last grocery trip we also bought a doorknob with a lock
because this midnight rendezvous stuff routine has to end.

Currently both girls have runny noses and Caitlin has had a mild
fever, coughing and gagging for a week straight—poor girl. We've had
some long nights but last night was a bit better, so we'll hope for
the best.


Here's a funny Miriam story though to change the subject… On our first
weekend here after moving we were invited to our friend's house, the
Lilywhites for dinner. Miriam showed evidence of having been brought
up in an apartment when she looked out the window and saw a backyard
with a swing set and exclaimed "Look A park!"

Miriam has also loved living so close to Poppy's house. Ever since we
spent the New Year vacation visiting with Joe's family she has asked
at least on a weekly if not daily basis to "Go Poppy house?" Now we've
been stopping by at least once a week to jump on the trampoline or
swim in the pool.

One more Miriam story… On our second Sunday heading off to church, we
pulled out of the driveway and were heading down the street and Miriam
started saying something unintelligible but urgent. We asked her to
say it again and gathered that she was saying "Shut it.
We asked if she meant that we had left the garage door open and sure
enough that was it. She gave a little nod and "Mm-hmm" of satisfaction
as we drove back up the street and closed it. She's got sharp little
observational skills that girl. I'm sure she's busy noticing all my
bad habits too. I'll have to stop stirring the oatmeal with my finger
before I put it in the microwave. And I'll end on that thought.

Many Ways to Make A Friend

I used to be very shy, but now my shyness is outweighed by my desire
for friendship.I was blessed with wonderful group of friends in Fort
Worth who I am very sad to have left.
Thanks to Sharlyn Richardson, Jennifer Linford, Rachel Hair, and
Cheryl Jensen for watching my girls while I packed, and thanks Bryan
Linford and Judy Edwards for watching kids so Jennifer and Rachel
could help me clean. Thanks Bryan and missionaries for helping Joe
load the truck and thanks to Anne and Lorna for driving out to Fort
Worth to fetch me and the girls after Joe left with the truck. It
might be boring for others to read through that long list of names,
but I want those names to be remembered by me as well as Heaven. God
bless those friends as well as others not listed.

Now I'm back in San Antonio and reconnecting with old friends and
doing my best to establish new ones. Along with this effort, I'm
finally beginning to implement an idea from LDS General Conference,
October 2011; I'm memorizing a few scriptures. In his talk, The Power
of Scripture, Elder Richard G. Scott said—

"Great power can come from memorizing scriptures. To memorize a
scripture is to forge a new friendship. It is like discovering a new
individual who can help in time of need, give inspiration and comfort,
and be a source of motivation for needed change."

So, I'm trying to make friends with scriptures. At the time I heard
this it struck me as a great idea for me as a busy mother. It's
difficult to always make time for personal sctripture study, but if I
can carve out a bit of time to memorize a few scriptures, I can call
them to memory even when my hands are full. I've been trying to
memorize one a day from the seminary scripture mastery list and I've
already been surprised at how the words have been a powerful
influence. For example, here's one we all need…

""And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not
puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no
evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth,
beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth
all things." (Moroni 7:45)

These words were jumping in my head wen Caitlin was up at her usual
3am and I was feeling uncharitable.

Of course I'm not giving up on regular reading; I'll also say that
over the past couple of years I've also found that even distracted
scripture reading is rewarded. There's power in God's word. Now I need
to get stuck in the reading habit because I've been slack.

Looking forward to the new friends I'll make.

Caitlin's First tooth

Joe has been at a conference in San Diego this week and gets home
tomorrow night. Caitlin has a little surprise... All the fussiness is
now explained--a tooth! She'll also surprise him with her new-found
ability to army crawl.

I'm happy to report that I completed my first 10km race, the Fort
Worth Zoo Run. It's not every day you see elephants playing ball while
on your run. I'm still running just over an 11 minute mile, so hoping
to improve but glad I can run the full distance in any case. Thanks to
Michelle Laferney, my running guide. Note: Michelle took up running at
fifty-something and has just run her first two marithons this year.
Wow right? I'd say she qualifies as awesome.

In other news, I'm busy packing boxes. Thanks to my friend Rachel for
having Miriam over to play. I'm really blessed with wonderful friends.
I'll be so sad to leave. someone at church last Sunday commented on
how Caitlin has more hair than Miriam did at this age; I must admit I
almost cried to think of leaving the place where people remember my
children as babies. It surprised me that such a simple comment would
make me so nostalgic. We came here just the two of us and we're
returning as a family of four. Two years is a lifetime... Actually two
little lifetimes.

Sweet Dreams

I have two sleeping babies right now. I'm sat here dreaming of
triathlons. I fel in love with tandem biking just two years ago. This
year's habit is running--I'll be running my first 10km/6.2mile race
this weekend, and assuming I survive, this will be the perfet bookend
to a really great time living in Fort Worth as we are moving back to
San Antonio at the end of next week.

I have a friend, Jennifer Linford, who is into triathlons and she has
broadened my horizons. She took me swimming a couple of weeks ago for
my first laps in fifteen years. I had a great time and she claims I'm
fast--who knew? Well, I highly doublt I'm that fast, but perhaps I can
hope to get there.

So, I've been mulling this around for a few months and I'm now
prepared to commit it to writing. I'm training for a triathlon! Don't
be holding your breath though because it might take a while,
particularly since I'm thinking I'd really like to do it in Australia
with my sister, Beck.

Caitlin at 6 Months Old

That's right; we've been celebrating our little Caitlin's half
birthday today. Time has flown much faster with two children and I
regret not recording more of her milestones. Here's a couple; she just
learned to sit by herself. I hardly even saw her roll over much in the
past, but Joe went away to San Antonio for two days and now she's
become a pro at both.

Caitlin is so sweet, adorable, and smiley to everyone. That is, until
she gets hungry or tired, and then she becomes baby-zilla. She doesn't
mind letting you know her feelings.

I told Joe recently that I no longer feel invincible. I was quite
nervous as a new parent, and then I felt like I was getting the hang
of it. I was so excited when I could share parenting advice with
friends who were expectant mothers. I knew all about the best baby
products and gadgets and just what to do. Now I have a second child
who is not a carbon copy of the first, and I realized that parenting
is a completely different experience every time. Apparently I'm no
longer an expert.

Having two girls has been fun. They are now interacting more. Miriam
loves her little sister (although she's very jealous that Caitlin gets
to suck on a binky). Here are a few short stories:

Joe had caitlin in a front-pack and was pushing Miriam on the swing.
Every time the girls came close together they broke out laughing.
That's my first memory of them truly playing together. Now Miriam
likes to make baby laugh all the time.

Secondly, we've often called Caitlin "Baby" as though it was her name
and that's usually what Miriam calls her too. However, a couple of
weeks ago we were out walking and Caitlin started crying. Miriam
exclaimed "Oh no! My baby!" Miriam doesn't care for dolls too much,
but when it comes to the real thing, it appears she takes ownership.

Speaking of Miriam and funny exclamations... We took the girls to the
Fort Worth Science and History Museum. Joe took Miriam into a 4D
theatre to see a dinosaur show while i waited with Caitlin outside.
Joe reported that at the beginning of the show there was an almighty
boom, like a thunder clap which sent Miriam clinging to his side. Then
a moment elapsed and she piped up in her spunky little voice "What was
that!?". Apparently she raised some laughter in the theatre.

First & Last

First: Miriam said her first prayer last night (with help). She's
almost two-and-a-half now. It was very gratifying and cute to hear her
little self-conscious whisper echoing my words. We're off to a good
start.

Last: Joe just finished up the research and data collection portion
for his Ph.D. and can at long last complete his dissertation. Hooray!
As his mentor, Dr. Cunningham said today, "There's light at the end of
the tunnel, and it's not a train". Well thank goodness for that. I'm
very proud of Joe. Looks like graduation is finally eminent. Then just
two years more and he'll be a double doc (MDPh.D.).

Also, this Saturday I'll be running my first 5k race! I'm excited and
nervous. I'll be running it with a guide, my neighbor, Sharlyn. This
will be a completely new experience for me. I haven't raced since
elementary school.