Kate is 1 year old!

Last Tuesday our sweet Baby Kate turned one! It has been a wonderful year watching her learn and grow. Here are some fun things she is doing:

• She is a fast crawler! She started rolling at 3 months old, and hasn't stopped moving since.
• She loves it when you chase her She makes growling noises while crawling away as fast as she can. Before she could crawl, she got a kick out of Mom holding her and "chasing" Jared around the house. Jared is a fun big brother!
• She is now pulling to a stand and will probably learn to walk before long.
• Kate loves music. Her favorite CD is Treblemakers folk songs. The first song is "Mama Lama," so she often requests, "Mama! Mama!" when we are near the CD player. When the music comes on, a grin spreads across her face and she starts bouncing to the beat.
• Kate loves the piano too, and tries to play some notes while her siblings are practicing.
• If you ask, "What sound does a doggie make?" Kate will pant like a dog.
• Kate's favorite trick is "How big is Kate? SO big!" (She raises both arms in the air)
• Kate loves peek-a-boo and can do it herself.
• Kate's least favorite things is getting dressed. She used to cry and howl every night when we put her in pajamas. She doesn't scream quite as much now, so she's getting better.
• So, as you might imagine, one of Kate's favorite things is being bare! Her spunk and enthusiasm seem to double whenever we let her crawl around the house in only a diaper. 
• Probably Kate's VERY favorite thing is her siblings. She wakes up from her afternoon nap practically bouncing and has a big grin on as we go downstairs to greet Jared and Allison, who have just arrived home from school. During the day Kate and Tommy enjoy playing together. Sometimes when Kate is napping, Tommy will ask me, "Is her nap over yet? Can I get her out?"
• Kate has many admirers! Her #1 local fans (besides her family) are Brandt and Lindsay Adams, a couple in our ward who take care of her during the 2nd and 3rd hours of church while Adam and I serve in the Primary. Lindsay is the only person who can get Kate to sleep during church (not even Mom can do it!).  We are very grateful for the Adams!
• Kate also makes new friends during piano time. Four days a week after school I teach an hour of piano lessons, during which she gets to play in the basement with toys and the piano families, and usually ends up charming all of our guests. 
• Kate loves swinging at the park and getting pushed around on her toddler bike on our driveway. She also does really well in the sandbox (and only samples a bit of sand every once in a while) :)
• On Halloween Kate finally got her first tooth! (top right) her second tooth emerged right next to the first, just a day or two ago. 
• Kate's first word was "Uh-oh!" She says it whenever she drops something. She has also learned to imitate these words: Bye-bye, hi, Mamma, Dadda, more
• Kate is cute, happy, and very social. We love this little girl!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

January 30

Allison came downstairs this morning fully dressed, and announced that she had brushed her hair and made her bed and was ready for breakfast. You go, girl!

Pulled out the three-month clothes today. Look at these cute new outfits--all from friends! A lot of people love you, Kate.

Starfall with Tommy

But the biggest adventure of the day was getting new carpet!!

 It has been a month and three days since our sewer backup, and our basement is now finally restored! I LOVE our basement, and the kids do too! Counting our blessings today...

 Run, kids, run!

My Glad Game

Last Monday, as part of my Family Home Evening lesson, our family started a "Glad Jar." We had been having problems lately with too much complaining from the kids (one kid in particular, but we won't name names). So for FHE I gave a lesson about having a positive attitude. I showed the "glad game" clip from Polyanna and challenged our family to start playing the game. Whenever something bad happens (which is quite frequent--between daily chores, Jared's daily bus ride, and the inevitable dinner time when most meals are met with Ewwww's), if the victim can think of something to be glad about in the situation, he or she gets to add a puff ball to our "Glad Jar." And so far, it seems to be working!

Just this morning, I realized that I need my own version of the Glad Game. With four young kids, a houseful of housework, a demanding church calling, and other responsibilities, it is easy to become discouraged at all I'm NOT able to accomplish.

So my new goal is to focus on the little things worth celebrating in my life. I am so blessed to live in this city; have the friends and neighbors that I do; have a great church family; a wonderful husband; four sweet, healthy children; a beautiful home; and the chance to stay at home each day and enjoy it all.

So forget the mountains of dirty laundry, the sinkfull of dirty dishes, and the living room cluttered with toys. Today is a day worth celebrating.


I had an epic medieval battle with Tommy and Allison.

I found Adam's daily note to me. What a thoughtful husband!

Celebrating a clutter-free upstairs hallway!

Clean sheets on TWO beds.

We'll see what tomorrow brings. :)