The Moments Fleeting

Prior to forgetting, I want to record:

Allie at 21 Months

We're growing out the bangs. It's a slightly awkward stage, but after our last try at cutting, we decided they should grow.

Allie has nasal "nyo" that is pushing her into independence. She pulls out "no nononono no!" whenever we try to help her do anything she has the slightest potential of doing by herself--like buckling her carseat, or climbing into her crib.

"Mommy mommy mommy!" Allie's pronunciation of "mommy" makes her sound very articulate, when really her vocabulary consists of maybe 20 words. I suppose she's gotten plenty practice.


Her dramatic conducting style is beyond adorable (watch out G'pa Ardean). She loves to conduct. Often she'll stand on one of the bathroom stools and go at the music with 2 hands. I haven't figured out what songs trigger the movement, as it seems pretty random, but when she is inspired the music comes alive.


Jackson at 4

The esteemed 4 year old asks everyday how old various people will be when he is 5, 10, 42, or 100. "When I'm 19, how old will Allie be?" He also loves reaffirming that he will always be older than his little buddy Ms. L, and is likewise disappointing to learn he will never "beat" Bodie to a particular age.

After a recent nature walk, we have both become enraptured by our neighborhood birds. Unfortunately our identification is limited to Robins, Cardinals and Blue Jays, but Jackson's excitement over the birds has me predicting future bird loving.

And the accomplishment of the week, pedals.
 

(Don't mind Allie's wailing screams. She was not injured, just scared I would leave her.)

Spring Released

Spring is rightly named. It's potential energy could easily be compared to a coiled spring undergoing tension.

We've been watching buds form for weeks on many of our favorite flowers around the neighborhood, and then one day it's as though the spring gets released and the buds pop into stunning colorful energy delighting anyone willing to look.

With no school for Mark, I have been watching the azalea buds and the ensuing flowers carefully. I have wanted to attend The National Arboretum's azalea festival for a few years, and going at the peak is preferred. Peak came on a free Saturday, complete with sunshine and a bonus bonsai festival. Away we went.





I was quite surprised the Arboretum's plants looked little like the carefully trimmed azaleas that dot landscaped yards throughout our neighborhood. They were much more like the untrimmed wild thing we have growing in our yard--with open branches and uneven trimming. The colors were overwhelming and diverse compared with neighborhood azaleas, but much less dense.

We attempted a lovely family picture, but with Allie's hairdo, my jaunt with exercise within the park and Jackson's hatred of strangers photographing him, we probably should have stuck to a solo shot of Mark. But oh, those gorgeous sprung flowers.

 When Mark and I went to the temple the other night, I decided to bring the camera. Though I loved very few of the pictures I got, I was thrilled to try and create a frame that attempted to capture the beauty of the spring. The tulips, azaleas, and dogwoods were overwhelming.

It was quite the long bitter cold winter... but goodness, the flowers called back with such beautiful energy. What a gift!

Mom, I'm growin whiskers!

Jackson turned 4 on Sunday.

This birthday has been anticipated for a while. He has been telling us for months that he would do "x" when he turned four. This list included going to bed in underwear, getting a pedal bike and saying prayers by himself. Our own list included getting to sit in a booster seat and not going to bed with a sippy cup. He woke up on Sunday and told me his feet were "much bigger."

I shouldn't have been surprised when he told me, "Mom! I grew some whiskers!" But since I didn't know he even knew what whiskers were I was pretty shocked when he rubbed his chin and told me to look. We both had a good laugh when I saw the dried frosting he had licked off the spatula earlier. I'm not sure his whiskers will be quite that blonde when they emerge, but who am I to say?

 Jackson had a fabulous birthday--lots of extra attention at church, and plenty of celebrating at home. He specifically requested a chocolate cake, with white frosting, chocolate chips and sprinkles on top. Not hard to fulfill.

The birthday boy got plenty of presents, the lincoln logs and an awesome dump truck gave us some fun indoor things to do during nap time, but Jackson is ready for summer. After an exciting treasure hunt,

he found two crowning jewel craigslist finds. A pedal bike and scooter!

The scooter was already mastered, and he's on his way with the bike. So excited for summer, and some day some whiskers :)