Happy Birthday, Princess!

As much as it seemed to come quickly, Catherine's second birthday didn't take me too much by surprise. She definitely had the attitude down for a few months before her birthday. Sometimes I wonder if I have a two-year-old or a twelve-year-old!

Catherine's birthday was conveniently on President's Day this year--no work for Jon! It was supposed to be my day to sleep in (we alternate on weekends), but I was too excited. When I heard Catherine wake up I had to go get her so I could tell her happy birthday and show her her gifts.

This was our big gift to Catherine: a little kitchen for her to play with. She LOVES the one at nursery, and this one was a steal at Aldi (minus the assembly--it's always fun to open a box and find EVERYTHING still hooked together in the injection molds). 

She did like her kitchen, but she liked Seth's gift more:

Nothing like a little candy for breakfast on your birthday!

And what's a play kitchen without a ton of play food to go with it?

And a shopping cart to fill with plastic food? (Thanks Grandpa & Grandma!)

(Notice the sucker from Seth in her hand?)

The kitchen was a bigger hit with Seth, who immediately got to work organizing and preparing food.

Once we were all dressed and presentable, it was off to the dollar store for our traditional birthday balloon:

She knew EXACTLY which one she wanted.

"Mouse! MOUSE!!!"

I know, I know. It's pretty lame.

But she wanted a Mickey Mouse cake and I didn't want to deal with black icing/fondant. So she got a raspberry ganache cake with Minnie, since that was the only character I could find (and I looked EVERYWHERE). It ended up being a big hit, since the set happened to contain both Minnie AND a meow-meow, two of her favorite things.

Also, the cat's bed and food dish were not part of the original decorating scheme--those were added by her loving big brother, who insisted that they needed to be on the cake. He also insisted we buy the '2' candle--apparently two regular candles weren't good enough for Catherine.

(Seth was SO cute about Catherine's birthday--he was counting down the days for her and had a hard time waiting to give her the sucker he'd gotten for her. He was also a champion secret keeper--he'd known about the kitchen since November and made sure not to tell Catherine that it was hidden by the water heater).

We had a very small party for Catherine--just us and the Oliveras again. We've officially adopted them as family at this point.

Not too sure about that candle.

(Jon had to keep her from grabbing it a few seconds later)

Blowing out her candle all by herself.

The cake was a much bigger hit this year than it was last year. Maybe because of the chocolate?

We waited to open her gifts from her grandparents & great-grandparents until that evening (we were hoping to catch some of them on Skype, but failed miserably). Instead I took a bunch of pictures to make up for it.

She knows exactly what to do with presents this year.

Signing Time! Her very favorite movies right now.

Some potty-training dresses.

And my favorite: 

A chef hat, apron & kitchen tools to go with her kitchen.

Seriously, have you ever seen anything so cute? 

Catherine and her two favorite gifts:

A paddleball game from Emma and her balloon (string pictured).

She spent all evening running between rooms with one in each hand.

It was a lovely, relaxing birthday for our baby girl. I feel so lucky to get to raise this little girl! She'll definitely keep us on our toes, that's for sure!

And, in conclusion, some Seth photography from that evening:

Me putting away the game we played with the Oliveras

And a very, very happy Jon.

We really need to get our kid a camera...

Love Day

I spent a good portion of February trying to explain to Seth that Valentine's Day is about telling people how much you love them. Foolish mother--Seth knew what it was really about: candy. And lots of it.

Seth was going to have a party at preschool, but the teacher's daughter came down with a fever the night before, so it had to be postponed. Knowing Seth would be heartbroken, I sneakily re-invited myself to a homeschooling party I had previously declined to attend (we really only need one candy-filled party a day). Luckily Bente was gracious and let us come.

We spent Valentine's morning whipping up a sweet box for Seth's valentines:

(Seth actually took these pictures)

Catherine got a paper bag, which she covered with tiny, tiny dots.

She screamed at me when I wrote her name on it.

The party was at a local athletic club which has this really cool area for kids. The best part is the treehouse, which is basically a huge jungle gym with ladders to climb and really long, twisty slides. Seth had a blast in the "spooky old tree" (thank you, Berenstain Bears). Catherine, of course, wanted to play, too. Which meant I got to spend more time than I ever wanted inside the treehouse. Hooray!

Eventually I was saved by the official handing out of the Valentines. Catherine and I handed out the Valentines. Seth kept getting so excited by all the candy in his box that he would grab it and run off to investigate its contents. I had to explain (several times) that more people were trying to put candy in his box, so he needed to leave it where it was, but I'm not sure that really sunk in. Either way we ended up with way more candy than we needed.

Forget heading back out to play--it's candy time!

Notice the nasty, sticky face?

Catherine was thrilled by this whole Valentine's idea.

And that was Valentine's Day for the Bloods! Jon and I will be celebrating later (when we can find the time to go out for our traditional Red Lobster). 

Saying Goodbye

I knew when Grandpa Bud was with us at Thanksgiving that this would probably be the last time I would see him in this life. He was slower, quieter, thinner. Most of his time was spent in this chair, "meditating", as he called it. If you caught him alone in a quiet moment, he would open up and tell stories. But between my two kids, I didn't have many of those moments to spend with him. I'm glad my mom & Aunt Lori did.

But that didn't make it any easier to get that phone call from my mom telling me that Grandpa had passed away. We knew it was coming, and he was more than ready. As happy as I was for him to be free of the infirmities that were burdening him, it's like a physical blow when you realize that someone who has always been a part of your life is just gone. I'll never get to sit with him in his office while he tells me about his patent cases again. I'll never hear him tell us stories about Korea or Idaho. And I'm heartbroken that my kids won't have a chance to grow up knowing Grandpa Bud. 

This was the first time I've lost someone close to me. As the oldest child of two oldest children, my grandparents have always been a big part of my life. Now I have to face what I've been trying to ignore for so long--that they won't be here forever.

But for a long time it felt like he would always be around. After all, he always had been!

Grandpa & Grandma with me & Kenna

Grandpa rejoicing to have survived his first time driving with me in a manual car.

He was a great (and patient!) teacher.

I was lucky that my Semester in Nauvoo overlapped with their time as missionaries in Nauvoo.

I felt like the luckiest girl in the world to have my grandparents there with me.

(My roommates loved them, too!).

With me at the Logan Temple after I took out my endowments.

They also pretty much planned my wedding for me--they chauffeured me from Provo to Salt Lake to make all the arrangements and paid for more of it than they'll ever tell me.

Meeting Seth (his first great-grandchild) for the first time.

Luckily Jon was able to rearrange his schedule so that I could attend Grandpa's funeral with my family. It was a very quick trip (left Friday morning, returned Sunday afternoon). I was very grateful to not be flying with kids--my flight to Salt Lake consisted of me leaving my house at 4 am, driving 90 minutes to D.C., flying across the country to LA (where Aunt Lori singlehandedly held my connecting flight for me!), and then to Salt Lake. Let's just say I got a good chunk of Middlemarch finished that day. At least I got to spend that last leg from LA to Salt Lake chatting with Aunt Lori!

Sad though the reason was, I was so excited to get to see my family! We usually only manage to get together for the holidays, so this was an extra treat. My parents and all of my little sisters were there. I even planned ahead and got Beth's birthday present (very early)!

We may disagree on which Doctor we like best (she's David Tennant, I'm Matt Smith), 

but we're pretty equally obsessed with the show in general. 

That evening was the viewing. I have to say that I was surprised by how happy the whole thing felt. We got to see many good friends (some who had driven down from Logan just to see us, including my childhood best friend). I was grateful so many people came to support Grandma.

In an attempt to spare ourselves some tears on the day of the funeral, we said our goodbyes to Grandpa and closed the casket right after the viewing. This was the hardest part for me--knowing that we won't see him again for so long. 

Grandpa was a bit obsessed with tractors (skipped his graduation party to go drive the tractor), and he drove a bulldozer during the Korean War. My mom had me place a small bulldozer in Grandpa's hands before we closed the casket. I'm grateful Grandma thought to do this the night before, because we were all a mess. Rest in peace, Grandpa.

The next morning was the funeral. Despite some very-very-very last minute practicing, the grandkids' rendition of "I Know That My Redeemer Lives" seemed to go well. At least no one left in horror that I saw...  I also got to play while Marah & Beth sang, "I Believe"--one of the songs Grandpa requested. It's a beautiful song. My favorite line: "I believe above the storm the smallest prayer will still be heard. I believe that someone in the great somewhere hears every word."

I loved hearing my mom, Aunt Lori & Uncle Mike tell their stories about Grandpa. There were so many that I had never heard before.  I'm so grateful to have had such a good man for my grandpa. 

The cemetery was in a beautiful location at the foot of the mountains. Grandpa will have a beautiful place to rest. 

Because he was a Korean War Veteran, he received a military send-off.

I bawled like a baby when they handed Grandma the flag and thanked her for Grandpa's service.

Mike, Lori, Grandma & Mom.

Sunglasses = a brilliant idea. Must remember for next time.

Me & my sisters saying our last goodbyes. 

Kenna & I may or may not have stolen those flowers from the arrangements behind us...

Grandpa, we miss you. Thank you for everything--especially for all the things you did so quietly that we never even realized you were doing them. Goodbye until we meet again.

One Time...

...it snowed in Maryland. 

And I literally mean ONE TIME.

Apparently it also snowed over Christmas, but we were in West Virginia and only got rain.

Seth was finally convinced that it was 'Christmas'.

Nevermind that it was January...

And Catherine finally got to use her Christmas snowclothes from Grandma.

At least she got to wear them once, so they weren't a total waste!

Hopefully she'll stay teeny-tiny and we can get another winter's use out of them.

Maryland, you were so completely lame this winter.

Boo on you.

A Little Bit of Seth

Seth's official preschool portrait. 

Note that he is holding his requested-for-Christmas ghost and that his shirt is on backwards.

Seth is now 4-and-a-half years old, which I find so hard to believe. In July I'll have a five-year-old. For some reason that feels like some sort of boundary crossing. Suddenly I won't be the mom of little kids anymore--I'll be the mom of kids. School-age kids. When did that happen?!

Here's what Seth is up to at 4.5 years old:

*After several months of not really playing, he's now on a full-time Kindle kick. I have to pry it out of his hands at bedtime. Can't wait for warmer weather so I can kick him out of the house to go dig in the dirt instead.

*I still try to do 'school' with him (although I've been pretty pathetic lately). But we always save the messy/complicated/cool stuff for when Catherine is napping. Now he's gotten to the point where every day during her nap he asks to do an "essperiment." If I don't have one ready for him, he'll climb into the cupboard himself and make a concoction of water, food coloring and salt, which he'll use to pour into various containers. I have a little scientist in the making.

*We've started letting him keep his light on after we put him to bed so he can read a book in bed. I love walking down the hallway to see him totally engrossed in a book. Looks like at least one of our kids will be a book junkie like me!

*Seth usually refers to my friends by their first names with either a 'Miss' or 'Sister' in front of them, depending on whether they're church friends or not. But for some reason he's taken to calling one of my piano moms by her last name. "Palmer, can Shea play downstairs?" "Palmer, what are you doing?" "Palmer, what are you reading?" It cracks us both up.

*After three-plus years of normal speaking, Seth has suddenly developed a Jamaican accent. He no longer plays on "the Kindle", he plays on "thee Kindle." "Mommy, can we go to thee store?" No idea where this came from.

*He's started to take an interest in heroes, although his exposure to the genre is pretty limited (by his own ridiculous fear of any remotely scary shows). But he was inspired by an episode of "Word World" and now LOVES to be the hero. The best part is his catchphrase: he'll stand on the couch/playground/etc. and yell, "BEHOLD! The power of the letter 'U'!" and then jump down and run away. 

*He has also taken to photography lately. Any time I leave my camera where he can reach it, I'll return to find the memory card completely full of his pictures. Mostly they're comprised of extreme close-ups of his toys or experiments with holding the camera directly against the wall/sofa/his skin, but he will get some fun ones. Like this one of Catherine:

Or this lovely one of me in all my glory: 

*He still hates writing and drawing (he says it makes his hands too hot), but lately I've caught him spontaneously drawing pictures or writing notes. He even made me a Valentine that I could almost read (I would have taken a picture, but he wrote on black paper with a pink marker). "DER MOM". I love it!

*He loves his preschool friends and his teacher, Miss Katie. I hate that they'll all be separated when kindergarten starts next year. :(

Just the kids

Kids and Miss Katie

I love this little man. Being his mommy is one of the best things in the world.