Waiting for Baby Girl Project #3: Sort through outgrown clothes

The walk-in closet in the room we plan to use as a nursery in a few months is full of 18-gallon-sized bins (30+, in case you care). I spent a good chunk of today going through sixteen of these bins to see what we could give away (171 items!). Those sixteen bins contained our stash of girls size newborn to 2T clothing. Here is a picture to document the insanity:

These are just the newborn girl's lightweight/spring/summer clothes:

Waiting for Baby Girl Project #2: Flower Hair Clips

I recently went to a class to learn how to make hair clips and headbands for baby (or little) girls. Here is one I made for a friend's daughter:

Here is one I made for Leah:

Waiting for Baby Girl Project #1: Morning Routine Chart

In an effort to stay sane until baby girl makes her arrival later this summer, I have come up with several projects to occupy my mind and time. I thought it might be fun to document those projects on this blog. Here is the first one:

The kids had a great time posing for the pictures for this morning routine chart. It's going pretty well so far, but we're only on day 3. ;-)

Scripture Study

A few weeks ago, we decided to start doing our family scripture study from the actual scriptures instead of the children’s storybooks. Of course, since our children are preschool age, we limit our family reading to one verse per person; and since the children cannot yet read, Anna or I whisper the words into one child’s ear, a few at a time, inviting him or her to repeat them aloud. The children absolutely love feeling like they’re reading, and we love that they’re learning to love the word of God.

This evening, we were reading in the First Book of Nephi, chapter 8. It was David’s turn to “read,” and I was whispering verse 10 in his ear. The following conversation ensued:

Jeff (whispering): “ ‘And it came to pass…’ ”

David: (giggles and whispers something incoherent—a common problem).

Jeff: “Come on, David; say it loudly: ‘And it came to pass…’.”

David: (says something slightly less incoherent).

Anna: “David, please say it nicely.”

David: “And it came to pass!”

Jeff (whispering): “ ‘…that I beheld…’ ”

David: “That I befald.”

Jeff (whispering): “ ‘…a tree…’ ”

David: “A tree.”

Jeff (whispering): “ ‘…whose fruit…’ ”

David: “Fruit.”

Jeff (whispering): “ ‘…whose fruit…’ ”

David: “I dunno.”

Jeff (trying hard not to laugh): “No, David; ‘…whose fruit…’.”

David: “I dunno!!!”

By this point, Anna and I were laughing so hard, we had to pause our reading. ^_^

Changes

Well, I'm sure that you can imagine a few things have changed since Halloween. I'm surprised it's been that long since I've posted, but not super surprised. The beginning of November begins the busy season for our family (as with a lot of families). Between November 1st and December 31st, my side of the family has 8 birthdays and 4 wedding anniversaries, not to mention Thanksgiving (which is sometimes Leah's birthday), Christmas (which is also someone's birthday), and New Year's Eve thrown in for good measure. It gets just a little nuts around here. That's my excuse, anyway, and I'm sticking to it for now. ;-)

Leah is now 5! It's really hard to believe. This age has really struck me hard for some reason. It's probably because she's now in preschool and seeming so much older by the day. I'm starting to wonder what it's going to be like to have a kid in kindergarten. I'm feeling stubborn about turning her over to the public school system, not because I'm morally opposed to public education, or anything. I just can't believe how short my time having her all to myself has been!

Leah (and us, of course) got to have a nice visit from her birthmom, Kellie, the week of her birthday. We did a lot of fun stuff like the children's museum and birthday party stuff that week. We hadn't seen Kellie for about 4 years, so it was a great time to catch up. Leah had her very first "friend-only" birthday party. It was a blast! I was so glad that we were able to have fun with some of her new preschool friends.

My brother Eddie and his family also visited that week (since it was also Thanksgiving), and it was fun to have them staying at our house. Kelly (my sister-in-law), was sweet enough to make Leah some awesome cupcakes for her family birthday party. Grandma and Pop also came into town for a few days, so we had a house full of guests for about a week. :-D

Christmas was fun, and we had some more family with us during that holiday. Grandma and Pop came a week early and celebrated with us so that they could be with Jaci on Christmas (and then head down to SC for their annual visit with John and Mary Lou). My sister Becca and her husband Dave stayed with us for a few days, including Christmas day. My sister Rachael was also home from college and hung with us for a bit before heading back to school. We certainly did make a lot of family memories during this holiday season!

Jeff and I celebrated our 20th anniversary of knowing each other and 13 years of marriage on December 30th. It's hard to believe we've known each other that long! He surprised me with some great gifts (namely, some diamond earrings and an awesome mix disc/video compilation). We went out to eat while my sister Rachael watched the kids. Pretty laid-back, but still enjoyable!

The new year has been pretty quiet after all the family and celebrations, but it has brought some changes in our family, mostly for David. He finally "graduated" from nursery at church into primary. He did great the first couple of weeks, but we experienced a few problems yesterday. He spent a fair amount of the time upset because "primary is just so different." I'll admit I'm having a lot of trouble figuring out what is so different (they still give the sunbeams snack, but there is no play time; I guess that could be the issue). He hasn't been very specific about what is bothering him. :-/ Hopefully, this is just a small blip and all will be fine. He also started preschool at Leah's preschool this week (though on opposite days), so it's been a big week of adjustment for him. He seems to love preschool, so hopefully that continues to go well.

I think that pretty much brings us to now. Things should stay quiet for a little bit as we get used to the new schedule with both kids in preschool. Looking forward, I personally hope to get a little more organized this year. I have already begun this process and hope to keep chugging along with it. We, of course, also hope that this is the year we get to add another child to our family. :-D