Short Weeks Seem Longer

Why is it that the weeks with Monday holidays seem so much longer. Since I only work on Mondays it created a lot of extra time for me! Brett has been without a cell phone since before Christmas, and I thought I'd take advantage of this time to go get him one. It wasn't as easy as just going to do an upgrade because he wasn't due for one for another year. So, we bought one, and won't have to renew a contract next year and will be able to drop our rate. I bought a used one from a place in the mall. Honestly, it was a huge ordeal. The guy at the store couldn't get a discount code from a manager that he needed to give it to us for the advertised price. S kept running away, I felt like complete garbage...and we still had more errands to do. S wasn't phased at all...she'd had a great time, but I was at the end of my rope. I was SO grateful that in the short drive to our next stop I was able to see things like she did, regain patience, and enjoy the remainder of our outings together.

We don't let S watch TV or have screens often. We had started watching Mary Poppins Sunday evening. She and I were finishing it late Monday afternoon when Brett came home from work. I love how they just snuggled up next together while they watched and she had her snack.

One morning this week S was eating breakfast, then scooted back and kept pointing at the door saying, "Mess! Mess!" And insisted on helping clean up.

I love how she loves to help.

We have been really lucky to have extra mild weather again this week. S and I did at least 2.25 miles (somedays more) 4 days this week. She enjoys our exercise, and I love having time together outside :) I promised her we would stop at the park on the way home one of the days. That was he perfect ending for her!

She's becoming a pro at using the bars to walk up the stairs.

I made stew for dinner one night (which Scarlett loves). She has begun instructing dad, at any meals, to "Move Over." She will lay her head on his arm or chest and continue eating her dinner. It has been really fun to watch their relationship grow and develop since he has been home this year!

We, of course, have our play time everyday. She has really come to love these trains that she got for Christmas. It's interesting how the toys you just pick out without preplanning is sometimes the most well loved present!

trains!

We got a package this week that came with bubble wrap. She calls them "pops" and kept asking for "pops". The really funny thing about this is she hates loud sounds. She would ask me for "pops" then very quickly cover her ears. I loved bubble wrap as a child. My dad would often receive computer parts in the mail and I would instantly start popping them. This wasn't my dad's favorite thing because "What if I have to return them?" 

"pops"

She loves her little Daisy and Minnie on scooters (which she calls bikes). This is a pretty fun gift her birth dad gave her for her birthday/Christmas. She is pretty particular about who plays with them. She will give Daisy to anyone to play with, but Minnie is always hers!

Daisy on her scooter.

Saturday we took an outing to go look at a car. It has been something on our list for quite a while. We have looked a few times. We have narrowed it down to two that we would be happy with. We found a pretty good deal on one that we wanted to check out, but it required a bit of a drive. She was out shortly after getting in the car.

Zonked out!

It had been a long week, and I was really ready for a break from reality by Saturday afternoon. Brett suggested a movie, and I was happy to oblige. Since S doesn't watch TV much and doesn't really get into movies we usually go to a fairly cheap one. I'd heard good things about Annie, and S like singing and dancing so it was an obvious choice for us. There were parts that completely captivated her, but others that she could've done without.

Two Year Old Pics...and other fun stuff

We had a short little lesson based from an article from The Friend for Family Home Evening on Monday night. I don't think that we 1. always have to have a treat for FHE or 2. that a "treat" has to be something sweet.

Thus, the popcorn. She LOVES popcorn. It was the first time we used the Whirley Pop with her around. It was fun to watch her expressions as she discovered it changing from the kernels to the popcorn. 

It is mid-Februray in Utah. My crocuses have already bloomed. It is somewhat concerning about what is going to happen for the crops in the coming months.

S had a few days this week that just started off super grumpy. When she got up from her nap on Tuesday I asked her if she wanted to go take pictures of Scarlett...which she was thrilled to do. We went a local Amphitheater to take these. We had so much fun! I'm counting them as her two year photos....plus, they doubled as a Valentine's gift for Brett. 

We went to play together at the park a few days this week again. I figure that if we are blessed with so  much sunshine now it likely won't continue in the future...I'm sure we'll get late snow this year. So, we might as well take advantage while we have it!

She insisted I slide with her. There is a double slide at a park by our home and she wanted me to slide beside her at the same time holding her hand on the way down.

My sister started selling Jamberry nail wraps last month. I don't spend much time doing things like this for myself, but want to support her as well. I think S's turned out super cute! 

We had a long exercise time one day. We only did about 2.5 miles, but we also stopped to see Nana and Papa mid jog as well as a bit of time at the park.

S loves a sweet breakfast. So, for valentines breakfast we did waffles with lots of fun toppings. S and Brett cut up strawberries while I cooked. 

We needed a trip to Home Depot to be able to finish our 1/2 bath project. S had to help Brett with whatever she could during that outing.

We stopped to visit Crystal (S's birthmom) Saturday evening. 

We went to our final BYU basketball game of the season Saturday night. We have really enjoyed our tickets. We had seats next to Ben and Holly (they got engaged since we last saw them...congrats guys!)

Me and Brett

Me and S

Early Spring

This week has been unusually warm. We are not complaining. We have spent time at the parks as well and nice jogs outside. I feel like we have had something going on almost everyday this week, but I also made sure to take time to just be with S despite whatever else might be going on.

Some days S isn't a great eater. She wanted a PB&J today, which I was happy to do with her. She only ate about half of it. I thought maybe a bribe of a pickle would help her eat a little more. It didn't really help, but she was SO happy to have it!

S loves to do what I do. I rarely wear an apron, but for some reason did Monday night (and its a good things because I made a HUGE mess). S had to wear one too since Mom had one. We had to take a picture for this fun moment :)

We printed a bunch of pictures that we wanted to fill a wall with. We found this to be a great family night activity. S wanted to help with every part of the process. 

S putting herself in a picture frame :)

with dad

with mom

helping dad hang pictures

S has been really focused on letters lately. We have started learning letters that she hears a lot daily. She has mastered S. She'll find one and say "S, ". As we were sitting in church this morning she found a S in the program and pointed it out to me. She will also do, "T, Taylor" "D, daddy" and "M, Mommy". She will find them in magazines or boxes and tell us what they are. The only one she sometimes mixes up is M for a W when she is doing her ABC puzzle. 

macaroni S project

My grandma (S's great-grandma) had asked us to come help her this week. Her husband passed away back in October and she's already had one knee replacement since then. She needed us to come drive her to her orthopedic doctor to see about having her other knee done as well. Scarlett was a trooper. We sat in a waiting room (with absolutely nothing to do except whatever I brought) for an hour and a half. I didn't pull out an electronic devices until we were past the hour mark. There were no meltdowns...and I seriously counted my blessings!

 

I am trying to just be healthier and make better choices. We went jogging several times this week. It was so nice that the weather was warm enough for us to enjoy some quality time outside together. I did just over 2 miles several days this week. The first day about the time I hit 1.75 miles I said something like "Whew...S. Mom's tired." She turned and looked up at me. She held up a pretzel and said, "Snack mom!" I thought it was so cute that she was so thoughtful. The other two days, I hit about the same spot running...I said something like "Wheewww!" to which she responded, "Mom tired." Then handed me her snacks.  

Time at the park was a must this week. The park was completely empty this day when we were there. S took full advantage and had me do just about everything with her...including the circular silde. FYI, circular slides are made of people about 4 feet, not 5 plus! We had a good laugh together at the bottom. S is a very timid kid. She wanted to go down the "big" slide on my lap,,,which she enjoyed. She decided she wanted to go down by herself the next time. So, I went down first so I could catch her. As soon as I got down she sat, held out her hand and said, "Mom, hand" I showed her that I wasn't tall enough to reach her..which was when she decided she wasn't doing it herself.

"Hi, Mom!" repeatedly as I jogged.

We tried out a new park on the way home from one of our jogs this week. She was a bit scared to try crawling through this tube, but I got her to do it with me.

To me this is a look of pure joy! This swing has a safety chain so I was able to push her higher than I could at the park we often go it. I love the smiles!

Brett's dad had his second knee replacement surgery a little over a week ago. We spent Friday evening having dinner and visiting with him. He got S to sit with him by sharing his cookie with her :)

We decided to tackle a project we had wanted to do for a while on Saturday. Ever since I painted S's room 4-5 years ago I have wanted to do this bathroom the same way. The problem is that our builder painted our ceilings (as well as the walls) tan. So, if you want to paint any room, you really have to paint the ceiling too. We started there, and moved to the walls. We are done with the painting, but not quite done yet. We are putting wainscoting on the bottom. Hopefully we can get it done in the evenings next week.