Anna's latest as of 4/16/09 & 5/15/09

5/15/09*Anna Walked two days ago! And now is periodically standing and taking steps, only not when coaxed!*She is being a very picky eater!* She loves to push things around and walk with them* Loves "little people" toys, especially when in her mouth* Her sleeping schedule has been WAY off since moving* She wants to touch Mia while we are walking* Whines to get up on the couch and loves to jump, stand against the back, and go back and forth.* Loves her Baby from Great-Grandma* Says "Papa," "up," Kjersti (dear de)," "upaday...(what ever that means),* LOVED "blowing raspberries" last night* Loves a book called One Baby Jesus* Will spend a half hour cleaning out her toy drawer and then sits in it to play*Getting better and drinking milk in a sippy (she was picky for a while)*Gets excited when we get to Grandmas!*Says "Anna" all the time, I think referring to Anna Belle*Ate Mia's dog food yesterday -oops! and YUCK!* Would rather sit on someone's lap to eat than in her own chair*



4/16/09*Can stand up on her own. Looks like a "surfer". Is SO proud of herself! She will smile, clap and try to pick things up from standing position.*Says "Grandpa- bam pa." I swear she says "Kjersti- deas dee" and I think she said "Aubrey- a be" the other day.*Knows who Jesus Christ is and will point to his pictures or statues of him as well as say "de das."*Has a cheesy teethy grin to get attention from mom.*Folds her arms for prayers.*Signs all done, more, milk, cracker, water, eat, fish, and baby. Thank you signing time videos!*Gives hugs and nice wet tongue kisses! (:*Loves anything that has to do with DOGS... or in her terms "ooff ooff."*Likes to stack the stars on the star stacker or will stack the fish in a boat while in the bath and knows how to turn them right side up.*Knows how to turn on the TV...trouble!*Yells "dad" at the bottom of the stairs.*Knows body parts: head, eyes (closes them sometimes and points others), nose, teeth, ears, toes, belly, feet?, and is working on knees.*Crawls on one knee under her bottom with the other leg stretching forward so she can carry something in her arms. Will also crawl pushing books on the ground towards me and them crawl into my lap and make me read it.*Holds up Mia's toys to "throw" them to Mia. Just doesn't quite know how to let go yet.*LOVES her new sippy cup with a straw.*Is STILL facinated with PHOTOS.

A Poem, by Erin Mason

I have so much to blog, but have a project in the works (hence my 1:45 am posting), but I wanted to post this Poem. I thought it was beautiful and asked Erin if I could post it. I think this decribes perfectly the emotions that I tend to go through while being a mother.

My List
There’s a list on my table
of things to be done,
there is laundry to fold,
and errands to run,
a letter of thanks
I’ve been meaning to write,
a stack of old papers
to put out of sight,
there is dinner to plan,
I should get to the store,
but I still haven’t showered,
and it’s almost four,
the weeds must be picked,
the furniture dusted,
the vacuuming done,
the sprinklers adjusted,
the dishes are piling
quite high in the sink,
and the printer for days
has been flashing “low ink”,
the car is on empty,
the milk’s almost gone,
the light I just changed
in the hall won’t turn on,
there are phone calls to make,
there are bills still to pay,
my body is willing,
and yet kept at bay
by the sweet little angel,
his face softly glowing,
who dreams in my arms,
without even knowing
the peace that he brings me,
how heaven draws near,
and things of eternity
all become clear:
that I am a mother,
my calling divine,
of highest importance
in the grand design,
and though obligations
and chores can’t be missed,
holding my baby
is first on my list.

A Mother's Day

Today was wonderful! It was so nice to be here in Utah to celebrate this holiday with those I love most. I woke up this morning at 9:30, so happy that my husband let me sleep in. Then found out that Dave woke up earlier with Anna, but got her back to sleep and he had also just woken up (bonus for all of us!). Then Dave made a wonderful breakfast. I got to sit and read books with my Anna and then play with toys. I spent some time playing with my dog (mostly trying to comb her winter coat off-gross!), but nevertheless it is good to be with her.

Then we were off for the marathon. We went to my parent's ward (my old homeward) for Sacrament meeting). It was such an AMAZING meeting. My father has been in the bishopric for almost 6 years and was being released so he, the other counselor, the bishop, the stake president, and the new bishop all spoke. There was a wonderful spirit there. Those who spoke were humble and bore true testimony. They spoke about the promptings of the Holy Ghost, the truthfulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, Gave tribute to their own wife, mothers, and women in general. (I especially loved how the Stake President spoke of the amazing role of many women in the scriptures). It was a beautiful meeting and I felt blessed to be there and a part of it. I am so proud of the Dad. He is truly an amazing, humble, loving, giving, sensitive, and Christ-like example to me. I am happy that now after 10+ years of serving in bishopric callings that he and my mom can sit together... at least until the next calling comes along.

Afterwards, I would have loved to chat with lots of old friends, but we were off to a mission farewell of Dave's cousin. I was glad we went and am thankful for what I DID hear, though most of the time I was playing the fitting role (for today) as a mother and roamed the halls with a cute 15 month old. She just couldn't sit still! I love the stage she is in because she is learning so much each day. I can truly see her mind exploring and trying to figure out what is going on. She is hilarious and so dang cute! And though I know the busy-ness will only get worse when she is fully walking, I hope she does it soon. She is in the in-between stage where she WANTS to walk, but doesn't quite have the guts to let go and go on her own. So I get to bend over a lot and walk around places with a cute little hand wrapped around my finger (that I don't mind).

Then we were off to an amazing buffet dinner. My Grandma likes to take us to a country club every Mother's day for the most filling (yeah, I'll need to exercise a lot this week), and yummy meal. It is nice because then my mom gets a break from organizing, cooking, and cleaning and we all get to be together. Though I wish it wasn't on Sunday. I was so thankful because there was a lot of things that Anna enjoyed eating and I think we filled her belly for the first time in a long time!

Our last stop was HOME to the Miners where we were greeted by 12 running, biking, or scootering kids excited to see us (okay mostly Anna). It is amazing how much kids can change and grow up in 5 months! We had a great time catching up with Dave's family. Anyone with a small family might be rather intimidated, but it is the norm to have up to 20 adults, as of Thursday 20 grand kids! Thank goodness for good weather where the kids can escape the house and give the parents a little quiet. (: (I need to be better at taking photos at home were the action is, but is not always captured)

All in all it was a wonderful Mother's day. I love being back with family. I love my Mom, Grandma R, Mother in law- JJ, Grandma J, Mother in law-Karen (though I have never met her- today is 13 years since her passing), and all the other mother figures in my life who have taught me so much. I could write pages about each one of them.

And today, as everyday, I am reminded how much... I love being a Mother.

I will miss you Megan!

This is an ode to my FABULOUS friend and walking partner, Megs. She is WONDERFUL, dedicated, WARM, enthusiastic, POSITIVE, outgoing, and UNDERSTANDING and has helped me get out of bed BEFORE the SUN, in RAIN, SNOW, COLD, and SHINE to go kick our butts and get our bodies moving. She has been PATIENT while I cleaned up after my DOG or chased her around complexes ( yes this happened last week-- bah!) We have had wonderful CONVERSATIONS, We hit it off right from the START and could talk about ANYTHING. It has been fun to share A2 EXPERIENCES, VENT about quirky things, and just laugh. We always seem to find SOMETHING to talk about and I feel like she has helped me LEARN a lot about LOVING LIFE and living your BEST in whatever experiences you have. It has felt good to actually have something to LOOK FORWARD forward to @ 6:45 AM! I wouldn't have gotten up if it wasn't for her!

I will miss you Megan (and so will Mia!)

Let's get together soon... in June!! (:

Love, HEIDI

P.S. A thank you to DAVE as well for getting up with Anna various mornings so that I could have my OWN time!

It's so hard to be little sometimes...and a class rep!

The other day Anna was playing with the lens cap of our camera while I was trying to snap a photo of her pigtails when I took it away, this was her reaction. It was so cute and funny (okay and a little sad) I had to snap some pics...

Oh and Dave used these photos today in a campaign to become class representative. People joked and accused him of child exploitation (he he), but nevertheless they laughed and voted for him. Sooo, I give you one of four class reps for the University of Michigan HMP program 2009-2010 (skinny legs and all!)....

Congrats Babe, you'll be great!

AWESOME WEATHER!

What a fabulous weekend. Friday it was 65? I think and Saturday was in the 70s! I actually got a little sun on my arms and face Wahoo! Here is what we did this weekend other besides letting Dave study until his brain was in his terms "mushy."

Thanks to our Neighbor we get to watch lots of different birds and squirrels, some days their colors are so beautiful and vibrant. I actually don't mind doing the dishes sometimes because I get to look out on this. I loved the blue colors on this bird. Anyone know the name/type of bird?
Anna knows how to fold her arms for prayers. It is so cute! This weekend she was such a GREAT eater! FINALLY! We had the car seat in the living room after our road trip. It became Anna's new favorite toy. She would practice standing, sit and read books, bring her other toys up with her, and put her baby in it.

We went swinging ALOT. We actually went to four parks in 3 days!

Mia loved the weather as well. She got to run a lot and relax in the sun on the porch.

Anna was watching Signing Time while I was doing dishes, I went to check on her and found her watching like this. (our TV is on the left just past the basket).

I tried pig tails on Friday it was so cute. We went to the park with girls in our ward and her hair got so much static on the slides it was hilarious.

Anna started standing last week and feels like such a big girl. Any day now she will take a step!

Just before one of my walks Dave caught this picture. He thought it was so funny... the mysterious hand and bottle peering out of the stroller.

We had a BBQ at a Park with lots of friends. It was a great get together. We ate a lot of food, and the boys plays Speedminton and Bocce Ball and the girls chatted.

Boys BBQin'

Anna LOVED people watching (there were SO many people out), but most of all she loved all the DOGGIES! "Ooff Ooff!"

All the girlies strike a pose. Me, Sarah, Abby Cara, Pam, Kara, and Carrie!

A really nice bike rider offered his wife to get off her bike and take a group shot for us. (he was attached to his daughter's bike and wasn't able to do it himself.) He asked what we were celebrating. (Why would such a big group be together?) We said... " It's just for fun and the GOOD weather." Thanks for a fun night!

Day one of the Family visit/trip

We took it easy the first day, spent then morning catching up and eating yummy crepes! Anna loved having visitors. She seemed to be astonished that the people in the computer (and photographs) are actually 3 dimensional! She loved showing off all her moves, playing on the floor with Aunties and getting lots of kisses and hugs.

Then we toured Ann Arbor, including the neighborhood I work in, campus, and shopping for Michigan gear. Afterwards we went out to lunch. We ate too much at Cottage Inn Pizza and have WAY too many left overs (two whole pizzas and two large salads.)
Then we went to the mall to find Kjersti a prom dress. ( I wish I would have taken a picture, so the visual below will have to do)We remarked that it was the fastest prom dress shopping we have EVER done. We went to one store...5 minutes and nothing, We went to another and within 10 minutes she was headed to the dressing room with one fabulous dress ON SALE and a couple other ones that her sisters threw in, without her consent. She tried a beautiful silver piece on and looked FABULOUS! It actually took longer to check out than to look and try on the dress. I am so glad that I was able to be there to pick it out and see it on her. That is one thing that I miss while I am away from my family, being able to experience the exciting day to day things.

Afterwards we just rested, we all seemed to be so tired, and then went on a walk through our neighborhood. It was fun to show off where we live and the interesting things that are around us. Then we packed and got ready for our "church history" road trip.