Logan Boy, Logan Boy...

Ever since I highlighted him in his 2 1/2 year post, I wrote down a few other funny things he says that I want to remember:

-neck-uh-liss (necklace)

-own-gen (orange)

-chew-cuh-baw-cuh-baw (El Chupacabra)

-chin cheese (string cheese)

-toe-lit (toilet)

-"...while I yum yum..." (while singing the words "while I am young" in the Temple song)

-sun-teen (something)

-han-guh-buh-guh (hamburger)

-kwo-gut (Kroger)

-Home Depots (with the "s" on the end)

I just ADORE the way he pronounces things, and will feel sad when he starts to say things correctly. 

Logan is also extremely clumsy. He had 3 big falls in a single day. His poor legs and the tops of his feet were already bleeding in several spots when he had his 3rd fall at a park. :( He is tough, thank goodness, and it hardly stops him. But I still felt sad every time I saw his poor, beat up legs.

** TMI from here on out, so feel free to skip it if you wish. But if I don't write it all down I'll never remember it!**
Three weeks ago I started the process of potty-training Logan. We started on a monday morning, hanging out inside all day in just undies (him, of course, not me) ;) and just jumped right in. He has been showing lots of interested for a few months leading up to that day, so I knew he was excited. His new Planes and Cars undies were exciting and he was happy to get an M&M or a skittle each time he successfully "went" on the toilet. The first day went surprisingly well! I kept him full of juice throughout the day so he could have lots of practice. I cringe when I think of all the sugar he has had in these last few weeks... but it's all part of the process. :) That monday he went potty successfully about 24 times, with a few little mishaps while sitting on the toilet. Can I just say that getting him to ... point the right direction is really difficult. He may or may not have ended up with some pee in his face and mouth once... :/ But anyway he had a few minor accidents that day but hardly any problems! It was so encouraging!

Amanda was so sweet and dropped off a treat for them AND for me. Life saver!

 Day two started out alright... I was actually happy to have another day of PJs, attached to Logan and keeping things going with training. 

 But Logan quickly became very ANGRY about it. He had lots of accidents... all day long. It was a very frustrating and discouraging day. I think the excitement of it all wore off and he just didn't want to try.

 By nap time, I was SO grateful Amanda had given me these dark chocolates. I drowned my woes in chocolate for a little while.

 On day 3, our ward's primary activity was being held on the Temple grounds and I had planned to have him in a pull-up and just give ourselves a few hours break from training. I figured if I just didn't ask him to go potty and didn't deal with it for that time then he would just pee in the pull-up and we'd get right back to things after naps again. However he completely surprised me! He didn't need to pee all morning (or at least didn't tell me) but then he also stayed totally dry. That was 4 straight hours, plus a cup of juice! I was so impressed and he was in good spirits. The rest of that day and the next day went just fine. He wears pull-ups during naps and at night time. He stays dry during naps but usually wakes up a little wet. Overall within his first week we had a few mishaps here and there but we were figuring it out pretty well! I enjoyed spending lots of one-on-one time with him.

The kids were pulling out all of my shoes and walking around in each pair. Seeing Logan in his undies and wearing my high heels had me laughing for several minutes. Apparently he was channeling his inner Justin Timberlake. ;)

 Cutest little fireman! He tells me often that when he grows up, but before he is a daddy, he wants to be a fireman. (and a missionary somewhere in there too)

 Also that week, Grace got to go on a date with Dad to dinner and ice cream. That happened because she had been having crying fits at night in her bed about how she didn't want Ryan to go to work the next day. It broke both our hearts to hear her sob like that for multiple nights, but then a few nights later she was crying about other, different things that made her sob at night. I think she was just avoiding sleep... but anyway he took her on a date, so Logan and I made cookies together.

 He really is a good helper and such a sweet boy when it's just the two of us. He helped wash a few of the dishes for me too.

 On day 5 Logan successfully went "number 2" and earned himself a cookie. Woo hoo! I'm so proud of him and how quickly he figured it all out. He has Grace's iron will and doesn't like to be pushed into using the potty when I try to insist on it, and he also has Grace's crazy big bladder. They both can hold it for hours!

One other thing I wanted to record is what I learned was his greatest incentive to "go". Most of the time he doesn't need to be pushed into going and does just fine. But sometimes when I know he needs to do it, but is being extra stubborn, I'll tell him that if he goes he can give EVERYONE a skittle this time! That totally peaks his interest and gets him to go every time. I love that about him. What a sweet, caring boy who likes to share his special treat with others.

My "Hands Free" journey {a journal entry}

Over the last year or so, but especially during this chapter of residency, I have started to become the kind of mother and person I never wanted to be. I'm not sure if it's happened because I feel overwhelmed raising the kids mostly on my own... or maybe because having 2 kids has been a harder adjustment which leaves me with less down-time. I'm not sure. But I do know that when I saw my future-mommy-self, I never wanted to roll my eyes at my kids. I never meant to spend a whole day sighing out of frustration at how long they take to do things. I NEVER.ever.ever wanted to feel impatient while Grace tried to tell me her thoughts and get all the words out... because I grew up having the same problem with getting my words out just right. I have permanent scars from people telling me to "spit it out" quicker, or telling me the way I explain myself isn't the most efficient way. But here I am, a mother of an almost-5 year old and a 2 1/2 year old, and I'm doing all of those things I never meant to have in my home. My kids don't deserve to be rushed from activity to activity and seeing their mommy's frustration through the whole process. They don't deserve a mom who doesn't look them in the eyes when they walk in the room or when they're trying to speak to me. They don't deserve a mom who makes them feel self-conscious about being silly and care-free. They don't deserve a mom who has a poor self-image some days and who lets the negative, inner voices bring her down.

Logan frequently turns to me with an encouraging, overly-large smile and asks me "Mom, you happy?" He tends to do this when he can feel the tiredness, frustration, and annoyance in my mood. Such a sweet, sensitive boy. But a 2 year old should not have to worry over my moods. I mean, don't get me wrong - there's nothing wrong with helping children to learn compassion and the importance of understanding others' feelings. But this is not the way I want him to learn those lessons. Not through my own impatience, unhappiness, and frustration with them or with life.

Grace is incredibly good at matching my moods, my words, and my actions... especially the bad portions. She has to learn from someone how to act, how to react to frustration, how to speak, how to feel about situations... and she is learning those things from me. Both the good things and especially the bad. I realize my mistakes when I see her roll her eyes... When I hear her say "Stop bugging me!", or "You're hurting my ears", or "I don't want to do that right now", or "Maybe SOMEDAY we can fly our kites again". The word "someday" is said at least 15 times everyday, either by me because I'm saying "no" to an innocent request out of laziness, or the kids because they know I'm going to say no to their request. So they tack on the "someday" word when they request something now. Ouch. Or recently I asked her if she had lots of money and could buy anything in the whole world, what would it be? Without hesitation she said "A phone!" I felt awful, and asked what else? And she said "A computer". :( All of those statements I just listed cut me deeply because I have either said them out loud too many times myself, or have shown her through my own actions that phones and computers must be the most important toys/tools in the world.

A few months ago I got to a breaking point. I wasn't happy. I mean, I liked being home... and being a mom... I didn't want to be doing anything else in the whole world... but I wasn't HAPPY doing it. I didn't find joy in the mundane moments but only looked forward to particular things (when ryan was off work next, or a rare girls' night coming up, or being able to tune the world out with a great book once the kids were in bed). I was just wasting away the daytime hours until I could have a break and not hear the kids' constant noises. I almost constantly fought feelings of boredom, laziness, tiredness, and had very little desire to be social. When I was out of the house with the kids, I put on a happy, positive face and was suddenly nicer to my kids (because others were around and I didn't want them to see my mean-mom self)... but then I would be my worst-self when it was just me and the kids again. Each night I would kneel down on my own, talking to Heavenly Father about how much I failed that day and asked for more help. I begged for extra strength to be the mom I wanted to be. I needed help. I needed guidance. I needed a happier mood and peace in my soul. In the morning, before even greeting my kids for the day, I would kneel again and ask for the same things: strength, help, a happy mood, patience. But then I would continue to yell, get frustrated, be annoyed, lose patience, feel overwhelmed, feel resentful, etc, etc, etc. It was too much! I couldn't live like this everyday anymore. So I began fasting as well. I knew that Heavenly Father wanted me to be a good mom and to be happy. I knew my job as a mother to Logan and Grace is the most important job I will ever have and He is my partner in that sacred role. I had faith that something would change but I wasn't sure how or what or when.

One day I saw someone post a blog article on Facebook and it stood out to me as something I needed to read. It was a lady who wrote a blog and later a book about becoming a "Hands Free Mama". She wrote about having her "breakdown-breakthrough moment" where she realized she needed to put down the distractions in her life and reconnect with her loved ones. Her honesty and philosophy truly spoke to my soul. I felt so strongly that THIS was my answer and the direction I needed to go. I found her book at the library and started reading. Immediately (and even to this day) every page I read, every story she shares, and ever goal she offers to me is truly an answer to my prayers. Aside from reading actual scriptures, I have never read a book where I've wanted to scream "YES!! Exactly!! I believe in this." The author (who is not a member of our church) actually does refer to her relationship with God and her answers to prayers that she received on her path to becoming "Hands Free", and it really speaks volumes to me.

Being "Hands Free" means that our hands, eyes, and hearts are not holding onto phones, distractions, to-do lists, or do-it-all attitudes, but instead we are free to grasp what really matters and reconnect with our loves ones. It's not just about putting down our phones and computers... that's only a small part of it, but that was definitely the first step for me. I may not have a crazy amount of emails coming in, or projects to be doing on the computer, but I did find myself checking social media sites WAY too often. Or texting family members or friends way too much at times. I hated the thought of being the last person to see a baby announcement on FB, or a park-day someone had planned, or being so behind on instagram posts that it would need 30 straight minutes to catch up. The kids would talk to me, or want me to play with them, but I would sit typing on my phone and saying "Mm-hm... that's cool babe", or "Ok, hold on... in a minute". What does that say to them? It tells them "whatever mom is looking at on her phone/computer is more important than me".

One line that the author shares over and over as she tells her own story with this journey is "The truth hurts - but the truth heals - and allows changes to occur." When I realize how often my kids felt unimportant or left behind or like an annoyance, it hurts my heart. It makes me feel awful and feel like a total failure. But I'm learning that BECAUSE I'm aware of that hurt, it helps spur me on deeper into this journey and to keep trying to overcome those bad habits. The truth hurts, but the truth heals.

These are some of my favorite lines from her writings and the things that have made the most impact to spur me on to make changes:

-"Someday" is nowhere to live your life. (a reminder that I have to start somewhere, and that means NOW)

-"I want to make memories, not to-do lists. I want to feel the squeeze of my child's hand, not the pressure of overcommitment. I want the noise of my life to be a mixture of laughter and gratitude, not the intrusive buzz of cell phones and text messages. I'm letting go of distraction, disconnection, and perfection to live a life that simply consists of what really matters."

-What if I missed the smell and sight of my energetic children because I wanted to fold a basket of laundry before bed? Or missed hearing about the best part of my child's day because I was busy looking at my phone?

-What if I was only fully present on special occasions?

-The best moments in life are in the mundane, everyday moments.

-"The truth is: no matter how much she wants to, needs to, or would love to, my child cannot kiss a moving target." 

-I am responsible for giving my children their childhood. What will they remember?

*I want them to remember that I looked them in the eyes, I was silly with them, that I said "yes" often, that they are special and loved. None of those things on my list include outings, big memories, special occasions. They are day-to-day things.

-"Today you too are presented with a blank page. A beautifully flawed, memorable, and gratitude-filled life is at your fingertips. 

All you have to do is open your hands. 

And say yes."

-"If you get upset about the little things in life, how in the world will you handle the big things?"-

-"You can do anything, but you can't do everything."

-"Stop trying to control. Just let things be."

-"Small amounts of time, energy, and attention became the building blocks of the meaningful life I wanted to live and childhood I wanted my children to have."

-"Consistently choosing CONNECTION over distraction was the key to having a more joy-filled life."

-What will my children's memories of today be?

*Will it be that I cleaned the house without looking at them?

*Will it be that I looked at my phone more than at them?

*Will it be that I said "I'm too busy" when they ask me to play?

There are so many great statements, guidelines, and examples in her book that I wish I could type out and post all over my house to remind myself of what to do and how to do it! 

As I have put these tips into practice, making changes to my attitude, finding intention in my day-to-day moments with the kids, and working on removing distractions, I have seen a 100% change for the better in our home. On the days when I am successful in being more "Hands Free", the kids behavior improves. They fight much less and we have way less time-outs or need none at all! I truly believe that it's because they are feeling more and more secure, and know that they're my top priority instead of the other "stuff". They act more light-hearted and joyful, and treat each other with much more kindness because that's what they're seeing come from me throughout the day. At night, before bed as I pray and think back on my day, I have less to feel sorry about. I have less to ask Heavenly Father for, but instead feel much more joy, gratitude and humility. I'm slowly changing my heart and my habits... and in turn it positively effects our home-life. Ryan has noticed the change in me and my intentions, and I know it helps him feel more able to handle his VERY full plate when he knows his wife and kids are happy. 

I want to share one quick story which proves the positive changes:

At lunch one day, the kids were eating veggie straws (like chip sticks) and they asked me for the 57th time what vegetable each color represented. So instead of rolling my eyes or sighing or saying "I've already told you 100 times!", I grabbed one of each color. As I told them each veggie name one at a time, I took that color of veggie straw and put it in my upper lip so it hung down like walrus teeth. I kept doing that until all 4 colors were hanging down out of my mouth. I don't even know why I did it. I usually don't do that sort of ridiculous, "dumb" (dare I say), embarrassing sort of behavior myself because... well, I guess I feel self-conscious and silly. Or I feel it takes too much energy, or makes too much of a mess, or distracts them from eating their lunches. But for whatever reason I dove into a childish moment with them. The look on Grace's face when I put the first two in my mouth was complete confusion, and frankly she looked worried for my sanity. But then what followed after that were the most beautiful, red-faced, belly-laughs from both kids over mom's silly moment. It completely surprised me, and yet it was absolutely rewarding. I was instantly rewarded with a couple of completely happy children who felt safe being silly and laughing together. I put away the distraction of not wanting to "look dumb" or "have bad table manners" and I chose THEM instead. That was the moment I knew that this is what my home has been missing. I have not been very present or connected to my children and becoming HANDS FREE is what my family needed.

Ultimately...

I want my focus to be on my kids and my husband.

I want them to feel completely secure in my love for and acceptance of them.

I want to be approachable and available, instead of rushing around and telling them "in a minute".

I want to feel joy and contentment everyday, and not base it on whether my house or myself or my children look perfect.

I want to stop wishing for my "tomorrows" or "somedays", and wasting away my "todays".

I want to turn off the negative inner-voices that put me down and be the woman my loved ones see.

I want to raise my children to be good, loving, and happy.

I want to say "yes" more.

I want to be there for my kids, even when they're in trouble. 

I want to be more like my Father in Heaven in the way that I parent, and more like my Savior in the way I approach my life, hardships, and my relationships with others.

I'm so grateful that Heavenly Father put this book, "Hands Free Mama", into my path. He knew that I needed written directions and examples to re-read and work on. He knew what would speak to me the loudest at this point in my life ... and this was it. It's opened up my eyes and my heart to what's important and how to get out of life what I want. Even though I still struggle and still have some days where I fail at every turn, I know that when I start over with the basics and turn off the distractions (whatever they may be that day) that I find joy and purpose again. 

Thirty One

On monday the 28th, Ryan was just coming off of a 24 hour shift. What a way to spend your birthday!: sleep deprived after working a gazillion hours. ;) 

The kids had swim that morning so unfortunately we missed him coming home after his shift and the gym. So we decorated the door with some notes and pictures to greet him.

Grace drew this sweet picture of Ryan in his "green clothes" (scrubs), his car, and his home-away-from-home: Nationwide Children's hospital. I helped add the butterflies that are on the real building. She was sure to include the big blue "H" and the "lady doctor" looking out the window. She also wrote all the letters while I helped tell her which ones to write. 

 For dinner we went to Chipotle (thank you, Lindsey and Dan, for the free meal coins!!!)

 A couple weeks before his birthday I asked Ryan what kind of cake he wanted. He said he didn't want one. So I kept trying to convince him to let me make one by coming at it from all different angles: that he deserved one... that it's not a birthday without cake... called him "boring" (with love, of course)... that I wouldn't invite anyone over and we could just keep it to the 4 of us... and finally I told him that the kids and I would like to celebrate him with a birthday cake and he is welcome to eat some with us if he'd like to. ;) Stubborn much? 

Well that got him finally. He told me a peanut butter chocolate cake is what he wanted. So that's what I did! 

for the record: Ryan's favorite tastes in cakes are completely opposite of mine. Either he picks a lemon cake or a peanut butter cake for his special days and I don't eat it... or I pick a chocolatey-chocolate cake for my special days and he doesn't eat mine. It's both good and not good. 

We love you, Ryan/Daddy! Happy 31st Birthday, handsome man.

Girls Camp: Mission Impossible

I've been serving as our ward's YW secretary for 2 years now. It has been a very testimony-building and strengthening experience for me. I have had my own weaknesses get the better of me through this calling, and yet a lot of times they have become strengths as I've relied on the Lord. 

My calling includes taking roll on sundays, keeping rosters updated with all the correct facts for each girl, teaching sunday lessons roughly once every 5 or 6 weeks, being over all the personal progress stuff, attending tuesday mutual when Ryan is able to be home (which is only about half of the time), decorating the bulletin board outside our YW room (which is my very least favorite responsibility), and being in charge of the birthday spotlights and gifts. I also tend to be the go-to person for the President, which I think is because we get along well and she feels she can rely on me to give my honest opinion.? haha. I don't know, but I'm glad I can be helpful to her because SHE definitely has a lot on her plate. I'm probably doing two callings' jobs because I'm over the Personal Progress stuff as well as all the secretary stuff. Being in a small ward means there aren't enough people to go around. We don't even have advisors ... just the president, councilors, and me. It's a VERY busy calling (especially on top of being mostly a single mom) but it has been a blessing to me. 

With Ryan working as much as he does, there are a lot of times I can't be a part of things and I do more of the behind-the-scenes and prep stuff without the fun stuff. Last year and this year, I wasn't able to go to any of Youth Conference. Both times they were really fun activities (Kirtland OH tours, Amish country, Hocking Hills ropes course, hikes, camping, etc) but I couldn't work it out with Ryan's schedule. For girls camp last year, I was only able to plan on going to one day of it, and had planned for the kids to be watched until Ryan got home that night, but Logan got a really bad cold and was miserable. So I didn't get to go in the end. This year, Ryan went ahead and scheduled some of his vacation days for during camp (which I didn't even know he had done and was incredibly sweet of him). I was able to plan on going to camp for most of Thursday and didn't have to worry about sitters or anything. It was wonderful!

Here in Ohio camp is always done by stake and never by ward. The girls tell us they would love to have ward camp but I guess it just isn't done. ? I wish they would though! Those are some of my favorite memories. Our stake rented out Camp Oty'okwa in Hocking Hills so it was only 45 minutes away from home. It's a beautiful area with tons of trees, a pool for the girls, bunk houses (so they didn't have to tent camp), and whatever else they might need. They are separated for that week into "years" instead of into wards, so I planned to go up for just the Thursday activities when they gave us a good chunk of ward time. We had several hours to send our girls on a secret agent type of "mission", do dinner prep together, eat dinner, do skit practice, skit night, and then Bishop treats and ward testimony meeting. It was a very eventful afternoon and evening!

Our presidency planned a 4-part mission for our girls and they would collect our fingerprints in a booklet (that Tracie Griffiths put together) in order to complete their mission. Such a cute idea and I forgot to take a pic. Part one: they did a gospel doctrine question and answer obstacle course which I heard was a huge success but only got this photo of them walking to the starting point.

 Part two: building marshmallow shooters! (their agent "guns") They really got a kick out of those.

Part three: learning about knots and tying paracord bracelets they can keep with them. In case of emergency they can quickly untie the bracelet and have a few yards of paracord.

 Part four was my part: Secret Messages. Each girl had a letter (or letters) written by their parents ahead of time that were sticking in a new Book of Mormon. They were asked to read their letters and then write their own "secret message" (aka Testimonies) inside the Book of Mormon. Then I asked them to commit to give their book to someone before the next girls camp. There was some very tender moments while they read their letters, and I can still remember specific times I read my own letter at my camps as a youth. I hope they will cherish theirs forever like I do mine.

 Dinner was SO yummy: "hobo dinners" or "tin foil dinners" and barbecued corn on the cob. Then we had the girls practice their skit several times before skit night started. They did a really fun story about a girl trying to go on a mission and it takes three special things: reading the Book of Mormon, a temple recommend, turning in your papers/waiting for the postman. Some portions had music, others dancing, and others had funny lines. In this photo it's of Avery going through laser obstacles to get her Temple Recommend! Good thing we have a high school drama teacher in our presidency, huh? Because this stuff is SO not my thing.

 Here is our group, aside from a couple that we couldn't track down for the photo. They are such cute girls! I sure love them.

 Tracie, Barb (our ward camp director), Katie, Anne, and me.

We work so well together as a presidency! I'm so grateful for them.

Summer Activities: Biking and Swimming

On a beautiful, cool summer afternoon a couple weeks ago, the kids spent a good hour or so on their bikes. I grabbed my Canon to capture some of the moments. They LOVE biking and ask me probably everyday if we can go outside to ride bikes. Logan needs a real one, yes, but they still enjoy the activity and the independence.

Grace is getting very fast on her training wheels. She rides down the sidewalk to the corner (one house over) and then back the other way and turns around 2 driveways down. Back and forth, back and forth. 

 "Hi mom"

 She concentrates just like her father: with the tongue peeking out.

 Oh these two.

 I love that curly-haired, blue-eyed, goldfish-crumbed, little face. 

Every morning last week Grace had swim lessons. They were held in a little hidden community pool in Pickerington for 30 minutes. Grace's teacher was a cute high school girl named Jessi and she did a great job giving Grace some confidence and understanding of the water. I was really grateful we could provide her with something like this, even just one week like this was.

 

Grace's teacher had her try the diving board (her FIRST time ever) and she went right up there and jumped off! Brave girl.

You can see her nerves and a little fear in her face, but still going for it!

Grace had a really great time learning to swim and having all that focused instruction from a nice teacher. :) I'd love to get her in more lessons in the future.

One of the BEST parts (for me, anyway) of having Grace doing these lessons each morning is that they allow younger siblings to hang out in the toddler pool during those 30 minutes. Logan had a blast, and his cousin Ava was there to play with him most mornings as well. It's only about a foot or so deep and the water was heated. Perfect!

iPhone Catch Up

Grace's hair is getting longer and thicker. One morning just for fun I decided to stick it up on top of her head just like all my cute YW do these days. Look at that beauty!

 In other news, she somehow developed a plantar wart on her big toe (notice the duct tape in this photo) and it was a beast to deal with. Yuck. I hope my kids never get one again. However everyone told me it could take 2 months to get rid of, and I think it only took us 4 or 5 weeks. So that's good! Granted it was a matter of soaking and applying medicine and rubbing off the top layers twice a day EVERYday for all those weeks. It sure was fun stuff...

Our garden has been giving us lots of good veggies for the last few weeks! We have had loads of zucchini, yellow squash, green peppers, handfuls of snap peas, a big bush of basil, yellow peppers, broccoli, tomatoes, a whole bunch of celery, and just today I picked a small bowlful of blackberries. I'm starting to worry that our tomato plants have a disease and they won't survive for too much longer.

One of my very favorite summer meals: homemade pizza, with all kinds of garden veggies on my third of it, and our favorite new side dish: sautéed zucchini.

 I have always felt that a laundry basket makes the very best toy! It can be all kinds of things in the minds of these two: a tub, a shower, a baby bath, a boat, a car, a mountain for Little People, a cage, a turtle shell, a bed, and the list could go on! In this photo it was a tub and Grace was checking the temperature of the water for Logan. 

 Chickfila did their "cow appreciation day" where you can get a free meal if you dress up as a cow. The kids and I stuck some black spots all over ourselves and enjoyed a free lunch at our a very favorite fast food place! 

 Summer is also the season of garage sales. I saw this little bike up the street from us and when I saw it was only $1 I got it for Grace. We've been wanting so much to get the kids new bikes. This will work for a little while! I had the kids work on washing the bike and the 3 stools I also found for future photography sessions.

Best $1 I've spent!

That same weekend I came down with a terrible sore throat and aches. I felt way too awful to go to church the next day (plus Ryan was working so nobody could take Grace to give her talk in primary) and I could barely handle using my voice to talk to the kids. I just laid on the floor and let them play next to me. I set up a little "tent" for them and we built a campfire. Then Grace found little sticks to roast some marshmallows. Such clever kids! 

Here is her talk she was able to give a couple weeks later. I talk with her about the subject and get her thoughts. I type it up and read it to her, and together we decide which words we can draw pictures for to help her remember. That way she is able to somewhat "read" it with help and reminders from me. I'm so proud of her! She has given two in the last month and a half, and she gets right up there without any nerves and does a great job each time.

 These silly kids and I went on an adventure one morning to Jeffrey Park. 

 We discovered a trail and boardwalk along the river behind the park, plus a family of deer running across the pathway several times while we walked through the woods. 

 We visited Ryan at Nationwide Childrens Hospital to have lunch with him in the cafeteria. We also saw a cute family with 5 young kids visiting another "doctor daddy" there. One of the boys was wearing a BYU shirt. It made me smile. 

Logan and I spent a lot of time looking for hidden pictures in the "Magical Forest" at the hospital while Ryan snuck Grace into the ER. He needed to use the otoscope and tools to check if Grace had ruptured her eardrum. It turned out she hadn't, which was a relief! I was grateful he had access to all the tools he needed, plus a second opinion from the attending there that day. Sometimes it pays off to have a resident for a husband. ;)

 More biking of course. It's pretty much an everyday activity now! I drew the kids some roads, signs, and a little parking lot.

I tried every size of helmet on this boy's head and the first one to fit was for a 5 year old! I makes me laugh every time I see him in it. It's practically wider than the rest of his body!

Ava joined us on our bikes one day and Logan helped push her around. We love our cousin play dates!

 We had a pillow party and watched a movie together on a stormy day (which we have had a ton of lately).

I quietly noticed that Logan wanted to be like mom with his popcorn on his tummy. Kids pick up on everything, don't they! 

 Ryan has had some night shifts which free up a morning on his first day of several nights. We took the kids to a donut shop we'd been wanting to visit. 

 They have these cute donut boxes that look like treasure chests. Grace fills it with all kinds of different treasures now, or makes it into a lunch box with toy food.

 She is full of surprises each time she comes down from quiet time! I love her.

 Each year for Ryan's birthday and Christmas, Nationwide Children's gives Ryan free movie passes. We rarely use them for date nights for some reason so we had several saved up. We took the kids up to Easton theaters and saw Dragons 2. We all loved it! We love the first one, and this one was a bit more violent and intense, but it was still a good one.

Grace ran into the room and said "Mom! Logan burned his hands in the campfire so I put bandaids on them." I sat for a second thinking "What am I about to find?" and then Logan walks in the room like this. hehe I love their imaginary play together!

Yesterday Ryan had a night shift in the ED and was home for dinner before heading to work (it's very rare to have him home for dinner). We decided to use a Subway gift card from Ryan's birthday to grab sandwiches and have a picnic. I love that my kids couldn't care less if I pack them boring PB&honey sandwiches. They were simply excited about having a picnic and playing at a park as a family. :)

The kids wanted a tunnel, so daddy provided. 

Poor Logan is SO clumsy. He never looks at his feet when he is running and is always falling down. He fell and scratched his legs three separate times yesterday, drawing blood each time in a different spot on his legs and feet. Ouch!