Pics from March... Yes, call me CraZy

Ok, so call me some kind of compulsive but I have this need to post pictures chronologically. That is why I can't just skip over a day in my journal either I suppose. For all the hundreds of pictures I take there are just a few good ones but it makes me nuts to leave them unposted. Plus this is a "scrapbook" for all the fun events to remember so it's unthinkable to skip posting about any, right? Regardless, here are pictures that I never posted from March with a few additional posts since I also like grouping pictures but sometimes that just takes too much time.

{As a side note, I am totally caught up on my journal so now I can concentrate on the blog. Wish me luck in writing every day so I don't get behind again!}

Oh my, I'm such a cute girl...

... gotta love me!

These girls can't get enough of each other. Sometimes Sydney just runs at Seoul and gives her hugs. Other times Seoul is so smothering with her love Sydney just looks at her funny.

Seoul loves to do art projects. She doesn't so much like getting her hands dirty. So here she is finger painting with a craft stick. It kept her entertained so I didn't complain.

Sydney's first finger painting/craft-stick-painting and she had a blast! I only had to stop her from licking the stick once. She was so excited to be just like Seoul.

Need some groceries? I'll take once of each! (see Seoul in the background trying to get into her cart)

I have no words for how much I love this silly little face!

Yes, this is how I found Seoul playing hide-and-seek one day.

She thought she was the funniest thing ever to have gotten in there!

No words necessary.

Crazy girl working off energy after a morning at church.

This was my blessing dress when I was little.

These girls have crazy times together. One of their favorite activities is dancing around the living room.

Running in circles = dancing

The girls love to go to story time, especially when they get to do fun crafts. Sydney is admiring herself the mirror so I couldn't get her to look at me.

When the weather is even remotely good we go out and take walks. Seoul ends up running in front or behind us to be silly and make Sydney laugh.

Sydney's a good sport even though she doesn't stay as warm as we walk around because her lack of movement.

Seoul is dominating the big slides these days. Of course she always likes someone to go with her.

Sydney loves to pick up bark chips. Silly goof!

Ok, two messiest breakfasts: cottage cheese with fruit and oatmeal. Those little bitties end up ALL OVER her clothes!

Seoul loves for her to wear this giant hat. Sydney is a good sport.

This girl and her personality kills me - always silly faces!

Sydney is really getting into books and spends quite a bit of time looking at pictures. She even imitates Seoul and pretends to read each page.

Don't forget a picture of me!

Focused attention. She loves building "towers of terror!" It's so fun to watch the different configurations she creates.

Entranced at story time. Wilsonville has the best story times. This one was three variations on the story of "The Three Bears" - one with kazoos (Seoul's favorite), one with puppets, and one with Star Wars characters & voices.

Love.

Seoul's favorite treat - chocolate vanilla twist with sprinkles, gummy worms, and sometimes strawberries.

Second child. Already loves sweet things. This time it's chocolate pie.

General Conference

I love General Conference when it rolls around every six months. I also love watching it from home with DVR because then I can pause it to meet the needs of the girls. It's such an amazing experience to hear the Prophet and other leaders of the Church teach us. To have my questions answered and feel of the Spirit. Now it's even more meaningful to share the experience with the girls.

This year I did the word game - different bowls of candy for various words. Three kinds to keep it simple, and because Seoul is 3 (her number for everything these days!) Seoul was very excited in the days leading up to Conference because I let her help choose the kinds of candy. She did surprisingly well during all four sessions (when she was awake). She caught a lot of the words and of course loved eating the candy. Sydney loved getting candy when Seoul heard the words.

I also cut out the following activity from the Friend Magazine. There are pictures of the First Presidency and Twelve Apostles with corresponding chairs. I did opt to skip the pulpit this time. Seoul enjoyed identifying the men as they spoke. She did get hung up on the color of the ties and the color of their hair. If they had different color ties on or if their hair was grayer in person than it was in the picture she said it wasn't the same person. Goofball! She definitely knows President Monson and President Eyring. I think she is a little intimidated by President Uchtdorf's name, but I'm pretty sure she knows him.

I hope to instill a love of General Conference in the girls. I love that Seoul already recognizes so much and loves the church music. I think the seeds of a testimony are already planted and they just need to be nourished. She loves going to church and to nursery. She hears various phrases in the talks and prayers and tells me. What a blessing to be members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

birthday memory

It was a great birthday. Another year older with more reflection and more gratitude for where I am in life. Kelley surprised me with a family dinner at one of my favorite places, Tebo's Restaurant. They have ginormous strawberry shortcakes when local strawberries are in season. It was a treat to go when I was younger. My whole family was able to attend. What a sweet man to plan that along with a great family to come!

Seoul Loves to Help

Seoul is all about helping do so many things. I try and develop this so she continues to enjoy working with me. I've convinced her that she is great at "shining" the floor after I mop [with my Swiffer].

Washing dishes!

She asks to wipe down the table every day.

She makes her own turkey sandwich. She eats so much better when she gets ownership of her food by helping prepare it.

She's figured out how to fold hand towels and wash cloths, and attacks the laundry basket every time I do a load of towels.

Special Persons Day

This year Amanda invited Seoul and Sydney to Special Persons Day at Eccles school. The girls had fun and Amanda's friends thought they were very cute. We visited Amanda's class to see some things she does, had lunch, went to the Book Fair, and played outside for recess. {I remember book fairs when I was little - I would pore over the little catalogs they would send home ahead of time and I'd always get at least a few books.} It was really fun even though I didn't get a lot of pictures.

Milestone

Sydney is now a forward-facing baby! We waited until she was at the upper limits of the infant carrier. The girls love it! She took over Seoul's cushy seat and Seoul moved into the new addition to the car. Both were excited.

The only bummer - her head falls forward when she sleeps in the car.

Really Seoul?

Seoul saw this picture on a blog I was looking at for primary music. She said, "Is that you in a cone?"

I asked why she thought it was me. She replied that I have black hair. I didn't inquire further as to why she thought it was me.

At last....?

.... park independence! A sunny day happened in March and we walked to Legacy Park. This was Sydney's first time really cruising the park and she was EVERYWHERE! Seoul was extremely independent and had lots of fun, too. Then I realized with two kids going opposite directions it could be more difficult that I had envisioned as I anxiously waited in anticipation for the girls to figure out they don't have to stay right next to me. All the time. It was so much fun, though!

Sydney loves the swing. Seoul seems almost too big for those swings now!

She's off and running!

Sydney loves the teeter totter. Seoul loves whatever Sydney is doing.

Definitely a climber and go-getter at an early age!

Seoul and Sydney are a great balance... they will help each other have adventures and moderate themselves. It's so fun watching them interact. Seoul was very conscientious of her "baby" and made sure she was OK in between sliding and swinging and climbing.

We can never get away from her silly faces and "gang signs" she's always doing with her hands.

Taking a break to eat some bark dust. Yum.

I love time with the girls! I love being outdoors. I appreciate the change in the way they play throughout the different summers at the park. They're my cuties!

{pictures from March}

Seoul Writes

Seoul initially learned how to spell her name verbally from her toy puppy dog, Violet. (Since Seoul isn't a common name - who knew?! - we set it up to spell her name instead of say it, which was a nice option.) She has perhaps forgotten it but we've worked on it at various times. One day on a whim I wrote her name at the top of the easel. She wanted to write it, too. So I helped her with the 's' on the second Seoul but then she did all the other letters completely on her own, including the third row. I gave her verbal directions to get the letters started, such as: draw a straight line down, etc. I was so proud of her!

Then she drew a cat.

{This is from March 15, 2012}