This pregnancy, I've struggled a lot more emotionally than when I was pregnant with Ashtyn. With her, I don't remember ever going through emotional ups and downs. There was the time someone honked at me while I was driving and it made me cry, but I don't think I was as tender. This pregnancy has been a whole different story.
One of the side effects of this emotional roller coaster for me has been lack of productivity. I remember one day, I thought about doing the laundry and it made me want to cry. I wake up some days just emotionally worn out and it makes me want to do absolutely nothing.
When we first moved to our apartment, I had these great aspirations. I had a to-do list for each different day and it was loaded with cleaning, business ventures, exercising, organizing, reading and language learning, and making food. I had all these ideas about keeping the apartment clean all the time, the fridge stocked with super healthy food and snacks, keep on tons of stuff for improving myself, all of the things I'm supposed to do because I'm pregnant (which could be an entire post on its own) and still having time for Ashtyn and Ben. At first, I was doing pretty good at finishing my list, but I honestly was just exhausted all the time and I felt like I never finished everything that I wanted to.
I eventually burned myself out and just sort of stopped doing anything at all, because I knew I couldn't do everything. That was the worst time, emotionally, for me.
Now I have a new system and I love it. It acknowledges that I can't do everything, motivates me to get moving when I am feeling lazy, and lets me know that even if I don't get anything else done, at least I did the things that are most important.
I have minimums that I do everyday.
In the morning (preferably before Ashtyn wakes up), I do scripture reading and journal and get dressed. I also like to make the bed, if Ben wakes up before Ashtyn. Of course, there are other things that I like to get done (like clearing out the dishwasher or making bread), but if I don't, that's okay. I get my minimum in. I do scriptures then because otherwise, I won't do it, and I get dressed because being dressed for the day makes it more likely that I'll feel productive.
While Ashtyn is awake, I don't have any minimums. I do things, like make breakfast, but I also get to just hang out with Ashtyn if I want and I love that.
During her nap, I have a minimum ten minute work out that I do (I'll probably change this up after I'm pregnant, but I have a work out routine that works really well for being pregnant right now). I also work on something for business (whether it's writing, planning out my business, or helping Ben with his business stuff) for ten minutes. It's not long, but sometimes I end up working longer on it.
My other minimum is at night. Before going to bed sometime, I load up the dishwasher. Sometimes this ends with me cleaning the entire kitchen or apartment before bed and sometimes I'm so tired, I just load the dishes and leave the rest of the mess for later. Doing this, though, leaves the kitchen cleaner for the morning, making it easier for me to want to do things in the kitchen, and also ensures that we'll have clean dishes the next day.
I really love this system. I've been doing it for about a week and it has worked so well. When I'm having a hard day or am tired, I still feel like I get things done, and I definitely feel more productive because of it. I also think my mood has been better because of it.
Saturday, April 23, 2016
Friday, April 8, 2016
A Chef In Training
I have recently realized that cooking has become one of my favorite past times. This is both very surprising to me and not surprising at all.
Growing up, my mom loved to cook. She was working full time, going to school, and raising three kids by herself, but we always had homemade meals for dinner. Looking back now, I'm amazed that she put in the time and effort to do so. I know she did it because it was best for us and for our family (and our finances!), but also because she loved to cook.
I helped her in the kitchen often, browning hamburger, shredding cheese, and peeling potatoes. A few times, for young women's and such, Mom helped me make an entire meal. I never really got into, though, and by the time I was a teenager/young adult, I thought I just didn't like to cook.
I remember I was dating this guy once who obviously had an expectation of his future wife cooking the meals for him the majority of the time. We were talking about cooking and I said something like, "I'm not good at good at cooking and I just don't really have time to learn."
He stopped me there and said something about choosing what we put our time into. He, of course, was right, but at that moment, I realized I had zero desire to learn to cook. At least, at that point in my life. I was in school, working full time, dating, going to institute, writing a novel, running everyday, teaching myself piano, hanging out with friends, and soon after preparing for a mission. My life was so full of wonderful things and I was living at home. There was no reason for me to spend the time to learn to cook.
Six months later, I found myself a newlywed wife and Ben and I really wanted to eat healthy. That means making your own food, for the most part, though. Especially when you're poor college students living on less than 20,000 a year.
The early days were filled with a lot of cereal-for-dinner nights and really simple meals like bean dip, spaghetti, and chicken cooked on the stove in garlic powder. I remember the first time I made chicken. We had bought it and Ben was at work. I had literally no idea what to do with it, so I called my mom. She talked me through it and we had something edible that night, but there were definitely a lot more calls to mom about how to make something (or google searches!).
One night, I decided I wanted to make a white sauce for pasta. I found a recipe online, but it apparently wasn't a very good one. I added the milk, butter, and flour all at the same time, so the butter didn't mix in with the milk, and I ended up with a very interesting sauce. After calling my mom and realizing what I'd done wrong, I added a can of mushroom soup and some cheese to my pan in an attempt to save dinner. I thought it was so gross, but Ben told me that it was his favorite thing I'd made up to that point. He ate it all. I never made it again, though.
Since then, I've learned a lot. I'm still learning, but I am getting to be experienced enough in the kitchen that I can tell better by the recipe whether it will turn out well, play around with different recipes and have them turn out, and try new recipes for the first time without any disasters occurring (usually).
I love finding recipes, I love making dinners that go together and then sitting down together to eat them. I love making something and having it turn out Pinterest-perfect. I love having people over and making food for them. There's something about it. It's almost like an art, where you create something new, and I absolutely love it.
Growing up, my mom loved to cook. She was working full time, going to school, and raising three kids by herself, but we always had homemade meals for dinner. Looking back now, I'm amazed that she put in the time and effort to do so. I know she did it because it was best for us and for our family (and our finances!), but also because she loved to cook.
I helped her in the kitchen often, browning hamburger, shredding cheese, and peeling potatoes. A few times, for young women's and such, Mom helped me make an entire meal. I never really got into, though, and by the time I was a teenager/young adult, I thought I just didn't like to cook.
I remember I was dating this guy once who obviously had an expectation of his future wife cooking the meals for him the majority of the time. We were talking about cooking and I said something like, "I'm not good at good at cooking and I just don't really have time to learn."
He stopped me there and said something about choosing what we put our time into. He, of course, was right, but at that moment, I realized I had zero desire to learn to cook. At least, at that point in my life. I was in school, working full time, dating, going to institute, writing a novel, running everyday, teaching myself piano, hanging out with friends, and soon after preparing for a mission. My life was so full of wonderful things and I was living at home. There was no reason for me to spend the time to learn to cook.
Six months later, I found myself a newlywed wife and Ben and I really wanted to eat healthy. That means making your own food, for the most part, though. Especially when you're poor college students living on less than 20,000 a year.
The early days were filled with a lot of cereal-for-dinner nights and really simple meals like bean dip, spaghetti, and chicken cooked on the stove in garlic powder. I remember the first time I made chicken. We had bought it and Ben was at work. I had literally no idea what to do with it, so I called my mom. She talked me through it and we had something edible that night, but there were definitely a lot more calls to mom about how to make something (or google searches!).
One night, I decided I wanted to make a white sauce for pasta. I found a recipe online, but it apparently wasn't a very good one. I added the milk, butter, and flour all at the same time, so the butter didn't mix in with the milk, and I ended up with a very interesting sauce. After calling my mom and realizing what I'd done wrong, I added a can of mushroom soup and some cheese to my pan in an attempt to save dinner. I thought it was so gross, but Ben told me that it was his favorite thing I'd made up to that point. He ate it all. I never made it again, though.
Since then, I've learned a lot. I'm still learning, but I am getting to be experienced enough in the kitchen that I can tell better by the recipe whether it will turn out well, play around with different recipes and have them turn out, and try new recipes for the first time without any disasters occurring (usually).
I love finding recipes, I love making dinners that go together and then sitting down together to eat them. I love making something and having it turn out Pinterest-perfect. I love having people over and making food for them. There's something about it. It's almost like an art, where you create something new, and I absolutely love it.
Wednesday, March 30, 2016
Growing Up Too Fast
There are parts of being a mom that aren't all that fun, I'll admit. Like when your child wakes up at 3:30 in the morning, settles themselves back down, but then you can't fall back asleep for an hour and a half. Or like this morning, when our day started with the sort of blow out diaper that makes you want to take the entire crib--child and all--into the backyard and just spray everything down.
Honestly, I really didn't want to spend my morning cleaning poop out of stuffed animals, blankets, and the carpet. Messy diapers don't really bother me and I can even handle throw up, but cleaning up stuff like that is just gross, no matter how you look at it. It's not the best part of motherhood, that's for sure.
But I still can't wish it away. Not right now.
Right now, I'm feeling a little sentimental. I'm only two months away from a new baby entering my world and Ashtyn just seems to grow faster and faster the older she gets.
On Sunday, Ashtyn went to nursery for the first time. It was a few weeks early, but with our new callings, Ben and I couldn't take her with us to the block meeting, so off to nursery she went. And she did so great.
Ben and I walked her over together. She was a little timid coming in, even when I showed her the toys, but she seemed okay. I gave her a kiss goodbye and left to teach my class. Ben stayed to make sure she'd be okay with me gone.
When Ashtyn noticed I was gone, she asked for me. Ben told her that I was in class and gave her a doll to play with. She sat down to play and Ben told her goodbye. He left and peeked in at her through the window. She was just playing.
Ben looked in on her a few more times throughout the meeting. Once she was just sitting there, eating their little snack. The next time he checked on her, they were playing ring around the rosies and she was happy as can be. Another little girl came over and gave her a hug and Ashtyn hugged the girl back.
Ashtyn did great, but I had a harder time. I feel so emotional about leaving my baby in nursery, though I know it's illogical. I kept tearing up during primary when I'd think of her not being with me. I am really glad she did so well, but it still just tears at my heart.
Ashtyn is my baby. My first baby. And she's growing up way too fast. Every time I look at her, I realize how much like a little girl and not a baby she is. She can eat most everything (except soup and yogurt, because she doesn't quite grasp the spoon concept yet) on her own, count to ten like a champ, sing the alphabet song, identify all her letters, and talk well enough to tell you what she wants (most of the time). Every time I turn around, she's bigger and more grown up.
I know that she still needs me and that she'll always need me to some extent. I'm just not quite ready for these early days to be disappearing so quickly. I love them, and my precious baby, too much for it.
So, please, time, just slow down a little and let me enjoy these little moments.
Monday, March 21, 2016
I Think Ashtyn's Smarter Than Me
It amazes me every single day how quickly Ashtyn picks on things. Sometimes she says or does something and I just sit there in amazement, thinking "where did she learn that?" and "she is so smart!"
I, of course, do things to try and teach her. We've been working on letters and colors and things. But she honestly just picks things up from me or Ben or Signing Time or somewhere that I didn't even mean to teach her.
The other day, we were sitting on the couch. She understands the concept of two and loves to count things "one, toon!" Ben had been trying to teach her to count to three, but before, she'd always said, "One, toon! One, three!"
We were looking at a book together while sitting on the couch and I pointed to something, telling her to count it. She pointed her finger and said, "One, toon, three, four, five, six!"
I was literally blown away. I had no idea she knew how to count like that and actually don't know where she picked it up, unless Ben and I have just done it enough that she learned it. Now, she always skips four, but has added first seven and now eight to her counting. She also will say nine, ten independently of the other numbers randomly.
Another example of this is her letters. She loves letters and knew quite a few, but there were still a lot she didn't know. I wanted her to learn every letter, lower and upper case, with the sign, by her second birthday. We started at the beginning and had just finished the letter e. I found an app on my phone that just showed letters and we scrolled through it. I was amazed that she knew all her letters except maybe three. She now knows all her upper case letters and most of the signs.
She also is so smart when it comes to music. She sings quite a bit of the alphabet song with me when I sing it and knows a lot of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Ring Around the Rosies, and Happy and You Know It. There are other songs that she tries to sing along with (and does a good job) like I Just Can't Wait to Be King from Lion King and a song we play in the car sometimes. It's a Hilary Weeks CD and the song goes "Piece by piece by piece, but you're just passing through," in the chorus. Every time these lyrics come up, Ashtyn is ready for them and says, "piece! Piece! Piece! pause troooooo!" And it's adorable.
I love watching Ashtyn learn and love to learn. I hope that I can encourage to keep her love for learning all her life.
I, of course, do things to try and teach her. We've been working on letters and colors and things. But she honestly just picks things up from me or Ben or Signing Time or somewhere that I didn't even mean to teach her.
The other day, we were sitting on the couch. She understands the concept of two and loves to count things "one, toon!" Ben had been trying to teach her to count to three, but before, she'd always said, "One, toon! One, three!"
We were looking at a book together while sitting on the couch and I pointed to something, telling her to count it. She pointed her finger and said, "One, toon, three, four, five, six!"
I was literally blown away. I had no idea she knew how to count like that and actually don't know where she picked it up, unless Ben and I have just done it enough that she learned it. Now, she always skips four, but has added first seven and now eight to her counting. She also will say nine, ten independently of the other numbers randomly.
Another example of this is her letters. She loves letters and knew quite a few, but there were still a lot she didn't know. I wanted her to learn every letter, lower and upper case, with the sign, by her second birthday. We started at the beginning and had just finished the letter e. I found an app on my phone that just showed letters and we scrolled through it. I was amazed that she knew all her letters except maybe three. She now knows all her upper case letters and most of the signs.
She also is so smart when it comes to music. She sings quite a bit of the alphabet song with me when I sing it and knows a lot of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Ring Around the Rosies, and Happy and You Know It. There are other songs that she tries to sing along with (and does a good job) like I Just Can't Wait to Be King from Lion King and a song we play in the car sometimes. It's a Hilary Weeks CD and the song goes "Piece by piece by piece, but you're just passing through," in the chorus. Every time these lyrics come up, Ashtyn is ready for them and says, "piece! Piece! Piece! pause troooooo!" And it's adorable.
I love watching Ashtyn learn and love to learn. I hope that I can encourage to keep her love for learning all her life.
Friday, March 18, 2016
Our New Routine
Now that we're settled into our new apartment, we've fallen into a pretty nice routine. Of course, there are times when we don't follow this (like this morning, when we slept in and had family snuggle time in bed, keeping Ashtyn there by letting her watch videos of herself on my phone), but I like our relaxed routine a lot.
Ben has started waking up at 5:30 and starting work right away. He really likes this, because he feels more productive early in the morning or late at night than during the day. I wake up at 5:45 and get my hypnobabies in. Then I drink my lemon water while I write in my journal and do scripture study, before Ashtyn wakes up.
I also try to get my exercise and shower in, and I like to make the bed and do the dishes before Ashtyn wakes up, but most days I don't get all (or any) of these in before she gets up because I don't push myself out of bed. I feel to lazy!
When Ashtyn wakes up, we sit on the rocking chair and snuggle or talk until she is ready to get down. Some days she wakes up adamantly asking for a smoothie, so we'll go down and do that, but most days we get her dressed and pick up the upstairs clutter. Then we head down and make breakfast.
Ashtyn starts off breakfast with eggs (scrambled with cheese, she loves them if I give them to her first), then usually has a carb (a granola bar, a cracker, a piece of bread) and peaches. Sometimes we have sausage or other fruit and if we have cookies around, she sometimes even gets a cookie for dessert. She watches Signing Time while she eats.
While she's eating, I make eggs for Ben and I and clear out the dishwasher if it still needs it. Then Ben takes a break from work and comes down to eat real quick. He heads back to work while Ashtyn watches the last of her Signing Time and I finish cleaning the kitchen. If there is food that needs to be made (like a natural yeast sponge), I'll do that too.
Then Ashtyn and I just hang out and play. We usually turn on music and just play with her toys downstairs. If it's warm enough outside, we also like to go for walks outside. Ashtyn will get her shoes and bring them over to me, saying "walking!" We also sometimes go and hang out at Ben's mom's house, if I don't have a bunch of other stuff to do (which, I admit, is rare).
Around ten thirty, we have a snack. What we have differs pretty much everyday, but Ashtyn loves snacks because we don't make her get in her high chair for them.
On Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and as needed, we give Ashtyn her bath, usually right before lunch. She loves baths and playing in the water with her letters. We do mornings because a lot of nights, we're out visiting and don't want to come home early enough to give her bath and still get her to bed on time.
Around noon, we have lunch. Every once in a while, I'll make something for lunch, but we usually just eat food prepped stuff and leftovers. Ben comes down again from work. One of the things I love most about Ben working from home is that we get to eat together pretty much every meal.
After lunch, we clean up the kitchen a little and then put Ashtyn down for her nap. During her nap, I make food and do food prep, do chores that are harder to do while she is awake, and relax. Sometimes Ben and I spend time together, sometimes I watch TV or read, and sometimes I do crafts. I haven't been focusing on my business as of late, because I'm not sure what I want to do with it or that I even want to do it. It's all up in the air.
After her nap, we make a smoothie and Ashtyn watches some Disney songs on YouTube. Her favorites are the ones with animals in them. A lot of times, Ben is done with work because of how early he starts, so he comes down and gets his smoothie. When Ashtyn's done watching, a lot of times we go over to his parent's house to hang out. If not, Ashtyn and I might go into the back to play if it's warm enough or we just hang out. We do dinner together and listen to more music. It's usually pretty relaxed in the evening.
At 7:45, we start getting Ashtyn ready for bed and put her down by 8:30. Then I might do a quick house sweep, if I feel up to it, and we usually jump the dishes in the dishwasher. If I need to put bread in or something, I'll do that while Ben does the dishes. Then we get to spend time together until we make ourselves go to bed. It's nice that we have that time. When the new baby comes, we probably won't for a little while, but I want to get to that point again.
I really love the life we have. We have fun doing little things and we aren't as busy as when we had school and multiple jobs and everything. I love that we can relax more together and that we can find ways to connect as a family. I feel so grateful.
Ben has started waking up at 5:30 and starting work right away. He really likes this, because he feels more productive early in the morning or late at night than during the day. I wake up at 5:45 and get my hypnobabies in. Then I drink my lemon water while I write in my journal and do scripture study, before Ashtyn wakes up.
I also try to get my exercise and shower in, and I like to make the bed and do the dishes before Ashtyn wakes up, but most days I don't get all (or any) of these in before she gets up because I don't push myself out of bed. I feel to lazy!
When Ashtyn wakes up, we sit on the rocking chair and snuggle or talk until she is ready to get down. Some days she wakes up adamantly asking for a smoothie, so we'll go down and do that, but most days we get her dressed and pick up the upstairs clutter. Then we head down and make breakfast.
Ashtyn starts off breakfast with eggs (scrambled with cheese, she loves them if I give them to her first), then usually has a carb (a granola bar, a cracker, a piece of bread) and peaches. Sometimes we have sausage or other fruit and if we have cookies around, she sometimes even gets a cookie for dessert. She watches Signing Time while she eats.
While she's eating, I make eggs for Ben and I and clear out the dishwasher if it still needs it. Then Ben takes a break from work and comes down to eat real quick. He heads back to work while Ashtyn watches the last of her Signing Time and I finish cleaning the kitchen. If there is food that needs to be made (like a natural yeast sponge), I'll do that too.
Then Ashtyn and I just hang out and play. We usually turn on music and just play with her toys downstairs. If it's warm enough outside, we also like to go for walks outside. Ashtyn will get her shoes and bring them over to me, saying "walking!" We also sometimes go and hang out at Ben's mom's house, if I don't have a bunch of other stuff to do (which, I admit, is rare).
Around ten thirty, we have a snack. What we have differs pretty much everyday, but Ashtyn loves snacks because we don't make her get in her high chair for them.
On Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and as needed, we give Ashtyn her bath, usually right before lunch. She loves baths and playing in the water with her letters. We do mornings because a lot of nights, we're out visiting and don't want to come home early enough to give her bath and still get her to bed on time.
Around noon, we have lunch. Every once in a while, I'll make something for lunch, but we usually just eat food prepped stuff and leftovers. Ben comes down again from work. One of the things I love most about Ben working from home is that we get to eat together pretty much every meal.
After lunch, we clean up the kitchen a little and then put Ashtyn down for her nap. During her nap, I make food and do food prep, do chores that are harder to do while she is awake, and relax. Sometimes Ben and I spend time together, sometimes I watch TV or read, and sometimes I do crafts. I haven't been focusing on my business as of late, because I'm not sure what I want to do with it or that I even want to do it. It's all up in the air.
After her nap, we make a smoothie and Ashtyn watches some Disney songs on YouTube. Her favorites are the ones with animals in them. A lot of times, Ben is done with work because of how early he starts, so he comes down and gets his smoothie. When Ashtyn's done watching, a lot of times we go over to his parent's house to hang out. If not, Ashtyn and I might go into the back to play if it's warm enough or we just hang out. We do dinner together and listen to more music. It's usually pretty relaxed in the evening.
At 7:45, we start getting Ashtyn ready for bed and put her down by 8:30. Then I might do a quick house sweep, if I feel up to it, and we usually jump the dishes in the dishwasher. If I need to put bread in or something, I'll do that while Ben does the dishes. Then we get to spend time together until we make ourselves go to bed. It's nice that we have that time. When the new baby comes, we probably won't for a little while, but I want to get to that point again.
I really love the life we have. We have fun doing little things and we aren't as busy as when we had school and multiple jobs and everything. I love that we can relax more together and that we can find ways to connect as a family. I feel so grateful.
Monday, March 7, 2016
Ashtyn at Church
Ashtyn loves going to church. She gets really excited when I tell her it's church day, which I think is pretty cute.
For her, it all starts when we get out of the car in the parking lot. She loves it because she can go "walking" (her absolute favorite thing), holding Mom's finger with one hand and Dad's finger with her other hand. We walk into the sacrament room and over to our bench. Inevitably, she tries to walk away from the bench and she throws a mini fit about having to sit.
Once we're seated, she looks at the program. She loves pictures of temples and Jesus, so the program is fun for her. She also loves identifying the letters that she knows (like W and H). She'll sit and read it, sometimes for quite awhile.
She's really good during sacrament, usually (for a less-than-18-month). More and more, she'll sit between Ben and I on the bench. She still likes to stand up, turn around, and look at everyone behind us. When there's a baby behind us, she'll wave and say hi, sometimes saying "hi Thomas!" (her baby cousin's name is Thomas). She also will continue throughout the meeting to get down, saying "walking!"
During the sacrament, she loves to watch for the bread and water to come and then take the sacrament (of course). She signs bread and water and as soon as she's had her's, she asks for more. I usually give her her sippy cup of water right after.
During the hymns, she's started wanting her own hymnbook. She'll sit next to me with the book open on her lap and "sing" with us, flipping through the pages. She loves the hymn books, probably because we wouldn't let her have them when she was younger and going through her rip every page phase.
Ashtyn loves prayers. She thinks folding her arms is the greatest thing ever. She'll look up on the stand and see everyone's eyes closed, saying "shhhh" (that's what she does when anyone is "sleeping"). I think it's so cute that she loves prayers so much.
Keeping her entertained during sacrament is a job, but it's not the exhausting part. She's really good through the sacrament and then we have snacks, coloring, books, and toys that keep her quiet and occupied.
After sacrament, we go to Sunday school. Ashtyn is so close to being old enough for nursery, but isn't quite there yet. Ben and I are both really ready for that transition to come.
Ashtyn loves walking through the halls. I usually make a bathroom stop (because I'm pregnant) and Ashtyn loves going into the bathroom with me. Right now, Ben and I sit a chair apart in Sunday school and the chair in the middle is Ashtyn's. She spends most of her time on the floor, coloring and eating snacks and trying to get out to run around. We try our hardest to keep her quiet, occupied, and by us. By the time Relief Society comes around, I usually let her loose in the room because it's too exhausting to keep her cooped up for three hours.
Ashtyn loves seeing all the pictures of Jesus and all the flowers. She loves the music ("mekik") and prayers. She loves that we let her walk from class to class and she loves the attention she gets from everyone (and believe me, she gets LOTS). She simply loves church and I love that, even if it's a lot more work with such a young child.
For her, it all starts when we get out of the car in the parking lot. She loves it because she can go "walking" (her absolute favorite thing), holding Mom's finger with one hand and Dad's finger with her other hand. We walk into the sacrament room and over to our bench. Inevitably, she tries to walk away from the bench and she throws a mini fit about having to sit.
Once we're seated, she looks at the program. She loves pictures of temples and Jesus, so the program is fun for her. She also loves identifying the letters that she knows (like W and H). She'll sit and read it, sometimes for quite awhile.
She's really good during sacrament, usually (for a less-than-18-month). More and more, she'll sit between Ben and I on the bench. She still likes to stand up, turn around, and look at everyone behind us. When there's a baby behind us, she'll wave and say hi, sometimes saying "hi Thomas!" (her baby cousin's name is Thomas). She also will continue throughout the meeting to get down, saying "walking!"
During the sacrament, she loves to watch for the bread and water to come and then take the sacrament (of course). She signs bread and water and as soon as she's had her's, she asks for more. I usually give her her sippy cup of water right after.
During the hymns, she's started wanting her own hymnbook. She'll sit next to me with the book open on her lap and "sing" with us, flipping through the pages. She loves the hymn books, probably because we wouldn't let her have them when she was younger and going through her rip every page phase.
Ashtyn loves prayers. She thinks folding her arms is the greatest thing ever. She'll look up on the stand and see everyone's eyes closed, saying "shhhh" (that's what she does when anyone is "sleeping"). I think it's so cute that she loves prayers so much.
Keeping her entertained during sacrament is a job, but it's not the exhausting part. She's really good through the sacrament and then we have snacks, coloring, books, and toys that keep her quiet and occupied.
After sacrament, we go to Sunday school. Ashtyn is so close to being old enough for nursery, but isn't quite there yet. Ben and I are both really ready for that transition to come.
Ashtyn loves walking through the halls. I usually make a bathroom stop (because I'm pregnant) and Ashtyn loves going into the bathroom with me. Right now, Ben and I sit a chair apart in Sunday school and the chair in the middle is Ashtyn's. She spends most of her time on the floor, coloring and eating snacks and trying to get out to run around. We try our hardest to keep her quiet, occupied, and by us. By the time Relief Society comes around, I usually let her loose in the room because it's too exhausting to keep her cooped up for three hours.
Ashtyn loves seeing all the pictures of Jesus and all the flowers. She loves the music ("mekik") and prayers. She loves that we let her walk from class to class and she loves the attention she gets from everyone (and believe me, she gets LOTS). She simply loves church and I love that, even if it's a lot more work with such a young child.
Saturday, March 5, 2016
The Charly Book
For Valentine's Day, Benjamin gave me the perfect little gift. He had bought a little notebook from Amazon and named it his "Charly Book". It's like a little journal that he writes in, about our marriage and me and his thoughts. Then, I can read it whenever I want.
I really love it. Ben writes in sporadically, because that's his personality, and I check it pretty much every day, because that's my personality, but it's a really fun thing. I love hearing his thoughts, so him writing them down for me means a lot to me. There have also been times that I've been having a hard day or been feeling grumpy with him, but then I've gone to read his little entry. Reading his thoughts really softened my heart towards him and helped me see things from his perspective.
For example, there was a day I was struggling with hormones already. Ben was working a lot and I was feeling particularly sensitive about spending time with him. We weren't sure what to do after we put Ashtyn down, so we just watched a TV show and went to bed. I woke up the next morning and read what Ben had to say. He shared with me how he wanted to spend quality time with me, as well, and that watching TV didn't really do that for him. He wrote down some ideas for coming up with activities for us to do and it really helped my tender feelings. I loved knowing that he wanted to spend time with me as well.
I think this book was a really good idea of Ben's. I love hearing about the different, individualized ways husbands come up with to show their wives how much they love them. I know Ben does this for me often and I am really grateful for that.
I really love it. Ben writes in sporadically, because that's his personality, and I check it pretty much every day, because that's my personality, but it's a really fun thing. I love hearing his thoughts, so him writing them down for me means a lot to me. There have also been times that I've been having a hard day or been feeling grumpy with him, but then I've gone to read his little entry. Reading his thoughts really softened my heart towards him and helped me see things from his perspective.
For example, there was a day I was struggling with hormones already. Ben was working a lot and I was feeling particularly sensitive about spending time with him. We weren't sure what to do after we put Ashtyn down, so we just watched a TV show and went to bed. I woke up the next morning and read what Ben had to say. He shared with me how he wanted to spend quality time with me, as well, and that watching TV didn't really do that for him. He wrote down some ideas for coming up with activities for us to do and it really helped my tender feelings. I loved knowing that he wanted to spend time with me as well.
I think this book was a really good idea of Ben's. I love hearing about the different, individualized ways husbands come up with to show their wives how much they love them. I know Ben does this for me often and I am really grateful for that.
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