Busy Blogger

Finally, I'm taking a few minutes to blog. Right now both of my girls are in their rooms for a nap. At the same time! Lately this rarely happens and if it does, it's usually not for long. Naps for Anna anymore consist of her playing in her room for a while. I can hear her playing pretend with her princess dolls and Calico Critters house. Then she'll often call "Mommy!" and I open the door to her smiling face hopeful that resting time is over. Other times she will crawl back into her bed and fall asleep for a short nap. Emily naps one to two times a day, depending on how well she slept the night before. Lately though it seems like I put one down for a nap and other other wakes up, leaving me little time for myself or for my beloved blog. But for the moment, I have some peace and quiet. Phooey on the dishwasher that needs to be emptied and loaded and the laundry that needs the same. It's been over a month since I've written, though I've thought about you (my blog and my readers) every day.

Along with the juggling of nap time, life has been very busy lately. Emily is ever on the move, crawling and climbing with endless curiosity and mischief. She's a darling girl, so busy and in tune with everything around her. She loves to play and laugh with Anna. Their laughter together, unprovoked by anyone but themselves, is probably my most favorite sound. Emily also loves Anna's toys, which often causes trouble and frustration for her older sister. "That's mine!" can be often heard and we're working on that ever difficult concept of sharing. Emily loves baby dolls, knocking down block towers, and reading her colorful picture books. She can walk behind a walker toy now and she pushes it right along in front of her. She can even stand up straight without holding on to anything for a good several seconds. She is getting so big, so fast. She waves bye-bye, blows kisses, and verbalizes lots of sounds. She points and says "Ooooh!" and is very interested in photographs of people. She eats finger foods at every meal and is less and less interested in baby food. She loves bananas, pears, peas, and toast. She tolerates a bit of yogurt and does still like her morning oatmeal cereal. I spend most of the day marveling at her ... how fast she is learning, how beautiful she is, and how soon she will be turning one year old. My 10 1/2 month old baby is quickly turning into a little girl. A lovely, loveable little girl.

My 3 1/2 year old lovely and loveable Anna has also been keeping me very busy. She has an inexhaustible imagination and is almost always playing pretend. She currently has a love for everything Disney princess, especially Beauty and the Beast. She was given the movie and Belle and Beast dolls in her Easter basket and to say she loves them is an understatement. I picked up the soundtrack CD at the library and we listen to it about three times a day. She pretends she is Belle and names Brent the Beast. I am Mrs. Pots and Emily is Chip. She puts on her tutu, crown, and church shoes and proudly announces that she is Belle. Her imagination runs wild and she sings and dances to her Disney delight. Sometimes it is exhausting for me, as she likes not only to pretend she is Belle but also likes to be called Belle, which of course I forget and she corrects me. Aside from Disney pretending, she pretend plays most everything ... restaurant, library, dolls, and more. While she does play by herself sometimes, she asks and would most prefer Brent and me to play along with her. This can also get exhausting for me and Brent (who is a very good sport and uses an exceptional Beast voice). Sometimes I think my head might explode if I have to pretend one minute more. We have been so generously blessed with a smart, delightful, and creative child. The energy from my one-a-day can of caffeine Coke sometimes falls short to entertain her. Not to mention Emily's interruptions. It's tricky and tiresome, but also so endearing and sweet. That's my Anna (oops, I mean Belle).

Rewind to Easter .... we had a lovely one. We traveled to South Bend and spent good times with my parents and in-laws. We saw Rob and Jas and my grandparents. The girls loved their Easter baskets, egg coloring, and egg hunting. They looked beautiful in their Easter dresses. We enjoyed great weather, Easter dinners, and lots of chocolate. Brent gave up all sweets for Lent, so the Easter Bunny brought lots of goodies to no complaint of anyone. As for Lent, remember my goal to read prayer daily and hopes to gain some special closeness with Jesus? Thanks to my husband who wrote daily Lenten reflections on our family chalk board and then read them out loud before dinner, I was able to keep this goal though maybe not really deeply embracing them as I had hoped. I wasn't able to achieve that sense of spiritual connection with Jesus, though I found the remarkable and recurring message of His Mercy to be so hopeful and humbling. In all my flaws, Jesus still shares his love for me, for all of us. It makes me want to do better and be better. Maybe that was what I was supposed to learn and now can strive for. But life sure complicates it for me .... all the challenges, lack of sleep (though this is improving a bit), and questions. I follow a blog written by a mother who is faithful and she also found it hard to be fully Lenten (if that's a verb), so it made me feel comforted that I'm not the only one who seems to lose myself in parenting sometimes. Maybe not lose myself, but find it difficult to find the time and energy to invest much more of myself in anything other than my kids. However, Easter reminds us of hope. Hope in the risen Lord and all that is to come.

Spring is still in full swing. The weather has been chilly and windy lately, but the leaves are budding green and the robins are heavy bellied. My brother built me a birdhouse for my very first Mother's Day in 2009. It has been hanging under our evergreen tree in our backyard ever since. Scott built a few bird houses. My mom has one, too. But birds never nested in them and it frustrated Scott so. I would always tell him that one day a bird will make it its home. And wouldn't you know, this year chickadees (my favorite bird) nested in my birdhouse. Brent noticed them flying in and out of the house one afternoon. He called me over and sure enough, there they were. The first birds in Scott's birdhouse. It was one of those moments that I wished I could call him and say, "We've got birds! Told you so!" I cried that afternoon. I miss him and moments like that one make me ache. I miss him so much lately I can't stand it. But there's that hope thing again. New life. Birds in his house. Hold on to that hope.

Weekend Wrap-up

The official first day of spring is on the 20th, but it may as well have been this weekend. We are enjoying the most lovely weather. Mid-March or not, who cares, it's wonderful and rejuvenating. The birds are back and chirping, the trees are budding for new leaves, and our yard toys have found their way out of the garage storage. Spring is lively and living. It does good things for my soul.

The first peeks of crocus.

This weekend we also celebrated St. Patrick's Day. I called the girls my little leprechauns, dressed them in green, and took their picture wearing funny Irish hats.

Anna's St. Patty's day lucky Fruit Loop rainbow.

Brent takes Anna to a gymnastics class on Saturdays. She has been going for about ten weeks now and she has done really well. It has been a huge boost to her physical confidence and she gains skills and ability each week. At the end of every class the kids go to the big foam pit. This week was the first week that Anna jumped into the pit all by herself ... such a huge step for her and Brent said she loved it. She jumped in over and over again!




Backyard fun has begun. Outside toys, chalk drawings on the driveway, bouncy balls, the charcoal grill. Anna loves being outside and she is content to play with simple buckets of hose water, measuring cups, and sponges. Emily is exploring the outdoor surroundings, all which are brand new for her. She discovered the water table this weekend and loved playing with the water and her big sister.

"Blossom by blossom the spring begins."
Algernon Charles Swinburne

A lovely little Sunday

Sunday is probably my favorite day of the week. One more day to enjoy the weekend and time off before the busy week begins. I like the focus of Sunday morning, which consists of breakfast, baths, and getting to church on time. After church there is lunch and time for an errand or something fun before nap time. Then dinner, play time, catching up around the house (not always in that order). I admit I groan sometimes at the thought of Monday ... Brent back to work, me back to juggling the two kids and chores and schedules. But it's not all bad. Weekdays bring library trips, Sesame Street, and family dinner after 5 o'clock. Lots to do and look forward to. But Sundays are special and we had a good one today.

This Sunday started with turning the clocks forward - spring forward for daylight savings time. The extra hour or two of daylight begs for spring and summer and evening walks after dinner. But that seemingly tiny time change messes with the kids' routines a bit. Like today, Emily was ready for her morning nap 15 minutes before we were ready to leave for church. I stayed home so she could sleep and Brent took Anna to mass. I spent a quiet hour at home cleaning up around the house, praying for a few friends going through hard times, and opening some windows to let in the beautiful 60-degree breezy, sunshiny air.

A bouncy, happy Anna came home with reports of who she said hello to at church. We ate lunch and then off to the park. The weather was perfect and we drove with the windows down. Except for Anna, who wanted her window promptly rolled up - "Too windy!" she said as her curly hair blew around in all directions. At the park we enjoyed the playground, Lake St. Clair, and each other.

Most importantly, each other.

Monday musings

Monday, Monday. The girls and I are spending our Monday at home enjoying some quiet playtime. It's cold outside again today. But it is sunny which makes me look even more forward to the predicted 47 degrees for tomorrow and 58 (!) degrees on Wednesday. Maybe a trip to the park and maybe even to the zoo on Wednesday. Think spring!

A keep-me-busy activity for Anna today....fill up and sort pretty beads in a cupcake pan. Why not?! She loved it. She calls the beads gems. Very princess-y and beautiful, which Anna is all about these days.

As for Emily, she has suddenly developed an aversion to her bib.

Over the weekend we made a trip to Trader Joe's. It's always a fun shopping trip. Fun store with friendly employees who give Anna stickers. Plus they have kid-size carts, which Anna adores pushing around and filling with our groceries. Among our purchases were these two things....

A shamrock plant. Gearing up for St. Patrick's Day. I don't believe I had ever seen a shamrock plant before. It's a lovely little plant and now one lives in my kitchen. Brent and Anna named him Sherman Shamrock. I love this plant already .... it has dainty little white flowers and the leaves and blooms close up at night and open again in the morning. Sherman has a little personality and its like he goes to sleep at night and wakes up to greet us again in the morning. It's really darling and a charming reminder of life.

We also bought these ... shortbread cookies with chocolate filling. Holy smokes. We always let Anna pick out cookies at Trader Joe's - they have all kinds and she's so cute pushing around that itty-bitty cart. Cookies just seem the right thing to do. She chose these this time and whoa, good choice! Awesome with hot chocolate. Awesome on their own, too. I gave up ice cream for Lent, but have been indulging in these little babies. Hmmm. Maybe I should also give these up for Lent. After these are gone, I will.

If you come across a shamrock plant or shortbread cookies, I highly recommend them. Each holds a little happiness.

Nine Months

Emily is nine months old today! They're not kidding when they say time flies. It feels just like yesterday that she was born. I often think of that moment when we first met her ... Brent announced she was a girl, her tiny body was so rosy and warm, she had lovely soft dark hair, we named her Emily Grace. We fell in love with her. I instantly loved her. The moment forever changed me as I held her and became a mother again. We took her home and she fit in so perfectly, a sister for Anna and another daughter for us.

That little newborn Emily has changed so much since then. Today a curious, active, delightful nine month old Emily looks back at us. She smiles to show off her six tiny teeth. She laughs heartily and makes us laugh even harder. She crawls everywhere and sometimes crawls very fast when she gets excited. She pulls herself up to stand. She waves bye-bye which melts hearts. She babbles da-da-da and ma-ma-ma and ba-ba-ba. She adores her big sister. She loves toys and peek-a-boo. She pulls my hair a lot, but also twirls between her fingers as she falls asleep. She claps her hands. She loves to eat and is very pleased to try new finger foods. She still doesn't sleep through the night, but we will forgive her. She loves to take a bath and will fuss if we end the bath too soon. She loves to rough-house with Daddy. She has sparkling blue eyes and long pretty eyelashes. She likes to sit and look at books with bright colors and pictures. She is often very patient and good when we go places. And she always gets called "beautiful" by people she meets.

It has been a beautiful nine months, Emily Grace. We are so lucky to love you, darling girl.

Paczkis and Lent

Brent and Anna went to our favorite bakery this morning and brought home Fat Tuesday paczkis. It's become our tradition on Fat Tuesday. Happily eating too many paczkis in anticipation of the Lenten season. I highly recommend the cannoli filled paczki, by the way.

Paczkis gone, now Lent. Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Brent and I have had the conversation of what we are "giving up" this year. For me, it's ice cream. What is it about ice cream, but boy it calls my name from it's freezer box. I love the stuff. Every year I always think about the whole "giving up" thing. I guess it's practicing self restrain in light of Christ's sacrifice he made for us. Ice cream versus dying on the cross. Okay. He wins. It always seems silly when I think about it - mine so trivial really and I really can handle 40 days without ice cream.

Father talked about getting back to basics during Lent. Especially spiritually. Finding time for quiet prayer with Jesus and thanking Him for our blessings and graces. Taking time to listen to Jesus and allow Him to forgive and uplift us. This is what I need. More than giving up ice cream.

I have a Lenten prayer and reflection book. I have had this for a few years and sadly I don't think I've made it all the way through it. It's really quite simple, spend a little time each day in thought and prayer to better focus and experience the Lenten season. So again, this year I am dedicating myself to this little book. I am hopeful that I will do it, really do it. And learn from it and become, if even for a moment, closer to Christ.

I have family members and some friends who are so faithful. Some of my friends write their own blogs and they are inspiring and I think, wow. They are so....holy! They are so in tune with their faith and they really live it. One of those friends just recently told me that we are all a work in progress and wanting to be more faithful is a determination of faith. I guess that's me. I want it. I want a deeper, closer relationship with Jesus. I am every day, whole heartedly, first to shout from a mountain, thankful for the blessings God bestows upon me. My loving husband, our gorgeous children. My parents, Brent's parents, all of our family and friends. The roof over our heads, the food on our table. The safety of that day, for keeping us well and together and here. In the same breath I often ask for forgiveness for my short comings and moments of lost faith in some aspects of life I do not understand. Like loss and sadness and sickness. I have this battle going, a back and forth between humble thankfulness and questions of why.

Maybe this Lent, with the help of my prayer book, I can gain a little clarity. Learn a little, think a bit, and do it all with a sincere heart (and sans ice cream).

Park swings

Check out this video of Emily and Anna. Giggling sisters enjoying Emily's first time in a park swing. They both loved it! Thank you, weird winter weather for allowing us a mild, sunny day to enjoy the outdoors.




This is fun, too ....

Anna's first time in a park swing, 4/25/09.
Eight months old.

Emily's first time in a park swing, 2/1/11.
Eight months old.

Makes me look very forward to spring.
Sunshine and sister smiles.

Little Valentines

It was a happy Hartsell Valentine's Day this year. Children bring joy to holidays and make even the some-say Hallmark holidays fun again. Our kids certainly do this for Brent and me. I had more fun planning Valentine's Day and felt like Santa Claus hanging decorations and getting goodies ready on Valentine's eve. I have always liked Valentine's Day just fine, never hating the holiday like some. First it was fun parties in elementary school, then gifts from a certain high school boyfriend (hint: starts with a B and ends with a Rent), and then nice dinners out with my dear husband. Any day that we tell the people in our lives that we love them can't be so bad. Now, Valentine's Day has morphed into heart decorations on high chairs, red glitter, heart shaped pancakes and PB&Js, and cupcakes with heart sprinkles. All to make it special for our girls. So they know we love them, that Brent and I love each other, that we love others and they love us, and that we are lucky to love and be loved.

Good morning, Valentines!

Valentine's Day lunch.

Hey, cool hat!

A rose from Daddy.

And roses for me, too!

Much love to all of my readers. I mean it, we are lucky to love and be loved. Love multiplies when we make it happen. xoxo

Seven o'clock snow

I took Anna outside to play in the snow this evening after dinner. Brent took her out last night while I stayed warm inside with Emily. I watched them from the window and they had so much fun. Anna loved the snow. We haven't had much snow this winter and this was the first she really got out to play. So tonight it was my turn. Anna and I bundled up and we went outside. And it was so good for my soul.

Anna found joy in winter weather. She liked walking in the snow, crunching her boots on the icy parts, brushing snow from the top of bushes. She played with her mini shovel and asked for her mini rake from spring time. We imagined we were looking for animals in the snow and found a cow and a snake. We threw snow balls at each other. We made snow angels. I haven't made a snow angel in years. We threw snow up in the air and watched it fall down around us. Anna said the snow tasted like sugar. I even tasted it, too. I pulled her around in the sled and we laughed.

I really laughed. Really laughed. One of those. A lot of those, actually. We laughed a lot. I felt free and child-like. It was awesome.

We made snow angels two times. The first time, Anna went first and I watched. I lifted her from her from the snow and we looked (I marveled) at her perfect little tiny snow angel impression left in the front yard. Then it was my turn. I was lying there in the snow, it felt cold and exhilarating and again I felt like a child. And I thought of my brother. For that brief moment, in between the chatter of a three year old, I was on my back in the snow looking at the dark night sky thinking of Scott. I looked up at the sky and said to myself, "I miss you". And "I wonder if you're up there". Is heaven really in the sky? It's kind of weird that I think that it is, like it's a place above me and Scott may be looking down at me. I guess that's an okay way to think. In that moment, I hoped he was looking at me while I made a snow angel, while I thought of him, while Anna stood at my side. And then back to reality, back to Anna and shovels and rakes and pretend animals in the snow.

The second time, Anna and I made snow angels together. We were next to each other and we watched the moon peek in and out of the clouds in the sky. Instead of thinking of Scott this time, I thought of Anna. And hoped she wouldn't be frightened by the slightly eery display of the moon disappearing in the dark clouds. To distract her a bit, we shouted out "Hi Moon!". She liked that.

I thought to get a picture of our snow angels, but I didn't want to go back inside to get the camera. And then I ran her around the yard in the sled leaving only sled tracks and foot prints. As it should be. I took a picture instead of our boots once we got inside. Sometimes the memory is best kept in my mind and I will hold the image of our mother and daughter snow angels close.

As I was putting away the sled and while Anna filled a little bucket up with snow to show Emily, I thought of my mom. And wished she could have been there to share that moment. To feel free and really laugh. It felt so good and I realized I had not felt like that in a long time. And I wanted that for my mom.

I will remember this evening in the snow. Precious moments shared with Anna and with my memories. Mixed emotions as sister, mother, and daughter. But mostly, I felt happy. There is hope for more moments like this one.

Sleep, or lack thereof

Sleep. I'm lacking in the sleep department. Plain and simple, I do not get enough sleep. I really did try to remove the dark circles under my eyes with make-up remover (refer last post), only to sadly discover there was no make-up there at all and that I really do look that tired. Three of us are at fault for my tiredness: Emily, Anna, and myself. Not usually all at once, but I'm always a part of the equation. Emily gets me up at least twice a night. Anna will sometimes wake me once a night, usually just to ask if it is morning (no, it isn't). And I don't go to bed early enough to make up for any lost sleep. That's my fault, but I can't help it. There is always some chore left to be done after bedtime or something to watch on TV or Facebook to check. Or blogs to write. Brent and my mom always tell me to "go to bed!". But I can't seem to make myself go to bed early and sacrifice maybe the couple of hours of quiet in the evening after bedtime and before the middle of the night wake-me-up time. It's like limbo. The calm after the storm and the calm before the storm. And it's my time, even though I'm tired and worn out and could easily fall asleep in a matter of 25 seconds.

Our babies are cute ones, but they are not good sleepers. Anna didn't sleep well as a baby and neither does Emily. She is up at least two times during the night still. At least she doesn't scream herself to sleep anymore, we are thankfully past that awful stage. I really hate that stage. Just ask Brent. Now Emily often begs for 8:00 bedtime, all tired out from the day and ready to nurse into a quiet, cozy sleep. But then it never fails, the baby monitor will light up with her cries around midnight. And then again around 4am. I stumble to her room, she nurses, and back to sleep. Sometimes back to sleep is easier than others, since she sometimes thinks 4am seems like a fine play time. I convince her otherwise. Some parents probably would say to let her cry it out and to stop night time nursing. Sometimes I do let her cry in the middle of the night if she wakes shortly after a feeding and I know she doesn't really need anything. But I have a hard time not going to her the other times when I know she needs me. A lot of parenting books would likely tell me I'm wrong, but I don't seek their opinion. I did it with Anna and I'm doing it with Emily - I do what feels right at this moment. Maybe me getting up from my bed twice a night isn't exactly "right" (hint, scary under eye dark circles), but it's right for Emily. She is a baby after all and one night, just like Anna did, she will surprise me and only get me up once. And then she won't get me up at all. Until she turns three and calls me in the middle of the night to ask me if it is morning time ....

Anna. Bless her heart, she wakes up with the craziest morning hair sometimes. She sleeps well through the night most nights, a good 10 to 12 hours. But once in a while she will wake me. "Is it morning?" No. "Can I have some Rice Krispies?" Yes, for breakfast. In the morning! What is more challenging for Anna is getting ready for bed. Getting ready for bed drives me bananas. Just ask Brent. I told him just the other day that bedtime feels like herding sheep. Blind and deaf sheep. Anna is so good at stalling, finding all sorts of things she "needs" to do before brushing her teeth or going potty. And once finally in her bed, she finds more things to discuss. She's hungry, she's thirsty, she's hot, she's scared, she has a booger, she needs to go potty again, she can't sleep. But then she will settle down, sing songs in her bed and make my heart melt for her all over again.

And I huff and puff all the way to Emily's room, so annoyed that I am up once again in the middle of the night. And then I lift her from her crib, she is is warm and cozy and so grateful to see me. I forgive her. In the dim of her nightlight by the rocking chair, I look at her little face and see such beauty. And I forgive her again.

Sleep deprived and in love with these kids - I guess it's a good combination to get me through. Till then, I'll dream of 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. And drink a cup of Brent's coffee once in a while. And find some concealer for the dark circles under my eyes.

Sweet dreams.

Artsy Anna

I love Anna's artwork. I could save every single little piece of everything she colors, scribbles, or glues on. Here are some of the current masterpieces hanging around the house.

My ever creative mother-in-law helped Anna with the two larger paintings. The first is a picture of our house when it is snowing outside. They used balloon painting for the snowman and Anna chose and placed all the other pieces and parts. Anna and I made the winter hat together and she had so much fun picking out the felt and decorations.

We found this book at the library earlier this week. It is a cute story about a girl who can't wait for it to snow, so she makes paper snowflakes until the real snow comes. We read the book and made our own paper snowflakes that now hang in our front window.



Anna used a special pair of scissors (again thanks to my mother-in-law) that will help her learn scissor and cutting skills. She grips the handles and squeezes since it is too difficult still to use regular scissors. For the snowflakes, she made small snips in the paper and I helped her finish them into shapes.

Anna drew pictures of each of us in the family - all by herself. No prompting by me at all. I was actually playing with Emily while she drew and one by one, she proudly brought me each member of the family.

Daddy, Mommy, Anna, and Emily

We received this next craft as a freebie. All the pieces were there and we created a cute caterpillar. Anna loved it. We then wrote a little story about Crawly, as we named him. Anna made up the story and I wrote what she said. You can click on the picture to enlarge it to better read her story. Her imagination is so great!



Otherwise, all is well. Emily is great, still working on crawling and she is very pleased about the whole idea. Racquetball for Brent tonight with a friend. Quesadillas for dinner. Hopefully to bed early for me. I'm pretty tired from middle of the night wake-up calls. That can be a whole 'nother post. But I know it's getting bad because I tried to wipe away the dark circles under my eyes with make-up remover. Oh...well...there's no make-up there at all. Rats.

Silly Sisters

Today Anna discovered that it is very funny to put the kitchen strainer on Emily's head. Emily was a very good sport!

Emily on the move

Check out this video of Emily ... she is on the move! She is trying so hard to crawl and has successfully scooted forward a few times. My favorite part of this video is her little squeak near the end. She is so sweet! We are proud of our little Emi! 7 months old and scooting along. Growing by the minute!




Think back to 2009 and click this link to my June 8, 2009 post. It shows a similar video of Anna, then just over 8 months old doing some scooting of her own. Look how cute she was! Makes my heart go pitter-pat to watch videos of Anna as a baby. And now we get to watch Emily do so much of the same - so amazing. Double pitter-pat!

Can't believe my first baby is now 3 years old. And my second baby is already 7 months old. My goodness, time goes so quickly. It reminds me to soak up every single little moment with these two most wonderful little girls.

Teeth & Dirty Dishes

Teeth and dirty dishes ... two hot topics in the Hartsell home last week.

Emily now has four little teeth, two tops and two bottoms. Her toothy smile delights us!

She is putting her new teeth to work testing out biter biscuits in a mesh feeder. She's a pro and she likes the taste and likes to feed herself. Next she'll be asking for Cheerios.

Dirty dishes. Hate them. Hate washing dishes. And when our dishwasher broke last week, my hate grew stronger with each fork we had to wash. One of the finest inventions is the dishwasher, bless it's little machine heart for doing all of the dirty work and providing me with clean and sanitized dishes. I could have hugged the dishwasher fixer man after he replaced the motor, leaving us with a working machine and nary a bill thanks to the warranty!

This week the girls and I will keep busy by playing with friends, going to the library, and Anna's music class. It gets tricky balancing outings with Emily's nap schedule, as she naps once in the morning and again in the afternoon. Going out in the morning sometimes disrupts the first nap, but Emily often catches a short nap in the car and seems to make up for it with her afternoon nap. Anna enjoys her outings so much and it's important for us to go, so we'll do our best to work out the timing. We also signed Anna up for a parent/tot gymnastics class on Saturdays. Brent will take her, so this will be a special time for the two of them to spend together. We hope the tumbling and other skills they learn will increase Anna's physical confidence. She's just like her mother (me!) and is not overly coordinated. Sorry Anna, you got your Daddy's good looks but not his athleticism. Just ask my dad, when I was a kid I would rev up to kick the ball, give a good kick, miss the ball completely, and then hit it with the back of my foot on the way down. Ha!! I could never do a cartwheel correctly to save my soul. We'll start Anna with somersaults. And likely she'll outshine me, since she's got at least a little of Brent's talent in there somewhere (lets hope).

Now to go load the dishwasher...yahoo!!