"Yo my best fwiend"

Sometimes being a mother is a thankless job. You have to rally the troops to clean their rooms, argue with them until they finally practice their instruments, and insist that their hair is brushed "all the way through." Sometimes you feel like you're in a battle of wills--and the goal is to see who is the most stubborn.

Every once in a while, though, you get one of those moments where you realize your kids actually do love you.

Today, I was carrying Jenny into the Ole Hanson pool in San Clemente to watch Jacob finish his swim team practice. Jenny was pointing to things and saying them. "Mommy, that's a twee." "Mommy, that's a caw." "Yes, you're right. Good job, Jenny." was my response. I was only half listening.

Then, all of a sudden, Jenny wrapped her arms around me and said, "Mommy, yo my best fwiend." The hug lasted only a second, but it was long enough.

Those are the moments that mean the most.

My Hor-Fed!

Lizzy is a three-year-old with a big vocabulary. But sometimes she'll say something that will help me to remember that she's only three!

A few days ago, Lizzy fell down and hurt her head. She held onto her forehead and said, "My hor-fed! My hor-fed!" As sad as I was to see her hurt, I couldn't resist laughing . . . just a little.

It's a . . . Well, we're not sure!

It's been a while since I've posted. That first trimester of pregnancy can really do you in. But I'm finally coming out of the fog.

We are so excited that we're having a little baby on March 9! When I was 11 weeks along, we got an ultrasound--and the technician said she "strongly leaned toward a girl." She said it's a little early to tell, though, so we're not sure. When I was in the first trimester with my last pregnancy, the Doctor said she was pretty sure Jenny was a boy ;).

Boy or girl, we are excited to have a new addition!

Feeding the Deer at Bryce Canyon

On our way back from visiting Grandpa and Grandma Osmond last week, we stopped at Bryce Canyon with all the good intentions of going on long day hikes, exploring the wildlife, and spending all day outdoors. Unfortunately, it rained almost the whole time!



The good news is that we found an amazing wildlife museum tucked away in Bryce Canyon. It was run by a man who had spent 44 years of his life hunting and stuffing 799 of the 800 animals featured there. Jake thought it was really amazing. Maia came out and said, "Mom, I feel bad for the animals!" I could sympathize with both of them.


While we were there, we were able to feed the deer, which was one of the highlights for everybody!



The only glitch in the plan was that Jenny started eating the deer feed. I about came unglued! Jeff tried to remind me that it was just corn, but I couldn't stomach the idea of Jenny sharing spit with the wild animals. Luckily, she didn't get sick.



At the end of the day, the sky cleared up enough for us to take a quick little hike at one of the lookout points. Lizzy said she needed to go to the bathroom there, but once she saw the port-a-potty, she decided she could wait (and she did, for hours!)



Bryce Canyon certainly is a beautiful area, and the scenery is breathtaking.

Hi, I Jenny!

My little Jenny is probably one of the friendliest kids you'll ever meet. Either that or she's got a complex.

She introduces herself everywhere she goes. "Hi, I Jenny!" is what she tells the people at the grocery store. "Hi, I Jenny!" is what she says when I introduce her to my friends.

But she also says it to her family. Today, she ran up to her Grandpa Cook (whom she sees at least every week) and said, "Hi Grandpa! I Jenny!"

Yesterday, when Jake was getting her out of her crib after a nap, she said, "Hi Jakie. I Jenny!"

And two weeks ago, when we got together with her cousins (whom we also see frequently), she burst out of the car, yelling,

"Hi Annie! Hi Natalie! I Jenny! I have flowers on my pants!"

What she apparently doesn't know is that we could never forget our little Jenny!

Back after a fun trip to Grandma's!

This week, my family and I took a quick trip to Utah to (1) visit everyone, (2) promote Dad's book, Laugh Lines, and (3) introduce Uncle Jay's book, Stages.

One of the highlights of the trip was going to get ice cream at Baskin Robbins with Dad, Mom, Michelle, Grandpa White, and Grandma White. Here are a few pictures.








Gotta run now. Jeff has been reading "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" to me while I drove from Las Vegas home. I'm engrossed, and he's reading ahead without me!

"I don't sink so."

My toddler, Jenny, epitomizes both what we dread and what we love about two-year-olds. Today, when I picked her up from playgroup, I said, "Jenny, say 'thank you' to Mrs. Ferguson for the playgroup."

"No," she said stubbornly.

"Jenny," I warned. "Say 'thank you' to Mrs. Ferguson. That was really nice of her to have you for the playgroup."

"No," she said again, and added, "I don't sink so. I don't siiiink so."

With a nervous laugh, I quickly excused myself from playgroup, vowing to teach my two-year-old better manners.



Also today, Jenny saw a "Sale" sign at the store. She brought it to me, delighted that she recognized a letter of the alphabet. "A, B, C, D, E, F, G!" She cried.

"That's right, Jenny," I beamed. "Good job! Those are letters."

But Jenny wasn't finished telling me about her amazing find. "H I J K LMNOP!"

"Yes, Jenny, that's right. Those are letters." As she worked her way through the alphabet, the decibels got higher and louder.

"Q-R-S-T-U-V-W--X--Y--Z!!!!!" She screamed the end of her ABCs. As I quickly shushed her, I couldn't help but laugh. She may have disturbed everyone in the store, but there was something beautiful about a child getting so excited about something as simple as the alphabet.



As I am sitting on the bed writing this blog, Lizzy, Jenny, and Maia are in the bath--and things are going downhill.

"Mom!" Maia (8 years old) said just now, "Jenny's roughhousing!"

I guess I'd better go save the big kids from my toddler.