{9} Thankful

{9} Good music

Sweet Ava dear has always been sensitive to music. One of my mom's favorite stories is when Ava stared at the radio for 3 entire songs as Michael Buble crooned. And she was only 5 months old! Because of this, my mom has always encouraged me to play more classical music in my house. I haven't been very good at following through. I mean, when I'm in the mood to listen to music (which sadly doesn't happen very often any more...dang distractions!), I'm usually in the pump it up kind of mood. Well last week I turned the radio to classical. What do you know, Ava goes ON and ON about how much she loves it. "Pretty music!" and "I like it!" Tonight she requested to listen to music and so Erik put on Yo-Yo Ma (it should be mentioned that I have a not-so-secret urge to push her to play the cello). Ava was in heaven. I told her it was a cello playing and then we found this youtube video for Ava to watch. She was enraptured.

"Play the cello" "It's pretty!" I'm so grateful for good music and for the means and opportunity I have to expose her to such good things. Her love of music is also a good reminder of how influential music can be - for good or bad, and I want to make sure my home is filled with the good!

{8} Thankful

{8} Good Health

I missed posting yesterday. That's because I was in the grips of one of the worst illnesses I have yet to experience. Let's just say that two nights ago I was sleeping on the bathroom floor. Anyway, I am feeling much better today, although still very weak and tired. My gem of a husband stayed home from work yesterday and had to play Mr. Mom as I struggled to roll over in bed without throwing up. So today, I am oh so grateful for our general good health!

(Ava, sick right before Kate was born. She laid on the couch all day long!)

{7} Thankful

{7} Naptime

Oh, beloved naptime. How I love thee. 

(Kate with Gramps, Rosarito Oct 2011)

The key to this mother's sanity. And boy, has that been tested this last month! Ava was a consistently awful sleeper until she was 4 months. We let her cry it out one day, she did awesome and has been a great sleeper ever since. Kate, on the other hand, is a crazy fickle sleeper. She took a paci so nicely and would put herself to sleep for a long time. Then she hit 3 months and wanted the paci every hour or two at night. So I took it away (after these cute pictures), and while it took a little longer for her to learn to soothe herself, she got the hang of it. But now, wow. Some days are good. Others are awful. She got shots last week and goodness...thought we were barely going to survive the 3 sleepless days we had. She was miserable, and so was I. Other days, she goes 5+hrs at night. Mostly, she sleeps in 3 hr chunks and I am exhausted. So when we get good naps in...I am THANKFUL! Still love her though :)

{6} Thankful

{6} Watching my daughter grow

I am so grateful to be a mom as I watch Ava grow and learn new things. Watching her learn to talk has been one of the most amazing things I have ever been a part of (probably has something to do with my degree, too :)). Now, apparently, I get to watch her imagination grow! I have never really seen her "imagine" things before unless we have been playing together. But last night in the bathtub, she told me there was a ladybug (which is pronounced "yay-gub"). I said, "really?" and she promptly showed me where "it" was in the water. I asked if she wanted to play with it, and she said, "yeah, eat it!" and started eating all the yay-gubs in the tub. So hilarious. I love watching her mind work!

Also yesterday, we decided to play "games" which consisted of me printing off various shapes from the computer. She matched them, named them, and told me what colors they were. I was very impressed at how quickly she learned! She kept wanting to play "games" all afternoon!

{5} Thankful

{5} Seasons

Even though this unexpected snow storm put a serious damper on my day (can you say picking up a Bountiful Baskets order [over 80lbs of produce] with two screaming, cold children while the wind and snow whip around you while you're waiting in line?), I'm grateful for the change in seasons. It is so nice to have unexpected changes to your day every once in a while - the kind that force you to stay home and cuddle up to a movie. Ava was in heaven when I took her to the window after she woke up this morning. All I heard the rest of the morning was, "Go outside, see the snow!" 

{4} Thankful

{4} Sisterly love

I know it probably won't last forever, so for now I'm soaking up the fact that Ava loves her little sister to pieces. Really. She's only ever had soft touches, kisses, and concern for the wee one. Likewise, putting Ava in Kate's line of sight is a sure way to get smiles, even when she's grumpy. 

(current favorite past-time is "reading" to Kate)

I sure love my girls!

{1,2,3} Thankful

Here I am catching up on my Thankful posts!

{1} This little munchkins' smiles.

I don't know that I've ever seen a more smiley baby, and I am so grateful for it . She is a ray of sunshine.

{2} The Beautiful Desert

It may seem trivial or silly, but I was a little worried about being able to see the beauty in the desert after living on the East Coast for so long. Luckily, I have found beauty all around and am really enjoying the blue blue skies again (St George, UT).

{3} More of this

It is no secret that I missed my family desperately since moving far far away 5 years ago. I have been taking full advantage of the short 2.5 hr car drive to soak in every family moment I can...namely card playing. A true Walker family tradition.