An Evening at the Park

We played outside. Just like I said we would. We went to River Front park and played monkey in the middle. Alyssa giggled the entire time! We saw a barge and took some pictures. 

I do take pictures of stuff besides Alyssa. There is something satisfying about catching light and capturing it in surprising and unexpected ways!

After the gate keeper honked us out of the park we headed to Catfish Row. I took more pictures. We played hide and seek and enjoyed the fresh evening air. Sometimes I really don't want to go out and play and I really don't want to get up and move.  But when I do I feel like a new woman! It is revitalizing and wonderful! I also hope, as a mother, that my active little munchkin will never stop loving to move. Erik and I want to preserve her ability to choose running over a cookie for fun family time for forever! 

All I said was "Hey Alyssa!". She whipped around so fast and instantly gave me this pose!

 

Hiding from Dad in the Barge!

Playing Outside

This week was heavenly. It makes super hot summers and other undesirable things about living in Mississippi seem not that big of a deal. The temperatures crept up into the 60s more than one day and "the sun is shining, the tank is clean! *gasp*..."

Alyssa loves to play outside (and admittedly I do too), so play outside we did. We ran around in circles, drew with chalk, set up the tent, played with New Baby, painted the house (with water), endured a couple of rounds of nativity and basked in the warm sun!

I also chased Alyssa around with the camera, until in my minds eye I saw me tripping and smashing it to sad pieces. So then I stopped. But before I stopped I snapped some pictures. 

Do you like the belt, mom?

I have a confession. I have been a little involved in my own projects, comparisons, and freakish things (not too freakish, just, ya know, those things like a clean house that can CONSUME you?) Looking at these pictures reminds me that the days playing outside and running and the games played are really quite awesome. When I felt frustrated a couple of times this week I reminded myself that I chose to be a mother. No one forced me or is forcing me. I wanted to be home with my wee child. I want to see her grow and learn. Sometimes it seems thankless and it is often immeasurable.  If my focus shifts from her to the measurable progress of a tidy house, blogs updated, beds made, laundry done, curtains sewn, house bought, truck selected, then I have missed what truly being a mother is about. 

In summary (Lloyd analysis - may he rest in peace) even though I can't measure my success with my child, being with her and even being a little bit childlike will make me infinitely more happy than all that other stuff.

So now I think I will go play outside. 

Slow mornings and hair.

Alyssa slept in until 9 this morning. We ate breakfast together, slowly, and talked and laughed. We had no place to go, no chores to do. She ate her mini wheats and toast. I had peanut butter banana and honey toast. We pull her hair up like this sometimes when she eats. I love her hair when it is piled on top of her head. It is so full of color and body and life. Just like Alyssa.

the imagination game

I feel like I've never had a super stellar imagination. I remember myself being mostly a factual, braniac kind of kid that liked to organize and dictate things but not always pretend. I mean, I guess I did like to pretend. I know I played dolls and dress ups and school and stuff. But, I don't know, it didn't feel like imagination - it just felt real.

So now that I have aged just a few years, I feel that I am even less apt to imagine and thus can feel a little crazy sometimes when Alyssa is playing her imagination games (probably because I want to imagine it my way...hehe). Yet as a parent, watching my child, I am happy to see her imagine. It is something I value highly for her. I hope she will imagine for a very long time. Maybe I just need to let go of my own cut and dry ways and imagine along with her a little more willingly.

Anyway, Christmas time, as I have mentioned previously, was fraught with reenactments of the nativity. Since then we have moved on. This week it is talking on the cell phone, looking at pictures on the cell phone, and being Jon and Amelia and Baby Claire - which is a family in our ward in Vicksburg. 

First, pictures on the cell phone. Alyssa has a little ol' cell phone. She talks on it like she's talking to a real person - even more convincingly than me when I am pretending to talk on a phone. And she takes pictures with it. And then she will ask if you if you want to see the pictures. It's pretty fun. She and Erik took some pictures on Sunday.

Taking the picture:

Looking at the picture:

Erik has offered to let her use his phone to take pictures, but she prefers her imaginary pictures.

Second, playing Jon, Amelia, and Baby Claire. This just started last night but pretty much I laugh to myself when I think through all of these details. She sets up a tv.

Exhibit A: TV

We watch BYU football games all day. We yell and cheer and say, "GO BYU!" And then as far as who is who - Alyssa is Amelia, Erik is Jon, New Baby is Claire and I am Claire's sister. 

Exhibit B: Alyssa and "the mote"

Exhibit C: "Go BYU!"

I told Erik I wasn't sure if I could watch another imaginary football game. He told me its either that or a shepherd - take your pick!

Bubbles, bubbles, bubbles!

We have dreams over here in our house. One of our biggest, most anticipated dreams was fulfilled last weekend.

We bought 32 square feet of whiteboard for only $13!

It's been long in coming. What a blessing! I finally felt brave enough during the torrential downpour on Saturday to strap the 4' X 8' piece of shower board turned whiteboard to the top of our cute little Pri Pri and drive it the 1.5 miles home. It was a big day.

This has really nothing to do with the bubbles, except that we bought the white board so we could project our overhead projector (another big dream fulfilled) onto a pristine white surface. Erik then put water and food coloring and soap into a pan on top of the overhead projector and attempted to make bubble mosaics projected onto the white board.

So Erik and Alyssa spent Friday night blowing bubbles while I improved my photography skills. And thus pictures, mostly of people, not bubbles, is the ending line of this post.

 I think Alyssa had just sucked in some bubble juice!

Renegade Pinewood Derby

Alyssa participated in her first pinewood derby. Our ward had a renegade pinewood derby race for a New Year's Eve celebration. Fortunate for her, unfortunate for Erik who's renegade pinewood derby idea didn't quite come together in 48 hours. (Shocker!) But don't worry - I think both parties had fun in the end.

Alyssa was really excited to race her car. She painted it pink, purple, and red. She had so much fun racing it before the races even started that by the time race challenges were issued she had a car with only 3 wheels and a bent axle! Despite her handicap, she still performed exquisitely well! (Erik eventually replaced the wheels.) The most important and impressive thing is that her spirits were high and her enthusiasm contagious. It was fun to hear all the boys in the ward calling for Alyssa to come race them!

After we returned home we all decided to wear footie pjs to bed! Alyssa and I convinced Erik it was a good decision! We looked really hot as a family!

 

Happy New Year!!

A Christ-centered Christmas

Christmas was an wonderful day, as I shared in our last post. But the entire season was magical and meaningful! Alyssa anticipated the coming of Santa as most children do, but she also grasped on to story of Christ's birth. Her excitement and love for Jesus Christ's birth is an example for me as well! December came with the passing of Grandpa Nelsen as well as some other unexpected challenges. It may seem awful to have these types of things happen at the holidays, but I am grateful they did.

I was able to see how exciting and wonderful it really is that Jesus was born! Without Him all would be lost. There would be no hope, no eternal life, no peace, no happiness and joy! We would never be able to return to our Heavenly Father, which I am certain is what He wants for us as well as what we decidedly wanted for ourselves before we left His presence and started this crazy journey. Jesus Christ truly is the gift and the reason that we celebrate Christmas. It can be a trite saying at times, but this Christmas I felt it with my entire soul.

Alyssa also made sure we remembered the story of Christ's birth. A hallmark of our Christmas this year has been the reenactment of the nativity story. We have spent more time doing this than I ever thought possible. First Alyssa is Mary and Erik is Joseph and I am the shepherd. Then Alyssa is the shepherd and I am Mary. Then Erik is the wiseman. So it would go for hours if it didn't magically become time to do something else after about the 10th time of acting it out. But there really is something wonderful about how much Alyssa loves the story. She is a child and with all of her child-like love she loves Baby Jesus. She tenderly holds the doll and even pretends to weep when He is born. The story is simple and she understands it.

And Mary pondered all these things in her heart.