Lynny is still "full of piss and vinegar" as my dad put it, and George is still so easy-going it's almost a crime. Lynny's language has completely doubled and tripled in the last few weeks and she's using full sentences, personal pronouns, and articulating so well. I can actually have conversations with her, and she even makes jokes occasionally. I thought this day would never come! She loves going for walks and usually insists on not being in the stroller, which usually results in me waiting for her to catch up a lot. She can't live without her friends in our ward, and her cousin Olivia. She's constantly asking to play, and I love that. She's also starting to forego naptime a few days of the week, which I am so not ready for. I cherish that hour or so when both kids are sleeping. But the biggest Lynny news of all is that she's completely, 100% daytime potty-trained!
George has five teeth now, and his top two are so bucky it makes me laugh. He's also painfully close to crawling, and it's so hard to just let him learn. He gets to his hands and knees and starts rocking but can't figure out how to move forward. He is somewhat mobile, though, managing to scoot/roll/flop around the living room playing with toys. He's really good at self-feeding, which came just in time for Lynny to decide she doesn't want to eat anymore. Figures. And he's very vocal, often singing to himself or gabbering away, saying Dada, Baba, and my personal favorite: Boof. None of his words have meaning yet, but I think we might be close. He also understands the signs for "more", "milk", and "all done."Except for a few days influenced by an ear infection, he's always been a very happy, smiley kid.
Daniel is constantly hard at work and school, leaving at 5:45 am and getting home sometime between 7:15 and 8:45 on weekdays. Then he does homework for a few hours in addition to his already full day. I don't know how he keeps going and going and going. We're really being blessed at this time of our lives to have the stamina we need to move forward, and I'm so grateful for that. He's also lost quite a bit of weight the last few months, and has a good goal set to lose more. He's getting healthier all the time.
And I'm still constantly learning and relearning how to keep a clean house and happy kids. I've actually learned a new skill that I love: canning. With our garden this year, plus an abundance of fruit from my in-laws' and neighbors' trees, I've had a huge supply of produce to can. I've done peaches, pears, grape juice and jelly, tomatoes, pickles, and I'm about to tackle apples. And I mean hundreds of apples. My two good friends joined me in picking my in-laws' red delicious apple tree this week, and we're so excited to make applesauce, apple butter, apple preserves sliced apples, apple pie filling, and anything else we can think of. I feel like that's just one more domestic skill I can add to my repetoire. I'm so grateful to those who've taken the time to teach me and lend me the use of their tools. It's made a huge difference.
A few weeks ago I flew with the kids to Virginia to visit my family for three weeks while my dad was in town from Pakistan. It was so much fun to see everyone and be amongst all the everyday action. We did a lot of nothing, which was so nice. I really appreciated a reprieve from cooking and cleaning my own house and just helping out with chores like the rest of the family. And the kids really got to know my side of the family, which meant a lot to me (and to my family, I'm sure.) Lynny still talks all about "Mammah, Nanna, Maggie, Dewey, and Bappah," not to mention the dogs, cat and the "no-no kitty," (aka, the mean cat).
The day we got back from Virginia was a fun one. We got to go with my old friend Cate to the Bonneville salt flats for a family photo shoot. She owns her own photography company, Ciao Bella Photography, and she does the most amazing work. (See her website here for more information.) Funny story, by the way, Daniel's parents came out for the last little bit of picture taking but when we tried to leave, their van got stuck in the salt/sand. We were digging and pushing and trying to get it out for a couple hours. We finally got home late, late, late that night. It was just a great part of the whole experience. And Cate was so amazingly patient as she waited for us to get that car out. I can't thank her enough for her professionalism and kindness, not to mention amazing talent! I love every single picture she took, and just so you can see how amazing she is, I posted most of them. :)
