Good Times

I'm about to go to bed, but I can't quite yet because I don't want to forget two things about today.

The first is Sophie. We were talking about her friends. I was asking her who she liked playing with. Every time I'd mention someone, she'd say "no." Finally, I just said, "Who do you like playing with the most?" And she said, "Emmy." Later, when I told Emmy what Sophie said, her response, "Awww. That's so cute!" She was very happy to be loved.

And last, I'm tickled by a fun moment with Emmy. (I should be sure to record these, because she has been a difficult little four-year-old lately). We were sitting at the table eating clementines. She wanted us to both put our fingers in the middle of the clementine so that it looked a little like Jack Horner who pulled out the plum. She thought it would be hilarious if we showed our fingers to Matt and she was certain that he would think something was terribly wrong and insist on a quick trip to the hospital. So we sat there with the little oranges on our fingers, and I started singing a silly song about it to her, and something about my expression made her laugh. And her reaction to me made me laugh. And then, we were both just laughing and laughing. And by laughing, I mean, really truly laughing so hard that I could barely sing the song. Emmy thought it would be great if we could perform it for Matt. We tried unsuccessfully because we were laughing too much. I think Emmy was just so delighted to see me laugh so hard. The whole rest of the night, she'd say, "Mommy, let's do that part where we laugh again."

Torn

A rare moment

Emmy has never been a particularly cuddly child. When she was a baby, I longed for her to lay her head on my shoulder and I was envious when I saw other babies and toddlers curled up in their mommies' arms, sound asleep, during church.

Interestingly, as she has gotten older, Emmy seems to appreciate cuddling more than she used to. She loves to snuggle up with a blanket and watch a show or read a story together. When I put her to bed, she loves for me to lie next to her, and when I sing to her, she clutches me around the neck. I love these moments, and I always feel the need to savor them.

While Sophie naps in the afternoons, Emmy is often allowed to watch one or two TV shows while I take a quick nap in my room. (This has become somewhat of a necessity since this pregnancy has rendered me quite exhausted!) The other afternoon, I was turning on the TV for Emmy when she asked me to lay with her on the couch. I agreed, since she was so eager to be close to me. We snuggled up together, and started watching Barney. It didn't take long for me to start to nod off - probably less than a minute. The only problem was, that she needed to adjust herself every minute or less. She'd turn her head, which would make her hair brush across my face. She'd wiggle closer, or move her foot, or tell me to open my eyes to see something real quick, and then move her head again. I started to think that she couldn't even hold still for ten seconds! I decided to put my head on the opposite side of the couch, hoping she'd stay where she was. One minute later, her head was against my cheek. I asked her kindly to not move so much. I told her how tired I was. And she could NOT STOP moving!

I felt so torn! I was becoming increasingly annoyed with my sweet little girl who wanted to snuggle with me, and who really wasn't trying to be annoying! (And believe me, there are plenty of other times when her behavior really does warrant some distancing). I ended up toughing it out and just trying really hard not to feel frustrated. How many more quiet afternoons will I get to have with just her? Someday, perhaps I'll long to feel her sweetness close to me, wiggles included.

As I write about this now, it seems like such a tiny thing - how could I have even let myself be annoyed? But in my sleepy state, it felt hard. I think that's part of what being a mom is all about - many tiny moments that feel big. Tiny moments that add up to create a lasting impression. Tiny moments that just need a little perspective sometimes.

Cupcakes

OK, for all of you cupcake lovers out there - I made these cupcakes on Sunday and I thought they were absolutely delicious. They're about as basic as you can get: vanilla cake and vanilla frosting, but very moist and tasty! Here is the recipe~

Today

Today:
I woke up to the sound of poring rain. I longed to stay in bed and enjoy the gray light and the soothing patter above me.
Two adorable girls fought over who got to lay next to me on the couch.
I laughed when I said, "Look at those feet!" to Sophie while I was changing her diaper and she said, "My feet are pretty!"
Emmy and Sophie had the time of their lives playing in a gigantic puddle with their friends. By the end, all six little girls were naked and loving it.
I let Emmy watch too much TV.
I enjoyed Sophie laying her head on my shoulder after her nap.
I read "Emmy and the Fantastic Seahorse Race," "Who Pooped in Yosemite Park?" "Skippyjon Jones" twice, and "Where is Baby's Belly Button?"
I cleaned my kitchen until it was almost shiny. (It is so old and lived in that it will never really shine).
I enjoyed a quiet and peaceful lunch to myself.
I almost tore my hair out while Emmy raged in her room, not wanting to go to bed.
I found something that was lost.
I am happily enjoying the latest episode of LOST.
And that is all.

A Reminder

I was reminded of this quote by Minnie Louise Haskins today. You've probably heard it before, but it is always nice to hear these things again.

I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year,

"Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown."

And he replied, "Go into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God.

That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way!"

Thank You!

OK, it has been so much fun to read all of your great name suggestions. I have a long list for girl and boy names now, so it will be fun to see who we end up with and what we choose.

I haven't posted pictures in awhile, so I thought I'd give you a brief update of the goings on of 2010 with a few fun pics.
This is Emmy, all ready to go to her friend's Fancy Nancy Birthday Party. This was quite a posh affair that required a long time of choosing the right accessories and attempting to curl her stubbornly straight hair to look like Nancy's ringlets. She was ready by 8:30 in the morning, but by the time we left for the party at 9:45, she'd removed almost all of the accessories - deeming them itchy or in the way. I should have taken a picture earlier - she was quite a fancy girl.


Whenever we color with markers or paints, Sophie becomes preoccupied with painting herself. One day, I was tired of trying to get her to stick with the beautiful blank sheet of paper in front of her, so I stripped her down, gave her the paints, and stuck her in the bath. When Emmy saw what was going on, she was close behind. This ended up being a wonderful activity for a cold day. The body painting lasted about an hour and the bath that followed was almost just as long.

A visit from Nannie and Opa. In the middle of January, we were thrilled to have my parents come stay with us for a week. We had the most wonderful time. Emmy and Sophie were so excited to see them. On the day before they arrived, I asked Emmy if she thought we should do anything special when they came. She, apparently, had been thinking this through, because she immediately answered by saying, "Well. I was thinking. I can wear my most beautiful dress, and when they get here, I will be hiding. If they can't find me, I'll jump out and say, 'Boo!'" I thought it was so funny that she'd come up with that little plan and was very excited to carry it out. So excited, that she refused to drive with me to the airport because she wanted to be hiding. She reminded me that she would not be able to hide very well in the car. So we stuck to her plan, and the smile on her face when they found her was priceless. Both Emmy and Sophie were all smiles, and I got a little teary-eyed seeing how happy they were. We really had a very fun time with them, despite the uncharacteristic torrential rains that poured down upon us each day of their trip. (See previous post entitled "The de Jong Curse" to be reminded of the terrible weather that follows my parents wherever they travel).

Let the Name Game Begin

Now that I have passed the 20-week mark with flying colors, it is now time to start discussing names. This time around, our discussion will be more complicated. We do not know if we are having a boy or a girl, nor will we know until the day that little cutie-pie makes his or her entrance into the world.

As many of you know, Matt and I are a pretty indecisive couple - and very indecisive when it comes to naming our children. My problem is that I like too many names and have a hard time narrowing down my list. Matt, on the other hand, is much pickier than I am. Here is a sample conversation between us:

Katie: Hey, Matt. Maybe we should start thinking about names. Do you have any ideas?
Matt: No, I haven't even thought about it. Maybe we should wait until the time gets closer before we talk about it.
Katie: But it might be nice if we didn't have to wait until the moment we leave the hospital to make a decision.
Matt: We have plenty of time.

So - you can see that even trying to talk about names can be a struggle for us. When we finally do have the conversation, this is usually how it goes:

Katie: Do you have any names that you like?
Matt: How about you tell me names and I tell you if I like them or not.
Katie: OK, how about Ivy.
Matt: No.
Katie: Megan?
Matt: Fine.
Katie: Noah.
Matt: No.
Katie: Ben
Matt: Fine.
Katie: Aren't there any names you like?
Matt: I like Emmy and Sophie.
Katie: Sorry, those are taken. Remember that you didn't really love those ones at first?
Matt: I didn't? Oh, I thought I did.
Katie: I think you said something like, "No," or "Fine."
Matt: Oh.

Basically, Matt's answers are limited to those two responses. Now, I don't want to make Matt out to be a dud. He's not. He is a lot of fun. But he does have a hard time with names. And now our work is doubled!

So, I would like to solicit you, my readership, for ideas. That's not to say that I don't have any. I do have some names that I really like (which I won't say yet.) But I would love some suggestions. At least so I can have the chance to say, "No," or "Fine." Or maybe even, "I LOVE it!"