A Post about Bean

A few things about Bean at this moment:

(Picture taken at Grandma J's playing playdough)

• She received a huge pack of construction paper from Santa this past Christmas and is the most creative little girl.  She can make anything out of paper, markers, glue and tape.  
• Along with her paper creations, she loves to write stories and often reads these stories to Boy and I at bedtime.
• She discovered Legos last summer and consequently has received several kits since then.  I happen to love Legos too, so we've spent quite a bit of time the past few months building castles and creations.
• Bean is at that age where she is really testing her independence (and our patience.)  She is still fairly shy, but when I see her interact with her peers and Boy, I can tell she is a natural leader (oldest child trait??)
• Bean and Boy as a combination can be very goofy and silly.  This is a lot of fun...up until 8 o'clock at night.  Sometimes story-time is a challenge, but we get through it.
• Bean lost a lot of her bike-riding skills over the winter.  I know she wants to learn to ride a bike, but this one is going to take awhile.
• She loves to dance!  She kind of grumbles when she has to go--she'd rather stay at home and play after a long day at school.  But once she comes home I can't get her to stop dancing around the house.
• Along with that, I've been teaching her piano over the last 6-8 months and it was a Real struggle at first.  She always argued with me and no part of it was fun for either of us.  But sometime around Christmas we took a long break and since the beginning of the new year, she's really starting to understand the concepts she's learning.  One of her favorite pastimes is to play through her book up until the song she's at.  We have her on a list for a teacher in our area, but this is working really well for the meantime. 
• I've discovered that the thing that Bean craves most is time.  If S or I can just sit down and play or read with her for awhile, she is so much happier.  She's like me--she tends to push people away, but really she needs to know that we are there.
• Bean's personal goal for these next few years is to run faster.  At school she likes to race all of the boys and, according to her, she is starting to outrun them.

And speaking of school:

(Bean doing homework amidst her art projects.)

• Bean is one smart cookie.  She is already reading at an M (which best I can figure is what 3rd graders read at.)  She was invited to School of Rock--a supplementary program for advanced readers in her school.  They would read and discuss books.  Bean's reading comprehension is even better than mine.  I'm such a fast reader that I often have to go back to figure out what I missed.
• Bean also passed the requirements to become a Math Ninja (her school's way of recognizing mathematical success.)
• Her favorite subject in school is recess.  Obviously.  But really, I don't think there is anything about school that she doesn't like.
• Bean needs to definitely improve her handwriting.  Her teacher suggested she practice fine-motor skills, such as coloring and building with modeling clay.  I also think maybe she just needs to slow down.
• And speaking of her teacher, we have absolutely loved Mrs. C.  She is so kind and patient, yet firm and demanding (in a good way.)  We're going to miss her next year!

Every time I stumble across an old picture of Bean, I can't believe how little she looks...and how big she's gotten!  She is almost up to my shoulder in height.  It's fun (and challenging) to watch her try and figure out her place in the world and in our family.  We are so blessed to have her BE a part of our family!

...and everything else up until today.

The end of December was great.  I love that the kids are entertained by new toys for hours on end.  Plus we actually had some great snowstorms this year.  Bean built her first snowman all by herself!

S and I finally went to see the last Hunger Games movie and, when we got home, our sitter told us that Bean's obnoxious tooth was bleeding again.  I say 'obnoxious' because this darn tooth had been loose for weeks but wouldn't budge.  Unfortunately Bean's teeth all grew in very close together which means this kiddo is going to start orthodontics later this year.  Anyway, on this occasion, enough was enough: S grabbed some floss and I grabbed Bean and amidst screams of terror we finally got this stubborn tooth out (and of course she was still screaming because she didn't even realize it had been pulled...)  After she calmed down I got a picture of one happy tooth-gapped girl.

Bean has been begging us to take her ice skating for a really long time.  It's not that we had low expectations for her, it's just that she's afraid of nearly everything that has to do with falling or getting an Owie.  So naturally we were shocked when she took to ice skating like a fish in water.

Boy, my normally brave child, was Mr. Fraidy-pants.  We spent much of the time not skating but watching from the sideline.  (S was nice enough to take the kids for a few minutes so I could do a lap by myself!)

 After some really decent snow all of January and February, S and Bean built the most awesome snowman yet.  It lasted for quite awhile, too!  When the forecast showed the weather warming up, I figured I'd better take a picture before he melted away--good thing, too!  Two days after this picture, he was only half a snowman.  Literally.

Parties have been fun for Bean's first grade class.  I took a different approach this year: I planned all the parties and then delegated supplies and help.  I'm kind of a control freak.  I had major anxiety last year when 2 of our moms (who had planned games) ended up not showing up until halfway through the party.

For Valentine's day we did the traditional Valentine Card trade.  We also did a heart walk, Valentine Memory, a love bug craft, and decorated heart sugar cookies.  It was so easy and my favorite party yet.  I love this age group--they still think everything is fun.  Sixth grade is going to be a challenge!

Boy took advantage of warming temperatures to go play outside in what remained of the snow.  I caught him eating snow.  I can pretty much guarantee our snow is not clean.  Ick.

Mid-February my friend and I went to the new Provo Temple open house.  It is such a beautiful building on the inside and out.  It reminded me so much of the newly dedicated Payson temple.  Now that it is dedicated, I imagine the number of people going is going to be tremendous.  We can't wait for a chance to go ourselves!

Once all the snow was melted, S got busy working outside.  This, in my opinion, is the best time of year for gardening.  The sun isn't blistering hot, and everything old is new again.  Boy took advantage of this and went outside to 'help.'

Starting the first week of March, I, too, headed outdoors and spent the first half of the month pruning and raking.  It felt so good.  The kiddos joined me and made dinner creations while I worked.  I love their imaginations.  I never want them to grow up!

I surprised Bean with two tickets to go see Disney's Frozen on Ice.  I actually bought the tickets clear last April when we were still watching Frozen daily and everything in Bean's life revolved around Elsa, Anna, and Olaf.  Well...a lot changes in a year and just a few short weeks before the event, Bean informed me that she no longer likes Frozen and instead likes Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  Darn first graders.

Obviously, I was still going to take her to the show and I just crossed my fingers she would enjoy herself.  I kept it a secret until we got there, and once she realized what we were doing she was SO excited!!

I hoped she would enjoy it.  I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did, though!  The special effects were pretty amazing!

S, Bean, Boy and I are rarely home together on a weekday anymore, so when Bean was off of school one Friday, we took advantage of this and took her and Boy to the Clark Planetarium.  They had never been before.  Bean thought it was amazing!  And Boy keeps telling everyone he sees (including complete strangers) that he took a rocket to the moon.

Bean is my little scientist which makes me one proud mommy.  She and I both thought the thermal imaging was pretty great.

Afterwards we bought some astronaut ice cream and walked around the Gateway.  The weather wasn't too bad so we even braved going to the fountain.  The kids loved it!  We are definitely going to have to make a repeat trip down there again this summer.

The next day was terrific weather.  We played at the park that morning and, after S had to go to work, we headed up to my parents to finish our yard work.  Winter was really long and hard on us this year.  I can noticeably tell a difference in our kids when they spend a decent amount of time outside.

Bean told me a few weeks ago that she really wanted to build a leprechaun trap this year.  I found the idea for using an empty Kleenex box on Pinterest.  Bean decorated it and we set the trap.  If you follow me on Instagram then you have already seen that the leprechaun got away after playing all sorts of tricks on us.

S told me that the leprechaun is committed to stop by from now on.  I told him I didn't really mind!  These are the moments that make being a parent all fun and no work!

(...and Christmas...)

S had to work Christmas Eve this year, which was kind of a bummer, but we still had a fun day.  As mentioned in my previous post, I baked bread that morning.  That was pretty much it for the day.  I was still pretty weak so I rested while the kids played.

I almost forgot to bake cookies for Santa, but luckily we had some leftover cookie dough in our freezer.  We laid the cookies out for Santa, along with some celery for his reindeer.

Bean thought it was of utmost importance that we let Santa know that we have a chimney that he can use now.  She also thought it was important to leave the key, just in case he wanted to use the door instead.  Santa must have decided to use the chimney because there was all sorts of evidence the next morning that someone had been in our basement.

We don't have a place to hang our stockings by the chimney yet, so it was by the TV that they were once again hung with care.

The kiddos went to bed in their new jammies and Santa showed up...about 930 or so.

And then again the following morning about 8 to bring in the heavy stuff.

For the first year ever Bean found her way into my room before 9, dressed and ready to go.   She's wearing her reindeer hat that she made, along with her new custom-designed sweater.

Boy took a little more convincing to get out of bed but once he was up, he was ready to go.  Of course I made them stop every 10 feet for pictures...

The picture quality of this picture is horrible, but I LOVE it because it is Bean realizing that Santa brought her the one and only gift she asked for--a nerf Rebelle (a.k.a. Bow and Arrow.)  Pure Joy!

My kids were pretty easy to please.  All Boy wanted was a dump truck he'd seen at Smith's a month earlier.  I think he's processing his emotions in this following picture...

Bean just kept saying over and over again how good they must have been this year because they had never gotten so many presents before (which was probably not true because I think we scaled back from last year...but maybe it's because she only asked for one thing and got more than just one thing?)  They totally deserved it too--they were so good and helpful that whole week.  Bean literally took care of Boy one morning while I laid on the couch.  Breakfast and all.  She's pretty awesome.

We hung out at home for awhile and then headed to my parents' for a late breakfast.  It was time for presents again.  My mom could hardly get around to do Christmas shopping this year but she did her best to make sure the kids had presents to open.  It was so sweet.  It makes me love this picture even more.

S unfortunately had hardly slept while on shift the night before so after our festivities, he went and slept for the afternoon in my parents' basement (which is fantastic for napping.)  I played marbles with the kids for a few hours.  It was such a laid-back afternoon.

After S woke up we headed to his parents.  We opened more presents, had a light dinner, and the kids decorated gingerbread men.  Bean has artistic flair.

And Boy is really good at using all of his resources.

I was so frustrated last Christmas with how busy everything was.  This year was completely the opposite,  It was so laid back and relaxed and I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with all of my family.

The day after Christmas proved to be great once again as the kiddos entertained themselves all day with all of their new things...

December...

We finished up with planning Young Women in Excellence just in time to start planning the ward Christmas breakfast.  Young Women were in charge of decorating so that was fun.  We put the girls to work one evening early in December making snowflakes and coffee filter Christmas trees.  I love these girls...

I took the kids to the Festival of Trees on my own this year.  My mom was/is still struggling to get around for long periods of walking.  We went after school got out on Friday--which was a mistake.  It was so busy.  Next year I'm taking Bean out of school...I don't think the kids cared though; they still seemed to have fun!

My cousin's wife decorated this tree for my late cousin (her brother-in-law.)  It was fantastic.

We stayed up really late, decorating the church gymnasium for breakfast the next morning.  S was working so I hauled the kids along with me.  They actually did pretty well!

The next morning we arrived early to get pictures with Santa (they really do like Santa, I promise.)

The decorations turned out beautifully.  I sure love these people--they have become like family to me.

Initially the kids were supposed to put on a live Nativity but plans changed and the Nativity was cancelled.  They had worked so hard on it that we let them put on the show for us afterwards in the primary room.  Bean was the star (literally) and Boy was the sheep (seen laying sheep-like on the floor in the following photo.)

That night we left our lists for Santa in our shoes on the doorstep.  Santa quickly completed all of his shopping on Amazon just thirty minutes after the kids were in bed.  Santa hates last-minute shopping...

The next morning Bean and Boy received gold coins in their shoes.  Bean is like me--she likes to enjoy just a little at a time to make it last longer.  Boy's chocolate was all gone before we got to church.

The following Thursday was Bean's dance recital.  And boy did she dance!  Remember when I used to devote blog posts entirely to her dance progress?  She wanted to be on the competing team this year but I suggested instead that we put her in an older jazz/tumbling class to see if she still liked it and could keep up.  I can't stop the girl from dancing around our house.  Just this week she's been practicing toe touches.  Over.  And over.  And over...

Anyway.

Bean was the most energetic and enthused performer and we were so proud of her!

That evening I also managed to bake four gingerbread houses.  (Again my mom just wasn't up to it this year.  But I can't let tradition die!)

The next day we rushed over to grandma's after school and--quite literally--threw our houses together.  It was a lot of fun to see what the kids came up with!  (Also PS I really missed our year-round schedule this past December.  It was nice to have time off during such a busy month to do things like Festival of Trees and gingerbread houses...)

I took the kids to the library the following day and the amateur ham radio club was there with a line directly to the North Pole so the kids were able to talk to Santa.  I grew up with a dad involved in ham radio so it was kind of fun to reminisce.  The kids liked talking to Santa, too!

One thing we loved about December this year was that it actually felt like December.  The kids had plenty of snow days to play outside.  And they loved every minute of it.

I loved bringing them back in, wrapping them up in blankets, and letting them binge-watch Sofia the First.  On occasion I'd even make them hot chocolate.

I received an Ugly Christmas Sweater Kit for my white elephant gift at this year's work Christmas party.  Boy was more interested in decorating the cardboard the sweater was wrapped around in the box.  (And he did a terrific job.)  But Bean took the task to heart and created the most beautiful sweater ever.

Santa may have gotten all of his shopping done early, but the elves were too busy to wrap everything and were once again overwhelmed...

I took Bean and Boy to our library to visit with Santa again this year.  (And I just noticed Bean is wearing the exact same outfit as the other visit.)  By this visit Bean and Boy had warmed up to Santa.  I was getting worried looks from Santa when Bean kept telling him that she wanted a bow and arrow for Christmas.

One of my favorite parts from this season was getting to go to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert again this year.  We've lucked out with tickets (and good seats) the past two years.  And, with just S and I going this time, I enjoyed even more than last year.  Nothing gets me in the Christmas spirit more than MoTab Christmas music!

The next night, the Saturday before Christmas, was the H family Christmas party.  When I first started going to this party, S and I were still dating and we could fit everyone comfortably inside his grandparents' home.  It's amazing how much this family has grown in 15 years!

The H family party was really my last real commitment before Christmas.  So I shouldn't have been at all surprised when I woke up Sunday morning not feeling good.  Over the next 48 hours I went from being sick to being really sick.  I had it all--sore throat, chills, fever, and I threw up all during the night.  It was awful.  I was grateful that I was done with the things I needed to be but bummed at the prospect of being sick over Christmas.  Thankfully, I was able to get in to see a doctor pretty quickly.  He assumed (and I as well) that it was strep throat, but the rapid strep test came back negative.  His next guess was that, given the fact that I take immunosuppressants for my MS, and that I had been under enormous stress over the last three months, I was probably just catching a cold that led to an opportunistic bacterial infection.  Thankfully bacteria means antibiotics and antibiotics tend to work pretty fast on me so within 72 hours I was feeling much, much better.

The only thing I really had planned for that week was wrapping presents and making julekage (my mom's Norwegian Christmas bread that she makes every year--again she couldn't make it this year and again I'll be darned if I'm going to have finnan haddie Christmas morning without julekage.)  I eeked out enough energy to get the wrapping done a few days prior.  I didn't think the bread would happen though.  But I woke up Christmas Eve and decided to go for it.  And I'm so glad I did.  It turned out great and it tasted delicious.