Michael, Vanessa, Jed, Zoe and Zane

February Kids

2012-02-18T11:31:00.001-06:00

I'd like to start taking a picture of all the kids together the first day of every month.

....but we always need an extra baby photo.

Dad at work.

2012-02-18T08:38:00.000-06:00

Quiet moments with little Zane.

Quiet moments with Jed and Zoe look more like this:

Yes, he is stacked under every stuffed animal and pillow they own. He was trying to do some homework. Jed thought he needed a pillow behind his head. Then things got a little out of hand. "Cozy spot, Dad!" They are very pleased with themselves.

Whispers

2012-02-09T11:05:00.005-06:00

Jed crept up on the sofa and while kissing Zane's forehead quietly murmured:

"Zane, the world is beautiful.
You were born from Heavenly Father, Zany."

They gazed at each other.

"And... ACK ZANE DON'T PICK MY NOSE!"

Jed screeched and wiped his face furiously.

Then he caressed Zane's arm and softly sang,
"I love you a bushel and a peck,
Oh I love you my Zany maney-weck!"

Happy Birthday to Jed!

2012-02-05T07:32:00.001-06:00

Five years old!

He asked for a heart shaped banana cake with blue frosting. I took care of the creation. The kids and Dad decorated it.

We were glad that Papa Steve was there to share the feast with us.

Matching hats for Jed and Zoe!

I created this particularly ugly pillow under Jed's direction. He picked out the fabric, I tried to learn a new quilting technique. Michael informed me I violated every design rule in the universe. (The next project is turning out much more, uh, polished, promise.) Jed is THRILLED with it and carries it around half the day so far. At night it is his "mom hug" that he squeezes tight.

Zoe loves birthdays!

Jed's truck he got from Dad. The night before we went "basement shopping" which involves digging through the bags of toys I've squirreled away from various Take It or Leave Its at church and garage sales the last couple years . Seriously, best shopping ever. We spent a whole 99c on Jed's birthday this year, and it was an excellent birthday if I do say so myself.

Birth-day

2012-02-02T07:43:00.000-06:00

Today is a special day. February 2nd, 2007, will forever be marked in our family as our little Jed's birthday. But to me, it will always be far more than that. I always think of February 2nd as MY birth-day - the day I became a mother. That morning I felt a new birth, into a new life of motherhood and service to my children. The birth of a new family. Where there had only been a couple before, now there was a full circle of father/mother/child. A home, where before there had been but a house with two people inside. With the arrival of that small, wise-eyed, sober and sweet little boy, our home, our marriage, our lives became holy and consecrated.

Thank you, sweet little Jed, for making our lives holy!

Giggling

2012-01-27T20:46:00.000-06:00

Jed Dances

2012-01-26T20:44:00.000-06:00

We've been watching that Justin Bieber movie* on Netflix. Prepare to be amazed.

*"Never Say Never." Yes, I can hear your thoughts. Don't judge me, there aren't that many tolerable-for-Mom and not-scary-for-Jed G rated movies out there, ya know? Besides. We have dance parties at our house nearly every day and, as Jed puts it, "Mom, I need some new moves."

A few things to be grateful for

2012-01-26T16:17:00.002-06:00

Zoe has been fully pottytrained without an accident for about two weeks now. Yee hah! Now we make a lot more trips to public restrooms, but at least I get lots of kisses while we're there. Yesterday she spent nearly two hours on the pot -- I think about 5 minutes to do her business and another 115 spent perusing the steady supply of picture books Jed carted in for her.

Zane is rolling! And smiling! And laughing! And eating a little big of solid food! It's a miracle seeing his coordination improve day by day. The rule of thumb around here is if you can get it in your mouth, you can eat it. So every meal we've been giving him a little something and he is trying, aiming, clenching... but not quite getting it in for a week now.

One day he couldn't figure out how to get his hand to his face. The next day I gave him an apple slice. I let him taste it first so then he really wanted it. With a fat, determined expression he grabbed that apple tight as he could, wound up, and jabbed himself right in the cheek, quite hard. He threw the apple on the floor and wailed in pain and frustration. The next day he could get it more gently up to his face, but still not in his mouth. Then two days ago, he grabbed the carrot stick and victoriously inserted it into his starving little orifice. Then he made a face and threw it on the floor because it tasted weird. We all cheered nonetheless! The next evening he was happily sucking on rib bones when I went out to dinner with some friends. Nothing like a BBQ smeared baby face - yum.

Jed has learned to read in the last few months. We're taking it slow, just a little bit every day, but he is constantly improving. I am so, so excited for him to discover the world of reading on his own. We may never see his face again after that (well, he'll probably fit some legos in between books) but I just know he will take after his momma and be a "bookie" child. Today I was chatting with my mom on the phone and spelling out a few words (don't want to ruin the birthday surprises!) I spelled "K-I-D-S" at one point, and a moment later Jed looked over at me with a triumphant, glowing face and shouted "KIDS! YOU SAID KIDS!" I couldn't decide who was more pleased, the mother or the speller.

Silly Snapshots

2012-01-19T08:39:00.003-06:00

Still blue!

My Boys

2012-01-09T07:00:00.000-06:00

Morning Men

Um, is it just me or is one of these boys very clearly mine and the other two very clearly Stanfill? Check out that round Dowdle face!

Gettin' some exersaucer

2012-01-08T07:00:00.000-06:00

Look at those big blue eyes!

Father and Son

2012-01-07T07:00:00.000-06:00

Having Zane fall asleep on your shoulder is one of the great joys in life.

(Thank heavens for tylenol! We're full swing in teething mode around here.)

Helping Daddy

2012-01-06T18:48:00.000-06:00

Zane hanged out with Dad in his office for a few hours.

Such a happy boy!

Goals for 2012

2012-01-03T08:07:00.002-06:00

I've made a few goals for 2012. I only set goals for myself that I actually think I'll achieve, so they aren't especially spectacular but I'm excited about each one of them.

Spiritual:
Write down something I am grateful for each day.
Like this.

Mental:
Track 180 days of homeschooling this year.
I don't have to do this until Jed turns 7, but I want to start now so I can figure out how to do it before I am required to by law... I think this will also help me focus on doing some educational experience with Jed each day. He really flourishes with a focused, constructive "just me and mom" activity every afternoon.

Physical:
Measure myself every Monday
Because I don't own a scale. I already do quite well at exercising regularly, but I think this will keep me motivated to progress in my health and fitness.

Couple Goal:
Work on an experience for Personal Progress each week.
Michael and I are going to work on this together, but he is doing Duty to God.
Since we both work in the youth program now, this seemed like it would dovetail nicely with our callings. I also read through the program and was impressed at how much it would help ME develop my spirituality! I'm actually really excited to dive in.

2011 Stanfill Family Newsletter

2011-12-30T10:49:00.001-06:00

Stanfill Family Newsletter 2011

Baby Reindeer!

2011-12-20T10:31:00.000-06:00

We have a weekly family Google+ hangout, which unites our family from Southern California to Indiana to Montana to Massachusetts. Usually, we play with the mustache feature far more than is dignified, but this week we got a special treat - antlers!

Mornin' Zoe!

2011-12-19T21:03:00.000-06:00

Zoe and her collection of friends, plastered to the bed after a long, and apparently riotous, night's sleep.

Christmas Ties

2011-12-19T20:55:00.002-06:00

Zoe Angel

2011-12-12T08:58:00.000-06:00

Zoe dresses up as an angel at the Creche exhibit this past weekend.

Morning, Zoe

2011-12-07T08:06:00.001-06:00

Zoe just walked in, sleepy pink ruffled and pajama clad from bed, church shoes in one hand and her pink rice hot-pack in the other. "I got my stuff" she said. But what it really sounds like it "Ah doh mah duff!"

Black Eyes

2011-12-05T21:15:00.000-06:00

Text Message History:

12:01 PM - Me: Zoe fell down the stairs and landed on her face. She's ok but she's going to have quite the bruise.

A few moments later, a concerned Michael, who is out hunting for a few hours, calls to see what happened. We were going to go outside and kick the ball around since the weather was so nice, and while I ran downstairs to get the ball, Zoe decided it would be clever to climb down the stairs in her big coat and floppy rainboots while carrying a large basket, which is never a good idea. Since she is missing the instinct that tells every other normal person to throw their arms up to protect her face, she landed right on her nose, as usual. I tell him she will probably get a little black eye and has a bloody nose but seems generally unhurt.

12:25 PM - Me: Ummmm ok now Jed definitely does have a black eye. This has been a busy morning for us.

Michael arrives home not long after. I hem and haw a bit but the real story is that we were running around the house playing tag and things got a little wild and Jed ran right into my knuckle. OK, we were both running, but there was NO flinging of fists going on, he really did run right into my hand! And then there was a popping sound and he fell down. And now he has a blood blister and a black eye. Whoops. Mom of the year award.

Here is the photo evidence. See, it isn't that bad. I will admit it looks worse in person. Jed was doing all right until he saw himself in the mirror and then he collapsed into a wailing heap, screaming "I LOOK TERRIBLE!!! I CAN NEVER LET SOPHIA SEE ME LIKE THIS!" That's right, his first concern was what his little girlfriend would think.

See how happy and well adjusted they look? These are photos of happy, content, abuse-free children.

Even with, er, two black eyes, they're cute as buttons.
Black spotted buttons.

Changes

2011-12-05T15:21:00.001-06:00

I recently finished up my long tenure serving in the Newburgh Ward Primary - almost four and a half years, to be precise. Six months as a nursery worker. Just shy of four years in the Presidency, two of those as president. Three babies! I started when Jed was just 6 months old. Back then, I knew virtually no children and had very little experience with them. Now, I count hundreds of children among my very best friends and favorite people. I love teaching them, I love knowing them. I have been very, very blessed to serve them. I will miss them.

I will miss belonging with my presidency and teachers, too. On Sunday, after helping out with Primary just a little bit the first hour, I found myself standing in the hall outside the Relief Society room, awkwardly, like a teenager who had just moved here from out of town. My hands felt strangely empty; I felt purposeless, unsure. Do I really just walk in and sit there? Do I just make chit chat with all these other people milling around waiting? When they asked if anyone one was a visitor, I nearly laughed out loud -- does it count if you've only attended three times in the last four and a half years? People made announcements and gave me gifts and handouts and taught me lessons and it was all very strange. Funny to feel so out of place in such a familiar place.

But don't worry, I won't be sitting around for long. I've been called to serve as the Beehive Adviser, the Sunday teacher for eleven reputedly very chatty twelve- and thirteen-year-old girls. Fortunately, since I've worked with them since they were eight or nine (!), I'm quite familiar with all of them so it should be a ball.

Matching

2011-12-05T10:38:00.001-06:00

I still remember feeling so proud when my mom dressed me and Eric up in matching clothes when we were little ones. So recently I decided that now that I have three kids, it was time to match. I made up my own patterns for vests and a skirt, Michael took the kids for most of a Saturday and I sewed and sewed and sewed and ended up with three little matching fall outfits. Now I feel like a "real" mom!

So close...

2011-12-05T10:24:00.001-06:00

He was belly laughing right before this! Zane loves being up on the table with his big siblings. He's a pretty gregarious kid.

Horseback Riding

2011-12-04T16:02:00.000-06:00

Just after Thanksgiving, the awesome Daetwilers invited us to come over to their farm for horseback riding and a campfire dinner. I was super nervous that my children, who harbor a deep and abiding terror of dogs and all animals not stuffed, would make the divine-sounding evening a misery. But, fortunately, after many, many hours of watching videos on youtube of small children riding horses, and a few horse riding instruction videos, my home-made animal therapy worked and they did AWESOME! They both hopped right on with big grins on their faces.

I am allergic to horses so I didn't get to ride, but Zoe was REALLY excited to ride with her Grandma Jan. Later on in the trip they had quite the adventure when the saddle on their horse started sliding around the side of the horse and they both fell on the ground. Grandma valiantly saved the day but putting herself under Zoe's little body. I know Grandma was pretty sore for a few days, and we appreciated that she sacrificed herself so Zoe could have a soft landing.

The greatest victory of the day for me was "the dog thing." After a number of traumatic dog experiences as a toddler, Jed has been really REALLY terrified of all dogs. Big, small, loud, quiet, whatever, he screams if one gets close and attempts to climb my leg in terror. I hate this because there are a LOT of dogs here in Kentucky-Hoosierville and poor Jed is so upset when they are around that it is hard to visit friends or go out. And I just don't like the idea of my child being held back by fear. We have a dog across the street and for a long time Jed wouldn't even go outside and play. The last few months, though, I have been taking the kids to visit "Star," a therapy dog who is at the library every Tuesday. I was hesitant to do it because we have to skip quiet time (which as you all know is religiously observed at our home) but I thought it was worth a try. AND IT IS TOTALLY WORKING!!! At the Daetwilers, Jed walked right by the big hunting dogs without flinching. "I like well trained dogs," he told me, "just not the wild dogs." I am so happy and grateful to see that with a little work his deeply-ingrained phobia is melting away and soon I hope he will be able to be go play with dogs just like all the other little boys.

Almost laughing...

2011-11-22T08:02:00.001-06:00

...but not quite.

Happy Reminders

2011-11-22T07:06:00.001-06:00

I love finding Jed's latest artwork on my daily list. I'm not sure why, but the list is a VERY coveted art spot for both children. Perhaps because they know it will get a full day's worth of appreciation by Mom. Often I can't even get the list written before the clipboard has been snatched from my hands and filled with the latest Stanfill Masterpiece.

You can see me, in my love cottage. I am smiling at the door. A gift waits for me outside on the steps. A flower grows near the basement window. Hearts float around me, the sun shines above, and kisses and hugs fill my little home up to the rafters. Pretty accurate, I'd say.
Jed liked that particular picture so well that he drew me another, but this time in full color and cut out.

The other day, after witnessing one of Jed's latest creations, his dad said "Well, Jed, you're becoming quite the little artist!" I added, "Just like your Daddy!" (After all, Michael does have a Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts.) "NO," Jed corrected us, "not like Dad, like Annie. She is a real artist." Michael didn't appreciate that much but I had a good giggle over it. Like that, Auntie Annie?

Several days later, Jed found a post-it note pad left out loose and unguarded. Crowing with excitement, he informed me that he was going to post smiling notes all over the house to remind us to be happy. And he did. Here is a small sampling.
This happy face lives sideways in the hallway.

This one lives a little farther down the hall. In case you can't tell, it is a heart. Hearts (also often called "flowers" by mistake) have been tricky for Jed and he has only just started to get the hang of them. Now that I look closely the left figure may be a heart-flower because you can see it has a stem.

Walk into Jed's bedroom, and you will see this fantastic adornment.

Most of the dresser pictures are of race cars, monster trucks, or dragsters. Here is my particular favorite:

Jaunt across the hallway and into my bedroom. Close the door and you'll find this joyful little beauty staring back at you.

(That's me, in case you aren't adept at Jed-Art-Character-Identification. People with sticky-up hair are male. People with "flat" hair are female. Big females are Mom, small females Zoe. Naturally.)
I've saved my favorite for last. A portrait of happy Mom and Dad, together, right smack in the middle of our closet doors.

Jed was right -- I've had these little pictures up for a week now, and every time I see them I can't help but smile.

Pink Princess

2011-11-20T13:20:00.001-06:00

Today Zoe wore the little pink princess dress her Great-Grandma Janete and Aunt Teresa gave her. I thought they'd like to see how cute it is on her. Also, how unbelievably silly and cute she is while wearing it.

Brothers

2011-11-20T13:16:00.001-06:00

"Mom, will you take a picture of us? Look how cute the brothers are!"

Silly big brother...

2011-11-07T22:02:00.002-06:00

Polka Dots

2011-11-07T22:01:00.001-06:00

Sad.

2011-11-07T21:58:00.003-06:00

Happy!

2011-11-06T21:51:00.001-06:00

A visit to the fire station

2011-11-06T21:10:00.000-06:00

Our Friday FunDay group took a tour of the little local fire station this past week. The kids toured the engine, saw a firefighter in all his gear, and toured through their living quarters. The best part was when we were standing in the firefighter's living room and the fire alarm went off! The three firefighters ran out of the room and put on their gear. One peeked his head in and said "We'll be back in 10 or 15 minutes! Make yourselves at home! Stay around if you can to finish the tour!" and then they jumped on the engine and headed out with the siren wailing. And there we sat, twenty or so moms and running, squealing kids, all one in the fire station. Ha! We stayed and they came back later, tearing into the station with lights and siren flashing, flag waving. It was totally sweet. I loved it.

I love this shot!

Zoe felt a tad shy, but not enough to stop her from taking a tour of the engine.

Still keeping a close eye on him...

I had to drag Jed over but he lit right up when he got to spray the firehose!

A bunch of good friends


Kids and firefighters. Notice Jed's skeptical gaze. He was, um, shall we say a bit "standoffish" towards the firefighters, as in "stand on the far side of the room-ish" , but by the end he was willing to stand within ten feet of them, so we considered that progress.

We love Friday FunDay!

Cranky Day

2011-11-03T11:05:00.001-05:00

Zany at 3 months

2011-11-03T10:47:00.001-05:00

Lest we forget...

2011-11-03T10:45:00.002-05:00

.... how goofy my children are...

Minor Events

2011-10-26T14:13:00.002-05:00

Jed: "Mom, sometimes I just get snot explosions in my nose every now and then."

Zoe is perfectly potty trained except when she wears clothing.

Zane just spent 20 minutes in his car seat lifting up his head and running his hand over the crocheted edge of his blanket. He looked so intense, his little brow furrowed, trying to keep that head up and those flailing hands under control. I'm sure it's normal but to me it's nothing short of miraculous to see such a little person so focused and engaged.

Meet my offspring

2011-10-26T07:00:00.000-05:00

"Goofball"

"Super-Pout"
(Seriously, does that lip look unhinged?)

"Cutie Pie!"

Dishes

2011-10-25T07:59:00.003-05:00

Jed volunteered to do the dishes for the first time last night. I figured he's old enough.

He thought it would get him out of a bath (which it did not) but he enjoyed himself nonetheless.

General Conference Saturday

2011-10-25T07:00:00.000-05:00

General Conference weekend we moved out our old (huge) piano, moved in our new (small) piano, reorganized the living room, and then set up in the corner our essential "General Conference Tent." As you can see, even though the room was spotlessly clean at one point that morning, we all settled in quickly. Notice I am the only one in the children's Conference Tent.

I was pooped after moving all that furniture! (Not to mention cleaning under the couches, which I do fairly often but it's still a daunting task.)

The tent was not spacious, and at one point we all HAD to get in it together which involved a lot of poky body parts and giggling. We didn't get much out of Elder Uchtdorf's talk, but we sure did have fun. :) Thank goodness for Conference magazines and podcasts, eh?

Zoe and I painted our toenails to celebrate. She LOVES painted toes!

What a great Saturday!

Zany Smiles

2011-10-24T07:00:00.000-05:00

Playing Babies

2011-10-23T07:00:00.000-05:00

Zoe emerged from her bedroom this particular morning with a number of friends in tow.

She loves her babies.

We love our babies, too.

Brothers

2011-10-22T07:00:00.000-05:00

Jed adores Zane, still, and loves to have photos taken of them together.

Even when they both get distracted, they seem pretty happy together.

A couple days ago, during quiet time Jed volunteered to "babysit" Zane for me while I took a nap. I wrapped Zane up in his blankie, strapped him into his bouncy seat, popped a binky in his mouth and figured he'd be asleep in five minutes. As I lay in my bed, I could hear Jed softly singing "Baby, baby..." and telling a little story to Zane. I fell asleep, cuddled up in bed with Zoe.
Then I was shaken awake by Jed, whose eyes shone with excitement. He jumped up and down, dying to tell me that "Mom, I taught Zane how to love cars and trucks and diggers and everything! Can you believe it?! He really likes it, Mom!" Jed dragged me into the bedroom, and sure enough as he knelt down and with shining eyes held up some little trucks, cooing at the baby, Zane looked up at him and a humongous smile crept across his tiny face. "Look, Mom, he loves it! His little toes are kicking he's so happy!" And sure enough, they were.

Mom and Kids

2011-10-21T21:26:00.000-05:00

We still love bedtime stories. I can't believe how big my little babies are. Remember this?

I love my kidlets.

Father and Son

2011-10-21T07:00:00.002-05:00

On the Pot

2011-10-18T06:59:00.000-05:00

The time has come for Zoe's potty training. I wait to potty train my kids until 1) their diapers can't hold it all anymore, and 2) they are susceptible to bribes. Zoe cleared both requirements 1 and 2 recently, and I've been amazed at how quickly she went from "NO. POTTY." shouting to willing and obedient potty-pants.

STAGE ONE: RESISTANCE
Not to say there wasn't a war in her spirit. The first few days, I would sweetly offer "Do you want to come go potty with Mommy? I have chocolate chips for you!" and then set a clear class jar with chocolate chips right at eye level in front of her on the counter.
Pause. "No potty."
Long, long pause. Much looking with large, desirous eyes at the chocolate.
She points at the chocolate chips. "I wan'."
I chirpily reply, "Then sit on your potty and I'll give you one!" (Everything about potty time is chirpy and cheerful.)
Frowns. "No."
A minute later, she points again.
"I wan'! I wan'!"
"Then just sit down right here and we'll read a book and eat chocolate chips together!"
"NO."
pause.
"No wan' sit."
"That's fine, sweetheart, you don't have to unless you want to."
"I WAN' I WAN' I WAN!" she shouts, stomping her darling little pink girl feet and waving her hand emphatically at the jar.
"All right! Then sit on your potty!"
She frowns at me and sulkily gives in. "All right. I sit."
Turns out that eating chocolate chips and reading books with Mom is pretty fun, though, and after only a day or two of my friendly offer she figured it out. Then we were on to the next stage of training.

STAGE 2 - MARATHON POTTYING
Now that she's figured out that the chocolate flows readily once she's on the pot, now she doesn't want to get off. I distinctly remember this same phase with Jed. I will say, this gets boring really fast. REALLY fast. My bathroom is very small and not very pleasant to spend time in (Though, I might add, very clean.) (In case you were wondering.) So here's where the brilliance shared by my dear friend Jean comes into play. See, she brought me to the light when she explained that mom doesn't even have to do any potty training once you're past your first child. The key is to have the big sibling do it. The house rule is, when Zoe sits on the potty, anyone else helping her get or stay on the potty ALSO gets a treat. Now, those who know Jed know that he takes after his daddy and he will do virtually anything to obtain chocolate. So, guess who's doing the potty training now?

Yep! As long as Jed sits there and reads Zoe books and sings her songs to keep her happy, I provide occasional chocolate chip rewards. It's pretty cute to stand outside the door and hear Jed "reading" books to her. (Imagine a raspy, sing-songy boy falsetto singing again and again "In the bathtub, out of the bathtub, in the bathtub, out of the bathtub! Look, Zoe, there's a bear!") I can get some housework done, only occasionally punctuated by Zoe's shouts for "Mo-uh! Mo-uh!"

STAGE 3 - ZOE KIND OF GETS IT
And before you know it, she's got it! As long as her cute little bum is naked, I'd say she's having about 85% success right now. Yesterday, she woke up dry, and she managed mostly success with only one small accident (she made it to the bathroom but I'd put some shorts on her and she didn't get them off in time) all the way until nap time at 1 PM.
Go Zoe Ann! Jed is excited because if she keeps it up for a week I promised that we could to get her some big girl panties, which I think is totally uninteresting to her but Jed is so excited about it he dances in place just thinking about it. "Zoe Ann's a BIG girl!" he crowed. And I suppose it's true.

A Visit to the Orchard

2011-10-09T08:12:00.003-05:00

This year, instead of preschool, we are doing "Friday FunDay" where we invite a bunch of friends with preschool/toddler aged kids to come with us on a fun activity. I've been surprised how popular it is and we usually have 20-25 moms and kids show up. This past Friday I set up a visit to a local orchard where we get our CSA. The weather was warm and beautiful and we had the most marvelous time.

Jed has a little buddy named Sophia who just moved into town from Connecticut. They are inseperable lately, so since I forgot a camera I asked her mom to send me some photos, and she did! They are so darling!

Jed and Sophia running in the corn maze.

Running! My philosophy is that when the weather is nice we should spend every FunDay doing as much running as possible.

Holding hands. He's such the ladies man.

Discussing which pumpkin we should take home. By the end of the day, Jed had made a heap of pumpkins in front of our car, one for each member of the family and sorted by size. He did a pretty great job, actually, we ended up getting all but one (I demanded the right to pick my own pumpkin!)

See saw and 'wing! (as Zoe would put it.)

We took a hayride through the orchard. When the tractor pulled up with the trailer Jed came tearing around the corner to where I was sitting, screeching with delight. I think his voice went up about three octaves. He was the FIRST in line to get onboard! And he was a big boy, he climbed the ladder on and of all by himself, a fact he was proud enough to recall and report to his dad later that evening

All of us on board. Zane wasn't quite as thrilled but he was his usual quiet peaceful little self.


Zoe learning about peach trees and where the flowers come from.

A whole gaggle of tiny girls in pink shirts attended this activity, and she kept running off with the pack of them (me: Has anyone seen Zoe? Someone: Yeah, I saw her run into the corn maze. Oh, great. A few minutes later she came running out, red cheeked and giggling with a group of little girls and, fortunately, another mom who is better at keeping track of pink toddlers than I am.) By the end of the day, her cheeks and face were so red it looked like she was going to pass out from too much fun and sun!

PS - If you are a local friend and would like to come with us on Friday FunDay, just let me know!

Smiley

2011-10-08T14:56:00.000-05:00

Zane Ephraim's Birth Story

2011-09-22T07:00:00.000-05:00

My eyes popped open at 2 AM. "Mywater has broken," I thought incoherently as I rushed upstairs. When I got to the bathroom, my pulse pounded but I realized, duh, mywater had clearly not broken since... I wasn't wet anywhere. But Icould feel a few mild contractions, real ones, not just Braxton/Hicks tightenings. After Isettled down a bit, I got myself some warm milk and went downstairsto rest. As for the past few days, sleep felt impossible because Ifelt like I had to dang pee every five minutes. I laid there awake,feeling contractions come and go.

Just the night before, at my Primary Presidencymeeting, I had announced that this baby was in no rush and I didn'tplan to have it any time soon. Too much to do! With Jed, birth hadbeen a violent, immediate whirlwind. But with Zoe Ann I had beenthrough weeks and weeks of early labor ("False" labor myfoot! It's the same as the real thing, it just doesn't goanywhere...) before she came all at once. So far, in this pregnancy,I'd had no early labor at all to speak of. I was still 9 days beforemy due date, and the pattern for my kids seemed to be later andlater.

So I lay there for a while, and triedto sleep through the contractions. When I laid down, they slowed, soI assumed they were doing nowhere. 14 minutes between contractionsdoesn't impress me much. But I was still getting up every fiveminutes to pee, so there was plenty of time to think about it. Forkicks, I downloaded a contractions timing app on M's cell phone (Hey! There's an app for that!) I finally got about an hour of sleep.

At 5:20 or so,I woke up, thecontractions resumed but were a little stronger. Hmmm. This couldbe it, I thought. As I lay there, I felt a little movement. I satup. The baby started to move. I've never felt movement like that --wiggling, turning, twisting, churning, arranging -- and at thatmoment I felt my baby communicate with me. I caught my breath. Thatmoving felt like talking, from child to mother, telling me that babywas getting in position because it was time. The night before, I'dbeen reading about pelvis structures and how the baby turns positionduring labor, and when the baby moved I could clearly feel it turninginto position, settling into the pelvis, ready for birth. (Lookingback, I think also it was baby moving his nuchal hand, since when hewas born and still 6 weeks later, he always rests with his hand upnext to his cheek. Thanks for moving that sucker, Zane, because Ireally don't ever want to birth a hand. I also think the nuchal handis why the baby never really dropped or had any early labor, he wascaught up too high.)

I went upstairs to take a shower. Taking a hot shower is my own personal birthing ritual, I don't knowwhy I like it so much, but I do. I felt calm, and a little excited. When I got out, the contractions were starting to rock and roll. Butthey were still much too short to be "real" labor (or so mytextbooks tell me) so I took my time. I went downstairs and sat next to Michael. it was about 5:50. He turned over groggily. "What are you doing up?" Ismiled a goofy grin. "I think it's baby time!" He jumpedout of bed, a giant smile on his face. "REALLY!? How far alongare you?" "Ummm, I 'm not sure exactly but it's movin'along."

He rushed upstairs. He knew as well asI did that we were totally unprepared for this. I'd done an excellentjob of making myself and everyone else sure that this baby was goingto come late. I had packed my bags a couple days before, but only inritual, not in actual anticipation. We still didn't have our newcarseats we ordered online (skinny ones to fit three across the back.) We hadn't setup anything. No idea where the crib was. Good thing Granny had sent us a huge box of diapers or we wouldn'thave any of those either. Laughing at ourselves, we startedgathering this and that. "Should I call my mom?" he asked. "Ummmm, I don't know." "Well, are you gettingclose?" "I don't know." At this point, Michaelbecame alarmed. He knows from experience and training that when Istart saying "I don't know" that I am heading intotransition. He called his mom. A few hard contractions later I wentin to him and said "I think you should call your mom." Giving me his sweetest "No DUH!" look he gave me a hug. "She's on her way."

I started moaning. Then I startedroaring. Michael became even more alarmed as I hung on him for eachcontraction. "Get out in the car!" he said. "No! Ihate the car!" There was no way I was having one of thesecontractions in the car. We went out in the driveway where I startedscaring the neighbors. They aren't used to a half-dressed roaringfat lady, even if we are a little redneck out here.

Michael called his mom. "Whereare you?" She was five minutes away, on I-164. "Michael,we HAVE TO GO I AM FEELING PUSHY!" He called her again, "Weare leaving the kids. We'll see you on the way!"

So I climbed in the car and we left Jed and Zoe sleeping in their beds. We wave to Grandma as she screams infrom the opposite direction. On the way there, as I'm howling awayin the passenger seat, Michael says "Well, are we going fastenough!?" I looked at the speedometer. 50 in a 30 zone. "NOGO FASTER!!!" He got it up to 70. This is why we go to theclose hospital. We screeched into the hospital labor entrance and Irun inside. The lady asks for my name. I lean over and put my headon her desk, roaring like a mad woman, and I'm pretty sure at thatpoint she said "Oh, my." Nurses started rushing in fromthe other rooms, hearing a familiar sound, and half carried, halfpulled me into triage. In the back of my mind I giggled. "Hey,I guess we CAN skip registration!"

Who is your doctor? Blanke. Get up onthe bed, we need to check you! I don't want a check. I want to squatbecause this baby is coming now. We ask for a squat bar. Theyrefrain from laughing in our faces and point out there really isn'ttime. She checks me, doesn't say a thing, mutters something to theother nurse and the room goes from busy to absolute chaos. It'sprecisely 6:30 AM, right at shift change for the nurses, and laterour nurse told me she came running in from the parking lot straightinto my room. Two minutes and two pushes later, my water breaks. one push later, and four minutes after arrival and "check in,"Baby Zane Ephraim Stanfill comes rushing into the world. Crying,shouting for joy, at the same time Michael and I proclaimed, "It'sa baby boy! Our own baby boy!"

Ten minutes later my panting doctorshows up. He didn't even know which patient I was, because at thetime of birth nobody knew my name.

By then, baby is happily nursing, I'mbeaming, the nurses are all giggling, and the sun is rising. What agreat day. Happy Birthday, Baby Zane!

Postscript: A few technical notesabout the birth. One of the best parts was thanks to an awesomenurse and plenty of craziness, I got to pull the baby right onto mychest after the birth and they let me keep him there, nursing dozilyand adoring him, for almost two hours, at which point the nurse saidthat administration had called her three times screaming for somestatistics so they can legally say the baby had been born and knowwho we were... so when we were done nursing would we mind letting herweigh and measure him? She had wanted to give us as much time as possible. I love that lady!

This birth I tested Group B Streppositive which had honestly been stressing me to the max. I had aninch thick sheaf of research ready to go to my Drs appointment later thatday (maybe the early birth was an act of mercy for Dr. Blanke,hahaha..) I knew there was no way I'd get the required four hourdose of antibiotics during labor, since I've never had a labor fourhours long. That puts me in the murky and unpleasant world of a)baby health uncertainty, and b) tortuous "hospital policy"that requires an expensive 48 hour stay, extensive testing, and ifthe baby so much as sneezes a possible 5 day NICU stay. Blessedly,though, since the birth was so fast and my water broke just as he wasborn, there was almost literally no exposure to the baby, so GBS wasno concern and we got to go home 12 hours after the birth.

My other concern was the glucose pricktest, which had been slightly nightmarish with Zoe since she was astubborn sleepy nurser. I'd done quite a bit of research on this,too, so I'd know when to refuse the 29 heel pricks and when to knowthey were necessary. Fortunately, again, in the madness, the nursesforgot to give him the test. Four hours later, one meekly came inand said, "Um, we kind of forgot this test... do you still wantit?" I laughed. No, he was nursing like a champ and red as abeet. But thanks anyway!

And lastly, though a precipitous birthis exciting and makes for a great story, Michael has stronglysuggested that we NEVER DO THIS AGAIN. Next time I have to wake himup earlier. I agree.

Babies

2011-09-21T21:52:00.004-05:00

Totally cute, even when he drools!

The other baby of the house uses the swing when Zane isn't in it.

Helper

2011-09-21T21:45:00.001-05:00

This has been a tiring week for me. I've been sick, Primary has been a huge morass of unfilled callings and upcoming events, and sleep deprivation has set in big time. But today I had the best helper ever.

In the morning, Jed shouted at me as I walked by with a load of laundry "Mom, is it ok if we use these wipes to clean the drawers? We hate these black spots. Also, we are going to clean the walls." Well, a woman can't turn down an offer like that! I offered spray bottles and sponges, which pretty much sent them over the moon with excitement. Before long all the walls had been sprayed down below three feet and surprisingly, much of it had been wiped down, too.

After lunch, we read books for quiet time. Zane sat bright eyed and bushy tailed in his baby bouncer. I sighed, wishing for a nap but realizing it probably wouldn't happen today. As I got up, though, Jed asked "Mom, can't baby stay with me? I will take really good care of him." Hmmmm. Seemed ill advised at first, but as I thought about it, I couldn't think why. Usually Zane slept by himself in the front room during quiet time. Jed takes excellent care of the baby and knows all the important things (never pick him up, never put anything over his face, etc.) and is probably better at keeping an eye on him than I am. (OK, he is better. Jed is a most solicitous elder brother and I am a fairly distracted mother.) So, I decided to give it a try. I told Jed that if the baby started to fuss, he should come gently tap me on the shoulder and I would come get Zane. "Don't worry, Mom, if he starts to cry I just put the binky in his mouth!" I left both bedroom doors open so I could keep a close ear out for how things were going in there from just across the hall. Baby cried for a second, the binky went in, and then he was quiet. After about 10 minutes I peeked in the door. Zane, bound up tightly in his blanket and strapped in his seat, sat there, alert, binky furiously wiggling in his mouth. Jed sat right in front of him with an array of toy trucks and machines, telling Zane a story in a quiet voice, occasionally punctuated with the appropriate sound effects. I checked in a little later and Zane was fast asleep, Jed sat on his bed reading books. Then I fall asleep. When I woke up 45 minutes later, everyone was right where I had left them. So lovely!

Fast forward to this evening. Michael was an hour late at work (they're at a busy time finishing off the quarter or somesuch), and I was running to tend the kids and get dinner on the table to eat during the 15 minute gap when we would all be home together before I was off to the church for meetings. I had both the kids up at the counter helping assemble the pizza, but Zane sat on the floor and cried and cried and cried. I knew he was hungry, and I just wasn't getting it all done in time. I looked at the pizza. I looked at Jed. "Jed, do you think you could put the pepperoni and sausage on for me?" "Sure Mom! The whole package?!" "Sure." I picked Zane up and sat on the couch, listening to Jed coaching Zoe in the kitchen. ("NO, Zoe, don't eat it all! Only one piece!") When he finished I went in to check and wow he had done a fabulous job. Then I asked him if he wanted to do the cheese. I continued nursing and he happily spread cheese all over the pizza and a portion of the floor, but really quite good for a first timer. "I put on extra cheese, Mom, because I know how much Dad loves cheese!" By the time Michael got in the door, the pizza was totally finished, the oven hot, and Zane's belly pleasantly full. We popped the pizza in and a five minutes later dinner was on the table. I never could have done it without Jed's help. He has really turned into an awesome little helper. Tonight I wrote him a little love note telling him how much I appreciated his help today. He likes that sort of thing.

Sleeping Cutie

2011-09-19T18:15:00.002-05:00

Quiet

2011-09-13T22:18:00.002-05:00

I just spent an hour sitting here on the couch, reading a good book with my baby nestled in my arms. He grunted and cooed at me, sometimes his little eyes fluttering shut, other times looking at me with a grave old-man gaze. Daddy is gone, siblings off to bed. I have a million other things to do, some very important things to do... But nothing seemed quite as lovely as spending a quiet hour, sitting here on this couch, enjoying my little babe.

Zane spends a lot of time in his swing or on his bouncy chair. I hate that. I try to carry him around whenever we are out. He lays on the table with us when we are eating. I take him from room to room with us when he is awake. I lay him on the floor in the morning so he can enjoy the company of his brother and sister. I want him to feel part of our family.

But so very rarely, it seems, do I get him all to myself. So for now, just this little moment, it's mommy and boy together. Quiet.

Booted Beauty Baking

2011-09-12T12:22:00.000-05:00

These Boots Were Made for Walkin'

2011-09-11T08:00:00.000-05:00

Zoe gets in touch with her Montana roots

Paw-pa Steve and his magic talisman

2011-09-10T11:56:00.000-05:00

The kids love snuggling into Papa Steve's lap with the well-beloved iPad-o'-fun. It's always hard to tell who enjoys it more, Grandpa or the kids!

Auntie Annie

2011-09-10T11:53:00.002-05:00

After another wonderful summer with Auntie Annie in town, we were sad to say goodbye this week. As a farewell present, she made herself and Zoe these darling matching watermelon aprons. Seeing as how Zoe loves all things frilly and sparkly, it was of course a hit. Little Zoe looks so much like Annie at the same age - short blondy hair, bright brown button eyes. She's going to miss her "Lella."

Annie, we will miss you so much. Come home soon!

My Beautiful Zane Baby

2011-09-07T13:32:00.001-05:00

Naming Mistake

2011-09-07T10:30:00.005-05:00

I realized the other day that we have made a major error in our child-naming strategy. As most of you know, our kids are all named after grandparents. But the problem arises when you start calling for them and it turns out all of their first letters are interchangeable with real names:

Jed - Zed
Zoe - Joey
Zane - Jane

Whoops.
Sorry, everyone for eternity.

Gestures of Love

2011-09-06T09:39:00.001-05:00

My darling toddler runs down the hallway, eyes alight, cheeks grinning. I hold out my arms as she approaches, ready to swing her into my lap and hug her with delight. But just as I'm about to pull her to me, she grabs my bare arm, wipes her disgusting snot coated nose up and down several times leaving a long booger-trail from wrist to elbow, and gallops away back to her playtime. Yes, I am "Mommy," the living handkerchief.

Painting

2011-09-06T07:00:00.000-05:00

Brothers

2011-09-05T21:50:00.002-05:00

Say Ah!

2011-09-02T20:02:00.000-05:00

Jed Eyes

2011-09-02T10:05:00.001-05:00

Jed's trademark eye thing.

We can do it too!

Baby Love

2011-09-02T10:01:00.005-05:00

The kids still passionately adore their baby brother. One of their favorite things is "tummy time" when the baby lays on a blanket on his belly. Ooooo, then everybody needs a blanket and some tummy time! They lay there in a row, taking turns laying way too close to the baby and sticking their faces way too close to his and shouting way too loud in his face... and it's so darling I can't say no. Zane will be a very well socialized child. And he will be able to sleep through a hurricane.

Jed prays for Zane every night. "And please bless the baby that he will love cars and that he will love blue like his big brother and play with me when he grows up." Every day I find little car offerings left on Zane's lap in the baby swing. I've been surprised how he's latched on to the "brother" concept, since he always has been crazy about his sister and adamantly said he wanted a girl baby. But now he seems plenty pleased with another boy.

Jed begs to have Zane lay on the table with us for every meal. The kids coo and giggle and tickle his toes, and he doesn't seem to mind a bit, in fact it settles him down when he's fussy. The only hard and fast rule is that his head must be closest to Jed so they can gaze adoringly at one another over the peanut butter sandwiches.

Zoe giving the baby some extra love after our meal.

Cheesy grin!

Zoe's Cool

2011-09-01T10:55:00.002-05:00

I posted this on Google+ and my brother's comment made me laugh:
"She's rockin' a brand of cool that I think completely skipped me somehow. I shake my fist at genetics."
I totally second that. So it skipped you... does that mean the coolness comes from Dad?

Granny Zo'An

2011-09-01T10:53:00.000-05:00

My best friend, my mom, came to visit. She left two days ago, and left a big hole in my heart and in our house. We love you, Granny!

The baby just LOVES photo time with Mom and Granny!

Granny and Jed have a special bond. And matching cheesy grins.

Granny started calling Zane our little "dead dog" whenever he collapsed to sleep. Now Jed calls our darling baby brother "The Dead Duck." Not sure how I feel about that.

She's so pretty.

Look what I made!

Silly Faces!

2011-08-17T13:50:00.000-05:00

Jed and Zoe skyped with their 5 year old cousin Paloma down in Southern California the other day, and she taught them to make this silly face. Now they walk around all day, see-sawing their elbows up and down, laughing til they're sick at how ridiculous each other looks. Too bad Paloma lives so far away, I know she would be Jed's very best friend. They totally hit it off, even a gajillion miles apart over a fairly pixelated connection. Hooray for cousins!

Chocolate Snot Beauty Queen

2011-08-17T13:33:00.000-05:00

Even filthy-faced, she manages to look gorgeous. I believe here we have a layer of smoothie, topped with chocolate frosting daubed here and there and finished off with a varnish of snot to give it that lovely sheen.

Dinner Outside

2011-08-17T13:27:00.000-05:00

The weather has cooled off deliciously here, after a scorching hot July, and just in time our air conditioning gave it's final death rattle. We decided to eat outside, since it was cooler out in the carport than in our dining room! You know Jed loves nothing better than a picnic.

Look at that beautiful baby hair. So soft and it smells like heaven.

Zane's first picnic!

Snuggling with my big baby boy.

We love eating dinner AND riding bikes all at the same time, while driving our father insane.

Yummy chocolate cake for dessert.

Gotta get that last drop!

Chocolate biker deep in thought.

Scary

2011-08-14T16:29:00.001-05:00

Zoe pranced into the room looking like this.

I never wear lipstick.

I don't know how she figured out where it goes.

I tried to get her to smile and look cute.

You know, like a little girl.

This is what I got.

Scary.

Papa Gary

2011-08-10T07:00:00.001-05:00

Slumber

2011-08-09T15:57:00.000-05:00

Clean

2011-08-09T15:56:00.002-05:00

After his first bath, which he did NOT enjoy, Zane lays quietly in his father's arms.

Uncle Eric

2011-08-08T13:09:00.000-05:00

Wholly by chance, the very morning we welcomed our little Zane into the family, my dad and brother had set off to come visit us here in Indiana. My brother Eric is moving to Boston so they thought they'd come have some fun before the baby came. Well, plans changed, and they arrived the day after Zane was born. The Dowdle Men have been a huge help cleaning up the house, entertaining the kids, bonding with baby, and generally loving us up during the big transition. They left this morning, and I will admit I was more than a little teary to see them go. The good news is that everyone already made plans to come visit in 11 days -- to work around Zane's supposed arrival date -- so we'll get to have them back again soon.

(Uncle Eric took a vow of non-shaving for the trip. Zoe and Jed were amazed by his "cheek spikes.")

(Hi Zane!)

Father and Son

2011-08-08T13:01:00.000-05:00

Ma Beebee

2011-08-06T17:19:00.000-05:00

Lap!

Nose!

Zane Comes Home

2011-08-06T17:16:00.000-05:00

We don't really love hanging out at the hospital. It's cold, the beds are uncomfortable, the food appallingly bad, and people keep waking me up. So about 12 hours after Zane joined us, we checked ourselves out and came home to our favorite two small people. They were more than a little thrilled to meet their new best friend.

Jed just beams with love for his new brother.

At last -- my baby in my lap! Zoe with baby is like a cat going nuts over catnip. So far her body slam hugs and enthusiastic caresses haven't crushed or popped off any limbs, but its not for trying. She loves this baby... with her whole body and soul!

(Holy moly look at those big girl feet!)

Baby Zane

2011-08-04T15:01:00.001-05:00

Zane Ephraim Stanfill

Born this morning at 6:35 AM after a whirlwind labor, 9 days early.

Weighs 8 pounds even, 20.5 inches long.

He has curly dark hair, chubby pink cheeks, and feet so long they barely fit on the footprint ink pad! So far he seems healthy as can be and is nursing like a champion.

We are crazy in love already. Happy Birthday, Baby Zane!

Baby Zane Ephraim!

2011-08-04T10:09:00.000-05:00

He's here!!

Lately

2011-08-02T11:15:00.000-05:00

This month, our Primary and homeschool theme has been temples. Yesterday, while driving around in the car, Jed, said: "Mom, every night before I go to sleep all I do is lay in bed and think about temples." Then Sunday, during church, he leaned over and whispered "Mom, I'm not thinking about Jesus. Instead I am thinking all about different kinds of temples." Well, I suppose I can't complain about that.

Last night for Family Home Evening, Michael gave a lesson on babies, how to hold them and be gentle, how we care for them, etc. Much of it focused on how one can gently hold the baby in one's lap, as long as one asks a parent to help first. Since we are in a fevered Baby Frenzy over here, the lesson was very popular. This morning, at breakfast, for no apparent reason Zoe set down her toast and scowled at me. "I want BABY!" she demanded. I laughed. "I'll get you the baby as soon as I can, promise, Zoe!" She scowled again. "I want baby!" Then she patted her thighs emphatically. "I want baby LAP! Want baby! LAP!" She continued to shout and slap her legs, absolutely convinced that I am withholding the baby from her in some cruel parental manner. She doesn't care how I get it, she just wants to hold her baby. Now!

Zoe's 2nd Birthday

2011-07-29T09:04:00.003-05:00

This year, I was leaning towards making Zoe a carrot cake until Jed discovered my plans and absolutely insisted that Zoe MUST have a "Pink Princess Cake." So we found some strawberries in the fridge and I made her a little 6" strawberry pink lady cake. She sat on the counter with me and licked at every step, just for quality assurance you know.
Rather than decorate the cake in some fancy and fashionable method, I thought it would be fun to let the kids decorate the cake themselves. And boy did they love it. First a rather messy layer of cream cheese frosting, topped with several kinds of sprinkles and every candle we could find. Prettiest cake I've ever seen!

You may note the thick layer of cream cheese coating Zoe's cheeks. Ooooo, she loves making her own birthday cake!

Jed's getting ready for the party! He picked out the balloons (red and pink for Zoe, blue and green for him) and a valentine's day "kisses and loves" tablecloth because it was pink and we all love Zoe so much.

Jed made her the traditional pink crown.

Cheesy grin!

Licking off the candles, an essential part of every birthday party. Actually, this cake had its candles taken off and licked several times while mom wasn't looking before the party itself, but we patched it over all right. What's a little extra moistness matter when it's all in the family, right?

This year we decided to make all homemade gifts for Zoe's birthday. Jed wanted to make Zoe a dolly and picked out this pattern himself. He chose all the fabric and helped me cut and stuff the baby. He insisted on pink hair. We had so much fun working on it in the afternoon while Zoe was still napping! A secret surprise!

She loved the pink hair. The doll goes in and out and in and out of the little swaddle pouch (Zoe is ALL about swaddling her babies, she must remember her own babyhood when she loved to be swaddled so much.)

I made her a little doll blanket and pillow set, with a secret treasure pocket. I gave her a few little trinkets to hide.

One other little gift I picked up at a garage sale was a pair of frilly dress-up shoes. You know the type, slip-on princess heels with a little rhinestone heart and bow. She went crazy over them and immediately fell down a flight of stairs trying to follow Jed into the basement. They kind of disappeared after that. We already did the "falling down stairs and breaking collarbone right about the time the new baby is born" thing once before. No need for a repeat performance. They were pretty darn cute though.
And here was the highlight of the evening - her daddy made her this amazing dolly bed that perfectly matches her own! Every night we put her dollies to bed, it's so much fun. He's pretty much the best dad ever. She'll be playing with it for years.

We love you, Zoe Ann! You are still the little ray of sunshine in our home every day. Thanks for the two best years!

Red head

2011-07-29T09:00:00.001-05:00

Zoe put on some major style moves while opening presents from Grandma and Grandpa Stanfill for her early birthday. She looks pretty good as a little orphan Annie redhead, don't ya think?

Morning with Zoe

2011-07-28T15:51:00.001-05:00

Zoe woke up early on Saturday, while Jed slept in, so she got Mom and Dad all to herself.

Here she is singing a little song to the baby and giving my belly a big hug.

My Bad Habit

2011-07-27T15:45:00.000-05:00

I have a confession to make. I've developed a bad habit. And it looks like this:

After we moved Zoe into Jed's room, I had to make up a new nap routine for her, especially since it coincided with me weaning her. I decided to try snuggling her into my bed for naps so Jed could continue to have his quiet play time in their room. To my surprise, it worked. Unlike Jed, who would rather use me as a punching bag/trampoline than ever sleep in my presence, Zoe has loved our new naptime routine.
My original plan was to slowly teach her to fall asleep by herself on the bed, and that worked for a while, but the problem is... I am really tired. And I almost always fall asleep first! Pretty soon I was addicted -- falling asleep with a small soft arm clutched around your neck, soft pink lips pressed against your cheeks, it's heaven I say.

So now we take a nap together every day. I don't know how that will work with the baby coming, but at this point, I don't even care. Naptime has become the most precious mommy/daughter time for us, and I can't give it up!

You can't tell me you wouldn't love all this darlingness cuddled up in your bed, too!

Now when Michael is home, he asks with big puppy eyes if HE can do quiet time with Zoe that day, so he can have some snuggle time, too. I'm happy to share. She's such a sweetheart and moments like this you have to cherish. I know she won't be a toddler forever.

Wash da bubb-os!

2011-07-25T10:43:00.000-05:00

Zoe washes her hands about 25 times a day. She loves the bubb-os.

A few thoughts on Jed

2011-07-25T08:45:00.000-05:00

Jed is ordering Zoe about to go look for his missing puzzle piece. Right now he is directing her to look under the couch. He sounds exactly like his mother. But I suppose at least he is doing it politely.

This morning he came up to me and said:
"Mom, I went ahead and spilled some water on the kitchen floor so you could clean it."
Gosh, thanks, Jed. Do you think the floor needs to be cleaned?
"Yes, mom, but you should sweep it first."

Another favorite Jed phrase is, "Wasn't it nice of me to...?" Anytime he does something even remotely praiseworthy, he immediately comes over to mom or dad and says "Wasn't it nice of me to carry my dish over to the sink?" or "Wasn't it nice of me to not take that toy away from my sister?" or "Wasn't it nice of me to put my underpants on all by myself?" Apparently he is lacking in positive reinforcement. Cute, but kind of ridiculous at time when he picks out any old thing he does and suggests that we need to praise him to the skies: "Wasn't it nice of me to walk across the room to you?"

Jed's shyness can be at times embarrassing. Yesterday he got a new teacher in Primary. For Pioneer Day we had taken all the chairs down and the kids were sitting on quilts around a little "campfire." I led singing time, and chose one of Jed's favorite songs "The Handcart Song" and we all pretended to push our handcarts. All the kids were up singing and giggling except for one -- my son, who was curled up on the floor like a turtle with his face glued to the floor. The teacher looked at me with a raised eyebrow. I shrugged, "Just leave him," there's nothing you can really do at that point for my stubborn headed little offspring. One would think he was crippled socially for life. Seriously, there is nothing less enjoyable than a birthday party with this child, one would think he was having his fingernails ripped out every time an amusing party game was introduced.

But flash back a few days earlier and there's the mail-lady at the door, trying to drop off a package, and my son has opened the door and trapped her in one of his friendly, eternal monologues, this time regarding our cars, who drives them, where they go, which ones we have sold, which ones we plan to sell, how long we've had them, how fast they drive, the minivan we plan to buy and how we plan to flip the cars to get there, etc. etc. etc. She must have politely stood there and listened for 20 minutes as the kid yakked her ear off, completely comfortable to tell this stranger the most intimate automotive details.

The ladies at the checkout lane at Aldi might as well be his best friends for life the way he greets and informs them of his latest life details each week. Old men standing in line behind us, people attempting to shop in peace, at the grocery store they are all his prey and subject to the most esoteric of discourses. Even better is if he can get a new adult into the house, where he can then proceed to show off all his latest "now I'm 4 years old!" tricks -- jumping up in the air with both feet, headstands on the couch, "flipping" various objects into the air and around the house. He is a veritable carnival of childhood delight, each trick performed with large, shining eager eyes looking to see how impressed the new victim must be at his accomplishment.

There is no shyness in this child at all. So what's with the turtle pose at church?

Growing Again

2011-07-10T16:50:00.000-05:00

Everyone's been eating and falling down around here a lot, and that usually means we're growing!

Today we marched Jed up against the wall and gave him a check: 43 1/2", which puts him in the 88th percentile for height. He's grown a solid 2 inches in the five months since his birthday. He moved into new church shoes and pants today.

Zoe has grown, too! She's 34" tall now, and she has grown over an inch just in the last three months! She's only in the 60th percentile, but she's definitely taller than most of her friends and her long toes touch the end of her size 6 shoes.

Both these Stanfill-skinny kids look taller than their actual height. Last week at the pool a lady asked me if Zoe was the same age as her... 3 year old?! Gah! Mine hardly even talks yet, woman, give her some time to be a baby! What really threw me was when a friend's visiting grandma asked Jed if he was in Kindergarten or First Grade. Even though he is a sober little old man, and talks like he's 70, I still think of Jedster as my little tiny guy, and it shocked me to think other people perceive him as so grown up.

Meanwhile, the one who's really growing is... Mom. At my last checkup, which was just over a week ago, I got measured and weighed. You're supposed to gain a pound and grow a centimeter on average per week. In 3 weeks I had gained only 2 lbs but grown 5.5 cm! Yep, it's not just my imagination... the baby's huge! I am hungry all the time, and back to the ol' first trimester joy of getting nauseous if I don't eat very regularly and in large quantities. I worry that the baby might come early. This would be bad because Michael has to travel the next three weeks. We would really like the baby to wait until its own appointed time -- we're just not ready yet!

Princess

2011-07-08T14:07:00.000-05:00

At nearly 2 years old, Zoe revels in the full glory of womanhood. I love how she overflows her car seat in sequined and ruffled opulence.

All Dressed Up

2011-07-04T08:03:00.000-05:00

The kids all dressed up for Memorial Day church.

Jed's First Talk

2011-06-28T21:51:00.000-05:00

Sunday before last, Jed gave his first talk in Primary. This year, all our talks are scripture stories. Jed wanted to give his talk about Moroni burying the golden plates. Here is what we came up with:

Moroni had a special book, his daddy's book called the Book of Mormon. He knew that the bad guys were coming after him and that they would want to take his book and destroy it. So we went up to the top of the Hill Cumorah. He dug a big hole. He put rocks all around the side and bottom so the book wouldn't get dirty. He put the book, his sword, and the eyeglasses* in the box. Then he pushed a big rock over the top so the bad guys would never, ever find it.

Jed memorized the whole thing and we had little hand motions to go with each line. The day before his talk, we went down to the church and he practiced at the microphone. He did great! That Sunday, Sis. Bunting called his name and he marched right up to the podium with a big smile. He went up to the microphone, looked out confidently, and then saw all those kids staring at him... and got very, very shy. I went up with him to help when I saw him shrinking, but by then his head had already hit the podium top and he couldn't lift it up. With some urging, he finished the talk, but most of it was muttered into my chest with a barely audible amen. Poor little guy was a bit shaken, but I was still proud that he had learned his talk so well and finished it, even if it was harder than he expected.

*He got a little confused about the Urim and Thummim interpreter stones and really latched onto the idea that later they were used like eyeglasses. So we just ran with that.

Zoe Ann at nearly 2 years old

2011-06-25T15:40:00.002-05:00

Shake It

2011-06-25T15:34:00.000-05:00

For FHE we played this silly "shake the ping pong balls out of the box" game from Minute-to-win-it. Look at those cute booties!

A Slightly Dull Pregnancy Update (for those who are interested)

2011-06-23T11:13:00.000-05:00

People keep asking me how my pregnancy is going. And I suppose the answer is perfectly fine! Truth is, this has been a great pregnancy from my perspective. Sometimes I wonder because in my past pregnancies, I've always got lots of comments on how great I look, how cute I look pregnant, etc. but this time around all I get is worried comments: "How are you feeling?" and "Are you feeling ok?" and "How is the baby doing?" so apparently with number 3 I look like heck, but I feel great! I did have one lady tell me at the beginning of the pregnancy that I was a beautiful pregnant woman, so I keep clinging on to that (thanks Margaret!)

As a side note, there is only one thing you should ever tell a pregnant woman: "You look great!" Because that's all she really wants to hear.

I've had only a little sickness, and then only when traveling, and I've been sleeping much, much better this time around. (For those who don't know, I have had horrible insomnia with my last two pregnancies. I've still had a little this time, but so much less severe I don't feel like a walking zombie all the time!) I am carrying a 5 more pounds this time around (no thanks to a month of stomach flu, which always makes me hungry, and Christmas right at the beginning of my pregnancy) but I am right on with my weight gain, to the point of perfection. I have a little swelling but nothing severe. I always measure exactly 2 weeks large at my checkups, which is the same as with Zoe.

The most wonderful thing is that thanks to a fabulous physical therapist who helped me figure out my sacroiliac joint pain after Zoe's birth, I have had little to no pain so far, which has made the whole pregnancy a gajillion times more pleasant. Apparently as soon as I get pregnant all my ligaments decide to completely stop doing their job and my whole back/pelvis falls apart. She gave me exercises and corrections I can do myself, so when I do get out of alignment I can get myself back in and the pain goes away in a day or two. So I can sit and walk without extreme discomfort, as in pregnancies past, and it has made everything much easier on me! I am loosening up more and more as time goes by, so it will be a little worse I know, but we only have what, 7 or 8 weeks left? I can handle that.

As far as preparations, I ashamedly confess I have done hardly any. Our babies usually sleep in a pack 'n play in the bedroom with us. I have plenty of blankets and clothes from babies past, I have baby carriers, and um, besides two bosoms what else do you really need? OK, I guess we do need two new carseats (to fit three across in the car) and a few packs of newborn diapers, but otherwise I'm feeling pretty lazy about the whole affair. Truthfully, I haven't given the baby a lot of thought so far. I can only imagine what it's like when you have even more kids running around, you might forget you were pregnant for months at a time!

Lately, though, the baby has started kicking hard enough to make me stop and catch my breath, and that makes me realize that 51 days is NOT very long, and it makes me more than just a little bit excited to see our brand new baby number three. The kids and I have been reading books and watching movies about brand new babies. Jed made up a little song that he sings in a high little falsetto while rubbing my belly every morning:
"Baby I love you
I love you now
Come out soon
Little baby!"

Tuesday Morning

2011-06-23T10:42:00.001-05:00

Just another morning at our house. Zoe and I were just getting over a little intestinal bug, and Michael had just come down with it so everyone was home together, and the kids LOVED having daddy home for the day!
Breakfast is nearly always some variation on eggs, smoothie, and toast. Here Jed and Zoe are hiding underneath the little bar, waiting for mom to finish breakfast because Zoe was "Hong-ee!"

During breakfast I got out my clipboard with my planning for the day. Thanks to my mother's diligent instruction on "time management" as a child, I am almost compulsive about my daily lists. (Thanks, Mom!) I've been through many different methods, but a couple years ago my friend Tessie gave a lesson on prioritizing based on this training, and I have used it every day since. (Thanks, Tessie!) I also try to have a weekly planner at the back of my clipboard so I can see what's going on. So, anyway, when I pulled out my list, here is what I found on yesterday's list:

And here's what I found on the blank page I'd put out for today:

These little drawings that pepper my papers (and occasionally, but hopefully no longer, my furniture) make me smile every time. Everyone in Jed's world is so happy. Anyone with sticky-up hair is male (like dad) and everyone with smoothed down hair is female (like mom.) Also, lots of cars. The word "bad" is supposed to be "dad" and you can see where Jed has labeled his own handprint.
After breakfast and planning we have a little devotional. I want to start doing some simple kindergarten homeschooling with Jed in the fall, and over the summer I am slowly building it into this post-breakfast time. Ever day we work on our memorization scripture for the month (I hope to move to weekly in the fall), read some scriptures (just hit 200 pages in the Book of Mormon this year!), sing our song of the week, then sing a few more songs we like, discuss our manners/behavior topic for the week, carry over our dishes, and then do our "morning chores" before we can go run and play for the day. Here are the kids doing a little drawing right after the devotional while I clean up the dishes.

And you can imagine where they ran as soon as those chores were done!

Lunch

2011-06-22T07:28:00.002-05:00

Popcorn Mustache

2011-06-18T08:32:00.002-05:00

Sometimes things get a little dull in the back seat.

Summer Fun

2011-06-16T22:11:00.003-05:00

The kids and I have been on a major summer-fun binge. "Friday Fun Day" has expanded to become "Wednesday-Thursday-Friday-Saturday Fun Days" to the point that my housekeeping has become a disaster and dinner lately has been sandwiches more often than I'd like to admit. But boy are we having fun! Gotta fit it in because we only have... 58 days?! (*Gah! Ack! Runs around like chicken little in a panic!*) Here are a few fun things we have been doing:

1. Library. Jed and I love books. (Zoe does, too, but she insists on holding them herself and shouts at us if we read the words to her, so it's not quite as much fun for the rest of us.) We signed up for the summer reading program, which so far as I can tell is merely a way to initiate children into gambling at an early age. (Really? You get to enter a raffle every time? In what way is that possibly motivating to a 4 year old, let alone a nearly 2 year old? And then they get to pick for the "number of the day" which they never, ever get. Oh well. At least the kids still get excited about going and seeing the librarian mark their paper with the sponge marker.) I think it's silly, we just like going to the library anyway. Jed and I have been reading so many fun "big kid" books lately, like Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle and Mr. Popper's Penguins. We also really loved Pippi Longstocking until he got scared by the strongman at the circus and then we had to stop.

2. Outside. Every day we try to have an hour of morning "outside time." We have a nice big kiddie pool and the sprinkler out there. Usually Zoe is in the pool, filthy and wet, within ten minutes. I get a surprising amount of gardening done in an hour. We let the chickens out and it's Jed's job to keep them out of the garden. His method usually involves shrieking for me and waving the hose madly at them, it's pretty fun to watch.

3. Walking. I have been nervous about how I will exercise with three little ones, but this week Jed has gone hog wild for bike riding! He has improved leaps and bounds lately. Yesterday we went to a big empty parking lot and he rode with some more experienced girls, which helped him catch the vision of longer distance, less-whiny riding. He rode and rode and rode for hours until I thought his little legs would fall off.
Then today a friend and I went walking up the river trail from Lock and Dam Park, which involves going up a very long, very steep hill, and Jed made it the entire way up! What a trooper! Going down the other side was a little dicey, but he made that too. I am excited for him but even more excited for me! I will still be able to get out and enjoy walking with him biking alongside after the baby comes.

4. Swimming. A couple of our friends have backyard pools and let us come swim in the afternoons on occasion. What a delight, we are so grateful it is free and fun with so many good buddies for the kids. Zoe can stand up by herself! Jed can dunk his whole body now!

5. Splash Park. We went last week with another group of friends. I was ticked because the YMCA summer camp took over the whole place (Um, don't you have your OWN private pool?) but we all still thoroughly enjoyed the cool spray and fun toys. Zoe had a "big girl" on each hand the whole time and she could not have possibly been in greater toddler-heaven. Jed kind of missed having his own sister-buddy all to himself, but he finally settled in and had a great time too. He is very, very attached to his Zoe. When he has her hand in his, he is the big kid and he can do anything. When she runs off with some other big girl, it's kind of hard for him and he gets a bit sad and shy. Sweet little boy, I love him.

6. Parade. We went to the ShrinersFest parade last Saturday, which I declare the most perfect children's parade ever. Emergency vehicles! Convertibles of every variety! Huge horses and miniature horses pulling wagons! Clowns in tiny racecars! Clowns in big painted buses! Silliness galore! Only 25 minutes long! And just one candy for each kid at the end, perfect indeed. Those Shriners really know their stuff. Jed particularly loved that EVERY BMW WAS BLUE, HIS FAVORITE COLOR. It's kind of disturbing that he can identify BMWs at age 4, but then I look at my husband and his father and it all makes sense.

7. Picnics. The weather finally cooled off a bit so we've been eating lunch, dinner, and sometimes even breakfast out on the picnic table (AKA The World's Best Picnic Table, Thank You Michael!) in our carport. Heaven!

I know I've forgetting a half dozen other fun things we've done, but you get the idea. Fun fun fun run run run morning noon and night. Better enjoy it now, kids, because when the new baby comes it's all shuttin' down.

Sugar and Spice

2011-06-13T21:58:00.003-05:00

Nice:
At dinner, Zoe sang me the darlingest song that Jed taught her, "I love you, I love you, I love you Mommy!"

Not so nice:
If I said thank you, or smiled, or so much as glanced at her, she would stop singing, scowl ferociously, and shout, "STOP! No way!" Only when I obediently looked away, smile erased, would she cheerily again begin to sing.