He's FIVE

B-day boy.  I'm grateful Ryan is so easy to please.  He asked for the same cake as last year--a rainbow in a blue sky.  It's just that this time he wanted clouds.  I surprised him with marshmallow clouds and he thought I was the best...

Transformer present

 Favorite breakfast--German Pancakes

What 5-yr-old asks for LOBSTER for his birthday dinner???

First day of Pre-K

Bubble fun with Dad

She's TWO

Hi.  Remember us?  We now have a working computer and an ability to upload our photos....

Remember that cute little bunny from a year and a half ago?  She's TWO now.  :)

She loves to wear this "guckie" (cookie) shirt and hammed up for a photo op.  :)

The birthday girl with the blanket Mom made her.

Kisses!

Happy Easter!

More

I couldn't resist posting a few more from another folder earlier this month...

Note Ryan's coniving smile/eyebrows and his tight grip, ready to squeeze with all he's got, on Annick. He just can't contain his excitement/energy with Annick and it never ceases to scare me.
We had one great snow day and all bundled up for a sledding adventure. Of course it lasted all of 10 minutes before Ryan was bawling about snow in his boot. Such is a day out with a 3-yr-old. You just have to hold onto the 10-minutes of fun.

March

Here is our fantastic St. Patty's Day Feast--green shamrock waffles, green eggs, green milk, green-skinned pears, and very red strawberries. :)

Ryan loves Dr. Seuss and was proud to make a Cat-in-the-Hat Hat.

Sweet little Annick is growing up way too fast. For the most part during the day she is all smiles. She loves anyone and everyone and is mostly content as can be. I can't get over her beautiful smiles. They're an almost constant feature of her face.

Even more constant than her smiles, Annick's blasted eczema is spreading by the day. Each week I get more and more hopeful trying some new thing, and each time I'm disappointed. The poor girl is covered in red spots, and the one on her left cheek has been there since mid-February. It is so sore and nasty!

Besides trying different creams, oils, lotions, laundry detergents, medications, soaps, & clothing materials, I'm trying to make dietary changes to hopefully uncover a food sensitivity. I've been doing 100% no dairy for 2 weeks now and seen no improvement. I'm currently gearing up to go gluten-free within the next few days. That's something I've wanted to try for years now, but couldn't MAKE myself take the plunge without a better reason than doing it for myself. I'm hopeful, yet again, that this new goal will make an impact on the eczema, and also potentially be good for me!

March weather is always a surprise. Last week Annick really needed this huge coat, and today--her first short sleeves ever! Oh my goodness you wouldn't believe what the SUNshine did for my mood today. I dropped Ryan off at preschool and then took Annick on a walk around Frog Pond 4x. It was basically the first exercise I've gotten since she was born. It was SO wonderful. I'm going to miss Frog Pond. :(

February Pics

Here are some fairly recent pictures to keep the family up to date.

This is the Valentines pictures I took for the grandparents, intending to post it on Valentines...

Sweet little Sunday girl.

Ryan was very excited to make a bridge over his sister.

On this day Ryan begged me to "wrap his towel like Daddy's". He was ridiculously proud (and shivering).

A Christmas Story

This was my Christmas:

7 ½ hours in the ER with a very sick baby. Lots of tears, tests, poking, proding, screaming, X-rays, puking, bleeding, etc. Humming and singing, “I am a Child of God” in English and in French to Annick hundreds of times. Nurses and doctors needing to do way more work on not showing their emotions/worries for the state of their patients! Disappointment at realizing we’d be in the hospital a few days and needed to cancel our trip scheduled for the states. Pneumonia. RSV. A month’s worth of weight lost. Sad, lonely Momma worried about her baby and missing her boys at home having a less-than-exciting Christmas dinner with half the family missing. And amidst all the drama…peace, calm, gratitude, and answered prayers.

For Christmas this year my dad wanted to give us all a gift of gratitude. He wanted us all to do the “Gratitude Challenge” mentioned in the 1^st Presidency message of the December Ensign. They suggest writing down 100 things you’re grateful for, breaking them down like this:

10 physical abilities you are grateful for

10 material possessions you are grateful for

10 living people you are grateful for

10 deceased people you are grateful for

10 things about nature you are grateful for

10 things about today you are grateful for

10 places on earth you are grateful for

10 modern inventions you are grateful for

10 foods you are grateful for

10 things about the gospel you are grateful for

As I held my sweet little sick girl and cried, this challenge came to my mind. I forgot about my breaking back & trip cancellation and had faith that things would improve quickly. So as I swayed from side to side with a worn-out baby in my arms I started my mental list of 10’s. The time went more quickly. I felt recognized and loved by the Lord. I knew He was aware of a sad mommy and baby feeling alone and worried in the hospital. And after two more days in the hospital I can easily say that despite the trauma of the whole experience, what I felt most was peace. I felt grateful to have some quiet alone time with Annick and felt needed and loved by her. That’s a feeling I’d been waiting for for a long time, and since then I’ve felt much more connected to her—something I’d been praying for. It’s neat how the Lord answers our prayers in the most unexpected ways.

So for my dad, who thinks I never listen…I do. Thanks for the gift of gratitude.