ONE GIRL!
ONE BOY!
Monday, May 26, 2008
Friday, May 23, 2008
The Mommy Minute
I write a little column for the Beaver County Journal twice a month. Mostly I just chronicle my adventures as a new mom. Some people have requested to read it, so here's the article that was published in this week's edition:
Baby Steps
A couple weeks ago, my baby took her first steps! As any parent of a toddler can attest, reaching this milestone was no easy feat. First, she had to learn how to stand up. Who knew that balance could be so tricky? Then, she had to be brave enough to shift her weight to one foot and move the other one forward…all at the same time! Wow! And of course, she had to be willing to take some falls.
As I watched this whole learning process unfold (all the while feeling so proud and praying that she didn’t break anything), it occurred to me that learning to walk is a great metaphor for life.
Sometimes we are faced with a challenge that seems so big that we don’t know where to start. We think, “This is scary and I’ve never done it before, what if I fail?” We imagine all the things that could go wrong and see nothing but the stuffed animals strewn along our path ready to trip us up. So what do we do? How do we push ourselves to take that first step toward reaching our goal?
I think if my daughter could say more than 4 words (baba, dada, mama, and up) she would say that the secret is to keep trying, no matter how many times you fall. As I watched her go from wobbly to making 180 degree turns with ease, I was amazed at my daughter’s persistence. Every time that she lost her balance and ended up sitting on her Pampers, she got right back up again, usually with a grin on her face. Occasionally, a little wail was called for, but she never sat down and gave up thinking, “What’s so wrong with crawling anyway?” She had a goal. She knew she was ready. She knew she could get the hang of it with enough practice. And now, two short weeks later, she practically runs down the driveway anytime someone opens the front door and I no longer have to scrub the stains out of the knees of her pants! Success!
So here’s what I think: despite all its joys, Mommyhood can sometimes feel like one challenge after the other. It can seem like doing laundry and making lunches and being a taxi driver and trying to tell our teenager that their curfew is midnight not 12:01 (for the 100th time) is just too much to handle. We can start to think that maybe having kids who never brush their teeth or eat mac and cheese for every meal isn’t such a bad thing. What’s so wrong with crawling anyway? And then we remember that we have a goal. We want the best for our kids. And we also know that every step we take in the right direction helps mold our children into the best people that they can be. Every time we walk with them down the path of honesty, patience, cleanliness, or whole grain snacks, we do something worthwhile. So, amidst the challenges and changes, we follow the example of brave children everywhere as we stand up, take a breath, and put one foot in front of the other…
-Holly Hoffman Spears
Baby Steps
A couple weeks ago, my baby took her first steps! As any parent of a toddler can attest, reaching this milestone was no easy feat. First, she had to learn how to stand up. Who knew that balance could be so tricky? Then, she had to be brave enough to shift her weight to one foot and move the other one forward…all at the same time! Wow! And of course, she had to be willing to take some falls.
As I watched this whole learning process unfold (all the while feeling so proud and praying that she didn’t break anything), it occurred to me that learning to walk is a great metaphor for life.
Sometimes we are faced with a challenge that seems so big that we don’t know where to start. We think, “This is scary and I’ve never done it before, what if I fail?” We imagine all the things that could go wrong and see nothing but the stuffed animals strewn along our path ready to trip us up. So what do we do? How do we push ourselves to take that first step toward reaching our goal?
I think if my daughter could say more than 4 words (baba, dada, mama, and up) she would say that the secret is to keep trying, no matter how many times you fall. As I watched her go from wobbly to making 180 degree turns with ease, I was amazed at my daughter’s persistence. Every time that she lost her balance and ended up sitting on her Pampers, she got right back up again, usually with a grin on her face. Occasionally, a little wail was called for, but she never sat down and gave up thinking, “What’s so wrong with crawling anyway?” She had a goal. She knew she was ready. She knew she could get the hang of it with enough practice. And now, two short weeks later, she practically runs down the driveway anytime someone opens the front door and I no longer have to scrub the stains out of the knees of her pants! Success!
So here’s what I think: despite all its joys, Mommyhood can sometimes feel like one challenge after the other. It can seem like doing laundry and making lunches and being a taxi driver and trying to tell our teenager that their curfew is midnight not 12:01 (for the 100th time) is just too much to handle. We can start to think that maybe having kids who never brush their teeth or eat mac and cheese for every meal isn’t such a bad thing. What’s so wrong with crawling anyway? And then we remember that we have a goal. We want the best for our kids. And we also know that every step we take in the right direction helps mold our children into the best people that they can be. Every time we walk with them down the path of honesty, patience, cleanliness, or whole grain snacks, we do something worthwhile. So, amidst the challenges and changes, we follow the example of brave children everywhere as we stand up, take a breath, and put one foot in front of the other…
-Holly Hoffman Spears
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Video Clips
This is Sonnet doing a little dance at her birthday party:
Here's my little thing making cute faces at the camera:
And this is Sonnet sharing her popcorn with Hank when he stayed with us a couple weeks ago: (If you don't like dogs or germs I would suggest you skip this one!)
(You can scroll to the bottom of the blog and push "pause" on the music box if you want to hear the video better.)
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Sonnet's First Birthday!
Today is Sonnet's first birthday! I can't believe that we've had our baby for a whole year already! Time has gone soooo fast! She is such a smart, beautiful, crazy little thing and we love having her around. She gets more and more fun everyday!
We had a little party for her last night. Grandma and Grandpa Spears came up from Vegas and Granny Janny and Gramps came down from Beaver. Sonnet's great grandparents and uncle, aunt, and cousin came too! She got lots of fun toys, some clothes, a bracelet, a tricycle, a cute stuffed panda bear, a new doll, a pink chair, and a cute sign with her name on it! So fun!!!
Nate and I tried to make her birthday cake. It could win the ugliest cake award, but it tasted pretty good. We had pizza and watermelon and salad (a few of the foods Sonnet will actually eat) and everyone just talked and played with the little one and we had a great time! Sonnet was dancing for all of us and sorta strutting around like she new it was her special day! :)
Thank you to everyone who came and thank you for all the nice gifts. We're so in love with our little princess and we're just trying to enjoy every minute...
We had a little party for her last night. Grandma and Grandpa Spears came up from Vegas and Granny Janny and Gramps came down from Beaver. Sonnet's great grandparents and uncle, aunt, and cousin came too! She got lots of fun toys, some clothes, a bracelet, a tricycle, a cute stuffed panda bear, a new doll, a pink chair, and a cute sign with her name on it! So fun!!!
Nate and I tried to make her birthday cake. It could win the ugliest cake award, but it tasted pretty good. We had pizza and watermelon and salad (a few of the foods Sonnet will actually eat) and everyone just talked and played with the little one and we had a great time! Sonnet was dancing for all of us and sorta strutting around like she new it was her special day! :)
Thank you to everyone who came and thank you for all the nice gifts. We're so in love with our little princess and we're just trying to enjoy every minute...
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Smarty Pants!
Sonnet walked into my bathroom this morning and started pulling things out of my drawer (as usual). All of a sudden she picked up a comb and started rubbing it on top of her head like she was trying to comb her hair! Ha ha! :) How does she know? I mean, I comb her hair every morning, but her comb doesn't look like mine and I've never specifically taught her what to do with a comb...anyways, I just thought it was amazing! She knows things that I don't even know she knows! I love that little smarty pants! :)
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
For All the Mothers...
Someone read this at church on Sunday and I really liked it...
This is for the mothers who have sat up all night with sick toddlers in their arms, wiping up barf laced with Oscar Mayer wieners and cherry Kool-Aid saying, “It’s okay Honey, Mommy’s here.”
This is for the mothers who have sat in rocking chairs for hours on end soothing crying babies who can’t seem to be comforted.
This is for all the mothers who go out in public forgetting that they have spit-up in their hair and milk stains on their blouse and diapers in their purse.
For all the mothers who make homemade cupcakes and sew Halloween costumes. And all the mothers who run to Wal-Mart at the last minute.
This for the mothers who gave birth to babies they’ll never see. And the mothers who took those babies and gave them homes.
This is for the mothers whose priceless art collections are hanging on their refrigerator doors.
And for all the mothers who froze their buns on metal bleachers at football or soccer games instead of watching from the warmth of their cars so that when their kids asked, “Did you see me, Mom?,” they could say, “Of course, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” and mean it.
This is for all the mothers who go hungry, so their children can eat.
For all the mothers who read “Goodnight, Moon” twice a night for a year, and then read it again, “Just one more time.”
This is for all the mothers who taught their children to tie their shoelaces before they started school. And for all the mothers who opted for Velcro instead.
This is for all the mothers who teach their sons to cook and their daughters to sink a jump shot.
This is for every mother whose head turns automatically when a little voice calls “Mom?” in a crowd, even though they know their own offspring are at home — or even away at college — or have their own families.
This is for all the mothers who sent their kids to school with stomach aches, assuring them they’d be just FINE once they got there, only to get calls from the school nurse an hour later asking them to please pick them up right away.
This is for mothers whose children have gone astray, who can’t find the words to reach them.
For all the mothers of the victims of recent school shootings, and the mothers of those who did the shooting.
For the mothers of the survivors, and the mothers who sat in front of their TVs in horror, hugging their child who just came home from school, safely.
This is for all the mothers who taught their children to be peaceful, and now pray they come home safely from a war.
What makes a good Mother anyway? Is it patience? Compassion? The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner, and sew a button on a shirt… all at the same time? Or is it in her heart?
Is it the ache you feel when you watch your son or daughter disappear down the street, walking to school alone for the very first time? The jolt that takes you from sleep to dread, from bed to crib at 2 A.M. to put your hand on the back of a sleeping baby? The panic, years later, that comes again at 2 A.M. when you just want to hear their key in the door and know they are safe again in your home? Or the need to flee from wherever you are and hug your child when you hear news of a fire, a car accident, a child dying?
The emotions of motherhood are universal. Our thoughts go out to all young mothers stumbling through diaper changes and sleep deprivation and to all the mature mothers learning to let go. For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers. Single mothers and married mothers. Mothers with money, mothers without. This is for you all. For all of us. Hang in there. Do the best you can. And remember, that MOTHERHOOD MATTERS.
This is for the mothers who have sat up all night with sick toddlers in their arms, wiping up barf laced with Oscar Mayer wieners and cherry Kool-Aid saying, “It’s okay Honey, Mommy’s here.”
This is for the mothers who have sat in rocking chairs for hours on end soothing crying babies who can’t seem to be comforted.
This is for all the mothers who go out in public forgetting that they have spit-up in their hair and milk stains on their blouse and diapers in their purse.
For all the mothers who make homemade cupcakes and sew Halloween costumes. And all the mothers who run to Wal-Mart at the last minute.
This for the mothers who gave birth to babies they’ll never see. And the mothers who took those babies and gave them homes.
This is for the mothers whose priceless art collections are hanging on their refrigerator doors.
And for all the mothers who froze their buns on metal bleachers at football or soccer games instead of watching from the warmth of their cars so that when their kids asked, “Did you see me, Mom?,” they could say, “Of course, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” and mean it.
This is for all the mothers who go hungry, so their children can eat.
For all the mothers who read “Goodnight, Moon” twice a night for a year, and then read it again, “Just one more time.”
This is for all the mothers who taught their children to tie their shoelaces before they started school. And for all the mothers who opted for Velcro instead.
This is for all the mothers who teach their sons to cook and their daughters to sink a jump shot.
This is for every mother whose head turns automatically when a little voice calls “Mom?” in a crowd, even though they know their own offspring are at home — or even away at college — or have their own families.
This is for all the mothers who sent their kids to school with stomach aches, assuring them they’d be just FINE once they got there, only to get calls from the school nurse an hour later asking them to please pick them up right away.
This is for mothers whose children have gone astray, who can’t find the words to reach them.
For all the mothers of the victims of recent school shootings, and the mothers of those who did the shooting.
For the mothers of the survivors, and the mothers who sat in front of their TVs in horror, hugging their child who just came home from school, safely.
This is for all the mothers who taught their children to be peaceful, and now pray they come home safely from a war.
What makes a good Mother anyway? Is it patience? Compassion? The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner, and sew a button on a shirt… all at the same time? Or is it in her heart?
Is it the ache you feel when you watch your son or daughter disappear down the street, walking to school alone for the very first time? The jolt that takes you from sleep to dread, from bed to crib at 2 A.M. to put your hand on the back of a sleeping baby? The panic, years later, that comes again at 2 A.M. when you just want to hear their key in the door and know they are safe again in your home? Or the need to flee from wherever you are and hug your child when you hear news of a fire, a car accident, a child dying?
The emotions of motherhood are universal. Our thoughts go out to all young mothers stumbling through diaper changes and sleep deprivation and to all the mature mothers learning to let go. For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers. Single mothers and married mothers. Mothers with money, mothers without. This is for you all. For all of us. Hang in there. Do the best you can. And remember, that MOTHERHOOD MATTERS.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Sonnet's Saturday...
We went to Aunt Adri's baby shower on Saturday! Everything looked so cute all decked out in blue! We can't wait to meet the little guy!
The diaper cake we made for Adri:
The cute preggo mamacita:
Sonnet and Marissa Valley: (she's adorable!)
Sonnet loves to walk:
Making friends:
Granny Janny and Sonnet:
Four Generations:
Then we had a family party at Nannie and Daddy Don's house!
Sonnet was showing off her walking skills for everyone!
The CUTE daddy:
We're babysitting Hank while my parents are out of town. Sonnet LOVES having a dog around! She just stands next to him and stares at him and laughs. She also really likes to feed him her food! :)
The diaper cake we made for Adri:
The cute preggo mamacita:
Sonnet and Marissa Valley: (she's adorable!)
Sonnet loves to walk:
Making friends:
Granny Janny and Sonnet:
Four Generations:
Then we had a family party at Nannie and Daddy Don's house!
Sonnet was showing off her walking skills for everyone!
The CUTE daddy:
We're babysitting Hank while my parents are out of town. Sonnet LOVES having a dog around! She just stands next to him and stares at him and laughs. She also really likes to feed him her food! :)
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Strike a Pose!
We took Sonnet to get her pictures taken tonight since she's going to be ONE in a couple weeks! (OH MY GOSH!) She wore her cute polka-dot dress (thanks Adri!) and she smiled so cute for the camera. She did keep trying to crawl (or walk!) out of frame, so that was a bit of a challenge, but we got lots of cute shots!
Baby Steps
Sonnet started walking! She wobbles, but she's learning fast and we're so proud! :) Here's a couple little videos for all to admire! :) I'm sure I'll post more soon...
It's so fun (and surprising) when she comes toddling into the room unexpectedly! I love this little thing!
It's so fun (and surprising) when she comes toddling into the room unexpectedly! I love this little thing!
Monday, May 5, 2008
Happy 3 Years!
Today is our 3rd wedding anniversary!
Nate and I were married on 05-05-05!
Congratulations to us!
For our first anniversary we went to Huntington Beach and stayed for a few days. Last year we went to the MotoX races with my brother Hayden and his girlfriend (Nate got to pick!) and this year we're going out for sushi (I dunno...we've been craving it) and as a present to myself I redecorated our bedroom so now it's all nice and fancy and romantic! ha ha! :)
And of course this little one will be coming with us to dinner. We thought about getting a baby sitter, but we always feel all weird when she's not with us and since she's the best thing we have to show for our 3 years together, we wanted to include her in our celebrations!
Friday, May 2, 2008
Sonnet will put one of her little hands on each side of Daddy's face and pull him close for a kiss! It's so adorable! (PS: Daddy is not drugged; he just makes faces because he gets sick of having his picture taken all the time- ha ha!) 
Sonnet and I spent the night in Beaver at Granny Janny's and Grandpa's on Wednesday. Sonnet had great fun pushing her cart up and down their long hallway, feeding the horses, getting licked by the dog, and going for a walk with Granny!
Sonnet and I spent the night in Beaver at Granny Janny's and Grandpa's on Wednesday. Sonnet had great fun pushing her cart up and down their long hallway, feeding the horses, getting licked by the dog, and going for a walk with Granny!
In other news, Sonnet has started taking a few steps on her own! The most we've counted in a row so far is 10 steps!!! Yay! Once I get some video of it, I'll post it...
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