A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer...

Expecting another girl is quite the phenomenon. There is no frantic need to cover up purple walls or  exchange headbands for miniature neckties.   Cayden doesn't have a hint of jealousy (yet) and keeps telling me how "baby sisser" is going to sleep in her bed WITH her and wear all her old clothes because Cayden's head is too big for them now.   There are a few things left to do, but really, if baby sister came today,  I wouldn't be worried.  Diaperless, yes, but not worried.   I keep telling myself that my world is about to be rocked, contemplating how I'm going to go to Winco with a newborn and a 2-year-old in tow (where will the groceries fit?) and wondering if I will ever have time for a nap...  There is an overarching sense of peace, though.  While I DO NOT consider myself an expert on girls, I am so thankful that I know at least a little bit.  I'm also thankful that I can take both of my children ...

When Bryce showed up at our house last week to set the main poles for Cayden's new playground, we told Cayden Papa was building her a swing set. She looked at him in awe and said, "Oh, Thaaank you!"  What a kid. She quickly turned back into her bossy self, as seen below....jk.  Grandma came to help the next time Bryce came down to finish up most of the work. Our angled yard created some weird optical illusions while building this playground, but it ended up looking great! Cayden was just excited to have Grandma and Grandpa here ALL day long!   Helping Grandma with the cement.  BEFORE: AFTER (just the swings left to connect):  Cayden loves her new backyard playground.  She also has a new-found love for hammering nails. We are so blessed to have a handy (and willing) Papa, Grandma and Daddy  to build such a cool play structure. 

Little Cayden Elizabeth Ann is not so little anymore.   These last two days, she has been back to her happy ol' self, playing around the house in her own little world. She loves her Harley Davidson big wheel, and spends the whole afternoon scooting around on it, making sure her purses and buckets don't fall off the handlebars.  All the while, she totes her naked, red-haired baby doll around with her, making sure her blankie isn't far behind.  She loves real babies too, and works very hard to be gentle with them. She isn't the most polite kid ever, but she does have these unbelievable moments where she amazes me with a "No fank you" when she doesn't want something and a quick "Bess you" whenever anyone sneezes. She also says "sorry" when she bumps into you sometimes and holds up one little finger and says "wait" when I tell her we will do something later.    Cayden is a gift to anyone she meets (as long as it's...

 Valentine's Day was lots of fun this year as we made our 2nd annual card-delivering journey to Salem. I thought I'd show how we made our cards this year, just for fun. Step 1: Make tape hearts and place them on the blank cards, then tape card to easel.  Step 2: Get out some WASHABLE paints.    Step 3: Let the little one paint the card. Make sure they paint all the way around the hearts. *helpful hint: while the hearts are reusable, it's good to have a couple sets of hearts/blank cards ready to paint because your kid will get bored and start painting other things while you are moving the hearts from the finished cards to the blank cards.      Step 4: Take off the tape hearts and let it dry.  I later wrote a Valentine's Day note on the cards.   Cayden was very excited  to receive some goodies for Valentine's Day too. Great Grandma Hunter gave her a TON of stickers, which we are using in moderation... ...

Last night, Cayden was sleeping away upstairs when my phone burst into its upbeat ringtone “Dance on the Stage.” For a split second, I smiled and looked around for her little pumping fists and gap-toothed smile – she loves it when my phone rings. When I realized she wasn’t there, my heart dropped for a second and I breathed a prayer of thanks that my daughter was only asleep, and, Lord willing, I would get the chance to witness her little dance party the next time my phone rang. Maybe that’s how it feels. When your child is gone. It’s the song on the radio that your kid used to dance to. It’s the thing they would have ordered at McDonald's. It’s driving over a bump and instinctively looking in the rear view mirror to only see an empty backseat. Lately, I have been struggling to find the words to say in a world full of grief. Miscarriages, still births, strange diseases and school shootings. A couple of weeks ago, my grandmother offered me this advice: “Wit...

We had our annual pumpkin party again this year, adding one little munchkin to the mix (actually two but the Selanders and their baby Ella couldn't make it). It's so fun to see the kids growing up together!  I got them some goofy glasses to try on. Isla and Eden were gamers and Kylie just wanted to play with the googly eyes on her glasses.   After our taco dinner, the kiddos got to paint pumpkins. Back when we didn't have kids, our pumpkin parties were meant for carving. Now, they are for relaxing while our kids are preoccupied by their own version of pumpkin decoration.  The Lute girls.  Mal was the paint supplier for Cayden and Eden. And we ended the night with a little iPad entertainment. Thank God for pbskids.org! We also went to the pumpkin patch, and got another family picture.  Look how much Cayden has grown!  Here's Cayden sitting on a pumpkin last year And this year....  That one is heavy!  She ...