A quick observation...

Hanford finally gets a drink...

We FINALLY got a light sprinkling of rain yesterday! It has not rained here since late March...maybe early April. Seriously, there have not even been clouds in the sky. This development was so exciting that when I took the kids out in the stroller, Wyatt screamed "Clouds!!!". And so exciting to me, that I had to write a blog post about it.

I grew up in Alabama where almost every afternoon of the summer a thunderstorm blows through. I used to hate that. I hated that you would have to leave the pool early, or that you got stuck in the house for a few hours. This was before I could appreciate a good nap, of course. But now that I've gone without rain for two summers in a row, I miss it like crazy. The sight of little droplets on the pavement brought me more joy than getting to sleep in on a Saturday....although I'm not sure I even remember what that's like. haha.

Sweet Rea turns 9 months

It's hard to believe that my sweet Rea is 9 months old already! It seems like yesterday that she came into our lives. The first few months were a little rocky (thanks, colic), but now this girl is seriously the sweetest thing since cane sugar! It's amazing to see her personality come out day by day. She is completely content 99% of the time and smiles constantly. She's definitely rewarding us for our perseverance in those early days. Every day with Rea is better than the last...while I will miss these precious times we have together now, I'm excited about our future with her and watching her as she grows.

She's crawling everywhere...and is desperate to keep up with her big brother. She goes everywhere that he goes--even to the potty. She is "cruising" around the coffee table, couch and various other furniture and her balance is improving by leaps and bounds every week. I fully expect her to walk early. She is eating squash, sweet potatoes, peas, carrots, peaches, apples and bananas now. It won't be long and she'll be eating solid food with her brother.

It feels like I had her, blinked, and here we are at 9 months old. I have a feeling that I'll blink again and she'll be 2.

Alabama v Penn State

Wyatt and Reagan had so much fun watching football this past Saturday...and of course supporting the Tide!

ROLL TIDE!

A gentle reminder...

So I don't like it here. And by here, I mean the Central Valley of California. This is the prettiest picture I could find of this place...it should be noted that all of the smog that settles here after leaving Los Angeles has been photoshopped out, the ever-present smell of cattle removed and the 115 degree heat covered up to trick you into thinking that this place isn't so bad.

I was telling Josh today that there are two good things about California...In n Out, and the fact that during football season college football is on literally from 7am until 10pm every Saturday. And that's all I've got...two things. haha. It is especially difficult to deal with this place after growing up in this place...

As I was cleaning my house the other day, and my nostrils were being burned by the smell of manure, I glanced up at a magnet on my refrigerator. My mother gave it to me a long time ago...and I had forgotten about its existence until this moment. On this magnet it says, "Grow where you're planted". It stopped me dead in my tracks. I had, as Oprah likes to call it, an "aha moment".

So I don't like it here...but God has me in this crazy place for a very specific purpose. I haven't the faintest idea what that purpose is, but I'm sure it is His will nonetheless. I will probably look back ten years from now and totally get the point. But until I can look back and get the point...I must grow where I have been planted.

This next little guy will be my inspiration. His surroundings are less than ideal and probably quite difficult to deal with...but he's growing where God planted him.

Potty Training, part deux

So potty training was going really well. We had a week of small victories...and we were making progress little by little. And then, Wyatt figured it out. He realized that Mommy isn't fooling around and this isn't a game. We are not going back to comfort and ease of diapers. Which is when he started to buck the system. He has done everything he can to resist the potty...and I have tried every trick I could think of to convince him that it might be a good idea to keep pee pee off of the floor. Our biggest struggles are that Wyatt could care less if his underwear are wet or dirty. He would sit in a mess all day, if I would let him. He also thinks that cleaning the carpet/floors is fun. Uugh!

Today I broke out another strategy. I set a timer to go off every 20 minutes. When the timer beeps, he has to go potty. The first couple of times he fought me all the way to the potty...but I still got him to go. Then I think he caught on and maybe even liked the idea because now Mommy isn't telling him what to do...the alarm clock is telling him. Fast forward to this afternoon and we've only had once accident today! Normally by this point we'd be on pair number 30 of undies. I count it as a win...hopefully this situation will only continue to get better and better. I'm banking on all the struggles with Wyatt paying off when it comes time to potty train Miss Rea.

I haven't been taking as many pictures of this process, probably because I'm ready to get it over with and I'm not really sure it's something I want to remember. haha. But I will leave you with a picture of what has become my arch nemesis...

While you were gone...

This one is a post for Daddy...here's what you've missed...

(yes...they destroyed the rubix cube. haha)

(found a mouse in the garage, trapped in the garbage can)