Category Archives: Early Childhood

Winnie the Pooh

I visited another thrift shop this week. They had a sale on kid’s clothes and I got a few things. It is amazing how many of the thrift shop items (for boys, at least) are Winnie-the-Pooh related! I got Paul’s chair a few weeks ago and now I got some jeans and a Winnie-the-Pooh outfit. If only it were Halloween, Paul would be all set!

I’d never buy an outfit like this off the store rack, but at a thrift shop for less than $1? Sure. I think he is adorable, although this outfit makes him look more like a baby. Lately, he’s been looking a lot like a little boy, so I’m OK with that reversal!

Paul loves to play in the closets in his room; that’s what he’s doing in those pictures above.

In other news, Paul is phasing out his nap. His only nap. A few days in the last few weeks he hasn’t napped at all when I put him in his bed; other days he sleeps just one hour before awaking. But then he sleeps for more than two hours Sunday afternoon, so maybe he’s not completely done with the napping.

I am in mourning! What will I do without that precious two-hour break in the middle of the day?

Paul’s First Week (At the New House)

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I have a friend who sends an email/photo update to her parents and in-laws every single Sunday, without fail. Since this website is Paul’s journal, as well as my “update” to family, I really must do a better job of taking pictures of Paul and sending them on!

General Update

Paul’s future occupation will probably be janitor. He loves to pick things up to throw away or put away. He loves to “sweep” with the broom.
Paul tumbled down a full flight of stairs this week. Mommy panicked and thought he was going to be broken — but he only had a few bruises and a rug burn on his face and back.
Paul hates the car wash. He screams and kicks and otherwise is very, very sad. I’m not sure why. I always loved it as a kid. But, I must remember to wash the car when Paul is not in the backseat.
Daddy left at night to go to airport last week (he usually leaves in the morning), so Paul and I walked him to the door. I thought Paul would have fun waving “bye bye.” He actually was quite upset and cried for a minute after I closed the door. “Bye-bye” must be too permanent; most of the people we tell “bye-bye” are strangers.

Photo Update

Paul was a ham for the camera before breakfast one morning. Paul looks more and more like a little boy and less and less like a baby.

Paul likes to jam.

Good News (Belated)

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On January 29, we closed on our first house!

Pictures have been officially requested from my mother, who is home sick and hasn’t seen it, so I have found some time to get them together.

The weekend after we closed, we were fixing the to-be-expected things – replacing locks, cleaning the dirt and dust from months of being vacant, throwing away the previous owners’ garbage, etc. Then this last week we had the hardwood floors refinished: I think they turned out marvelously! We’ve been packing this weekend. Now that we can get into the house, I get to wipe away walls of dust from the sanding of the floors. If you want to see what I mean about dust, see this video of Paul helping me clean it in just one small corner.

I’ve been spending lots of time over at the new house and I can’t wait until we move there for good on Friday! Away with apartment living! Four bedrooms, a family room, and a yard, here we come!

Note my little cutie in most of these pictures. He loves cameras!

The facade

(When I started walking away from Paul, he started yelling at me. He wasn’t sure if it was a game or not. Then I came back and he did not want to go back inside! You can tell how warm it is: he doesn’t have a jacket. Besides the fact that one foot of snow, everywhere, melted in three days.)

The view in the front door (Swiffer in the background...)

The living room, with doors open into the dining room

(Sorry for all the spots. I didn’t do anything to these pictures other than make them small for the web….Looks pretty bad!)

The family room

I wasn’t crazy about the hardwood in the family room at first. But since we got them refinished, I love the look! I’m not sure I’d change it. I guess we’ll see how it looks with the furniture in it.

The kitchen

I am so excited for so much (comparatively) cabinet space!

The deck

The back yard is so huge. I’m quite excited. This is also a swing set with slide at the back of the yard. (My picture didn’t turn out.)

Foyer from above

I like the half-open foyer. Two story foyers are also nice, but I like how this works out (it gives me a sitting room in the master bedroom!)

Part of the master bedroom and sitting room

I suppose it’s a good problem that I can’t fit the whole room in a picture, huh? I like the little sitting room attached to the master bedroom. It looks cozy.

Tub in master bath

I’m not a bath kind of girl, usually. But in our current apartment, the master bath only has a shower, and I’ve found myself wanting a tub on some “I’m so exhausted!” nights. I’m glad the master bath has both! And this looks fun.

Room that will probably be Paul's room

Again, it’s hard to get perspective: the ceiling is peaked (as was the master bedroom) and it makes the room feel so much bigger.

Well, I hope that satiates the curious. I’ll try to post again to let you know how the move goes on Friday!

I suppose that means I should go pack so we’ll be ready, huh…

My New Play Place

Made in China

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My cousin spotlighted some of the Christmas presents that were “hits” around her house (a million years ago). I thought I’d share too. I shared Paul’s new/old Pooh chair is on his page here. That was probably his favorite thing. But this is my favorite present: a keyboard.

We could spend $35 on a kiddy piano (four keys, bright colors). Or we could get a “Made in China” 54-key piano. We went for the larger variety. It plays 60+ instrument sounds, ten rhythms, and seven “demo” songs. Paul loves the rhythms and the microphone. He “sings” in it. (Which usually sounds a lot like deep breathing.)

We realize it is cheaply made, but we’re hoping it lasts two years or so.

The must amusing evidence that it is cheaply made is the listing of songs on the keyboard. I mean, I expect the manual to lack basic proofreading, but this is hilarious!

interpretation (for number 1 and number 7): It’s a Small World and We Wish You a Merry Christmas

Paul’s Pooh Chair

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I found this for $2 at a thrift store. Paul loves to sit in it! Now he has a place to sit.

A Second Belated Update

A Much Belated Paul Update

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I’ve somehow completely neglected to tell about Paul’s second Christmas. On my webpage, I’ve already posted the extend family pictures and about the great times we spent together. I should add that Paul loved the wrapping paper. For the first few presents, he was so excited to get to throw out the wrappings that he didn’t notice the toy underneath it! It was fun to be so close to family and to be able to visit with them.

He was, unfortunately, quite sick Christmas Eve. He was up from 1 til 2 and finally settled back to sleep. But his cold was not his friend!

Since I’ve given an update, he’s learned a lot and grown into quite a little boy.

First, thanks to Sandra Boynton’s Horns to Toes and In Between, he knows the location of his head, ears, toes, belly button, and eyes (which he likes to cover because that’s what I do when I read him the book). His favorite is his head. In this video, I am not pointing…

Also, Paul likes to dance. Always.

Paul loves ring-a-round-the-rosies. But forget about the ring. Let’s just fall down!

Extended Family Photos

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We got some great extended family photos this holiday. Here are the best of them. I’ve tried to sharpen them and crop them.

Extended Family

1 plus 1 is 2. I merged the first two pictures to get the third. I know it’s not a perfect merge, but I think it works for a family photo! I personally really like the first one, where everyone is looking at each other. It shows our personalities!

The Parents

The Siblings

The Cousins

Frank and Elizabeth’s family

Jenny and Chris’s family

We took some pictures of our family over Thanksgiving; they are here.

How to Have A Very Merry Christmas (All Year)

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In the past two weeks, I’ve written a dozen blog post for this site in my head. And yet, none of them made it to the page. I’ve been too busy enjoying my favorite season. Of course there were some things I’d rather not repeat (who really wants a foot of snow when they say “white Christmas”?!) but overall it was a wonderful month!

As I thought about these happy moments this season, I realized there is no reason we can’t be doing these all year long. May the Spirit of the season stay with you and your family!

Listen to Christmas music all the time. I love Christmas music! I was going to highlight some favorite songs/versions of traditional songs, much as I highlighted my nativities, but it didn’t happen. I’m glad I don’t have any silly self-imposed rules about “not listening until after Thanksgiving,” because I can keep listening as long as I want and I can take it out again in July if I feel like it. I love it.
Make fudge. And eat it. Need I say more?
Decorate cookies. The idea was it was for my nieces and nephews (ages 9 months to 7 years) to decorate cookies, but I also had a great time decorating cookies. Somehow, I forgot to take pictures this year. Oops!
Read every child’s Christmas picture book you find at the library. I got a bit carried away, but I sure had fun finding favorites, new and old. My result is at Rebecca Reads here. (If you do this out of the month of December, you may be able to find specific ones you’re looking for!)
Celebrate with someone who’s worked hard at something (i.e., your newly Doctorate-d mother). My mother went back to school when I was in 5^th grade, just because she wanted to. She got her Master’s degree after about three years and she’s been working on her Ph.D. (because she wanted to) one class and one dissertation page at a time since then. I am so proud of her dedication. And now, 350+ dissertation pages later, I’m so proud I now officially have a Dr. Mom in the family! (I got a copy of her dissertation for Christmas, and I’m very eager to read about “Mother Eve” in medieval literature. Wouldn’t you be?)

Mom is “robed” by Dr. Nicole Clifton. (This is a zoomed in photo of the monitor in the arena; my camera wouldn’t zoom enough on my mom!)

with oldest grandson

Mother and Daughter

The Benac Women

The Doctors Sorenson

Mom and her right hand man, Dad

Spend time with family. We visited with family on average 3 days a week this entire month! It was sure nice to talk and visit together so much. While I know we can’t visit so regularly once “Real Life” gets back in to gear, it was sure a nice way to spend the holidays.
Listen to Grandma reading The Grinch on Christmas Eve. This was a special trip down memory lane that I don’t want to forget.

The Fosdick family reads along as Great-Grandma reads The Grinch.

Sing with your family. Our family likes to sing and we had so much fun Christmas Eve singing together. Here’s a very out-of-focus-Paul trying to sing along (he moves!) and rocking in a little rocking chair just his size.

Ask Santa for his yummy peppermint bark. It sure made for a tasty Christmas morning! Even if it’s not Christmas, you and your family deserves a treat like this every once in a while, don’t you think?

And last, but not least, the absolutely best way to celebrate the Spirit of Christmas:

Host a missionary discussion in your home. Last Friday night, we hosted a discussion with a sister (whom we didn’t know previously). It was about the Atonement of Jesus Christ and it was the sweetest way to bring the Christmas spirit into our home. As the missionaries left, I decided I’d like to do that again and again in the coming months. Christ, and His Atonement, is the true meaning of the season. Because we have the gospel in our lives, we truly can have the Christmas spirit all year long. I am so grateful for that. She’s coming again tonight. What a true delight!

Note to family: I also have the extended family pictures, some of which turned out pretty well. Paul’s waking from his nap right now, so I don’t have time to put them up, but I promise I will get them soon!

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Thoughts on womanhood and motherhood