Kids and Kisses

A few days ago as I was headed out the door, Noah ran after me upset because he wanted a second hug and kiss. Having already given him one and being in a hurry to get to the things that awaited, I was a little frustrated, but still turned around and gave him another hug and kiss. He smiled. I left. End of story.

Except that a few days later I was feeding Adam, getting ready to put him to bed and, as I flipped through television channels, I came across ABC's interview with Jaycee Dugard. Jaycee was kidnapped at the age of 11 and it was two children and 18 years later that she was found. I had no interest in watching this show, as I was a little turned off by the advertising of her interview, which felt almost exploitive. Her story was so engrossing though, that Joe and I both sat and watched, dumbstruck by the many ways she should have been found far sooner than she was, and that her kidnapper was even free and able to take her in the first place.

There are several things I learned from her. She is not letting this experience, which has consumed more of her life than not, rule her life. Having endured a horrific trial, she is happy, choosing not to focus on what she lost, but on what she now has. Her attitude was such an example of grace in the face of trials. If she can make it through what she did and still smile, what right do I have to whine about some of the things, very little minor things, that upset me.

What struck me most though and hasn't yet left me, leading to me write about it today, is a comment Jaycee's mother Terry made. On the day Jaycee was taken, Terry was late for work. She had been late several times and did not want to repeat the habit that morning. She said:

"I had been late to work three Monday mornings in a row, and I was focused on myself, trying to get myself out that door so I wouldn't be late for work. And I chose not to go in and kiss my girls goodbye that morning, wanting to be on time. And for 18 years I kick myself for not kissing my baby goodbye."

She didn't know that her next opportunity to kiss her daughter would not come for almost two decades and probably had days where she thought she would never have another kiss. Jaycee told her as much, but still she said:

"No. But it's a good lesson, you know, take a minute for your kids. Doing that extra thing may be an inconvenience to you but it is important to them."

With tears in my eyes, I looked to find Joe's eyes in the same state. I thought of Noah asking for that second kiss and my resistance to do so and I thought of Terry missing those kisses for so long and as I watched the program, I could not help but be grateful that I had a sleeping child in my arms and two other beautiful children tucked safely in their beds.

I have since wondered to myself, how often have I been too focused on me to notice the little things that my kids ask of me? Have I brushed off a kiss or request for affection? Am I taking advantage of the moments I have with my children? I am so grateful for the priviledge it is to be a mother. There are stressful and crazy times, but there is nothing else I would rather do than be with my family and get to be called mom, mama, or mommy by my children. The thought of not having any one of my kids with me is almost too scary to dwell on, but I know that things do happen. In listening to Jaycee's mother, I was reminded of the importance of my role as a mother, not just to feed and cloth and love my children, but to take time for them, to give them kisses, watch them do a silly dance, or turn away from what I am doing to listen to what is important to them in that moment. I don't want to take a single second for granted, because who really knows how many seconds we have and, as I have already seen with Chloe's fast rise from infant to kindergartener, the time flies SO fast.

The Savior taught us to "...Behold your little ones" (3 Nephi 17:23) and Elder M. Russell Ballard in a talk said, "He didn't say 'glance at them' or 'casually observe them' or 'occasionally take a look in their general direction' he said to BEHOLD them. To me that means we should embrace them with our eyes and with our hearts; we should see and appreciate them...spirit children of our Heavenly Father."

Having three children at very busy ages, I know that life isn't always the picture of perfect joy and harmony, but I also know I love being a mom. I love Chloe, Noah, and Adam more than I can even express and I hope that I always remember to behold my children and to be grateful for every moment I have with them.

He Crawls

From the time Adam came home from the hospital up to this point, we have had a developmental specialist come to our home almost monthly to watch and help with the catching up he has had to do to be developmentally closer to his birth age than his gestational age. Although off to a somewhat slow start at the beginning, I was excited for Robyn to come today to see all the abilities Adam has recently developed. During our last visit I was discouraged. Adam wasn't rolling across rooms, or sitting for very long on his own. When she left she told Chloe and Noah to help Adam to get moving around - it was a charge Chloe took seriously. So today it was wonderful to be able to show her that Adam can

Sit up on his own

Pick up with and play with toys

Clap

Say Mama and Dada

Roll all over the place

Eat small table food items

Pull himself up to standing

and, as of Saturday, crawl:



She was so pleased at how well he is doing, and it made me so happy to hear that he is catching up, actually doing most things that normal 10 month olds do! She also looked at his measurements

17.05 lbs (2%)

27.5 inches (7%)

The funniest measurement is his head - which at his 6 month appointment was the only measurement to make the charts at 7%. Although I forget the actual current number, I laugh that his head has jumped to the 45th percentile. He's defintely got a McBride head.

The best news of the days was that, though Robyn visits most kids into their first year and to walking, Adam is so improved and on track that she announced that, unless we had concerns or he slowed down, this would be her last visit. I have enjoyed getting to know Robyn and have valued the information and expertise she has given us and used with Adam, but to know that he is doing so well as to no longer require this check up was such a welcome announcement. As we approach his first birthday, I am so grateful to have him in our family and that much closer to where he should be for his age. Great day!

SWIM

My kids love the water. From the bath tub, to the sprinklers, to swimming pools, even Adam cannot get enough of good old H2O. Many of our summer days have been spent getting wet at some point and with many more summer days ahead, I don't see that changing. Swim suits are often my kids' outfit of choice.The kids favorite water spot? Grandma and Grandpa Hubbard's pool, hopefully with cousins.

This year, with their courage and their ability to listen growing, we did swim lessons. For two weeks my kids woke up every morning excited to go swim and then even more excited to show dad their new moves. This was such a fun experience.

Noah Lessons

Chloe Lessons

Fourth Fun!

We had a fun full 4th of July this year. Our first activity of the day was to head to the Riverdale parade. Joe, who had to work the whole day, was kind enough to lay a blanket out for us early that morning. I am kicking myself for never taking a picture of all three kids together in patriotic attire, but I did get a few of them as a they somewhat patiently waited for the parade to begin.

The kids ended up with quite a bit of candy, but still their favorite part was watching the motorcycle cops (Joe's co-workers Trent and Nolan) ride up the street with lights and sirens flashing. Never gets old.

I was amazed at the parade at what kids (and several parents) would do for a few handfuls of candy. I later told Joe that I think that people think that they live in the land of the free candy and the home of those brave enough to run in front of cars to get it. Either way, my kids enjoyed it and ended up with a fair share of candy from a safe distance.

We also jumped on the bandwagon and, following Family Fun magazine's recipes made some red white and blue strawberries. The results were not photo worthy, but the kids had fun and they tasted good.

No 4th of July is complete without a swim and BBQ at Grandma and Grandpa Hubbard's house. Playing with cousins is always a highlight

So much fun in fact, that instead of heading back to Riverdale for their fireworks we stayed in Pleasant View, lighting sparklers and watching the show from the backyard.
As we headed out for the parade, Chloe commented that she had been waiting for this day to come all year, I think it was a day that lived up to her expectations. Happy Fourth America!

Dinosaur Park City

Today is Friday, the day we try to go on a hike as a family. I don't yet know where we are going, but I know that if we are as creative with the term "hike" as we have been the past two weeks then we are in for an adventure.

Two weeks ago our fulfillment of this goal was to hike around the Dinosaur Park in Ogden. The day was beautiful, the dinosaurs were huge, and we had a great time.

In between hiking days we stayed busy playing outside on grass, cement, and in any water we could find, including playing at cousin Allie's first birthday party

(Below is a further example of why it might be haircut time for Adam)

Last Thursday, Joe decided we needed a quick family vacation and took us all to Park City. We had so much fun getting away for a couple of days. We acted silly

We slept on drives

The boys got bored and funny while waiting for us girls to finish exploring the outlets

We relaxed and played (note ANOTHER exmple of Adam's awesome, won't lay down to save my life. hair)

Our babies became little prunes with all the time we spent in the pool
We just enjoyed being together all by ourselves with no other commitments or worries.

Our Friday "hike" in Park City consisted of hiking around the Park City Mountain Resort and up to it's Alpine Roller Coaster. Chloe and Noah were a little nervous as they looked at the track extend up the side of the mountain. But when we made it to the head of the line, they were both brave and loved every minute. I'm proud of them, I'm not sure I would have tried it at their age, but I was always kind of a wimp.

We had a great time and returned home to again resume our play, water, play routines. We tried to mix in some yard work, but ended up back on the water phase of our summer.

So another beautiful day is ahead of us, with a hike of some sort waiting to be made. With the promise of a treat at the end of every hike, the kids can't wait to go, and I can't wait to spend another day with my favorite people. I love summer.