transition

When this little blog started back in 2007, this little girl was the baby.

 

She was the only child and therefore, the absolute center of our worlds.

Since then, she has gracefully agreed to share her universe with two more babies.

And while those transitions took place, she morphed from baby, to toddler, to little girl.

And now we are in a totally new territory -

school-aged girl.

Let me stress - this is new territory.

While I have always loved her spirit and imagination, I am finding that parenting a school-aged child is less about loving chubby cheeks (that allow toddlers to get away with so much) and more about loving the ideas their brilliant little minds form.

As every mother and father understand, parenting is ever-evolving. 

At this particular stage, there is less of tantrums and more talking back.

There is much more standing up for herself (which is good - just different).

There is also much more sharing from her:

sharing of dreams (for the future), nightmares (from last night). . . of observations, and inclinations.

And I can't even begin to count the number of questions asked in a five-minute period.

Her growth means I need to grow.

I need to transition my parenting tactics from those appropriate for a little girl to a much bigger little girl. 

I've been pondering, and honestly wrestling a little bit with how I can achieve this -

 how I can be the best for her.

I certainly don't want the peak of my parenting career to be when my kids are three.

Don't mistake me - I am excited and (honestly) honored to make this transition.

I am just acknowledging that it isn't as natural as it has been in the past for me.

And I want to do it right.

I had an experience the other night that reminded me I've been doing it in the wrong order.

I realized that I have been "talking it out" more than "praying it out."

I was looking at our baby boy and was overwhelmed with love for him. 

I want to consistantly have those same overflowing feelings for my eldest. 

Though the love is obviously there, on particularly "trying" days, those feelings are too easily washed over.

Then the thought (which I know was inspiration) came to me that my joy for my newborn is constant because my service for him is constant.

I am (almost) always holding, feeding, changing, serving Grant.

The thought continued . . .

You want to feel more love for your oldest?  Serve her more.

Serve her without a thought - just like you would the baby.

Wow!

I know the call for more service doesn't mean I should overextend myself. 

It just means I can be much more mindful of her.

I can look for ways to show her my love - and then my love will flow more readily.  

I don't intend to over simplify this equation.

I know it will still take so much effort.

But I am so excited for the inspiration to start me in the right direction.

And the reminder that prayer will continue to help me stay on the right path.

And now I am so looking forward to this transition!

I know she is.

3 weeks of His Royal Grantness

Our little boy hit his three week mark yesterday.  We, thankfully, have lots of pictures to document his journey in life thus far.  But, honestly, can you ever take enough pictures?  Of our three cameras, the most convenient one - and the one that is most easily accessible at all times - is the I-phone.  Of course, the quality isn't always as good; but it helps us catch those quick moments that otherwise would not be caught.

From his very first moments . . .

To his first days at home . . .

And all those priceless sleeping pics . . .

Sometimes a little guy is bound to say "no pictures, please."

Here's to three weeks of His Royal Grantness.

And to many, many more I-phone (and all) photos!

Our Anniversary and Valentine's Day 2012

Before our favorite lover boy, baby Grant, was born, we had two days of love celebration to tide us over before his birth.  The first was the eleventh anniversary of our first date.  We love celebrating our first date.  Because we have been a couple everyday since!  So, in honor of that beloved day at Disneyland eleven years ago, Chris brought home a gorgeous bouquet of flowers and I wrapped up some little presents.

I am loving the evidence of children in our relationship . . . those are some serious kid smudges on our table that I didn't bother wiping up for a picture! :)

Three llittle gifts for my Chris.

The girls got to toast Martinelli's sparkling apple cider with us.  It was a peaceful and grateful afternoon and evening.

Five days later, we were celebrating Valentine's Day!

The night before I had a wicked eight hours of labor.  I was super conservative about calling it labor.  But after eight hours of a minute and a half long contractions, less than one minute apart, that were getting much more painful and difficult to breathe through, the girls spent a Monday night at Grandma Judy's and we headed to the hospital.  OF COURSE, the second we arrived at the hospital they stopped.  I felt like the biggest idiot.  The admin nurse got to explain to me what real contractions should feel like - as if I hadn't given birth twice already.  So, even though we had brief moments when we thought this little boy would be a Valentine's baby, we came home early in the morn of that love day still pregnant (and Grant didn't appear until the end of the month).  When Grandma dropped the girls off in the morning, the first thing they asked was where their Valentine's mail boxes with candy were.  I guess the tradition is a big deal to them.  I was barely awake - so we put it off until the evening.

That night, we had our traditional "red dinner."  Before the kids got older, Chris and I used to do something we really loved for the meal - like swiss cheese fondue or steak and salad.  But, our little girls really adore the tradition of red food.  So, last year we had lasagna and this year we had Hallie and Claire's favorite meal ever: spaghetti and meatballs.  Grandma Judy joined us for our love day feast.

Grandma Judy sent Valentine's to the girls in the mail.  They each had cute cards filled with new stickers.

Grandma Laine bought them cute new Valentine's denim dresses.

Mommy and Daddy had little love presents for the girls too!  I had found a Disney fairy doll for Hallie and a Minnie Mouse purse and glasses for Claire.  They were both after-Christmas clearance, of course - a total deal!

I love to stock up on seasonal paper goods at Dollar Tree.  They are too cute to resist.

For the first Monday of February, we dedicated a family night to the topic of love.  At the end of the lesson, we made our traditional Valentine's hearts to hang on the walls.  My favorite responses came from Claire.  When asked what she loved about Daddy, she responded "he gives me cheese."  When asked for other things she loves, Claire said "I love beans!"  We kept our festive hearts up until after Grant was born.

She is getting way too old!  Don't get me wrong - I love it but lament it at the same time!

Daddy helped me with the mailboxes this year.  Each year they are filled with candy from the two of us and love notes from me.  Daddy did a great job with the candy, but the notes were hilarious.  I normally have a full one-pager filled with the inherent qualitites I love about the girls.  Chris wrote things like "Dear Hallie, I love your face!!! Love, Dad."  He totally did it on purpose.  I couldn't help but crack up. 

Our girls went to bed on Valentine's night totally spoiled and without a baby brother yet.  

But it was still a LOVEly day indeed.

ice machine

If I could freeze some moments in time, here are things I would want to remember forever . . .

Yesterday, the girls were drawing with chalk on our back patio.  Before long, Hallie called in with excitement that they were digging for dinosaur bones.  Here are some of the things I overheard:

 "We're paleontologists right now, Claire."

"Look, here is a dinosaur tooth!  It must be from a therapod.  Therapods are meat-eaters so they need sharp teeth!"

"Here is dinosaur poop.  It doesn't smell though because it is a fossil."

The girls have a newly acquired habit of getting out of bed after bed time.  Hallie has recruited Claire to be the spokesperson for their needs.  We normally hear little feet at the top of the stairs, followed by Claire announcing something like "Uh, we heard something.  What was that sound?"  Or "We just had bad dreams!"

Last night, Claire announced "We just heard something scary."  Chris suggested they could say a prayer and then go back to bed.  Claire walked back down the hall a little ways and then we heard Claire say "Daddy says to say a prayer," followed by some mumbles.  As we struggled to decipher what was being said, little phrases floated down and touched our hearts: "please bless us not to be scared and to go to bed. . . please bless mommy, daddy, Hallie, and baby brother . . . please bless church and Jesus and the temple . . . amen."  Then Claire firmly told her 5 and a half year old sister.  "Okay, now let's go to bed."  Our eyes were pooling with tears. That sometimes feisty little two-year-old was taking so much initiative and being such a good example.  What a big strength and personality and such a cute little package.

Claire most often refers to Grant as "baby brother."  But when she says it, it comes out as "bay brudder."

This baby boy has been our easiest newborn so far.  Chris and I are consistently in a state of newborn bliss.  And when the other cuties go to bed, and it is just the two of us with our thin but slightly chubby infant, we have to frequently pause a movie just so we can gush and stare and then steal kisses from his warm neck.  Chris sneaks in cheek squeezes as much as he possibly can without irritating Grant to no end.  We frequently talk of how complete he makes us feel.  The house feels so peaceful - it's as if Grant brought a whole troupe of invisible angels with him when he came into our home.

 I am in an almost constant state of gratitude.  So thankful for my kids.  So thankful for my husband.  So thankful for our jobs.  So thankful for our cool friends who are family - and our family members that are so cool we would choose them to be friends.

I know this round the clock joy is not going to be constant.  I am well aware that is is an after effect of adding to our family.  It is the blessing of literally having a piece of heaven in our home.  (I have no doubt that is where Grant came from.)  We can't help but breathe in as much of that peace as we can before "real life" settles in.  Although, the blessing of being an optimist is trying to look for as many pieces of heaven and good as we can in the everyday doldrums of work and raising a family.  I just don't want to forget how near-perfect these precious first weeks have been.

forever changed by Grant James

One week ago today, our hearts and lives were forever changed when a little boy entered the world.

Introducing,

our sweet son,

Grant James Hinkson

Chris and I have tried to quantify how moved and changed we are by him, but we just can't put it to words.  We do know this though - this boy is incredible.  And we are honored to be his parents and have the joy of sharing life with him.

Here is some of our handsome fellow, yesterday, at six-days-old.

Go ahead - fall in love too.  We totally get it.