Who's in Charge Here, Anyway?

I will be the first to admit, I am not a photographer. I should have taken the class at Ricks with Todd. I know enough to know I'm not getting the results I'm really going for.

I also LOVE digital photography. The best part is being able to click as many photos as I want without feeling like I'm wasting film, and then I can delete the "bad" ones. It fools me and others into thinking I'm a better photographer than I really am, because by the time I'm done cropping, editing, and deleting, it looks fairly decent.

Since it's been a while for pictures of Em, --- real pictures, not the ones that are snapped in a hurry with cluttered backgrounds and Mom in bedhead and a ratty t-shirt --- and since I hadn't yet put away the Valentine's decor, I wanted to get some nicer shots taken.

Emma cooperated. Eventually.

I knew I wanted natural light and a "fresh" baby, so we got going first thing after Daddy left for work. She didn't start out so hot.......

Boy, if that's the look I'm going to get, maybe we should forget photos! She didn't even have the pants on yet... this was the very first photo I shot. I was just hoping to get her used to my staged backdrop.

Getting a 16-month-old to sit [still] proved challenging. (No surprise there!) But the way she started hugging the stuffed dog was promising. We might have something here.....

Or not. Sixteen-month-olds are also easily distracted. I would straighten up the props, sit her there, hand her the dog and quickly snap one photo before she moved away again. We ended up taking a break from photos, and went tile & paint shopping with Daddy. (Two steps closer to finishing the basement boys' bathroom remodel!! Things are starting to move right along -- we're SO excited!!)

Later we came back and tried for a few more pictures. This is Emma exhausted now. No nap, and it was nearly 2:00 pm. Not a good sign. I wasn't even sure if we'd get anything usable. (Would leaving the couch out in the middle of the living room be TOO much inconvenience if we had to continue our photo session to the next day?)

Emma had her own ideas. She got one of her fleece blankets. This one happens to be pink, so since it meets with the Valentine theme, I didn't remove it. After letting her lay down with it (oh no -- maybe she's done for sure and only wants to sleep!) I managed to sit her with the blanket, then started adding props and the dog.... and snapped several shots, including this very last shot:

Which I love!!

So, of course, this is the one we'll give to the Grandmas, send to Brandon in Jamaica, and put on the wall at Welenco for the loyal customers who have watched her grow and keep asking, "How's that baby doing?"

And everyone will end up thinking all these positive thoughts about it, without ever knowing the lengths we went through to get this one photo out of her!

Adorable Evidence

Since I'm always saying that our Em is Absolutely Adorable, I decided to post a few photos from this month that would be evidence that might help me prove my point. (Ok, so this is a blatant excuse to post photos of our baby!)

Em doesn't usually fall asleep in the high chair, so Alyssa snapped this photo for me. Note the little barrette in her hair. I keep the barrettes on a shelf by the changing dresser, and Emma has started wanting to get one in her hair after a diaper change. Hel-LO? She's 16 months old!! She sits very still for us while we maneuver the tiny clasp and try not to smash it into her head.

At what age should a child become camera-aware? We love her smiles and mile-long eyelashes!

Ok, you must know right off, that we did NOT pose these next 3 shots. I'm not sure if I could have come up with this on my own anyway! Todd was straightening up a few things in Brandon's room, and Emma was playing on the waterbed. Climbing around, she reached up to the headboard and found Cameron's copy of the Book of Mormon. (He's been doing his reading on the waterbed.) When I saw her, I ran for the camera. We'll send a few of these to Brandon; I think he'll get a kick out of it!

So she looks really comfortable as she's settling in with a good book:

Smiling at dad.....

And VERY focused on her book!

Voices from the Dust

My dad was a collector.

Ok, he was also a hoarder. But that's another story.

Several years ago, Todd & I & the kids went to California & helped my mom by packing up and cleaning up the basement, in anticipation of her future move to Idaho. It was a job. Todd, being a great de-clutterer, needed a bit of guidance on what was of value, and what wasn't. One of the things we had to save was Dad's old reel-to-reel tape player and a number of tapes that went to it.

Go back even more years (like 50 or so), and there was a period of time when my family and both sets of my grandparents would exchange "tape letters". In lieu of a handwritten letter, they would talk into the reel-to-reel tape recorder and talk about the latest news. The children were often given a moment to talk also. Then, my parents would mail the tape reel to our grandparents, who would listen and then record their answer. Many of these old tape letters no longer exist, because my frugal family members would tape over the message they'd just received, and use the same reel for their return message.

My dad, being the collector that he was, had some of these tapes that he'd set aside and kept. I suspect that there were also a couple that were never meant to be sent, but recorded for entertainment purposes -- so the kids could hear their own voices.

With reel-to-reel no longer being the audio method of choice (ok, it's obsolete!), my sister recently took our reels to a guy who provided a transfer service, and recorded these tapes on CD's. This last week, she sent me a set of CD's for my copy. The whole group cost $200.00 to transfer (I don't know how many original reels there were), and we got six CD's. THIS WAS WAY WORTH the $50 I paid my sis for my portion.

Two nights ago, I started listening.

Talk about being taken back in time. Some of these were recorded before I was born, and there is a wide age span between me and my siblings.

Now, for the first time in 20 years, I am listening to my dad's voice. My dad passed away when Brandon was a baby. I am reminded of how much I've missed him and how I wish my children could have known him. It is very emotional for me, but it a wonderfully good way.

It is absolutely an amazing feeling to listen in on my family's comings and goings. I don't know if Dad picked and chose the reels to save, or if it was more random chance. Maybe some came from my grandparents' belongings after they passed away. I strongly suspect my mom would have thrown them out years ago, but she tended to leave Dad's stuff in his "corner" alone.

I haven't listened to all of them yet, since I have to pick a quiet time when I can sit with the CD player going for me. Here are a few of the things I've heard so far:

• My mother describing how busy she was, including church activities that were much more varied and time-consuming than they are now. "Night Relief Society," packing spinach at the welfare farm, catering dinners (our ward Relief Society did this as a fundraiser), and visiting teaching extra routes.
• In one tape letter, Mom describes how my dad had put a pop can in the freezer, the ends of the can had bulged, and he took an ice pick to it and punctured the can, with the resulting spray coating every surface in the kitchen with stickiness! ("I could have clobbered him!" she said) HAHAhahahaha
• In another, I heard -- probably for the first time -- the voice of my brother, Steven, at age 9. He died at age 13, before I was born, and I never met him.
• Mom, talking about how she got a photo of my sister's intended from one of her friends. My sister, who was away at BYU at the time, sent the photo to the friend, but not to Mom! ("This Marc seem like a nice fellow.")
• Tape letters from one grandma, who got the giggles because she was tongue tied and at a loss for what to say.
• And a grief-filled tape from my other grandparents who had obviously just received word that Steven had died. At the time, they were on a mission for our church in Lima, Peru, where my grandfather built chapels. Unable to travel back to the States for the funeral, they expressed their mourning and comfort to my parents on the tape.
• Another from Grandma that told of an uncle who had added on to the back of the house: a bedroom and a bathroom. Now they won't have to go outside to go to the bathroom. (I had to explain to Darcie that they obviously had been using an outhouse up to that point!)
• A cheerier tape from Peru came, where Grandma described the street market and an organ grinder with his monkey.

If these tapes didn't exist, I wouldn't have known the difference, and would not have missed anything. But oh, what a treat it is to have them! They are not chronological in time, so it is interesting to decipher the time period by listening to the news.

It is like a gold mine of information, and it tugs at my heart to listen. So thanks, Dad. Thanks for keeping those old reels. And thanks to Karen for arranging the transfer. I'm going to go listen some more.

Mothers-in-Training

A few years ago, Darcie had a fixation on babies. She desperately wanted a little brother or a little sister (rooting for a sister, but would have taken a brother if that's all she could get!), and wanted to know why we thought our family was "done." She didn't want to be the baby of the family, even if she did get spoiled.

I know. This is SO ironic!

So we took one of her baby dolls and I showed her a number of things about how to care for a new baby. This seemed to satisfy her, but it still wasn't as good as having a real baby. She steadfastly promised that she would help me with EVERYTHING and wouldn't get tired of it, and wouldn't mind stinky diapers, and couldn't we please, please, PLEASE have another baby??

Little did any of us know that Emma would be joining our family.

Little did I know that Darcie would make good on all those promises!

It is heartwarming to watch Emma & Darcie together. Darcie has a ton of energy for her baby sister and will play with her on Em's level more than any of the rest of us. Darcie also has her antennae up and listens for Em fussing, or will come get her (without being asked) if Emma is hampering my movements, like hanging on me while trying to cook. Darcie will often get her out of bed when she wakes in the morning and go feed her breakfast & get her dressed for the day.

It is an amazing thing, and I am surprised that Darcie has so much patience with Em. Not that the rest of us don't play and interact with Emma. In fact, Alyssa also is tuned in to Em, especially at night, because they share a bedroom. Sometimes when Em fusses, I get up to soothe her, and find that Alyssa already has her in her arms, rocking her back and forth. (And this morning as I write this post, it was Alyssa that got Emma up and cooked her breakfast!)

My girls are both so much help! Don't know if I could be an older mom without their backup. One thing we wish Darcie hadn't taught Emma is to scream (to scare you). They will go through the house, hide behind a door or furniture and then jump out at the other and scream to scare them. Not in a bad way, it's more of a surprise to make the other jump. Darcie started doing it to Emma, and now Emma has picked up on it and does it back, both to Darcie and to others.

Emma got me once when I was working in the kitchen and wasn't expecting a scream. Yes, I jumped!

What was hilarious was the other day when Emma got Darcie, and got her good. Darcie was down in the rec room, where we have our exercise equipment -- the treadmill, Bowflex and Darcie's ab circle. She was adjusting the bowflex and had her back to the doorway, so she didn't see or hear Emma come in.

From upstairs, I heard Emma's scare-you scream. Then I instantly heard Darcie's louder scream in response!!!!!!!! It was CLASSIC.

Darcie will often bring Emma into her bedroom to play. She closes the door (so Em can't get away!) and will entertain her. She even does this when she's doing her own homework. This photo is of Emma "helping" turn pages in Darcie's textbook.
This is great mom-training for my girls. Now I wonder what we'll do for mom-training for Emma. Maybe she'll have some nieces and nephews by the time she's old enough to learn.

The Empty Chair

We may not be typical of families today, because most evenings we actually sit down to dinner at the dining table. Of course, there are evenings when we're busy and we can't, and nights when dinner is later than it should be, but most of the time, we are there. Tonight, when we sat together, I was once again reminded that something is missing. Or, more to the point, someONE. We have an empty chair at our table.

And the odd thing is, that even though this chair has been empty for 9+ months, we're still not used to it. For years we've had assigned seats at the table, which would change from time to time, for variety. But when Brandon left for his mission in Jamaica, we never reassigned seats, and though I thought Emma would "fill in the blank," instead she sits between Todd and I and we still have an empty chair. Maybe it's the momma that feels it most keenly.

We are so proud of Brandon, his willingness to serve, and his successes that he's had so far on his mission. He is in our prayers each day, and we look forward each week to his Monday email updates, and love each and every photo that may come with the emails. He is now serving in his third area, which is Savanna la Mar, on the southwest coast of the island. He has had a few baptisms, including two that he performed in the ocean. Too cool!

You can catch updates on Brandon on my other blog: Elder Huffaker's Jamaica Impossible, which has his weekly emails and some of the photos he sends home. He would love to hear from you as well, and it means a lot to get messages from the states. The easiest way is to go to http://www.dearelder.com/, and follow the instructions on the site for writing a letter. He is in the Jamaica Kingston Mission.

And we also look forward to the time, many months from now, when our empty chair will be filled again. (And I'm so glad that Cameron won't leave on his mission until after Brandon returns, because if I were to have them both gone at the same time, I would probably lose it! LOL)

A Purse-onal Accomplishment

I used to sew. A lot. Now the machine collects dust for months before I get it out again. Then, last fall, I was preparing ideas for our ward's Super Saturday. My current calling is as Relief Society Activities leader (I guess that's what you'd call me!). We hadn't had a Super Saturday for a couple of years, so we wanted to make it good. When I found a photo of a fabric purse that was in a zebra print, Alyssa (the zebra-print goddess right now!) absolutely loved it. We got a teacher for the class who has sewn purses previously, and it was one of the more popular classes with the ladies in the ward. I took the girls shopping, and they each picked out a fabric & lining.

Our wonderful class teacher used a free pattern she found online here for her sample purse. (It's called the Buttercup Bag) She also volunteered to cut the fabric and prepare it for anyone who would get theirs to her. Well, you don't have to ask me twice! You betcha!

Then, as it happened, since I was in charge of the day, I ended up not being able to sit down to the purses class at all. I had printed the instructions from the website, but never got back to it. Until about 2 weeks ago. So I decided to surprise the girls and I sewed on the purses while they were gone to school, and carefully put away everything each day so they wouldn't suspect. Here's how it went, with Alyssa's purse as the example:

The purse outer is pleated across the top.
We decided to have a contrasting band at the top, but the original for the pattern showed it in the same fabric.
We used magnetic purse clasps. I didn't know you could buy these things, but yes -- you can! There's a piece of interfacing backing it, to reinforce it.
Clockwise from top right: Here's the purse outer, with the band on, then the pink lining, with the clasps attached and also an interior pocket (the little piece of zebra print you can see), and finally the purse strap.
With insides facing together, it's sewn together at the top. You can see the clasp interfacing in this shot, and where the pocket is sewn in.
These are the completed purses. Which one is whose should be obvious. Darcie chose her favorite bright green and used a "negative reverse" of that fabric for the pink interior. It took me four partial days of sewing to complete them. I could have done each in one day if I hadn't been playing the Secret Sewer.

The best part...... was FINISHING the project! I never like incomplete projects, because it's so hard to get back to them. Plus, I have way too many of them, as Todd will attest.

So to surprise the girls, I called them over and told them that I was just never going to get to the purses, so they were just going to have to sew them themselves. (Grandma H. has been wonderful about giving the girls early sewing lessons, so they've done some sewing already.) I sent them to get out the sewing machine and the bag of supplies........ and out of the bag they pulled the finished purses! It was a nice surprise. And I'm sure they were relieved they didn't actually have to sew! Life is good.

Random Acts

I'm sure Emma's just trying to throw me off. But it's starting to remind me of the scene in, "Sleeping with the Enemy" where Julia Roberts' character opens the cupboard door and is startled by what she sees, only in her case, it was structured neatness.

This is what I found when I went for a cookie sheet the other day:

What is it? That little curved piece on the bottom that looks like a hanger is a piece that goes to the Bowflex (which is downstairs, so this required some effort).... lurking in the cookie sheet cupboard. I certainly didn't put it there. Nor would any of the teenagers have bothered. Hmmmmm......

Then, I caught her redhanded in the act:

That's the warming drawer to the oven, and those are MY slippers in there! I suspect she's retaliating for the improvised childproofing which is also in the photo. Note the green yardstick that's threaded down the drawer handles. I had to do something, because two of those drawers are the Flour Drawer and the Sugar Drawer.

(Bless Todd's mom for designing my kitchen! I never have to go far for either of those staples because the drawers have a stainless steel liner in them, and I just have to open and scoop! Works great for levelling cups of flour, too. But it makes it all too accessible for little hands.)

The yardstick works wonders, so I think Em just concentrated her efforts on what was available. As long as I don't turn on the warming drawer, I should be fine.......