One and Three-Quarters

On Sunday Shboogoo turned 21 months old.

I think she looks like our friends' daughter Makaya in the picture on the left.

I was so happy to capture the funny face she made in the picture on the right. She was looking at something on tv, and it wasn't unpleasant so I don't understand why she made that face. What I wanted to show was that she sat on daddy's backpack like it was a chair.

She mostly wears 18-24 month size clothing but is getting bigger. What else can I say . . . She's going through a juice phase; she asks for it all the time ("I want doot, mommy") and rarely asks for milk. She had a huge tantrum this week over juice and wouldn't even let me read to her before making her take a nap. I'm amazed at how well she communicates and remembers things. She tells me about every plane or helicopter that flies by. Every time we go to my car she remembers that the car next to ours is Tom's car; if it's there she says "Tom car" and if it isn't she says "Tom gone." She has become very independent: she says "I do it." I can hold her hand to help her walk on a curb, but she doesn't want me to put my other hand on her back. She says "in my hand" so I will put a piece of food in her hand instead of right into her mouth. She tells us what she wants. Sometimes she lets me know that she wants to go home. Other things she says all the time are "I don't lite [like] it," "I want down," "I want more," "All done," "my pib [crib]," "my mommy," etc. and "cute [tyoot]," which usually describes her shirt. I like that "hoop" means both swimming suit and soup. It is just so fun to watch her grow and to know that she loves being with us.

An Advertisement for Kid-to-Kid

Recently I spent some time shopping at Kid-to-Kid. If you have never been there you should definitely check it out. This was my second time there. I was able to get the 10 pieces of clothing you see in the picture AND 2 little books for a total of $29.95. I don't feel like taking a picture of the books, but one is about a bird that likes to tickle and the other is called Horace and Morris Join the Chorus (but what about Dolores?). Kid-to-Kid actually sold the coat ($3), jammies (30 cents), and one of the shirts (80 cents) for the price they had originally paid for them. I only knew about this "at-cost" basket on the floor under the rack because an employee told me about it. My daughter had fun in the play area -- with walls on all sides keeping her in it -- because they happened to be showing her favorite movie, "Memo." I'm sure you know which movie that is. She got so excited when it started, before I put her in there to play.

I've also bought board books for about 50 cents each at places that you don't think of when you want books: Ross Dress For Less and Party City.

An Advertisement for a Kenneth Cope album

On our iPod (which D and I call our Pie-mod), my favorite album to hear while I run is Kenneth Cope's "All About You."
It's not typical workout music. The title track says "for me, Lord, it's all about you," so the "You" is Him. Some of the songs aren't even fast or upbeat, but to me it is the lyrics that motivate (although the music is beautiful). This is some of what I listened to yesterday morning as I ran further than I ever have before:

You're the breath of all that runs and crawls and swims and flies.

More trained and more aware,More aim to get me there.I climb this far,You raise the bar.You want my heart.More fierce desire to stand against the wind . . .
You want more and more of me to give.

Tell me;
Tell of a God who won't slow down,
who will not rest 'til I am found.You want more and more of me to give.
Tell me;Tell of a God who won't slow down,who will not rest 'til I am found.
I'm beginning to feel it . . .It's a power that I can't explain,as it flows, and it grows, and it shapes my faith .

He leaves the fold to find me.
His touch reclaims, reminds me
His face is Hope;
His name is Love.
He's writing His name on my heart,
working the change from the inside,
pouring out grace from the start,
with nothing but love.
Oh Lord, don't fail to find me.
Reclaim, reform, refine me,
'til my face is Hope
and my name is Love.
After all I can do, it's still You, it's still You.

I decided that I am going to increase the distance of my longest run each week so I can run a 10k on Saturday, September 6th. I've never been in a race before, but had fun cheering on my husband during his half-marathon two years ago. Anyway, the race I'll be participating in is a 5k/10k run/walk for women only.

Scripture Sunday

1 Nephi 14:14 is one of my favorite verses in the Book of Mormon:

14 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory.

I remember that in 2005 or 2006 while my husband was deployed I was reading and this verse stood out to me. It's great on its own -- the Church of Jesus Christ does have members in nearly every country on earth who have made and keep their covenants. We continue to build temples throughout the world to bless the living and the dead. I love Nephi's beautiful description of the saints being "armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory." I also like the verse in the context of the whole chapter, where you see the contrast.

After . . .

Yep, my hair is shorter with layers. I really wanted an a-line cut and I love it! D took this picture Tuesday night after he and our little girl watched the stylist cut my hair. (To those of you who guessed that I'm pregnant, I am not.)

I suppose it was obvious that I did something to my hair, because that is what the two "before" pictures had in common. It's interesting that nobody thought I would put highlights in or something like that. Maybe you just know me well enough. :)

Here are two of my self-portraits -- it's fun to try holding my arm out different ways and with different backdrops and see what works . . .

Before . . .

What do you think I changed? Guess by posting a comment; or call me.

I'll put the "after" pictures on here in a day or so.

Things I Never Imagined Myself Saying

I actually started this post Thursday; we've been busy. We got to babysit my 5-year-old sister-in-law for three days. Then yesterday we went to the wedding ceremony, luncheon, and reception for Drew's good friend Bryan. It was a happy day for him and Becky. We are thrilled, too! Bryan's mom passed away two years ago, he was baptized a member of the LDS Church last summer, and now he is sealed for time and all eternity to his wife.

Anyway, I was thinking about how life often isn't what you think it will be. As John Lennon wrote in Beautiful Boy, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." Sometimes life is definitely "stranger than fiction." For example, I didn't know that my husband would have to live far away from me for over a year soon after we got married, but it happened. (A lot of blessings came from that experience.) So below is the original, not quite as deep, purpose of this post. I remembered some of the things I have said that I never had imagined I would say. They are not stranger than fiction, but they are kind of funny.

Those of you who are parents may relate to these sentences. We didn't say them until we had a kid.

"Computers are not for babies."
"Food is for eating, not for dropping."
"We don't stand on puzzles."
"It's a blanket. It's not a baby, it's a blanket."
"Don't put your feet on the toilet."
"Fingers are not for noses."
"Batteries do not go in your mouth."


I don't think anybody ever thought they would say this one. I said it just a few days ago:

"I only paid $3.99 a gallon for gas today!"