teaching a child who is eager to learn

The past few days I've been truly contemplating what i want to accomplish as a mom. i've been evaluating my goals and what i hope to accomplish while teaching Henry what he needs to grow up well.

While I was in college, I was an Aide for a Montessori school in Dallas. I really admired the children. The ages I worked with ranged from 3-5, and it was amazing how they were so much like little adults. While I have been researching different teaching techniques, and exercises, I am very much gravitating towards the Montessori method. My plan is to set up our home to accommodate those practices, and to see how Henry takes to it. I feel as he is learning and mimicking my every move, now is the time to teach him how to be orderly, organized, and to think for himself. Children are so amazing at what they do while growing. I am very excited about this decision. I've already started to see how some of the changes we have made here have helped him feel more independent. And it seems, that as we have given him the space to be independent, he has become more calm and comfortable in his settings. This will be an interesting journey. I will be posting our progress on here to share with you what I see as Henry gains his independence.

when it snowed in texas

so we don't get snow all that often. Come to think of it, all the snow that we got while i was growing up was pretty scarce, and it always melted by the afternoon, or it wasn't cold enough to stick. Mostly, i remember ice storms. i remember sliding down the street on cardboard boxes and sliding lots. but i don't remember much snow. Last year we got 12 straight hours of snow. It was beautiful. Every weather station was commenting how Texas hadn't had a storm within that caliber since the 1970's. Well, it seems that this winter season felt it needed to trump last winter. We had two days of below freezing temps, introduced by thick layers of ice that covered everything. By day three, (when it is usually all melted and gone) we got 6" of snow. Oh how i love snow. I think it is one of the most beautiful things that nature provides us. Everything is given this layer of 'hush' after it snows. Down here we don't get to experience it that often. Last year, lil H was too small to do much more than sit in the snow and stare at me wondering, why on earth his mom would plop him down in something so cold to take a picture. This year, however, was different. Both Andrew and I had to work regardless of the storm, but we took henry out for a little bit before the sun went down. He didn't seem to notice that he was cold, until he face planted in the snow. Then, he flailed all his limbs, and threw a huge fit, which was followed by a bath to warm him back up.

aren't those rosy cheeks irresistible?

a whole lotta NEW!

lil H christmas morning at mimi and gramps'

this is the time of year when everyone reflects on their priorities and set goals to better themselves for the new year. for the past month i have been really contemplating what i want to work on this year, and to what capacity i want to focus on these goals.

we were blessed with a beautiful christmas filled with family close and far, delicious food, great gifting, and good stories. both of my brothers are serving missions right now. one is in New Zealand and the other is in England. we got to visit with both of them and hear about their adventures and the people they work with. it was a good pick me up to get to hear their voices. It is great how so many wonderful things are happening all around the clock and without us even realizing it. My dad likes to say now, "the sun never sets on the clines". with the time differences between here, new zealand and england one of us is always awake. what a cool thought.

here's a pic of my brother having christmas dinner in England.

After christmas got to move into our new place! FINALLY! i though the day was never going to come. finding a place seemed to take forever. it is official the worst part of moving is having to find a place to live. you shop all the different locations, weigh the pros and cons of each place. go back and take a second look at the narrowed list. it's exhausting, and somehow we crammed it into like 2 days. at least that is how it felt. that doesn't matter any more though, because we found our place, we are moved in, and I LOVE IT! while we were

packing everything up from the old place it was mentioned that usually when you get all the stuff moved out of the old place you usually notice how big it is. in our case we marveled at how we ever fit our furniture in there: two couches, an entertainment center, a keyboard, a convertible crib, and king size bed, an armoire. the place was so tiny that we had to keep the high chair outside when we weren't using it. basically 570 square feet is a tiny space to squeeze a growing toddler and two adults. we have upgraded a whole 300 extra square feet and it feels HUGE! lilH is not sleeping in his bed residing at the food of my bed and is (as far as i can tell/hear) sleeping 100% through the

night. we actually have a living room AND a dining room that can and will be fitting a table soon! and because this place has so many windows it feels almost like a house and not an apartment. no lights needed until the sun goes down. it truly is a beautiful space. So NEW YEAR, NEW HOME! and we are so very grateful for a wonderful place to live.

so my great goals for this year are:

1. to keep most things more simplified. i am so very good

at making things more elaborate and intricate than needed. i'm going back to basics to master them again. i remember reading an article, i think in the ensign, and it talked about how it is important to step back and star

t from the beginning, with prayer, scripture study etc. it is so easy to over fill days with STUFF and i'm done with stuff. i need more sustenance.

2. become organized. i used the move as an opportunity to purge. i purged while packing and then again while unpacking, and again while putting stuff away. good will got a huge bag of clothes and stuff from me, so hopefully someone who really needs it can find it, and i can have that shelf back in my closet!

3. do my hair every day. i know this sounds a little crazy, and maybe weird. but it isn't to me. i can't tell you how many days i start out with full intention to take the 15min and fix my hair. then i let myself get distracted (usually with something not so important) and all of a sudden i have gross hair and look more tired than i would without it. this means no wet knots of hair at

the nape of my neck. plus it's important to feel pretty.

4. do something to show andrew how important he is to me, on a daily basis. sometimes i feel like i slip with this one. i feel like i fall into this rut where i think something like, 'oh he knows i love him' i like to be shown, so i am going to be more thoughtful in this for him.

5. take time out for me. i read a really inspiring book last year, 'EAT.PRAY. LOVE.' while reading it i realized that there is alot i do not make time for. now is the time for me.

i hope that everyone had a beautiful christmas filled with all the wishes children remember this time of year. i am so grateful to have a henry who helps me remember why we do what we do day to day. here's to a beautiful new year and all the adventures one can get!