February 2018

Well, I hit that 2019 post out of the park, might as well go back and capture 2018. Looking over these pictures I realize I have little memory of any of them, but it's still fun to look back.

I'm certain I took this one to capture those curls. I was (am) so excited to have a curly haired baby again. Reid's was already much longer and thicker at that age, but Mara's were tighter curls so that was fun. 

Reid was super proud of this paper mache snowman he made in art class. I loved that they also drew a picture of their snowman. I do remember him talking about this for weeks before he brought it home. He put so much thought into all the little details, like the presents in his arm and the style of his hat and scarf. 

He was really thriving in his art class in 1st grade. And he was really struggling with his reading. Math and science were fine (as long as he didn't have to read much), but art was definitely his favorite. You can see below that I did everything I could to try and encourage the talent at home too. I reached out to his (amazing) art teacher and asked for ideas to help support him. Her response was so thorough, I hadn't really met her at the time but now I know that's exactly what I should have expected. To this day Reid will still tell you "Mrs O is the coolest teacher at Oakwood." 

Ah! This baby! Someone please help me find this baby. She's been missing for so long now, and while I love the updated version, I'd love to kiss those tiny cheeks one more time. 

I'm wondering if this was when I took Nell and Coraline in for Coraline's first haircut. I have to imagine it was, but I'm also not sure why I don't have any pictures of Lou then. I know the salon took one and gave it to me for a keepsake. 

Gosh they are such pretty girls. It's amazing how much they have changed and yet how much they still look just the same. I could never understand how they both look so much like Reid, but nothing like each other. 

Mara was not co-operating for their matching dress photo. 

I'm pretty sure I took this photo to memorialize what it was like to get four kids ready for church on my own while Ben was attending to his Bishopric responsibilities. I'm sure it's the only time over the course of those 8 months that they all had freshly washed and styled hair, ha!

Oh man, those snuggles!

I'm sure this was about the time she (as well as all of our kids) started running full sprint to daddy when they heard him come home. 

I signed Nell and Coraline up for a little preschool class at our local YMCA. The teacher was absolutely fabulous and has since moved back to work as a Kindergarten teacher at the kids' school. Coraline wasn't always up for going, so I left her at the drop in day care more times than I'd have liked to. I used their class time as an opportunity to attend some workout classes with friends I ran into while I was there. It was so good for me to have that regular workout routine. I don't think I've really had one again since that time ... two years ago. Yikes. 

A family dinner at Panera thanks to a gift card Grandma and Grandpa Bassett gave us. Don't ask why some of us are dressed so fancy. 

I took the kids to the local children's museum. I'm sure our yearly pass was about to expire. That's kind of how I work. I'm dying laughing at that bottom picture of Mara. She is still the worst at keeping her socks on. I wonder if those gloves really did the trick?

This picture, it just kills me! I love those two sweethearts so much. I also love that Coraline appears to have on a fancy dress, sweatpants, and her mud shoes (that's what we call rain boots around here -- because that's what we use them for. 

Okay, prepare for death by cuteness. I put Mara in one of my old dresses one Sunday morning and then she posed so patiently for a long stream of photos. My heart is bursting!

I'm fairly certain that is some glutinous rice I'd bought in DC or maybe shortly after we moved here. Either way, it was long expired and -- feeling guilty about wasting it -- I let the kids play with it one afternoon. The mess was easy enough to clean up, they had fun, Ben called me "Claudia", and we captured the moment on camera. 

This must have been the beginning of her obsession with twirling my hair. Really, I have no idea when that started, but I can just imagine there is a strand between those little fingers she is rubbing together. 

Oh, I remember these dino models Rick and Carol gave him like four years before he was old enough to really do them. Even at 7 years old he needed some help from dad. He was super excited to hang the Pteranodon on a dental string from his ceiling.  

This definitely sums up my life at this time. No doubt all four of the were fighting to sit on my lap, and Ben sat peacefully -- all alone -- on the couch right across from us as he snapped this photo.  

Speaking of Ben, isn't he so sexy? Ha! I just realized he snapped this photo because he obviously got pulled over!