Progress

I figure I'm going to have it all figured out right about the time the kids leave to go start their own families...even then I'm sure I will still be very confused. However, I have made some serious progress this week! I have often referred to Anna as my "Anna-mal" - she's a little bit crazy, a lot sassy, and a lot stubborn. She has personality for miles, and can be a super-sweet girl when she wants to be. I tend to compare Haylie and Anna (as I think most parents tend to compare their children to each other) and they couldn't be more different. Haylie has always been quiet, shy reserved and obedient...in most ways. We've had our struggles, for sure. Anna has always been loud, outgoing, etc. I am not saying she is bad, but it has taken me some time to get used to it after having a quiet one like Haylie.

Since Ian joined our family in December, the family dynamic (obviously) has changed drastically. Anna is now a "middle child" and we are all feeling the effects of that! I am learning a lot about both girls and *thankfully* learning how to manage the new dynamic. After much observation (especially during my C-section recovery and Christmas Break) I realized that Haylie, in her quiet way, was provoking a lot of Anna's outbursts. Duh. I was punishing Anna for hitting, but not realizing that Haylie was also in need of punishment for saying mean things, or otherwise provoking her sister. It felt good to make that realization and stop blaming Anna for everything!

So in spite of my best efforts, Anna has still been having some anger issues: growling, screaming, stomping her foot, etc. I am so grateful for my 6am walks with my friend. I feel so much more clear-headed in the morning and we like to say we solve the world's problems in that 50-minute timespan. We have discussed, at length, some things to I could try at home to help Anna to not feel so displaced. Side note: I can tell she is suffering from the whole middle child syndrome thing, but she only takes it out on Haylie - thankfully, not Ian. So, one of the things we talked about was getting some alone time with Anna. Sure, ok...how am I supposed to do that in the middle of summer when all the children are home and I'm nursing a baby, etc, etc.? So it didn't happen for a while. On Tuesday, Haylie was invited to go play with a friend and Anna really wanted to go to...then the light bulb came on! "Anna, Haylie is going to go play with her friend, do you want to do something special with Mommy and Ian?" Her response? YES! I asked her what she wanted to do and it took her no time at all to decide that she wanted to go to the zoo and feed the giraffes. So I decided that we would do just that. I asked her to keep it a secret from Haylie and would you believe it? She totally kept it secret! I did not know a 3 1/2 year old could do that! So we went to the zoo and I let her be the guide. I let her make all the decisions about where to go and what to do next. We had the. most. lovely. day. It has been sooo long since I have felt that much love and compassion towards Anna and I was so grateful to have that opportunity to feel that way again. She was sweet and kind and happy as could be. Wow, we both really needed that alone time! Not surprisingly, we have had a great week - she still has her typical 3-year-old fits, but I really think that I was able to reassure her and let her know that I haven't forgotten her in all the chaos of family life. I feel like we have really come to a greater understanding of one another. What a blessing! Here are some pictures of the day - she wanted me to take pictures of her all over the zoo, and I was happy to oblige.

Feeding ZuZu (sp?) the giraffe

Hangin' on Nosey the elephant

Sittin' on the boy on the turtle

Tackling a giant lizard (I have no doubt my Anna could win that fight!) ;-)

On our way out...my sweet, wonderful, happy, spunkly little Anna and me. I love her so much and am so grateful that she is part of our family. I can already see that she is going to be a smart, strong, confident woman who will be incredibly successful in life. I love you Anna Banana!

Vacation July 2011

We decided to keep our vacation simple this year. We went to Fallbrook to visit with family and spent some time at the cabin in Big Bear with just our little family. I forgot my camera so all of these pictures were taken with my phone. Not super high quality but you get the point. We had a great time seeing cousins and grandmas and grandpas, etc...

At the beach - Anna was a little scared of the waves (which was fine with me!!) and stayed ashore most of the time. I taught the girls (and some cousins too) how to catch sand crabs. They thought that was pretty cool. Ian hung out in his playpen and with Grandma Jane in the shade.

You know us...we can't really go anywhere without catching critters along the way. This is a blue-tailed skink...Uncle David and (cousin) Steven found it in Grandma Jane's kitchen! I did not even know these existed in Fallbrook. It was very cool. We admired him for a while then let him go back outside.

At Grandma Jo's house, cousins Shea and Remi came over for a sleepover. All the girlies sleeping...so cute!

At Big Bear lake, the girls were very excited to go fishing. They did not catch anything, but they had a great time!

Ian just chilled in his stroller. See how his feet are sticking out? This is how he rides in the stroller. It's hilarious!

Mommy and Little Man. He loves the backpack!

When we got home, I felt a little bit like I needed a vacation from my vacation, but it was fun.

Prom!

Eric and I met just after we graduated high school. He graduated from high school in Panama, where his dad was stationed in the Marine Corps. In '97, just after graduation, his dad was stationed at Camp Pendleton, near Fallbrook where I grew up. As it turned out, many of the military families were in my ward in Fallbrook. The point is, Eric and I didn't start dating until 2001, therefore, we never attended a dance together. Last weekend, we got a second chance! Eric was called as the Stake Young Mens Secretary and was therefore very involved in the planning of the LDS Prom. He was asked to chaperone, and he asked me to accompany him (via e-mail)! hehe. Anyway, we had a lovely time. It made me feel a little old, and it made me miss "the good

'ol days" - in the sense that I love to dance, and used to go to all the dances as a young adult, then you get married, and BOOM, no more dancing. But, it also made me feel very grateful for where I am in my life. I'm so much more comfortable in my own skin now than I was in high school. I feel happier and more beautiful now than I ever have. So without further ado...here are our Prom pictures!

Family Pictures

We had our family pictures taken by a sweet girl in our ward, Sarah (Check her out on Facebook, Sarah Leone Photography). She is currently attending college and planning to attend photography school. She gave me the gift of a photography session when Ian was born, so here are a few of the shots she took:

This one is my FAVORITE!

I think I look a little chubbalicious in this one but I suppose that's just the way it goes after having a baby, eh?

She also took the pictures on the right side of the blog, with the exception of Ian. I took that one myself! Anyway, Sarah did a great job and I'm sure she'll do great in photography school.

To see more of the pictures I took of Ian, click https://picasaweb.google.com/kmetler/IanApril2011#

4 Months Old!

Ian is 4 months old today! I can't believe it! Time is flying by so fast. He is such a big boy - and eats a lot, so I was very excited to start giving him cereal. He was an absolute champ from the first spoonful! He wanted to keep grabbing at the spoon, but soon got the hang of it and kept his hands down. Here are some shots of my sweet boy:

We've been "sleep-training" for the last couple weeks. He is doing a great job sleeping through the night. He sometimes still wakes around 3 a.m., but if I give him his pacifier he goes right back to sleep. Usually I can feed him around 10 or 11 pm and he'll sleep till about 6 am. Hopefully having cereal will contribute to good sleep! Love this little guy!

Welcome, Spring?!

So why is it that the worst part of the storm always seems to hit just as you have to go out and pick your child up from school? Seriously, my alarm rings to tell me it's time to pick up Haylie, then a flash of lightning and a downpour of hail suddenly falls from the sky (and as soon as I pulled the car into the garage, it stopped). The hail was so loud hitting the roof of my car that I had to yell for Anna to hear me - and she was sitting right behind me! And the wind was blowing so hard that when I got out of the car to get Haylie, my pants got totally soaked. Anyway, I snapped some pictures with my phone as I was driving away from the school.


Hail piling up...




Anna has been asking me to make it snow for the last couple of days (cuz, you know, I'm all-powerful like that) - so I told her this was snow - it sure looks like it!

Yesterday was the first day of Spring and we had record rainfall. It rained steadily all. day. long. Our backyard looks like a pond and there is still hail on our lawn about 45 minutes after the downpour. Brrr. Welcome Spring?!

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

I've been growing my hair out for about 3 years now. It's never been this long before, and I love it. Well, I love the way it looks, but not the upkeep! I almost always have it up in a ponytail to keep it away from baby-grabby-hands, and when I have it in a ponytail, it gives me a headache cuz it is so heavy! So anyway, several months ago, I decided I was going to grow it long enough to donate to Locks of Love. It has to be 10 inches in a ponytail. Well, I reached my goal and finally booked my appointment. I've never been attached to my hair, but I gotta admit it was a little painful this time around after spending so long growing it out! But, it had to be done. So, here's the before shot:




And after:


It feels soo unbelievably good to have all that hair gone! I hope some sweet child enjoys my hair. ;-)