Completed Bags, Crochet, Scriptures, Future Parents, and AGAIN?!?!?

I finished Carolyn and Melanie's crochet bags, and they turned out super cute.   I loved Carolyn's comment about the fabric Melanie chose for Carolyn's bag - "She knows me so well!  This is perfect for me!"

With all the crochet animals coming alive around our house, I decided it was high time for me to learn a bit.  During a crochet bee (is there a word for a crochet gathering?) In our frontroom Carolyn got me started. I've done 6 inch squares before (for a humanitarian project in the ward, then someone more talented stitched all the squares together) and baby hats, so I had the basics down.  I asked a lot of questions and had Carolyn check me lots.  When I got to the 8th row I started wondering if something was not quite right.  I looked at some of the book instructions, then started asking Melanie some questions.  Turns out there was one minor-but-kind-of-major thing that Carolyn didn't have quite right, so I started all over and am encouraging Carolyn in making that adjustment, though she isn't going along with it very well.  Now I know why her little crochet friends don't turn out quite like the pictures, but I'm still super impressed with both of their crochet skills.  It's super cool when my little ladies are teaching their mommy.

When I looked at this picture, I told Carolyn we have opposite hair.

Erin took several of Mel and I.  She needs to work on her photography skills, but glad we got documented.

During scripture reading yesterday we were in 2 Nephi 5.  We rotate through everyone with each reading 5 verses, Carolyn reads 1 or 2 (since she's still getting reading down, but doing really well in the scriptures), and I guide Erin and Madeleine each through repeating a verse, then around again until we're done with the chapter.  As it hit yesterday, Erin did verse 27 and Madeleine verse 28.  During Madeleine's, she started dancing around the frontroom while she and I repeated back and forth her verse.  When it was done I commented that she did her interpretive dance of 30 years passing away.  Jamie said he thought she was showing us how to live after the manner of happiness (v. 27).  :)

I wrote this post a few months ago on my other blog about how I love having big and little kids around.  We've gotten quite a few comments about our boys lately and how good they are with little Miss M.  The Sunday before Christmas the ward choir sang a few songs, so I was up on the stand for all that and Jamie was on the stand in the bishopric.  I brought extra distractions for Madeleine, told Adam he could take her to the foyer if she was a problem, and also talked to my sister about Madeleine joining her son in the nursery (he's in there with their ward while we're in sacrament meeting).  With all the big plans, she actually cuddled right up with Adam and fell asleep through most of the meeting.  Sammy is really sweet and patient with her too, even when she takes apart his Lego creations.  They are both going to be great daddies someday.

And one final story that I didn't plan on when I started this . . . Miss M put another rock up her nose.  This time it was further up and our efforts didn't even move it.  It bothered her a lot more this time, maybe because it was up higher, and she was less receptive to my attempts.  When I was trying the "mother's kiss" at one point, she started fighting me and said, "No mom!  I'm a baby!"  (Laughing all around.)  It was Saturday evening, so that meant a trip to the ER.  She fell asleep on the way there (again), and slept the whole time we were waiting (with all these nastily sick people around us, and Jamie and I praying we didn't take anything new home with us).  When we finally got in with the doc, he used a syringe with a long flexible tube  and a balloon at the end.  It took a few tries (and Miss M was fighting a LOT - took 3 of us just holding her), but it worked.  That's one expensive rock.