Merry Christmas

We are enjoying a wonderful time with C's Ritchie cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents.  We were laughing for about half an hour tonight at the little cousins' antics - just jumping up and down and spinning around and climbing on all the adults.  Is there anything better than family time (and great food) at the holidays?  

Hope you're all doing well wherever you are.  Merry Christmas!!!

Yes

For an introduction to Five Minute Friday, click here.

This week's one-word prompt is: Yes

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Yes is an interesting word.  Here's my stream-of-consciousness on it: I've been thinking a lot lately about language learning as Caroline and I are both learning a language at the same time!  I'm studying Russian, and she is learning English.  There are many similarities to how we're learning these languages - we build a base vocabulary based off of high-frequency and easy-to-understand words that we hear and see in the world around us.  We generally don't pronounce things right at first (proud to say Caroline must have a bit of Caribbean in her as she drops the end sound off of all her words :).  We can slowly build vocabulary by listening to a sentence, identifying the words we know, and filling in the gaps for what we don't with context clues.

Caroline is very bright and already knows over 60 words at 18 months (words she can consistently say; she can recognize probably 20 more but just can't say them yet).  It's been interesting to see the order of the words she learns.  Dada (now Daddy) was first, bye-bye, ka-ka (now Kitty), ball, hi etc.  Truck and bus suprised me next, but we see them a lot and she likes how loud they are so that makes sense.  Momma came a little later (but so glad to hear her say it), and now she rushes through more complicated words like "helicopter" and "butterfly," coming out something like "lacacopter" and "mmmfly!"  

But she still hasn't said "Yes."  OK, she says "Yeah."  And she definitely has been saying "No" for awhile.  I suppose we just don't say the word "Yes" that often at home - we're pretty informal, and I'm teaching her other awful things in addition to "Yeah" like "where's your toes!?" instead of "where are your toes!?"  I wonder when I got so slack about saying "Yes."  I was taught growing up that it was "Yes or Yes Sir/Ma'am" and NEVER "Yeah."  Need to try to get back to that before we get to an age where eye-rolling comes along with "Yeah."

Picture of the week!  The first time she really sat still to pose for me.  Love it.

Hope

For an introduction to Five Minute Friday, click here.

This week's one-word prompt is: Hope

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GO.

Hope.  Hope is not a topic I'm easily able to put words to.  But I like how it sounds.  Say "Hope" to yourself and then sit quietly for a minute.  It's a nice feeling.  "I hope" a little more heartfelt and earnest than "I want" or "I would like."  

Ok, Caroline just climbed out of her crib for the first time.  That was unexpected, it's pretty high.  Pretty stealth too, didn't hear anything till she opened her door.

Here's a picture of a rainy Fourth!

Follow

For an introduction to Five Minute Friday, click here.

This week's one-word prompt is: Follow

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What a great word-of-the-week!  Caroline has recently started to mimic what we say and do, which is so exciting because it means we can teach her new words!  This week, for the first time, she said "Meow meow," and she touched her nose and her ears just like I did during "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes."  It's kind of funny, now that she's discovered "ears," she loves to run up to me and tug gently on my ears.

Now that I have a little shadow following me around and mimicking what I do, I guess I need to be careful and set a good example!    She caught me rubbing my itchy nose on my sleeve the other day during dinner and proceeded to pull up her shirt and smear it with all the food on her face.  Smart girl.

Door

For an introduction to Five Minute Friday, click here.

This week's one-word prompt is: Door

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GO.

The Kentucky Derby is tomorrow!  I thought I would talk about that, because the horses line up and then the DOORS fly open and BAM - the greatest two minutes in sports.

Except they're "gates," not "doors."

Oh well.  My family watches the Kentucky Derby together every year.  My mom makes a fantastic Kentucky Derby pie - if you're not in the know, it's a pecan chocolate pie, and it is RICH.

We each pick a horse - some pick based on the name, others on the odds.  Then we scream and cheer at the television for two minutes, and congratulate the one that picked the winner.

It's just a small tradition, but we look forward to it every year.  I particularly love the montages NBC puts together and shows before the race - a little piece of America, part of our heritage that makes us so unique.

Below is our first Spring picture of Caroline.  She LOVES flowers, though we've had to teach her to be "gentle" so she pats the flowers instead of tearing them up by the roots.  Work in progress :)

Grandpa Epps

I just pulled up this blog to draft a post about my Grandpa Epps, who passed away on Friday, and I had forgotten that my last post was also about my Grandpas.  That will make this post easier to write, since I already covered some good territory there.  Grandpa Epps' obituary also shows why his funeral yesterday was the kind where you leave and think - "Will I be remembered this way - for my faith, my integrity, and my service to others?"  It was truly a wonderful occassion, to be surrounded by family and friends who knew and loved him so well, and because of my faith I know that I'll see him again.

The funeral was really a time for his kids (my dad and his siblings) to tell stories about the good-ole days with Grandpa, but us grandkids have a few stories of our own!  The picture below is of me and Grandpa out on his boat - he loved ocean fishing.  I wasn't particularly good at it, but I liked that my Grandpa was good at it.  One time, I did actually catch 12 blues, and my brother Michael also caught 12 blues, but then Michael caught a bonus Spanish Mackeral!  Hm.  Still haven't gotten over that tie breaker.  Fishing was such an inherent part of Grandpa's life and our family's experience growing up that we didn't play "Go Fish!"  we played "GO FISH ON GRANDPA'S BOAT!"  It makes the card game a lot more fun when you shout it out like that.

Grandpa Epps' had another neat passion - running marathons.  He ran slow and steady, but finished the race.  I had the privilege of running alongside him for part of the Salt Lake City marathon when I was in college - he had been running so slow and steady that the race organizers started pulling up the cones and road blocks even though he was still running.  Poor Grandpa made a wrong turn because there were no indicators of the route, and went 2 miles uphill the wrong way.  He was just going to turn around and run back, and refused any offer of my Dad's to pop him in the car, drive him two miles further down the race route, and pop him out.  It took lots of persuasion, and reminding him that he was over 80 years old, but he finally agreed to let us get him back on track.  Then my Dad and I each took a turn running with him, to make sure traffic stopped for him and that he stayed on course.  As I was gasping for breath after a few miles, I was astounded to see him give a friendly wave each time a car stopped to let us continue on our way.  Grandpa taught me everything I know about running, and you can read more about that here.

Lastly, I want to mention his love of faith and family.  He was an LDS (Mormon) Bishop to a congregation of hundreds, nearly a thousand really, for 10 years.  Mormons have a lay clergy, which meant he ministered to his community in addition to doing his job as a public servant.  He instilled these values in his family, not in the least through their weekly "Family Home Evening" on Monday nights.  My Dad says that each week, no matter how much squabbling was going on amongst the siblings, Grandpa would have them all sing the hymn "Love at Home."  We sang this hymn at the closing of his funeral.  Here are a few of my favorite lines:

"Kindly heaven smiles above

When there's love at home;

All the world is filled with love

When there's love at home.

Sweeter sings the brooklet by;

Brighter beams the azure sky.

Oh, there's One who smiles on high

When there's love at home."

When

For an introduction to Five Minute Friday, click here.

This week's one-word prompt is: When

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So, today's one word prompt reminds me of my Grandpa Egbert.  Whenever he was pouring us a glass of milk or water or juice, he would say "Tell me WHEN!!!!"  And we would watch the glass fill up, and say "OK!  STOP!  OK OK!"  But he wouldn't stop pouring until we shouted........"WHEN!!!!!!!!!"  Phew.  That was close.

Another Grandpa is in my thoughts these days - my Grandpa Epps.  Well, he sure fooled us because we thought he was never going to get old, running marathons at age 80 and stuff like that.  But he's not been feeling so great lately, no real cause has been determined, but I sure am glad that we're not living thousands of miles away overseas right now, and that we can visit him in NC every few months and bring a smile to his face.  Well......Caroline really brings the smiles to his face, I think.  See my favorite pictures below.

Both of my Grandpas are inspirations to me - members of the Greatest Generation, and let me tell you the most amazing thing - they NEVER would complain.  About anything.  I don't think my generation knows how to NOT complain about something.  It's odd, how backwards we are.  It could be a perfectly lovely day, going to work in a nice building with nice enough co workers, and all we can think to say to each other is "I wish it were Friday," or "I am so sick of all these meetings."  Etc etc.  You know how it goes.  Maybe that's just how we make small talk, but I think I will make a goal to try to make more positive small talk instead of "It's freezing outside!"  That's pretty much what I say to everyone I meet in the elevator or pass turning the corner these days.  I can't profess to hope to be a complete non-complainer like my Grandpas, but I will at least save the complaining for something worth complaining about.

STOP.

(PS - in the interest of full disclosure, it took me longer than 5 minutes to write this post) 

Keep

For an introduction to Five Minute Friday, click here.

This week's one-word prompt is: Keep

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GO.

"Make new friends, but keep the old; one is silver and the other gold."

We sang that song in Brownies growing up. Making and keeping friends has become a way of life in the Foreign Service.  I'm not sure we're succeeding, but we're trying!  One great friend I've "kept" from my DC single days is Kate the Great.  We've gone from living 5 feet apart when we were roommates, to 9,000+ miles apart, to just a few blocks apart now!  I love how we can laugh thinking back to the "good old days," and laugh some more at the antics we're up to now.  For example:

Thanks Kate for the expert bubble-blowing!

Wait

For an introduction to Five Minute Friday, click here.

This week's one-word prompt is: Wait

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Caroline is almost a year old.  Someone asked me this week "Did it go by quickly?"  I think most parents say "Yes, I can't believe it's been a year, seems like yesterday we brought her home from the hospital."  But I laughed when I answered my friend.  "It's been a LONG year."  It really has.  It feels like it's been three years.  We moved back to the U.S., bought a house, started new jobs, and Caroline had colic for most of that time.  We had many additional trials that probably only God knows and understands.  

But just now, I looked at a framed picture of our baby girl on the day she came home from the hospital, and I said to myself, "Wait a minute.....is she really a year old?  Wait.....has she really grown so much?"  Yes, that part is hard to believe.  

STOP.

Send

For an introduction to Five Minute Friday, click here.

This week's one-word prompt is: Send

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GO.

"I'm gonna wrap myself in paper

I'm gonna dot myself with glue,

Stick some stamps on top of my head

I'm gonna mail myself to you."

I am trying to teach Caroline some good old fashioned kid songs, but for so many of them I wonder "Will she even know what this is about?"  Or will the song about mailing yourself with stamps on your head make about as much sense as Do Your Ears Hang Low?  Oh well, the non-sensical songs are fun too :)

Below I have posted a video of Caroline sort-of walking.  My mom keeps reminding me we need to get a video of her actually walking (she can go more than 5 steps sometimes), but anytime she starts "walking," she decides she would rather run, and we immediately have to put down anything in our hands and try to save her from herself.  She has the animo but not the balance.

STOP.

Welcome

For an introduction to Five Minute Friday, click here.

This week's one-word prompt is: Welcome

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We recently WELCOMED a new year.  Something I'd like to do this year is get in touch with my inner handy-man.  There are a few projects I hope to work on to make our home more WELCOMING.

If I write them outloud, maybe I won't forget to do them.

I'd like to reupholster Mike's favorite chair (see below), touch up the chipped paint on our banister, perhaps replace the head of the banister where the wood is splitting, and....that's probably enough.

Happy 2015!

Quick Update

Caroline was sick (just a bad cold) over Christmas break, and I keep telling people that "we" were sick, as in the three of us.  Then I remember it was just one of us.  So, those of you with more than one kid - if you have 3 sick kids, does it feel like there are 9 sick people in your house?

Here is Caroline on Christmas morning.  Not feeling her best, but still on the move, as always.

We went to my parents' house to open presents and have a delicious breakfast casserole.  Then back to our place for Christmas dinner and a long walk afterwards (well, I was waddling, that's why I'm behind everyone in this picture.  SO MUCH GOOD FOOD!!!).

For New Year's Eve, Michael babysat for us (what a good brother!) and we went to Old Town Alexandria to check out the festivities.  We checked out two venues and had dinner, Then we braved the waterfront to wait for the fireworks to start at midnight.  We waited.  And waited.  And then we went home.  It was too cold!!!  So we went home and celebrated with Michael.  For the record, we made it until 11pm!  WAY past our bedtime :)


Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone!