Introducing

Katelyn Julia Mansfield

Megan's First Grade "Celebration of Learning"

Earlier this week, Megan's first grade class had a "Celebration of Learning" event that I got to go to. She's worked so hard this year and was excited to get to show off all the things she's learned.

Her class is just finishing up a unit on American Symbols and Patriotism. They stood and sang the National Anthem. It was so sweet to see them all sing with such vigor and enthusiasm. They really are the future leaders of our nation.

Then, each child stood and read a sample of their writing. It was an essay about what they want to be when they grow up. Most kids wrote between 1/2 to 1 1/2 pages, and listed one or two things they were interested in. Megan wrote 8 pages and about 15 careers, ranging from working in a Smoothie shop (like Jamba Juice) to being a Doctor so she can help sick people get better, to being an art/dance/PE/science teacher.

As she was reading, several thoughts were running through my head. First, I'm glad that she has so many varied interests and such confidence in her own abilities. And I know that what ever she chooses, she'll do great.

Second, I'm so proud of how much she has learned this year. Her reading and her writing have both improved so much. She has gone from being able to sound out words that follow all the rules to reading chapter books in one sitting. She LOVES to read and will happily get ready for bed early, just so she has more time to read.

Third, I was thinking about a talk from the April 2011 conference given by Lynn G. Robbins called "What Manner of Men and Women Ought Ye to Be". He talked about the difference between Being and Doing.

Many of us create to do lists to remind us of things we want to accomplish. But people rarely have to be lists. Why? To do’s are activities or events that can be checked off the list when done. To be, however, is never done. You can’t earn checkmarks with to be’s. I can take my wife out for a lovely evening this Friday, which is a to do. But being a good husband is not an event; it needs to be part of my nature—my character, or who I am.

Or as a parent, when can I check a child off my list as done? We are never done being good parents. And to be good parents, one of the most important things we can teach our children is how to be more like the Savior.

I've been pondering how do I teach my children to be the kind of people they should? In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter so much what they do, what they choose as their career, etc. It matters much, much more who they are. How do I teach her that? How do I teach her to be honest and trust worthy and compassionate and a hard worker and kind? It seems like a daunting task.

Suprise! It's a...

No, I wouldn't do that to you again. I wouldn't leave you hanging.

Or would I? Really? Okay, so maybe I would.

Just kidding!

Introducing: Baby Girl Mansfield (we are still working on a name. :D)
Born: May 27, 2011 at 1:24 pm
Weight: 8 lbs, 12 oz
Length: 21 inches

Everyone is doing good. She is beautiful with lots of dark hair. Will post more later - after a nap.

Thanks for all the prayers and good thoughts and help.

Love Anna

Jared's Preschool Graduation

 Last night was Jared's preschool graduation. They went all out - caps and gowns and tassels, the whole nine yards. The kids were so cute. They did a short program, repeating a poem or a song for each month of school. Jared has been practicing bits and pieces of it for weeks, so it was fun to finally hear the whole thing. His favorite parts were December, which they sang "Santa Claus is Coming to Town", February, where they said "Washington and Lincoln, two presidents are great. They worked to make our country good, their birth we celebrate," and April, when they sang "Jesus Christ has risen, Alleluia!" We have enjoyed the mixture of secular and religious learning that he's had this year. Although the preschool was through a Baptist church, the things he's been taught meshed pretty well with our beliefs.

After the graduation, there was a little reception for the graduates and their families. As all of the kids were running around, playing, I hear Jared singing "Praise to the Man" at the top of his lungs. I guess he already has the missionary spirit.

Jared has LOVED preschool this year. He has learned a lot - at the beginning of the year, he recognized a little over half of the alphabet, and now, he is able to read CVC words and a whole list of sight words. His confidence has grown leaps and bounds. He is so much more independent. It's been fun seeing him change over the year.

Shrieking Eels

Jared is in his room, throwing a huge tantrum. He would NOT cooperate at the doctor for his well child check-up. Wouldn't do the eye test, freaked out about the hearing test, turned into a wild animal when she tried to listen to his heart. It wasn't a good visit. At. All. And I am currently too impatient and whale-like to fight the battle.

So, like the good (er, bad?) mother I am, I tried to bribe him with McDonalds, if he would just cooperate. No dice.

As we drove past McDonalds without stopping on the way home, he started screaming and kicking and completely falling apart. I think I may have suffered permanent hearing loss. May have lost a few more brain cells. Definitely running low on patience.

And this is what I was thinking about the whole way home:


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I'd like to tell you

a little about my friend Holly.

The friend is the man who knows all about you, and still likes you.  

~Elbert Hubbard, The Notebook, 1927

I met Holly in 6th grade. She joined our class partway through the year. I think my first words were "It's a GIRL!!!!" when she waled into the room. We've been pretty much inseparable ever since (give or take a few thousand miles and a couple of timezones).

Our friendship has lasted through bad glasses, bad hair styles, dyed goats, crazy school friends, band, cookie dough, mud masks, not enough long distance phone minutes, pets, parents, moves, boyfriends, and marriages.




Picture Time (she's gonna love me for this!)

6th Grade Graduation

8th Grade Graduation

Band competition, sometime in high school

Hiking at Fat Man Squeeze

See - I was there too. :D

Hanging out in Monument Valley

Incidentally, if you are ever stumped about what to have for breakfast, she's the one to call.

Toothless

Finally got a picture of Megan, in all her toothless glory. (It took me a while because I had to buy batteries for my camera - going to the store these days is an exhausting, all day event!)

I love her smile right now, and I love the little lisp that has showed up with it.

Hard Work...um, yeah. That's what we'll call it.

Travis decided to have the kids help him wash the car to teach them the value of hard work. It didn't take too long before it turned into a water fight.

Still, when all is said and done, the cars got washed and the grass got watered. Can't ask for more than that!

Tooth vs. Door part 2

 Last night, Travis and Megan tried again to use the "door" method to get her tooth out. (If you missed the first 20 or so attempts, you can read about it HERE.) They tried 6 or 7 more times, but I won't torture you with all of the attempts.



Travis claims that this is proof that it works, but I think the tooth finally just gave up and fell out on it's own, and the timing just happened to work out...

Megan is pretty excited to be missing both of her top front teeth. She makes a little whistling sound when she talks. Travis has been calling her "Toothless" (from How to Train Your Dragon) ever since. (My camera battery died, so I haven't gotten a picture of her new smile yet - will post that soon. :D)

Happy Birthday, Jared!

In 5 years, we've gone from this:

to this:

 

A little about Jared at age 5:

He loves to be a gentleman. He always holds the door for me, unlocks the car, carries things, and tells me I'm beautiful. Chivalry is not dead. It's alive and well in my sweet boy.

He loves to vacuum. My couch has never been so clean - at least once a week, Jared takes the cushions off to vacuum beneath them.

He loves to do service for people. He makes his sister's bed, puts his dad's shoes away, and picks up the living room.

He loves to read and write and draw. He loves making up words using the magnetic letters on the fridge and laughs and laughs at the silly sound combinations.

He loves food - seafood, strong cheeses, fruits, veggies. He likes candy and cookies, but will usually choose something healthy over sugary treats.

He loves to play - especially with water. He would be happy to spend all day outside in the backyard with the hose. He also loves cars and trucks, dress up (especially pirates), and puzzles.

He is a wonderful part of our family and we are so grateful for him.

May Resolutions

Since the month is more than half over, I guess I should get my resolutions written down.

Mostly I'm in survival mode these days. I keep waiting for that nesting instinct - that huge burst of energy that pregnant women are supposed to get right before they have a baby. It never came with the other two pregnancies, and I'm not too hopeful that it'll come this time. All I can hope is that when I go into labor (or finally make it to my induction date), my dishes have been done in the past day or so and the kitchen floor isn't too sticky.

One of my friends posted a quote a few days ago that said something about being in a good mood until 10 AM, and then the rest of the day will take care of it's self. It seems silly, but every time I've tried it, it's worked. If I can just be happy until 10 AM, the rest of the day goes so much more smoothly. Just starting on the right track makes all the difference.

So I guess that's my goal this month - to be in a good mood until 10 AM. After that, all bets are off.

Tooth vs. Door

 Megan lost a tooth earlier this week. Before dinner, it was just barely hanging on. I figured I'd help her pull it out while she was brushing her teeth before bed. Halfway through dinner, it was GONE. Yup - pretty sure she swallowed it. Ewww! But on the other hand, it was a quick, painless, bloodless, drama-less way to lose a tooth.

She's got two more that are really loose. One is barely hanging on. Personally, I am content to just wait - it will fall out eventually, right? Of course Travis isn't cool with waiting. He convinced Megan to let him tie one end of a string around her tooth, and the other end to the front door. In theory, when you slam the door, the tooth should come out. In theory...

They tried about a dozen times, and every single time the string fell off her tooth before the door shut.


By bedtime, they still hadn't gotten it to come out. 
Tooth = 1
String = 0

The saga continues HERE!

Singin' and Dancin' in the Rain

 It hadn't really rained in Houston since March, so when the skies finally opened up on Thursday afternoon, Jared (and I) was pretty excited. He put on his rain coat and went to play in the back yard. I asked him if he was going to sing and dance and he said yes - and sent me to get the camera. Sorry about the bad sound quality - the rain was hitting my umbrella pretty hard.

Apparently, It's Freezing Out There

It was 53 degrees this morning when Megan went out to the bus. No humidity. Absolutely GORGEOUS. She insisted on wearing long pants and a heavy jacket because it was FREEZING. How quickly we have adjusted to Houston weather!