Love and Loss

Before Daniel and I got married, Olivia and I went through a lot of roommates here in DC. One of them, who was only here for a semester and had long since moved back to Utah, had a little boy a few months older than Addison and Jackson. One month ago, he died in a tragic accident. I haven't been able to get my friend Julie and the passing of her little Jonah off of my mind or my heart. Not knowing what to do, I ended up writing her an email, trying to express my shared sorrow for her loss, imagining the unimaginable grief she must be feeling, assuring her that people thousands of miles away were mourning her loss with her, and gently reminding her that her sweet, bright, kind, happy little boy was being well taken care of in the tender arms of his Heavenly Father and with those in her family who have passed on before until she could be with him again.

*This was a good reminder to me that even if you don't know what to say in a given situation (and I certainly didn't), it is always good to reach out to someone in a time of sorrow. I had been thinking about her, and only after talking with Olivia about Julie's tragedy did I actually reach out to her--and I'm glad that I did.

She responded gratefully, that it was amazing to know people all over the world were grieving with her and her family. And that she'd felt an amazing peace not long after Jonah left this earth, and she knew that their bond was everlasting. And lastly, she wrote this to me:

"Being a mom is hard and exhausting, but I am grateful for the moments I listened to the spirit and stayed a little longer with Jonah and held him close and cherished being his mother."

I had tears streaming down my face as I read her response, sitting at my desk at work. How sad I was for Julie. At the same time, how grateful I am for my babies, and that they are healthy and happy. I try very hard to live in the moment with them--to be patient, to be present, to be kind and gentle, to give them all I have to give, and to enjoy all that they are and all that they're becoming--but it isn't always easy, with work and life and everything else that can get in the way. How much I appreciated the reminder from Julie to always cherish my babies, and to spend those special moments with them when I can.

Tonight, before we put them to bed, I tried to snuggle them for an extra minute--because I always want them to know how much I love them, because my heart is so full, and just because I could.

Snow day...in October?!

What a wacky weekend! On Friday afternoon, Daniel's office hosted a Halloween party for everyone and their families. The babies got all dressed up, and proceeded to run like maniacs all over his office! They loved reaching their hands into buckets and taking multiple pieces of candy--only to hold the shiny pieces in their hands and keep on running down the hallway. They also ate like they hadn't eaten all day (which of course, they had)--they had an entire piece of pizza, a couple of chicken nuggets, and they split a chocolate cupcake. They must be growing--and they are loving to explore and run around.

This morning, the babies got all dressed up again and we all went to the church for a fall festival party. The babies (along with their father) ate pancakes and sausage and had their first drinks of orange juice (with mixed reviews and a few funny faces)--then they spent the next 45 minutes running all over the church building like maniacs (with me, Daniel, and Mary taking turns chasing them all over the place). Then we returned home, took our costumes off, and hung out the rest of the day--while it proceeded to SNOW all afternoon. What the hay?! It's October, for heaven's sake! Anyway, it turned out to be the perfect day to lounge around in our socks and diapers.



PS Jackson's sorcerer's robe led a person or two to ask...if he was a little girl. FAIL (they obviously weren't looking very closely!!)! This fed strongly into Daniel's insistence that we cut Jackson's hair. This is a terrible idea for a number of reasons:

1-You think Jackson would calmly sit still while scissors repeatedly came at his head? Think again.

2-He's still little--it's clearly too early for a haircut.

3-He has like 10 hairs on his head. Granted, 5 of them are too long. But seriously--not enough hairs to warrant a hairscut.

4-Just look at those curls. To cut them off would break his mama's heart. They are so precious, and are pretty much part of his persona. Don't cut them...yet.

So--we compromised. Jackson had a few locks that were really long right in front (as documented in the pictures above)--so we gave them a trim in the bathtub that night. Now he doesn't get hair in his eyes when he's having shampoo rinsed from his locks--but he still has his sweet, adorable curls in back. Works for me!

Music Man!

Jackson just continues to be my little music man. Whenever he can escape from the living room, he runs right over to the piano, stands on his tippy toes, and plays away. Today, before we put got dressed in our Halloween costumes, we sat Jackson on the piano bench and let him play away. He didn't pound on the keys--he actually carefully spread out his fingers and played the keys. He pivoted and played lower notes, then pivoted and played higher notes. He was so excited and happy to sit right up at the piano and play away. I see lots of piano lessons in our future for my little music man!



Just look at that smile!

PS Addison likes to play the piano too--but she was still napping while Jackson was playing today! Rest assured, I foresee lots of piano lessons for her too.

A little Halloween preview

The babies' costumes got here today! Not to give too much away...but we will have a little witch and a sorcerer on our hands this year. Thank goodness Grandma Kaye is so crafty--it's wonderful to have handmade costumes for our babies (even though their Mom isn't so handy with the sewing machine, nor is she able/willing to forfeit hours sleep to figure out how to sew your Halloween costumes herself--sorry babies, but it's the cold, hard truth.)

Anyway, they are going to be super cute all dressed up for Halloween this year!

(Jackson is really not sure about his hat...)

This Weekend

We had a visitor this weekend--you see, a few months ago Mary told us she'd be ready for something new come the new year, so we started searching for a new nanny. Whitney, a recent BYU grad who currently working in Provo but looking to move to DC, was one of the people who responded to our ad. We hit it off, and this weekend she came for a visit--and in great news, everything clicked, and now we have a new nanny! We had a busy weekend, which involved showing her around our neighborhood, eating lots of good food, and doing some serious playing with the babies. Here are some pictures of our Sunday afternoon trip to Lincoln Park. While it will be very sad to see Mary go--we will be excited to have Whitney here!

Jackson on Dad's shoulders--it was hard to get a good picture, because for some reason all Jackson wanted to do was bite the top of his hat.



And here is Addison, playing on the big toy at the playground.

Her first time down the slide (kind of) all by herself (and ending up upside down).

And here is Addison--and Whitney's legs. Picture fail, courtesy of Mom and her iPhone.

Fall Fun!

On Saturday, the babies, Daniel and I met up with Olivia and Jessica at Cox Farms for a day of fall fun. We took a hay ride, saw lots of farm animals, rode down a few slides, shook things up on the dance floor, ate hamburgers and hot dogs and french fries, and took home some cute little pumpkins. Overall, it was a success (though we didn't see much of an actual farm, much to my chagrin...)!

First, we met a big ol' Holstein--then we saw these little guys, who were the perfect size for the babies, and were equally interested in Addison and Jackson as the babies were in them.

Something must have caught the attention of both of Addison and the calf.



And then we saw some chickens--one had escaped, so the babies got to touch her.

You'll notice Daniel wore a plaid shirt--because we went to a farm, duh.

The beautiful, fun, and fabulous Sanford sisters.

Addison and Dad on the big slide, followed directly by Jackson and Mom.


Jackson and Mommy.

Oh my goodness, Jackson and Addison could not get over these balloons. Someone was having a birthday party and had put up this bright string of balloons--and no matter how many times we moved them away, the babies were drawn back to the balloons (and they have astonishing focus and memory, when they want to).


More Jackson and Mom.


Addison and Jess--thank goodness Olivia and Jessica were there to help keep our squirrley, wiggley, and fast babies safe and having fun!

Family pic!

Back to the Park

We went back to the park this afternoon--I have a feeling we will be going there a lot as long as the fall weather is beautiful, perfect for playing outside. This time, the babies decided they liked riding the little bouncy toys.


(it's obvious from these pictures that "babies" is a misnomer...)

Fun at the park!

I've been home with the babies for the past two days. So with Friday at home, the weekend, the Columbus Day holiday, and one additional day Mary needed off, it's been a long string of days spent with the babies--and I've loved it! It has been exhausting--we went to parks, went on long walks, made fun lunches and dinners, and while the babies napped I did laundry, cleaned/organized around the house, and managed to get a little bit of work done. Anyway, yesterday we went on a walk to Lovejoy Park, which is a park on the other side of the Hill we've only been to once before, but is really well suited for toddlers--and the babies had a great time. We did lots of running, climbing, sliding, and playing.


Oh boy, Addison has started seriously climbing--up the slide, onto the drum at home, moving pillows around to use them as steps to climb onto the couch, using me as a step to climb onto the couch--we are in trouble!!

A plane flew overhead, and we all had to stop to watch--we have such perceptive little kids!

13 months!

Our 13-month-old babies are so much fun! Their little personalities are really coming out, and they are doing lots of fun and exciting things. They are starting to be little copycats--if you laugh, Addison will chime in with a goofy fake giggle. If they hear applause on the television, they will start clapping. Both of the babies are very generous with their kisses--if you ask for a kiss, they come at you with an open mouth, looking for a smooch. They are very passionate little kissers. They also also really good at giving hugs, and Jackson especially will walk around hugging his stuffed animals. They are really sweet babies.

The most adorable new thing that the babies are doing is dancing. They are dancing machines!! They dance all of the time--if there is a song coming out of a toy, if there is a jingle on the television, they are wiggling their bums and shimmying their shoulders. They can really feel the beat and move along with it--I love it when they dance! Mary has been taking them to a weekly children's concert at Eastern Market, where they evidently get down with other kids. They are also doing lots of talking--a couple of nights ago, I said that we needed to put away the crackers, and Addison said "cracker." She said it about 20 times (and since then, Daniel tries to get her to say it all of the time). Jackson said raisin during snack time this past weekend, and Addison said bottle last night. I swear, these kids are going to be talking very soon.

In the past two weeks or so, the babies have started signing--we've been going to a signing class every Friday for a few months now. The teacher told us that most kids act like sponges for a few months and take things in during the class but don't necessarily sign, then between 12 and 14 months, the signing really begins--and that's how it has gone with our kids. They both have a handful of signs, which they use and seem to actually understand: all gone/all finished (and Addison says "gohn gohn" when she makes the sign), food/hungry, more, water, dog (and both of the babies say a variation of dog, doggie, and good dog), bear, gorilla, and we're picking up more every day (I think their next signs will be bath and cracker, but who knows what will spark their interests!). We have such bright babies.

Both babies are very steady on their feet. Jackson takes big, commanding steps. Addison takes smaller steps, and is a little bit less stable, but good grief is she fast. She looks kind of like a roadrunner--her upper body is still, but her bottom half is moving. Both babies are getting to be pretty good at throwing a ball, and Jackson is also good at kicking the ball, walking after it, and kicking it again.

The babies are doing a lot of "reading" these days. One of my absolute, all-time favorite things both of them do is climb up on my lap with a book. They love to turn the pages, they love interactive books with things to touch or move on the pages, and they love to hear you read--I hope they'll always want to sit on my lap and read a good story.

We made the transition to cow's milk a couple of weeks after their first birthday, and it was pretty seamless. I only got a few moments of hesitation and looks from Jackson, giving me the eye because his bottle was different. They are eating a lot of food, and eating all kinds of food--for breakfast they like fruit smoothies (which they love to drink through a straw), bagels with cream cheese, pancakes, Cheerios, and some kind of fruit; for lunch, they have a fruit and/or vegetable (often apple sauce with strawberries, peaches, or carrots), grilled cheese sandwiches, cheese, ham or turkey, and crackers; and for dinner they eat pasta, peas or carrots, cheese, sweet potatoes, bananas, blueberries, graham crackers, and a lot of time they have some of what we have for dinner. And for the past few weeks, every night with dinner they are eating pureed prunes and apples, to help little Addison stay regular. For a while there, they wouldn't let me spoonfeed them a thing--now they are back to liking to be fed a little bit, and Addison is getting pretty good at holding her own spoon (I just have to reload it for her between bites). When he gets a hold of a spoon, Jackson waves it around like a wand, flinging food everywhere--not quite ready for prime time with his own silverware.

Breakfast has become a big meal for the babies--for the past few days, they have eaten 10 silver-dollar pancakes between the two of them, along with Cherrios and plums this morning (pics thanks to my iPhone).

Oh, how we love these babies! They are too cute for words.