Mom's Little Helper

We had some ripe bananas but instead of making simple banana bread I decided to make banana oatmeal cookies. Juliet always helps me when I cook (it is one of her favorite things to do), so as soon I started she pushed over a chair, climbed up, and started helping. We started with measuring the sugar and flour and putting them in bowls. Then I started grabbing other ingredients from the cupboard. Well, as I was grabbing the cinnamon and nutmeg from the cupboard Juliet spotted the star sprinkles and started asking for them very loudly and persistently. A little distracted I was first off excited that I figured out what she was asking for, and then I handed them to her and did not think anything of it as I fished around for the nutmeg. I found the nutmeg and turned around in time to find Juliet had dumped about 1/3 of the sprinkles into the bowl of flour. I had forgotten how good she has gotten at opening containers! It made me laugh, and she was quite proud of herself. So we fished them out of the flour as best we could and put them in a bowl for her to eat.

After that she was sampling all the ingredients we mixed in (sugar and butter, smashed bananas, oatmeal, chocolate chips). When we got to the bananas she took the fork and instead of trying to scrape smashed bananas into the bowl she was getting bananas to put in her mouth. I have decided baking must be a lot more fun to her because there are more things to mix, and the ingredients are not only tasty, but they are not hot so she can sample away! I love our cooking adventures.

Life

There have been many times in the past month that I have come into the living room to find Clayton laughing about something someone had posted on their blog. I have to say you all have inspired us to start working on our blog again. Thank you!

The past year has been a very busy one. Clayton has graduated. Shaela has passed her second year of medical school. Juliet is officially a toddler and two years old. And there is a new baby on the way! It is amazing how fast time flies. I think it is easier to gauge the passing of time when you have a child growing up before your eyes.

In the past month Juliet has started talking a lot more, too. She is beginning to move out of her shy stage, and she is starting to put words together. One of our favorite things is hearing her tell stories with her limited vocabulary and hand motions. She is very expressive and gets very excited to tell them. She even starts laughing in her stories about funny things she is talking about.

Her biggest stories are about the trip we took in the beginning of July to the Hill Cumorah Pageant in Palmyra, NY. She got to ride a plane for the first time, and she got to ride a boat for the first time (at Niagara Falls). So her story is about the "plane" that goes "up, up, up!" and "swim"ming on the "water" in a "boat" and how "Mom," "Dad," and "Grandpa" got all "wet." She shares the same story at least three times in one sitting, and you can tell she is remembering the experiences as she tells the stories.

Between taking care of Juliet and working on his business, Clayton keeps busy during the days. He is a great multi-tasker, and Juliet adores him. I love coming home and seeing them playing or just hanging out. They have a lot of fun together.

As for me, I have no choice right now but to study and prepare for my board exam. I spend about six hours on campus studying during the day...but compared to my classmates this is nothing. Some spend up to 12 hours studying. It is just hard for me to sit still long enough and be comfortable...One of the downsides of being pregnant :) I am trying to work up my endurance so that I can sit still and stare and a computer for my 8 hour test. Yuck. Let's just say I am glad I have a family to come home to. They help relieve my stress and make me feel human again. And they help me find a balance in life. Life is good.