TheCOVID19Experience

We thought we would just make a post during this time to help increase access to a really cool resource we have been working on during this covid experience here in 2020. We think sharing our experiences can be really meaningful, especially since this is one of the most globally shared experience for generations. It is affecting each of us. But for each of us it is different. That's why a shared space where we can gather to share, laugh together, cry together, and cope is helpful. Feel free to like The Covid19 Experience on Facebook, @diariesofthecovid19experience on Instagram, and go to the website http://www.thecovid19experience.net.  If you feel so inclined, share your experience with the rest of us and spread the word.

As the site says, "The news stories, the memes, the articles, the texts, the calls. Across the world we’re thinking and breathing coronavirus. When was the last time we had such an acute, globally shared experience? We can relate to each other in incredible new ways, and yet we are still experiencing the pandemic and its consequences uniquely. "We all have our own, multifaceted COVID19 stories to share, whether funny or heartbreaking. It’s part of our human story that can connect us on a deeper level, perhaps healing the coronavirus scars that no one can see. "

So take a look. Get some of "all the feels". We even wrote and submitted a couple different posts including a poem for it!

Thanks!

Life with New Little Eloise

Our family is loving the addition of little Eloise. She adds so much sweetness to our home!

Since I'm not good at blogging, I thought I'd post my monthly emails I send to the Hart side once a month. Here goes:

How to catch a Lincoln
1. Lay blanket on floor
2. Place baby on blanket
3. Wait 2-5 seconds
4. A Lincoln will appear as close as humanly possible to baby without actually being on top of her

Lincoln loves to find dangerous stuff to plug in, such as my straightener or the hot glue gun. I'm running out of out-of-Lincoln's-reach places to store things.

He's really getting into playing pretend games with Lydia and is really good at imitating her. He usually contributes something to the games--a crash, a death, a sickness--where he gets to fall over frequently.  

Lincoln had a terrible gastrointestinal infection this month. You can see his ribs and spine on a normal day, but between the lack of appetite and then throwing up, he looked absolutely emaciated. His shoulder blades were so sharp looking I thought they would slice right through his skin. Glad that's over!

Lincoln is ready to potty train, but I'm just not pulled together enough to really hit it hard. He's constantly trying to change is own diapers and can't stand to have a barely wet diaper on or wear one he's passed gas in. (TMI?) So, I'm always chasing around a bare bummed boy. He recently not only peed on my bookshelf, but peed right on the little section of signed books I have. Moment of silence, please.

       Lincoln melts my heart with how sweet and soft he can be with Eloise. He loves to hold her, sing to her, kiss her (we finally got him not to do it on the lips!), wipe her with the burp cloth, give her his special blanket, and just be close to her.
      He also can show her affection much more...erm...enthusiastically. If she survives his love, she will be one tough cookie.
      Basically, if he actually believes us that something causes harm, he'll stop, but he doesn't think El's as wimpy as we make her out to be: Soft head? Pshh. We're working on not jumping over her or headbutting her or doing headstands right next to her...
       He loves to roll her over and sing, "Tummy time, tummy time."
       Recently, when I told him Eloise was swaddled and couldn't do anymore tummy time, he asked to hold her and then they attempted a ninja slide of the couch so he could put her in tummy time again.
       Good thing I have my own ninja reflexes!

Lydia 
(Not in age order; it's only fair to mix it up sometimes)

     "We have something at our house--it's Eloise!" Lydia is the mini mom. She loves to babysit Ella Bella while I do laundry or check the mail or just walk in the other room. 

      She also likes to mother Lincoln. "Don't talk with your mouth full--Lincoln CHEW!"

One of the highlights of her month was going to the doctor. She anticipated it for months and was beyond excited. She wanted to have another turn after Lincoln and Ella did their checkups.

She's really into peanut butter and jelly sandwiches without the jelly.

Brad's been working on phonics with her, so she (and her little copycat Lincoln) have been walking around the house saying, "Haa haa toilet! Baa baa chair!" Safe to say it's still a work in progress.

      She had a morbid fascination with death for week or so since we've been reading the illustrated Doctrine and Covenants before her bedtime. She kept double checking that certain people will die: "Is cousin so and so going to die someday? Will they go to the spirit world? Has Joseph Smith come back alive yet?"

      She was upset about dying herself because she didn't want to leave our house behind. I told her she wouldn't die until she was a very old grandma, so she didn't need to worry about it, and she really wouldn't care about her house at that point because of how amazing heaven is and because she'd have her family, but it wasn't until I finally promised she'd have an even nicer house in heaven that she was satisfied. 

Lydia went through a solid six months (January through June) without wearing pants once and with only wearing shorts a handful of times. We convinced her to wear some Anderson hand-me-down leggings once or twice in July and August and she only wore them because they came from Abigail and Saylor. We're still trying to acclimate her to pants before the weather gets cold and because her dresses and skirts are starting to get short, but progress is slow.

Lydia's always singing, here's some of what she sings:
"Oh No, Donald has a Farm"
"Twenty Bridges Falling Down"
"I have a dairy, the farmer in the dell"   
       She also makes up her own songs all the time. I've been pretty impressed by what she comes up with. She's creative and fun.

L:"Mom, I think the reason my tummy is sick is because of the wipers."
V: "What are wipers?"
L: "When I get something out of my nose and eat it."
V: "I bet you're right. Let's not do that anymore."

"Please bless Jesus in Heaven that He will feel His love in every heart."

Eloise
Our little Ella is starting to social smile! Best thing ever. She definitely has her fussy times during the day but is only waking up once a night more and more regularly. Can you say spoiled?

Brad
Brad has his nose to the grindstone times ten. I think we thought this last semester would be a little easier since it's only six weeks, but it feels like the craziest yet.

My best analogy to describe Brad is that he is like a cat with nine lives, only he's living all nine at once (and not because he necessarily wants to). Besides fuller then full-time school, Brad still works at the music venue from time and time, does a lot for church, does the grocery shopping, and also tries hard to be a really good dad. It tires me out just thinking about it all. We're sure grateful for him.

He did get some well-deserved downtime this month watching football because our bishop has been offering him extra tickets to the BYU games.

We just received word that his upcoming rotation has changed. The surgeon in Provo that he was going to work with will be gone for 9 days of his 4 week rotation, so he's now going to be working in West Valley and West Jordan for his surgery rotation instead. It's not too impossible of a commute by any means, but we had been really excited to have a rotation he didn't have to commute to, so it's kind of a bummer and may affect his ability to be involved with as many emergency surgeries and other things.

Me
I'm feeling under the weather today, so I can't think of much more to say (and this is already getting way too long...)

Life is good. And crazy and chaotic and messy. We're having a pretty good adjustment to baby and I'm happy and exhausted. That's it.

#3

~~

Happy Easter

        I felt like we celebrated Easter all week because the kids (mostly Lydia) were so into the Easter story and talking about Christ and telling me all about Christ. It seemed like the holiday sunk in for all the right reasons! Brad and I did get some eggs and candy, so they could get some treats, but we'd thought we'd do a lesson with them, not worry about an egg hunt this year. 

        We changed our minds, however, when Lydia told me how excited she was to go pick eggs on Easter after "they fell from sky." So, we went with a little Saturday egg hunt after all. 

As we learned during Halloween, Lincoln's not very selfish. Whenever he got an egg, he tried to replace it with one from his basket. 

 

We also tried to make resurrection cookies to prep for Easter Sunday. Talking about the significance of each ingredient and how Jesus suffered on the cross as we put them in really worked out. (Except, I skipped the beating the nuts to symbolize the soldier's beating Christ. That seemed dreadfully irreverent to me.) 

 

Unfortunately, Lincoln started a batter battle, splattering white over EVERYTHING in the kitchen, table, walls, floor, fridge. And the cookies didn't go hollow like they were suppose to...but the kids did love taping up the oven for the night. 

He coincidentally got his first bloody nose the same night and it started running again shortly after the batter incident. Made him look a little worse for the wear.

 

Finally, we enjoyed a great day on Easter Sunday, especially because we got to see family. Lydie and Link's Aunt Rebecca and Uncle Spencer invited us to there house for a delicious Easter dinner, kid-friendly devotional, and resurrection rolls that worked much better than the cookies. ;)

Lydia was a happy girl, despite not giving the camera any smiles. She had me tell her every Jesus story I know before church.

 Love this handsome devil

 Happy to be at church on such a special Sabbath

We also listened to this song, per Lydia's request, about 500 times throughout the week, but we didn't mind.

I'm so grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ who not only makes it possible for me to repent of my sins and work on my many, many flaws, but who also gives me comfort and strength on a daily basis. Who helps me create a wonderful life with my wonderful family. Happy Easter one and all!

New Rule

 

I never thought I'd have to say, "Lydia, no more flushing your head in the toilet!"

 Parenting is full of surprises

Triceratops Party

(Lydia sure knows how to take the edge off finals week!)

There's a nailed panel in Lydia's room that we assume leads to some of the bathroom plumbing, but Lydie Bug has informed me that's it's actually a Dinosaur Door and a triceratops sleeps there (pronounced Cera-TOPS with a little tongue and spit on the the T).

Lydie Knocking on the Dinosaur Door

Furthermore, it turns out that this 'ceratops has a birthday today. Under Lydia's direction, we made a cake that included Mapeline, waffle mix, tomato sauce, lotion, and honey (but don't worry besides a few crackers that made it in there, no actual ingredients were poured into our pretend cake).

Now that the cake is "baking" Lydia is figuring out how to turn her "purses" into party hats.

Don't you wish you were the triceratops sleeping behind the Dinosaur Door at our house?

I'm a Stay-At-Home Referee

There's a lot of love at our house.

We love hugs

 And kisses 

And cuddles.

 But sometimes the line between cuddles and clobbers becomes blurred

And soon an all-out wrestling match ensues.

 

After all, what better way is there to say "I love you" than a little baby wrestling: