B+C+B+C+B+C: Outdoor ventures

Friday, February 20, 2009

Outdoor ventures

Ok, this might sound trivial… but it really was a significant “first” for us: Brianna went outside and walked around in shoes for the first time! It hasn’t been warm enough to attempt this til now. Actually, it still really isn’t warm enough – as you can see from the ice and snow in the background – so it was a brief venture. It was so fun to watch her little face light up as she realized where she was and what she was doing. At first when I put the shoes on, she seemed annoyed with me and tried to remove them. But then I rushed her outside, distracting her from the foreign objects robbing her feet of their freedom. I stood her up in the street… and she promptly plunked back down, I stood her up again. She lingered longer in this position and finally took a few tentative steps after encouragement.

Suddenly it was as if the clouds had parted and the sun broke through… Brianna started racing around that pavement as fast as she bow-leggedly (is that a word?) could. She soon noticed the existence of alien items on the ground that needed inspection. So she stooped down for all the little rocks and twigs and snow patches. It’s funny how a few years ago I would’ve been horrified seeing a child put gravel into her mouth. Now I’m just glad it’s not cigarette butts

(which – in this photograph, I’m covering up with my shoe. If you look close at her face, you can tell she’s crying out in protest of my cruel censorship.)

These are the only shoes she has right now in her size:

I like them because they’re great for beginners - featherweight and Velcro. As soon as she gets into size 4, she’ll have a closet full of shoes (thank you Carrie!)
One of the results of outdoor ventures has been a significant increase in dirty laundry…

8 comments:

gilliay said...: I liked this post a lot. Mean mom, not letting her play with the cigarette butt. ;) I clicked on the picture to see her face, she was protesting for sure! Emma got to go outside and play in the backyard for the first time on Friday. She had a blast, once she got used to walking on the soggy squishy brown grass.; February 22, 2009 at 7:59 PM
Becky and Brian said...: What fun it must be now that she is walking. The pictures are cute!; February 22, 2009 at 8:32 PM
Becky and Brian said...: What fun it must be now that she is walking. The pictures are cute!; February 22, 2009 at 8:32 PM
Makenzie Iorg said...: Of course I remember you! Brianna is so adorable! You are a serious blogger! And it looks like you're a great mom too!; February 22, 2009 at 9:34 PM
Unknown said...: How cute! There is no stopping her from being outside now, mom! I have made it a point to put shoes on Addison's feet EVERY time we leave the house, so now she knows that she MUST have shoes on to go outside.; February 23, 2009 at 9:41 AM
Unknown said...: I love these pictures, and I love to watch my kids discover the outdoors. I remember the horror of some old ladies in my ward as I let Abby play in dirt at this age at a ward picnic. Kids love dirt, why ruin their freedoms.; February 23, 2009 at 2:05 PM
ChrisnDave said...: Hey girl, a few things...
1) Beware, now that she knows how awesome it is outside, she'll never want to be indoors! Rio doesn't care if its 20 degrees and sleeting, he wants to be OUTSIDE and stands by the back door gazing longingly until I let him out :)
2) A few posts back you mentioned something about trying to eat as healthily as your baby does - I'm totally guilty too - and made that one of my goals too :)
3) I think you also mentioned homemade fruit strips - is there a quick/easy recipe? Do you just mush up dried fruits and then spread them out and cut them into strips?; February 23, 2009 at 4:25 PM
chelsea mckell said...: Chris - 1) yep, it's happening...
2) It's easier said than done!
3) Been doing fruit leather for years... all I do is puree the raw fruits and pour it onto the dehydrator trays (on fruit leather sheets). Some people sweetners, but if the fruit is ripe enough it's not necessary. Recipe... naw. Just throw it randomly and taste test :); February 25, 2009 at 5:25 PM

Quotes I want to remember

"The Lord knows our bearing capacity, both as to coping and to comprehending, and He will not give us more to bear than we can manage at the moment, though to us it may seem otherwise. Just as no temptations will come to us from which we cannot escape or which we cannot bear, we will not be given more trials than we can sustain."
- Neal A. Maxwell

"It is a fundamental truth that the responsibilities of motherhood cannot be successfully delegated. No, not to day-care centers, not to schools, not to nurseries, not to babysitters. We become enamored with men's theories such as the idea of preschool training outside the home for young children. Not only does this put added pressure on the budget, but it places young children in an environment away from mother's influence."
-Ezra Taft Benson

“Perhaps there has never been a time when we had greater need to pray and to teach our family members to pray. Prayer is a defense against temptation. It is through earnest and heartfelt prayer that we can receive the needed blessings and the support required to make our way in this sometimes difficult and challenging journey we call mortality.”
-Thomas S. Monson

“Live the gospel as conspicuously as you can. Keep the covenants your children know you have made. And bear your testimony! Don’t just assume your children will somehow get the drift of your beliefs on their own.
-Jeffrey R. Holland

"We hold in our arms the rising generation. They come to this earth with important responsibilities and great spiritual capacities. We cannot be casual in how we prepare them. Our challenge as parents and teachers is not to create a spiritual core in their souls but rather to fan the flame of their spiritual core already aglow with the fire of their premortal faith."
-Neil L. Andersen

"Certainly there are times when getting the family together to read the scriptures does not stack up as a spiritual experience worthy of a journal entry. But we must not be deterred. There are special times when the spirit of a son or daughter is just right and the power of these great scriptures goes down into their heart like fire. As we honor our Heavenly Father in our homes, He will honor our efforts."
-Neil L. Andersen

President Hinckley admonished both men and women to be nurturers. He said, ‘How much more beautiful would be the society in which we live if every father . . . and . . . mother regarded [their] children . . . as gifts from the God of heaven . . . and brought them up with true affection in the wisdom and admonition of the Lord.’ ”
-Susan W. Tanner

"Children are like trees. When they are young, their lives can be shaped and directed, usually with ever so little effort. Said the writer of Proverbs, 'Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it' (22:6). That training finds its roots in the home. There will be little of help from other sources. Do not depend on government to help in this darkening situation. Barbara Bush, wife of former U.S. president George Bush, spoke wisely: 'Your success as a family, our success as society, depends not on what happens at the White House, but on what happens inside your house.' "
-Gordon B. Hinckley

“I give counsel to husbands and wives. Pray for the love which allows you to see the good in your companion. Pray for the love that makes weaknesses and mistakes seem small. Pray for the love to make your companion’s joy your own. Pray for the love to want to lessen the load and soften the sorrows of your companion.”
-Henry B. Eyring

“Reverent behavior is not a natural tendency for most children. It is a quality that is taught by parents and leaders through example and training. But remember, if reverence is rooted in love, so is the teaching of it. Harshness in our training begets resentment, not reverence.”
-Margaret S. Lifferth

"There is no one perfect way to be a good mother. Each situation is unique. Each mother has different challenges, different skills and abilities, and certainly different children. What matters is that a mother loves her children deeply and, in keeping with the devotion she has for God and her husband, prioritizes them above all else."
- M. Russell Ballard

“As parents, we should remember that our lives may be the book from the family library which the children most treasure. Are our examples worthy of emulation? Do we live in such a way that a son or a daughter may say, ‘I want to follow my dad,’ or ‘I want to be like my mother’?”
-Thomas S. Monson

“Security for our families comes from learning self-control, avoiding the excesses of this world, and being temperate in all things.”
-Kent D. Watson

Friday, February 20, 2009

Outdoor ventures

8 comments:

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