Special Memory

Tonight the entire Wilde Family went to teach a single mom and her five kids. 

They're in a tough spot and trying to make a fresh start. The elders taught a great lesson about how the gospel blesses families. 

Then the best lesson happened. My 3 year old said the prayer to end the meeting. 

Sure, she's prayed before with us. But never in front of a crowd. I was amazed. What an example she is of living the gospel at a young age. A natural at it I guess. 

A Sad Thought

Today in primary we had a special sharing time presentation with the Primary Presidency and little musical numbers intertwined.

It was so special. I really felt the Spirit. And I really do love these precious little children.

Just at the peak of my joy, I thought, somewhere in this world, there is a Primary missing Emilie Parker.

And my heart broke.

In the same breath let me just say that the US has a mental health epidemic. What happened at Sandy Hook Elementary has more to do with mental health and the poor services we have available to those in need than it does with guns.

Crazy always finds a way-- that is something John Stewart said after Gabby Giffords was shot.

And it is true.

We need to teach people how to work through anger and, if necessary, get help from professionals for their mental health issues.

I promise to be more cheery on Christmas eve. But for now I am a bit sad at the loss of so many young lives. And that, as a nation, we are barking up the wrong tree to solve the problem.

The Night Life of PKW

5:05 pm: Mom picks me up from school and I giggle about it.
5:10 pm: Try to eat Mom's necklace again. It doesn't work. Settle for ripping it off her neck. Also doesn't work. She puts me in the carseat before I can make another attempt to destroy the necklace.

5:15 pm: Tell my mom about my day as we drive home. She doesn't understand my happy shrieks. Fall asleep.

5:25 pm: Wake up in the living room. Hey, wasn't I just in a car? WTH? Oops, I'm not supposed to swear.

5:30 pm: Look out the back window at the birds. Yell at the birds.

5:40 pm: Destroy my high chair and throw bibs all over the kitchen.

5:45 pm: Crawl to the bathroom, shut the door, and say as much as I can to hear my voice echo.

5:55 pm: Bart Simpson choke the Brown Bear. Bear must die.

6:00 pm: Mom loads me up for a neighborhood run. I am so confused about this because I can't run.

6:05 pm: Laugh at my mom's slow pace.

6:15 pm: Yell at the moon.

6:30 pm: Giggle at the neighborhood dog that tries to run with us.

6:35 pm: Yell at the moon (with my hands this time)

6:40 pm: Rub my head to tell my mom that I'm done with this run.

6:55 pm: Get home and love on the Brown Bear. Giggle at the Bear. Bear forgets I choked him.

7:00 pm: Destroy all things on the coffee table.

7:05 pm: Eat a lot of food. Cheerios, Baby food, a Bottle. Scream at my mom for thinking I'm done. Eat more Cheerios. Some Baby Cheetos. More Cheerios.

7:35 pm: Throw balls around and play with my parents. I'm so funny. They are so funny. I pee a little. My mom pees a little.

8:00 pm: Get a little grumpy. Discover my Yoda toy and style Yoda's hair.

8:15 pm: I'm pretty sure Brown Bear is jealous. Bart Simpson choke him again.

8:30 pm: Parents strip me down to my diaper. Gleefully escape in my near nakedness.

8:35 pm: Parents put more clothes on me. I rub my eyes.

8:40 pm: I eat a 1/2 bottle and listen to my Mom or Dad reads a story. Laugh when they change their voice into something weird.

8:45 pm: Sit in my crib and play.

8:46 pm: Sleep like a rock

9:15 pm: Sleep Crawl to the other side of the crib and sleep in a weird position. Repeat every hour. My parents laugh at all the places they find me at in my crib when they check on me.

Back Again

Blogging seems to be an ebb and flow for me. A series of starts and stops.

Here I start again.

I guess I'll start with this.

Parenting.

Fatherhood.

I get a large look at society in my what I do everyday. I have one consistent question.

Where are the parents?

More particularly, where are the fathers?

As I've ventured into parenthood with Russ, I am so grateful he's by my side and not someone else. I've tried to describe our parenting style and I think I can explain it as this: co-parenting.

Most of you may thing- is there any other form?

Well. I think a lot of the time one parent is dominant. Moms tend to be primary caregivers, to be honest.

But it seems with Russ and I we are 50/50. He gets Phoenix ready in the morning and takes her to school. I pick her up and get her ready for bed. Together we read her bedtime stories. 

I do her laundry and clean her room.

Russ goes to the Parent-Teacher Org. meetings and washes he food bottles.

This blog is really more of a free-flow of thought.

but our society needs more parents. More fathers.

Children do not need more friends. They need more direction.

I heard it this way recently- Children need a backbone, not a wishbone.

I think this is why I have come to loathe tv shows like Glee and the like. It turns kids into dreamers instead of workers. Kids today focus so much on developing a personalilty and becoming a unique butterfly that they don't work or learn.

well guess what? Often, it is while you are doing and working you develop who you are. 

Ok, this is turning into a rant. A slightly angry rant! It's time I back off and go run errands.

until next time!

The Watermelon- Previously Known as The Spud

So remember a few posts ago when I said every 5 weeks I'd be taking a baby bump picture?

If you don't, well, let me fill you in. When I was 15 weeks pregnant I said that every 5 weeks I'd take an updated photo. But when the time came around for that next picture, Russ and I received some... questionable commentary from our doctor who subsequently sent us to a specialist the following week.

Without having many answers, I didn't feel like taking a picture that weekend. And, unfortunately, the specialist didn't have any answers either. Yet. Hopefully we'll know more later this month. I will keep you posted.

I don't want to sound a false alarm, so I don't think I really want to go into much on here. Suffice it to say that our Spud needs to get bigger. I thought that if Russ and I start calling the baby "Watermelon," Spud would be encouraged to grow. Even though I don't think the word 'watermelon' is part of the fetal language. Still...

I will write a little update about other things about Watermelon right now. I've been thinking about it for the past few days regarding pregnancy. Things that I want to remember or that people (particularly my sister-in-law Erika) tell me I should remember about pregnancy.

1. I love to eat mashed potatoes and cheerios.
2. I have night terrors. Awful, vivid dreams that are straight out of horror movies. I hate this.
3. We felt the first kicks on Sept. 2
4. I have polished off my first container of Tums.
5. I am finally feeling tired. Like I don't have the energy I normally do. I know this is expected, but I expected it to come earlier in pregnancy. Like 5 months ago.
6. I am more weepy than I was earlier too. I also thought this would come earlier. But it's just been the past two weeks.
7. We have no idea if Watermelon is a boy or girl. Even the sonogram tech's can't tell. This baby wants to be mysterious.

I think that's it. Well, until the next pregnancy post in a few weeks- Grow, Watermelon, Grow!

Fire!

The neighborhood kids set the field across the street on fire. I also
went to a piano bar tonight. Oh the fun.

Interviews

It was a little less than quiet.

Our baby

The hard hat and the curly hair is a plus.