In spite of the lack of a lengthy and ambitious list of New Year's goals (I know, what a mouthful of "of's"), we do have a new 'thing' that Mark and I have been trying to stick to this year - having more one-on-one time with our children. We decided to take turns and go out on a 'date' with one of the 3 older kids (Ivy's getting plenty of attention by default), letting them take turns each week as well. This week it was Anya's and mine turns to go out. After hearing all about Elijah's fun time at the Church History Museum last week, we decided Anya would enjoy it too. We finally figured that Saturday would be the best day to go, and boy, did it we get that right...
The weather was perfect. In fact a bit too perfect for this time of year, but I won't complain. In addition, Katrina and her little ones joined us at the museum, which made our outing even more perfect for 2 reasons - I got to socialize with a real grown up (not just pretend ones, who get 'married' in our house every day), and I spared myself of a whole lot of 'butt kicking' that often comes as a result of not bringing your camera... or worse yet, bringing one, only to have the battery die after a few shots, which is exactly what happened. Luckily, Katrina and I have a lot in common, photography and Nikon cameras being two of those things (also, a slight addiction to 60% cocoa chocolate chips, out of all things). So I managed to end up with plenty of shots to overload this post, in spite of the fact that we kept swapping the battery between the two cameras.
Anya had heaps of fun at the museum, with the ship being her favorite, judging by how many times she went back there to lick the germs off the the plastic windows. It was such a joy to just watch her being *her*, without any influence from her siblings. She's pretty much a different child when no one steals her toys, pulls on her hair, or calls her 'Cinderella' instead of 'Buttercup'. Watching her fluttering around and enjoying the freedom that comes with me supervising only one child was priceless.
We ended up spending some time outside at the Temple Square, mostly sitting by the fountain or doing laps around it, letting Anya crawl or walk on the ledge (again, this is a one-child luxury). I remembered that last time Mark and I were at the Temple Square with one child was back when Maya was 2 months away from her second birthday and I was 2 months away from giving birth to Elijah. So yes, it's been a while.
I almost didn't want to show up at our rendezvous point where Mark was supposed to pick me and Anya up. I was secretly hoping that Anya would step out of her character and throw a tantrum when I told her it was time to go. But instead, she cheerfully took my hand and with her usual happy voice said "Let's go fast, mama!".
p.s. couldn't resist adding some of the photos that Katrina took, she captured Anya's spirit so beautifully...
8 comments:
Your photos inside the museum turned out so well! Love that one of Anya spinning in the ship. It was such a lovely way to spend the afternoon with you two!
Visiting via Keli's nice recommendation today and boy am I glad I did.
I can feel the magic here. And I just love it!
Oh yes, having only one child at a time, even if that child is "problematic" when they're all together, is such a wonderful experience, isn't it? I take mine one-on-one whenever I can to remind myself that I do, indeed, like them...
What a lovely Idea, we will have to do this with our girls. We never get to spend real one on one time with them, and just seem to chase around breaking up fights.
Beautiful photos looks like an amazing day out <3
hi! i don't know if i've ever commented on your blog ... i follow you on flickr (i'm keli|hoskins over there) and i absolutely adore you and your family and your blog and your photos. okay, everything.
i have a 3-year old (she says 3 and three quarters ... that three quarters is very important, you know) and a 5-month old, and I've been pumping a bottle every morning so that I can take my oldest out on solo dates. i think she is so very tired of hearing, "not now ... let me take care of lucy. or hang on, gotta feed the baby," that she needs a date with me. she gets plenty with daddy, but we rarely go out just the two of us. i love this idea so much.
looks like you two had a fabulous day. :)
oh yes, if anyone visits you and says they visited from me (keli), it's because i mentioned how much i love your blog in my blog post today. now i guess i need to post comments more often, eh?
have a wonderful day!
I love this idea! Speaking as a fellow middle child, there's never enough one on one time with the parents...I'm sure Anya loved it.
Good to see all of you, hopefully next time we can spend more time. : )
hi, Keli! I remember you from Flickr (hello, another wrapping mama, can't miss that little detail!). Thank you for your kind words in your blog post, that makes me want to be more consistent with my blogging :)
Yes, this idea of one-on-one outings is just what we all need. Our only regret is that we didn't think of it sooner. Took us a few years, but we're finally doing it. Anya still tells people who come over to visit that she got to have an 'outing' with me last week :) This is the best kind of motivation and aproval there is!
how fun to get out and do something one on one! I dont remember doing that unless it was my birthday. Its always a fun time. It was great to see you guys!
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