firsts

these last couple weeks have been filled with firsts for our family. :) here are a few:

1. cole has started to sing! after many many many hours of singing (we sing every day - quite a bit most days) coleman has finally started to sing along. he has been singing along to "follow the prophet," elmo's song about music, and the abc's with nursery rhymes between verses. i have been really suprised at how many of the nursery rhymes he knows! congrats kiddo!!

2. brookie has been standing up on her own without holding on to anything. she usually has to grab something to help her up, but then she's free standing!! - we're going to have 2 walkers before we know it!! (update! as of 3.4.10 brookie is a walker! she took her first steps at our friends' home while we were there for dinner. i missed them, but tyler saw her do it. she was so proud of herself!)

3. brookie's first beach trips! definately a beach babe! she loved every minute of it - the sand, the water, the people - everything!

4. brookie slept through the night last night for the first time in months! thanks kiddo for the wonderful rest! now, if we can keep the tradition going... :)

5. i drove through la for the first time on thursday. we've lived here for 1 1/2 years and i have never driven into la. (i realized why on my trip). here are a few things that occured to me while i had time to ponder the experience:
*the signs on the freeway along the way epitomize my driving experience in cali: "uneven pavement" - not sure why la has signs to denote that, but it is true of every california road i've been on. once while traveling at nearly freeway speed, i hit a bump that totally changed my direction of travel... a little scarry.
*the lady driving next to me as i crept along the freeway at a whoppin' 15 - 20 mph had a lizzard on her shoulder. maybe she was hoping for access to the carpool lane...
*when i was biding my time on my nearly 2 hour 30 mile drive, i saw a big black diamond on the freeway sign. for a minute i thought i was headed toward a ski resort and a rush of exhiliration swept over me, 'till i realized i was still just trying to make my way toward the carpool lane.
*coleman was intrigued by the scenery. he saw all the big buildings and said "get me in the temple, mama!" - so cute and so opposite from what i was thinking as we drove through the scumy streets. we had to drive across town to show him what the real temple looks like. :) he was thrilled. i love the innocence children bring into life!
*on a completely different note, it occured to me that i'm very thankful my kids can't read! yuck yuck yuck as far as billboards go.
*it's been a long time (mission - 5 years) since i've not been able to read all the signs. we saw signs in korean, chinese, spanish and probably more. (triple x, sadly, is universal in all the aforementioned languages)
*it's also been a long time since i've seen people passed out in the middle of the sidewalk in the middle of the day where people were walking around them... weird! even though i knew the probable reason that put them there, i still had to fight the impulse to shake them to see if they were ok.
*aside from all the nasty big city stuff, i was pleased to see moms with their children walking home from the grocery store, people walking to and from work. kids playing with their families on the beach and friends walking together and laughing. i guess it made me think that even in a place so full of problems, there are good people all around - i'm thankful for that!
yep. i believe that everyone needs a good dose of big city every once in awhile. i'm glad i live a little farther from the center of town. :) i got my share of big city happiness all in one day. i'm good for awhile.

6. a few days ago, i felt a cold coming on (ty, cole and brookie have all had it already - i thought i might escape the wrath, but no such luck) for the first time in 3+ years though, i'm not pregnant or breastfeeding, so i happily downed some echinacea! wonderful stuff!

7. during our big trip to la, coleman and brooklyn got to see the la temple for the first time (my first time too). we walked up to it and touched it and talked about how beautiful it is. my grandma told me that wilford woodruff said that if you can't go into the temple (which we couldn't) you can go to - as in near - the temple. we were near the temple and felt the peace that it brings. i love the temple! it was neat to feel the change as we drove off the busy main city road and up toward the house of the lord. i think coleman felt it too. he was thrilled to be there, but also seemed reverent (for a 2 year old).

lots of exciting things happening around here! these kiddos are so fun! they make life a joyful ride!