Moms pack a lot of snacks. A LOT of snacks. In fact, my grocery list usually includes “snacks I can pack.” When we’re out, keeping the kids’ well-fed is second only to making sure they’re buckled in their carseats. Cereal? Packable. Crackers? Packable. Muffins? Packable, not durable. Popsicles? Not packable, sorry Mary Virginia. I pack
A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2016 David / I’ve been really hesitant to sign my kids up for activities. The schedules and commitments at such a young age make me nervous. A friend of ours coaches a soccer program in the spring, and we decided to take David. It’s perfect for
Today is Thomas’s birthday. At 12 months, Thomas can eat an entire hotdog by himself. He is nowhere close to walking, weaning, or sleeping through the night, though. He does hold my thumb while not-doing those things, though, so I’m not only complaining. We celebrated by having a party last Sunday. It was almost a week early, but family
Last Sunday, just before his first birthday, Thomas was baptized. Baptism is a practice in which the pastors of a church increase the faith of parents by asking them to stand on stage with their young children. (Picture Tom reading this, looking up at me and saying in a stern voice, “Amanda. Do not make
One thing I didn’t know about before having kids was the social aspect of the kid birthday parties. We go to kid birthday parties all the time, and they’re all super fun. Adult birthdays are different — unless it’s a milestone birthday you celebrate with a few friends or family with dinner or drinks. Sometimes
A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2016 David / David and Brigham, hanging on the couch like bros. I used to write about David and Brigham’s relationship a lot, back when David loved to lay on Brigham and Brigham used to beg me to put him in the Witness Protection Program.
Today was Thomas’s due date, which means at this time last year I was eating an entire bag of Cheetos every day and coming to terms with the fact that I was going to be pregnant for the rest of my life. I signed up to be pregnant for 40 weeks. Forty weeks and one day means I’ll probably
When I took Mary Virginia to get her hair cut a few weeks ago, she sidled up to me and asked, “Mommy? Can you ask him to make my hair yellow and flat?” YELLOW AND FLAT?? Of course, two-year old daughter! That’s what I was going to ask for anyway! But we have to hurry because we don’t
A portrait of my children, once a week, every week in 2016. David / Our blackberries and strawberries are blooming in the backyard. For the past three summers, David has checked the blossoms daily to see if berries are ready to eat. He asked me if he could take off the petals to speed the
I get a lot of comments about how similar my kids look. “There’s a Krieger prototype,” I always respond. The truth is, though, I see my kids’ personalities so clearly that I really don’t think David and Mary Virginia look alike at all. And I used to joke that I could interchange the boys’ baby