Pink

It's difficult to believe that my baby is now 21 months old. How could this possibly be? But it's true. Her growing vocabulary and knowledge just make the unbelievable much more real to me.

E can count. She can also sing the alphabet when she doesn't realize she has an audience or if she's not too distracted by wanting to see a video of herself. When asked, she can even identify most shapes.



But when it comes to colors, it seems as if she can only see one.



My theory: Princesses can only see pink.

Baby Blue

Check out the amazingly beautiful eyes of this sweet niece of mine.




And just in case you're wondering, I'm not playing favorites. If you've ever met my nephew, you know that he just moves way too fast to get a decent shot in.

Love you both!

Running Wild

The only thing that was good about the horribly cold and snowy winter was that we spent most of our weekends at home with little on the agenda. Well, summer has us running wild. We get to play and see so many people that we love, but we’re exhausted by the time Sunday night rolls around.

As you can see, J & E were less than cooperative this afternoon when I attempted some last minute pictures for an assignment. I did not win the picture game today, but I guess the moment and general mood was captured.




After a weekend at Grandma and Grandpa’s house, an afternoon at the pool, a birthday party, an anniversary party, no organized naps, and a diet comprised of simple carbohydrates and absent of fruits and vegetables, both of my babies fell asleep in the car on the way home. In fact, they both made it from the car straight to their beds at 6:15 pm . . . still in the clothes they wore today. This is something that would probably disqualify us from any parenting award, but we just couldn’t risk a second or third wind this evening.

I’m betting on a really early morning around here, so off to bed I go.

More Better

Me: What are you thankful for today?

J: Daddy

Me: Why are you thankful for Daddy?

J: Because I like him more better than you.

Decision

I have a decision to make. It's one that could potentially bring about some pretty big changes for my family. I've been praying about and debating over this for nearly two weeks, but yet I am sitting here still trying to sift through the pros and cons.

Would you pray that God grants us a little clarity?

Q & A: Hail

Question: What was our son's response when I showed him the hail blasting our neighborhood tonight?

Answer: "Is this a natural disaster?!?!?!"

Question: How do you freak out a four year old who is obsessed with nature's destructive forces?

Answer: By sending his baseball helmet wearing daddy out into the elements to collect an impressively large hailstone.




Question: How did our toddler sleep through the indescribably loud event?

Answer: She didn't. We thought she was sleeping because she didn't make a peep the entire time. But after the commotion stopped, she started crying. As I entered her room, she shouted, "That noisy!"

Best Daddy Ever!

Daddy is so loved at our house…

… because he talks to us about Jesus and prays with us.

… that we erupt into celebration if we turn onto our block after a day of work and daycare and see his van in the driveway.

… because he makes delicious pancakes on Saturday mornings.

… because he works so hard to provide for us.

… because he is so stinking funny.

… that we rush to the window when we hear the garage door open.

… because he takes the time to play.

… because he spoils us rotten, especially during garage sale season.

… that we can’t get enough of his hugs and kisses.

… that we have to interrupt his workday to tell him about potty successes and new injuries.

… because he is so gentle.

… because he is such a great teacher.

… because he paints little toenails without being asked.

… that we are so sad when he has to spend the night away from us.

… because he spends a little extra time with his son at bedtime.

… because he is so helpful around the house.

… because he splurges and surprises.

… because he is so amazingly patient.

… because he says, “I love you” several times every day.

...that we want to be with him every minute of every day.

… because he wrestles.

… because he allows a later bedtime so we can catch fireflies.

… because he shows us how to catch fireflies.

… because he fixed up our swing set.

… because he pulls us around in the wagon.

… because he buys juice.

… because he looks ahead at the TV schedule and records shows that would be interesting to us.

… because he tells us how beautiful and handsome we are.

… because he changes song lyrics to crack us up.

… because he joins in on our dance parties.

… because he is good at fixing broken toys and replacing batteries.

… because he is the best Daddy ever (ebber if you’re 20 months old)!

Daddy, this list could go on and on! We are so blessed and honored that God chose you to be our daddy. Thanks for being you and loving us so much. We love you and appreciate all you do. Happy Father’s Day!!

H is for...

HATING HAIRCUTS!

The horror and fear even evoke sympathy from the little sister.



Just the very mention of the horrible act brings our little guy to his knees. The anxiety is nearly palpable and any bit of composure that he has is sucked right out of him. Haircuts make him crumble. We've taken every approach to lessen the impact of this trauma...rewards, consequences, calmness, anger, bribery, the "haircut store" and threats. Nothing seems to work.

Any volunteers to take this task off our hands?

If Only...

I've mentioned before that I am currently taking an intro photography class. I wish it would have started a few weeks earlier though.

You see, I have always been in an "Auto" or "Scene" mode kind of relationship with my camera, but this just doesn't cut it when taking pictures in indoor, low-lighted areas with moving targets. Unfortunately, this is exactly the typical setting for many of life's important moments...holidays, birthdays, art time, meals (most important moments if you ask my kids), and other various gatherings.

One such momentous event was a few weeks ago when my in-laws celebrated forty years of marriage. The celebration was held in the dim party room of a bowling alley. I was so disappointed in the quality of the pictures, so I've spent countless hours trying to make them look a little better. If only I had a little more knowledge about my camera's functions, I could quite possibly be experiencing desperately needed REM sleep right now instead of dealing with a computer program that just keeps shutting down mid-project. I've thrown in the towel and realized that this is about as good as they're going to get if I want to remain at all sane.

Congrats to the happy couple! May God bless you with many more years of peace and joy.









The cakes made it intact. What a relief that was!









The kids had a blast! I think we should have all of our family gatherings at the bowling alley. More space + activities for the kids = less chaos







In my biased opinion, the cutest picture was saved for last.



I've learned a little in this class so far, so soon I'll share the results of venturing into the manual settings of my camera. Don't let the anticipation interfere with your sleep!

Paying the Price for Having Fun

After a day’s work and dinner last night, we made a spontaneous trip to a nearby state park.

We climbed the tower to get a better look at the swelling river.









We took a nature walk through the woods.

We attempted to take pictures.




Needless to say, the Father's Day photo collage I had envisioned isn't going to be happening.

We stopped to check out the horses.









We ate candy in the car.

We visited the playground.

We didn’t get home until nearly 10:00 pm.

We had great fun spending time together as a family.

I LOVE quality time with my husband and kids, but there always seems to be a trade off for fun. A late night leads to crabby babies. This morning was filled with squabbling siblings, a fussy screaming toddler, and a ridiculously sensitive little boy. By 9:00 I was ready to declare it naptime for all! I think I had asked both of them to stop whining at least one hundred times within a couple of hours.

At a particularly trying moment, I looked up and prayed out loud in a voice of desperation, “Please, please, please give me some patience because I really need it right now!” J gave me a serious look and said, “That was a really whiney prayer, Mom.”

I Failed

I think I’m a pretty decent judge of character. Although this definitely has its benefits, when my tendency to judge becomes entangled with the “glass is half empty” attitude, my inner thoughts can be quite cruel. Thankfully, my frontal lobe functions the majority of the time, and these thoughts never are verbalized. Spoken or not, these thoughts about others are not what I want reeling through my mind, so I frequently find myself turning to God.

I know that I can’t possibly tackle this on my own. I continuously ask God to work on my heart so I can see other people more like he views them. I have come a little ways with this, but I’ll be the first to admit that this is not an instinctive thing for me. I have to constantly remind myself that God perfectly and uniquely created people so that I may love, not judge.

That being said, when I saw a person like this walking along,



(I found this picture via Google, but I did indeed see someone doing this recently. Please note that only one picture similar to what I witnessed came up when I searched for "cat in baby carrier." There's a reason for this!)

before I could even consciously realize what was happening, I was thinking, “Someone has an unhealthy pet-owner relationship. Poor cat. His lonely owner must be a mentally unstable weirdo who obviously has an attachment disorder likely triggered by unresolved abandonment issues.”

Ok, so maybe I failed a test set out before me. Seriously though, normal people don’t do things like this.

Beautiful Rain

I started taking a photography class at a local church, and our homework assignment for the week is to take pictures in our backyard.





I never knew how beautiful rain drops could be!

"...if anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."
John 7:37

The Thinker

A normal bedtime routine for J includes us laying by him in his bed while he tells us the best part of his day and what he's thankful for. We follow this up with prayers and mommy hugs and kisses. I then exit his room so a few minutes of "boy time" may commence. I frequently get the line, "Sorry, but no girls are allowed now." If they discussed more than bathroom humor and superheros I may feel a bit left out, but this is usually not the case.

J was restless and clearly not ready to settle in for the night, so Daddy suggested they play the "Who Can Fall Asleep First?" game. After a moment of silence and stillness, J asked, "How will I know if I win?"

Can't get anything by this little guy!

Drama Queen

E has been asking to go potty lately when she's having her diaper changed. Although I think it's far too much work to attempt the real-deal potty training with a 20 month old, we try not to hinder her interest and allow her to sit on the potty chair when she asks.

As an aside, we celebrate success at this house, so on the two occasions that she's succeeded in this voiding task, we erupt into party mode. The stickers, the dancing, the sweet treats, the jumping for joy, the singing, and the smiles cannot be held back. If urine in a plastic bowl gets us this excited, I can't even imagine how we would react if we won a major contest or the lottery.

Anyway, the other night she had an unwitnessed fall in the bathroom while sitting on her special throne. Her daddy went to comfort his little princess and try to figure out what happened.

Daddy: Did you fall down?
E: Ya (pouty lip and all)
Daddy: Where does it hurt?
E: Here (pointing to her bottom)
Daddy: Where does it hurt?
E: Here (pointing to her mouth)

I butted in because that's what I do best...

Me: Where does it hurt?
E: Here (pointing to her abdomen)

Curious looks by both Daddy and me.

E: It everywhere!
(pronounced ebb-ee-ware in sad tone with pouty lip and tear drop)

Reality Strikes

Thanks to a federal holiday and eight hours of vacation, I haven't been to work since May 26, 2010.

I could lie and say that I can't wait to get back into a routine. I could lie and tell you that I enjoy having to be showered and wearing pants without an elastic waistband by 7:15 in the morning. I could lie and tell you that I work outside of the home because I can't find anything better to do with my time.

Although my job allows for a great balance of family and career, the truth is that my feelings about heading back to work reality tomorrow morning can mostly be summed up in one picture.

Cakes

Tonight's project: Cakes





Tomorrow's challenge: Getting these creations to the party intact.