To my children

The greatest gift I could ever receive is knowing that you treat others respectfully.  You use kind words and tone when talking with friends, and your conversations with your elders are dignified and appropriate.  You don’t laugh at others being put down or join in when picking on someone is the “cool” thing to do.

I can’t begin to imagine how much the world will change before you yourselves arrive here in the wonderful world of middle school.  But I can pray.  I can hope.  I can teach.  And though teaching is my profession, I’m slowly learning the biggest lesson of all, which is that the teaching I do within our home is so much more important than what I do from September through June in a brick-walled building. 

Mornings like these, where disrespect and ignorance reign are frustrating, to say the least.  Yet, they also strengthen my resolve to raise you both on the Truth that we have in Him and to trust that providing a strong foundation will result in the solid construction of your futures.

Natural Beauty

Arriving home after a long, yet productive day at work, I dropped my bags in the kitchen and returned outside to see my guys.  Eyes shining, a mischevious grin stretched across Calder’s face – it’s so nice having him back after a week of him being quiet and lethargic getting over the flu.  A quick glance around the flower beds reveals several weeds that need pulling, newly sprouted lilies, and unknown greenery that we hope results in blossoms sometime soon.  Then, my eyes land on a baby robin that we watch for a few minutes before finishing our trip to the mailbox.

Later, standing at the sink finishing dinner dishes, I think back to our first apartment and how I hated staring at the awful textured wall which was made even uglier (if that was possible) by the unflattering glow of the flourescent light that buzzed above the sink.  A flutter in my vision brings me back and I see the little robin perched on the railing of our deck.  Squeals of excitement erupt from the dining room where Calder stands watching Dad and doggie playing in the yard.  I glance over my shoulder, smiling at how he finds pure pleasure in the simple, everyday things.

Turning back, I see the mother land on the railing, a dirt-covered worm dangling from her beak.  No way?  Really, she’s going to feed her baby? I think to myself.  Sure enough, she hops over and her sweet baby gobbles his dinner.  How amazing.  How simple and true and wonderful.  Mamas feeding their little ones seems to be the theme of the evening as I prepare to head into the other room to give C. his dinner. 

I feel priviliged to have witnessed this moment and begin losing myself in thought.  That is, until I look again to see the little bird poop on my deck and hear a clatter from the dining room, where I find Calder proudly holding his dinner plate, while his dinner is now scattered about the floor.  I fight the urge to get upset and instead, thank God for the many blessings in my crazy life!

 

Oh what fun!

I can’t say I’m surprised because I’ve seen his little feet take 2 or 3 steps on a few sporadic occasions.  Yet, to see him really start to make progress toward actual walking, is a pretty cool feeling as a parent!  Yes, I know I was one of those moms who back at 8 months thought for sure he would be walking really soon because he seemed so big, and flying through every milestone.  I’m glad he waited.  It’s kept him my baby a little while longer, and now it’s fun and exciting to think of all the running around he’ll be doing this summer!

Another big blog-worthy topic is the arrival of at least one other bottom tooth!  I don’t think I reported when two more toppers popped through, but even so, it’s been a while, since we’ve had much action in the dental department (aside from the twice daily “brushing” of course).  Yet last night, post-bath in a wide-mouthed belly-spoofing giggle I spied another pearly white on the bottom!  Unless I missed its twin on the other side it takes his total tooth tally to a whopping 7!!  I know it might not sound like much, but believe me, he’s not hurting for putting away the food!

Which brings me to our final “fun” event of the night morning day.  Enjoying our dinner on the deck last night, Garth and I noticed that Calder seemed a little less thrilled by his meal than is usual.  Playing more than eating, we figured it was the change of scenery, sleepiness, etc. that kept him from devouring his dinner.  After slugging down about 6 of his 8 ounces of milk, we put him to bed where he snuggled without a peep….for about 15 minutes.  Thankfully, we have an awesome video monitor, because the unholy mixture of what little dinner he did consume and the contents of this bottle, were splashed all about his crib without a sound!  Had I not inquired about the odd look on the screen, I might have thought he was settled in peacefully.

Round one of puke sheets when well (with G’s help of course!!!) and we settled him in again.  This time he fussed a bit, cried and zonked.  About an hour later, there it was again.  At that point, Garth left for school to make sub plans, and I was on baby/puke duty for about an hour and half.  In that time, I personally went through three shirts, Calder through two sleepers (then I said to heck with it, you’re wearing just a diaper), three blankets and two sets of crib sheets!  What could get better than that you ask?  No. Laundry. Soap.  That gargantuan jug of suds I bought on sale last week turned out to be fabric softener instead of detergent!  Great.  We improvised by using Woolite because there was no way I could leave those unwashed for an entire night!

After a few empty gags, we think he ran out of “fuel” for puking, which afforded each of us a pretty sound night’s sleep.  Knowing we should go easy this morning, we made a 4oz bottle, which he finished in all of about 30 seconds!!  We gave him a bit more, and he happily guzzled that as well.  About 15 minutes later, we were cleaning up his breakfast.  And so, the morning has gone, with my boys at home, and I at school (thanks to only a few sick days remaining and an impossible-to-leave-for-a-sub kind of day). 

As I write, they should be en route to the doc to see if there’s anything we should do that we’re not doing.  The weird part about all of this is that he’s running no fever and is perfectly content!  He’s giggling, playing, laughing and (oh yeah) puking!  Hopefully it won’t last too long, and double hopefully we won’t all end up with it!

Best Shot Monday ~ Happily Capped

Knowing that we have only 19 days left until summer vacation, it seems like a long look back on this adorable photo from our spring break.  Yet it still makes me smile. 

While he still isn’t technically “walking” he’s certainly getting more and more brave – waving his arms (a.k.a. dancing) while standing up, taking 1-3 steps between furniture and so on.  Yet he has started using more of his signs (“more” and “milk”), he’s blowing kisses, and really waving bye-bye.  Not to mention that in his own little gibberish he also tries repeating words and phrases we say to him.  And his little sideways glance here reminds me of the little trick he picked up yesterday, which is squinting and laughing at anyone, or anything!  What a little ham!

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Photo Frenzy

While I still have plenty of things I could be doing, I found myself with a couple free hours tonight, so I decided it was about time to download, organize and post a few pictures.  I seriously cannot believe I haven’t posted ANY since my little man’s birthday party!  Not that none were taken, but it’s just been an extra thing to accomplish and well, enough excuses already!

Hopefully they will appear as I hope, though I often find that some don’t fit the size of the middle column, so I spend far too much time tweaking them to make it look just right.  I couldn’t believe how much I loved this first one.  What’s more, I took it from my lap – without even looking through the viewfinder!

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How about the little turkey in the tub…

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And yes, I did spiff him up a little a while back, I think this definitely counts as the first official haircut.  Doesn’t he look like such a big boy?

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Just browsing through the few hundred thousands of pictures I’m amazed at how quickly he’s growing and what a terrific little guy he’s turning into!  Stay tuned for the pics of Baby #2 very soon!!!