Wordless Wednesday {Daddy's Pocket}

I'd say he's a hard-working man who has a daughter.  Pony-tail holder, fuse, chuck, screwdriver.  All found in the bottom of the washing machine after doing his laundry. :-)

(I do always check his pockets, but sometimes I miss a pair of jeans or a shirt pocket.)

{Almost} Wordless Wednesday

Somehow I can't bring myself to post a picture with NOTHING said about it!  


This is how I found Susannah's sandals one evening when I went to get the laundry off the washline.

I love it!

Tiny Talk Tuesday ~ 6/20/12

One thing we have started working on with Susannah has been Scripture memorization.   A few other things she is learning is counting and shapes (among other things, of course).  Bible verses are about the only thing we are intentionally teaching her at this point, the rest she picks up from us helping her count things, pointing out shapes, colors, reading books, and her favorite Baby Einstein movies that she watches on youtube.

The first verse she learned and has pretty well memorized is Ephesians 6:1 "Children obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right."  She still needs a little prompting to stay focused when she is reciting the verse, and she tends to skip a few words like "the" and "is", but she does really good.

When she recites the verses, we have her say the reference before and after the actual verse (to help solidify WHERE in the Bible this verse really is).  Ephesians 6:1 usually goes something like this:

"Ephesians 6:1...2...3...5...6... GOOOOOO!!!"   She often skips 4 for some reason, and this counting to a number and then "GO!" is reflective of her swimming lessons back in April! (We would count "1, 2, 3, Go!" before doing an underwater pass or something like that.)  

For her second verse that she is learning, we are teaching her Proverbs 3:5&6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths."

For the last line, she says it something like this:

"...and He shall di-ah-RECTANGLE! your paths.  Yaaaaay!!!!"  Last night she said "...and He shall rectangle your paths."

It's fun to hear her say these verses with her own little accents and pronunciations. :-)

 One more cute thing is that she LOVES to sing.  Some days I think she does more singing than not when she is awake.  I love hearing her sweet voice burst into song!  She is just starting to put a few recognizable words into her own tunes, which can be fun.  One particularly sing-y day last week, after supper she burst into song while still at the table.  The tune was nothing we recognized, the words were nothing we could make out... but her distraction in the middle of her song was hilarious!  Daniel and I both cracked up!!   I took the video with my phone, not realizing it was recording a low-quality picture, but you can still listen and laugh yourself when she notices her daddy's bicep. :-)

 

Father's Day ~ 2012

Daniel has been a most wonderful Daddy for 3 Father's Days now.
 

The very first picture of him as a daddy,

with Susannah in 2010.

His first picture with our 2nd daughter, Sylvia,

born this year (2012

This Father's Day he got to celebrate being Daddy to these two sweet girls:

 Our Father's Day was anything but "extra special" in the "celebrate Daddy" department, but we celebrated none-the-less.  It started off with Daniel needing to be at church at 8:15am to practice.  I knew it would be crazy to try and get all of us up, ready, and to church by then (only for me to have to keep 2 little people entertained for 1 hour + until Sunday School started).  We were both up early; Daniel so he could leave early, and me so I could get 3 people fed, dressed, and out the door to make it to Sunday School hopefully on time.  We made it about 15 minutes late.  I say "not bad".

On the way home from church, we both stopped for gas and by that time it was 1pm.  We decided that in light of the remaining schedule for the day to get lunch at Burger King and "eat in" since we were in separate vehicles (and allowing us to all eat together).  Susannah had apple slices with her meal.  In the past I have peeled the slices for her, this time I encouraged her to try eating them with the peels on.  Bad mistake.  She gagged on a piece of peel and threw up.  Thankfully not much "came up" and it was quickly cleaned up with pile of napkins.  (Insert a "You know you're a parent when..." line here.)

By the time we got home it was 2:30 and we dove Susannah into her bed to nap.  15 minutes later she was awake and talking... dirty diaper.  I took care of that and she went back to bed.  45 minutes later Daniel got her up and dressed while I fed Sylvia her afternoon meal, and we headed back to church.  It was much too short of a nap for Susannah, but Daniel needed to be at church at 4:30 to practice for the evening churchwide picnic that started at 5:00.  Not wanting to take 2 cars again (30 min. one way) we opted to all go together and hope for the best.

It was a great evening, but again late until we got home (supper was at church).  I really wanted to get pictures of Daniel and the girls, and had forgotten to have them sign their cards until right then.  Susannah was very much on the edge of meltdown-mode, so we did the best we could for a few minutes and then it was bedtime for her and Sylvia soon followed.

After they went to bed Daniel and I celebrated with the Peanut Butter Pie I'd made for his special dessert.  It wasn't really how I had thought the whole day might go, but in the end Daniel is STILL the very, very best Daddy in the whole world!!  At least we think so. :-)

My Full Hands

Earlier this week we had a piece of mail that needed to be mailed for next day delivery.  Of course you can't just walk to the mailbox, put your letter in, put the flag up and leave a sticky-note for the mail-lady to send it "next day".  :-)  We had to take a trip to the post office.

Running errands by myself with both girls is usually not a big deal.  It can be, but I try my best to keep it from being that (mostly by keeping errands to a bare minimum!).  When we do have to run errands, we just make the best of it and it is what it is.  It takes a little longer, a little more patience, a watchful eye and the art of juggling.

When it is just the girls and I, whenever we are walking anywhere (most of the time) I am carrying Sylvia in her car-seat and I have Susannah hold on to the other side of the car-seat handle (because my other arm/hand is usually full of diaper bag, wallet, etc.).  Then we slowly make our way to wherever we're going.  On this day, that mean into and back out of the Post Office.

We had a good time in the post office, Susannah was well behaved and for the most part kept both hands on Sylvia's seat (what she is to do when I have to use both hands to do something).  I did have to tell her to not lie on the floor; I'm not sure where that idea came from!!

On the way out of the Post Office, we had to cross the parking lot to get to our car.  Another car was pulling into the parking lot and the gentleman stopped so that we could cross in front of him (a kindness I really appreciate when it is obvious to the person that we aren't going to just dash across really quick!).  After we were across, he pulled into a spot close to our car as I was getting Susannah into her seat and buckled up.  I nodded to him in thanks for his courteousness, and he commented in return "You have your hands full, don't you?"

Even though he did not say it rudely, it took me by surprise a bit.  I stuttered back something like "Yes, but it's good!"  I really don't think he meant any ill meaning at all, just commenting that I had my hands full, and he was correct - I did have my hands full!!

However, a split second after I replied, I wanted to say "Just wait till you see me in a couple more years when hopefully I'll have TWICE this many kids!!"  :-)  I didn't say that, though.  The rest of the way home I mulled over the situation and thought of different replies I could give in the future when similar situations arise. 

I think one reason the comment caught me off guard a bit is that with 2 children, I don't expect to get comments like that.  Those are the kind of comments that I think larger families would get.  I suppose that since I would like to keep adding to our family I should probably get used to the idea of strangers commenting on how full my hands are.

Right now, with "just" two, yes, my hands ARE full and I love it!

~We don't have specific plans for how many children we will have.  Right now we do want to have more, but we don't know what "more" means.  :-)

Susannah ~ Going To Work

This afternoon before her nap, Susannah had some of her food toys and asked me to make a sandwich (or, "faddich" as she says) for her.  Then she wanted it on a "pate" so I gave her a plate.  The she was walking around holding her "sandwich" saying what sounded like "work" over and over.  I was puzzled.

Then she asked for a bag.  A bag?  What is she thinking about?  I offered her a plastic grocery bag; that was not "it".  I thought maybe she wanted a little cloth bag that I have so I asked her if that was "it", but no, it wasn't.  Then she said "little bag" ("nihya bad").  A little bag?  What little bag?

The only "little bag" I could think of that we have are the fold-top sandwich bags.  A sandwich bag.  OF COURSE!!  She wants a sandwich bag!  I pulled one out of the drawer and yes, that was the RIGHT bag.

She put her sandwich in the sandwich bag and I folded the top shut for her.  Then she started walking around, holding her sandwich bag saying "work, work".

"You're going to go to work?"
*grin* "Yes. Work, work."

I'm not sure how often she has seen me make Daniel's sandwiches and put them in baggies for him to take to work, because he rarely leaves late enough for her to be awake when that happens, but I guess at some point she's seen it happen and had the idea to imitate!

This is just another {very cute!} reminder that she is absorbing EVERYTHING she sees and hears, and won't hesitate to imitate our words or actions.

Sylvia - 3 Months

 Happy 3 Month Birthday to my sweet Sylvia!!

She is getting bigger and smile-ier every day, I think.

She is sleeping through the night very well, now.  She usually wakes up sometime between 7:30 and 8:00am.  Her last feeding for the day is usually between 9:30 and 10:30, depending on how the day has gone.  Last week she was pretty predictable and eating 5 meals a day, the first 3 every 4 hours, and the last 2 were closer together.  This week she seems to be going through a growth spurt.  Yesterday she ate every 3 hours on the dot, almost!

She has discovered her hands and is starting to grab at toys in her lap.  If she can get everything coordinated enough, she will stuff a burp rag or toy in her mouth to chew on it.

A few weeks ago she discovered her love for her right thumb.  Not her left thumb, mind you, but her right.  She has never had much of a desire for her paci, and I think that is waning even more.  Now that she has found her thumb, she is a little bit picky about it when she needs to go to sleep.  She sleeps on her tummy (shh!) and often will turn her head to the left and try to stuff her left fist into her mouth.  This frustrates her and she will fuss and fuss and fuss, chewing on her left fist.  Most of the time we can go in, turn her head to the right, help her get her right thumb, and she calms right down and drifts off to sleep happily. :-)  Other times she just wants to be vocal for a bit before she's ready to be quiet and go to sleep.

She is in size 2 of disposable diapers, but wears size Small of FuzziBunz diapers most of the time.  She has grown out of almost all of her 0-3 month clothes.  It is bittersweet, seeing her wearing the bigger clothes and realizing that she is not a "little" baby anymore.  But it is a joy and delight to see her growing and discovering, too. :-)

She is overall a very happy and content baby.  About the only time she is fussy is if she has a dirty diaper or is tired.  Or hungry, of course!!  She does get bored sometimes now that her wake-times are a little longer (1.5 - 2 hrs.), so she has some swing-time, some tummy-time and some back-time.  I also try to get her outside for a bit now and then, usually to "help" me hang out the laundry.  :-)

She has a very expressive face and it is fun to talk to her and watch her facial expressions as she "talks", too.

I love my little girlie, and she is a delight and joy to my heart!!!

A Chocolate Kind Of Day

Today has been a non-day, or at least it has felt like it.  I think that if I could rewind the day and start it over, maybe it would go better?  At least I would be sure to drink some coffee soon after getting up so I wouldn't feel like a dragging cat all morning?

It has been "a chocolate kind of day" today because today has been one of those days where I find myself frequenting the bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips stashed in the cupboard.  They are a weakness of mine, especially on days like today.

I think a bookcase and a sandbox would go a long way to making things better.  Susannah's books are strewn all over the (itty-bitty) living room floor and I haven't felt motivated to pick them up because there really is no good place to put them.  We've been putting them into a plastic bin/tub that fits in the living room, but then she can't get to them easily and ends up pulling them all out to find "the book"... which results in books all over the floor again.  A sandbox would allow her to fill her need to dig, measure, dump and pour... without doing it in the cat food, which results in cat food spread around the kitchen floor.  Usually I don't mind it.  Today for some reason I am minding it.  *sigh*

Not helping is the very sore, feels-the-size-of-a-basketball pimple in my ear.  Sorry if that's TMI, but I can't imagine I'm the only one who gets those on occasion!  It hurts like crazy.

Also not helping the day start well was waking up at 7:15 this morning, when Daniel should've left no later than 7:00.  I did set the alarm clock for 6:15 last night and I did turn it on.  ????   Somehow it was set for PM and not AM.  Arg.  He dressed in a mad rush and I threw drinks, chips and a banana in his lunchbox.  I didn't even have time to make him a proper breakfast.

Supper was late... bedtime for Susannah was late... and I have badly missed my goal for being in bed by 11:00 tonight.  At least I should be there before midnight.  I really do need to start going to bed earlier, it will help my days go better and my brain think clearer, too!

Today did have two HUGE pluses!

One being that many times throughout the day, Susannah would just burst out singing.  Her "songs" were not anything I could recognize, tune- or word-wise, but her sweet singing voice was a happy spot in a day that felt like it was dragging the ground.

The other bright spot in the day was when the mail-lady pulled in our driveway and blew her horn.  Last week I ordered some more cloth diapers and they came today.  I love them!  I can't wait to do a blog post about them, but not tonight. :)

I  have many blog posts in my mind, and even have pictures I've taken specifically for blog posts.  Hopefully soon I can get caught up on my blogging, getting posts transferred from my head to the real blog.

Here's hoping for a great night's rest and a great day tomorrow!  I'm glad His mercies are new each morning.  I'm anticipating some new mercy when I wake up tomorrow!

The 12 Days of...

... work. Definitely not the 12 Days of Christmas!  This 12 day stretch started last Monday and will end today.  We are SO ready!!  Daniel was on call for Memorial Day weekend, and it sure was a doozy!  We have learned the hard way that for the holiday weekends he is on call, the best laid plans generally go awry so it's even better to just not have any plans.

Since the weather was so warm and very humid, I was guessing that he would be very busy so I didn't even get my hopes up that he would be home Saturday, Sunday or Monday.  Saturday morning I didn't consider it a Saturday.  I did the same for Sunday and Monday.  They were just "another day" that Daddy had to go to work.

Monday morning, Memorial Day, before Daniel's pager went off.

(He was out until after midnight on a call, which is why everyone else

was up and dressed and he was sleeping in. :-) ) 

I am thankful that both girls have been very good for this 12 day stretch, which has made it much easier for me to "single parent" so much.  Daniel has been working long days even this week when he's not on call anymore, and sometimes I can start to feel frazzled, but not this time! (Lonely for Daniel, yes, but not "ready-to-sit-down-and-cry" frazzled.)  Maybe I am just getting better at "rolling with it". Probably more like God is just giving me more grace for every moment (2 Cor. 9:8 - my kitchen cupboard verse)!!

Saturday morning before Daniel left, I asked him to get

my little Raggedy Ann stove out of the attic.

Susannah had lots of fun with "'sannah's 'tove!" that day! 

During this time I started letting Susannah play outside by herself some each day.  She puts miles and miles on her little stroller, pushing it around and around and around.  She LOVES being outside and I'm happy to let her have fun, get some good exercise, soak up some natural Vit. D, and burn some energy!

Yesterday evening Daniel was going to be getting home late again, so while we were waiting for him (so we could eat supper together), we went to the garden and she played in the garden for the first time.

Now it is Friday, the last workday of the week for Daniel, and I am kinda-sorta hoping that since some rain is coming through the area, he might get home early.  I hope that is not just wishful thinking.  He has worked late most of the days this week, too (it has been hot = they are busy), so we are really looking forward to having him home tomorrow!!

Something else I've learned over time, about times like this when Daniel is so very, very busy with his work:  Appreciate it and be thankful.  Even though sometimes it feels overwhelming and brain-frying to have him gone so much, there is usually a reason once we are past it and looking back.  It is God's way of providing for us.  For that, I'm grateful for every single hour that Daniel has to work.

This evening I feel guilty not adding this snippet:  Daniel did not get home early.  And in all honesty, by the time he got home I was feeling very frazzled and brain-fried.  I was trying to clean the bathroom sink, Sylvia was waking up and begging for food, Susannah wanted to touch the toothpaste and in trying to reach it knocked all of the sink stuff (that I had piled on the back of the commode) onto the floor with a huge, major crash.  Needless to say, I am glad Daniel is home and I am glad I don't have to plan on the pager going off this weekend. 

Thank you, Lord, for providing for ALL of our needs, including the need for rest.