Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Toddler Speak.

This is a toy frog.


And this is that toy frog tipped over.


Quite a while ago, Cub went running into his room and let out a shriek. When I poked my head in to assess the situation, I saw him sitting on the floor, holding his foot, with tears streaming down his cheek. When I asked him what was wrong, he pointed to the frog and moaned, "Stepped on a frog!!" Apparently, small plastic wind-up frogs become quite lethal when tipped over, as they have pointy and sharp edges that prove to be dangerous when combined with toddler momentum. I looked at his foot and sure enough, Mean Frog had broke the skin just a tad, enough to warrant a band-aid and a kiss.

Fast forward a few weeks. Cub grabs some wood and gets a small cut on his hand. And wouldn't you know, the poor guy reaches his hand up to me and declares, "Stepped on a frog with my HAND!!"

I mean, really.

I racked my brain trying to figure out why in the world he associated stepping on a frog with the small cut on his hand, until, a-ha! it all made sense. Cub is quite accustomed to bruises and cuts, but they typically happen on his cute noggin, from running into chairs and falling into the edges of tables and such. It dawned on me that Cub has never actually seen any of his injuries since most of them occur on his head. Until, of course, that fateful day when he stepped on the frog and saw the cut on his foot. What does that mean? It means that any injuries subsequent to that day are the result of stepping on a frog with whichever body part houses said injury. Stepping on a frog has expanded to cover any kind of pain he ever experiences. Rather than saying, "I hurt my finger!" he says, "I stepped on a frog with finger!" Thus far, Cub has stepped on a frog with his foot, his hand, his chin, his cheek, and the list goes on.

What's even better? My husband and I actually play along. When he dramatically recounts a tale of stepping on a frog with his hair, our eyes grow wide and we gasp in horror. Stepping on a frog with your hair? OH MY GOODNESS.

Yeah yeah, we should probably explain that one cannot actually step on a frog with their bellybutton. But we're just having a liiiiiittle fun with this one. We'll set him straight before he goes to college.

Have a lovely day!

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Little Man.

This morning before church, I dressed Cub in a polo shirt and khakis. Upon closer inspection, I noticed the polo was a tad wrinkled and the khakis were maybe an inch too short. And he had major bed head. His last hair cut was a bit of an epic fail, seeing as he now hates having clippers anywhere near his head, so it's choppy and uneven. I stepped back and checked him out from head to toe, and couldn't hardly stand it. He needed a bit of a makeover for the morning. So, the khakis came off and the jeans came on, and I found one of his Oxfords and cuffed the sleeves. And, as for the hair, it was nothing a little Mega-Hold hairspray couldn't fix!



I've always shied away from the "faux hawk" on little boys, but I have to say that I liked Cub's hair this way. It isn't too faux hawk-ish. It's just, well, fixed. :) But wow, I couldn't believe how old he looks. And really, I can't believe that he's almost two. My little guy.

Today was his first day in the 2's and 3's class at church and guess what? He made a CRAFT! With his CLASS! Like, a real craft that I didn't do with him. He proudly handed it to me (while wearing his monkey backpack ... sigh) and it brought tears to my eyes. It just seemed like such a big-boy thing to do. Isn't it remarkable?


I'm sure he stuck those stickers on with gusto.

(It will probably still be on our fridge ten years from now. Yes, I'm THAT PROUD.)

And, speaking of big-boy-growing-up-can't-slow-it-down, here is his 2nd birthday (family) party invitations. They came in Friday.



Vroom, vroom, indeed. Time is just speeding by.

Okay I don't want to cry so I'm ending this post. ;)

Have a lovely day!

Friday, August 27, 2010

Love.



Some Naps Happen In the Carseat.

I'm sitting outside on the deck at the lake, enjoying a hot cup of coffee, with a cool morning breeze.

I know, shut up, right?

Let me also say that I only moments ago I was washing smeared oatmeal off of a little yummy chin, and shaking dried crusty oatmeal from a pair of pajamas. And there were blueberries for breakfast, which ensures a nasty diaper later today. Ahh, magical.

So. Enough about oatmeal and Cub and coffee. A reader recently sent me an email inquiring about Naomi's schedule. She wanted to know if Naomi's schedule was something that I set or something that I let Naomi set herself. Her little one is breast feeding and seems to want a snack every hour or so, and needless to say, she's a little worn out!

Well, friend, let me offer you some encouragement.

Firstly, a disclaimer: I'm not a doctor. I'm a Mom. My advice is purely from my own limited experience with my two little ones. I do not have a PhD, but I have had a baby spit up in my mouth whilst tossing her in the air. I think that qualifies me for something, right?

To answer: Naomi set her own schedule, eating every three hours during the day (sometimes it's 2.5, sometimes it's 3.5, depending on the kind of day we are having). I prefer to use the term "routine", simply because books that typically use the word "schedule" are books with which I do not agree. Scheduling is a bit hardcore, whereas a routine is able to be both predictable AND flexible, offering some wiggle room. Which is important, seeing as life often requires lots of wiggle room.

But, Naomi's routine did not come easily. It was only after overcoming the dairy hurdle, around 7 weeks, that Naomi gave herself a routine. Before then, there was a lot of screaming, short naps, frustration, and many middle-of-the-night feedings.

And lots of coffee. And tears.

Once we realized the dairy issue, things smoothed out quite a bit. Now. Naomi set her own routine, BUT, there are a few guidelines I've followed with both of my kids to help us negotiate that routine a little. I've always said that I believe babies join your life, you don't join your baby's life, so there needs to be a bit of compromise on both sides. Babies and parents alike need to learn to adapt. This means letting go of some of your plans so your baby can nap, and then other days waking up that baby so you can do your plans. Compromise. So, here are a few of those guidelines:

(If you've read my blog for a while now, you can go check your Facebook now, as I've mentioned these several times here before!)

1) Wake-up Time: I wake Naomi up around 7:00 every morning, if she isn't already awake. I do this so we can get our day going. That gives us our starting point, and from there she eats every three hours. She typically stays awake for an hour or more after each feeding (it depends on the time of day, really) and then goes down for a nap. With babies you typically either choose an early morning or a late night, and I choose an early morning! If she wakes up randomly at 5:00, then I feed her on one side and put her right back down and wake her up at 7:00.

2) Naps: Unless Naomi has had a particularly harried day, I typically do not allow her to nap longer than two hours at a time. And, I wake her up to feed her once it has been three hours since her last feeding (if she ate at 7:00, I'll wake her up around 10:00 or 10:30 or so). I do this because she still needs to eat every three hours, but I want her to learn that during the day she gets woken up, but at night, she can sleep as long as she wants! She still wakes up once at night, so I still wake her up from naps. Call me crazy, but this tactic has works for both kids. As her feedings become more spread out, her naps will become fewer and longer.

3) Eat, Activity, Sleep: After Naomi eats, I keep her awake for a bit. The only time she goes to sleep after she eats is at bedtime (or moments of desperation when we are out of town and with family and the baby WILL NOT SLEEP and AHHH and you get what I'm saying). This teaches her to fall asleep on her own, and to not need to nurse to sleep. Of course, there are always those days where she just WON'T NAP and a little jaunt to Starbucks while she is in her car seat work like a charm. I'm not gonna lie. This is the good thing with setting rules: There are therefore always exceptions. :)

Here is a very rough example of what Naomi's day might look like:

7:00am--Feeding
8:30am--Nap
10:00--Feeding
11:30--Nap
1:00-Feeding
2:00--Nap
4:00--Feeding
5:30--Nap
6:30--Feeding
8:30--Feeding/Bedtime

(Give or take 30 minutes or so with each feeding and nap. Life isn't quite that predictable.)

Now. There is always great variance with each of these techniques. Sometimes, Naomi has a crazy day and needs to sleep a little longer. Or, sometimes she gets hungry a little sooner. That's all fine. I'm not rigid with our routine, but I instead use it as kind of a road map to refer to throughout our day.

This is what works for us. If you are concerned whether or not your baby can go a full three hours between feedings, call your pediatrician! He/She knows your baby's health and can help you determine what's best when it comes to feedings. Remember, too, that every baby is different and every family is different. You have to do what works best for your family! Some of my dearest friends co-sleep. I do not. Some of my dearest friends use formula from birth. I do not. Some people will look at this routine and think I'm nuts. But, we all love our kids and our number one goal is to be good moms and that is what matters most. You will find what works best for your little guy. Go with your gut. And, the fact that you've asked for advice shows that you are a good mom. Asking for help is a very fantastic thing to do.

I hope I haven't completely confused you. I started this post alone on the deck with my coffee, and now I'm ending it with a toddler running around yelling "FISH IN THE WATER! FISH IN THE WATER!" and the sun is getting in my eyes. Some of those last paragraphs might seem a bit muddled. :)

Good luck, friend. And thank you for sending that email. Your little one will figure it out. Don't worry.

Love.

Have a great day!

Thursday, August 26, 2010

We Salvaged Some.

I had a lengthy post written in response to a reader's email inquiring about Naomi's sleep schedule, and wouldn't you know, as soon as I pressed "Publish Post", I got a nice fat ERROR screen that promptly deleted my entry.

(I'm sorry, Reader. It will come, I promise.)

So, instead, I shall tell you a funny story.

Yesterday I made Annie's mac 'n cheese for Cub for lunch. As I carefully pulled it out of the microwave, some of the (HOT BOILING) water sloshed out and splashed my shirt, soaking through to my stomach. As noodles flew everywhere and I let out a yelp of pain, Cubbie came running into the kitchen. He saw me, trying (unsuccessfully) to hold back tears as I frantically dug for ice cubes to hold against my stomach. He also saw a slew of noodles laying lifelessly on the kitchen tile floor. With a look of complete concern and desperation, he declared,

"Noodles fell DOWN!!"

Amidst my stifled sobs, I found myself also laughing, for my tender-hearted little boy was more concerned with the state of the wayward noodles than he was with his freshly-burned mother. Yes, honey, the noodles did fall down. And no, Mama's potential second-degree burn feels just delightful, thanks for asking.

(It wasn't really a second-degree burn. But it did hurt. Mac 'n cheese is brutal.)

Never a dull moment.

Have a lovely day.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Perspective.

We are planning a trip to Dallas with some friends for the fall.

Just a weekend, enough time to get away and feel refreshed. Shortly after we made these plans, I realized we (desperately) needed new tires for our car. I went for my morning walk with Penny and she said I could leave the kids with her while I went to take care of the car. I took the car in and they gave me the bill, which was MORE than the cost of our weekend trip.

Gulp.

After the tires were replaced, I drove towards Chick-fil-A to pick up lunch for Penny, as a thank-you for watching the kiddos. On the drive over, my mind kept mulling over the cruel irony of having huge car repairs right after we decide to go on the trip. It just didn't seem fair. I was a little frustrated, to say the least, and my attitude was less than holy. My mind was griping and my heart was getting a little cold.

As I placed my order in the drive-thru, a kid came running in front of my car. I was parked, so it was no big deal, but I noticed that he was wearing some kind of headphones. They were big and blue, similar to the sound-blocking headphones one would wear on an airport tarmac. And when I saw his Mom run over to him, I saw from his rocking movements, his curled hands, and the way she spoke gently to him, that he was autistic.

She opened the door for him and as soon as he walked into the restaurant, I heard him release a cry and huddle in the corner, away from the noise of the few patrons that were there. Again, his amazing mom coaxed him gently through the door, holding his hand as they made their way to the front to order, his feet hesitantly tip-toeing to the cashier, his back hunched away from the sounds, his earphones in place.

I couldn't keep the tears from pouring down my cheeks or the sobs from building up in my throat. Here I was whining to myself about a trip that we STILL GET TO TAKE but that will be a little tighter because of the NEW TIRES we had to get put on OUR CAR THAT RUNS. While I am sitting in the drive-thru, picking up food for my friend who was more than happy to watch my kids for me, for free, I witnessed a tender and beautiful moment between a mother and her precious son. A Mom who probably doesn't get as many breaks as she deserves.

I have been convicted in my life countless times. But few have been this deep.

I hated myself in that moment, that I had so easily been aggravated by a tiny circumstance, when I was sitting squarely in the middle of a very, very good life. In those few seconds of witnessing a tender life and unconditional love, I saw myself as the selfish person I am. I miserably picked up my order and immediately called my friend. My sobbing barely allowed me to get through telling her the story, and bless her heart, she probably missed half of it.

I just felt awful. I felt disgusted with myself for having a negative attitude over something so trivial. And when I pulled into the garage (aka, a house for the car that we own), after opening the garage door with our electronic garage door opener, I sat in the car and cried some more, surrounded not only by sturdy walls but by walls filled with insulation to keep out the cold. It was just a very raw moment, where my eyes were opened to all of the good things in my life that I manage to overlook. And in that same moment of frustration with myself, I simultaneously felt overwhelmed that God loved me in spite of myself, that He saw me as forgiven and worthy, when all I saw was a spoiled brat. He didn't hate me for acting or thinking selfishly. And that, too, made me emotional.

I'm so glad God gave me the conviction to open my eyes and to focus those eyes back on the things that truly matter in my life. It might sound silly--I was just being human and I had a bad attitude. Who cares. And the crying? Meh, I'm on birth control again so my hormones are probably screwy. But it was more than that. I am blessed. I am called to be loving and patient and peaceful and faithful. And I was acting quite the opposite, all over an unexpected expense. An unexpected expense that we have the money to pay for. I had absolutely no reason to complain.

It was just a good wake-up call, I think. A reminder to get a grip.

Point taken.

Have a lovely day!

Good Night.

I am sitting here at my computer on a lovely Monday evening. The house is picked up, the lamps are on, and I have some ice cream waiting for me. The house is quiet.

This evening is brought to you in part by early bedtimes.

(Well, my version of early bedtimes. I do have friends who put their babies down at 6:00. I am not talking about that early of a bedtime.)

When Cub was a wee one, we typically put him to bed around 9:30 or 10:00 and he would sleep until 7:00. We did this so he would sleep through the night, which he did fairly early. However, as he got older and his bedtime became earlier, I realized the beauty of a quiet evening. I decided that when Naomi came along, I would do my best to try to get her to bed as soon as possible, once she was past the eating-every-two-hours phase, even if it meant holding on to that middle of the night feeding a little longer.

And, wouldn't you know, once her tummy normalized, the little Mouse started getting sleepy earlier.

Now both of the babies are in bed by 8:30. This gives me thirty minutes to pick up the house a little and still make it to my bed by 9:00, where I either read or consume ice cream while watching a bit of TV. Or I can run to Walgreens to pick up pictures, something I hate to do with both kids, since it is such a short trip but requires so much work with two little ones. :) And, it gives my husband and I time alone, so we can catch up on our day or even watch a movie.

And really, I'm just way more tired this time around and heart early bedtimes for that, too.

Now. This means that both of the kids are usually up by 7:30 or 8:00 the next morning. And I'm good with that--I'm a morning person, so I don't mind if my kids are, too. But, I have a friend who always preferred to put her kids to bed later, so they'd sleep later in the morning! My kids aren't quite there yet--typically they wake up around the same time every day, regardless of when their heads hit the pillow the night before.

How about you? Do you love having your evenings to unwind or do you love having your mornings to sleep in?

Monday, August 23, 2010

A Bit of Random.

Firstly: The Living Room.

We have a space of wall above our couch that has baffled me for quite some time. We have two floating shelves on that wall and then a blank gap of space. I nixed the idea of artwork, since we have a huge painting on the opposite wall that I did not want another painting to rival. Then I thought about pictures, but we have a ton of framed pictures already as well. Then I considered a wall sticker decal, but, after hunting for one large enough, I discovered they were a bit out of my price range.

Then, at Target, I randomly found these:


Wallflowers, if you will. I love them.



When I think of the theme of my living room, I kind of think of ... adventure, maybe. We have a lot of earth tones, plus outdoor textures like woven thatch end tables and slate coasters. And we have a ton of books. A TON of books. I have a hard time parting with them and love to collect antique books. The wallflowers are perfect for perking up the wall, plus they abstractly tie in with the theme. And, my husband thinks they look "cool", which is always a plus. Of course, now that I look at this picture, I notice how cluttered that bottom shelf looks. It's my travel shelf, full of treasures from our own adventures and the adventures of loved ones. I'm hesitant to de-clutter it, as each piece tells a story. I think I'll leave it.

Nextly: Cute Baby Sleeping.

After Naomi's afternoon feeding, I decided a little photo shoot was in order (I really love her little outfit). Usually after she eats, Mouse is a happy girl, full of smiles and bright eyes. However, when I started snapping pictures, I noticed she looked a tad glazed over.


Sundays are long days for us. This Sunday was particularly long because both my husband and I were serving with the worship team (he runs sound, I play piano ... the perfect match!) for the first time since Naomi's birth. Needless to say, it makes for a bit of a hectic morning, getting both kiddos up, fed, and dressed (and getting ourselves up and dressed) and then making it to church in time for practice. And then we're there all morning. Today we were there for over four hours straight and the kiddos were definitely troopers. Truly, amidst the exhaustion, I embrace the chaos a bit because I want our kids to learn that service takes sacrifice. I'm only doing worship once a month at this point (balance, you know), but it's good for all of us to have a bit of a shake-up in our routine, I think.

Anyway. Where was I? Oh, yes, glazed over.

So, I set her up on the Boppy in the glider and she completely conked out.


She was so very tired. Little Mouse. So, I snapped a few more pictures and then let her be. She seemed pretty comfortable.


She slept that way for two hours. No joke. Did not move once. She woke up at 6:30, ate, and was ready for bed again by 8:30. Precious girl.

So! There was my random Monday post.

Have a lovely day!

Friday, August 20, 2010

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Sneezy, Sleepy ... Weepy?

Maybe it was the long conversation I had this past weekend with my Dad about his battle against cancer last summer, and the songs and strength that got him through it.

Or, maybe it was the long conversation I had with my Mom where she cried a little over something that warranted a few tears, and I held her hand.

Or, maybe it was because Naomi was especially fussy yesterday evening.

Or, maybe it was because I've lost five pounds in fifteen days.

Or, maybe it was the changes some loved ones in my life are going through.

Or, maybe it was because Cub was with his grandparents and I was missing him.

But, for whatever reason, I made another batch of cupcakes today ... and cried the entire time. At times I had to stop because I was sobbing, and once the sobbing slowed to sniffling, I'd pick up where I left off, whether it was stirring the batter or frosting the finished cakes. Naomi took an especially long nap and I played the playlist I play every day on my iPod while I baked, and whenever this song came on, I cried a little harder.

It's crazy how sometimes things just hit us, even if they just softly hit us, and their feather-like touch is enough to send us into an emotional train wreck that we can't quite explain.

I'm not completely sure why I cried this afternoon.

All I know is that I needed to do it.

At times I think we make ourselves strong because we have to, or we coat the struggles we face in colors that make them easier to recognize--we compartmentalize them to give them reason and because we give them reason, we think we should be able to deal with them, well, reasonably.

But the small pieces of us that get absorbed in those struggles, no matter how small they may seem, eventually build-up until the only thing that can release them is a good cry. This is true for me, anyway. Not everything can be reasoned away. Sometimes, for no good reason at all, we just need a release.

And after the tears, and after the music, I felt better. I had a delicious batch of cupcakes waiting for me at the end of all of it, too, which was nice.

I share this with you because sometimes I fear that my day-to-day optimism may come across as pretentiousness and the last thing I ever, ever, EVER want to be is pretentious. So, if that thought ever comes into your mind, replace it with the thought of me sitting on the kitchen tile floor, the spatula in my hand dripping with chocolate cupcake batter, my weepy eyes buried into my arms resting on my knees. And for no good reason.

Maybe the "no good" reasons are the best reasons of all for a cry. Maybe.

I'm going to go eat a cupcake now.

My Cupcake.

I adore cupcakes.

Every Sunday, I torture myself by watching Cupcake Wars on The Food Network. There's something about seeing those mini cakes of yumminess displayed in front of the judges prepared by the best bakers in the world that seems thrilling in the most torturous way, perhaps because I can imagine how good those little cupcakes taste ... and that, chances are, I would not be able to eat them.

Between the cake and the frosting, typically there's a bit of dairy in there somewhere.

Well, on Monday, the cupcake craving reached a level of absurdity and I dropped everything to scour the Internet for a good cupcake recipe, sans dairy. I had seen a few before, but after reading them thoroughly and realizing they were healthified cupcakes, I skipped over them, as I prefer that my cupcakes taste sweet and be rather unhealthy. I happily stumbled on this blogger and promptly borrowed her chocolate cupcake recipe, along with her peanut butter frosting recipe. It's vegan. No animal products. I set right to work preparing this tasty treat, and my little Cub happily helped, by shattering a glass vase and drawing on the tile with sidewalk chalk (um, this is when he learned that sidewalk chalk can only be used on the floor OUTSIDE).

But I was not about to be deterred. Between lots of vacuuming, stirring, sweeping, cleaning, pouring, disciplining, and baking, we got it done.

The recipe is fantastic.

Here it is:

For the cupcakes:

1 1/2 cups unbleached white flour

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup expeller pressed oil (I used olive oil, since it was all I had)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (I used lemon juice)

1 cup water (room temperature)



Preheat your oven to 350°

Put the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt into a bowl and whisk well to combine.

(you can do this step in an 8x8 pan if you don’t want cupcakes)

Mix the oil, water, vanilla, and vinegar together in a measuring cup or bowl as best you can.

Pour the liquid mixture over the dry ingredients and stir until just blended.

Line a cupcake tin with paper liners.

Fill each one 3/4 of the way.

Bake for 18 - 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

(Bake for 30 minutes if you’re using an 8x8 pan)



For the frosting:

1/4 cup non dairy butter (I completely omitted this)

1/4 cup palm shortening (I used Crisco)

1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons rice milk (I used almond milk, since almonds and peanuts go hand in hand)

Chocolate sprinkles for decoration (optional)



Beat the non dairy butter and palm shortening with a hand held mixer on medium speed until smooth.

Add the vanilla and peanut butter and beat until very smooth.

Add the sugar and beat again until combined.

With the beater still running, dribble in the rice milk, a little at a time until the frosting is fluffy.

Using a pastry bag and large tip, decorate the cupcakes. (I added a bit of water to the frosting to make it creamy and simply spread it with a spatula.)



And oh my word, they were amazing. The cake was extremely moist and chocolatey, and the frosting was thick and rich. Mmm. My husband and I have all but polished off the entire batch.


And, most importantly, they passed the toddler test.




I'm going to add this one to the books.

Have a lovely day!

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Two Months.

Dear Naomi,

You are now two months old.


I can't believe it. Two months already! Slow down, girl!

So many things have happened in this past month. So. Let's get down to it.

Activities
Your biggest accomplishment this past week is your ability to smile. Your eyes smile first. I remember that with your brother, too, and I love that you are the same way. Your eyes light up and then the corners of your mouth slowly begin their ascent until your lips have formed a sweet little grin. Sometimes you only smile with your eyes. I love that, too. You love to stare at us and track our movements. You are also entirely enamored with your big brother. You could sit in your chair forever, staring only at him. Speaking of your chair, that is by far your favorite place to hang out. From your perch in your bouncy chair, you quietly observe the world around you. You spend a lot of time there and never seem antsy for a change of scenery. You like your chair.


Feeding
Mama had to cut dairy from her diet this past month in an attempt to settle your tumultuous tummy. Amazingly, it's worked. Your fussiness has all but disappeared and what we see instead is a happy, content baby. The word I use the most to describe you is sweet. You are truly a sweet little baby girl. After I stopped eating and drinking dairy, you almost immediately set yourself on a little feeding routine, something that was a big of an impossibility before. You eat at 7, 10, 1, 4, 7, and 9, with a middle of the night feeding, falling somewhere between 3-5. It takes you about ten to fifteen minutes total to eat and I appreciate your swift efficiency!


Sleeping
You take four naps a day, after you've been awake for a bit between your feedings. The only two feedings you do not nap between are your last. You are usually in bed between 8:30 and 9:30, although you are pushing that closer and closer to 8:30, which we appreciate! You wake up once in the middle of the night to eat (with the exception of spontaneous growth spurt feedings, as I like to call them) and I love it. I love our sweet snuggle time in your nursery at night, in the quiet darkness. You sleep through the night about once a week, but I am in no hurry for you to master that skill. Please keep these middle of the night feedings just a little longer. Mama's not ready to let them go.


Growth
You weigh 11.5 pounds and are in the 70th percentile for weight. You are 23.6 inches, putting you in the 90th percentile for height. Your little head circumference is 15 inches, putting you in the 35th percentile. You are growing right on track, and yet you still seem so little to us. Our little Mouse. You snuggle perfectly in the crook of my arm.


I can't even begin to tell you the amount of joy you have brought to our lives. Before we knew what was wrong with your tummy, we were so scared, Mouse. Several nights were spent rocking you, with both of us crying, trying to soothe your pain as best as we knew how. I hate to see you hurt, especially when I don't know what to do about it. But, now that the problem is solved, your precious personality is peeking through and we are loving every minute of it. I love my little girl. I love to put bows in your hair. I love to put you in dresses. And I know you will probably rebel against that when you get older. :) More than anything, I love it when our eyes lock and I fall in love with you all over again. Kissing your fuzzy little head and holding your small, unsteady hands is indescribably beautiful. My daughter. Your Dadda is absolutely taken with you and when you give him a smile, he melts and cannot look away.

We cannot imagine our lives without you, little Mouse. We love you.

Love,
Mama

Sunday, August 15, 2010

I Bought Green Peppers.

I'm warning you now, there are a lot of pictures in this post. The photography bug bit me on Friday and I've been at it ever since. I've missed picture-taking.

I've mentioned before in previous posts the reasons I love visiting my family in Arkansas. Besides the fact that they are my family and I love them, I also love visiting my home, out in the country, nestled between oak trees overlooking a rolling meadow and more oaks. Cub loves visiting his Memere and Pepere and would spend every second outside if we'd let him. I love all that fresh country air.

On Friday night the sunset was beautiful and we went outside to celebrate it's much-anticipated descent into the horizon. Cub ran into the outlying field surrounded by trees and I took advantage of the glowing light. Love this boy.


Naomi has already visited my parents' house twice in her eight weeks of life and my parents love every minute of it. Their first granddaughter is soaking in the attention!



On Saturday morning, we headed to Fayetteville for their weekly Farmers' Market. This particular Farmers' Market is dear to my heart and my mind is full of lovely memories from spending Saturday mornings there with my Mom, strolling by the fruit and vegetable stands bursting with homegrown goods. I hadn't been there since moving to Oklahoma and decided it was time to go back, adding it to My Mighty Summer List (Number Eight). This Farmers' Market is teeming with energy and beauty, from the radiant colors of the fresh produce to the eclectic cast of characters that spend the morning commiserating with old friends, singing songs and playing music. The infectious energy makes this Market a hard one to leave and we walked the square over and over again, basking in its somewhat addictive eccentricity.














That evening, back at home, my Mom and Cub fed the birds while Naomi and I watched on the porch. My Dad grabbed my camera and did an impromptu shoot of me with my little Mouse. It was sweet.




And then this morning he caught us again. This is probably my favorite picture, complete with messy hair and pajamas. Candids are the best.


It was a lovely weekend.

Have a lovely day!