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Sunday, 08 March 2009

9 days and counting...

We're starting to count down the days until we leave for the East Coast!! The main reason we are going to DC/VA is for my brother's wedding on March 28th, but we decided to make it a 2-week adventure. I made a little photo album for Caleb so he can learn everyone's name. He knows Unca Ryan, Bennett, Cowee, and Ewwa just by looking at their pictures. We'll see how many more we can squeeze into his little memory by the time we get there. I want to write a whole long post about all we're going to do and see while we're there, but I just can't do it right now. I have a very painful sinus headache and the computer screen is not helping the throbbing pain go away any faster.
I do want to share these 2 pictures. I left Caleb on the floor in the living room with a few pretzels and an episode of Word World and I came back to find a little thug, just chillin, belly hanging out...probably about to choke on a pretzel, but I let him stay there long enough for me to get the camera. It's nothing much, but it was really funny at the time.
Caleb has the most annoying habit of whining endlessly every time I need to change his diaper or put on his clothes. It's so draining since we do this at least 5 times a day. I'm trying to get him more involved when I pick out his clothes in the morning and when we're choosing jammies at night. He doesn't really care so much about his clothes for the day, but I point out if there's a picture on his shirt like a plane or a car and then he thinks it's neat to see it go on over his belly. He's totally into picking his own jammies. He doesn't always match, but I'm just glad he picked a top and a bottom this time! He can't wait to put them on when he picks them out himself. Doesn't he look so old in this picture?? The angle makes him look so tall!

I look forward to the days when he wants to completely dress himself. I can't wait until he wants to leave the house in cowboy boots and a cape. I'm all for it! Night-night...

Sunday, 01 March 2009

oh the unexpected

This morning, after church, I left Patrick to talk with a friend and went to get Caleb. I got stuck for a minute in the usual crowd of people piling out of the service. I stopped to grab the last strawberry on the tray in the lobby for my little guy. After that, I started to walk toward the stairs to the nursery when I saw a little boy at the bottom of the stairs and thought, "Oh, how cute...he looks just like Caleb" and looked away to make my way up the stairs. I took another step, thought...wait...looked again... it WAS Caleb!! All that happened in like an instant. I don't blame myself for not knowing instantly that it was my one and only child because he just shouldn't be there!! I'm still picturing his little face staring into the crowd of people rushing up and down the stairs around him while he was clinging to the railing for dear life. So many things went through my head all at once. I just grabbed him and stood there completely confused. How did you get out of the nursery? Did someone take you out? Did you sneak out? How did you get through the glass door and the gate that is incredibly difficult for an adult to open? Is anyone looking for you? Do I yell at someone or just be thankful that you're ok? I could not believe he was standing there. I still had to get his bag, so I brought him back up to the nursery and made darn sure they knew that they let my child get out. I was mad, but I did my best to be calm and speak to the girl quietly so no one else would get worried about leaving their child in the nursery. I tried to put on the fruits of the Spirit and not rip someone's head off...I mean, I did just walk out of church. He was fine. Disaster averted. I found him...not someone else. I just told them that they need to fix the gate and please please please be careful!!
It's not a small-town church. We're relatively new as a family and people don't just know my son to know that he might be out of place. We absolutely love our church, but it's a doozy trying to get through that lobby on a Sunday morning. There are hundreds of people at our church and not very much space to fit them all, especially when it's a service that has another service directly following. Not only do you have hundreds of people filing out of church, you have hundreds more filing in at the same time. The nursery is awesome. They have a great computer system that prints out little stickers with codes for each child and their parents (which I now realize does little good if the adult-proof baby gate is broken and your child is an escape artist). They are not babysitters. The people that work in the nursery have a heart for babies and they pray over them and speak life into them and sing with them and just plain love on them. I'm always so impressed with the people I hand him off to. It's a peaceful place. Caleb takes his backpack in his hands and goes right in. All that said....no matter how much affection I have for this church, I can not even imagine who I would have strangled if my son was not there when I handed them my little sticker to prove he belongs to me and they couldn't find him. I am almost absolutely sure he would have headed straight for the door and right to the train yard across the street (cringe!) by the time they discovered he was missing. AH! I can't even imagine! Thank you God for drawing my eye to that last little strawberry. Caleb's head was just past the tray out of focus, which made me notice him. Otherwise, I would have just kept looking up for the quickest path between bodies to get through the crowd of people, while Caleb was off to dodge cars to get to the trains.
After the dust settled on all of that, I had to remind myself that this is just the beginning of dealing with the unexpected events of having a toddler. He's not even 2 yet! My brave, adventurous little boy. One day...he will get in trouble for a stunt like that. Through all of it, I was proud of him for making it all the way down the stairs all by himself! It's a wide stairway (one side for people walking up, one for down) and he walked right down the middle. The railing is high and spaced too far apart for a little person learning to maneuver the stairs. He wasn't able to walk down by himself even 3 weeks ago when the stairs were empty and this morning he did it with 50 people walking on either side of him. That probably helped, actually. Step...grab a leg...step...grab the rail... I'm so glad that's over.
My little boy potentially being lost at church is nothing compared to the mothers in this tribe that are actually losing their babies in Ethiopia. I have to share this story with you. I'll just post a small portion here, but please go The Rock Global Missions page and read a first-hand account of Kristen, a YWAM missionary in Ethiopia. Our church is calling it the Ethiopia Project, but we are coming alongside YWAM missionaries who have drained their bank accounts trying to rescue children who will be killed by their own tribe if they do nothing. There is an urgent need that has been brought to the attention of our church leaders just this week. We are praying that God will change the hearts of these people and reunite the 6 children that have already been saved with their mothers someday soon. Please, read... and pray.

The people of the Kara tribe in rural Ethiopia, have a tradition-rich culture. However the tribe lives in fear of evil spirits who can bring ill fortune to the tribe. The Kara use the word “Mingi” (pronounced 'min-ghee') to describe subjects they consider cursed or otherwise imperfect. There are many different ways in which a thing may be considered Mingi; but there are a few that are more common and have severe consequences. One example is when a women becomes pregnant outside of an arranged marriage with a paid dowry. A second example of Mingi is when a married couple become pregnant before announcing their intention to the rest of the tribe. Another example is when a child’s top teeth come in before the bottom teeth. The Kara believe that the presence of Mingi children on their land curses the tribe. Their solution to this perceived threat is to kill the child.
Read on... here.

Thursday, 26 February 2009

Out of the mouth of babes...

I've been quizzing Caleb on family names, making him repeat them after me. Last night...it went a little something like this:
Me: Can you say Uncle Joe?
Caleb: Ucca Joe
Me: Can you say Uncle Chris?
Caleb: Ucca Kiss
Me: Can you say KK?
Caleb: KK
Me: Can you say Grampa Alan?
Caleb: bucka bucka butthead
Pat and I looked at each other and laughed histerically because we knew we had just heard the same thing. I'm even cracking up again as I'm writing this. For those of you who know Alan (Pat's stepdad), it's even funnier because he is just that kind of guy. He's a joker, he loves to play devil's advocate and pretend to be a big meany at times, but he's a big softy and doesn't fool us. The truth is he has the biggest heart for our family. He's a sweet grampa to both Kyla and Caleb and baby Weston who will be joining us sometime in May/June. He can't even fool them...
Here they are watching Alvin and the Chipmunks together on Christmas morning. He sure loves his bucka bucka butthead!

Saturday, 14 February 2009

Happy...Fun...Ten, everybody!

Tuesday, 10 February 2009

Nothing much...

After posting Caleb's first year video, I decided it was probably a good idea to put up a current photo so you can see how much he's grown.  He's not a baby anymore. He's a fully functioning little person and an independent thinker.  He's usually covered in dirt like this, just all boy. I hate cleaning it up, but he loves getting dirty.
I wish I could put a microphone on his shirt and record his little chatter for you. His vocabulary grows every day. He's so quick to repeat words now. He frequently breaks out in his version of the 'ABCs' occasionally getting a letter in the right place and always ending on the right note with 'me!'. His other favorite is the marching song from an episode of Jack's Big Music Show. He lifts his little legs up and marches in a circle singing "Mush, mush, mush, mush..." It's awesome. He loves spinning in circles and riding the dog like a horse. Somewhere in the past month, he learned which letter is the letter "O". Don't ask me how...he just knows it and can pick it out of a line up. He is quickly mastering the fine art of using a fork, but still refuses to eat anything from a spoon. Anything with a squishy texture makes him cringe with disgust... yogurt, applesauce, cheerios in milk, macaroni and cheese. It's all about plain food... plain macaroni, plain cheerios, food in separate compartments on his plate, no mixing flavors. He has just learned that ice cream is yummy and not squishy.
He has firmly implanted the word "no" into his list of favorite things to say. He is testing the waters to see what he can and can't do and it will sometimes land him in time-out, but he usually doesn't commit the same offense twice. He almost likes time-out. He has never tried to get up. He just knows to stay there. Sometimes he cries, but if he does, it's not for long...maybe 15 seconds. When his 1 minute is up, he runs to me, we practice saying "I'm sorry, Mommy for..." and after a big hug and a kiss, he's on his way. I don't know how to do all of this, but it seems to be working, so we'll stick with it for now.
So...what else is new with us. Well, nothing much, really. I'm constantly wishing I could nominate myself for "What Not to Wear" because I'm usually at the house in jeans and a t-shirt, or my sweatpants on the really muddy days outside on the ranch. Here's a taste of what our winter has looked like...
Yeah...it's pretty messy. I never look like that, but you get the idea. That day I was smart and made him wear his snowsuit. Most days, he's out in his play clothes rolling in the mud or walking through puddles up to his shins. It's not a glamorous life I live, but it's mine and I love it.
We're starting to eat healthier as a family. I'd love to completely switch to eating only organic foods, but it's so expensive to change my whole grocery list, especially in the meat and dairy departments. I buy organics when I can. We eat a lot of chicken. We've always eaten lots of fresh fruits and veggies, so we're not really changing all that much...just eating a little more of the good stuff.  We still love ourselves a good bowl of ice cream and a few dozen homemade chocolate chip cookies. I've started working out to the 30-Day Shred dvd with Jillian Michaels from the Biggest Loser.  It's hard, but it's only like 26 minutes and I'm done. I usually put Caleb down for his nap and get to it. I can see it working. I want tone arms more than anything this summer. I'm not a bikini wearer, so I'm not so worried about my abs since I can cover those up, but I'm always wearing tank tops in the summer and I want nice arms. Patrick has set up a little gym in the barn for weights and we're looking for a cheap treadmill. He also picked up a punching bag, so that'll be fun to try.
That's all I have for now. Until next time...