My adventures as a mom, a theologian's wife, and an ex-pat across the pond
I do love my Rebekah, Luke, and Lizzie and all their shenanigans. Lizzie cut her first tooth on Wednesday and her second on Friday {today}! She is a champ, of course, with minimal fuss. So proud of her. ;)
Rebekah and Luke built these little study carrels- so funny. I love they way they pretend together.
Lastly, here is Luke in his Mater dress-up from Nana.
This one is more for the fam…those who might hang on Lizzie’s every sound like I do. I live with, feed, hold, and play with this baby her every waking hour, and I could still watch this video all day- I love her expressions and her little squeals. {The squeals are in the next video which is not uploaded yet- sorry I am trying out vimeo- let me know if it works!}
http://vimeo.com/couchmode/user11427796/videos/sort:date/40963330
Rebekah is just a doll. She is dramatic and emotional for sure, but all in all, she is such a treasure. I have frequently thought about how much I struggled as a new mom, so worried I would mess her up and do it all wrong…how I wish I could have had a snapshot of my precious girl and what a gem she is in spite of my efforts! She is definitely the perfect fit for being the oldest- she embraces her role, too. Rebekah hates missing any of Lizzie’s firsts and is such a little mama to both Lizzie and Luke. Rebekah has been known to ask how she can help me, and she really means it! She looks for ways to bless people, both friends and adults, and usually it is with handmade gifts she puts her whole heart into. Now that she can read and write basic stuff, her crafting has exploded to a whole new level {I honestly didn’t know that was possible}.
This is very typical of my girl- reading one of her school books to Luke at his request.
Recently, Rebekah and I had a mama/daughter date. I took the time to tell her all the things I love about her {so many!}, and it was so dear to see how much it meant to her. Having added another person to our family makes one-on-one time that much harder. I forget sometimes how important that one-on-one time is, even to my social Bekah.
I am so, so, so thankful for each of my children and just as glad that the Lord does not give us what we deserve, but often so much more!
This year, I had to cut back on the invitation list for Luke’s birthday party- so sad, but we have sooo little space for entire families. So, I invited the kids Luke sees all the time and is most comfortable with since he can get a little overwhelmed at times. We have been discussing this party and its theme for a few months now- he wanted frogs. Okay. I had a lot of fun over the past few weeks gathering things and brainstorming ideas. I decided with Rachel Nigh‘s help to do a frogs/wellies/raincoat theme. Rebekah and Luke are always eager to help, so their touches are present, too.
We played pin the frog on the lily pad, we “fished” for candy, and we made plastic frogs jump onto lily pads on Bekah’s and Luke’s handdrawn pond. We also made frog hats.
It all ended with a very happy and tired little boy…
For the hats:
I bought a pack of colored paper and made one hat as a template. Then, I had everything glued and in a small bag with the child’s name on it so they could construct them quickly with a parent’s help.
For the pin the frog on the lily pad:
I quickly drew 2 lop-sided hearts as templates and stacked 2 sheets to cut out 4. Then I did the same with the flowers. Finally, I just did a frog head for each child since I’m not an artist. I penciled their names on and had tape on the back. We used scarves to cover their eyes. I had 2 prizes for the closest pinnings.
For the fishing:
I found 3 sticks outside and tied string on one end. At the end of the string we attached a clothespin. I had my daughter sit behind a sheet hung in their room and put candy or small favor toys on the clothespins. This was a big hit!
For the frog jump:
Our grocery store had little plastic frogs that you can push on one end to make them spring forward. The kids made a “pond” with lily pads and we just had the kids try to get the frogs on the lily pads. I could have done prizes, but it seemed gratuitous.
That’s our Lizzie girl! She is so sweet and social and has the best temperament and personality. I find myself doing things with her I couldn’t do with Luke until he was closer to a year. I don’t mean physical things like crawling, but more of social things and outings- she is much easier to stretch and keep distracted and rolls with the punches very well. She is just a very happy, content little baby!
She also is eating “solids” really well- 2, usually 3, times a day! She loves rice cereal with breastmilk and banana, as well as sweet potatoes. She has tried homemade apple sauce, carrots, avocado, and plain yogurt with some success, tho she makes horrific faces with them still. So funny! This has really changed diaper change time- my word! I forgot how much changes there. At least I know she’s getting plenty!
Check her out!
So tickled with herself!
Grins like this to make sure I pick her up immediately!
She cracks me up big time- she HATES the nursing cover, and finds it personally offensive that I wear it in public. I think she just wants to see everything, so I try to cover up myself but free her eyes- tricky at times.
REFUSES to stay under my nursing cover- Hi, Mom!
Holding and chewing toys
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