Can Anything Good Come of Mobility??

Nope, just sheer mischief!! Hahaha....these pictures were taken yesterday and today, respectively. Although so far he wreaks minimal havoc, the fun has just begun! That's my boy!!

My Unintended Sabbatical.

When I set out to start a blog, my initial intention was to have a place where I could make notes of the progress the children were making, post pictures and also just keep track of the general goings-on of our family. I've found this an invaluable resource and it's always fun when I get feedback from others as well. This only works, however, if I actually POST!! Yes, things have been busy as usual--isn't that just the way when you've got little 'uns? I know that's not going to change for a while...actually, it keeps getting crazier!! Luke is now fully mobile. He started really crawling at Christmas. He army-crawls, he still hasn't figured out how the knees come up under him to help, but hey...he's fast enough as it is, thank you! In the past week and a half, he's started pulling himself up on everything. So far he can only get to his knees, but it's enough to allow him to get into plenty of mischief. So far though, he seems contented to just play with buttons on electronics and cars and balls. He does like things that make noise. Thankfully though (knock on wood), he hasn't gotten into any of my "stuff". He hasn't touched books or other things on the shelves. I told myself that this time around I would NOT child-proof. My life is kinda set the way it is...and we don't have the space to put things elsewhere...and he'd just have to learn to stay out of things. We've been able to have fires in the fireplace and he hasn't gone near. He likes to watch the fire, but he's learned that it's hot and not to touch it.
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I started this yesterday, so today is now Tuesday January 29th.
Yesterday Luke actually pulled himself up to STANDING!! He's getting so big, so fast! It's pretty impressive how strong he is. I know most babies are doing this stuff at this age--and most do it even earlier, but it's still amazing to me that he's as old as he is. The time has gone by so fast, it's almost scary!

The girls are currently at my parents house. We've been having a lot of rain lately--like nearly EVERY day and LOTS of it...and we've all been going stir crazy, so it was so welcome when my parents offered to take the girls for a couple of days. I'm heading up there today with Luke to spend 2 nights and then to come home on Thursday. They are having a good ol' time up there, playing in the snow, visiting the local pony ranch and just being goofy with Grandma and Papa. Savannah told me yesterday that Papa was going to buy her a pony--oh goodness!! She's horse crazy and I'd love for her to have a pony...but obviously she doesn't realize how much goes into taking care of a pony. Perhaps one day, that'd be cool.

Savannah lost her first tooth on the 5th of January. We had an EXTENDED power outage (a whole other story I won't even go into right now) and the second night, in the dark, she yanked her tooth out!! It's so cute to see her missing a tooth.

Abby is all geared up to learn to read and write...and often pulls out her workbook while Savannah and I sit down to do Savannah's work. She is trying to sound out words, but isn't quite there yet...but I know it'll be soon. I remember Savannah taking a while to get the concept of sounding out too, but once she got it, WATCH OUT!! Abby's writing is getting better.
We did some "formal" writing lessons, but she got a bit bored with it, so I just give her the opportunity as much as possible to write letters, draw pictures and write words on them, etc. She's getting there. Next year she'll be a big kindergartener and she'll be zooming down the fast track too! Abby has been off of her paci for 3 months now and I have to say, her smile is getting more beautiful by the day. I know that the pacifier caused a bit of tooth displacement...but I'm very happy to see that they're going back quickly. She's so beautiful and has grown up SO much in the past couple of months. It's weird to look at your little girl and all of a sudden realize that she's not a baby anymore! She's so sweet...and passionate (sometimes to her detriment!) and one of my favorite things about her personality is how she just bursts out in song whenever she feels like it. It's so precious to hear her little squeaky voice singing scripture!! Ahhhh....it's music to my ears!!
Oh, one more thing I wanted to note before I get started on my day...Savannah knows the books of the New Testament now! Abby is getting close too, I'm impressed that they both know the Lord's Prayer, but I didn't think they'd be able to get the books of the New Testament! It's handy knowledge to have, I tell ya!! Thank God for Christian children's music...it's helped me memorize lots of stuff I never thought I'd know!
And in closing, here's a picture of my little doll boy...and once again, a promise that I'll keep my updates updated more often!!

One More Week....

...Until Christmas that is!
It's crazy that it's that time of year again, but I'm very excited. The girls and I made some Pfefferkuchen today...it's a traditional German cookie, much like gingerbread, but much tastier in my opinion (I'll post the recipe later). My Oma used to make Pfefferkuchen for us every year and sent it out in a Christmas tin with Andes mints inside. I just bought some Andes mints, for old times sake and I'll bake up the cookies soon. It was a few years ago that she stopped sending the cookies because the dough is very thick and she was getting too weak in her old age. She passed away 2 years ago on December 15th, so it's a tradition I like to carry on in her memory.
I've got all of my presents (all of those that have arrived at least--some are still in the mail) wrapped and sent to my parents house so I don't have to deal with it when we travel. Now it's just a waiting game. Jeremy is on "duty" this week, so he's working weird and crazy hours--he's actually in Monterey today for work and will probably be home after the children are in bed...and I really wish we could just head up the hill and let the celebration begin...but I know I must be patient. We still have plenty to do anyway. I've almost got the adventure kits I talked about in my other post finished. My mother in law made cute letters to stick to the kits to personalize them, but it's going to require measuring and exacting work to stick them on properly and I'm not sure I'm up to the task...hahaha!!
I'm praying that everyone stays healthy for the next week. It's always touch and go this time of year...with all of the children around and all of the various illness being spread to and fro...and it always makes me a bit nervous because I want Christmas to go off without a hitch...and to be enjoyed by all. My mom has Saturday thru Thursday off--so that means she'll be home all of the days we're there except for one...it'll be so nice to have all of that time to spend together. I love it when everyone is together, it makes me all warm and fuzzy! Not to mention that I actually get to partake of wonderful hot baths and indulge in reading and other past times a mother rarely gets to engage in!
Speaking of which...time to wake one child up (Abby) and put another down (Luke). He slept in until nearly 11 this morning (I had Abby wake him up), so it's now 3:10pm and I think he's ready for some more Zzzz's.

When the Children are away....

...Perhaps mommy will get some much needed updating done!!
Yes, the girls are gone for a few days. Yesterday I took them to their cousin, Ashley's birthday party at Pump it Up. It was very fun. The last time we went to a party there, I was overdue pregnant with Luke, so I didn't get the chance to participate in any of the merry-making. So yesterday I got to climb, jump, slide...all of that. It was a good time! My parents met me after the party and took the girls home with them until Tuesday. I got to go out and do some shopping alone and came home to Jeremy and Luke. I tell ya, when you're used to 3 children, having just one is like having none at all! It's SOOOOO nice!! Of course I miss the girls, but it's so nice to have some time to catch up on things. I have presents to wrap, a tiny bit of shopping to finish up, Christmas cards to make and send...all of that wonderful stuff that goes along with this WONDERFUL time of year.
So yesterday while I was doing my shopping, I discovered my new favorite store. It's called Home Goods. It's like a Marshall's or TJ Maxx, but with all housewares. MY KIND OF STORE!! It was amazing, I'll definitely have to put a "Home Goods" fund in my 2008 budget. I got some awesome gift boxes that are like suitcases...I've been wanting that exact thing and didn't know that they really existed until yesterday I saw them!!! I'm going to make the girls "Adventure Kits" for Christmas. The girls have been asking for Adventure Kits for Christmas for some time now, and when I went to the store to look at them, they're pretty junky and cheap. Not something I'd actually get for them because it's one of those things that they'd get, enjoy for a day or so and then throw into the corner. So I bought these boxes, binoculars, magnifying glass, journal...and I'm going to have my dad make a simple flower press and buy some "specimen bottles" and I'll make a little drawing book and add some colored pencils, and they'll be set for exploring and gathering. Once I get this together, I'll post a picture of the finished product. I think it'll be pretty cool! Savannah has been asking for a horse for Christmas. She has her heart set on a horse...obviously I cannot get her a horse, so I'm on a mission today to find a suitable stuffed horse that she can love and take care of. I decided to get each girl a big gift, so I got Abby a cradle/stroller/high chair set from Costco. It's really cute and made of wood. And I'm hoping that it'll get lots of use...Abby is very baby oriented. She LOVES, LOVES, LOVES babies!! Since Savannah LOVES, LOVES, LOVES horses, I really hope that Savannah will love a stuffed horse. She saw one at the toy store the other day and told me how much she wanted it...hopefully it'll be worth the price, because they're definitely not cheap!
So, here's the latest news:
Abby is her usual, spirited self. She has such a wonderful, funny personality. She's SO exuberant and does EVERYTHING with full-bore feeling. That ranges from getting VERY mad at ME (of all people) when she gets hurt to bursting out in song just because she feels like it. She grabs my hand and plants a firm, SWEET kiss on my hand randomly throughout the day. She is such a cute, rascally little thing. She's getting better and better with writing her name, although I do need to sit down and work more in earnest on her writing skills. She's just recently shown interest in doing school work...she pulls out her workbook every morning while Savannah and I are doing school and gets to work. After the first of the year, I guess she'll be added to the official homeschool roster.
Savannah has a LOOSE TOOTH!! The other day she came in the house crying because she had been pulled down and got a nasty scrape on her leg. I put her in the sink to rinse her leg and she looked at me and pulled her lip down and said, "MOMMY look!". I thought, "OH no, she's fallen and chipped a tooth", and I said, "Oh no, did you hit your face?" and she smiles and says, "No, I've got a loose tooth!!". OH my! I wasn't expecting that. It just dawned on me that she is about that age...but I really wasn't expecting it until she got closer to 6 since she was pretty late in getting teeth...but hey! How fun!! I'm very excited...I get my first shot at playing Tooth Fairy!! Savannah is doing great with her school work. She isn't so difficult any more. She doesn't argue too much about getting to work, but she still isn't LOVING it. Her writing is definitely improving, her reading is outstanding and her math is getting pretty good as well. I'd say she's at least at the end of first grade level as far as reading and writing...and definitely doing well in math, although there are some skills we need to work on more in Math. We have lots to work on in the next semester, but it's going very well, and I'm very pleased.
Luke is growing and growing. He's a big guy--probably around 21 lbs. He's still so sweet and wonderful. Lately he's been sleeping from 8:30pm until 10am...pretty consistently. Occasionally he'll wake up around 7am, sometimes I'll hear his mobile going (he's learned to turn it on) and he'll fall back to sleep, and sometimes I have to give him a bottle (I just give it to him and leave since he can hold it now and he's TOO wiggly and distracted to drink it while I hold him...it's kinda sad, I like that snuggle time) and he'll fall back to sleep until 10 or 11am. I pretty regularly have to wake him up. He's eating 2 solid meals a day also. It would be 3 if he didn't sleep in so late, but I'm not worried...he's FINALLY a great eater. He likes pretty much everything these days. I usually do oatmeal and fruit for breakfast...sometimes some yogurt in addition and then we do a Gerber meat and something jar for dinner...with yogurt after if he's still hungry. He's clapping, he's doing the pinscher grasp now...he LOVES cheerios. He loves imitating his sisters...if they cough, he coughs back. He says "Dadadada" all of the time. And last night he was sitting on the floor clicking his tongue at me. It was so cute...I'd look over, click at him and he'd grin and click back. He's such a sweet little doll. I feel so blessed to have a child like him. Really, all of our children are absolutely AMAZING, but Luke is just a gem. Never fussy, just so happy-go-lucky and exactly what our family needed. Praise God! He's sitting up really well now. He's at that perfect point where he's happy and content and still IMMOBILE! I wish we could freeze things right now. The sleep is great, he can't go anywhere...it's perfect. I know crawling is just around the corner though. In his crib he'll pull his legs up under him and when he falls in the living room, he can get around quite a bit. He spins around in circles...travels pretty quick backwards, and "swims" forward by digging his toes into the floor and pushing off. It's very cute! I know that mobility is imminent, and I'm excited about it...but also kinda nervous because I know my days of relaxing are nearly over--for a while at least.
Well that is the news for now. It's now 10am and I've got TONS of stuff I want to do. I'll be back soon with pictures and more updates.

I'm not creative enough to title this one...

...I just figured it's been a while since I did an update, I had better at least do SOMETHING. It's not that I've been incredibly busy, it's just that it seems that when I'm feeling particularly creative, I don't have the time to type, and when I do have the time...well, you get the idea! I tend to type my blog entries between 9:30-10:30pm (I should go check my history and see how accurate that really is) and that is not my greatest time of day, but what the hay, I'm doing the best with what I've got!!

Luke: Has started sleeping on his tummy and is finally (mostly) unswaddled!! My parents (and plenty of other people) give me flack about swaddling my children so long. They never did it in "their day", but I do it with my children, and all of them stopped being swaddled at around the same time-when they started rolling over and it made me worried!! Luke is still wrapped from the waist down at night, mostly to keep him warm while he sleeps. He's been napping wonderfully though and....DRUM ROLL PLEASE....he's FINALLY eating food!! Yes, yes, he's been "eating" food for a while now, but now he's actually seeming to enjoy it...and WANTING it. He usually eats oatmeal with banana for breakfast (he'll GLADLY fee himself banana--he's actually rather good at feeding himself finger foods) and yogurt with cereal and some other fruit/veggies mixed in. I haven't gotten him to eat any real savory stuff yet, but I just bought some chicken thighs that I'm going to cook up for him and try some chicken and noodles, chicken and rice, etc. and see how he likes it.
Luke is sitting up quite proficiently these days. He likes to be outside watching the other kids playing...it keeps him rather entertained. Savannah has started giving him "dancing lessons", she plays music for him and starts dancing and he'll start rocking back and forth along with her, it's very cute! Luke also babbles a lot, usually saying DADA or some form of the word...tonight we were praying and as I was praying he said, "DADA" really loud...so I said, "yes, we pray for Dada too" because Jeremy wasn't home. It was cute how Luke threw that in! Oh yes, one thing I was going to add in about him eating more is that he's started sleeping even better. Of course I don't want to jinx myself, but he's had quite a few nights recently where he goes to sleep just after 8pm and doesn't wake again until 9ish in the morning. No wakings at all. It's been marvelous!!!
There was something else that I wanted to note, but I just cannot remember...it's hard enough typing right now with my blurred vision from the tears in my eyes from yawning so much...perhaps I should go to bed and finish this tomorrow!!

An "Ah Ha" Moment...

God's quirky sense of humor never ceases to amaze me.
I've been talking with a good "friend" of mine (you know who you are) about an issue I have regarding children who aren't my own. I've admitted to her...and now I'm admitting to all of the people who read my blog that I'm not a lover of children. Don't get me wrong...I ADORE my own children. Just watching my children brings tears to my eyes and there is no way I could ever explain how deeply in love with them I am. It's OTHER peoples children I have the problem with.
Growing up I never wanted to have children. It wasn't until I was dating Jeremy (my husband) and his cousin had a baby that I even considered that I might one day want a baby of my own. I became an auntie when I was 9 years old. My nieces were darling, but when they were in their cutest stages I was at some of my worst (early teens--yuck!), so I never appreciated them...they just got on my nerves...why would I ever want that??
Anyway, I digress. Loving other peoples children has been a very difficult thing for me. I see the flaws in my own children, of course, but my love for them covers many, many imperfections. With other children the flaws stick out like a sore thumb and I don't have that deep love to override the annoyance of these less than perfectly behaved children. It's not that most of the children I've known are any worse than my own...we've definitely had some "fun" issues to deal with, it's just that it's so much more blatant with other children. Perhaps it's that with my own children I see their "issues" as something to work on, habits to change, behavior to mold and for some reason with other children it seems like more of a character flaw. Please, don't get me wrong...I know this is flawed thinking, I'm FAR from perfect I'll be the first to admit.
Okay, so onto the whole point of this--God's sense of humor. We moved into this neighborhood when Abby was 2 months old, Savannah was 19 months old. We were outside and all, but with such small children, interaction with other children was fairly limited...not to mention that our entire block had just been remodeled and we were the first family to move in. Shortly thereafter our neighborhood filled in nicely and all was well--until the interaction began. For anyone who has never seen my neighborhood, let me just tell you: It is a sight to behold. A family must have at least 2 children to live in the homes that make up my neighborhood. There are a TON of children around here. God has put me amidst not just a couple "difficult" children, but a PLETHORA of "difficult" children. It all started with the neighbor whose daughter seemed to delight in making Savannah cry (let me just say, it's not hard to make Savannah cry, she's VERY sensitive). I cannot tell you how many times Savannah came running home in the early years of our residence here crying her little eyes out because Jackie wasn't her friend anymore. *sigh*. Then there was the kid who I would watch pinch Abby (she was just a toddler) and when she would cry he'd comfort her and say "Oh, what's wrong" as if he had no idea what made her cry (he was 7 at the time). We had a little girl who would mouth off to me like you wouldn't believe. I actually had to make her leave my house once because she opened a card and "read" aloud, "Dear Mom, I hate your freakin' guts" (she was 3). There is the boy who called me "STUPID" because I wouldn't let him have candy without his parents permission. Oh the list goes on and on and on. Some of the things have been pretty outrageous and others are just things "normal" kids do...but when you multiply it by 10-15 kids EVERY SINGLE DAY, it's UNREAL! The hitting, biting, screaming, name calling, stealing toys, coming into my house at 6:45am...just to START the list...is just a bit overwhelming to someone who doesn't particularly "like" children! Hahahaha...so tell me, is God funny or what??? Do you think he put me here for a reason??? And the sad thing is that I'm just starting to understand that. My "friend" I've been talking to just opened my eyes to this fact. I need to learn to see children for their hearts, the way Jesus saw them, and the way He wants me to see them. He wants me to see past the behavioral issues and into their little hearts that need His love, His compassion and His salvation. WOW! Afterall, child or adult, who wants to be defined by their worst behaviors?? Not I!
Thank You Lord for this revelation!!

Now the question is: Do I delay learning my lesson so we can stay here for 4 more years?!?! Hahahaha...JUST KIDDING (kind of!)

So many updates, so little time!

I honestly should be folding the myriad loads of laundry I have to fold, but I just wanted to post a VERY quick update...more to remind myself to come back to finish it soon.
Abby is now 4 years old and finally PACI-FREE!! Yay!! I'm so very proud of her...although I have a funny story to share about that, but it shall have to wait until later.

**Funny Story** Updated November 15, 2007--finally!
Abby went down for her nap on her birthday--first nap with no paci. I have to admit, I was rather nervous. She got up a couple of times and then finally settled down for her nap. It was awfully quiet and after quite a while it was time for me to go wake her up--just as I do for EVERY nap she takes. I thought, "Wow, that was easy...she had NO problem with a paci-free nap!"...I walked into her room and there she was, absolutely zonked out with a PACIFIER in her mouth!! WHAT?!?! She must have stashed one away and then found it and plugged it in and dozed off happy as can be! I knew there was a paci missing, but I had no idea she took it!! It was so funny! Thankfully we've had no hitches without her paci...she's been doing GREAT!!


Jeremy had his birthday and returned safely home from Portland, flew out to San Diego and is back from there now. He arrived on the evening of his birthday, so we didn't get to celebrate too much...but we're having a family birthday party tomorrow, so that will hopefully make up for it!
Luke had his 7 month check up...the boy is a big guy! He's 19lbs6oz and 28inches long. Apparently there are some HUGE babies out there though because he's only 50th percentile for weight! OH WOW!

Okay, I know that's very sad, but that's all I can manage at this moment...I've got lots of work to do for the birthday party tomorrow...and we're having a "Cake Party" this evening for Abby...so I'm busy, busy, busy!!