A day in the life of my kids

I was quite surprised to find this little guy in the closet...he was quite excited that he had discovered a whole box of books, which seems to be his favorite activity now.

The current favorite mode of dressing up- glad I held on to all those blankets!

Watching the rainstorm

K: "Feel my dress, mom. It's totally soaked." Can't imagine why.

Oh to be three.

do you not remember?

"Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember?"

The disciples were anxious about not having bread. And yet Jesus had just fed a huge crowd with very little food, not once but twice. And He asks them, "do you not remember?"

How many times does my anxious heart pound, only to have God ask, "Do you not remember? Do you not remember my faithfulness, goodness, provision, protection? Time and time again."

And I am brought to my knees as I remember the countless mercies of my heavenly Father, who has never once forsaken me. He is so good.

"But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning;
great is thy faithfulness. "The Lord is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him."

Lamentations 3:21-24

.waiting.

Came across a great quote from Paul Tripp in his book A Shelter in the Time of Storm on waiting. So many times in my life I've wondered at God's timing, and yet his purpose is always loving as he shapes us through periods of waiting.

"Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!"
Ps. 27:14

"Waiting for the Lord isn't about God forgetting you, forsaking you, or being unfaithful to his promises. It's actually God giving you time to consider his glory and to grow stronger in faith. Remember, waiting isn't just about what you are hoping for at the end of the wait, but also about what you will become as you wait.

The reality of waiting is that it's an expression of God's goodness. He is wise and loving. His timing is always right, and his focus isn't so much on what you will experience and enjoy, but on what you will become. He is committed to using every tool at his disposal to rescue you from yourself and to shape you into the likeness of his Son. The fact is that waiting is one of his primary shaping tools."

Favorite Pre-School Reads

Here are some of my favorite fiction books for Kathryn. I particularly love reading books that I remember reading as a child, like The Giving Tree and Make Way for Ducklings.

Where the Wild Things Are
by Maurice Sendak
I actually don't quite understand all the hype about this book, but it is fun to read aloud, and Kathryn loves it. And it is a timeless classic. So it makes my list.

The Story About Ping
by Marjorie Flack

The Giving Tree
by Shel Silverstien

Blueberries for Sal
by Robert McCloskey
Love this one. Such a classic.

The BOB books
by Bobby Maslen
Recommended by a friend, these are great beginner reading books. While not thrilling stories (Sam Sat. Cat Sat. Cat sat on Sam, etc.), I think they'll be really helpful once Kathryn starts putting phonics together.

Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale
by Mo Willems
Came across this one on our last library trip. Set in what looks like our old stomping grounds in New York City, Trixie and her Daddy take a trip to the laundromat and accidentally leave Trixie's bunny at the laundromat. Kathryn loves this one, and I'll hear her saying to herself, "Trixie and her Daddy went past the school, through the park, and into the laundromat..." A great find.

If you Give a Mouse a Cookie
by Laura Numeroff

Little Bunny's Bathtime
by Jane Johnson

Make Way for Ducklings
by Robert McCloskey
Who couldn't love the tale of Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Oack, Pack, and Quack?

Curious George Rides a Bike
by H. A. Rey
I've read several Curious George books, and this one has been my favorite.

Next up- Favorite Pre-School spiritual/character development books.

My Favorite Reads- Baby Books

With Kathryn's new found interest in reading books, this summer has found us many times at the library. The only problem with going to the library is that I never know which books to pick, which ones will be age appropriate, and which ones will be good as far as character building. Add to that that usually one (or two) child is fussy, one child may be screaming by the end of the outing, and one child (guess who) tends to load up the stroller with numerous books, which I am completely unaware of until I go to check out and realize I have 40 books instead of 10.

And then there's the whole dilemma of finding children's books that I actually enjoy reading aloud (I'm currently thinking of a particular Dora book that I do not enjoy reading and happens to be K's favorite pick as of now...every day, multiple times a day this is requested.) So I thought I'd post a list of my favorite read-alouds. Some of these books are classics and some are more obscure, but they are all ones that I happily pick up to read to the kids and haven't gotten sick of them yet. So first off, my favorite baby books.

Opposites
by Sandra Boynton
Simple board book with one word per page

Goodnight Moon
by Margaret Wise Brown
I don't think this one needs explaining. An old classic.

Guess How Much I Love You
by Sam McBratney
I almost tear up when I read this

Snuggle Up, Sleepy Ones
by Claire Freedman
A sweet board book about all the African animal babies settling down for the night

The Very Busy Spider
by Eric Carle
Good for learning animals and their sounds

Hug
by Jez Alborough
A sweet picture book about Bobo the monkey being lost, then finding his Mommy with the help of the other animals

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
Another good one for learning animals. Daniel really likes this one.

That's Not My Teddy, It's Paws Are Too Woolly
Usborne touchy-feely books (there are lots of them and they're all good)

Coming Next: Favorite Preschool reads

Big Girl

We celebrated this week...Kathryn is officially potty trained through the night (hooray!) So to celebrate, I took her out for a milkshake (and got Starbucks for myself, of course). Phew. Glad that is done!! Note to self: Do NOT start potty training 3 weeks after a baby is born. Ever. It's been a long year in that regard. :) But in reality, it all was easier than we expected, really. If I hadn't jumped the gun on timing, I think it would have gone even smoother. But what's done is done and now we officially have a "big girl." :)


Almost every day is spent in dress up these days. She's either a princess or a ballerina, or a "bag lady," as Nick calls her. She'll put on all of her dress up stuff (2 hats, boa, several purses, ballet shoes AND princess shoes, a tutu and some sort of dress and veil made from blankets), stuff her purses full of toys, and then load up her shopping cart with bags of toys until it's as tall as she is. One of these days I need to get a picture. It's quite hilarious.

And the ever-present flair for the dramatic

LOVES the pool and is learning how to swim underwater without floaties. I think by the end of summer she'll have it down. And I love the tummy.

It's hard work playing. You probably can't see, but she is holding a wand while she's sleeping. :)

One of the kids' favorite things to do while I'm on the computer. Maybe I'll be able to pull this picture out when one of our kids is a famous musician. Then again, maybe all of our kids will be tone deaf.

Again, Drama.

Daniel

Thought I would give a quick update on Daniel. He has been so fun this last month, as I feel his personality is really starting to shine. Favorite activities include eating, playing with CD's (a forbidden treasure), playing with the stereo (another no-no), looking at books (on his own timetable, not long enough for me to actually read anything more than one word per page), playing peek-a-boo, and playing with toys. It's funny how different he and Kathryn are, as I remember she was never really interested in toys. Daniel, on the other hand, will happily entertain himself with a few baskets of toys, and then quietly go upstairs and entertain himself with the DVD player or stereo until I notice that it's too quiet. (That does feel familiar!) He loves to wrestle, and likes to make us laugh. He's also starting to get his own little opinions and preferences, revealing a whole new side to his easy-going personality when his little preferences are crossed (which they often are). Thus the nickname "Anger Ball" in such moments. But on the whole, Daniel continues to be very sweet and happy.

Playing "peek-a-boo" with his bib. Either that or looking for crumbs. Either would be a regular occurrence.

I shouldn't love this picture, but I do. It's his "I'm not happy and I'm about to cry really loudly about it."

Very proud of himself for standing

Going to feed the ducks. I love his short little legs.

Many of you may know that we've been getting Daniel evaluated for some developmental delays, mainly physical and some speech delays. He's several months behind the "normal" range for his age with things like pulling up and walking, and he has hardly used his right hand for anything since he's been old enough to do anything with it (about 6 months). So we are seeing a physical therapist once a week to work on leg and trunk strength, and an occupational therapist once a week to work on his right hand mobility. We're looking into some possible causes for his delays, but for now all we can really do is work at being consistent with the stretches and exercises the therapists have given us each week. As little as 2 hours a week seems, it's been a surprising adjustment for me to plan around the two mornings home for therapy, as well as finding time and focus to do all the exercises with him I need to be doing. I'm very motivated, since I've seen what progress Daniel's made even in the short month we've been doing the therapy (pulling up, climbing stairs, backing down stairs, some cruising furniture, waving, pointing, walking with assistance). While some of these things may be coincidence, it's enough to make me realize how malleable kids are at this age. So the main challenge is trying to make these exercises part of our daily routine so I don't have to think about it so much. If you think of it, you can pray for me in this area. I continue to have no anxiety about any of these delays or implications, and I'm thankful for that.

Older Pics

For those of you who aren't on facebook, here are a few pictures from a while ago that I realized I never put on the blog.

Little Buddies

Nutritious Snack

Daniel LOVED getting dirty in the old tire

A rare true (not fake or crazy) smile