Forgiveness

It has been a long time since I have written anything.  I decided I wanted to start writing stuff down again so that I can remember when my children grow older.  Anyways, yesterday I had a bad day.  I was tired and had no motivation to do anything.  It was one of those "I want to go to bed but can't since I have 2 kids" kind of days.  We had a meeting for Noah's speech, which went well, then the day just went downhill.  I lost the car key and spent 30 minutes looking for it, while the kids were mad that we weren't already at the park.  I'm pretty sure I lost it several times during that 30 minute time.  Lyds kept hitting Noah.  She was tired and gripy, too.  Noah spilt juice all over him in the car.  Then, when we were out and about, he pooped all over.  He hasn't had a blowout like that in a long time.  It was all over him and me.  Thankfully, I had a jacket on at the time so I didn't have to walk around with poop on my shirt.  It was just one of those days. . .

We got home after having dinner with Daniel's parents in time for bath and bed.  After bath, Lyds and I got her baby dolls ready for bed.  We were sitting on her bed playing baby dolls just chatting.  She asked for milk and I told her I was really sorry but we were out - one of the stops that we just didn't get in that day.  I felt like a failure for being such a bad mom and losing it with my kids anyways, not to mention, laundry was piled high on the bed waiting to be folded.  The ironing was strewn all about the living room and the breakfast dishes still weren't done.  And now I didn't even have milk or juice.  She looked at me, hugged me and said, "It's okay, Mom.  We just didn't have time to go to the store today.  I'm so glad you are my mom."  So then I said, "Lyds, I'm really sorry for yelling at you today. I shouldn't have lost my temper.  Will you please forgive me?"  She looks me in the eye, and with maturity beyond her years, says, "I already forgave you, Mom.  I love you."  I nearly broke down crying right there.  It clicked.  She doesn't care if the dishes are done or the ironing is finished.  She loves me because I'm her mom.  What really matters is that I show her love and show her how to live like Christ.  It is also important for her to see me fail and to know that it is okay not to be perfect.  Sometimes we try so hard to be the perfect mom, the perfect wife, the perfect homemaker, that we forget that it's really about serving God, loving, and teaching our kids about the love of God.

"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not men." Colossians 3:23

20 Months!

Noah is 20 months!! Well, actually he is 20.5 months, I'm just way behind in blogging.  It has been a busy fall with cross country, sick kids, and just day to day routines.  So back to Noah - He weighs about 22 pounds and is about 34 inches tall.  I think that puts him in the bottom 5th percentile for weight and 25-50th for height.  He's just too skinny - none of his pants stay up, even with cloth diapers.  As to what Noah likes to do - He loves to run and be active.  He tries hard to keep up with his big sister on our walks/runs.  He loves to wrestle.  He can tackle Lydia pretty easily.  He also loves basketball and baseball.  He can play basketball in the backyard on the FisherPrice basketball goal for a long time before he gets tired.  Noah really likes animals, as well.  Aspen and Baylee do really well putting up with him.  He "gets" them, tackles them, lays on them and chases them.  When we went to Woolaroc, he absolutely loved the petting zoo.  He hugged the baby goats.  To him, a hug soley involves the head, no arms are involved.  He laid his head on the baby goat several times.  It was really sweet!  He rides Gabe with no fear.  In fact, he always wants to go faster!  We say he's gonna be our rodeo cowboy.  He loves the chickens at Tracy's house.  It is so fun to see his likes develop.  I probably forgot to mention his favorite "like."  He absolutely loves trucks and tractors!  If it's big and loud and rideable, he wants to ride.  Fourwheelers are also a favorite of his. 

As far as language is concerned, he still isn't saying many words.  I know it will come in time.  I am thankful that he is understanding and responding well to us.  It seems his receptive language is still on track.  He is learning to listen better and to obey.  He can point to body parts consistantly now and can label animals in a book.  Gross and fine motor skills he is excelling.  He can walk backwards, jump, go down stairs by himself.

Noah is such a fun kid!  I love spending time with him and learning from him.  He is quick to give hugs and quick to wrestle.  As I sit here typing, he is eating cereal by himself and drinking all the milk out of the bowl.  God has truly blessed us with two amazing gifts!

 

18 months!!

Wow. It's been forever since I have written anything! What a whirlwind of a summer! From broken washers and computers to selling our house to Noah's first staple. Noah is 18 months now! His stats are: 31.5 inches (25-50th percentile) and 21.75 lbs (5th percentile). He loves to tag along with his big sister, whether that's wrestling or playing dolls or cooking in her kitchen. His newest 2 favorite toys are his basketball goal and his John Deere tractor. He also loves to play with the dogs. He will throw Aspen the ball and clap as she brings it back. Noah is very sweet and loving. Lyds was crying today and he came and started patting her back. He wants to be in the middle of things no matter what they are. Noah is also our daredevil climber. He climbs in the bathtub, on the dresser drawers, tables, in the cars, pretty much anywhere. He loves playing "on your mark, get set, go!" It has been so fun to watch his personality develop and come to life! It is fun and challenging having a boy. Boys seem to be rough and tough. We are working on "no" at our house. He just hasn't gotten that one down. We are trying to be consistent and firm but sometimes it is a losing battle. Though he tries my patience, he is loving and fun too. He loves to hug and cuddle. It is exciting to be able to watch as he develops into a little man.

16 Months and Speech Therapy

Noah is 16 months old.  Where has the time gone?  He is getting so big, though he's still small compared to other little boys his age.  He has begun asserting his independence more and more.  He does not like to be held and loves being on the move - climbing, running, chasing Lydia, anything where he can move.  He loves swimming and water.  It is a little concerning for us because he just will jump in.  We have to know where he is at all times.  He also loves the dogs.  He helps hold Aspen's leash on our walks.  He pokes her and pulls her.  Thankfully, she's very tolerant.  Noah actually has a funny side to him.  He sneaks up on Lydia and tickles her feet, he will "get" you by poking or pulling when you aren't looking.  He also likes to dance and loves music.  He's not much into TV, but will tolerate watching about 3 minutes.  He loves reading books, especially if they are about tractors or animals.  He loves dogs and horses.  He can point those out.  He does not point to anything else.  I think he knows where the nose and ears are, but if asked, he points to his toes and laughs.  He thinks he's a funny little man!

Today we took Noah to his first speech therapy session.  While his receptive language is good (he scored 100, which is 50th percentile on the assessment) his expressive language is not (he scored 77, which is 6th percentile).  He really has no consistent words, though he as started to sort of say "mama." He also has recently started to mimic a few sounds, such as "ah." He has come a long way, though.  I think that his anemia might have set him back.  We are confident that he will catch up soon.  He just has a moderate delay.  Also, we are thankful for good insurance so we can get him speech!  On our way to speech, Lydia said, "Don't worry, Noah, I won't make you talk to that doctor if you don't want too."  That might be some of the problem, as well.  I'm so glad that he is where he needs to be with his receptive language.  I'm sure the talking will come in time.  He does do several signs and uses "Curious George" language, where he points and grunts at what he wants.  Lydia was such an early talker, that it makes him seem later, too.  But Noah seems to like speech.  He thinks it's fun and it's good for him to have to listen to someone besides me.

Noah is such a joy!  Boys bring a different challenge than girls, but each is fun and rewarding! 

Playing in rain puddles - it;s fun being a kid!

Toe Painting

Since it's summertime and we wanted to be outside, but Lydia was begging to paint, we came up with "Toe Painting."  The idea was to finger paint outside then rinse off and play in the water.  I taped together 6 pieces of cardstock because we didn't have posterboard.  We squirted finger paint and let them play.  It was so fun.  Lydia got the idea to stand up and paint with her toes.  She called it "toe painting."  Noah even enjoyed it.  The best part was that they played nicely together.  It is an activity that Lyds could enjoy and that Noah enjoyed.  It works with motor skills and teaches them to share a small space.  Anything Lydia would do, Noah would copy.  They got messy, covered in pink, purple and blue paint, then played for another 30 minutes in the water hose together.  All in all, it was a fun afternoon and a fun time to be outside!

Silly Lydia

"I'm not silly, Mommy, I just do silly things sometimes," Lydia told me yesterday.  And she does do some silly things.  Here are some of my favorite that have happened recently. 

Soccer has been interesting.  Lydia is not aggressive and does not like taking the ball.  She has come along way in that she doesn't cry anymore, just runs behind everybody.  Tonight was her best game because she kicked the ball 7 times, most of which she was kicking the ball from out of bounds to in play.  Anyways, we lost miserably.  We look at the field where all the players are at one end of the field chasing the ball and Lydia is in the middle of the field doing the "downward dog." Not sure what she was thinking.  She does intimidate the other team with her ferocious growl.  She looks at them and growls with all her might!  It is hysterical!  She thinks it's her job and does it during and after the games.  We were so proud of her on her last game.  She actually dribbled the ball 3 or 4 times!  She has come a long way from crying the entire first game.  It is fun to see her growth and see her as she interacts with the other children. 

Other silly things she does - She thinks she's Noah's mommy.  She tells him, "Come here, my favorite son."  "I love you, son of mine."  It's sweet the bond they have.  Sometimes it's not so sweet, but that's how siblings are. 

The other day, we had to get her new jeans.  Hers were just too short and she had to have jeans to ride Charlie.  We went to Old Navy and she tried on big girl jeans (4T).  She was so proud to wear a size 4. As soon as we got to the stables, she showed her riding instructor.  She showed Charlie, the horse, too.  She rode Charlie the best she's ever done.  She was able to work on turning him.  She also decided she could clip his lead rope and unclip his lead rope and buckle parts of the saddle, all because she had on size 4 jeans. 

I love my girl so much and am so thankful everyday for my silly Lydia!

15 Months!!!

It's been a really long time since I've written anything.  Noah is now 15 months!!!  Where has the time gone?!?  Anyways, I had forgotten the challenges that come with a 15 month old.  Noah is ornery and strong-willed.  He loves to pick on Lydia, climb and explore.  His personality is developing more and more.  He never crawls anymore - he just runs.  While he still doesn't have any real words, he is understanding so much more!  Some of his favorites are: cheese, balls, dogs, horses, cars, trucks and tractors.  His favorite book is "The Little Blue Truck."  Noah is ALL BOY!! He loves to get dirty.  We had just gotten him new running shoes.  We put them on him to go feed the dogs and play in the backyard.  While outside, I turn to see him stepping into the water bowl with his new shoes.  He is just a mess!  He definitely add excitement to our family.  He loves to climb, so I can never take my eyes off of him.  Climbing onto the kitchen table takes less than 10 seconds.  I'm so thankful that he is such a boy!  He can be rough, but he is also sweet and loving.  He loves to give hugs.  He bopped me on the nose hard with his head on accident, then was super loving the rest of the day as if to make up for it.  I love watching him and Lydia interact.  I'm so thankful my kids are friends and love each other. 

Soon we are starting a study with Noah that deals with language development.  I'm really excited!  It will give us an idea as to where he is at, provide us with a curriculum to use with him, and provide support in helping him progress, all while helping the research company learn more about language development.  We should start the program in the next couple of weeks.  The research loving teacher in me is really excited to learn more about early language development and to track Noah's progress.

This week has been stressful, though.  Somehow, they both contracted strep AND hand, foot, and mouth disease.  Thankfully, we are on the mend and they are both feeling better.  Not quite back to normal, yet, but better.  I am so thankful for their health, even if they get sick every now and then.  We have been blessed with 2 precious kids.