5 Months!

Well, I can't even catch my breath.  It feels like I just wrote a post about Anna being 4 months old, I turned around and now she's 5 months old.  She is really growing and changing now!

Her name, which we debated upon until several minutes after she was born, seems to fit her perfectly.

Anna:  Grace of God
Kate: Pure

She is the pure grace of God.  I love getting to know this sweet spirited little one.  She is a watcher...always quietly watching everything that goes on.  She loves her family.  She always has big smiles for Aidan and Mark when they get home.  She reached for Mark the other day as soon as he got home from work.  She is laughing more and more.  I even got her to squeal with my silly antics the other day.  She thinks Aidan is hilarious.  She was watching him dance from across the room the other day and started giggling at him.  When he walked over to her she lunged for him.  She is going to be her brother's girl. 

She is eating baby food now.  Her favorites so far are carrots and apples.  She can roll over...front to back and back to front.  She is trying so so hard to sit up.  She loves to snuggle.  She is still sleeping through the night (yay!!).  She usually takes 2 good naps every day.  She still loves her baby gym...she will lie there and play with it for well over an hour.  She scoots all over that thing.  She also loves her exersaucer.  She really is aware of toys and loves to play with them.

She is wearing 3-6 mos. clothes and has finally progressed to size 2 diapers. 

It looks like she has chosen a lovey...a giraffe, just like her sister.  We'll have to come up with a name for him.  But, when she gets sleepy, I can hand that giraffe to her and she pulls it close, rolls to her side and goes right to sleep...just like her brother and her sister with their loveys.  I always wonder what makes them fall in love with that one special stuffed animal.  All three of my kids did...and it was right around this age for all of them.

What a beautiful, wonderful, whirlwind 5 months it has been with our sweet Anna Kate.

Today

Today, I am thankful.

Today, I am thankful that Anna's extra long nap threw off our schedule, so that Ella and I ended up eating our lunch in the car, while parked at the grocery store.  She loved sitting in the front seat with me to share our lunch.  And she chattered away...and for once there was nothing to distract me so I chattered away with her.

I am thankful that I had the time this morning to take Aidan's hands in mine and pray with him before he went to school...that he would have a good day, and be a light in the darkness, and point others to Jesus.

I am thankful that every time Anna sees me from across the room, not only does she smile, but she kicks her feet and waves her arms, and if I start coming towards her, she starts laughing.  Pure joy.

I am thankful that Ella pretends my book light is a cell phone...

...and she used it to call God...

...and told Him she really likes his dancing.

I am thankful that Ella helped unload and put away the groceries today...without being asked.

I am thankful that Ella was a perfect angel in the grocery store...that was never the case just a year ago...hey, this parenting stuff really works...if you keep at it, and never give up.

I am thankful that while we were waiting in the LONG line at the grocery store, Ella said, "I am frustrated that we have to wait!  I'm going to tell God." 

I am thankful that after telling God she was frustrated, Ella sang, "I told God I'm frustrated and he said, 'be happy,' so now I'm Haaaaaaaaaaaapppppppppppppppy!!"

I am thankful that Ella loves to find new ways to make her baby sister laugh...and always makes me laugh in the process.

Mostly, I am thankful that I get to be here for all of this...and not somewhere else...hearing about all this from someone else.  I'm thankful that we're making this one income thing work...even though insurance is going up (again), and groceries are going up, and gas is going up and the paycheck is staying the same (again)...I'll leave all that up to God...I'll just call him, tell him it's frustrating, and then, I'll be happy...happy to be here, raising my kids and filling them with good things.  Today, I am very thankful.

Conversations with Ella

This morning:

Ella:  Mommy, I have to tell you something.
Me:  What?
Ella:  I know you really want to have a tea party, but I won't let you.
Me:  Why not.
Ella:  Because you just can't control yourself.

Have a great Monday!

The Day Has Come

I knew this day would come.  I just didn't know it would be this soon.  Only a couple of weeks ago, it still seemed so far away.  But, the day had to come...and today is the day it happened.  Today, Ella said, "because."  Ella said "because," and I almost cried.  If you've followed my blog for a while, you may remember me writing about Ella saying, "cause be" instead of "because."  It was the cutest thing ever.  We would ask her questions, just to hear her say, "cause be."  We even went as far as to forbid Aidan from correcting her, because we wanted her to keep saying it.  (Is that wrong?)  Aidan was sure she would go to her first job interview saying, "cause be."  It would be her ruin.  

But, today, the "cause be" era ended.  Ella was in trouble for hitting another little girl at Bible Study.  When I asked her why she did it, she said, "because...."  Ouch.  I died a little.  Surely it was a fluke, so later I asked her again, "so, why did you do that?"  Because.  Not Cause-be.  I felt like I had been kicked in the stomach.  I have asked her a few more questions just to test it, and every time...because.

I know it seems silly to mourn this little milestone, but it is just one symptom in a long list.  A long list of symptoms that all point to one thing...she is growing up.  My feisty, dramatic, emotional little bitty girl is becoming a strong, articulate, extremely intelligent big girl.  And while I absolutely adore the big girl she is becoming, I am sad that the little girl is slipping through my fingers.  I know I will miss her, cause-be she is a very special little girl.  So, today, I am a little sad, "cause-be" my baby girl is not much of a baby anymore.  :(

This House

This house sometimes feels too small.  I know this is relative...as my mom often reminds me, our ancestors had many more kids in much less space.  (But, our ancestors didn't have Toys R Us and grandparents that couldn't resist spoiling their grandchildren either.)  There is very little closet space.  The shelves in the pantry are so deep that a box of cereal could go missing for months.  Whoever designed the girls' room neglected to leave a wall large enough to put a bed against, but we've somehow managed to fit in 2 beds.  There is a large yard, but no sprinkler system.  Watering in the summer is a full time job, and one we don't always do that well.  So, the lawn needs some work.  There's just not a lot of extra space, and I get a little aggravated with it sometimes.  I often swear that it was designed by a young bachelor architect who had no concept of what a house with a family in it would need. 

But,

this house has welcomed all three of my babies home from the hospital.

it has stood through 11 Texas spring times and all the storms that come with them, many times while we were all huddled together in the tiny bathroom.

we have picked peaches together here.

we have put up bird feeders here, and we watch them through the kitchen window together.

just this week, we watched over 30 butterflies drinking nectar from our privet hedge.

we have a mama squirrel that visits our bird feeders every morning.

we have hosted family, and friends that feel like family here.

we have honey-suckle vines and irises that make me long for my grandmother every spring.

we have had countless Popsicles and bubbles and sidewalk chalk drawings on the back patio.

Aidan learned to ride his bike on the sidewalk out front.

we have chased down many an ice cream man here.

we have planted flowers together here, and enjoyed watching them bloom year after year.

we have planted tiny stick trees, that our now big enough to drink tea under.

we have watched lots of movies, and spilled lots of popcorn.

So, while we may be crowded, and a little disorganized, we have been very happy here.  We have made many memories here.  It might not be the best house, but it is an amazing and beautiful home.  We are so blessed.

Disconnect

As I've mentioned before, we canceled our TV service.  It took us a while to take the plunge, but now that we've done it, it's gone pretty well.  One thing we really worried about when making this decision was not having access to the news.  But, that has actually been one of the most pleasant surprises.  Not only do I NOT miss watching the news, I feel more relaxed and less stressed.  I did not fully realize the affect the news was having.  I often went to bed at night feeling completely disgusted with the world and sure that we were all going to hell in a hand basket.  I still get news...I just read it now, and that lacks all the drama and sensationalism of television news. 

This has me thinking about other types of media also.  I love media as much as anyone else.  I love Facebook and I love being able to play Words with Friends or Draw Something with friends I haven't seen in years.  But, I think it is really easy these days to have all of our "social" interactions to happen in our living room...alone.  I think it's important to make a point to get out there and have real interactions with real people.  When I watch TV, I get discouraged.  I feel like good is losing and evil is over taking.  But, when I get out in the world, I see there is still a lot of good.  Good just isn't making headlines, but it is making a difference.  Out in the "real" world, I see strangers that talk and coo at my baby.  I see people that will hold the door for me and let me go ahead of them in the grocery store line.  A couple of weeks ago, we went to ride the Forrest Park train.  When the ride was over, Mark was carrying the diaper bag and my purse, and a couple of drinks, I was carrying the sleeping baby, and we realized Ella was barefoot.  She had taken off her shoes and left them on the train.  Before I could even formulate a plan on dealing with this, a woman walked up grabbed her shoes and put them on for Ella.  It was nice, and it helped...a lot.

Mothers whose young children have fled the nest often approach me with words of encouragement...like today, at the Doctor's office, Aidan was struggling with the ice pack on his swollen, black eye; Ella was shaking uncontrollably because of her very high fever and whining something I couldn't understand.  Anna was screaming because it was long past her feeding time, all while I was trying to pay the doctor money that I don't really have.  Just when I was sure that everyone was cursing me under their breath, a woman approached me, took my hand in hers and said, "I just love the sounds of your children.  I know it's hard on you, but those are great sounds."  She was probably lying, but I know she was going out of her way to relieve a little of my stress.  And it helped; it put me back in the right frame of mind.  It was good.

My point is, there are still a lot of good, kind and understanding people in this world.  So, if you feel discouraged or cynical, as I did a few weeks ago, maybe it's time to disconnect for a little while...disconnect from all the media and 24 hour bad news and interact with some real people...people with flaws for sure, but people who mostly just want to be kind and helpful.

What We've Been Up To

I'm finding it difficult to make time for blogging lately.  Maybe it's the 3 kids...or the 2 cats...or the bird...or my ADD.  Anyway, here's what's been going on with us:

-We are officially gardeners.  We were at Home Depot one night and the kids kept talking about wanting to have a small garden.  They picked out a little pizza garden in a box thing and put it in the cart.  From there, it escalated to a pallet garden.  You fill a pallet with soil, plant a few things...easy, cheap, good size for kids...and Home Depot was going to give us the pallets for free.  Well, we sent Mark back by himself to get the pallets and what we ended up with instead were the materials for a 12X6 foot raised bed.  We have planted tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, okra and carrots so far.  I am going to get some peppers and black-eyed peas also.  This web site:  www.smartgardener.com has been an awesome resource.  It outlines exactly what to do, what plants go well together, etc.  It even emails you a weekly to do list in the garden.  I am so looking forward to fresh tomatoes...so stay away bugs and rabbits!!

-Anna is eating solids.  It seemed to sneak up on me.  With your first, you can't wait until they are ready to eat baby food.  With your third, it seems to come too fast.  She LOVES carrots and apples.  She was practically singing for apples today.  She is also rolling over now.  She is quite amused by this.  She is our little doll.

-We have canceled our TV service.  We still have Netflix.  Everything else we watch on Hulu or on the network's web site.  It has been going great...until Friday, when the Rangers' season started...we may never see Mark again...at least until the fall...he has been trying to find places to go to watch the games.  So, if you feel really sorry for him...invite him over to watch a game.  If you feel really sorry for me...ignore his calls and texts on game days. 

-Aidan came home tonight with a black eye/swollen nose.  His cub scout den built a water bottle launcher (look it up on YouTube, it's actually pretty cool).  There was a little mishap and Aidan got a water bottle in the face.  It looks painful.

-I am giving some serious thought to homeschooling Aidan next year.  (gasp!)  I would love to hear your thoughts.  Would you love to hear mine?  Good:  Aidan is very bright and highly interested in a lot of subjects that they don't have time to get to in school.  I want to foster this love of learning and challenge him more.  I want to find a great curriculum...with a high emphasis on math and science.  He would still have lots of social exposure, which is huge for me, since we run with lots of homeschooling families and are pretty involved in church/cub scouts.  BUT, I worry about how difficult this would be with a baby and a 4 year old at home.  I also worry about pulling him out of a school that he really likes, does reasonably well in, and changing everything up on him.  I would love to hear your thoughts, both for and against.  Be honest...I won't get offended. 

-I have memorized 34 scriptures since February 1 using a great website:  www.memverse.com  I love it.  I have had a hard time with memorization since having children.  But, this site has really worked for me.  You kind of have to explore the site a little to understand how it all works, but I love it. 

-I think that's all I have for tonight.  :)