18 months...

Today Nathan is 18 months old! We are richly blessed by his little life.

Here are some of his favorite things...

Foods: noodles- which he calls noodle-oodle-oodles, sweet potatoes- the only real vegetable he eats, fish sticks, chicken nuggets, spicy salsa and chips, eggs, peanut butter and jelly, pears, oranges, candy- which he calls needleneedlenee and his all time favorite- frozen blueberries!

T.V. shows: Thomas, Kipper, and Elmo a.k.a "La La"

Activities: playing in the car when we get home from anywhere, watching for and seeing trains, reading books, going to Gymboree, pushing things around the kitchen, playing drums on bowls in the kitchen, he loves to be outside, loves to "play" basketball, go to the farm and feed the goat and see the cows, play with the kids on the street, jump in his bed, roll around with Daisy, loves to chew on our toothbrushes- don't know why, he is learning to like playdoh and to color, he loves trucks, tractors, music, dancing, being swung by a kitchen towel (totally safe), and baths.

Songs: Cedermont Kids video esp. the song I'm in the Lords Army, Silent Night, Joy to the World, and Wheels on the Bus.

Green beans and other randomness...

The other night, to get Nathan to eat his green beans, I bribed him with a peppermint patty. It worked. I am not sure if I won or lost that battle. Maybe both. I really don't know what I am doing. There are so many times during the day I wish someone would pop in and tell me, "you just made the right decision" or "no, don't do that, do this instead." For (another) example, I should not be allowed to buy vegetables at the grocery. Here is a picture of some potatoes growing in my pantry. When I am at the grocery I always imagine great dinners I am going to make when I get home. I know- make a list, right? I do! But then I get all these ideas of other things I can make. I come home, put things in the pantry for a few months and voila, my potatoes grow these neat flower things. If vegetables are not frozen or in cans, they will rot in my house. Right now, Nathan has a fever and he is really fussy. I think it is all from his teeth coming in. He walks around with his whole hand in his mouth and he hasn't had an appetite all day. We brought the T.V. into the living room and let him watch Thomas all day. Hopefully we will make it peacefully through the night. Nope, I just got up to help him get settled. He is so uncomfortable. Hopefully the ibuprofen will help. For some reason it gives him really bad gas. I am thankful to God for helping us through each moment, for random hugs and kisses from Nathan, even for Thomas the tank engine who never learns how to just settle down and do his job, oh, and for my sweet (most of the time) husband who is just awesome. Here he is sleeping in a polka dot blanket- he he. Okay, time for bed...

  

Tired

We are all tired. Jeremiah has been working a contract job on top of his real job for a few months now. I've been parenting solo quite a bit. Even though the end is in sight, we are headed toward the finish line very slowly. This weekend we were refreshed briefly by our trip to Virginia to see Jeremiah's parents. It was very peaceful and the company and the food were great. I got to sleep in late two days in a row(!) and Nathan had much needed time with his daddy. This psalm (in parts) has been on my heart as we continue to press on...

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. -and- Why are you so downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed with in me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. -Psalm 42:1-2 and 5.  

Today

I stayed in my crazy pj's and my Christmas theme socks. Nathan and I played, read books, watched cartoons and then made pizza with Jeremiah. It doesn't escape me that so many people are going through extremely hard times right now. I try to enjoy my family with as much humility and thankfulness as I can remember to have.

Here are some pictures of my little chef...

Oh yeah- yesterday, for some reason, I graduated from mama to mommy. I like it! Also, Nathan has peed in the potty twice now. Once yesterday and once today!

WHO

So many of my daydreams are consumed with wondering about what is next for us in this life. Where will we be? What will we be doing? Yesterday, I was having such a daydream when I kept hearing the word "WHO" in my brain. Over and over again. Then, in a moment, my perspective changed. WHO will I love next? WHO will I serve next? WHO will I get to show God's compassion to? WHO's next?


                             And just for fun, here is a cute picture of Nathan...

Reflect

When I see moms with small babies, I honestly cannot remember Nathan ever being that small. I sort of remember, but not the way I remember other things, like all of my favorite places in New England or what I was wearing on a certain day. I know I've been with Nathan everyday, but something keeps my mind from landing on really remembering what it was like to have a three, four, five week old baby. I hear moms say, "It goes by so fast." And it does! Sometimes though, I think it goes by at just the right speed. If some of my days were any longer I might lose my mind. But whether my day has gone by fast or slow, there is rarely time to reflect. I've always been a reflecting person. I like to think about what I've done and how I've felt. With mothering, I don't really have time to reflect. I just keeping going. It never stops. Nathan has just morphed into this little boy in front of my eyes. So, I've decided it is good that I don't remember much. When I can't remember, it means I've been too busy going, growing, living and loving. In the mean time, I will take lots of pictures so one day when we are all older, Lord willing, I will have time to sit and reflect...

Sports

Well, I am thankful that Pops likes sports. Jeremiah is a computer geek, which I say with the utmost respect, he is the smartest person I know.  I was never really good at playing anything. I always prayed for rain on softball game nights. I hated messing up my hair with the catchers helmet. I did enjoy swimming though. But my dad can play golf, softball, football, and basketball (horse). So, Nathan is in good hands when it comes to sports. T-ball is going to be fun!

"Trouble"

I think Nathan likes getting into "trouble". Mostly, because he knows that I am going to tease him and make him laugh when he does. He is such a good kid and usually listens to us when are seriously disciplining him. I am still working on my "mom look." My mom's "mom look" was scary. All she had to do was give the eye and we were scared. Sometimes I can do it and sometimes I just scare my self. Either way, here are some fun videos of "trouble."

Krogering

Nathan and I love going to Kroger. Dena, the cashier, loves Nathan. She calls him Nate.  She and the other cashiers greet him and give him high fives. We also play with the toys and Nathan rides in this little red car. I love these simple joys and the sweet people that make our days so fun.