A Happy Photo

I realized in the last post that C. looks terribly blah in every shot. Those of you that know him know that that is not at all representative of who he is. He's the happiest baby I know! Though, he has his moments-see the post below for more, and comments. But to represent him accurately, here's a happy picture from March! Enjoy! By the way, don't forget to Spring Forward this weekend!

A Dozen Lessons

Sure, they look innocent enough, stoic, even reaching for Walt Whitman and Shakespeare over "Bear in the Big Blue House" and "Clifford", just as any children of mine should. But, what a week!

A Dozen Things I’ve Learned This Week as a Mother
(and one positive bit)
1. They don’t make door knobs like they did in the 70’s. I remember using a paperclip as a kid to pop open a door when Steve would lock me out. Just unwind, push, turn, and pop! It’s open! Now, a person has to take off the entire door knob, find a piece of metal that is shaped like a flat head screw driver-but smaller-push it through the interior slot (without knocking the doorknob still in tact on the other side through the hole), turn with all your might, and then. . . POP! It’s open.
2. When you think you’ve punished your toddler so severely for locking all the door knobs on the inside, then shutting the doors, that he’ll never THINK to do it again, he’ll do it again. Just after you’ve put them all back together.
3. “X” says, “ksss” (according to the powers that be behind fridge phonics). And here, all these years as an English major, I thought it said, “zzzz” as in xylophone.
4. Six month old babies can talk back. You might not understand a word they say, but you know it’s ugly.
5. If, after putting the baby to sleep, you decide to relax for a few minutes by running a huge bubble bath, bubbles up to your chin, drinking a cup of coffee, and reading a great novel, like the Nobel Prize winning author Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s A Hundred Years of Solitude, and your toddler tries to catch all the bubbles in your tub to blow them back at you, and you think to yourself, “He’ll probably fall in. It’s really slippery, and that’s a long reach,” he will. Fall in, that is. Head first, fully clothed, and with a poopy diaper.
6. Even if you aren’t quite yet 30, flipping, tossing, squatting, carrying, twirling, and otherwise horse playing with your twenty-something pound children will not only put you in great shape, it’ll throw out your shoulder.
7. Scary sounds and scary people aren’t as scary if you wave “good-bye” to them.
8. If it’s dark, your husband is gone, you hear loud pounding noises, and you think someone is breaking in, don’t grab a weapon. It’s most likely your son whose locked himself in a room this time, and is trying to pound his way out with a plastic duck.
9. Peas can be spit further than squash.
10. If you want the soundtrack of your life to sound more like a horror movie starring crazed dolls with machetes, let the batteries run down on all the toys. You’ll get “The Intzy Weenzy Spider”, “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”, and “Rubber Duckie, You’re the One,” all playing at once, very low and slow. It’ll be just like your bad dreams from the night before never ended when the music begins to play before your first cup of coffee. It’s magical.
11. Even if you call it “juice”, water it down, put it in their favorite cup with a twisty straw, and say that everybody loves it, V-8 is still a vegetable at which to be scowled and refused.
12. You think you’re doing things right, though you wonder, when you see your toddler making his stuffed monkey sign, “Yes, Ma’am” after being told to repent for some unthinkable unape-ish infraction.
Ohhh, what a week. . .
The Positive Bit: There’s no day that a glass of “Mommy Juice”, a huge plate of nachos, and Bernie Mac at 7:30 can’t make better.

Family Photos

A good friend (our preacher and his wife) offered to watch both boys today so that I could have a morning off. Since Tim is gone, I haven't had even ten minutes to shower without interuption in about a month, so I was more than ready for a little time-out! I don't know how military moms do this with more than two kids. Really-if they're all under four, where would you put them when you go grocery shopping or the post office? I put C. in the hip carrier and J. in the cart, and it's still chaotic! Alone, I can't imagine more.

Anyway, here are some pictures we took this morning at Amy's, and a couple of other cute random photos. They weren't very cooperative about both looking at the camera and smiling at the same time, but so it goes! I added most of them becuase I thought, "C. looks better in this one, but J. looks better in this one, and I look sick in this one..." so you can decide which ones you like best, Grandparents, and print those! C.'s new favorite thing is puzzles (to chew on the wooden pieces), and he gets a kick out of wearing his new shades. He'll need them for his new forward facing car seat! Can you believe he's old (BIG) enough for that already?!!??

Here's a Native American poem I found in a book at Barnes and Noble today. It's a good reminder that a Mommy and a Daddy are the people that love and care for you. Happy Spring!

"Mother's Song to a Baby"

First

this little baby

has been given life

through the medicine man's song

through the medicine man's prayer

for this baby the songs

have been sung

Next

the baby's mother

has taken care of him

with the songs of the rain gods

This

little baby

in his cloud-cradle

was watched over

by his mother

It

was

nice

how the clouds

came up like foam

and

as if he

was among them

this little baby

was cared for

-Anonymous, Inuit

Sundays

We had a huge attachment breakthrough after church this morning. Normally, when I pick up J. after having left him alone somewhere for awhile, like class or the nursery, he won't come to me. He'll look at me, and then just continue doing whatever he's doing. His face and body language said, "You left, so I found new people. I'm not mad; I'm just here." 

I would have to go get him, take his hand, and he would leave with me without any emotion. But after church this morning I went to the nursery to get the boys. J. was playing with a fire engine on the other side of the room. Once he saw me come in he dropped the fire engine and ran to me! He leaped into my arms and laughed and said, "Ma ma." I was so happy I almost cried! I thought, "He gets it. I'm Mom, I come back, and I'm different from the other adults in the room." I know it doesn't sound like much, but as far as attachment goes, it really was a huge breakthrough! Tonight we go to our small group where he is the best behaved boy in the bunch. Sundays are our favorite days, and we can't wait to share them with Daddy. Timmy, I miss you holding my hand during communion.

And He's Off!

And He's Off!










At 6 months, one week, and 3 days, C. took his first crawls. I was diligently recording C.'s playtime activity the afternoon of the 10th, trying to capture the moment when he figured out that one's knees must move forward for one to crawl. I video taped so much that the battery went dead in the camcorder. And then, not five minutes later, off he went! Sorry, Tim! I tried to catch it, but boys will be boys. He used the new maneuver sparingly for a few days, prefering his old stand-by: the scoot and roll. But today he's been crawling after his toys like he'e been doing it for weeks. Just when I thought I had my hands full, C. became fully mobile! We're proud of him though. He still won't sit up without flopping over after several seconds. I guess he has his priorities right, though: "Who wants to sit when you can move and explore?!"
Here are some pics of C. at his best. Once he has his mind set on something, he is determined to see it through. The teddy bear blanket that his grandpa sent him worked well becuase he was determined to reach the next bear. And when he got tired, he'd plop down and talk to the bear near by. Above is his new pose that he favors when he is being held or in his chair. One arm up, and a sly grin. Just like a teenager!

Who will they be?

"Train a child in the way that he should go, and when he is old, he
will not depart from it."
Proverbs 22:6.





I have heard this verse interpreted to bear emphasis on the word he, therefore rendering the meaning to say that all children have a different road to walk; a different spiritual gift, a different God-given talent. Then it is the responsibility of the parents to identify and nurture that gift so that each child uses it as God intended. If a child is the star debator, the parents may lead him down roads of public speaking, preaching, teaching, or politics. If the child is mathamatical, the parents may lead the child down roads of logic, problem solving, and money management.

I have also heard this passage interpreted with the emphais on the word should, therefore saying that there is only one way we all should go-the way of God. "Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path," Psalm 119:105. It is a parent's responsibility to lead her children down the Way, the lighted Way, and when the children are old, they will remember how to get there and how to navigate through its obstacles. Exegetically, I lean toward the second interpretation. But, there is definately Biblical evidence elsewhere to prove that we are all given different spiritual gifts. (See 1 Corinthians). They may not be the gifts our parents hoped for us, or even the ones we want. I mean, Moses plead a good case to God NOT to be the one to lead His people out of Egypt. "Oh Lord, I have never been eloquent...I am slow of speech and tongue," was the gist of his argument. But he went anyway.

As parents, we have a responsibilty to help our children find their place, find the reason God put them here. Surely it's too early to say that C. will be a mechanic or an engineer, and J. will be a doctor (or a vet since he doesn't go anywhere without pulling that duck behind him!) Though wouldn't it be nice... :) It is fascinating to watch them live their days, however, and monitor in what activities they seek and succeed. I wonder, "What will they be?" And I try to remember that, Lord willing, they will be who He has predetermined.
By the way, the above pics are of
*C. with Tim waxing and tuning up his Land Rover just before he deployed.
*J. with the Dr. kit we got him so he would be better prepared for the extensive Dr. visits he would go to. He loves to play Dr. with his animals. I told him that the monkey needed medicine, so he gave him some Cheerios! That was after the vaccine to the head, which must have worked, because he laughed and laughed about it! I was impressed that he could be so light hearted about vaccines today considering he had to get 6 of them Wednesday to begin getting him caught up to American vaccination standards. He goes back in 8 weeks for more.

Baby C. turned 6 months old yesterday! 6 months is a milestone for any baby, but for an adopted baby under a legal risk placement, 6 months is HUGE! No action taken by any other party from this point on can be considered at C.'s abandonment hearing this Spring, and since no other party has contested his adoption to this point, C.'s finalization should go through without any problem. We've known for awhile that his placement with us was probably definite, but every step we make legally in that direction moves that dark cloud further and further away from our joy-not only for us, but for his birthmother as well. Please continue to pray with us that all the legalities of C.'s placement with us are finished quickly and easily.
C.'s rolling from one end of the room to the other, and getting up on all fours. He moves his hands to crawl, but he hasn't figured out that his knees need to move next. So, he belly flops about fifty times a day. But that doesn't stop him from trying! He sits for a few seconds at a time, then falls over. He can pull himself up on my legs half way, then his upper body bends forward and he looks like an ostrich in a hole! Since he is so strong, this baby has always been a month or so ahead in development. It's fun to watch him reach new goals and push himself to get that toy on the other side of the room. He loves J., and tracks everything that he does. Peas and sweet potatoes are his favorite vegetables, and we're starting fruits next week. There STILL aren't any teeth poking through those bottom gums, and I know it hurts him. If he isn't biting hard on something (including my knuckles) he's fussy. But he still laughs and smiles the majority of the time. He is truly an easy going, happy baby, and we are so blessed to have him in our family.

C., happy 1/2 birthday! You're our angel, and we love you!-Mommy and Daddy

This little boy was sent to me to remind me that with God, we can overcome any obstacle. We may look a little rough and tough around the edges after coming through the fire, but it is truly the Joy of the Lord that is our strength!

"In the world you will have trouble, but take heart! I have overcome the world." (John 16:33) "The joy of the Lord is your strength." Neh. 8:10