A Random Grouping of Things

I am sure you have noticed that I don't blog nearly as much as I used to.  Our poor desktop is dying a slow, painful death, and half of the keyboard no longer works.  So...I am at the mercy of Scott and his work lap top.  And these days, I have to get in line to use the lap top!!

Let's see, what do I want to record about the day's happenings of late?

John is so quickly transitioning from baby to toddler.  It amazes me.  He loves balls and trying to play catch with Ada, and this morning he said "ball" for the first time, and proceeded to say it over and over.  "Ba, Ba, Ba," he said as he tried to roll it on the carpet.  He loves to splash Ada in the bath tub, and tonight they were both doubled over in laughter over it.  It was so much fun to watch them.  We had a bit of a nursing setback this weekend, as he has been sick and wouldn't really eat or drink anything.  I finally gave in and nursed him, and tonight, when he seemed to be feeling better, I offered him a sippy cup of milk. He loudly protested.  I think we'll get back on track tomorrow.

What else is there to record?

Scott and I went on our date.  The first one in such. a. long.  time.  Ada was wailing when we left, but we got a text from Jeremy (one half of the couple who baby-sat for us) before we were even out of our neighborhood letting us know that Ada was already laughing and dancing.  So, Scott and I enjoyed a leisurely Olive Garden dinner, with no children.  What a treat.  And when we got home Ada was bouncing off the walls with excitement over her night.  (John slept the entire time.  I put him to bed right before we left).  Hopefully it won't be a year before we got on another date.

The rest of the weekend was spent enjoying the amazing weather and grilling out.  Scott and Ada read, while waiting on our food to cook.



And the rest of our days have been full of the typical stuff, including the library where Ada insisted on bringing home every Maisy book she found on the shelf.  Do ya'll know Maisy?  She is Ada's favorite "read."  She goes crazy over Maisy books.

While I was in the children's section at the library, I also managed to grab a couple of books for myself

This is going to be an obvious statement, because who doesn't?, but I love the Narnia books.  I love the way the books cause me to think about the gospel from an entirely new perspective.  I always leave the book with a deeper understanding of the gospel.  Do you agree?  I also grabbed The Horse and His Boy.

So, not much new is going on around here.  I am still trying to figure out a way to get a handle on the state of my house, though it's not in terrible shape right now (mainly because Scott worked on the gigantic laundry pile all weekend--thank you hubby).  In my search for a solution (I am forever searching for a solution) I came across two new blogs that I am loving--Mama's Laundry Talk and A Slob Comes Clean.  I especially love A Slob Comes Clean, as I can so relate to everything that she writes. 

And finally, there is much I am praying about these days.  Much.  (I mean, aren't we always praying about a lot, but you know what I mean--more concentrated prayers).  My heart is heavy over different situations not directly related to me, and there is also much I am praying about for my own life situation.  In the midst of that, though, I am learning much about God's sovereignty, which overwhelms me with peace and rest!!  Hallelujah for that!!  My discipleship group is currently reading Trusting God by Jerry Bridges and Be Still My Soul by Nancy Guthrie.  I highly recommend them both.  They both remind me that God, in his perfect wisdom and sovereignty, is always working for my good and his glory, which are one in the same.  No matter if it feels otherwise. 

And that is an update of the goings-on around here.

The End of an Era

Well, folks, I think that John is officially weaned.  I can't believe it.

Just this week I dropped the morning feeding, and I was only nursing him before bed each night.  Well, tonight I had a late night of tutoring, so I told Scott to try to put John down without me here.  Scott fed him a sippy cup of milk, put John in his bed, and never heard from him again.  So many mixed emotions, you know?

Mostly I am relieved that it was such a painless process.  And I am excited because I can now do so many things like visit my dear friend, Lindsay, in Birmingham, and hopefully soon each of my sisters in New Orleans and North Carolina.  It's freedom, you know?

But it's also a bit emotional.  I prayed and prayed and prayed that John would be a good nurser, specifically that he would nurse for a year.  My dear friends in my discipleship group also prayed for this the entire time that I was pregnant.  God provided in abundance, even after John was given a bottle for his 8 day stay in the NICU.  And, of course, with John making the switch to a sippy cup, I am also a bit emotional over losing my little baby boy.  (I don't mean really emotional; I just mean, like, "awww, my baby's growing up")

Anyway, I am doing the typical mom thing and saying, time is absolutely flying by.

But, I am thrilled over my scheduled trip to Birmingham for a much needed girl's weekend.  AND, this weekend, Scott and I are going on our first real date since John was born.  Again, a friend of mine from discipleship group has graciously offered to watch the kiddos while we go to dinner.  So...big things are happening around here.

And what is John eating now that he has given up the "liquid gold?"  Lots of things.

What you see above is John taking advantage of Ada's forgotten cheese-itz snack.  And, in the blue sippy cup?  Vanilla almond milk.  And the bottom picture?  A grilled cheese sandwich and a banana. 

He's my big boy.

Just a few things

Lately, John is trying so hard to use a spoon.  Bless his heart, he just can't get it.  Those are cut up carrots, in case you were wondering.

And here, as Ada was watching cartoons, she very seriously said to me, "These are my exercises.  They help my legs."

Finally, an easy solution to Ada's itch for a garden.  I found these little "kits" in the dollar section at Target.  One is for strawberries and one is for a flower (I can't remember the name).  Ada loved putting it all together.  Who knows if it will work out, but in the mean time, I am going to encourage her to water them everyday, and if they do grow, we will transfer them to larger pots.

"Big" News

Guess who started drinking out of a sippy cup yesterday?  And by drinking, I mean more than a couple of sips.  For two days in a row, John has finished an entire sippy cup of milk.  A huge step in the right direction!!  We're getting there.

And, by the way, are you loving this weather as much as we are?  This week we have used our double stroller twice, which is more than we have ever used it. 

p.s. Ada requested that I take that first picture, and that was the pose that she chose. 

Wonderful Sunshine

Today, I am so very thankful for 60 degrees and sunny.  We made up our own little game of hopscotch, and enjoyed the sunshine while John snoozed.

A little hair "incident"

So, I accidentally chopped off Ada's hair last night.  It was such a mistake.  I know you are wondering how I could accidentally chop her hair off.  It was wet, and it's curly, and I meant to just give it a trim.  It turns out I can not cut hair evenly, so I kept trying to even it up, until we ended up with a short-haired girl.

The good news is that I really think the length is cute on her.  I have actually wanted to try a short cut on her for a while, but I loved her long, curly hair, and I didn't have the nerve to cut it short, so it's a "happy accident" of sorts.  I was feeling a little sick over it last night, though.

The only problem is that it desperately needs to be "cleaned up" by someone professional, but we are having no luck getting Ada to agree to that.  We made it into a place today, but, again, that resulted in lots of tears from Ada.  Luckily her hair is very curly, so it is forgiving of my mistakes.

Ada LOVES her new hair cut, and she is so confident with it.  Scott, who loved her long hair, is still upset over it, I think.  I keep telling him he has to forgive me;) 

And, by the way, that picture you see above was taken at 8:30 this morning.  My house was that messy by 8:30 am.  Oh man.  We were headed out the door to an open house for the Homeschool group we will be joining next year (Classical Conversations), which is super exciting, and I will post more about that later.  Ada did not actually need a backpack this morning, but she insisted that she couldn't go to "school" without it.  Anyway...I just had to post about Ada's big hair cut.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

How we celebrated last year...

Valentine's Day marks a year since we brought John home!!!

And here we are a year later...

We made Valentine's cards for the cousins.  Though Ada, in all of her selflessness, refused to use pink or red because she didn't want to give up her pink and red construction paper.

And on Saturday night, Scott took us all to Dunkin Donuts where Ada celebrated the holiday with a heart shaped, pink iced, heart sprinkled, cream filled donut.  She wanted to eat the entire thing, but I insisted that we cut it in half.  (I was still a bit horrified that she was putting all of that into her tiny little body).  John also celebrated by tasting Scott's donut.  He LOVED it.

And that's about it for us.  I told Scott that back in college when I was single that on Valentine's Day I used to wish that I was going on a date with my husband.  Now I am married, and I am still wishing for a date with my husband;)  (Not that Scott isn't willing to take me on a date; it's just not in the cards these days).  But I am so very thankful for my husband and "this life I've found."  It's not what I imagined--how could I have imagined it?--but it's so comfortable and safe and familiar, and I love that.  And, if I was able to go on a fancy, romantic date tonight, Scott would certainly be my choice for a date.  One day, Scott, one day.