Every family tree produces some nuts. ~Unknown

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Independence Day in Photos

Since the 4th of July landed on a Sunday, our church decided instead of an evening service we would do a picnic for lunch and on into the afternoon. It was wonderful! Natalie had her face painted, bounced in a castle and got her picture drawn. Zachary and Natalie munched on watermelon and corn on the cob. Jon and I participated in a watermelon eating contest- neither of us won, but I was pretty proud to be the only woman brave enough to enter! It was an awesome way to spend this special day! And Zachary was better then we expected, we were able to stay until just after 3, it went until 4 officially. Happy Independence day!











Tuesday, June 29, 2010

As For Me

As for me, I am having a blast with a number of new and growing projects going on right now.
I am currently planning a birthday party for a wonderful friend's 2 young daughters. They will be leaving us in a month and it will be a tearful goodbye, but I am excited for now to plan a beautiful birthday party for her girls as she worries about packing and preparing for this move. It is going to be a garden theme, with ladybugs and butterflies. The invitations I finished designing for the most part today, I just need to make about 6 this weekend to hand out! Then onto the flower decorations for the walls, and butterflies to hang from the ceiling, if things go as planned. On it's way as I type is a jumbo pinwheel craft for the kids to do, and maybe some of the adults as well. And I even snagged a face painting kit, because what little girl doesn't love to proudly wear a flower or butterfly on their cheek! I am also looking forward to making the 2 cakes, one for each girl. A ladybug cake and a butterfly cake, and more opportunity for me to stretch my imagination and practice my cake decorating skills!
Another, longer term project, is my Mommy's Piggy Tales blogs. I am truly enjoying recording all my memories for this joint project with so many other wonderful woman. I have already gone ahead and written the next 3 weeks posts for 3rd through 6th grade! What am I going to do with myself when I am done? Look forward to another session in October, that is for sure! Reading the memories from the other ladies has also helped me explore beyond the blogging world I had known, and I have met so many wonderful blogging mommys! It is inspiring to read their posts and they give me ideas for my own!
Speaking of blogging, I just can't seem to stop! I have been writing something at least every other day and I am having so much fun. It seems I have finally realized my options for writing are limitless, and it has set me free! I have a number of sub projects with my blog besides the walk down memory lane with Mommy's Piggy Tales, I am also trying to start 2 new memes, Teach Me Tuesdays and Thankful Thursdays, and I attempted to start a story using a Create a Story link tool, hoping someone else would finish the storyline I began. Unfortunately, so far, no one has written anything to add, but as per a friend's request, I have already written a 'part 2' myself that I will post next week if no one else contributes. It may end up being a very long term project. I am enjoying the characters very much already!
Well that is whats going on in my quarter of our small family, in between all the playtime and housework! Thanks for stopping by to see how we are!

And the Menu Grows!

What a fun week! I am enjoying the visits from the therapists almost as much as my attention starved Natalie. Zachary on the other hand would probably be happier if we all just left him alone!
Last week it was so encouraging to see how impressed Mr. Clint had been with Zachary's progress since 2 weeks before. And this week we had the first visit from Ms. Teresa and Ms. Leann, who were mostly watching Zachary eat. First we served him something in the past he has regularly refused to eat, penne pasta with spaghetti sauce. And much to this mama's surprise, he ate it almost all up! Of course for me, he won't touch it opting to use his still full bowl as a Frisbee instead, but with Ms. Teresa sitting there to see his reaction he makes me look like I don't know my own son! Don't get me wrong I am thrilled to have another item to add to his meager menu of fruits and eggs, but its just like when you take your car in because of some funny noise, and as soon as you pull up to the mechanic its purring like a kitten.
While they were here we also introduced him to his first peanut butter and honey sandwich, his sister's favorite. After observation Ms. Teresa made an interesting note, when we offered him food in bigger pieces, he would take small bites and not over stuff his mouth. But if we gave him food cut into bite sized pieces he shoveled them in until his cheeks puffed out like a chipmunks. So from now on I will serve him food that is not too big, but definitely not too small that it would easily shoved into his mouth all at once.
While the therapist were here we also struggled and wrestled with Zachary to get him onto all fours as he scooted around the living room. He made loud protests and seemed to be quite upset, but within minutes of letting him go he was happily playing, all was forgiven. And the process then repeated itself. Ms. Leann also gave me some tips to work with Zachary on his speech before she left. I would have thought that would be pretty straight forward, but she told me to encourage him in motor imitation. Doing things like clapping, blowing kisses, pulling off his socks, and brushing his hair is supposed to help, which are all things he does with the exception of blowing a kiss, which he doesn't quite get yet. Instead of covering his mouth with his hand, as if kissing it, he puts his hand in his mouth, then follows through with the blowing of it! What a silly boy I have!
All too soon for Natalie, who desperately tried to monopolize the attention of our visitors the entire time, Ms. Teresa and Ms. Leann had to leave to go help other children on the island. Hopefully next month will bring big smiles from their visit as Zachary continues to make large leaps and bounds in his development! We certainly are excited watching the little steps in between as each day he does a little better and goes a little further towards walking on his own!

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Almost There!

We are getting so excited for our little boy! Zachary is well on his way to the doorway of mobility- walking. I am thrilled to share he is beginning to actually sit himself up on his own from lying down. He just sort of twists his body to one side, gets up on his elbow and pushes up the rest of the way- no outside leverage! He started doing this yesterday and has repeated it several times today! I am also thrilled to share that he has stood on his one for a second about 2-3 times. The first time was a few days ago, it was adorable! He was holding onto the kitchen gate watching me wash dishes. I looked over at him and sang him a short and sweet verse from 'our song'- 'You Are My Sunshine'. And as usual, he went to applaud after I was finished, and I guess he just forgot he needed to hang on to stay up! He clapped his hands together, standing there for that instant, then plopped onto his diaper-padded tushy! He also seemed to forget one of the other times as he was playing around the coffee table, and the 3rd time he did it intentionally, yesterday. He was playing with Natalie's Little People playhouse, and he just pushed himself off it to standing! It is so exciting to see how quickly he is making these improvements! I definitely think now that it has begun he is moving through the process faster then Natalie did. She stood for the first time at 1 and still didn't really walk until 15 months.
Even in his speech I am continuing to see such improvement. He even says 'thank you' in his own language regularly- like when I ask him for his box of wipes which he isn't supposed to play with but often sneaks into. I hold my hand out for it and he happily hands it to me and says 'thank you', probably because I have always said thank you to him after he hands it over! 'Cracker' is another key word in his vocabulary as well. He is even beginning to associate and mimic certain sounds with some objects and pretends with them! I was particularly enjoying his last bath as he was playing with his bathtub car wash set by Sassy. He would run the cars around the track, but also up on the tub edge making sounds I can only imagine he thinks a car should make! He even handed me one so I could join in!
I just love my sweet baby boy!

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Natalie's Beach Photo Shoot!

Yes, I admit it, I aspire to do many, many things, one of which is photography! Of course for now I still have just my little plain own point and shoot camera, nothing too fancy or expensive. And I just am so thrilled when I can take a picture that is frame worthy! Sure, its easy to say that any and all pictures of my kids are frame worthy, but this is one of those areas in which I am a perfectionist!! I want it to look so good someone might even mistake it for a portriat done by a skilled photographer. Granted I do think I am better then Jon. I love him with all my heart, but when it comes to taking pictures there is a reason he is in more then I am!!
So here is Natalie's beach photo shoot...


Just getting warmed up...



Close up time...



Starting to get into the posing...



And finally, I get that beautiful big smile!


A Day at the Beach

What a perfect Saturday over Father's Day weekend! Jon and I took our time getting out of bed this morning with the kids already awake and prepared to start their day. Moving sluggishly, relaxing on the couch, the morning moved slowly but steadily and we just enjoyed each other. By lunch time Zachary was up for his nap, and I was ready to get out of the apartment for a little family fun!
So we packed up the car with towels, kites, water shoes, and kids, to head out to the beach. We grabbed a quick bite and off we went to Asan Beach. The sky was not clear, but all the clouds that hung in the air were white and fluffy and full of rabbits or ducks and even a hammock hanging between 2 trees! Your imagination was the only limit to what your eye could see in the sea of clouds above us!
The beach was great, with clear warm waters to wade into. Zachary, Jon and I spent most of the time out in the water, playing and splashing around, while Natalie work on building castles in the sand. Eventually Jon joined her to show her how its done. I tried but was quickly relieved with the comment from Jon that I am not cut out for construction work! I agreed, I much prefer the work of motherhood, so I played with Zachary more in the water and snapped a few photos as Jon and Natalie set to work.
Soon the castle was finished, and just in time! Some light sprinkles began and almost instantly gave way to a downpour. We laughed as we ran rather pathetically to the car. As I shut Natalie's door, in the few seconds it had been opened, I had noted that the little pocket on the side had already begun to fill with rain water! We joked as we started the car that God was simply trying to save us the intermediate step of going home before getting a shower to wash off the salt and sand!
Unfortunately the kites were left a little damp but basically untouched. I guess that adventure will be saved for another day, preferably a drier day!
To wrap up our fun day, we came home and after cleaning up, watched a movie together as Zachary napped. Natalie and Jon are working on planting something on the patio as I type. And for dinner we are going to grill some yummy steak! I'd say 'Mission Accomplished!' on a wonderful weekend....and its not even over with yet!

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Pushing the Limits

This week has been a trying one for my Natalie. She is testing her boundaries and pushing the limits, many times farther then she should. We have had a few trials this week, at least for me it is a trial. God is teaching me patience, great, giant heaps of patience!
Our first big issue of the week, aside from the normal disobedience she displays, and occasional disrespect, we found Natalie had been taking water into her room from the bathroom using her toy cups, and dumping it all over her play table. She attempted to clean it up some by using her miniature apron to soak it all up but was unsuccessful due to the volume of water. This is not usually an issue, ever since she was able to walk, she has had other interests then to get into cupboards or drawers, toilets or the bathroom sink. I have never felt I had to be especially watchful unless it came to the computer or TV stand, Natalie's love of technology developed very early! Of course we have always had the standard precautions, and a baby proof kitchen and bathroom, but at the age of 4 I felt she was past the need for this. So after this happened, Jon and I stepped aside and talked. He felt no spanking was warranted because it wasn't something we had specifically told her not to do, so how could we spank her for disobedience, I on the other hand felt it was a common knowledge sort of thing, I know she knows better. If she decides to slam her brother's fingers in the door she is getting a spanking, even though I have never told her specifically not to do that. If she tried to go play in the toilet she would get in trouble, even though we have never come out and told her not too. In the end, we did not spank her. Though I disagreed, I respected his opinion and responsibility as the head of our household, but she did get a brief time out.
Which leads me to Natalie's next misadventure, sunblock. As I already said, it has never in the recent year occurred to me to keep the sunblock out of her reach. She has never shown an interest in getting into certain areas, including the bathroom mirror. Unfortunately her curiosity had finally reached its peak and she found her way into my whole stash of sunblock. I probably don't need them all, but I have sunblock for babies in 3 different brands, I have spray on sunblock for the scalp, I have it for sensitive skin and for faces, I even have some tanning lotion, though that is actually Jon's (like I would dare try to tan with my fair skin!). Luckily while Natalie pulled each one out, she decided on only using one. She rubbed it all up her arms, on her face and into her hair a little. Then she proceeded to do her act of kindness for the day by helping the mirror, counter top and floor get their fair share of UV blocking lotion for the next time they should step out into the beating sun. Where was I? I was ignorantly spending my last few minutes of Zachary's nap relaxing before I hopped into a quick shower. Natalie came out to join me in fact, just as I was about to pick out my clothes, and she reeked of sunblock! At first I assumed she just put some on herself, her hair was a little greasy, and of course their was that smell, and she received a spanking for getting into the lotion. Then I discovered her bathroom as I went in search of the bottle. My patience had to double in order for me to keep a calm tone as I sent her to sit on her bed until my anger abated. I cleaned up the greasy mess, hurrying, still hoping I had time for a shower, and eventually went back in to talk to her, spanking spoon in hand. As I said, God has blessed us with a new trial, and another and another! Natalie has been struggling lately with taking her punishments well. She does one of 2 things, screams and throws a huge fit, obviously angry for it, or she covers her mouth looks down and tries very hard not to laugh or smile, very unsuccessfully I might add. These are both after her spankings, and sometimes before as well. This time it was the hidden smile. She cried as I gave her 4 swats, and when we again talked about why she had gotten them, she tried very hard to conceal that inner smile. The first spanking had not done its job. Natalie was not repentant of what she had did, but in fact still thought it was a joke. And we repeated the spanking and smiling process 4 times before she finally seemed to understand what she did was wrong, and not something to laugh about.
I know God is working hard on me on days like that. He is teaching me patience and hands on parenting. As we often tell Natalie, if we don't discipline you, you won't learn, and God will discipline us for disobeying Him as He commands us to teach you right from wrong. And we tell her not only for her benefit, but as a reminder for us as well!!