Time marches on...

...even though my fingers haven't been doing much marching on the keyboard lately! How on earth can I keep up with these two when they are growing so stinking fast!! As I type this, Zoe is CRAWLING across the floor (albeit snail-paced) to get her elephant toy. Ian is sleeping (an amazing feat in itself), which is recharging his brain for more antics later I'm sure.

We've enjoyed Matt graduating and having a week at home with us. We cheered him on at his first triathlon event, and had wonderful family time together! Now, he's back to work and my camera is full of pictures that need uploading, and my mind is full of stories that need telling. Here's some recent moments from the past few weeks.

(Of course I haven't even made it to these moments until 2 weeks after the fact!)

-Ian's latest phrase/concern is asking people repetitively, "Are you ok, mommy? Are you ok, daddy?" or letting us know everyone's current status, "Mommy ok, daddy ok, Zoe ok, Ian ok!" It's heartwarming to see that he is concerned with other people. Most of the time when he's asking these questions, it's because HE just hurt himself!

-Another new development is Ian's insistence on specific pajamas on some nights. Of course, he has yet to choose a pair that are not at the bottom of the laundry hamper.

-Matt's first day back to work, and Ian was definitely missing him. He packed up his new wheeled backpack...with a sippy cup, some rubber ducks, a book, and a few stray pieces of cereal. Proudly marching to the door he announced, "I going see daddy. See daddy work."

-Ian calls his pacifier a "firetruck." No really, he does. For those of you wondering why he made it 2 years without a "firetruck" and only now has one...ask Bubby. Our little friend has one, and Ian has insisted on having one too. He doesn't suck on it, just chews it with gusto. We appreciate having something to redirect his teeth from people...Why he calls it a firetruck is a better question. The only thing I can figure is that he hears the word ending, paciFIER, and just added truck because that was the logical leap his brain made. Whatever the reason, we can laugh to ourselves at the child who chews on an emergency vehicle.

-Little ears are listening to everything that is being said. After phone conversations, he often asks me questions relating to what has been said. For example, I was asking my friend, "Well, does he have a fever? Is he acting tired or out of sorts?" After I hung up, Ian questioned me, "Bubby sick?" I guess he also heard me say we might go to Wal-Mart, because the next question was, "Go shoppin' now?" Hmmm...

-We met Matt for lunch at Subway, and Ian boycotted the apples that came with his meal. It was odd, because usually he eats them first! We shrugged and I told Matt he could take them if Ian didn't eat them. You remember I mentioned that Ian is listening more closely? I do believe this overheard conversation just encouraged him to form an elaborate scheme...We drove away and Ian threw a tantrum, "NOOOOO DADDY WORK! NO! COME HOME! WANT DADDY! NO DADDY WORK!" Then just before we passed the turn off for Matt's office, he said very sweetly, "Ok, I eat apples. Go get apples. See daddy 'gain, get apples." Either he had this planned right from the start, or came up with it on the fly. Stinker! (Yes, we went back and got the apples. He didn't eat them, but also did not tantrum on driving away the second time.)

-On a recent excursion to the store, Ian earned a reward for his good behavior. He got to choose any car he wanted! (Hot Wheels). He was so excited there was a new color-changing car on the shelf, and I was excited he took interest in such a neat toy. Both of us could hardly contain our excitement to purchase and play with this cute little coupe. "Ok mommy, gotta go pay," he smiled up at me, "Wow so cool, colorrrs." I beamed back at him with pride...he'd chosen a new kind of toy and was actually excited about what it could do! Forgetting the other half of my list, we headed to the check-out, patiently waited to ring everything else up, and headed to the car. He was now nearly bouncing with enthusiasm at the "Color car!! Color car!!" we were about to open. I had my cold water ready! He handed me the car and watched as I poured the water over the bright yellow car and it turned green nearly instantly. How cool was THAT?! When I looked up with my own ear-to-ear smile of excitement at my little boy, I was shocked to see tears welling up in his eyes. The beautiful smile of anticipation had contorted into a face of pure agony, and a wail escaped his lips. "Mommy, oh no, you broooke it!" Forgive me for laughing at my son's pain yet again. I reluctantly poured hot water back on the car, instantly changing it back to yellow, and Ian's face from pain to indignation. He clutched the car tightly to himself, "Mommy no have car. No broke it, no fix it. Color cars is colors, mine!" Ok, no more color-changes. At least not for a little while.

-Another car/store dilemma. We purchased a train that would hold all of his little cars...and I'll make a long story short, but Ian was quite upset that the packaging showed a train FULL of many little cars, and when the package was opened there was not a single one to be found. I know it will make his life a lot more stress-free when he can read those little words on the bottom of the package, "Not included." Or maybe, that will mark his entrance into the adult world of frustration with gimmick marketing. He was not very happy with me because I didn't listen to his pleas to, "Take back, other one cars more mommy. It broken." Life lessons!

-As we all sit at the dinner table, Ian makes a strange request, "Daddy, pink fork." Matt rolls his eyes and informs him that of course we don't have pink forks. (And, he wouldn't want to give him one anyway. I have to laugh at Matt because he thinks this will be the end of it...). "Daddy, want pink fork. Pleeeeeeeeeeeeease." Now he's forced to at least go into the kitchen and walk through the motions. So he returns with a handful of forks in many different colors. Ian purses his lips and thinks carefully about his selection. The right color fork can make or break a meal, you know. Ian chooses a red fork (it's close enough to pink), and informs his daddy, "I got pink fork, like a reeeeal man." I don't think I could do justice with words trying to explain the look on Matt's face. But I can tell you that I nearly fell off my chair laughing. Where do kids come up with this stuff?

-Last but not least, I will leave off with one of my favorite little moments yet. Ian is drifting off in the back seat, Zoe just fell asleep for her nap, and I'm starting to feel myself get giddy. If he takes a nap, I'll actually have free time! They'll both be sleeping! I encourage him gently, "Ian close your eyes, it's OK to take a little rest." (Why oh why can't I leave well enough alone?!). He pops his little head up, and blinks at me stubbornly. A few tense moments pass as I realize I just ruined my golden opportunity. But, it gets better...Ian then rationalizes with me, "No sleep mommy. Go play. Go home, go play." Something in me thinks I can convince him otherwise, "No Ian, we're all going to rest. See Zoe is sleeping too, and we're all going to take a rest and THEN we can go play. Won't that be fun?! After a nap, we'll all play together!" Ian is stubborn, "NO NAP! NO SLEEP! NO CLOSE EYES!" his protests get louder and louder. OK, I realize if I don't want Ian to get any louder with his refusals (and wake the baby), I'll let the issue rest. I don't need to tell him anything, just put him in his room when I get home. Then, my little plotter turns to his sister and throws a toy at her in the carrier (a soft one, thank goodness), "Zoe wake up! Wake up! No close eyes! No nap! I play! No nap, wake up!" He gets a sharp reprimand, and I told him to be quiet and leave her alone. Then the faces and giggling commence. Mutually. Zoe is now WIDE awake and laughing at her brother's antics!) Ian looks at me with one of his biggest grins ever. "No Zoe nap. Go home, go play." I have one of those mom moments where I desperately want to laugh so hard at his crafty disobedience, but am forced to be consistent and in charge...all while realizing it's really not funny. Losing my quiet nap time is the least of my worries. Ian just used his sister as a weapon against nap time. Oooooooh!

I know some of these moments are just little things, but they are little things I will treasure! I often wish in the heat of those toddler tantrums to be far, far away...and many years forward from now. But, I wish just as often that even though these are some of the most challenging times (if not THE most challenging times) of my life, that I could freeze them right here and enjoy my LITTLE Ian, and my BABY Zoe.

But, I know time will continue to march on, and even though I will miss these days, I'll also look forward to sharing these stories with them when they are bigger. I can only imagine how wonderful it will be to look at Ian and Zoe all "grown up" and have known their little hearts from right now. I don't know how to explain it, but wow I'm so thankful for being a mommy! :)



Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right. - Proverbs 20:11

Firecracker!

...sometimes I would think I was just imagining things! But, I'm so glad Matt is around so he can witness just how quickly a little baby grows up!

Tonight Zoe was playing around in her exersaucer, and Ian came over and yanked a toy right out of the holder. Zoe starting crying, and it was obviously because she was scared. It's actually amazing how much she'll "put up with" from him. I wish I could protect her little noggin from her brother, but too many times he has smacked her on the head! She simply looks up at him and winces, then continues playing. So the fact she reacted made it clear she was scared. Normal enough...

A few minutes passed, and Ian was crouched on the floor, and grabbed at the toy again. Both Matt and I were watching, because it looked like Ian was trying to play with her this time. Not so.

I am not kidding you, that little baby looked Ian straight in the face and cried, "WWEhhhhh." It was a very strong statement, not a scared cry, or a I-want-to-be-picked-up cry, but a demand for him to leave her toy alone. I don't even know quite how to phrase it into words, but Matt and I looked at each other in disbelief. "Did she just...?" I asked.

"Uh, yeah, she did," was all he could say!

We weren't the only ones that noticed Zoe taking a stand. Ian understood, and tried to push her hand away. Our precious little girl brought her OTHER HAND up to the toy and let out ANOTHER matter-of-fact cry!

I just can't believe they are having a battle over a toy already! She's only 4 months old! Again, if it wasn't for Matt being there to witness this exchange with me, I'm not sure I would have believed it!

Then again, I saw Zoe's cute little baby blues spark and I just can't imagine it away. Baby girl is a firecracker! :)

Books at bedtime...

A couple nights ago, Matt took over the nightly routine so I could make it to the gym. When I came home, Zoe was in bed fast asleep, and Ian was calling to me from bed! I asked Matt how everything went, and questioned if I had wakened Ian with my entry. He assured me I didn't, and Ian went to bed easily.

So I went in to Ian and told him goodnight. He was whimpering, and I asked what was wrong. "Want book," he requested...which is a typical nightly part of the routine (bath, book, prayer, bed). I handed him another book, but he was obviously not satisfied. "No, mommy, read book," he told me. I told him it was time for bed and started to walk away. After all, Ian will continue asking either of us to read books to him in a feeble attempt to prolong bedtime.

He sat up in earnest, "Mommy! Daddy no read! No book. Uh-uhn, no book, Daddy. Want book read read you," He was so upset! I considered the possibility maybe he didn't have a book he wanted read to him. Or, was he telling on Daddy?!

I asked Matt if he read a book to him, and he said, "Ian has his book."

"No, what I meant was, did you READ him a book?"

"How would you have known THAT?" (Guilty look).

Daddy admits this isn't the first time he's skipped the book-reading portion of the nightly routine...but, it looks like Ian isn't going to let this slide any more. Especially now that he has the words to tell on daddy!

I guess I'd better get my act together! Next thing I know, he'll be telling on ME! :)

Where oh where did July go?

Seriously...it's over! The last month of summer has arrived, and I'm not going to let any opportunities to soak up the sun pass us by!

Here's some snippets of activities and vignettes if you will, from the past month. I actually have a legitimate excuse for it taking so long. We've had the motherboard on the desktop crash, and software issues on the laptop - all at the same time! I'm very thankful for our friend Marcus that has enough computer knowledge to get us back up and running again. So much to do and so little time! In the next month or so, we'll be adding a Mac (mini) to our family! I'm very excited because this means even more fun with photos...and more importantly reliable and fast computer accessibility! In the meantime, here's the past month in review:

*Ian attended his first VBS! Our theme was the Australian Outback...and how, like a boomerang, it all comes back to Jesus! I taught the 3rd/4th grade class while Ian played with his buddy Chandice in the nursery. They did a few lessons, but mostly spent time having way too much fun! Completely exhausted after a full week of VBS I collapsed on the couch the following day...but Ian asked to go back to church!



*The 4th of July was great fun...with all the greats on Matt's side of the family! We had fun playing games with the cousins (Ian is slowly grasping the concept of turn-taking...very happy to announce, "my turn" at any time!) and even more fun exploring Georgia Aquarium to celebrate the Great-Gayler's 65th wedding anniversary! Ian was completely in awe at the aquarium! There is no denying that he is a huge fan of fish! He loved to point out the sharks to us, and was talking about them for days after the experience. Only in Ian world, sharks chase people to tickle them! I must add here that he was a little nervous to touch the glass at the aquarium. I'm pretty sure he was afraid that the invisible barrier between him and the sharks was not enough! But there was not a single tantrum, or foot misplaced...for the entire time we were there. I would happily spend a day with him at this amazing showcase of God's underwater creation! It was a very fast weekend trip, but such a great one!



*Ian and his sister and becoming increasingly inseparable! Every morning, Ian wants to sit on the couch with Zoe and hold her. She smiles up at him lovingly, and he amuses her with his funny faces and noises. He has a very peculiar way of touching his hands to her face (which he really likes to do), and she never complains. It's amazing to watch how hard she will laugh at him when he's being silly! Matt relayed a story from a ride he had with them in the car while I was at the gym...Ian was saying, "Heeellllp meeee!" and Zoe would burst into laughter. Ian figured this out and was "performing" for her, and they were laughing at each other! This is one of the first times Ian was clearly interacting with Zoe, but it's happening more and more as the days go by.



*Zoe is on a mission to crawl already. Rumor has it that I was an extremely early crawler/walker. I didn't believe the time frame before (6/9 months), but I'm inclined to now...Zoe has totally got the motions down! She's rolling confidently from back to stomach, and then kicks off with those back legs as hard as she can, driving her head into the ground! She'll eventually get frustrated and fuss when she's not moving as far as she would like...but she's got nothing to be ashamed about - going a few inches! If I leave her in the crib for a few minutes, I'll come back and she's turned all the way around and at the other side!



*Ian cooked his first meal! He has often helped in the kitchen...but this was the first start-to-finish experience. And he did stay engaged for the approximately 30 minutes it took to complete! Matt was cooking chicken, and threw some scrap pieces in some water to make chicken noodle soup. We passed Ian the ingredients one cup at a time (noodles, vegetables, spices) and he added them and stirred with intense concentration! He was SO proud of himself...saying, "I cookin! I cookin, Mommy Daddy!!! I cookin!" The excitement was even greater when the bowl finally made it to the table. You could just see the pride radiating from his sparkling eyes and smile. His little shoulders and head were cocked and tilted in his quaint little expression of accomplishment. He devoured everything but some of the chicken. Next step is making him an apron!!




*We have two water babies! Ian will ask to, "Go cool" every day! Unfortunately, we've had a lot of late afternoon thunderstorms, so this hasn't always been possible. When we do make it, he has an absolute blast! He is getting SO close to swimming on his own, it's amazing. The pool on Laurel Bay has little swim vests available for use, and it took a little time for Ian to trust it would hold him up. This was actually surprising to us, as Ian shows a scary "no fear" approach to throwing himself into the water. The fact that he's aware he might sink is GOOD! However, with his current progress this phase is not going to last very long. He's dunking his head under the water and holding his breath all on his own, and no longer drinking insane amounts of pool water! Zoe loves to take a dip too. She kicks and kicks those little legs and makes happy noises!



*The summer has been full of play dates galore...Ian has had fun with friends at home, the beach, park, pool & friend's houses. It is interesting to watch his personality blossom around others - and how different he can be with older and younger play mates. Or how different children will bring out various aspects of his personality! We're so blessed to have such wonderful friends to spend our time with! I am so happy to report that his biting/hitting phase is nearly past! I don't think I blogged too much about it before (since I didn't really want to think about it!) but he had been getting a little frustrated at times with his friends over toys. It wasn't that bad (the crying on the other hand, ugh!), but I'm glad he's learned his lesson from the time out rug. Can I tell you how much my heart celebrated when for the first time he was hit by a friend, he just stood there (without hitting back) and whined, "No hit!" A few other moments have showcased his developing compassion for others...when he has seen another child so upset at the toy he's taken, he will give it back and say, "No cry. Here you are." It's so wonderful to watch Ian develop empathy for others and learn to take the focus off himself!

*As was hinted at above, Ian's language has skyrocketed! He is using very complex sentence patterns, and generating language I thought far above his age level. For example, he is now using emotions to express himself..."I scared of bees, Mommy," or "Zoe sad, she hungry." He's even using personal pronouns with amazing accuracy. "MY turn," "I do it," etc. I would expect him to say, "Ian do it," and the like, but he's caught on very quickly! He's also using adjectives regularly in sentences, and started expressing the concept of size...well, "big" anyway! My favorite words will always be, "I love you."

That's about all for now...but if I blogged all that the past month has contained, I would never get to bed! Such blessings, and such wonderful FULL days! I'm looking forward to this month's outpost when Matt will have more time at home, and we'll have some needed family time! Enjoy your summer while the sun is still hot!! :)

Zoe is FOUR MONTHS OLD!

Little Miss has gone from 13.5 to 14.3 pounds and 24.25 to ____ inches!

Another month gone! And life with a very determined little girl continues to be a joy in so many ways!

A few things about Zoe this month!

-Really filling out the 6 month size clothes! She's definitely long! Size 2 diapers.
-Smiles a lot more...but she's still mostly a responsive smiler, she'll smile back at you or in response to noises/play.
-Won't laugh for just anything - she's got a special affinity for her brother's antics!
-Will play in the exersaucer for 20-30 minutes! She grabs at the toys, and is working on standing up!
-Brings both of her hands together to grab at toys in front of her! It's amazing how quick & coordinated she has become!
-Has mastered rolling from her back to her stomach! She can do this within seconds of being put down!
-Wants to be in bed by 8:30pm every night...in her own bed! It's the most consistent thing she asks for (ok demands!). If she's not in bed, she's NOT happy one bit!
-Definitely requires a bib most of the time! Drool monster!
-Has discovered her feet! She holds them up with her little hands, but hasn't pulled them up quite far enough to look at them yet!
-Loves to be held standing up on your lap!
-Is becoming more interactive with Ian...grabbing at his hands/face. It almost looks like she's trying to get his attention!
-Has stopped pulling up her own dresses as much. Now, she's intent on grabbing anything else within reach!
-Seems so close to crawling...she has managed to low crawl across the floor almost a foot! Uh-oh!

It's amazing how much a little person can grow in a month! Not only has she physically grown, but her mental abilities are clearly reaching new levels every day. She seems more and more a determined little girl, very set on reaching into our world and joining in the fun!

I can't wait to see her crawling around, smile more, play with us, and hear what she has to say! I know Ian can't wait until Zoe is big enough to really play with either! :)