L's 11 month summary

Don't worry - just gnawing on a plastic fork. :) 

Where do I even begin with this angel of a child?!?! Life did not start out angelic, but this little lady has blossomed into a bright ray of sunshine in our home. I wanted to name her Rae, like a ray of sunshine. Jared wasn't a fan. :( But no matter. I love her and her name.

And the brain dump begins:
She wakes up early like her mom, except she announces that morning is here like a rooster might and then usually quietly waits for me to get her much later.
She crawls on one knee and one foot. Her left foot to be exact.
She uses her left hand to practice feeding herself.
She wants to do everything the big kids are doing. She wants to eat our food. She wants to feed herself. She wants to be in the middle of the commotion.
She loves house guests and many friendly faces.
She adores music. It makes her body pump, sway bend, or snuggle. She often sings with me when I put her to sleep and she definitely sings in church.
She wants to MOVE. Wiggle, crawl, roll, walk, cruise, up, down, over, back and forth. That's my girl.
Pick-a-boo and big bed wrestles are wonderful giggle times with her.
She loves her binki and will scream when it says good bye!
She's in that awkward time when two naps a day are shifting to one longer nap and I am still not sure were she needs to be.
Is she really almost a year?!?!
She makes me want to be (but it's unrealistic that I be) neurotic about cleaning my floors. She finds and eats everything, I don't even want to think about it.
She makes the BEST sounds. Grunts, groans, squeals, screeches, moans, and hums. She also tried to say words, like "adah!"
She points very well and knows that it helps her communicate.
She signs "more" and "please" when she REALLY wants to.
She flirts with people almost as badly as her big brother. She waves and makes friends everywhere we go.
She sleeps better than I thought was possible at the beginning, 12 hours and even thought she often wakes, she puts herself back to sleep.
She still has yeast flare ups but she is kind of a reborn baby from the newborn I knew. Thank you GAPS diet and donated breast milk to supplement my limited supply.
She's a grabber. She will grab and rip your skin off if you let her.
She loves her knit blanket from Sarah Barton! This is her favorite object other than that infuriating binki. It's pink, green and white and reminds me of salt water taffy. It must make her think of that too because I often find her gnawing on it.
She has opinions and she shares them with sounds, movement and faces. There is no guessing what she's thinking, kind of like her mama.
Sometimes we butt heads already because we are so much alike.

Getting to know billy goats. Notice the pink, green and white blanket on the stroller? That's her love.

In the tender moments of nursing and snuggling, I have had glimpses into the eternity of this woman's soul. I feel a wise, old spirit in that tiny body. She is a doer, a very motivated child who has a work to fulfill in this world. I connect to the feminine in her. That divine nature in her makes me feel her power for good and love in this world devoid of an abundance of brotherly kindness. When the time comes, and when she wants something, I know she will make it happen. She is determined to do and get and be when she wants it badly. But the jury's still out on so much within her. That's just what I have observed. But what do I know? I'm just the mother who gets to nurture and love what she already has and what God sent her with to our home. I cherish the responsibility I have to shape and watch this miracle unfold before me. I love her so dearly. Ever so dearly. I'll love her forever, I'll like her for always.

just one of the big kids

we adore this Aunt!

S's birthday party

It was super fun and a bit tardy. He loved it all. 

This is how big my kid is getting. He's practically a man.

Wow, thanks to the generosity of many friends and family this birthday was cooler than all his Christmases combined. We are not good at gift giving in our family, so thanks so all who shared the love!

One wall was the coloring wall, with frames ready to fill in. It was fun to see what people chose to fill them with.

 

Other than the full coloring wall, the kitchen table was set up to make brown paper bag puppets. Complete with crayons, markers, stickers, tape and yarn. Although not all the kids colored the wall, most kids made a puppet. 

Then all the kids gathered on the living room carpet. Above on the "draw bridge" balcony Jared dropped down a bunch of balloons on their heads all at once and that was fun. Next time we'll have more balloons and maybe make a game out of it. But this time it was just grab and hit the balloons. That's enough for a three year old. 

Next we had two rounds of wheelbarrow races on the grass. That was pure entertainment. Jared was the finish line and the poor birthday boy came in last place. He didn't seem to care though. It was fun. We finished with opening presents - GALORE - and cake. I made homemade carrot cake and butter cream frosting. It was Marcia's recipe. We love that cake!! It was a full house filled with people we love. Thank you to everyone who came and shared love, laughs, and gifts with our Guy. Thank you again and again!

Happy birthday my boy. I cannot thank God enough for the privilege it is to be your mama!

nooks and crannies

Like most kids, our guy loves snuggling up in soft corners with pillows and his blanket. Luckily I catch these tender moments on camera. 

Nap time at our house

 He wanted to nap in this box, but he needed to take with him his cheetah, lion, their bowl of "food" (shredded tissue paper), and his new puzzle from Grma Bev. Oh, and his red blanket from Grma O, of course. This thing has been his companion since birth! Read more about that friendship here. 

 Have you ever read the children's book "Little Boy"? We own it and love it. Here's a sampling:

"Little boy, so much depends on...

your starship pajamas,

that story about llamas,

the way you don't worry, 

the way you don't hurry, and...

your big cardboard box.

Little boy, you remind me how so much depends on days made of now."

 No only has he been living this book through his love afair with his cardboard box, but he has also been reminding me that so much depends of how we spend our days NOW. His aunt Rachel recently taught me that children learn the most quickly between ages 2 and 3. That's my guy! So much depends on now!

Books galore at the grandparents!

 This sweet reading spot is under the elevated bed in Rachel's new room/Mary's old room. :) It is definitely a sweet spot to snuggle with Aunt Rachel, pillows and books. 

 He LOVED reading dozens and dozens of books with this other book-lover in the family. I think she is the best aunt this boy has right now. She does all the things he wants and has a great imagination and patience that three-year-olds need so much. We love you Rach.

brushing teeth

L does not have teeth yet, but like most other things she just wants to do what everyone else is doing in the family. She loves brushing her teeth when the rest of us are. She even tries brushing my teeth for me. :) Man, I adore this kiddo!

 

congrats to the newlyweds

Congratulations to Jared's sister, Mary and her new husband Troy!!! Marriage is wonderful and I am so excited for their new adventure together. The ceremony touched my heart, reminded me of my own marital covenants, and helped me recommit to love more fully.

But first, this is my favorite picture from the weekend. This is my baby L and her face just CRACKS ME UP every time I see it! Bwahahahaha!

 The night before the wedding was insane by my standards. The only people who went to bed before 2 in the morning were me, my sister-in-law and our three small children. The grandparents, the visiting aunt, cousins, Jared's siblings - everyone else - didn't go to bed before 2! Nuts, right? And they weren't even doing last minute prep for the wedding. They were playing games, chatting and eating grilled cheese with kimchee. To Jared's credit he was only up that late to finish his final paper that was due the next day. He didn't want to work on it on the wedding day. He worked hard, although he takes a long time to write. 

 We all nearly died from the dessert buffet at the wedding reception. Wow, there was a lot! Never eating sugar again.

 Sorry about my lame camera pictures. They were radiating far brighter than these pictures give them credit. GORGEOUS couple.

 The colors were navy, tan and white. It looked really great together and the whole O family coordinated our clothes. I think the photographer must have gotten some really great family pictures. Hopefully more to come on that.

Daddy daughter dance. It was so sweet.

L taking up the whole dance floor. Not a lot of people danced, but there were spurts. Jared even danced with me. I also danced an awful lot with my kids.

Aww. Mimama dancing.

And when we came home my boys crashed. So did the lady, but S was so out of it he never even woke up when we took him out of the car. You'd think we drugged him. Oh, wait. We did. With tons of sugar. Poor boys. 

It was a beautiful day with family and remembering of marital promises. 

Side note. My guy just said the prayer over lunch. It is sweet to remember his prayers. :) 

"Heavenly Father, Grateful for this day. Grateful for this food. Grateful for the barbecue chicken and the chips. Grateful for the 'mato and lettuce. Jesus' name. Amen."

happy birthday to our guy!

I can hardly believe that it was three years ago that we welcomed this little man into our lives, our family, and our hearts. He has changed me for the better. What a complete joy these three years have been with him. He makes motherhood feel like the best dessert to adulthood and you just want to keep coming back for another bite. S is imaginative, self-soothing, active, forgiving, inquisitive and verbal. His common response to questions this week is "I don't know." 

chocolate cake like he requested!

He loves pretending to be African animals, especially lions. He loves bread, although we don't eat it much. He coming outside for any reason he can find. Yesterday we was disappointed he didn't take the trash out with me. 

we spent the a.m. at the animal farm with friends

I adore putting him to bed for that is the moment that he gets the most spiritual. He asks questions about prayer or makes observations about heaven that cause my heart to sore there and back. His prayers melt my heart and soul with warmth. 

He want to be a part of the big kid games and likes going outside when he hears them playing.

He still loves helping me around the house, especially in the kitchen. He must push the blender button loves washing the dishes in soapy water. 

He requested that he watch a show and go swimming on his birthday. We did watch something, and were going to borrow a friend's backyard kid pool but it really wasn't a swimming kind of day. It was VERY windy and would have been cold. 

Thank you to his dear grandparents for the floor puzzle, cute undies, loving notes and the DASHINGLY handsome little man suit. 

Happy birthday to our guy! We love you more than words can tell. What's your favorite characteristic or memory of the birthday boy?