Time Out

source

Time-outs no longer seem to be an effective form of discipline for Aves. She seems to think that it should resemble the above photo, lounging on the floor and smiling up at me after the initial two seconds of "crying". So today I propped her up, sat behind her, and I had her sit there for her minute, during which she (while crying) leaned back, looked up at me, and said, "Hi, Mommy. How are you?" I prayed that she would look back down so I could giggle silently. I think it's time to re-examine our discipline methods.

Aunt Dell

Aunt Dell (Michelle) is VERY popular with Avery - she asks about her all the time, and I think she'd choose Aunt Dell over me some days.

Today we had lunch with Aunt Dell up at her school. We got there a few minutes early and walked into her boys' choir class, which meant all chaos broke loose and they were unruly the last ten minutes. Oops! They kept yelling, "It's a baby!" and Avery ran around and helped Aunt Dell play the keyboard and entertain the boys. She would run back into the office to see me, and then run back out again to yell "Hi!", which sent the crew all into a fit of giggles again. 

Aunt Dell is on the right, directing her boys' choir. Avery's head is barely peeking over the table, as she was trying to get to the piano.

trying to capture these pics without distracting the boys further

Aunt Dell's fridge was very popular...please notice the chicken nugget on the shelf. I think it was still there when we left.

Thanks, Aunt Dell, for letting us interrupt your class today!

Loving the Weather

We have all spent a bunch of time outside the past week or so, because the weather has been amazing! We're getting to know our neighbors better, and all of the kids play together while the adults sit and visit. Our new neighbors are very generous with their toys, pulling the play kitchen out many evenings, and the kids have a blast. We've also spent some time on our own outside, and I thought Avery looked too cute in her prairie skirt and rainboots (which are her shoe of choice these days), so I snapped a few pics.

Yay! Daddy is home!

♥ Day

We kicked off our Valentine's season with some homemade cards for Nonnie and Nana - I hope they got them in the mail by now, or else this will ruin the surprise! Avery drew on her red construction paper with her crayons, and then I trimmed the design down into hearts, matted them with white paper, and let her add stickers at the end. We walked them to the mailbox together and she dropped them in.

her new face - wide eyed head tilt; coloring her valentines

On Saturday we were surprised by a knock on the door - it was flowers for Avery from D-dad! She loved them, but the monkey was more her style I think.

flowers from D-dad

she loves her new monkey

(why sideways?! ugh) Heart shaped chocolate and cherry scones for breakfast

On Monday I baked up a batch of scones as a special treat...everyone should start the day off with something sweet and chocolatey once in awhile! Too bad Avery wasn't into them, at least not until later that day.

she only had two bites...and we tried to convince her that it was a cookie

From there we headed to our MOPS Valentine's Day party, where they decorated bags for cards, had a lot of sugar, and played for a couple hours. Super easy to entertain them at this age!

MOPS playgroup Valentine's party - coloring their bags. I had to decorate Avery's...

...because she was eating noodles

inspecting her loot - hooray for candy!

"cheese!" We're missing a couple kiddos, including mine, b/c she won't pose on command

Dinner for my valentine

Luke and I ended the day with a quiet dinner at home. I recreated the butternut squash soup from South Congress Cafe, down to the grana padano cheese shavings and the sage brown butter. Oh, it was delicious. For dessert, homemade chocolate pudding while we watched a movie.

Normally, this isn't one of my top holidays, even with a special valentine of my own. But, we had the perfect day this year, and some of these little holidays are so fun when you see them through a child's eyes.

Avery's Pick

For some reason, this is her favorite outfit. Tonight, she ran to her dresser, pulled open the jammie drawer, and said, "clothes!" - she rejected the jammies Daddy had pulled out for her in favor of these, which aren't even a real set. They're like our back-up when I have failed to do the right loads of laundry that week, and I think it's even a 6-12 month top. She'll even request to change into this outfit at random times of the day, if she happens to think about it (thankfully it's not very often).

She's Home!

Our girl returned home from a fun-filled week with my parents, and it's been a whirlwind of emotions for her (and me). She was so excited to see me and wouldn't let me go, and then she wasn't sure about coming home with me, and then she was super excited, and then she cried when we pulled up to the apartment (I do that sometimes, too...kidding!), and then she was happy to see her daddy, and then sobbed, and then nap, and then whimpering, and then sobbing mixed with laughter (something all girls seem to master), and then happy sad happy sad all over again. Whew, exhausting! But she's adjusting, and we are so glad to have her home! Apparently she didn't ask for us all week (both good and bad) until this morning, so it's good she came home today.

She's already giving the new baby a taste of what it's like to have an older sister by taking the baby's food, otherwise known as my smoothie.

How'd I do on my checklist?

• Work on decorating the dollhouse In progress, but I got a lot of work done on the furniture and the living room walls and picked out fabric for the bedding
• finish painting the furniture
• flooring and walls
• Finish the alphabet blocks DONE!
• Simplify paperwork in the house In progress, though I made a strong start in scanning my inspiration files into the computer to reduce our paper clutter. I also need to buy a paper shredder.
• Continue adding to the donation pile DONE! And out of the house, thanks to MOPSwap
• Deep cleaning of the apartment, with the more chemical work left for Luke (yay pregnancy!) Um, yeah...we did dishes and laundry and general picking up.
• Sew the valentine's postcards for her mailbox (pics will come later) Not at all - I kept forgetting what I needed for this project when I was at the craft store
• Make valentine's for her playgroup party printed, but need to sign them and find envelopes
• Make it to the gym at least 3x this week embarrassed to admit - not at all
• Cook dinner nightly In some form or another, and we tried a couple new recipes

 All in all, a productive week, with some visiting with friends and resting early in the week when I was feeling bad. I did learn that I felt like I had no purpose without my child - such a weird feeling to have. 
 

Snow Day

We finally found a cable to upload pictures - we'll start with the snow day and then work backwards a few weeks.

Avery and her friend/neighbor E.

mid-squeal of delight

helping Daddy build a snowman, though they could never get it to pack well enough

We thoroughly enjoyed the snow for 10 or 15 minutes before Avery started crying "Done, done, done!" Her poor little nose was bright red, her mittens got wet, and she woke up from her nap later that day with bright red chapped cheeks. Snow is fun for a few minutes, but I think we're all glad that we don't have to live in it all winter.

 We stayed home for 3 days straight last week during the cold spell. Avery discovered my nail polish collection and practiced standing all of them up and then returning them to the drawer, over and over.

 A couple weeks ago we were hit with a stomach bug, although in this pic we weren't aware of it yet. Avery fell asleep around 6:30 on the couch, which has NEVER happened before. We snapped these two pics, and then 5 minutes later she barfed all over that blanket. Thankfully it didn't end up on the couch.

 She woke up once, because she couldn't feel the iPod in her hand anymore...once she knew it was safe, she fell back asleep. (And then puked.)

 So, we spent the next day watching movies and cuddling in bed, with protective towels and blankets should the Barf Bug make a return.

Feeling better, and wearing Daddy's boots.

 She insisted on this scooter over anything else in the store, so the grandparents gifted it to her. But - it's really for kids at least the age of 4 - she has no idea how to properly ride it (it's a momentum toy where you wiggle it back and forth to get going), but she LOVES it. She rides it in our tiny kitchen, going as fast as she can so she can slam into the trashcan, which makes her erupt into a thousand giggles.

Accountability Checklist

Since Avery is gone for the week to visit her grandparents, my goal is to get a ton of stuff done around the apartment; it's hard to keep a place picked up, or really get into projects, when your toddler is constantly raiding your closet for shoes and purses to add to her pile of toys.

A cute quick update from the grandparents - they kept Avery in the service with them, and when she got restless as the sermon was starting, Granddad quietly left with her. But, as they were walking out, she yelled "Bye, Nonnie!", and thanks to the acoustics in the sanctuary, everyone now knows who Nonnie is. Love that girl. And apparently there was a bully on the playground, but she learned his name and kept telling him to excuse her ("me me!") Polite, even when frustrated.

So, my list:

• Work on decorating the dollhouse
• finish painting the furniture
• flooring and walls
• Finish the alphabet blocks
• Simplify paperwork in the house
• Continue adding to the donation pile
• Deep cleaning of the apartment, with the more chemical work left for Luke (yay pregnancy!)
• Sew the valentine's postcards for her mailbox (pics will come later)
• Make valentine's for her playgroup party
• Make it to the gym at least 3x this week
• Cook dinner nightly

Wish me luck!

Brrrr, Cooooold!

When Avery asks to go outside this week, I say no, it's too cold, and I get "brrrrr, cooooold" in response from her.

We have done TONS of laundry and dishes while ignoring everything else as we bum around the house together. I've had a few days where I feel awful, so it was a lot of Veggie-tales on those days, but this week has been better, so I try and distract her from her "mu-mu" (movie) as much as possible. Her new favorite thing is to sit and rock with me while I sing (poor child must be tone-deaf if she likes my singing). She always asks for more when I finish a song, and if we're just sitting down playing and she wants me to sing, she'll say "more". I'm trying to teach her the word "sing" instead.

We have read so many books this week, and her patience for them has increased substantially. She has always loved books, but her attention span has been so short. We're able to get through an entire Dr. Suess story (some of them are long!), and then she still asks for more.

Luke has been working 16 hour days all week, and he worked most of the weekend and late every night last week as well. Apart from 30 minutes spread over the past two mornings, I haven't seen him since Sunday. It's been a hard week all around, being cooped up inside with only the boring Mommy to play with (Daddy is the best at games), and Luke is exhausted. My parents are awesome and are taking Avery for a few days next week so we can rest and catch up with each other.

Oh! And look at me go - I remembered to do a monthly post on her actual month-birthday. Today marks 22 months.

She has a gazillion teeth and loves to brush them.
She always asks for a bow in her hair, but it disappears within 5 minutes. Every. Single. Time.
I refuse to cut her hair; we're going through an extended awkward stage until it's long all around.
She will sit and read through a picture book of all of our family members, and she can name almost all of them, though she has a bit of trouble with the extended fam still.
She talks all day. A guy at Target asked me a couple weeks ago if she always talked that much.
Her bear and her baby have to sleep with her everynight, and when we cuddle, or leave the room, they have to come to.
She is fascinated by the trash can; thankfully it has a lock on it. She will tell me "ucky" as she opens it.
She likes to help me unload the dishwasher - I let her put the silverware away, and then I reorganize it.
She is so responsive to requests (if they interest her). She seems to understand so much more than I expect.
She is a master at jumping! She loves to jump and dance.
She cried the first time we left her in the nursery at church after the holidays, but since then we've had no problem. She just walks right in, and we don't usually have to pull the lovie out anymore.

While the week seems to drag, it's been so fun having tons of cuddle time with my girl. I am so thankful for the sweetness she brings to each day.

Blessings

Praise God! We are beyond thrilled for this new addition to our family, though I'm suffering from the disillusionment that comes with nausea. We have been waiting for this for a long time, and it was beginning to be a struggle to trust in God's timing for this. But, He is ever faithful. And his blessings have abounded far beyond what I could expect, allowing so much joy in this pregnancy as I travel through it with two good friends, all of us due within a couple weeks of each other. We found out over New Year's, and it was the best way to end one year and start another. We had our first doctor appointment today - everything looks great, and I'm due September 10. I have been feeling worse than I did with Avery, who blessed me with beyond mild morning sickness for a mere week-and-a-half. This kiddo has decided that I need a stronger taste of what it means to feel nauseous, though thankfully at this point I've been able to keep it all down. However, I've been living on saltines and apples, with the occasional Taco Bell bean burrito with spicy green sauce (which, ironically enough, my mother craved and ate constantly with me). So, if you haven't seen me around in awhile, that's probably why.

And, I couldn't wait too much longer to tell, because my body is starting to betray me, showing super early this time around. Avery will also point to my stomach when we ask her where the baby is, although we wonder if she expects the baby to come out plastic looking like her baby dolls. Let's just hope she doesn't try to drag the baby by the leg, like I did with my sister.

This Got Me Thinking...

I'm going to stray from my usual content of featuring Avery for a couple posts. I've run across some things in the past week that have stuck with me.

Have you read this article yet? If not, go read it first. It popped up on the web last week, and I keep going back to it. As a mom, a stay-at-home mom, my job is centralized around my daughter, on raising her and shepherding her and training her up for the Lord. This will encompass many aspects of her life over the years, socially, emotionally, academically, etc. It's an overwhelming task at times, and we're still within the first 2 years. I don't yet know how we will approach schooling, or friends, or sleepovers, or weekend trips away, or extracurricular activities...the list goes on. She's already displaying independence and trying to enforce her will over mine. It is easy enough to break that will at almost-2. It will become increasingly harder as she grows, and I also want to learn temperance, where she is able to learn and grow and express herself, while keeping her under the command of God and us, her parents, to live respectfully and graciously. Oy - what a task that lies ahead of us!

So - enter this article. I think every parent wants their child to succeed, to do well, to learn and thrive and love it too. But this sounds so extreme to me! And maybe that is why Westerners tend to not do as well, or be as driven. Maybe they have it figured out. At least, in the sense that they churn out the smartest and most skilled. Is it simply perseverance that produces greatness?

What strikes me, though, is the lack of hope. Granted, this isn't a Christian-based article, or a Christian-based approach to parenting. But when I read something like this, absorbing it and pondering it, turning it over and over in my mind, I have to pass it through the filter of what God is calling me to do in response, with my own parenting. While having children that succeed academically or musically would be a blessing, it's not the most important thing. We must remember that "whatever [we] do, work at it with all [our] hearts, as working for the Lord, not for human masters" (Col. 3:23). It is well and good to work hard, but we must think of our motive. What is driving us? For those in this article, it is simply personal acclaim. May I remember that whatever I do as a parent, and whatever Avery does, if it does not have Love, then it is nothing.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.

SIMPLIFY

The big thing on everyone's minds in January is resolutions. I never make resolutions because I never can follow through with them. And, I feel that if one truly wants to change something, they shouldn't have to wait until January 1st to do so. Diets can start any day. When you're a mom, your calendar year starts in August or September. Some people can resolve to work out more before the next swimsuit season rolls around. Whatever your fancy, you can resolve to change any ol' day, so why force it and stress over it at the beginning of a new year?

But. BUT. I'm hopping on the bandwagon this year. In a new sorta way. A friend mentioned that she and her husband each picked a word for the year. I've been reading about this idea for a couple years now, found first over at Ali Edwards' blog. (That's the link to her word for this year.) So then a friend mentioned that she was choosing a word, and it got me thinking again...every year I hope a word will find me, but nothing struck me last year or the year before. Now, 11 days late, I think a word has found me.

SIMPLIFY.

We're in a tiny space right now, overwhelmed by things I can't bear to let go of, because I just *know* that we'll use them when we buy a house and I won't want to shell the money out for them a second time. It's hard when you downsize your space temporarily. Only this has become a longer temporary than I first anticipated. I tend to struggle with contentment (another option for this year's word, but it's not broad enough for me). I think to reach contentment, I need to simplify first. To let go of the so-called need for stuff. I want to simplify my activities at home, so that I get a system in order that keeps me from feeling overwhelmed, that allows me more time with Avery. If I can simplify, downsize, let go of the non-eternal, then perhaps I can grasp more tightly onto the eternal. Get rid of the excess in our lives. Give. Be thankful.

Plus, I know it will make my husband happy.

End of Year

Did I mention that we'd be gone 3 full weeks? Yep - I haven't been home in 3 weeks. We pulled in tonight, dumped everything in the living room, put Avery to bed, and have crashed in our respective favorite spots in the house, to think about and do nothing. We spent a week at Luke's parents, visiting with family and celebrating Christmas. From there we went to my parents for 2 weeks for more Christmas celebration and prep for my little sister Brittany's wedding.

The wedding was last night - I'd love to say that it went off without a hitch, but not exactly! We had some panicked moments when we realized one of the other bridesmaid's cars was broken into at our hotel. We had been inside for 30 minutes to change before the rehearsal, and came out to find the lock broken and her camera and the bride's laptop stolen. We were 45 minutes late to the rehearsal so we could fill out the police report. But, the wedding day went near perfectly, the weather was gorgeous, Avery only broke down during the extended pictures after the ceremony because she was hungry, and then the bride and groom left for the honeymoon.

We are so happy for Brit and Dane. She made the most beautiful bride, and it was an honor to stand next to her. I was having too much fun partying to get good pictures, so hopefully the professional ones will come in soon. Love you Aunt Bean!!!

21 Months

Avery is talking up a storm this month - we can barely keep up with her word discoveries. There is still a lot of babbling on her end, but we're trying our hardest to decipher it. We love all of the names she's given the family members, especially Aunt Bean and Aunt Dell (Bri and Shell), and we love that she points everyone out in photos. She is so polite and tells everyone "thank you" when they give her something, and "thank you?" when she wants something. "Help you" is another favorite - it means she wants us to help her with something. 

She dances constantly, to any kind of music. She claps along to songs, calls movies "moo-moos", and spends as much time as possible running around outside. She continues to be a picky eater, but if there is ketchup in sight, you can get just about anything down the gullet (not that I actually let her have ketchup with everything). 

She got a tee-pee for Christmas, and I caught Daddy sitting in it with her, playing dress-up. So cute!! I couldn't find the camera before she noticed me, but I'm determined to get a shot of this one day. 

She went through 2 solid weeks of fighting bedtime, and eventually nap-time. I feared that our perfect sleeper had officially left us. We spent some nights still hanging out with her close to midnight, and we were both a little grumpy over Christmas travels thanks to darling daughter's bad sleep habits. But, praise God, she's back to her normal self, much to our delight. 

I'm so glad to start a new year with this sweet, precious girl!

Pattern Freebies

For all of my crafty momma friends, check out these amazing freebies at Homespun Threads. For Christmas, all patterns and tutorials are free. I think they email you the PDF documents after you "check out". Just thought I'd pass along the goodness. Merry Christmas!

In Joy and Sorrow

In joy and sorrow, I find peace and rest, come to Him in humbleness.

Psalm 71:8
My mouth is filled with your praise,
  and with your glory all the day.

v. 14
But I will hope continually
  and will praise you yet more and more.

Psalm 16: 5, 11
The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup
  ...in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Psalm 145: 8, 13b, 17
The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

The LORD is faithful in all his words and kind in all his works.

The LORD is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works.

"O Let Your Soul Now Be Filled With Gladness"
O let your soul now be filled with gladness,
Your heart redeemed, rejoice indeed!
O may the thought banish all your sadness
That in his blood you have been freed,
That God's unfailing love is yours,
That you the only Son were given,
That by his death he has opened heaven,
That you are ransomed as you are.

If you seem empty of any feeling,
Rejoice - you are his ransomed bride!
If those you cherish seem not to love you,
And dark assails from every side,
Still yours the promise, come what may,
In loss and triumph, in laughter, crying,
In want and riches, in living, dying,
That you are purchased as you are.

It is a good every good transcending
That Christ has died for you and me!
It is a gladness that has no ending
Therein God's wondrous love to see!
Praise be to him, the spotless Lamb,
Who through the desert my soul is leading
To that fair city of joy exceeding,
For which he bought me as I am.
Peter Jonsson Aschan

20 Months + 2 Days

It's December. Avery is closer to 2 than 1. This year is flying by.

She is so joyful and exuberant about life. She loves to dance, and will dance to any music she hears. Or to the sound of the salad spinner whirling, which she'll pump up and down while saying "wash wash" and swaying those hips back and forth.

She loves shoes, still. Especially high heels. She likes to try and put her own shoes on by herself and becomes quite distraught if I help too much. She shoved her footed sleeper feet into her sneakers the other day.

She gives hugs now, as well as kisses. Her favorite kisses are eskimo kisses with Daddy. When she sees her Nonnie, she runs to her, screaming, "Hi Nonnie, Hi Nonnie!!!". She points out any minivan that looks like Nonnie's, but always manages to only point at the Honda Odysseys, like Nonnie's. She asks to be tickled, "tickle, tickle" while tickling herself. She asks to "tuddle" before bed.

She brings books to me all day - I want to encourage this love of reading, but sometimes I just can't handle reading any.more.that.day. I reach a point where I feel like yelling No More Reading! But I won't, because she's precious, and I love that she loves books as much as her daddy and I do. Her favorite books are Goodnight Moon, which we read every night before bed, Not a Box ("box box") and Yummy Yucky ("ucky!").

She now points out things around the house that are ucky, like the trashcan and the toilet. She still touches things as she says "don't touch".

Tonight she figured out that laying down in the bath isn't scary, and that her voice sounds different when her ears are underwater.

She can go down the stairs, straight down the middle, if it's only 3 or so stairs total. Otherwise, she holds on, but still has no fear. I don't think she's realized that she can fall yet.

She talks non-stop. I have no idea what she is saying 1/3 of the time. The rest of it I understand. New words pop up constantly. The other day she repeated, "Hi, Precious" to my family. The family dog Coda is now Coco. Aunt Shell is An Dell, and Uncle Nick is Nicksh. Their dog Daisy sounds like Disease. Or Jesus. It varies. "Lunch" sounds like a curse word for a female dog. Uh-oh. She demands milk and juice all day long, but we make her drink water between breakfast and dinner. Raisins are "bee-bees". Crackers are "kikis", which used to be what she called cats, but now she says "ki-cat". Everything moos, unless we give her the correct animal sound which she will then repeat. She thinks monkey sounds are the funniest, or maybe it's just my poor impersonation of them. She can point at all of her body parts when we name them. She has names for her friends. Emme is Em-may. Skyler, Selah, and Analise have become Allah, Lala and Weece, or something similar.

She asks us to put bows in her hair now. I've given up on trimming the hair until it grows out long, so she walks around with her head tilted back trying to see from underneath her bangs.

We have an Advent calendar going this year, and tonight's activity was to introduce her to hot cocoa. She didn't take a breath the entire time she drank it. I guess she liked it. And she wore pajamas that said I Love Hot Chocolate. I didn't even plan that. I swear.

Love.This.Girl.

Life

Every year I feel like the first 3 weeks of November just drag, until you get to Thanksgiving (finally!), but when you go on a trip and then immediately come down with a virus that almost cancels Thanksgiving, the weeks just fly by.

I flew up to NYC to visit some friends mid-November, leaving Avery in the capable hands of her daddy and Nana. It was so wonderful being back in my favorite city, but it was interesting to see my ideas about it change over the course of four days. I still miss it, but more in a nostalgia way, not a homesick-want-to-move-back kind of way. This was huge in helping me work towards contentment with where I am these days. I loved my role as mom, but there were some days where I felt like I had left something behind, like I was missing out on a path not taken, due 1. to my own decisions to move back to Texas and 2. surprise pregnancy with Avery. But, being away for a few days gave me new perspective, helping me to see that I'm exactly where I should be, that I missed my life going on back home without me, and that I daily choose to embrace joyfully this calling to be Mom. Through God's grace I make it everyday. For awhile I bought into the lie that I can do it all (keep the pastry career going + be the #1 mom). But every minute I spent in the kitchen baking for someone else was time away from Aves. This became frustrating for both me and her. So I just quit baking, and kept wishing I could do it. But, again, the mind-shift happened. I started seeing that this is the time to nurture and shepherd my daughter. Perhaps I'll pick baking up again in the future, when kids are in school. Who knows. For now, I am content with where God has graciously delivered me.

Some highlights from my trip:
1. eating non-stop for 4 days
2. walking non-stop to work off those calories
3. No. 1 and No. 2 are my top two things I miss about the city
4. fall color had reached its peak in the city - Central Park was GORGEOUS
5. 60 degree weather and not a cloud in the sky until the day I flew out, which meant perfect exploring weather
6. eating at Hummus Place twice - I talk about this restaurant all the time, and if anyone goes to the city, it's the one place I recommend. If you go, make sure to ask for the spicy sauce and pickles on the side. They're free, but you have to ask for them.
7. catching up with old friends (really, this should be number 1 on the list!)
8. having drinks in an old apartment (now a bar) INSIDE of Grand Central Station...who knew?!
9. walking the new High Line installment on the west side of Manhattan - this was built after we moved back to Texas
10. checking out Eataly - we didn't make a reservation, so we didn't get to eat here, but the market is insane
11. Central Park Zoo - too cute!
12. Museum of Natural History - very cool, but I still struggle to love museums. I get bored.
13. FPB - Francoise Payard Bakery. The best almond/chocolate croissant, and I want their kitchen.
14. food, food, and more food. It's all we did.

Kathryn and me, Central Park, Day 1 of our adventures together

And, because this is just easier, a link to the pictures from my trip.

KiKi

I forgot to add these pics yesterday of her cute "kiki" outfit.