Today I took the girl to get her second hair cut. It's hard to believe that she'll be three in a month and this is only the second time she's needed a trim - and when I say trim I mean trim! She was understandably skittish about it at first so she sat cautiously still and very serious for the first part, but she eventually loosened up a bit - especially when the lady cutting her hair reminded her about the glitter stars she was going to get on her cheeks at the end and the free lollipop for good girls. In addition to those treats, after her hair cut we met up with Aunt Caitlin for some lunch. When a girl has only had two hair cuts in her entire life she deserves a little excitement!!
My special Christmas present was a FLIP video camera and Cody says I should use it to give my blog "vlog" segments. Thus under his advisement, I thought we'd give it a shot this week to see what all three of my readers out there in cyberspace think... so here's a compilation video of our haircut adventure (about a minute). Enjoy!
Before Christmas we decided to take Kate to go see The Polar Express at the IMAX in downtown Fort Worth. Kate hadn't ever been IMAXing before and we were a little concerned about what she was going to think of the huge screen and loud speakers, but we thought she was old enough to take the chance this year. The preview time before our movie started when they were displaying all the speakers and all the IMAX screen can do was a little stressful for her, but once the movie started she settled in and everything was fine. After Polar Express was over we went to one of Cody's very favorite places: Dairy Queen (Kate lovingly calls it the Dairy KING) which was a special treat since there aren't very many in this area. It was a great time out together and just might become one of our holiday traditions! And since I'm video-happy this week, here's a 20 sec video of Kate before we went into the theater:
Kate's Granmomma sewed her a Snow White costume for Christmas - and to put it mildly, she loves it! For the past few months she's been in a daily dress up mode, but so far we haven't felt the extreme need to wear a costume all day long... until today. This morning she had Snow White on before breakfast and when I asked her to take it off so we could eat she informed me she was wearing it FOREVER. I relented for breakfast, thinking the desire would fade when it was time to get dressed and run errands, but she continued to be calmly steadfast as she told me again she would wear this dress FOREVER. We fight enough two year old battles for independence these days - so in the spirit of trying to carefully choose my battles, I decided to wait her out and see how long she'd last in the dress. And while we were at it I thought we should have a little fun... so here's a 2 minute video summary of our Snow White adventures today:
Strep throat hasn't slowed Kate down too much - she still loves to sing.
Hope you enjoy these carols straight from the mouth of a sweet two year old...
Merry Christmas to all!
Rise Up Shepherd And Follow
Joy To The World
Hope you enjoy these carols straight from the mouth of a sweet two year old...
Merry Christmas to all!
Rise Up Shepherd And Follow
Joy To The World
After a weekend of full of fever, coughing, runny nose, very little sleep or eating, and crying, we decided I should take Kate to the doctor today. After sitting as patiently as possible in the big waiting room for 45 minutes we finally made it to a little waiting room in the back and all my girl wanted to do was lay on the table. That's when you know your typically curious and often precocious two year old is definitely sick. About 45 more minutes, an exam, a throat culture, a popsicle, a prescription, and a few stickers later, we left the office with the diagnosis of strep throat and a possible ear infection. There are definitely many things that are much worse than strep throat and we are so thankful to be able to go to the doctor to get help for our girl - yet this is still a tough time in Kate's little girl world. Please pray for us as we try to keep her hydrated, happy, and healed!
We took Kate on a little family adventure last Friday. While on our said outing, we saw a polar bear and a dinosaur among other things. The dinosaur was probably 4 times as tall as Kate, had many tall teeth, she'd never seen anything like it, and it would stand to reason that a tiny two year old should be intimidated by him since he stood outside the building thus making her think he was free to "get" her (her words). By contrast, the polar bear she saw after that didn't stand nearly as tall, didn't have nearly as many teeth, she's seen at least one of these stuffed life sized ones before and has a large stuffed animal one at home, and he was inside the building within a fence and clearly not living. You would think the dramatic opposition of the two situations would clearly leave her inclined to prefer the polar bear, but that thought would be 100% incorrect. She didn't want to get near the polar bear or talk about him in the slightest - all she could talk about was the dinosaur and getting to go back outside to see him again. She wouldn't smile, acted fearful, and started to cry when I tried to get her picture by the bear, but couldn't take her eyes off the dinosaur long enough to stay turned towards the camera while I was taking her picture outside because she was so excited to look at him. Even when we left the building in the dark as the floodlights shown up at the T-Rex (in my opinion making him seem even more scary and dangerous), she asked to go right up and touch it. What's wrong with this girl?!?
So where Coca-cola go wrong in their polar bear campaign? Didn't their focus groups tell the advertisers that dinosaurs are much more attractive and approachable to children than polar bears? Can't you just see the ad: a cute baby T Rex trying to figure out how to get a coke bottle to reach its mouth with its too short front arms while its momma stands behind it?!? Coke's decision to go with the polar bear as a mascot instead of the dinosaur to me confirms that my opinion sides with the majority of the WORLD... but right now Kate would undoubtedly be thrilled and want to start drinking coke if dinosaurs were on the ads instead.
Just like dipping her watermelon in mustard or choosing stale Halloween candy over fresh Christmas cookies for dessert, choosing the dinosaur over the polar bear is probably only the beginning of Kate's choices seeming irrational and/or illogical to me. But even though her preferences sometimes confuse me, it's fun to watch her become her own person - and at this stage in her life it's even more interesting to see her preferences because they are totally independent of societal pressures or norms.
For instance, I LOVE that right now she's in love with the color orange without the slightest concern over the fact girls "should" like pink or purple. I don't know if it's possible to accomplish this, but I'm going to try to find a way to show her how to keep loving orange even when she's old enough to know girls are supposed to like pink and most people in general don't enjoy that good ole orange hue. I've spent too much of my life worried about what I'm supposed to do and what I'm supposed to think - I don't want that sort of life for my girl. I want to strive to lay a solid enough overall foundation within her that she has the confidence, desire, and freedom to make her own successful choices even when those choices don't make sense to others... or even her mother. Thankfully I don't need to understand her to be proud of her, and I'm already so proud of Kate just for being who she is - she's compassionate, giving, funny, energetic, and so much more. I'm a lucky momma!
In the same vein as my Buttery Garlic Club Cracker addiction confession in my last post, I feel the need to confess one more thing to the blogosphere... I have a secret love of the Orange County Choppers show on the Discovery Channel. I understand that my particular personality slant probably shouldn't jive with that sort of show, but I love it nonetheless.We stumbled across the OCC when we lived in Lubbock during a phase when we had cable instead of Kate. I would never trade our lives now for our lives then, but in our pre-parenting days we had ample free opportunities to drink in the wonders of cable television without regard to time or money or too much attention to language used. Those men on the show don't exactly exhibit massive amounts of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, or self control - but they sure are creative when it comes to designing and shaping metal into the form of a motorcycle! I've never riden a motorcycle (and I'm not sure I have the desire ever to get on one), but I love watching those guys do seemingly impossible things as they skillfully design a bike for someone under a deadline.
I haven't gotten to watch an episode in a very long time, but all that is about to change: While we were in San Antonio this past week, Cody found the first two seasons of the show on sale for only $5 at the Rivercenter Mall! I imagine if you can find full seasons of a show for only $5, it calls into question its quality - but I choose not to look at it that way... I merely see it as an awesome deal for all. We love spending time with Kate while she's awake, but her bedtime is about to get a little more exciting around our house because Senior and Junior Paulies will be waiting for us in our DVD player!
These tiny little Buttery Garlic Club Crackers being crafted in the trees of those genius Keebler Elves are my latest addiction. Cody's mom brought a box out to Smyer while we were visiting over Thanksgiving. After my first bite, I was hooked. It didn't take me long after we got back home to find a coupon, find a sale at the grocery store, and go buy me a couple packages of these delicious tiny bites of heaven. I'm not typically a huge cracker eater, but over the last couple weeks I've found several occasions to make a meal of these special crackers with just a glass of water (as not to taint the magnificence of the cracker's flavor). So the moral today is this: if you have an opportunity to buy a cracker any time in the near future, go for the Buttery Garlic Club Crackers... but be prepared to be dazzled by their addictively tasty deliciousness.
Yesterday afternoon when Kate and I pulled into the driveway after going to a birthday party for one of her friends, my mouth fell open: THERE WERE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS ON MY HOUSE!! I couldn't believe my eyes - I was as excited about those lights as a Who in Who-ville!For you to fully appreciate what a true jaw-dropping miracle these lights are, you need to understand the following:
a) we do not own a ladder tall enough to reach the roof... actually we own nothing in the way of a ladder that is any taller than the little 2 step ladder I use to reach the top shelf of the pantry
b) it was extremely windy yesterday in DFW during mid-day (we're talking West Texas sized gusts!)
c) Cody is not a fan of heights or extreme danger
d) of the past eight Christmases we've spent as a married couple if we've had outdoor lighting it has been very largely due to my solo or nearly solo labor on the roof
e) our little family has been so crazy busy and pathetically unhealthy since we got home from Thanksgiving I'd given up on putting lights on the roof this year
f) our church Christmas program was this weekend - the day Cody hung the lights he'd already been to work that morning, came home early to hang the lights, then he stayed home with Kate while she napped after the birthday party so I could get to church on time, he packed her dinner to eat at church, and brought her to me so he could get back to work on the Christmas program
So last night when we got home from church - even though it was late and we had to be back at church for a long day early this morning - Kate and I stood out in the front of the house under a nearly full moon while Cody plugged in the lights so we could be dramatically dazzled with the display. I'm thrilled to report that Kate was just as impressed as I was when those lights flashed on for the first time of the year. It was awesome to watch her little eyes brighten in the glow and to see that big smile on her face last night - and those eyes and smile haven't faded today every time she's had a chance to talk about "Daddy's lights" on top of the house!
There's no doubt the Lord richly blessed Kate and me with Cody - I'm so thankful he is in our lives as a husband and a daddy! He is a blessing to us for many more reasons than just the Christmas light surprise yesterday afternoon - he's the patient and calming Godly leader we need, his love for us is constant, he encourages us to achieve our potential, he provides for our family financially, and there are so many other examples of how his personality traits are perfectly matched to the known and unknown needs Kate and I have. Even though it's hard to think of my baby girl all grown up, I'm already praying that she'll find a man to marry that will love her and take care of her as well as her daddy does.
What lucky girls we are to have him in our lives!
Kate and her friend Luke have enjoyed baths together at odd times here and there for most of their lives. This past week Luke came to spend the night with us and without a thought I plopped them in the tub together - both for their fun times as well as for my own time efficiency. As they were splashing and laughing together I sat there amazed at how much you can tell they've grown up these past few months just by watching how they interact and play.My next thought was to go get the camera because if they've grown up this much lately, then who knows how much they'll grow up in the next few months? And it won't take much more growing up before these sweet days of being free to take a bath with one of your friends who just happens to be a boy will be a thing of the past for my precious girl. Kate's so thankful for her dear friend Luke - and even if they get too old to bathe together sometime soon, there's no doubt they'll be good friends for a very, very long time!
Earlier this week I went to Kroger to pick up some essentials for our week - milk, bread, yogurt, and such. Guess what my milk's expiration date is? CHRISTMAS EVE.
Though expiration dates probably aren't exciting to an average person, I must admit that certain times of the year they're ridiculously thrilling to me. Every time this week that I get Kate a cup of milk from the fridge I see "DEC 24, 2008" stamped on the top of the gallon, instantly smile, and skip a step as I go give her the milk because I'm reminded Christmas Eve is within milk expiration range!
I do the same thing with Kate's birthday, Cody's birthday, my birthday, our wedding anniversary, days we're going to take a trip out of town, and all other fun days on my calendar every year. In addition to expiration dates on milk or bread, coupon expiration dates are equally as exciting. And I imagine sharing this detail will only make me appear even more eccentric, but there's something particularly special if the printed date is the actual date of the event not just close to it :).
What do you look forward to and/or how do you measure the progress of time? Maybe knowing other people out there mark the march of time by expiration dates would help me feel a little less odd - or I imagine there are lots of more fun ways to watch time pass that I should look into.
And, for the record: Christmas is only 2 weeks away!
Though expiration dates probably aren't exciting to an average person, I must admit that certain times of the year they're ridiculously thrilling to me. Every time this week that I get Kate a cup of milk from the fridge I see "DEC 24, 2008" stamped on the top of the gallon, instantly smile, and skip a step as I go give her the milk because I'm reminded Christmas Eve is within milk expiration range!
I do the same thing with Kate's birthday, Cody's birthday, my birthday, our wedding anniversary, days we're going to take a trip out of town, and all other fun days on my calendar every year. In addition to expiration dates on milk or bread, coupon expiration dates are equally as exciting. And I imagine sharing this detail will only make me appear even more eccentric, but there's something particularly special if the printed date is the actual date of the event not just close to it :).
What do you look forward to and/or how do you measure the progress of time? Maybe knowing other people out there mark the march of time by expiration dates would help me feel a little less odd - or I imagine there are lots of more fun ways to watch time pass that I should look into.
And, for the record: Christmas is only 2 weeks away!
I've blogged before about the study of Moses Kate and I are going through at our Wednesday morning Bible study, but here's a new story on the subject... Every day when we're driving to lunch after the study I ask Kate about what she learned in her class. I never know what she'll say, but listening to her never fails to put a smile on my face!
Here are a few of the answers she's offered me over the last few weeks:
Moses had meaty, meaty power (I think she meant MIGHTY).
Moses did not obey God. He had to get spankings and sit in time out.
Moses was very, very, very thirsty.
Moses lived with Pocahontas in a tent.
Moses likes to eat pizza with Jesus. Flat cheese pizza with birds.
I don't know where she's getting her creative flourish on these ideas, but the basic concept of most of the things she says is rooted in truth. Today when we were driving out of the church parking lot I listened to her latest Moses story and decided that at least pieces of the truth are getting in her head and heart. And then I felt convicted that I sometimes let myself walk away from the study just like Kate: I listen to the truth presented while I'm there, take parts of it, leave parts of it, and add embellishment as I fill in gaps of misunderstanding when I share it with someone else.
I don't want to be that sort of student. I want to be better than that so I can learn and grow into the person I need to become. So next time I'm in a Bible study or similar place, I'm going to try as hard as possible to consciously absorb the easy truths as well as the convicting, harder truths. I know I allow pieces of truth into my head and heart like Kate does, but I want to take it a step further than a toddler - both for my personal understanding as well as so I don't misrepresent truths to others. I don't want to think in my head that Moses camped with Pocahontas or to walk around telling people a 29 year old's equivalent of how Moses had "meaty, meaty" power!
Here are a few of the answers she's offered me over the last few weeks:
Moses had meaty, meaty power (I think she meant MIGHTY).
Moses did not obey God. He had to get spankings and sit in time out.
Moses was very, very, very thirsty.
Moses lived with Pocahontas in a tent.
Moses likes to eat pizza with Jesus. Flat cheese pizza with birds.
I don't know where she's getting her creative flourish on these ideas, but the basic concept of most of the things she says is rooted in truth. Today when we were driving out of the church parking lot I listened to her latest Moses story and decided that at least pieces of the truth are getting in her head and heart. And then I felt convicted that I sometimes let myself walk away from the study just like Kate: I listen to the truth presented while I'm there, take parts of it, leave parts of it, and add embellishment as I fill in gaps of misunderstanding when I share it with someone else.
I don't want to be that sort of student. I want to be better than that so I can learn and grow into the person I need to become. So next time I'm in a Bible study or similar place, I'm going to try as hard as possible to consciously absorb the easy truths as well as the convicting, harder truths. I know I allow pieces of truth into my head and heart like Kate does, but I want to take it a step further than a toddler - both for my personal understanding as well as so I don't misrepresent truths to others. I don't want to think in my head that Moses camped with Pocahontas or to walk around telling people a 29 year old's equivalent of how Moses had "meaty, meaty" power!
Can you tell that my Christmas tree is sporting a bare midriff? I can. The un-twinkling light section in the middle of my tree is almost as offensive to me as seeing the belly button and mid-section of someone while shopping in the good ole Super Target. In Kate's favorite slang: "Eww, gross."
Last year when I was setting up, fluffing out, and preparing our pre-lit Christmas Tree so we could decorate it, I noticed that there was a strand of lights that wouldn't light. We've had our tree for several years, but I still was disappointed. My sweet husband spent literally hours last year trying to fix the problem for me. He changed out every single bulb on the strand, tried new fuses, and did a variety of other smart electrical engineering tasks that are beyond my limited English degree understanding of electronics - but nothing he did made the strand function again. Because I was determined not to buy another tree over a silly light strand, we got another set of white lights to put over the area on the tree where the lights weren't lighting, went ahead with adding the ornaments, and just left it at that.
This year when I was getting the tree ready for decorating I was pleasantly surprised when I plugged all the sections together and found that all the strands of lights were twinkling just as they should!
With excitement I called for Cody to come see what I confidently pronounced a Christmas MIR-acle (or as the less excited say, "miracle"):
Cody rolled his eyes at my adolescent excitement...
which is typical when I'm melodramatic -
and honestly, that's usually pretty often.
But nevertheless, it was a CHRISTMAS MIR-ACLE to me.
And MIR-acles are worth emotion!
We've turned the tree on and off countless times since we set it up - especially since Kate is old enough to understand how to stand on the foot button to do it herself - and every time all the lights sprung back into action... (insert ominous music here) until last night.
Kate was in her bed, Cody and I were sitting on the couch watching TV, and there was a storm full of lightening and thunder rolling in outside. Following an amazing flash and a big boom our electricity went off for a few seconds. The television, our computers, the lamps, and everything else in the house sprung back to life without hesitation - but when I glanced over at our tree I saw that the MIR-acle light strand hadn't been resurrected from the electric hiccup.
My. Mouth. Hung. Open.
I just gasped and pointed at the tree.
Cody looked over, saw what I was gesturing about, and laughed.
Typical boy reaction to minor girl horror.
I acknowledge I'm hopelessly melodramatic at times, but I was very sad my Christmas MIR-acle was now past tense. Since I've been able to recover from my dramatic shock, I've definitely come to the realization that a silly string of lights not lighting up is without question no big deal in comparison to all that's going on in the world right now - yet the sequence of events still left me feeling reflective.
Some miracles we're blessed with for eternity, some for a little while, and some just for a moment. I want to not take any gift in my life for granted - especially not when those gifts are relationships! While I'm 100% thankful for the blessings in my life no matter how long they're intended to last, the challenge of a blessing for me is the fact I usually don't know its exact duration.
When I first started turning the tree on after we set it up, I took time to look and see if all the lights came back on. After they did several times, I stopped looking and just assumed it would always be that way. And when the circumstances changed last night I realized there were things I should have done when all the lights were on (like taking Kate's Christmas picture in front of it and such) - and I would have done that if I realized this particular small Christmas MIRacle wasn't going to last through Christmas.
I know that sounds trivial - AND IT IS - but there are many other situations in my life where that truth isn't trivial. I don't want to take people or blessings in my life for granted! Just because someone is there 99 times in a row I don't want to put off doing or saying things I should because I assume there will be a 100th time. And when a miracle is fresh in my life I look at it often and give thanks for it like I did those first few times the lights came back on, but after a while I stopped looking for the miracle lights just as after almost three years with Kate I'm no longer as conscious of and overwhelmingly in awe of the gift she is in our lives. I never want to stop taking the time to see and be thankful for the miracles in my life!
Maybe that lesson is one of the reasons my MIR-acle Christmas light strand didn't spring back to life last night. I think instead of getting that spare set of lights out of the garage so my tree can be fully dressed like I'd planned on doing later tonight, I'll let it keep its bare midriff this year so when I see that chunk of un-lit lights I'll remember to not take for granted the small or the big miracles in my daily life - not to mention the Christmas miracles all around.
Cheers for Christmas tree midriffs!
This morning we loaded up Kate's "back-a-pack-a" (backpack), stopped by the "Chick-n-Lay" (Chick-Fil-A) for a quick breakfast, and headed to NorthPark Mall to see the train exhibit with friend Luke. As you can see, the kids had a great time wearing their conductor hats and looking at the trains together. After we finished at the exhibit we checked out one of the puppet shows in the mall and since NorthPark doesn't have a kids play area we burned some energy on some impromptu "slides" we found. In the pictures you can see the extreme concentration on Kate & Luke's faces as they climbed up and then the joy that came from sliding down... here's a 6 second video of the fun process:It's amazing how the simplest things are usually the most fun things for kids - like a cardboard box or the wrapping of a gift instead of the gift itself. Who needs a big fancy mall playground when you can crawl up the side of a planter?!? We definitely enjoyed getting to spend time with friend Luke and see the trains together, but I think that Kate loved sliding on that planter as much as she liked the trains - and the sliding was free! As I try to make this Christmas meaningful for Kate and to go out of my way to make things special for our family, I need to keep in mind that usually the best things in life are the simple things. A simple Christmas sure sounds great to me!
As usual this morning when we woke up Kate immediately asked me for a "diamond", but for the first time EVER she corrected herself after she said it by clearly asking again but saying the word "vitamin" very clearly. When I was dressing her, she wanted to wear her "sprinkley" shoes (glitter) to church. After we got there and she was playing with her friends, she asked me where her friend Dylan was because she wanted to "wiggle" (tickle) him in the bounce house. And when we were sitting at the table eating lunch after church, Cody handed me an envelope and Kate was very excited about seeing a "little clipper" (paper clip) attached to it.
There's no doubt Kate always knows exactly what she's saying, but sometimes I have to be her interpreter in public. The problem isn't her enunciation, her communication problem with other people is her odd choice of words - even when I know she knows exactly what the right word to use! I can usually make sense of it eventually, but sometimes she even throws me for a loop.
One of her funniest word substitutions that I'm hearing daily is for a Christmas song. I know this is going to sound pathetic, but I confess: I have a CD from the 2003 Singing Christmas Tree show our church back in Lubbock performed and there are a few songs on that CD I still love listening to during the Christmas season. My favorite song on the CD is "The End of the Beginning" sang by Mickey Henderson (the minister of music at the church in 2003) - and Kate has learned to love it as much or more than I do.
Here comes the particularly pathetic part of my story: we listen to it at least twice every time we're in the car during the holidays. We've made up hand motions to some of the words and belt it out horridly off-key at the top of our lungs as we cruise down the road in the Civic. We also have several other fun Christmas CDs - and this year I even bought Kate the Cedermont Kids Christmas CD set so she'll have kid Christmas music to enjoy - but that old recording of the Singing Christmas Tree track 9 is still Kate's favorite song. Last year I broke down and let her listen to it a few times in January, but by February whenever I finally decided we had to let the Christmas music go Kate literally cried and cried when I told her we couldn't listen to it until next Christmas.
When Cody and I listen to the song those first few times each season, we frequently talk about what a great singer Mickey is - we've never heard anyone else able to sing that song like he can. Kate must have overheard us talking because last year because she started requesting the song by begging for "The Mickey Mouse Song" (the only Mickey in her two year old world!). That title was cute last year and made us smile every time she said it, but this year since she's older I decided to teach her how to ask for her beloved song correctly. I told her over and over the actual title of the song and tried my best to get her to call it "The End of the Beginning" - words that she sings in the song and definitely can understand as well as say. But she kept calling it "The Mickey Mouse Song" by default. My last effort to amend the title in her mind was to tell her Mickey Mouse did NOT sing the song. With a very concerned and confused look on her face, she immediately wanted to know was who sang the song. So I told her Mickey HENDERSON sang "The End of the Beginning". She repeated "Mickey Henderson" methodically to be sure she was saying each syllable correctly. I saw the light breaking through in her mind and got so excited for fleeting moment until she so sweetly said: "Okay, Momma - can we listen to the Mickey Hen-der-son song?"
So this year, without any more attention paid to the fact that she definitely knows the correct name of the song she loves to sing, the moment we get in the car she starts begging to hear "The Mickey HENDERSON Song". I've finally relented to that being the song's title to Kate from now on - but I'll keep working on the sprinkles, wiggles, little clippers, and all the other word switching as she gets older. They're definitely a precious part of being two - and it always keeps us laughing hearing which words she'll switch - but I don't want her to be 42 and still talking about swallowing diamonds every morning!!
And Mickey, if by any chance you're out there in cyberspace reading this, I want you to know my little girl's favorite Christmas song for two of her three Christmases is sung by you - and if there are any 2003 Singing Christmas Tree of FBC Lubbock choir members out there reading this, thanks for all your hard work on that CD! Who knew that 5 years later a tiny two year old little girl would be requesting that song over and over and over again?!?
There's no doubt Kate always knows exactly what she's saying, but sometimes I have to be her interpreter in public. The problem isn't her enunciation, her communication problem with other people is her odd choice of words - even when I know she knows exactly what the right word to use! I can usually make sense of it eventually, but sometimes she even throws me for a loop.
One of her funniest word substitutions that I'm hearing daily is for a Christmas song. I know this is going to sound pathetic, but I confess: I have a CD from the 2003 Singing Christmas Tree show our church back in Lubbock performed and there are a few songs on that CD I still love listening to during the Christmas season. My favorite song on the CD is "The End of the Beginning" sang by Mickey Henderson (the minister of music at the church in 2003) - and Kate has learned to love it as much or more than I do.
Here comes the particularly pathetic part of my story: we listen to it at least twice every time we're in the car during the holidays. We've made up hand motions to some of the words and belt it out horridly off-key at the top of our lungs as we cruise down the road in the Civic. We also have several other fun Christmas CDs - and this year I even bought Kate the Cedermont Kids Christmas CD set so she'll have kid Christmas music to enjoy - but that old recording of the Singing Christmas Tree track 9 is still Kate's favorite song. Last year I broke down and let her listen to it a few times in January, but by February whenever I finally decided we had to let the Christmas music go Kate literally cried and cried when I told her we couldn't listen to it until next Christmas.
When Cody and I listen to the song those first few times each season, we frequently talk about what a great singer Mickey is - we've never heard anyone else able to sing that song like he can. Kate must have overheard us talking because last year because she started requesting the song by begging for "The Mickey Mouse Song" (the only Mickey in her two year old world!). That title was cute last year and made us smile every time she said it, but this year since she's older I decided to teach her how to ask for her beloved song correctly. I told her over and over the actual title of the song and tried my best to get her to call it "The End of the Beginning" - words that she sings in the song and definitely can understand as well as say. But she kept calling it "The Mickey Mouse Song" by default. My last effort to amend the title in her mind was to tell her Mickey Mouse did NOT sing the song. With a very concerned and confused look on her face, she immediately wanted to know was who sang the song. So I told her Mickey HENDERSON sang "The End of the Beginning". She repeated "Mickey Henderson" methodically to be sure she was saying each syllable correctly. I saw the light breaking through in her mind and got so excited for fleeting moment until she so sweetly said: "Okay, Momma - can we listen to the Mickey Hen-der-son song?"
So this year, without any more attention paid to the fact that she definitely knows the correct name of the song she loves to sing, the moment we get in the car she starts begging to hear "The Mickey HENDERSON Song". I've finally relented to that being the song's title to Kate from now on - but I'll keep working on the sprinkles, wiggles, little clippers, and all the other word switching as she gets older. They're definitely a precious part of being two - and it always keeps us laughing hearing which words she'll switch - but I don't want her to be 42 and still talking about swallowing diamonds every morning!!
And Mickey, if by any chance you're out there in cyberspace reading this, I want you to know my little girl's favorite Christmas song for two of her three Christmases is sung by you - and if there are any 2003 Singing Christmas Tree of FBC Lubbock choir members out there reading this, thanks for all your hard work on that CD! Who knew that 5 years later a tiny two year old little girl would be requesting that song over and over and over again?!?
I read about a program today on the internet called Swagbucks. It seems like a cool program - and I got Cody to look at it to see what "the catch" is since usually with stuff like this there's always a catch, but he said it looked like a fair deal to him.
The nuts and bolts of the program to me was that if I set up an account then they will give me "bucks" in their program whenever I run internet searches for things. I do a lot of searching on the internet - yesterday I searched for a few different movie theaters to see their show times, I searched for hotels in San Antonio, I searched for info on a Christmas present for Cody, and more - and that's just one day. So if I can get some sort of reward for doing what I already do, why not give it a try?
The program also gives you bucks whenever you shop online or recycle your cell phone or lots of things other than just internet searching - that's just the main feature that caught my eye. It took me a second to set up the account and install their search tool bar, but I'm already on my way to earning a Starbucks gift card so Kate and I can go get some more hot chocolate - or maybe a Barnes & Noble gift card for a new book - or maybe a new gadget for Cody... you know how I LOVE a deal!
So when you have a minute, go check out Swagbucks here and let me know how it works for you!
The nuts and bolts of the program to me was that if I set up an account then they will give me "bucks" in their program whenever I run internet searches for things. I do a lot of searching on the internet - yesterday I searched for a few different movie theaters to see their show times, I searched for hotels in San Antonio, I searched for info on a Christmas present for Cody, and more - and that's just one day. So if I can get some sort of reward for doing what I already do, why not give it a try?
The program also gives you bucks whenever you shop online or recycle your cell phone or lots of things other than just internet searching - that's just the main feature that caught my eye. It took me a second to set up the account and install their search tool bar, but I'm already on my way to earning a Starbucks gift card so Kate and I can go get some more hot chocolate - or maybe a Barnes & Noble gift card for a new book - or maybe a new gadget for Cody... you know how I LOVE a deal!
So when you have a minute, go check out Swagbucks here and let me know how it works for you!
This week Target has their Pepsi products on sale - when you buy five 12 packs of Pepsi products for $15 and they'll give you a $5 Target gift card to use on your next transaction. Taking the gift card into account, you'll be getting the five 12 packs for $10 which makes each 12 pack only $2 each - and that's about as good as it typically gets on coke prices. You can buy any of the 12 pack flavors Pepsi makes: all the colors of Mountain Dew, Sierra Mist, Root Beer, and a few versions of pepsi cola.
The only limit to how many you can buy is how much energy you have to lug around all those 12 packs, the patience of your child, how much room you have to stockpile 12 packs at your house and/or how much space you have in your car! Go forth and save.
Kate has really enjoyed playing with her nativity set this week. I've walked her through the Christmas story several times with the little people and she's starting to understand it better than ever before. Typically when she's cleaning up her toys she lines up every animal and person at the very front of the manger so they can all "look at Jesus". But yesterday when I came back into the room I saw the people and animals in the second picture's configuration.M: (Trying not to laugh) What are the little people doing that aren't by the manger?
K: They're looking at the tree.
M: Why are they looking at the tree?
K: They can't see Jesus - they're tired of looking for him. They want to see the tree.
M: Why did you put the shepherd boy on top of the tree?
K: The people put him there.
M: Why?
K: They want to look at him, not the angel.
Kate was undoubtedly just playing with toys, but the wisdom in her small statements resonated in my heart. I love my Christmas tree, the lights, the music, the movies, and all the other fun that comes with the Christmas season, but in the midst of enjoying the red and green glitter and glam, I want to try extra hard this year to find ways to keep my eyes (as well as the eyes of my child) focused on the true reason for the season.
I love how much Kate loves life. Her feet (and mouth!) only have two speed settings: fast and faster. Unlike her more cautious friends, Kate seems to leap first and think later. In many ways, zest for life and thirst for adventure are great personality traits, but they're also a bit risky when you're too young to understand concepts like gravity, danger, and pain causing potential. The pictures above are samples of just a few of the results of Kate's adventurous lifestyle combined with her lack of coordination in these first two years. After multiple fingers were slammed in doors, run-ins with the fireplace, nightstand injuries, and so many other things, you would think a girl would learn not to rush into precarious situations, but my girl will not be deterred from her life of fun by a few mere trips to the emergency room or doctor visits.
Whenever Kate started moving and it became evident she was a very accident prone child, I became her shadow at every turn to catch her before she jumped. I can't even count the number of times I've been in the right place at just the right time to rescue her from an almost certain impending ER visit. Until just recently, I thought doing this was good parenting - that I was protecting her, saving money on co-pays and insurance deductibles, and most importantly helping guard her against pain.
But as Kate approaches her third birthday, I'm starting to look at my response to her behavior differently. I'm beginning to realize I can't follow her around forever. She needs to be given freedom to do more without me as she gets older - and for that to be a possibility I need to find ways to teach this impulsive toddler how to navigate her world more wisely. So I've decided to try to afford her more freedom by backing off when she's doing semi-unsafe things (semi-unsafe = you will probably fall, get a bump or bruise, and need a mommy hug, but not break a bone or need stitches, facial super-glue, or staples). The mommy in me will never back off when it looks like she's going to really get hurt, but in the little things I can step back and give her a chance to learn to make better choices in order to build her self confidence - and my confidence - in her balance, brains, and coordination to accomplish the task at hand.
Today in the bookstore such an opportunity presented itself. Rather than asking for help, Kate decided she needed to move one of the step stools over to one of the circular rotating book shelves because she wanted a book on a shelf she couldn't reach. But I didn't get up to stop her or solve the situation for her by just getting the book down myself like I normally would have - I just tried to calmly advise her with words that I didn't think what she was doing was safe. As has often happened lately, she chose to go ahead with her plan to get the book on her own.
I looked on the scene holding my breath: she somehow managed to pick up the stool that probably weighed as much as she does, staggered it over near the shelf, climbed on top of it, and stretched on her tippy toes to reach a book on the very top shelf with the tips of her fingers while holding onto the unsteadily tilting wire book rack with her other hand. When she pulled the book out and climbed off the stool she proudly ran over to show it to me. When I saw the title she'd been straining to get her hands on I couldn't help but laugh out loud:
Whenever Kate started moving and it became evident she was a very accident prone child, I became her shadow at every turn to catch her before she jumped. I can't even count the number of times I've been in the right place at just the right time to rescue her from an almost certain impending ER visit. Until just recently, I thought doing this was good parenting - that I was protecting her, saving money on co-pays and insurance deductibles, and most importantly helping guard her against pain.
But as Kate approaches her third birthday, I'm starting to look at my response to her behavior differently. I'm beginning to realize I can't follow her around forever. She needs to be given freedom to do more without me as she gets older - and for that to be a possibility I need to find ways to teach this impulsive toddler how to navigate her world more wisely. So I've decided to try to afford her more freedom by backing off when she's doing semi-unsafe things (semi-unsafe = you will probably fall, get a bump or bruise, and need a mommy hug, but not break a bone or need stitches, facial super-glue, or staples). The mommy in me will never back off when it looks like she's going to really get hurt, but in the little things I can step back and give her a chance to learn to make better choices in order to build her self confidence - and my confidence - in her balance, brains, and coordination to accomplish the task at hand.
Today in the bookstore such an opportunity presented itself. Rather than asking for help, Kate decided she needed to move one of the step stools over to one of the circular rotating book shelves because she wanted a book on a shelf she couldn't reach. But I didn't get up to stop her or solve the situation for her by just getting the book down myself like I normally would have - I just tried to calmly advise her with words that I didn't think what she was doing was safe. As has often happened lately, she chose to go ahead with her plan to get the book on her own.
I looked on the scene holding my breath: she somehow managed to pick up the stool that probably weighed as much as she does, staggered it over near the shelf, climbed on top of it, and stretched on her tippy toes to reach a book on the very top shelf with the tips of her fingers while holding onto the unsteadily tilting wire book rack with her other hand. When she pulled the book out and climbed off the stool she proudly ran over to show it to me. When I saw the title she'd been straining to get her hands on I couldn't help but laugh out loud:
I know it was the wings and wand - not to mention the pink and purple colors - that drew her to this book rather than the title, but what an ironic choice for her current "terrific two" state... especially since her momma had just asked her not to do what she was doing! But the way she was able to safely get the book made me see that some of what I've been looking at as naughtiness is really just her becoming more and more of her own independent and self sufficient little person.
It's hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact Kate is already old enough for me to need to learn how to let her occasionally experience pain that can result from the privilege of independence so she can learn, grow, and be able to more confidently handle bigger hurdles that will come later in her life. I want to protect her from every kind of pain and to do everything possible to shelter her innocence and keep her safe. Yet I think me being her protective shadow is inadvertantly hurting her because I'm not affording her opportunities to learn how to be as independent as she can be (for her age) which in turn would give her the self confidence she needs to hopefully grow up and make those wise choices I want her to make in life!
But where does a momma draw the line around what is a safe parameter for independence and where dependence is still required? It didn't look like she could break her arm falling off a step stool, but that doesn't mean it couldn't have happened. There are definitely lots of black (sticking metal in electrical outlets) and white areas (being allowed to walk on her own while staying close to me in public rather than strapped in the stroller) where the choice is very clear, but there are also a lot of gray areas in our day to day life where it's hard for me to discern whether I need to step back to foster independence & confidence or jump in to rescue from frustration or a struggle.
Stepping back at age appropriate moments and letting her make her own mistakes has been very hard for me these last few days, but I know I need to try my best to figure the balance out because I think that's big part of me becoming a successful parent for Kate. But why is it so difficult for me to do that when I understand it's what is best for her? I think part of my desire for her to not experience the pain that comes with independent choices is due to the fact it deeply hurts my heart to see her struggle (especially when I can fix it) - I can't express how desperately I want to rush in, save her, and ease her pain as quickly as possible. But I must choose to love her more unselfishly and understand it's not about me - so she can be free to learn to live a stronger, more self confident, and wiser life even if some of those lessons need to be learned through unavoidable struggles, pain, or frustration.
Understanding this concept from a parenting viewpoint gives me a fresh perspective on the struggles God allows in my life. He loves me so wisely and unselfishly that He gives me bite size opportunities at just the right time so I can grow in confidence, strength, and wisdom to be better able to tackle the bigger things coming in my life. Giving me chances to grow and learn new things when it's uncomfortable and hard isn't the mean or uncaring punishment I've often seen it as when I've been looking from the vantage point of a low valley of struggling. It really is yet another example of the sort of love that's patient and kind, not self seeking or easily angered, that keeps no record of wrongs, and the kind that always protects, trusts, hopes, and perseveres (1 Cor 13). I want to make every effort possible to love Kate and others with an unselfish love that puts their needs above my wants.
I'll be sure to keep you updated on Kate's more independent new life adventures. I have a feeling it's going to be an interesting ride for all of us!
We had another great Thanksgiving this year! Kate has loved helping Mamaw in the kitchen since she was a baby - and Mamaw is always kind enough to let her "help" while she's trying to get dinner ready. Each year she's enjoyed whatever part of Thanksgiving dinner that she was developmentally able to eat, but this year she seemed to really enjoy her feast!The art of being continually thankful is something I'm trying to achieve this year and the Thanksgiving holiday really renewed that desire in my heart. The four or five years before the joyful ones pictured above were extremely difficult for me. Everyone goes through the hill and valley rhythms of life. I've been extremely blessed these several years since Kate's was born to have so many more hills than valleys - but the season of life just before Kate's arrival was unfortunately an opposite type of blessing.
Looking back I can see that time of testing, frustration, and soul weariness as a "blessing" because of all I learned, how my relationship with the Lord deepened, and how those valleys shaped who I am today - as well as how they undoubtedly affected my ability to more fully appreciate my current "hillier" days. But, to be honest, while I was going through what seemed to be an endless stretch of valley after valley I felt discouraged, abandoned, depressed, alone, helpless, and so many other overpoweringly devastating emotions.
In hindsight I can clearly see how much life I missed because I allowed myself to be debilitated by painful emotions. I missed the chance to share in the joys happening in so many lives around me. I missed opportunities to develop relationships and/or maintain several of them. I missed all the little blessings in our lives that are there if we take time to look around us and thank God for them (like waking up in the morning, the weather, that perfectly timed traffic light that kept us safe from an accident, a genuinely caring friend, etc).
Without any hint of pessimism, I feel that it is fair to predict that this current season in my life of abundant hills with few valleys will not last forever. So I need to find ways to learn from the mistakes I made in my last season of many valleys so I won't be tempted to repeat them.
The most profound idea I've stumbled across to remedy my problem is found here: "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Phil 4:6). What specifically blew me away about this much quoted passage was when I heard someone say that scientists have proven it is literally physiologically impossible for our brains to be thankful and anxious or stressed at the same time - we were given a key piece of information on how our bodies were designed to be at peace in that verse. (Because I just heard this fact in passing, you'll be glad to know I googled it and one of the sources backing the reliability of the idea is here.)
Based on that fresh understanding, if I can find a way to fill my days - whether they be spent on the hill or in the valley - with thankfulness, then there won't be any room in my heart or mind for anything but peace... and who doesn't want more peace and less stress? To take it one step further, if I'm living in peace I'll be able to be more mindful of the needs of those around me, to be a better wife/mother, and to not risk a repeat of the sad existence I let myself sink into during my last valley season of life. A dear friend of mine who is currently enduring her own set of valleys reminded me tonight that the birds don't worry about tomorrow so why should we? There's no reason for my stress and anxiousness, I just need to cling to the truth and be thankful!
So now that I can clearly see my goal, I need to find concrete ways to achieve it - because what good is a new understanding if I don't put it into practice? I want to actively take steps toward more continually thankful (i.e. rarely anxious) living. I want to someday see annual pictures of me like the ones of Kate's past Thanksgivings above where you can see an obvious forward progression of growth and maturity as the time passes. So I commit to giving thankful living my best shot each day. And next time I'm going through one of those inevitable valleys, I give anyone reading this permission to ask me what I'm taking time to be thankful for and to hold me accountable to grow and not regress!
There was a lot written and said this past Thanksgiving week about what we're all thankful for, but my question for the blogosphere tonight is this: how do you express your thankfulness for those things?
I love Sharpie markers about as much as I detest raw chicken. Sharpies are good for SO MANY things: writing, decorating, labeling, and more - while raw chicken is dreadful for SO MANY reasons: germs, slimy-ness, constant need of fat trimming, and more. And today both my love for the Sharpie and my hate for the raw chicken grew...
Kate was sick this morning, so instead of going to church as planned we dressed in our sweats and headed to the good ole Care Now to see if they could help the girl. I knew we would probably be there a while (even with the Web Check In feature), so I decided to get our lunch together and throw it in our trusty crock-pot before we left for Kate's appointment so we could have it ready when we got home.
Cody loves chicken and rice of any kind - and since I stockpiled chicken, broths, and soups last week because of all the pre-Thanksgiving food sales it was simple for me to throw together ingredients... except the perpetually formidable chicken. After struggling to slice off the slimy fat and cut the boneless skinless breasts into smaller portions I slid the chicken into the crock pot, turned it on, and started to clean up the germy chicken slime residue.
As is my custom after wrestling the fat off my chicken, I got out my bleach spray and started squirting it all over the counter, sink, sink knobs, etc trying to wipe away all traces of the poison from my kitchen. I must have gotten a little overzealous with the need to cleanse the counters because I few minutes later when I sat down on the couch I noticed my new black sweat pants were starting to turn a light shade of orange in a line and a few spots across the thigh.
It only took me a minute to realize what had happened and curse that stinkin' chicken. But, a little bleach stain wasn't going to get in my way of leaving ASAP to get Kate to her doctor... cue the superhero music: and my trusty black Sharpie jumped to the rescue!!
At each stoplight on the way to the doctor I carefully colored those pesky bleach stains black with my Sharpie. By the time we made it to the office, my pants were practically as good as new. The black Sharpie colored spots weren't an exact match to the black pants, but they looked so much better than they would have if I'd left them their light peach hue.
So I found yet another use for my trusty Sharpie markers today. And, the good news is that I have about 15 shades of Sharpie, so if this happens again there's a good chance I'll be prepared! But if anyone reading this post should choose to remedy a stain with a Sharpie rather than a Tide Pen or some other more conventional method, I recommend the removal of the clothing item before coloring commences... but under extreme circumstances when one is forced to color clothing directly on the body, try your best not to be shocked when you experience some permanent marker bleed through on your skin!
(Side note: Kate was diagnosed with an upper respiratory infection as well as pharyngitis at the doc. They gave her an antibiotic and told me to keep advil and cold medicine in her system for the next few days to help ease her fever, pain, and other symptoms. She'll be all better soon!)
Kate was sick this morning, so instead of going to church as planned we dressed in our sweats and headed to the good ole Care Now to see if they could help the girl. I knew we would probably be there a while (even with the Web Check In feature), so I decided to get our lunch together and throw it in our trusty crock-pot before we left for Kate's appointment so we could have it ready when we got home.
Cody loves chicken and rice of any kind - and since I stockpiled chicken, broths, and soups last week because of all the pre-Thanksgiving food sales it was simple for me to throw together ingredients... except the perpetually formidable chicken. After struggling to slice off the slimy fat and cut the boneless skinless breasts into smaller portions I slid the chicken into the crock pot, turned it on, and started to clean up the germy chicken slime residue.
As is my custom after wrestling the fat off my chicken, I got out my bleach spray and started squirting it all over the counter, sink, sink knobs, etc trying to wipe away all traces of the poison from my kitchen. I must have gotten a little overzealous with the need to cleanse the counters because I few minutes later when I sat down on the couch I noticed my new black sweat pants were starting to turn a light shade of orange in a line and a few spots across the thigh.
It only took me a minute to realize what had happened and curse that stinkin' chicken. But, a little bleach stain wasn't going to get in my way of leaving ASAP to get Kate to her doctor... cue the superhero music: and my trusty black Sharpie jumped to the rescue!!
At each stoplight on the way to the doctor I carefully colored those pesky bleach stains black with my Sharpie. By the time we made it to the office, my pants were practically as good as new. The black Sharpie colored spots weren't an exact match to the black pants, but they looked so much better than they would have if I'd left them their light peach hue.
So I found yet another use for my trusty Sharpie markers today. And, the good news is that I have about 15 shades of Sharpie, so if this happens again there's a good chance I'll be prepared! But if anyone reading this post should choose to remedy a stain with a Sharpie rather than a Tide Pen or some other more conventional method, I recommend the removal of the clothing item before coloring commences... but under extreme circumstances when one is forced to color clothing directly on the body, try your best not to be shocked when you experience some permanent marker bleed through on your skin!
(Side note: Kate was diagnosed with an upper respiratory infection as well as pharyngitis at the doc. They gave her an antibiotic and told me to keep advil and cold medicine in her system for the next few days to help ease her fever, pain, and other symptoms. She'll be all better soon!)
Okay folks, I'm out like a trout for Thanksgiving.
Hope everyone has a great holiday, enjoys lots of turkey and dressing, and I'll be back at my computer sometime Sunday armed with ever so precious Thanksgiving pictures, memories, and perhaps even a unique thought or two about our holiday!
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