Thursday, September 30, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Chasing the Wind
I am almost finished my bible study on the Fruit of the Spirit. This week I am studying about self-control which, once again, has been so timely and so right on for what I am going through. I just wanted to share some of what I read today. By the way, I love how this study leads me through TONS of Scripture! God's Word is so powerful!
"We live in a culture motivated by one major goal--a little bit more. We work too hard and make too little. We have more than enough to live complicated lives, but less than enough to be contented."
The study today went into learning about Solomon--the wisest of the wise, the greatest of all kinds, the wealthiest of men, the most accomplished in all he sought to do. However, as Ecclesiastes so abundantly portrays, Solomon discovered that searching after the pleasures of this life is all in vain.
"All things are full of weariness;
a man cannot utter it;
the eye is not satisfied with seeing,
nor the ear filled with hearing.
What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new under the sun.
[. . .]
Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a string after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun." Ecclesiastes 1:8-9; 2:11
Solomon goes on to explain that there is something that can bring joy, that can result in living a life with purpose, instead of chasing after the wind.
"Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possession and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil--this is the gift of God. For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart." Ecclesiastes 5:18-20
The author goes on to explain some things regarding these verses! Her words were very convicting to me:
"Two very important points of emphasis appear in this verse:
1. God gives wealth and possessions.
2. Only God can enable us to enjoy them.
Are you finding it difficult to 'accept' your lot? Only God can give you a heart of acceptance! Are you miserable in your job? Only God can make you happy in your work! Contentment with your present position and state of prosperity, no matter how vast or small, can only come from Him! But only you can allow God to work contentment in you."
Wow! I needed to hear that. Finally, here are a few other Scripture verses regarding money, possessions, and contentment that were beneficial to me.
"Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction." 1 Timothy 6: 6-9
"In the fear of the LORD one has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge." Proverbs 14:26
"Two things I ask of you; deny them not to me before I die:
Remove far from me falsehood and lying;
give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the food that is needful for me,
lest I be full and deny you and say, "Who is the Lord?"
or lest I be poor and stead and profane the name of my God."
Proverbs 30:8-9
"He knows our needs. He knows our vulnerabilities. He knows what we can endure...yet remain faithful. All things are his to give and His to take, but never ours to pursue. Ours is to gladly receive and gladly return."
I totally needed to hear all of this today. I struggle off and on with our current season of life, wishing often that we could move on to that "next phase." A bigger house, more space, maybe some new furniture? Instead of trusting that where the Lord has us is what is best for us. Instead of being thankful and praising Him for providing for all that we need and more. My heart is greedy and struggles with these things all the time! Those things are not bad....God loves to provide and bless his children, and one day he will give us those things. It's my heart that has the problem!
Also, I am convicted just about being content and joyful in my day to day life. God has blessed me tremendously, but joy in caring for the kids day in and day out is sometimes difficult. I see that that joy is truly a gift, not something that I can manifest in and of myself----but boy do I try! I don't want to look back tomorrow at the end of the day, or next year, or in ten years and see that I was chasing after the wind in any way.
I know that as a Christian I have an eternity in heaven and an eternal reward waiting for me. The "toils" of wiping bottoms, picking up toys, answering endless questions, fixing hair bows, and being consistent in discipline and training....they are a gift. They are my portion. I wouldn't trade them for anything. But, only God can give me joy in doing those things. Lord, please give me overflowing joy!
"We live in a culture motivated by one major goal--a little bit more. We work too hard and make too little. We have more than enough to live complicated lives, but less than enough to be contented."
The study today went into learning about Solomon--the wisest of the wise, the greatest of all kinds, the wealthiest of men, the most accomplished in all he sought to do. However, as Ecclesiastes so abundantly portrays, Solomon discovered that searching after the pleasures of this life is all in vain.
"All things are full of weariness;
a man cannot utter it;
the eye is not satisfied with seeing,
nor the ear filled with hearing.
What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new under the sun.
[. . .]
Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a string after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun." Ecclesiastes 1:8-9; 2:11
Solomon goes on to explain that there is something that can bring joy, that can result in living a life with purpose, instead of chasing after the wind.
"Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possession and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil--this is the gift of God. For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart." Ecclesiastes 5:18-20
The author goes on to explain some things regarding these verses! Her words were very convicting to me:
"Two very important points of emphasis appear in this verse:
1. God gives wealth and possessions.
2. Only God can enable us to enjoy them.
Are you finding it difficult to 'accept' your lot? Only God can give you a heart of acceptance! Are you miserable in your job? Only God can make you happy in your work! Contentment with your present position and state of prosperity, no matter how vast or small, can only come from Him! But only you can allow God to work contentment in you."
Wow! I needed to hear that. Finally, here are a few other Scripture verses regarding money, possessions, and contentment that were beneficial to me.
"Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction." 1 Timothy 6: 6-9
"In the fear of the LORD one has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge." Proverbs 14:26
"Two things I ask of you; deny them not to me before I die:
Remove far from me falsehood and lying;
give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the food that is needful for me,
lest I be full and deny you and say, "Who is the Lord?"
or lest I be poor and stead and profane the name of my God."
Proverbs 30:8-9
"He knows our needs. He knows our vulnerabilities. He knows what we can endure...yet remain faithful. All things are his to give and His to take, but never ours to pursue. Ours is to gladly receive and gladly return."
I totally needed to hear all of this today. I struggle off and on with our current season of life, wishing often that we could move on to that "next phase." A bigger house, more space, maybe some new furniture? Instead of trusting that where the Lord has us is what is best for us. Instead of being thankful and praising Him for providing for all that we need and more. My heart is greedy and struggles with these things all the time! Those things are not bad....God loves to provide and bless his children, and one day he will give us those things. It's my heart that has the problem!
Also, I am convicted just about being content and joyful in my day to day life. God has blessed me tremendously, but joy in caring for the kids day in and day out is sometimes difficult. I see that that joy is truly a gift, not something that I can manifest in and of myself----but boy do I try! I don't want to look back tomorrow at the end of the day, or next year, or in ten years and see that I was chasing after the wind in any way.
I know that as a Christian I have an eternity in heaven and an eternal reward waiting for me. The "toils" of wiping bottoms, picking up toys, answering endless questions, fixing hair bows, and being consistent in discipline and training....they are a gift. They are my portion. I wouldn't trade them for anything. But, only God can give me joy in doing those things. Lord, please give me overflowing joy!
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Beloved.
 |
I dread that day.
But for now, Liam and the paci are very good friends. We try to limit Liam's paci interaction to naptime and bedtime. However, we are always quick to have one on hand for things like dinner out, grocery shopping, church, long car rides, etc. Anytime we need to "plug him up," we hand him his paci and he seems most pleased. I like to think of it as a muzzle sometimes!
When Liam wakes up in the morning or from his nap, we get him to throw his pacis back in his crib, and on good days, he won't ask for it or need again until he goes back to sleep. However, lately Liam has gotten smart. Tricky even. When he wakes up from a nap, he has started to throw his pacis out of the crib, trying to land them in the toy box next to his bed or even underneath his crib. We will get him out of bed, take him into the den or to our bedroom, and it never fails, about 2-3 minutes he will wander off on his own back to his room only to re-emerge with one or two pacis in his hand and mouth.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Library Love
I first discovered all that the library had to offer for kids and our family when Nora was about Liam's age. A friend of mine invited me to their baby story time called Baby Bookworms. Every Thursday morning, Nora and I would venture out to the library where we joined other kiddos her age for singing, hand games, and story time. She grew to love it! However, when Liam came along, we stopped going out of necessity.
Since Liam is still taking a morning nap, we haven't been able to go back to Baby Bookworms for his benefit because the class takes place right during his naptime. However, I am seriously planning to take him once we drop that nap altogether. For now, we usually take a trip to the library once a week after lunchtime, and we make it home just before their afternoon naps.
Reading books together.
When we walk in, the first thing we do is return the books we had previously checked out. Then, we venture over to the video section where Nora and I choose 1-2 DVDs for her to watch throughout the week. After that, she runs off to read her little heart away, while Liam and I sort through the books on the shelves trying to find some great ones to bring home.
Anyway, I just thought I'd post about one of my kids' favorite places ever! The best part about it is that it is totally free. On the way home, we typically have to make a stop at McD's for a large sweet tea (only $.99!), which only makes our library adventure more exciting for all!
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Differences Between Boys and Girls
My children are very different.
Very. Different.
I have known they were different from the moment Liam was born.
Liam is a cuddler. Nora is not.
Liam is a climber. Nora was not.
Nora didn't walk until she was nearly 19 months old. Liam walked at 14 months old.
Nora is all girl! Liam is all boy.
Although they are very different, there are many ways that they are similar. For whatever reason, both of my kids are super chatty. I really don't have a clue as to where they get it. They both love books; they love to read or have a book read to them. Another thing they have in common is a very shrill shriek! Liam started this unbelievable scream when he was about 8 or 9 months old, and he screams his ear-piercing cry whether he is happy or sad. Nora, who really wasn't much of a screamer, seems to have picked up on the shrill shriek and uses it now too. (Usually when she is playing with her brother).
Needless to say, I am going deaf. Seriously.
Let me explain. A few weeks ago, Liam was already tucked in bed, and Jonathan and I were tucking Nora in for the night. Nora had just talked her Daddy into "relaxing" with her for a few moments, so I was just about to leave the two of them alone for their bonding time when Jonathan asked me to lower the speed of the ceiling fan because it was making an irritating "clicking" sound. Do you know that sound I'm talking about? The one when the pull-string taps against the fan base? Well, I looked at Jonathan and said, "What clicking sound?" He and Nora both looked at me and said, "That clicking sound? Do you not hear it?" I didn't, so I moved closer to the fan and stood directly underneath it. Nothing. I swear I heard NO "clicking." I blame Liam. And Nora, too, but mostly Liam. I think my hearing is getting worse everytime he screams in my ear. Oh well, he's worth it.
Anyway, back to the whole point on this post: differences in these two. When Nora gets hurt, you just might as well prepare yourself for some end-of-the-world drama. She cries, she wails, she has the tears, the need to be held, the desperation for a band-aid. Oh, it's just awful. But, she's a girl and she's my child, so drama is to be expected to a certain extent.
Liam, on the other hand, is a man when it comes to injuries. Take for example the other day when we were out on the back patio playing. As Liam is new to walking, he often loses his balance and falls forward. Unlike Nora at that age, Liam knows how to catch himself with his hands. Poor Nora didn't understand that she could break her own fall, so she had many head injuries when learning to walk and run. Anyway, Liam seems to continually scrape his big toe on his right foot when he falls outside. On this particular day, Liam once again tripped and scraped his toe. I saw the entire incident from start to finish, and I immediately noticed that his toe was scraped and was bleeding. Instead of scooping him up to check it out, I waited a moment to see how he would respond. At first, he didn't do much, but after a few seconds, I think the pain hit him. He very carefully bent down and looked at his toe, noticing the blood I'm sure. Then he rubbed his toe and very softly said, "Oooohhhh." A few seconds later, he stood up and walked off. It was then that I picked him up and checked the extent of his toe injury, sweet boy.
I just struck me as funny that my two babies respond to things so differently. Had it been Nora, things most likely would have played out differently. No matter their similarities or differences, I love them both to death!
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Catching Up
Hello World!
(Head hung in shame).
I have completely fallen off of the blog wagon the past few weeks...or months. I don't really have an excuse except that I just haven't had the opportunity to sit still for very long to write down all that's been going on in our life. If it makes you feel any better, I haven't even had the opportunity very much to pick up my camera to take snapshots of the kids. I guess we have just been amidst a busy season, and we have two very busy kiddos who require lots of attention! I am, however, motivated at this moment to record some of what's been happening with us over the past few weeks.
Going back to Labor Day weekend, we celebrated the end of summertime with a visit from my parents! We were so excited to have a long weekend with them, and as always, our time with them was super precious. Liam and my dad bonded right away, as is usual with those two! They seem to have a lot in common: they like to sleep, they like to eat, they are picky about what they eat, and they are very sweet boys...ahem, men.
While my folks were here, we did a lot of eating! My daddy loves BBQ, so we definitely had to take them to our new favorite BBQ joint called Dead End BBQ. My dad loved it! We spent Saturday down in Market Square where we shopped around, browsed the Fresh Market, and ate lunch at the Downtown Brewery. We went to church on Sunday, and after a good naptime, we joined the rest of the Bradshaw crew over at Paul and Joyce's for a cookout. It was a great weekend, and it made me realize that I miss my folks so much. How I wish they lived closer!
So, here we are on Sunday evening, and I cannot tell you exactly what all has happened between now and then. I am so thankful that this weekend we have spent a lot of much needed time together as a family, just the four of us. We are blessed abundantly and our cup is overflowing with all the friends and family and activities that fill our lives. God is so good to us, and without Him we would have nothing good.
(Head hung in shame).
I have completely fallen off of the blog wagon the past few weeks...or months. I don't really have an excuse except that I just haven't had the opportunity to sit still for very long to write down all that's been going on in our life. If it makes you feel any better, I haven't even had the opportunity very much to pick up my camera to take snapshots of the kids. I guess we have just been amidst a busy season, and we have two very busy kiddos who require lots of attention! I am, however, motivated at this moment to record some of what's been happening with us over the past few weeks.
Going back to Labor Day weekend, we celebrated the end of summertime with a visit from my parents! We were so excited to have a long weekend with them, and as always, our time with them was super precious. Liam and my dad bonded right away, as is usual with those two! They seem to have a lot in common: they like to sleep, they like to eat, they are picky about what they eat, and they are very sweet boys...ahem, men.
While my folks were here, we did a lot of eating! My daddy loves BBQ, so we definitely had to take them to our new favorite BBQ joint called Dead End BBQ. My dad loved it! We spent Saturday down in Market Square where we shopped around, browsed the Fresh Market, and ate lunch at the Downtown Brewery. We went to church on Sunday, and after a good naptime, we joined the rest of the Bradshaw crew over at Paul and Joyce's for a cookout. It was a great weekend, and it made me realize that I miss my folks so much. How I wish they lived closer!
Enjoying fresh peaches and vanilla ice cream for dessert.
Fun Times in Market Square
Bradshaw Labor Dad Cookout
Three Precious Girls Who Apparently Think Alike
Yet another thing Liam and Grandpa have in common: Banana Pudding
After our busy, yet wonderful Labor Day, we continued a typical week of running around, playing with friends, Care Group, ballet, and time together as a family. We got to experience our first time as Care Group leaders with our new group that meets every other Friday night at the Townsend's home. We are so excited about the families in our group, and we feel so blessed to get to grow in relationships with them!
After church last Sunday (a week ago today), our good friends Dalyn and Jessica Webb came in town to spend a few days with us and introduce us to their TWIN BABIES! Landry Knox and Finley Marie are miracle babies who are now four months old. We love Dalyn and Jess so much, and we were so glad to get to spend a few days with them while they were in Knoxville visiting. They are just naturals at parenting, and they seem so relaxed and at ease with taking care of two! When we first met them, they were in the midst of their struggles of infertility, and after much patience and prayers, we have two precious babies on our hands to love and watch grow! Unfortunately, I have hardly any pictures of our visit! Jessica took a bunch, but I haven't gotten them from her yet.
Dalyn and Jess arranged to have our good friend Suzanne McNeil take pictures of the twins. Suzanne and I took a photography class together a year ago, and she has recently started her own photography business. Suzanne is super talented, so when I heard she was taking the photos, I asked her if I could second shoot. Basically, that just means I show up with my camera, take some pictures and try not to get in Suzanne's way. The pictures that Suz took came out amazing! You can visit her blog here to see them for yourself, but I will show you two of the pics that I took that came out pretty well!
So, here we are on Sunday evening, and I cannot tell you exactly what all has happened between now and then. I am so thankful that this weekend we have spent a lot of much needed time together as a family, just the four of us. We are blessed abundantly and our cup is overflowing with all the friends and family and activities that fill our lives. God is so good to us, and without Him we would have nothing good.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Three Years Old
Well, it's been a few weeks since the big day, but our Nora girl is three years old. Man, how the time flies! It seems like yesterday that I was bringing her home from the hospital. Giving her her first bath. Begging the little rascal to take a pacifier. Feeding every few hours. Now she's a big girl. I mean it. A big girl! She likes to do everything all. by. herself. She's definitely our little independent girl these days.
For insurance purposes, Nora's three year appointment wasn't until this past Wednesday. We had a great appointment, and even though we did have tears due to the shots she received, she did a wonderful job and was extremely brave. She weighs in at 29 lbs. (45th percentile) and is 37 1/8 inches tall (55th percentile).
Here are somethings about Nora Kathryn at three:
She is all about dressing up these days. She has acquired a few princess dresses lately, so she loves to run around the house decked out in her princess decor.
Speaking of dressing, Nora can put her panties and any pants, shorts, or skirts on all by herself. She still has trouble getting the shirts or dresses over head (wonder why that is!?), but she's definitely getting better about these things. Growing up!
She has started ballet and is absolutely adoring it. Every week she looks forward to putting on her leotard, tights, and ballet shoes. We must put her hair up in a ponytail, not forgetting her butterfly clip to keep her bangs out of her face.
She loves her baby brother. Today, Nora woke up with a bit of a stomach bug. She was not feeling well at all and only wanted to lay in the bathroom floor, sitting in my lap. This made caring for Liam (who is a true Momma's boy) quite difficult, and since I was concerned that Liam could pick up what Nora had Jonathan's folks came to get him for a few hours. The whole time he was gone, she kept asking for him and was so excited when she found out he was coming back. She missed her little playmate, I guess! They love to play chase together and thoroughly enjoy their attempts at making me deaf with their high-pitched squeals of joyful laughter.
Nora is fully pee-pee and poo-poo potty trained. Boy was that an adventure...something I have been meaning to blog about but just haven't gotten around to with our busyness here lately. Nora wears panties all the time, even during naps and at night time. If she does need to use the bathroom during the night, she typically wakes up to call us to take her. Such a big girl!
I am trying to work on getting Nora involved in helping around the house. Currently, her "chores" include unloading the silverware out of the dishwasher. She does a great job! Also, I will recruit her for helping with the dusting. She particularly loves those Swiffer Dust Wand things. That girl will go to town!
Jonathan and I are trying to work on being better about memorizing Scripture. This is an area where I have always struggled, but I know how important it is and the Lord speaks to us through His Word. I want God's Word to be on my heart, but also on the heart of my kids. So, I have just recently started trying to help Nora memorize Bible verses. We began with Psalm 23:1 "The Lord is my shepherd; He gives me everything I need." She knows the verse, and I even found a worship song that quotes the scripture that we have listened to a few times. We have talked together about what it means, how the Lord (Jesus) is our shepherd. He watches over us, protects us, loves and cares for us. He has given us everything we have (our home, our clothes, toys, food, drink, friends, family, church, etc.), and He gives us everything we need. We should be thankful for how He cares for us. I honestly have no idea how much of this she is retaining or how much of it she fully understands, but I am trusting in the promises of God that His Words will dwell within her. I pray that one day these words will be Truth and Reality to her as they are to me.
Nora has just recently learned to ride a bicycle with training wheels. My mom bought her a bicycle from a garage sale several months ago, and within the past two weeks, she has learned to pedal continuously. She loves to venture down our street to the cul de sac, but she only makes it about halfway back before she calls it quits.
Nora got a new haircut! Her hair had really started to grow, but there was one side that was thicker than the other due to the way her hair is parted. I talked to a girlfriend of mine who cuts hair, and she agreed with me that a bob would be a precious look and would hopefully encourage her hair to grow in thicker. So, we'll see if long hair is potentially in Nora's future, but for now, her bob is adorable! (Pics of that to come)
Here are some things that Nora loves to say:
"Daddy, will you relax with me?" (Bedtime routine)
"You need help, Mommy?"
"Good Morning, Weeam."
"Can I have some fruit snackses?" The point is that she adds an additional "s" to make plural things even more plural. Snackses, cupses, plateses. Quite cute!
When I ask Nora to do something, to make sure that she has understood I will have her say, "Yes, Mommy." For example, "Nora, you need to help Momma pick up the toys in your room. Do you understand?" If she doesn't answer me right away or has the potential to refute my request, I will prompt her by saying, "Say, Yes Mommy." And she'll repeat back, "Yes, Mommy."
Well, the other day, I overheard the following:
Nora: Liam, you need to share that toy with me. Say, "Yes, Nora."
Liam: (Completely clueless, crawls away)
Silly girl also tried to pull that off on me. But, I didn't fall for it ;)
For insurance purposes, Nora's three year appointment wasn't until this past Wednesday. We had a great appointment, and even though we did have tears due to the shots she received, she did a wonderful job and was extremely brave. She weighs in at 29 lbs. (45th percentile) and is 37 1/8 inches tall (55th percentile).
Here are somethings about Nora Kathryn at three:
She is all about dressing up these days. She has acquired a few princess dresses lately, so she loves to run around the house decked out in her princess decor.
Speaking of dressing, Nora can put her panties and any pants, shorts, or skirts on all by herself. She still has trouble getting the shirts or dresses over head (wonder why that is!?), but she's definitely getting better about these things. Growing up!
She has started ballet and is absolutely adoring it. Every week she looks forward to putting on her leotard, tights, and ballet shoes. We must put her hair up in a ponytail, not forgetting her butterfly clip to keep her bangs out of her face.
She loves her baby brother. Today, Nora woke up with a bit of a stomach bug. She was not feeling well at all and only wanted to lay in the bathroom floor, sitting in my lap. This made caring for Liam (who is a true Momma's boy) quite difficult, and since I was concerned that Liam could pick up what Nora had Jonathan's folks came to get him for a few hours. The whole time he was gone, she kept asking for him and was so excited when she found out he was coming back. She missed her little playmate, I guess! They love to play chase together and thoroughly enjoy their attempts at making me deaf with their high-pitched squeals of joyful laughter.
Nora is fully pee-pee and poo-poo potty trained. Boy was that an adventure...something I have been meaning to blog about but just haven't gotten around to with our busyness here lately. Nora wears panties all the time, even during naps and at night time. If she does need to use the bathroom during the night, she typically wakes up to call us to take her. Such a big girl!
I am trying to work on getting Nora involved in helping around the house. Currently, her "chores" include unloading the silverware out of the dishwasher. She does a great job! Also, I will recruit her for helping with the dusting. She particularly loves those Swiffer Dust Wand things. That girl will go to town!
Jonathan and I are trying to work on being better about memorizing Scripture. This is an area where I have always struggled, but I know how important it is and the Lord speaks to us through His Word. I want God's Word to be on my heart, but also on the heart of my kids. So, I have just recently started trying to help Nora memorize Bible verses. We began with Psalm 23:1 "The Lord is my shepherd; He gives me everything I need." She knows the verse, and I even found a worship song that quotes the scripture that we have listened to a few times. We have talked together about what it means, how the Lord (Jesus) is our shepherd. He watches over us, protects us, loves and cares for us. He has given us everything we have (our home, our clothes, toys, food, drink, friends, family, church, etc.), and He gives us everything we need. We should be thankful for how He cares for us. I honestly have no idea how much of this she is retaining or how much of it she fully understands, but I am trusting in the promises of God that His Words will dwell within her. I pray that one day these words will be Truth and Reality to her as they are to me.
Nora has just recently learned to ride a bicycle with training wheels. My mom bought her a bicycle from a garage sale several months ago, and within the past two weeks, she has learned to pedal continuously. She loves to venture down our street to the cul de sac, but she only makes it about halfway back before she calls it quits.
Nora got a new haircut! Her hair had really started to grow, but there was one side that was thicker than the other due to the way her hair is parted. I talked to a girlfriend of mine who cuts hair, and she agreed with me that a bob would be a precious look and would hopefully encourage her hair to grow in thicker. So, we'll see if long hair is potentially in Nora's future, but for now, her bob is adorable! (Pics of that to come)
Here are some things that Nora loves to say:
"Daddy, will you relax with me?" (Bedtime routine)
"You need help, Mommy?"
"Good Morning, Weeam."
"Can I have some fruit snackses?" The point is that she adds an additional "s" to make plural things even more plural. Snackses, cupses, plateses. Quite cute!
When I ask Nora to do something, to make sure that she has understood I will have her say, "Yes, Mommy." For example, "Nora, you need to help Momma pick up the toys in your room. Do you understand?" If she doesn't answer me right away or has the potential to refute my request, I will prompt her by saying, "Say, Yes Mommy." And she'll repeat back, "Yes, Mommy."
Well, the other day, I overheard the following:
Nora: Liam, you need to share that toy with me. Say, "Yes, Nora."
Liam: (Completely clueless, crawls away)
Silly girl also tried to pull that off on me. But, I didn't fall for it ;)
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Our Little Ballerina
Which she can put on.
"ALL. BY. MYSELF."
Can I just say that she LOVES ballet! She is thrilled to be in class and learning and dancing and spinning and pointing her toes. I can't wait to see how much she learns over the course of the year. There will be a recital in the spring, so our family will be able to come see her perform when that time comes.
One of the other reasons that Nora loves ballet so much:
I have enjoyed watching Nora the past few weeks, and to be honest, being a spectator of this precious class is HILARIOUS! The girls are all so adorable. I laugh myself into stitches almost every time watching them. I need to get some of it on video to share with everyone!
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