Coolest Kid on the Block.

Has it really been almost 3 months? Hudson is 11 weeks and growing by the minute.

                    
 At his 2 month appt. he was in the 90th% for weight and height! Just this week he started to really seem like a "baby" instead of a newborn.  He will smile and talk for anyone who looks at him and is starting to really take in what is going on around him.

 He is completely in love with his big sister.  If she is in the room he is constantly straining his neck trying to find her and watch what she is doing.  Now that he is starting to watch and reach for rattles and other toys, Laynie likes to "shake stuff" for him, as she calls it. 

They continue to look a lot alike but Hudson has got some cheeks that Laynie never had! Ohhh how I looove those cheeks!!

We were supposed to spend the weekend at a cottage up north with friends but a winter storm came through that kept us all home.  So dissapointing but we have found lots of other fun things to do instead!Spent the evening with Stu and Ash and then Real Food this morning! After breakfast we stopped by my parents where my mom snapped all the pics above.  It kind of feels like a bonus weekend...since we weren't planning on being in town we don't have anywhere to be or anything pressing to do.  Not a bad way to spend a Saturday.  :)

"Play is often talked about as if it is a relief from serious learning.  But for children, play is serious learning.  Play is really the work of childhood."  ~Fred Rogers 





I have a background in early childhood education and have had quotes like the one above drilled into my head.  The evidence regarding the importance of play to a child's brain development is overwhelming and I have seen from personal experience how quickly kids pick up what you are trying to teach them if they are having fun! 





I know all this but....it can be really difficult to just sit and play.  Repetition may be the key to a toddler's learning but let's face it...I'm not a toddler.  I don't want to act out the same picnic 5 times in a row, or make a baby doll sing "twinkle-twinkle little star" 10 times in a row and I deffinitely do not want to read the same children's book 20 times in a row.  Having your daughter pretend she is a kitty name Pierre is really cute...for the first three days.  After that you are pretty ready for her to respond to her actual name, stop licking you and walk on her own two feet rather than crawling or demanding that you "carry your kitty that you found because you love her so much!". 


Having said all that, I am slowly discovering that sitting and playing with my daughter is magic.

Something amazing happens when I let myself forget about everything else I could be doing with that time.  If I let everything else fade and just watch her explore, imagine, discover and create I become completely captivated by her.  The way her little brain works is fascinating.  When I stop and really listen to the conversations she is acting out between two teddy bears I am able to catch glimpses of the way she is processing the the world around her.  I have a front row seat to the way her heart and mind are growing.  Why am I so quick to trade this precious time for a few more minutes in front of a sink full of dishes?

 


Let the laundry and dishes pile up....this weekend, I am focusing on playing with my peanut!

Odds and Ends...

Here is a random compliation of pics that represent what our life has looked like lately.  The kinds of things that I don't have much to say about but are so much a part of our daily living that I don't want them to be overlooked!

It has been an unsually warm winter here in Michigan! (Lucky us!) This means we have been able to take walks and spend MUCH more time outdoors than is usual for this time of year. 

  

Laynie and I went on a little date...just the two of us! I told her we could go anywhere she wanted and she choose Starbucks! We have her well trained :) She was particularly fascinated with taking the lid off my latte and getting a " foam mustache" each time she took a sip.   

Spontaneous panera dinner with good friends. Laynie LOVES her little buddy, Eli.  The other day we were driving in the car and from the backseat I hear Laynie say "Hi Eli! You come to my house today? Ok, yes?"..she then says to me " Hey mom, I call Eli on phone...he come to a slumber party with me today ok?"

How did we ever do dinner out before iphones? ;)

I've been doing some re-arranging as I get to it.  I am itching to have my house completely finished!

 

We have been spending lots of time at the Y! Swimming, yoga, open gym...what could be better?  Laynie is such a little fish and asks almost everyday if we can go swimming.  We love to go in the evenings after dinner...Laynie sleeps like a champ afterwards!

 
 

Sometimes Laynie is interested in playing basketball, soccer etc., but most of the time she just runs laps all over the gym and begs me to come chase her!  I usually wear out long before she does!

 
. 
We just got a Ninja to use for all our green smoothies in the morning.  We are pretty fascinated by it and are having loads of fun trying out new things! Laynie sits on the counter every single morning and helps me decide what to put in our smoothies.  Once they are done she reminds her father an average of 5 times per morning that he has to take it to work with him!

                        


One morning I left her at the table to finish her smoothie and went to get Hudson out of his crib.  A few seconds later she came in and told me she had put her smoothie in a baggie to save for later?!?! I began having horrific images of green smoothie all over my kitchen and rushed out there.  I have absolutely NO IDEA how, but Laynie managed to put her entire cup in a baggie, in the kitchen drawer without spilling a single drop! Again, I really can't figure out how she managed this....

                                     

My cousin Abbey and her daughter Ava came to visit us last week! Sadly, my entire family came down with horrible colds and were sick most of the time we were here.  Pathetically, this is the only pic I have of the entire time they were here.  We did, however really enjoy having them here! Laynie and Ava hit it off with the exception of one mild cat-fight.  :)

Now, how was that for a total hodge-podge post?

Baby Cheeks

Dear Life,

Please slow down...I need more time to munch these cheeks!

Alayna Marie

You bring sunshine and joy,

testing and trouble,

music and laughter.

How could I ever find the words to tell you what you mean to me.

Is there an adequate description of the love my heart holds for you?

You, my darling girl, are beautiful beyond description.  Your little spirit is as sweet as honey and your delight in the world around you is unmatched.  I pray that you never lose the enthusiam God has given you.

It's true, you test and challange....you try my patience and see how far you can push.  Yes, there are times where I reach my breaking point.  Moments where your spit-firedness becomes a little TOO much and I am harsher than I need to be.  My words are colder than intended and my eyes have a little more fire than usual.

Nothing puts the fire out faster than finding you "weeping" the floor with your baby in it's "cay-wiar" and seeing it for what it is...  A reminder that you want more than anything, to be just like me. 

May the Lord grant me the grace to make this an admirable goal!

May He give me the patience to teach you right from wrong without my own sin getting in the way. I pray for the wisdom to obey my Heavenly Father in the same way I expect you to obey your father and I.  I pray also that despite all my failings, you would sense my deep love for you. 

Thank you, sweet daughter, for lighting up our home with your playfulness.

Perfectionism

I never would have called myself a perfectionist untill recently.  Having two little ones has made me realize how frusterared I get when I can't do things exactly how I want them.  Life was busy when I had just Laynie but for the most part, I could still squeeze in all the extra little tasks if I really wanted to.  That is not really the case now-a-days. (I can't even imagine what I would be saying if this was my 3rd or 4th!)

Anyways, I don't have much time to blog right now and therefore find myself not doing it at all since I don't have the time to make it exactly how I want.  It is really important however that I keep all these memories somewhere since I know they will be important to me (and my kids) someday so I'm really going to try and keep it up! The days are slipping by SO quickly! Check out how big my little guy is getting....

I love my babies so much.  They bring me indescribable joy. 

Sadly, this joy is often marred by fatigue, mommy-guilt, and the overwhelmedness (is that a word?) that comes with shepherding the two little souls God has blessed me with. 

Constantly asking "Am I doing enough? Am I giving them enough?" has left me worn out.

For now, I cling to these verses from Isaiah 44.  They help remind me that my children belong to the Lord before they belong to me.  He loves them even more than I do and has a perfect plan for them...I am only a tool in his hand.  I am incapable of raising them perfectly...If I could do everything than they would have no need for a savior.  

I also cling to moments like these where they are just waking up from nap and SO cuddly! I know they are all a little blurry but they capture the moment for exactly what it was...priceless. 

For I will pour water on the thirsty land,
   and streams on the dry ground;
I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring,
   and my blessing on your descendants.

⁴ They will spring up like grass in a meadow,
   like poplar trees by flowing streams.  

⁵ Some will say, ‘I belong to the LORD’;
   others will call themselves by the name of Jacob;
still others will write on their hand, ‘The LORD’s,’
   and will take the name Israel.

  

 

Sing for joy, you heavens, for the LORD has done this;
   shout aloud, you earth beneath.
Burst into song, you mountains,
   you forests and all your trees,
for the LORD has redeemed Jacob,
   he displays his glory in Israel.

 

²⁴ “This is what the LORD says—
   your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb:

   I am the LORD,
   the Maker of all things,
   who stretches out the heavens,
   who spreads out the earth by myself