18 months

Zooey is 18 months old today. I am so amazed at how fast time has gone, and I cannot believe little Zooey's been a part of our lives for a year and a half. She makes our family so complete. I have to really concentrate to remember life before her, and I cannot imagine life without her. She hasn't yet had her 18 month check-up, so I don't know how much she weighs and how tall she is, but I'm going to estimate she weighs about 22 pounds and is close to 29 inches tall (if not a little taller). We've been really enjoying our wonderful weather with lots of play dates and trips to the park & zoo. She continues to be more and more curious about her surroundings. Last week I took her to the botanical gardens, and it was so much fun to see her explore on her own for awhile and get excited over some of the farm animals. Today I took her for a run, and she was pointing at things constantly and laughing and talking away. We tried coloring this month (as you can see). She had fun, but she also tried to eat the markers. Practice makes perfect? :) Zooey was moved up to the walker's class at church; she's becoming such a big girl, and it's all so bittersweet sometimes. She is officially down to one afternoon nap a day, unless she is just exhausted, in which case we'll do 2 or put her to bed early. I have the sneaking suspicion that she's getting her 2-year molars. Of course, molars take forever, but I can see some white under the gums and brushing her teeth has become a daily scream-fest. Zooey laughs at everything; I don't usually know what she's laughing about (traffic? red lights? trees? the dog?), but it's precious. She is such a sweet girl and a blessing. She is learning to be obedient and patient and how to pick up her toys. I pray for her everyday, that God will grow her to be a godly woman who follows Him with her all. Zooey is also very loving, and she will come up to me or Ryan to give us hugs and snuggles frequently while we're playing. Just today, she melted my heart by coming up to me out of the blue and giving me a hug and snuggle. Such a sweetie!

Zooey loves:

-bubble baths (yay! finally!)

-picking out books for bedtime

-ice cream!! (That pic of her screaming above? Yeah, that's when she had ice cream for dessert and I told her it was all gone.)

-books, books, books! She also loves story time at the library.

-aquarium/zoo. On our last trip to the aquarium, she was really into it, running back and forth between the tank and me, laughing up a storm. It was adorable

Zooey dislikes:

-There aren't any huge dislikes right now; however, we've hit that "picky eater phase" that most toddlers seem to go through. I definitely dislike this. :)

17 months

Zooey's 17 months old! Time flies at an incredible rate sometimes, doesn't it? Zooey is so much fun to be around! She's really a social butterfly, and she loves to be around the whole family; she totally hams it up for everyone. I just can't get enough of her, and I try to soak up each moment with her since they are so fleeting. Tonight she fell asleep on my chest before I had even done praying with her (she was exhausted, poor girl!). It was such a sweet moment and one of the ones I know I won't get forever. Another of my favorite times of day is when we get to play after her nap and before dinner. She's so cheerful when she wakes up, and she tells me lots of stories while she has her snack. Right now she's really into bringing me things to show them to me, and when she does, she likes to crawl onto my lap and have a snuggle before she hops off to bring me something else. She continues to love books and being read to, and often times books are what she spends her free play with. She will sit and flip through them or bring them to me and Ryan to read to her. Zooey is very attentive and loves to check everything out with the cutest look of concentration I've ever seen. We introduced Zooey to roomtime for her independent play, instead of having her do it in her playpen. the first few days were quite the adventure for her: diapers everywhere, wipes pulled out, the diaper genie knocked over...I don't even know how she thought about all that stuff! But, since we've picked up those items, she enjoys it and plays happily with a few toys. She's so precious, and being her momma is a huge joy.

Zooey likes:

~to walk out the front door and to the car like a big girl

~the park! She is Miss Independent and loves to try to climb the steps all by her self.

~her pink kitty cat she got from Grandma for Valentine's Day

~shoes (do I foresee a future problem?) :)

~to help clean up. She likes to clap to our "clean up song" and she puts everything on the shelf where her shoes go. She loves her shoes!

~dancing

~trying to find Mommy when I play hide and seek

~playing "monster Daddy!"

~to point out objects in books

~to wake Daddy up in the morning

Zooey dislikes:

~There's not much Zooey doesn't like at this stage, except being told no, but what kid does like that?

Zooey now:

~Says words that only Mommy and Daddy (and sometimes Grandma) can understand. She says "TaTa" for Tiny (our dog), "badada" for banana, "kikat" for kitty cat. She also says "gate," "cat," and "dog" pretty clearly.

~Something cute that Zooey does is laugh when we say something's silly. :)

A Personal God

Oh how I wish I could capture all the reminders that God is alive and present and working intimately in my life. I am deeply thankful that He has answered my prayer to open my eyes to see His comfort and what He has for me in the last few weeks. My mom decided to fore go further treatment, so the last week has been a rough one. My mom is a godly lady, and I know that she devoted much prayer to her decision. I also totally understand her choice. I would not want to be sick in bed for two weeks and have to get treatment every three, only to have one good week in between. That would not be a great way to spend the rest of this earthly life. I really feel that this choice sunk in with me last Tuesday, when I did my lesson and God revealed to me "See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this. How can I let myself be defamed. I will not yield my glory to another" in Isaiah 48:10-11. Saturday at Leader's, we sung, "Trust Him When They Wants Are Many," a hymn by Lucy A. Bennett, and the room got quiet at just the right time: "Trust Him when dark doubts assail thee, trust Him when thy strength is small, trust Him when to simply trust Him seems the hardest thing of all." And to top that off, He gave me many words of comfort at our fellowship.

Monday I got a beautiful email in response to my prayer for healing of this icky sinus thing. It said, "Remember our God of great comfort and strength who gives comfort to His people Comfort, Comfort my people says your God. Is. 40:1 and Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will walk and will not faint. Is. 40:31. But when we don't think we can soar, walk or run one more step...He says 'I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you 'do not fear, I will help you.'"

The last few days have been filled with opposition on my time regarding my service to Him. I was late to BSF last night and a MOPS group this morning for which I made food for, because it just seems like everything hits when you need to go somewhere to do something for Him. I'm sick again, too, and my prayer in the car was something close to, although not verbatim, "God don't you see? How much more, Lord?" And how gracious is He to remind me He's here, He remembers and sees me with this AMAZING verse, "See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me" Isaiah 49:16. He also gave me vs. 13 "Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth; burst into song, O mountains! For the Lord comforts His people and will have compassion on His afflicted ones."

So you see, I don't need to worry about my future or even the present. He's got it.

God is real. Jesus IS personal. He is a Promise Keeper who never breaks His promises.