Zooey loves:
~washing her hands, especially since we got her a stool for the bathroom
~using the potty all by herself (we recently pulled out her little potty so she could practice going alone and pulling up/down her pants)
~songs - favorites are "Wheels on the Bus" and "If You're Happy and You Know It," which requests regularly before bed
~Resurrection eggs and her Bible. I love that if I forget (shame on me!) to have devotional time after breakfast, she will remind me! SO adorable!
~Zooey's become an even bigger Daddy's girl; she asks about him constantly when he's at work or in the other room.
~"Momo" (Moto, our cat), who greets her every morning by jumping on her bed and letting Zooey pet him
Zooey hates:
~walking; last month she loved it, this month she's a bit more clingy. We're working on this.
~dinner time, although this has gotten better in the last week or so
This last month was awesome. It was a bunch of little things, a lot of the ones mentioned that Zooey loves, that just blended together and gave me warm fuzzies. I love seeing her become more independent and learning more about her. She really has a fun-loving personality. Sometimes this can get a little nuts, like when she dumps her ketchup and BBQ sauce all over the place at Chick-Fil-A, because she wants her sauce in the nugget box and then she sticks her whole fist in it just to get a laugh. But most of the time, it's awesome. She can entertain herself, as most kids can, with everyday objects for an hour, and she cracks herself up while doing it. Another thing that has been fun is that Zooey is starting to say lots of words. She definitely has at least 20 regular words she uses now (probably closer to 30). She's put two words together a few times, too - big truck, Daddy boo-boo and no Momo. Some of my favorite new words she says are "Daddy" and "Mommy." Music to our ears, I tell you. The best thing though? When she talks about God. She says "Jesus," "Bible," "Bow" (pray) and during Easter week attempted "Hosanna" (that's a tough one!). She waved her hand all week when we asked her about Jesus, because I taught her about Jesus being hailed by the people in Jerusalem with palm leaves. When I ask her who Jesus is, she says "King," and she points to herself, because I told her Jesus is Zooey's King. She requests to "bow" all the time, and man, has this taught me how to pray without ceasing! She is such a blessing.
Easter was a fun day this year. We started our day with church to celebrate our Lord's resurrection, and the kids learned the Resurrection eggs again. She loves that! Then we came home, and she opened her basket from us and was SOOO excited about her candy. We had a yummy brunch together with our family then it was nap time all around. After naps, Sarah, Rey & my dad came over. Zooey did an egg hunt in the backyard, and we had a nice dinner together. I felt so blessed that God gave Zooey the words about Jesus that let me know she's processing and understanding Him, even if she can't fully express it yet with her speech.
I feel that my journey as a mom is teaching me more patience during this year (I hear the threes are just a wonderful test of patience lol!). I am also learning to let go and follow Ryan's lead more about things that don't really matter, like getting shaving cream and finger paint ALL over the place. Childhood is so short, so fleeting in comparison to the rest of one's life. I just want to cherish this time. God's been catching me lately when I start to lose my cool over something minor. I am learning from Him and from the example of other wonderful moms to examine the situation and extend grace before snapping (like when she's obviously tired, overwhelmed, hungry or just so darn excited she can't control herself). I'm not perfect, anyone can tell you that, but I'm thankful for the experience and the growth it's bringing. I love being a mom.
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| with Grandpa at brunch |
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| my little assistant chef |
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| with her faithful bedtime companion, Blue |
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| candy & fruit snacks - what could be better? |
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| eating her Easter treat |
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| egg hunt |
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| more candy |
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| the loot from RaRa & Rey |
