November

November was a blur! Isn't it always? I also did a bad job taking notes this month, so I honestly don't remember a lot of what happened (haha!). I guess I'll tell you about what I do remember.

Zooey has her first crush, a little boy in her class at school. She talks about him all.the.time. She invited him over for a playdate and even wanted to dress up for him (where does she get this, because I do not talk about that?!)! She prays - prays, ya'll! - about marrying this boy. It is crazy how early this stuff starts...we're going to be in trouble!

She loves her little brother so much, and she said a couple cute things:
"Me so thankful you came out of my tummy"
"You stay with me all the time when you come out of mommy's tummy"
(the next day...) "Send Tennyson back to hospital, Mommy. Put him back in your tummy."
She is very caring for him, and she will tell him, "It's ok baby; don't cry...me here." It's adorable.

Another random cute thing she said this month was calling guacamole "cado-mole" (like for avocados). Cutest thing!

Zooey had her first performance at school, which was adorable! She wore a little turkey hat and sang with her class, then they had a luncheon. She was such a good girl and sat still with her class while they waited to go up, then she smiled and sang some of the words and did the hand motions. She was very excited that we went to watch her, and she kept looking for us in the audience and smiling at us. She LOVES school and her class and teachers. Many of conversations at home are about her friends and teachers, and she is surprising me with her new knowledge every day.

Her speech is improving by the week, and her SLP is amazed at her progress; she said she's doing great. She did another evaluation on Zooey and is now working solely on articulation instead of words. Zooey talks all the time and in full paragraphs, she's singing songs from school and BSF and she makes up stories as well as tells us about past and future events. She has come a long way since last spring, when we were still working on 3-4 word sentences.

Zooey also continues to go to OT for some sensory things, but I am so proud of her! She has begun to do her calming techniques all by herself when she feels stressed or overwhelmed, and her focus has greatly improved. She has gone from spending 2-3 minutes on an assigned task in September at OT to spending 10-15 minutes.

We spent Thanksgiving at Sarah and Rey's. It was one of the best Thanksgivings we have had in a long time. It was very relaxing and so nice to have all the family there, especially our two newest little additions. After dinner and naps we also watched a movie together. It was a fun day, and it was fun to see Zooey understand the tradition a little more this year. She kept talking about the Mayflower, which she had learned at school. She was also singing her turkey song that she learned at school, which was cute.

One of the reasons November was so crazy was that God called me back to leadership at BSF. I was honestly thinking I wouldn't return until December, or maybe even after the holidays, but when He calls, His timing doesn't always match our own ideas and certainly doesn't usually leave us in our comfort zone. He made it very clear to me by laying it on my heart, then through the notes one week, a conversation the next and the lecture and notes that same week.  I have to admit, I was a little worried about it, because it is a big time commitment and Tennyson is still so little. He is so good to confirm, again and again (when we may feel like we don't have what it takes, or during a crazy busy season!) His call on our lives. What a sweet blessing it has been to be with those little ones! And what an amazing reminder week by week of how faithful God is to enable and equip us, giving us energy, ideas, enthusiasm & patience to answer His call. And my worries have been taken care of - I am able to nurse Tennyson when I need to, because I'm right next door to him on class day (so special!). I love to see these little toddlers babbling in song to Jesus or saying "Jesus," "Bible" and "Amen." What a sweet gift they are to me and an example of precious faith.

So, yes...November was a blur, but I'm so thankful that God doesn't give us more than we can handle and that He gives us the strength and wisdom to face what He does give us. He is teaching me more and more how to live in the moment and cherish my children, and He is giving me new ways to pray for them, which is so cool! What a privilege it is to be a parent and be able to pray over our kids' lives.

Love these snuggles!

Fun (rare) snow day in the park

Tennyson's first snow



Singing at school

My little turkey

She still loves to pick up leaves and throw them

My camera died, so this was the only one I got of her on Thanksgiving, drinking her sparkling juice out of a big girl glass

Cutest little guy ever - so thankful for my two littles!