Zooey ~ Fall 2014

Oh, my! I am looking back at some of the funny things Zooey said over the last few months, and it's cracking me up. Here are a few:

One day in September we were leaving Albertsons, when Zooey spotted a giant witch. She started yelling, "Go away, witches! I don't like you witches!" Only...she put a "b" on the front of the word, and there were two little old ladies behind me giving me the stink eye. I started modeling the correct word very loudly for her, and they worked on the "w" sound in speech that month.

"I'm allergic to babies, Mommy."

She said she wants to be a teacher at the gym and teach kids to do tabata.

Z: "I am five. How old are you?"
Me: "33"
Z: "How old is Great Grandma?"
Me: "85"
Z: "Oh my goodness!"

Sarah: "What is Tennyson going to be when he grows up?"
Z: "Tennyson and Gideon are going to be doctors, and I'm going to teach the babies at BSF.

And some sweet things she said:

In the car one day, "Mommy, the trees are changing colors. God is our God. God is our daddy. I love Jesus!"

Sarah was telling her in-laws to pray for a sweet little girl named Emily. Sarah told Zooey that God is able to work miracles. Zooey replied, "Yes, our God is Almighty."

Zooey is just getting so big that I can't even believe it! She is five. FIVE, you guys. How did that happen? She loves to do arts and crafts, her favorite thing in school is PE, she still loves wearing dresses, and she likes to workout with me. She is such a friendly girl, and she loves to go up to kids and tell them her name and ask their name. She is super empathetic and sweet. I teach her class at church this year, and whenever there's a child crying, she almost instantly goes over to the child and either offers words of comfort or just sits near them. She is making huge strides at speech therapy. She is really starting to show an interest in reading. She loves Jesus and her favorite weekly activities are church and BSF. She is not super snuggly, because she's so busy, but when she does slow down, she likes to sit right next to you and just be with you. She is funny, creative, sassy sometimes, loving, forgiving, protective and prayerful. It is so fun getting to know this sweet girl.

So excited for balloons!

Cat for Harvest Fest at school and Halloween

Sarah caught the kids a worm

Oh my, little miss trouble

The teacher said she came up with this response with no prompting. Bless her heart!

Doing "Tabata"

Silly girl was so excited for bath she forgot to take her shirt off lol

Tennyson ~ 16 months

Better late than never, right? Tennyson is 16 months old! He is about 26.3 pounds, and I'm not sure how tall he is. Tennyson's become so, SO busy this last month. I feel like I look away for two seconds and he is on top of something new - kitchen table, kitchen chair, table in the living room, couch, computer chair - you name it, he's tried to climb it. He is a super ornery little boy, and I can tell he is going to give me a run for my money! He is going to be my stubborn (not that Zooey can't be stubborn) and strong-willed child for sure. He laughs - literally - in the face of danger, and he has already started throwing some pretty intense temper tantrums. He is also very sweet. He still loves to snuggle with me, and he will often times just climb on my lap in the living room and just "watch the room" with me for a good 15 minutes before he hops down to play again. He loves to give kisses and snuggles. He runs up to Zooey throughout the day, just to give her a hug.

Tennyson now:
- Is starting to run
- Has almost all his teeth - they've all popped through, and we're waiting on his upper molars and canines to come all the way out (painful week this week)
- Mimics most words and has about 35 words he uses consistently and without prompting (woohoo!)
- Does roomtime for independent play instead of IP in his crib
- Nods yes and shakes head no
- Folds his hands to pray
- Seems to be moving out of the separation anxiety phase a little bit. BSF and church mornings have gone a little more smoothly as of late

Tennyson loves:
- To scare his mother. Haha, just kidding. He loves to climb on things.
- trains, cars and anything that moves
- He's starting to enjoy being read to more, with me holding the book the whole time
- He's getting more interested in puzzles
- To do anything Zooey is doing
- Our cat
- Playing outside Zooey's school when I pick her up, chasing the big kids and exploring the rocks

Tennyson dislikes:
- Ah, we have reached the fun stage where he flips out when I pour water on his head during bath time
- Sharing. :)

Tennyson ~ 15 months

When I was doing all the "firsts" with Zooey, I honestly worried a bit about whether or not I'd be as excited to watch them with a second child. I have to say, I've been SO excited - just like I was with her - to watch my little man growing and changing and accomplishing all of his "firsts!" I am thankful that I don't completely.flip.out about every single illness/booboo/cry/separation anxiety episode like I did with Zooey, haha. That's pretty freeing!

Tennyson had his 15 month well check on Monday. He weighs a whopping 26 pounds and is 31 inches tall, and his head is 19cm. He is a big, sturdy boy! Ryan and I keep telling Zooey that she needs to be nice to Tennyson, because now he only weighs eight pounds less than her and is soon going to be able to tackle her and hold her down like she does to him!

Tennyson now:
- Is walking!! He started really trying on December 3rd.
- Loves to give hugs, kisses and snuggles. Ah, those wet, sloppy baby kisses - kinda' disgusting but they bring pure joy to our hearts!
- Climbs on everything he can. If Zooey's door is cracked, he manages to get in her room and climb on her bed. Once I found him about to climb on her dresser.
- Is talking so much! He's using more and more jargon, which is so cute. When he's nursing before bed, he often pops off to tell me a little "story." Sometimes he's serious, and other times he's giggling the whole time. I wonder what he's telling me about? :) Speaking of talking, his newest words include: "Baa" for sheep, "Vroom" for car," "cookie," and "bar" for his cereal bars.
- Can stack 2-3 blocks
- Colors with crayons (and also tries to eat them)

Tennyson likes:
- cars, balls, blocks
- books *see dislikes :) this kid....
- To do what Zooey does - coloring, playing doctor, fixing Mommy's hair, eating the same exact thing as her, playing outside the school in the rocks. You name it, if Zooey's doing it, he wants to do it. This includes not so positive traits like yelling, "NO!"
- The Christmas tree (what toddler doesn't find the Christmas tree delightful and tempting?!)
- pictures
- balloons
- rolling out of the trampoline onto the floor (I discourage this!)

Tennyson dislikes:
- Being read to, if it means he cannot have full control of the situation and hold the book. To him holding the book means closing it and opening it to the wrong page.
- When Mommy leaves him...yup, separation anxiety is back and in full force. Last week at BSF he cried for 20 minutes straight, because he could continue to see me and couldn't get to me. At church this week he cried for quite a bit, too. Fun times. :\

Still so snuggly

Silly happy scrunchy face

My daring little guy

nom nom

I don't think I mentioned his love for the tramp above, but he loves it

Big boy

Tennyson 13-14 months

My little mister has been a busy boy lately! Phew - are boys different than girls! Zooey is a very busy and active little girl, but she is busy in a different way (mostly very talkative!). Tennyson is very physical. He's not walking quite yet, but I'm still amazed. He is a climber, for one thing. Last week I was getting changed and left him in the hallway. When it got quiet, after about a minute, I went to find him about to climb on the top of Zooey's dresser from her stepstool! I'm constantly on guard these days. :) I've set up some safer ways for him to climb in the living room, one of which is putting pillows all around the trampoline and couch, so he can climb up and down. He loves it! He's so proud of himself when he gets on top of something. Tennyson also loves music! When we sing, he claps his little hands and babbles along. If it's a BSF song, he will say "God," which is so precious. His favorite song is the Tiny Tim Turtle song. He pats his hand over his mouth while saying, "bubble, bubble," then excitedly says, "pop!" at the end.

Tennyson now:
- has taken a couple steps
- says: hi, RaRa, Gideon, Bible, banana, ball, balloon, bubble, cheese, please (combined with sign), pop, God, "Ball" for Snowball, our cat
- can stand up on his own without holding onto something
- gives snuggles (lays head on your shoulder)
- blows kisses

He likes:
- food :)
- cars, the garbage truck (what is it with little boys and garbage trucks!?) :)
- animals
- He's started to sleep with a blanket, and he likes to cuddle and rub a muslin blanket while he nurses before sleep.

Walking is imminent! :)

He is such a little flirt with the ladies! He gives the sweetest bashful smile to them all. Last week at BSF, we came down the hall to leave, where we ran into a group of about 5 women. I stopped to chat for a bit, and they were all looking at Tennyson and talking to him. He was looking at them rather seriously, when all of a sudden, he got a huge smile, waved and said, "hi!" They all exclaimed how cute he was, and he just giggled at them. Oh my!

He's such a sweet little boy, and I'm starting to see what people mean when they say that boys have a special relationship with their mamas. He is so loving and has to have me in his line of sight a lot more than Zooey ever did (she's kind of like that with Ryan, though).

A Public Confession

My soul has been grieving something for quite a while. I sinned…over a year ago, I sinned in the area of gossip, and I find that it’s still causing ripples of hurt, anger and discord to go out. Angry and hurt before God this morning, praying for conviction and reconciliation to happen, praying that instead of being one who instills discord I could be a peacemaker, He had me open to James 3:1-4:12. I began to read, and the more I read, the more tears started to fall out of my own heart being pricked by His Spirit. I was broken by the knowledge that my spark had set off a forest fire, turned harmony to chaos and cursed one made in His image (vv. 5-10). I had felt justified in my words (don’t we always?). I had been hurt by someone, and I hadn’t even began the conversations by attacking the person’s character but by simply replaying what had been said and done to me. By the end of the conversations, however, I am sure that some insults had been slung about…all in a very ‘round-the-bush-way, of course…I wouldn’t want to be “gossiping.” Don’t we always feel justified when we’re “venting”? Don’t we always feel justified when we say something like, “Don’t get me wrong, I care about this person, BUT…”?

I read further. “For where you find envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice” (v.16). What had my real ambitions been in these conversations? Surely part of it was truly from a broken heart, but more than that, it was to have someone on my side. To which God says, “The Lord will fight for you; you need only be still” (Ex. 14:14) and “Do not say, ‘I’ll pay you back for this wrong!’ Wait for the Lord, and He will deliver you” (Pr. 20:22). I should have left my complaints and God’s feet, perhaps asked for prayer without going into a myriad of details about the conflict. I should have asked God for wisdom, because He would have given that to me freely (Jas. 1:5). I may not have received it in my own timing, like I did the immediate feedback I got from talking to another human, but He would’ve answered. And “the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.” He would’ve shown me what to do. The conviction ran deeper as I read “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives…” (Jas 4:1-3). My comments came from bitterness, hurt feelings and anger. My prayers stemmed from these motives, as well, and while I may have, I’m pretty certain I didn’t ask God to change those feelings within me. I’m pretty sure I prayed for reconciliation but no conviction on my part. How contrasting the motives are in 3:16 and 3:17 (“envy & selfish ambition versus pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere”).

As I sat with tears spilling down my cheeks, I silently prayed, “Oh, Jesus, how I need your Grace. Forgive me,” and my eyes fell on, “But He gives us more grace.” I am so humbled…I don’t deserve this. I deserve to, I don’t know, be made an outcast from people who I’ve hurt and caused discourse among. I deserve to have the same thing done to me. Mostly, I deserve death. Thank GOD He atoned for this sin by His Son’s sacrifice on the cross. Thank you, Lord!!

I re-read the passage to notice 3:2 “We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.” My footnotes say, “Since the tongue is so difficult to control, those who control it perfectly gain control of themselves in all other areas of life as well.” First came the conviction and the repentance, and as always, my Good God didn’t leave me there, but gave me something to apply to my life so I may grow up in Him. My prayer is that He will tame my tongue (v.8) and that my words will be a stream of fresh water to everyone I encounter (v.11).

You see, I’ve also been praying that God would work on my quick temper, especially with my daughter. Anger, of course, is a heart issue, but my careless words and quick, anger-based discipline have certainly caused her much pain. Father God gently but firmly showed me that my lack of self-control over my tongue is causing problems in many areas of my life. I am so thankful for His loving discipline. I don’t want to stay where I am. I want to mature and grow up in Him.

I am going to pray about this daily. I am going to present my mind to God (Rom. 12:1-2), obey Christ’s teachings (2 Cor. 10:5) and practice speaking helpfully. I cannot tame my own tongue; a tamed tongue comes from the renewal of my heart, and only He can do that. This is my prayer. Only He can reconcile hearts. I am praying His reconciliation and Love (Rom. 12:3-21).

I really felt I needed to make a public confession. Thank you for hearing. Thank God for His Grace and Mercy.

Tennyson is 12 months old

My little man is one! He is such a sweet little guy, and he is just the perfect fit to our family. His little personality is really starting to come out, and that is so much fun to watch! 

Tennyson now:
- says some words: bye, done, uh oh, Za (Zooey), "shhh"
- signs please and milk
- knows his tummy, diaper, nose, ears, teeth, hair
- Loves ALL food, even spicy food, like salsa! He eats as much (or more!) as Zooey.
- enjoys pulling pans and spoons out to "cook" and stir
- likes to try to put Zooey's headbands on his head
- loves when I stack blocks and he can crash them down
- gives hugs
- eats mostly table foods
- climbs steps
- plays "phone" with objects
- tries to put his shoes and hats on
- talks himself to sleep
- is still nursing!

His first birthday party was so much fun! Many of our sweet friends came out to celebrate Tennyson. The kids had fun in a bouncy house, and I enjoyed watching and talking to people. Just like his daddy, Tennyson just chilled in his highchair for most of the party to watch what was going on around him. He is so laid back. He did, of course, flirt with some of the ladies. He loved his cake and the cards.