Texas Life

Dear Life,

You move so quickly. So much has changed. And here I sit, not exactly where we left off and where I should begin. But... I guess just starting somewhere is good. So that's what I'll do.

Emberly is 3. The real three. Not the terrible twos that make you think you have a three year old three, but the "I eat only cauliflower at dinner unless you suggest I eat it and have a fit because I'm not hungry but am immediately telling you I'm starving 3 seconds after asking to be excused and telling you I'm completely full" kind of three. It's awesome and awful and exhausting but truly amazing to watch her grow into an independent, full of love, awkward kid. She is a peculiar kind of polite, asking, "may I...?" and "would you please...." and "would it be alright if...?" in the sweetest three year old manners of all time. Followed by a sincere meltdown of epic proportions if the permission is not granted or the request doesn't fall to her desires. But I see progress. Slow, steady, three year old progress.

She also LOVES her little sister. "Sissy" or "Pip" or "little Pi" or whatever nickname she comes up with in the moment. She demonstrates this by frequent toy snatching and full body LOVE. But also with encouragement and the sweetest hugs after naps and singing her songs when she can't sleep and translating when we don't understand what she needs. She often gets in trouble for getting out of bed to retrieve Piper's pacifier or bring her a doll or cover her up. Overall, her love is all kinds of adorable.

And then there's Piper, who goes by just about every nickname you could imagine and an occasional "Piper Elizabeth!" when she's into something she shouldn't be. Piper is a lover of all things. Especially soft things. If there is a blanket on the floor, Piper will be on it, face down, snuggling into it and rubbing her face on it and kissing it. {Sometimes Jordan and I play a game where we throw something soft onto the floor just to see how fast she'll flop onto it...} She loves to kiss, and don't even think about going for a cheek. That child will find your lips! She is also into everything that Emmy is doing and often let's us know this by shouting, "Enny!!" (Which we've translated to mean, "I want to do that JUST.like.Emberly.is.doing!")

Piper rocks a solid afternoon nap, which is awesome considering Emmy has just given hers up in the last week or so, and this mama is usually very much in need. We spend our day doing projects like coloring, painting, cutting, and glueing. The first question out of Em's mouth in the morning is, "May I do a project????" and is on repeat until you're together enough to get something with art supplies out to appease her. Both girls LOVE to be outside, and living in Texas is all kinds of wonderful for that. And we make random trips to the BX, commissary, library, children's museum, kid gym, etc.

Overall our Texas life is pretty grand. Filled with margin and less commitments and less space to maintain and truly being able to enjoy the simple things. We were terrified, but God has proven to be so so faithful, providing all we need and more, including a church family, friends that feel like we've known our whole lives, an occasional date night, and that good old aforementioned margin. I didn't even realize how out of control it was until it came back. Thank you, Jesus.

And now? J has a nice break from classes where we get to just BE family. Enjoy each other. Celebrate the birth of Christ. Work on our marriage. Teach our children together. Learn together. Work on implementing healthier habits into our lives. And all that jazz. We realize that it may not be this simple for a long time. And are trying to just soak it in.


It feels good to write again. I need to remember this. Because I fear that I'll look back before long and not remember the little things, like how the girls devour book after book when we get home from the library, and how their favorite foods are hummus and peas and cauliflower.

So... Let's do this again soon, ok?

Sincerely Yours,
Molly

Tot trays

I'm feeling inspired again. This teeny tiny apartment we are living in requires me to have a plan for my Big. Or she just gets into trouble all.day.long.

So back to Tot Trays we go! I'm loving the Pumpkin Pack from 1plus1plus1equals1. And of course, Pinterest is my other BFF.

So here's some inspiration if you need some too!

Not Enough

I've found myself complaining a lot during this second round of Jordan being gone. And I'm realizing that my complaints are always in the form of "not enoughs."

Not enough...

Hands.
Time.
Energy.
Sleep.
Help.
Margin.
Babysitters.
Patience.

All things I cannot get more of to achieve "enough." I will never have enough time. I will never have more than two hands. Even if more patience was heaped upon me, it would not be enough. I could hire babysitters all day every day and it would not be the right kind of "enough." {Even if Jordan was home, as amazing as he is, he would not be enough.}

But there is One who can provide me with enough. And is enough. But only as I decrease and die to my desires to have more {time, energy, sleep, help, etc.}

He must increase, and I must decrease.

Too bad I'm just now slowing down enough to realize this in the FIFTH week. But thank you, Jesus, that it is the fifth week and not the eighth.

Jesus, all I need is Jesus.

* He must increase, but I must decrease. John 3:30 *

* O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you. My soul thirsts for you, my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water! Psalm 63:1 *

Tot Trays

Raise your hand if you ever get frustrated with your children who have toys and activities out their ears and just follow you around like a puppy asking if you'll play with them! {This mama!}

I seriously have developed this mom-guilt complex for always feeling like I say "not right now" to Em when she asks if I'll play with her. She is so social and she seems to make really poor choices when she isn't engaged in something. {i.e. Jumping off the couch onto Piper... coloring on the walls with chalk... dragging little sister by feet across the room...}

And I am just simply not going to buy more toys. That is not the solution. We have toys. And I am simply not going to stop what I'm doing all day every day to play. I can't. I am her mom. And a wife. And a housemaid. And a cook. And though being a stay-at-home mama does allow me to be able to do that every once in awhile, it is not good for her if I am always halting her imagination and ability to play alone by jumping in.

{Do I sound like I'm justifying?? Sometimes I feel that way. But seriously. I do believe this is best. And healthiest.}

So insert the "solution" to part of this problem. Tot trays.

Our worst time of the day is right after Em wakes up from her nap in the afternoon. She is crabby and needs some space, but awake and wanting to "do something." To be honest? This is usually when I resort to an episode of Daniel Tiger. But I hate that. She just woke up. She needs time to wake up her creativity again. Not shut it down.

So my goal is to create some sort of Tot Tray that is simply on the table when she wakes up. She loves these, they are engaging, she doesn't need to talk, and they just simply look inviting and fun. My favorite part of this idea is that they are made with 97% of things we have at home. Begging to be used. And this is in a controlled environment. And they take 4 minutes to assemble.

Here is an amazing resource if this interests you:

http://www.1plus1plus1equals1.com/TotTrays.html

And here are a few of the ideas I've come up with to get us started:
(This list is simply for my reference, sorry if you don't follow my thought process or see my vision - feel free to ask for clarification if you see something especially interesting!)

1. Blank paper, glue stick, googly eyes, markers

2. Mini muffin tin, kid friendly tweezers, Pom Pom balls, 1 clothes pin

3. Play doh, small dowels, penne pasta (colored in food dye if time!)

4. Lacing string, wagon wheel pasta, circle cereal

5. Pool noodles cut in circles, paint, paper

6. Black paper with simple shapes drawn in white crayon, small bowl of small rocks

7. Tub of water with pool noodle boats

8. Black bean sensory bin with seed packets, gardening gloves, shovels, and pretend veggies

9. Color by number

10. Coloring page - pick your own tool

11. Do-a-dot page with tweezers and small Pom-Poms or stickers or daubers

12. Glue in cup, q-tip, small shapes, blank paper

13. Kumon workbook cutting pages

14. Shape/color/size sorts



So there! Tot trays start tomorrow!

Can't wait to see her fine motor skills, imagination, creative play, etc. develop!

3.

I'm sitting in the hotel room in Pueblo while Jordan returns the car we were borrowing from a buddy. HGTV (for company) and Pinterest (for inspiration) are my buddies as I'm planning Emberly's third birthday "bash."

We are going simple - just our own little family and lots of fun. {Jordan gets home the DAY before!} But I'm all about memory making and starting traditions, so I want to have a plan.

But seriously, in the midst of deciding what we will eat for breakfast and how I will incorporate sensory play and what interview questions I'll ask her, it just occurred to me that she will be THREE. I almost have a three year old. Three. {insert gulp here}

She is so grown up already.

I kinda love her. A lot.

5 Years Ago Today...

Three year ago today this little blog was born. I'm reminiscing. You can read my first post here if you'd like to be sentimental with me.

Now normally I wouldn't remember a blogiversary, but the reason I do is because today is our 5th wedding anniversary, and I started writing on our second. We were at this adorable little bed and breakfast in MN. I was as pregnant as all get out, just waiting for Emberly to make her appearance into the world. Impatiently waiting. And life felt so slow. Just kind of leisurely crawling along. Relaxed even.

And then there's today. I don't remember what slow even feels like. We have two amazing little girls who bring everything but leisure to our lives. We are in transition as Jordan is completing the necessary steps to become a UAV pilot. We are in the middle of the second 8-week stretch of him being away while the girls and I hold down the fort at home. We are anticipating a move to Texas and New Mexico for the next almost year. I've resigned as a classroom teacher twice so that I could be at home with the girls... and started wearing a mom, wife, teacher, cook, driver, nurse, and maid hat in its place.

Sometimes it is easy to forget my initial role as a wife as I cling to the desire to offer the best for my children, but I'm reminded again and again why the Lord desires my husband be first in my heart (after the Lord). It is a daily struggle, especially while Jordan is away and then returns. But when life is uncomfortable and change is inevitable, I can see the Lord working sometimes more visibly than when we seem to be stuck. Wrenching my own desires out of my hands and replacing them with His best. Best I don't deserve, but am offered every day.

And on days that our lives seem to be stuck on home repairs and planting grass and doing laundry and feeding little mouths... I am more convinced there is nobody else in the whole wide world I'd rather be doing this with. Fighting with. Moving with. Parenting with. Playing with. Disagreeing with. Creating with. Learning with. Just doing life with.

Only for this man would I wake up at 4am and hop on an airplane to Pueblo, CO for a whirlwind weekend of being together. Seriously. There are FOUR people on my connection flight to Pueblo. The size of the plane is appropriate to the number of people on board. We are just about to take off and I'm just a little nervous (and/or petrified). Jordan is convinced he will take me flying once he gets his pilot license when this is all said and done. And I am absolutely convinced of the opposite. For the record.

So five years. It feels kinda like a big deal. There is this little part of me that feels like we should be proud. And yet, there is no part of this marriage that is held together by us. It is through prayer and more prayer that we are where we are. Thank you Lord, for bringing us through so much in so little. And as we keep moving forward, our prayer is that we only hold tightly to the fact that He is in control and we are not.



{PS - Apparently we need to take more pictures, as this ridiculous one of us 4-wheeling is the only one I could find in 1000 pictures of our photo stream...}

Piper is ONE

We'll hello there little blog! I've missed you!

I must admit that I was really quite determined to blog all about life with two littles after Piper was born. And here we are, an entire year after she joined this crazy thing we call life, and I've hardly any documentation to show for it. I mean, it's just a really good thing our doctor's office keeps track of her immunizations... and other than the fact that she's growing, I don't know much about her percentiles and all that jazz. I am hardly sure if I'm coming or going someways, let's be for real.

But sitting here in a quiet airport, sans children, I'm suddenly able to reflect a little. Maybe even put together a complete thought or two... {although I was up at 4am and am battling a cold, so don't get your hopes up too much!}

So. Piper.





She turned ONE almost a month ago. How did that even happen? She is so full of motion and life, and she keeps me on my toes... (Oh does she ever.)

She isn't walking yet, but she is a climber. Yesterday I walked around the corner to find her ON TOP OF Emberly's chalk table. Just sitting there. Eating chalk of course. She puts everything in her mouth. Dust, dirt, crumbs, leftovers, feet, the rubber stoppers on the door stops, me... Everything.

She communicates SO well already. She does a lot of the "eh! eh! eh!" thing while pointing, but she also signs all.the.time. She signs milk, eat, more, please, water, drink, outside, shoes, all done, and sleep on a daily basis... Among many others that come out here and there. She also verbally communicates dada, mama, Emmy (sounds like Emma), more, all done, oof oof (puppy), maaah (goat), ooo ooo (monkey), and many others that I'm spacing out at present. Her favorite, however, is "mama" and though it is flattering, it is also difficult to understand what she wants when everything she needs comes through in a nice little whiney "mama!" tone. :)

She isn't much of a snuggler anymore. Too. Dang. Busy. If I try to rock her before nap or bed she leans toward her crib and tells me "in." Yup.

She is still rocking the formula. I just can't seem to transition her. She is totally offended by anything cold, and I originally thought she had a dairy sensitivity... but this week I've mixed 1/3 whole milk 2/3 formula and she hasn't had any issues. So... Maybe it's in my head. Who knows!

Hmmm... What else?! She and Emberly love to giggle and make faces and noises at each other in the car especially. I think this is probably because Emberly cannot be sitting on her or tickling her face or attacking her in some other big sister way. Those moments make me smile, though they do feel few and far between!

A few of her favorite things:
- being outside
- green beans
- pasta
- climbing
- swinging
- Emberly and all things big kids
- sandbox

And so many more.

She hit 20 lbs on the nose fully clothed at the doctor the other day. I *think* that is the 35th percentile or something like that. She's still rocking mostly 9 month clothes.

Now I fear I'm rambling... So I'll quit. If you ever want to borrow her for an hour or two, let me know. :) {keeping her alive is pretty much what I do all day every day...}

Food, mess, clean up, repeat

Dear Life,

My life as a stay-at-home mom is many things. All kinds of awesome and rewarding while alternately being frustrating and draining, exhausting and overwhelming.

But today all I feel like I do all.day.long is feed little people, clean up the mess (and there's always a lot, even with the most basic snack... seriously. How do these children make a 4 foot wide mess with dry crackers?!? And Lord forbid I give Piper avocado or black beans or fruit! Ok I'm off topic...) and then I repeat.

And these little people don't have very big tanks. So to avoid the hangries (hungry/angry)... we eat all day long. Or so it seems. Breakfast. Morning snack. Lunch. Afternoon snack. Dinner. Bedtime snack. Sleep. Repeat.

I'm losing it, people. I'm kind of asking for advice. But I'm realizing there may not be an easier solution... It's just kind of part of the job. But. If I'm wrong and you are thinking to yourself, "I wonder if she's tried..." Or, "she should feed them..." Blah blah blah. Tell me :) please. For the sake of my sanity.

That's all.

8 weeks. Unedited.

I probably shouldn't blog when I'm crabby... but it seems like someone should know how miserable I'm feeling.  And well... the internet seems like a safe someone to complain to a little at the moment.

I printed off some calendar pages this morning and started marking down all of the "stuff" we are going to do to occupy ourselves while Jordan is gone Round 2.  He leaves on Monday.  This second round hasn't bothered me as much because I keep reminding myself that he is only gone six weeks instead of eight like last time.  That's 14 whole days shorter.  Piece of cake, right?

Wrong.

I started counting out the days, and it is in fact 8 weeks that he is gone again.  Eight.  Again.  Exactly the same as last time to the day.  How did I miss this before??

Anyway.  I did and I am crabby and I just want this part to be over. 

End Rant.

So Jordan leaves on Monday for 8 weeks.  He'll get home the day before my baby turns 3. :)  Then we will have about 3 weeks to pack up all things we deem necessary for living for 10ish months and drive to Texas.  We will live in a one bedroom {yes, ONE bedroom} apartment until February-ish and then move to New Mexico for some sort of other arrangements... who knows what they'll be.  {This is the military after all, let's not get too ahead of ourselves...}

In this time we will learn flexibility like none other.  We will no doubt be stretched far beyond our regular limits.  We will get to see new things and meet new people.  The girls will learn to share a bedroom.  We will learn to trust the Lord in a way that we wouldn't have to in the comfort of our own home with space and things and supplies and such.  We will start a homeschool preschool curriculum. 

Part of me is really excited.

Part of me is a little terrified.  I just can't quite wrap my head around the whole 22 hour drive to Texas thing with a one-year-old and three-year-old.  I need some help with this one.  The longest "road trip" we've ever taken was to Bismarck.  I kid you not.  That is not even 3 hours away.

And if I can't even wrap my head around the drive down there, how could I possibly envision living there for 5 months? 

OK people.  If you made it this far, I give you a gold star.  Because I've been kind of whiny, even after promising my rant was over.  So you must be a good friend to have read this far, and that means I need your help.  I need some tips, tricks, ideas, etc. for traveling with my two bambinos for a million hours in the car.  Snacks.  Activities.  Movies.  Anything.  Please help.  We own maybe 2 DVDs and Emberly is scared of movies that have any sort of action or plot.  We intend to buy a car DVD player... would love suggestions.  I wish we could check out DVDs from the Library, but alas, the whole returning them thing will be kind of tricky. 

I'm rambling.  You get the picture. 

Feel free to comment or PM me!  :)   
 

Forward Motion

I've been absent. I think I've literally been trying to soak up every possible moment with Jordan home that I can before he has to leave again.

We just spent the weekend at the lake. We got home this afternoon after half-naps in the car and my children started detoxing from the grandparent high. Parents know what I'm talking about. Where your children are so used to being held, talked to, played with, spoiled (in the very best and most sincere of ways)... and then you get home to bedtimes and rules and food that comes in the "take it or leave it" variety... it's harsh.

But it's 7:15 and Emmy has been freshly plunked into bed, and I'm currently rocking a very passed out Piper. It's like medicine to my weary soul. Sometimes being a mom is just plain hard.

You know, I think parenting looks kind of crazy to people on the outside. You choose to have these needy, helpless, crazy kids who do their very best to just suck the life out of you one demand, cry, whine at a time. They don't see the love behind it all. Let's be honest, sometimes I don't even see the love behind it all. I'm thankful for this picture though, it reminds me how I look to Jesus, offering absolutely nothing in return for His love... and yet I have it anyway. It is insanely humbling.

Anywho. Currently Piper crawls at crazy fast speeds and is literally all movement and no brains. She pulls herself up on just about anything and hurts herself getting back down just about half of the time. She sits at my feet with her hands raised in the air, whining for me to pick her up, and then as soon as I do, she digs her feet into my stomach (the one I have from carrying two bambinos for 9 months each, thank you very much), and cries and begs to be put down.

Emberly is just a bundle of emotion, motion, and words. She never stops singing or talking and she is always telling me about why some owie is hurting or why a rule that we are enforcing is making her "so very sad." She bounce-runs wherever she goes, and is day-time potty trained minus #2. Sigh, #2. I have literally never talked so much about bowel movements and urination in my life.

I feel a little bit like the day-to-day is on repeat. Like when you're listening to a good song on a CD so you hit the "repeat song" button and listen to it again and again. And pretty soon that song you loved is getting ordinary. Maybe even kind of frustrating or annoying. And I hate that. Because these little miracles are the farthest thing from ordinary.

Must be time to change the CD and ask the Lord for new perspective. I just plain forget sometimes. But looking at these beautiful faces, how is that even possible?

 

What do you do when you need new perspective?  

Crawling

Piper started slowly army crawling yesterday. She apparently needed daddy home before she'd consider movement. (Praise the Lord!)

Today she is all out correctly crawling. Look out world, I have two movers and shakers!





This morning during church Piper kept taking her pacifier out of her mouth and attempting to throw it on the ground (it was on a clip on her shirt). Then she'd say, "uh oh!" and laugh and laugh. She did this about a million times. She thought she was hilarious.

She also signs "milk" when she wants it, and then once she sees it laughs and giggles with delight. And says, "woooow!" and babbles a million other adorable little sounds.

Friday. Oh Friday.

I'm sitting on the couch, looking at chaos all around me. I *maybe* sometimes exaggerate the state of my house a little because it {feels like} it is a giant garbage pile... even if that just means there is a pile of dishes by the sink or something... but this is really bad. Pile of garage sale items by the front door, dishes stacked by the sink, two loads of (clean) laundry on the laundry counter waiting to be folded (and another load in the dryer), toys not yet picked up from the day, vacuuming definitely needed...

Sigh.

And instead of moving, I'm sitting on the couch... listening to Em sing herself to sleep (maybe more like listening to Em evade sleep)...

So today I took Em to see Uncle Mike and get a little checkup.

Be honest. Cutest dental pictures ever, right?

I might be a little biased. Anywho - she was a champ. Got to have a little ride in the chair, had Uncle Mike "tickle" her teeth, and left with a little Friendly Smiles stuffed animal. Then we hit Scheels. The day before the marathon. Not one of my greatest ideas, but not the worst. We saw fishies, spent some energy, and I bought myself a very discounted North Face jacket. Unfortunately the shopping and fun ended rather quickly when I realized I hadn't fed piper in 4ish hours and had no formula with. But still, it was a great morning.

Home. Lunch. Naps.

Then after naps we went downtown to hit Modern Textiles and swing over to the library. At 3:30pm. On a Friday. The Friday of Fargo Marathon weekend. Seriously, why did this not occur to me? Downtown was an absolute nightmare. The registration tents were in the grassy area beside the library. The library parking lot was 100% full. But people. I was committed. I had already told Emberly what we were doing, and un-doing that seemed worse than battling the crowd.

So we made it inside, played in the Wiggle Room, checked out books, and maybe even survived a {rather harsh) fall off a chair and into the corner of the play kitchen with her temple.

After making it around all of the marathon detours (with two crying children in the back) we decided Culvers was a necessary pit stop.

Dinner. Bath. Bedtime. Couch.

And that is why I am stuck here. It's actually kind of amazing I don't have a glass of wine in my hand.

It's 8:10pm on a Friday night and I am contemplating bed. Thankful for that option. And though this post is dripping in sarcasm and woes, it really was an awesome day with my girls. Learning to embrace the chaos is a lesson I believe I'll need to learn my whole life... thankful this is the way God decided he'd teach me.

Piper's Words

I keep forgetting to blog this, so here's my speed blog:

Piper signs "more" consistently and appropriately. She occasionally also signs "eat" and she'll mimic "milk" but doesn't seem to know when she wants milk to ask for it. When looking at a bottle, however, she will sign milk. I introduced "please" today and she did it once, after LOTS of prompting and help.

She also verbally says "uh-oh!" with all kinds of enthusiasm every time anyone drops anything... and she might just throw something over the edge of her tray so that she can say "uh-oh." She also has the sweetest little, "ooooo!!" that she whips out when you show her something new. She copies other sounds we make too and is pretty spot on with many, but we still hear lots of da-da, ba-ba, etc.

I think she's gonna be a talker (with lots of early verbals) like her big sister.

That's all!

Still no crawling!

Random thoughts on 7 weeks away {and stuff}

A) I think I might have a sinus infection.

B) Living in denial, I had a glass of milk with my dinner tonight. And now I want to die a little bit.

C) 6 days until I get to fly to graduation and see my hubby!

D) Of the 7 weeks Jordan has been gone so far, someone in my house has been sick during 6 of those weeks. Many of those weeks more than one of us. That has included 4 trips to the walk-in clinic, 2 ear infections, 1 throat culture, 2 rounds of antibiotics and 1 ER visit. {and if my "cold" continues... we will make it 5 trips, 3 rounds of antibiotics, and 1 sinus infection...}

E) There has been more crying in this household in the past 7 weeks than maybe the past 7 months. {Only a little of it was me.}

F) I sold one of our vehicles and the other made a trip to the mechanic after the door {yes, door} broke.

G) We have watched more Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood than I am proud of.

H) I completely weaned Piper, first from any night feedings, and then onto formula 100%.

I) I may or may not have watched 7 seasons of the Office.

J) I have learned more about prayer and God's ever present hand in my life. In His most grace-filled way, we've even enjoyed lots of these 7 weeks, in spite of (or maybe in the midst of) sickness, tears, lack of sleep, and frustrations.

K) I have been "that mom" at Target. Walmart. Hornbachers. Doctor's office. Chiropractor. You name it. {You know, the one that is there after bedtime, with children in pajamas, trying to find a humidifier, but might as well get groceries while we're here... while children are crying, oh and sick, and oops I forgot to dress them warm enough, and why in the world is it so cold in May anyway?}

L) I have this gigantic appreciation for single mothers. I want to hug you all and bring you meals and offer to watch your children and let you sit in silence and yes.

M) Six.Days.Left

17 days and counting...

This last weekend, Emberly went to the lake with my parents.  It's funny how you can miss someone like crazy and simultaneously feel entirely relieved at their absence.  :)  It was a peaceful weekend for the most part, in which Piper and I cleaned, went for walks after bedtime, wandered around Target, ate out, did laundry, and I worked on several sewing projects that have been on my list of things to-do for quite awhile.  I have this business venture floating around my head where I'd love to sew and sell baby items (like bibs, burp cloths, or whatever) and use the profit for an adoption fund.  (Maybe ours.  Maybe for a friend.  We still don't quite know how the Lord is leading.)  So I made a bunch of bibs and plan to set them out at our garage sale this summer... and if it goes well... maybe I'll try it on a larger level.  And if not... then I'll know!  Anyone need a drool bib??  ;)

 

 

 

 

In the midst of the relaxing, Piper and I made a 4am trip to the ER.  She has croup and was struggling to breathe.  Poor baby.  So we rushed over there and her breathing was really settled by the time we got there.  We were seen anyway, and they said that that happens all the time - the cool night air helps their breathing to even out.  Her vitals were normal, oxygen level at 98% and breathing was slightly elevated, so they let us go.  We came home around 6:30am, and I was super thankful to not have a toddler in the house that would wake up at 7am.  Piper slept until 8:30... but alas, my adrenaline was maybe kinda pumping, and I never did fall asleep.  Sigh.

 

But Sweet P is doing much better.  Emmy is back, and filled with her regular Emmy energy.  And we are continuing to count down the days until Jordan gets back.  It's 17 in case you were wondering.  And 14 until I get to fly down and go to graduation and bring him home!  :) 

Emmy the Reader

Emberly crawled into bed with her two books tonight and looked at me and said, "Mommy, tonight I will read the bedtime stories."

And she did.

She picked Blue Hat, Green Hat, which has obvious repetition and pictures that correspond exactly with the words. But she touched each word, read left to right, laughed appropriately, talked with me about what was going on mid-story, and was just spot. on.

Then she picked the Animal ABC book. People. She knew all but two letters of the alphabet!

It was just a few weeks ago that I blogged saying that she wasn't really interested in doing "school" with me. And she maybe still isn't. But she just reads and reads and pours over books and absorbs information by osmosis.

Makes my mama heart (and teacher heart) sing.

Piper

I'm frustrated with blogging because I've written two blog posts in the past week or so and both have disappeared at the last minute.  After I thought they were saved somewhere.  Grrr...

 

But I'll try again. 

 

Piper is 9-months old now.  I've tried to take a picture a million times, and this last time she pretty much ate the 9-month sticker.  So I guess we aren't going to have a 9-month sticker picture.  Such is life.  But she's pretty adorable anyway... even if she won't sit nicely for a picture anymore. 

 

She is trying so hard to be on the move.  She still sits nicely and plays in one spot much of the time, but is trying more and more to get onto her tummy and crawl.  She is successful getting to her tummy much of the time, and then does some awesome push-ups and gets up on her knees and rocks back and forth.  She even has enough coordination to move one leg forward, but then flops down to her tummy. And then does it again.  And again.  And again.  Since she sleeps on her tummy, she gets lots of good practice in her crib before naps and bedtime... but this has also greatly reduced the amount of sleep she is getting, because girlfriend just cannot stop practicing.  :)  Soon I will have two mobile children.  I'm already outnumbered... this could be interesting. 

 

You maybe remember Piper was deeply insulted at the thought of drinking out of a bottle or sippy cup since she was sick in November/December.  This wasn't a huge problem since I am home full-time, but it was kind of limiting, and also affected the people that Piper was willing to love.  :)  However, we needed to get her drinking out of something... because I am so hoping to attend Jordan's graduation without Piper.  Military events aren't so child friendly.  So we have been praying and trying and praying and trying.  And then last week I hit a point of desperation, realizing that I literally had 4 weeks to wean her and we were going nowhere.  So I researched and prayed and researched and prayed and found this awesome suggestion for an Avent soft-nipple sippy cup (that just so happens to be almost identical to her pacifier).  So the next morning (last Monday) I was waiting at the Bed Bath & Beyond doors when it opened, bought one, and by 10am she was drinking out of the sippy cup.  I was thrilled.  And kind of sad.  My baby was growing up and needed me less.  And this whole weaning thing was happening for real.

 

In a little over a week's time, we've dropped down to just getting mama's milk once a day.  So sad.  And yet, so exciting that it means I get to see Jordan in just 3 weeks!

 

In other Piper news, she had her first ear infection last week.  It was not too fun.  But she handled it like a champ. 

 

And Emberly?  She's just growing up so fast.  She was sick last week with some really high fevers (105 in the night one night! Yikes!) but just handled it like a champ.  She is soooo communicative.  She understands all of her feelings and can tell me when she's frustrated or upset or happy or whatever.  She also seems to understand tomorrow, yesterday, now, later, etc.  This is a big new change too.  She just is so full of life and opinions and two-year-old-ness.  It is really neat to watch her grow.  I know she misses her dad terribly, and I see it in her need to wrestle or play rough, etc.  I am just not good at it.  She asks about him daily, but doesn't dwell on it.  Overall, I think it is good timing for him to be gone.  I wonder how it will go when he leaves the second time.  And moving.  But she is just all kinds of flexible, so I think she'll do better than I will! 

 

That's all for now...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ABC Book

Ok I've been looking at these ABC books floating around Pinterest (I know, I know) ... and I just had to make one for Emberly.  She is super interested in all things ABCs these days and it just needed to be done. 

SO I started working on this a few weeks ago and I finally finished.  My mom helped me with nearly all of the rhymes.  That is not my gift.  But how cute did these turn out?!?!  I cannot wait to get it in the mail.  I'm hitting the order form tonight.  I just need to take one last picture this afternoon! 

 

I cannot wait for it to come in the mail!!

Fever & Toys & Survival

Well... Piper has had a super low-grade temp the last few days, but I credited to teething and wasn't too worried about it. But then yesterday it went up to 101, and even after Tylenol in her system for close to two hours wasn't going down and she was just a miserable mess. So I decided to take her to the walk-in. Call me spazzy, but I didn't want to be wondering if I should have done that at 3am... wondering if I should wake up Em and haul them both in. You know? (And for the record, I totally would have wondered that with the night of sleep we had!)

And of course, all is well. Her throat looks sore and the doctor said she is no doubt fighting something off... but nothing treatable or major yet.

Any who - now my fears of having sick children or a vehicle problem while Jordan was gone have come true. And we handled them, all praise be to the One who leads the way and carries me through.

Piper now weighs 17 lbs, 4 oz, fully clothed. So she sure isn't growing at a rapid rate, but she is just my sweet, petite little peanut.




Em is catching up on some much needed rest this morning, and piper and I are marveling over some new found baby toys.

Last night I cleaned out all of the upstairs toys. And I am oh so happy about it! I put the toys in bins (in categories), then took pictures of the toys that were in the bin, printed them off with a label, and taped them on the side of the bin. Now my sweet E can put toys away in the proper place (I hope!). And of the 15 or so bins, I put away at least half of them in my closet to rotate out when these become boring again.






I'm loving it.

And that's all for us today! Almost through 2 weeks sans hubby/daddy. Dare I say, we might just survive this?!

Peace

Right now I am sitting in Panera, sans children, eating hot food, and typing away on my computer.  In peace.  And I have to say, I almost don't remember how to do this.  It's coming back though.  And I'm liking it.

But the funny thing is that there is a mom across from me, struggling alone with her 3 children to get them fed, dressed to go back outside, food cleaned up, and wrangled, and all I can think of is how much I miss my girlies.  I've only been away for two hours. 

It feels good though, to miss them.  Because I've mostly just felt kind of exasperated and tired of them.  Which is not a good way for a mama to feel.  And I think that Emmy, especially, is a little sick of me too. 

Jordan has been gone 12 days now, and we're making it.  People keep asking me how we are doing, and I keep telling people we are doing fine.  Good even.  And I think it is true.  We've been so busy we've hardly had time to think about it.  Emberly keeps telling me that Daddy is at the "Air National Guard flying airplanes."  :)  It makes me smile.  I know she misses him, because she keeps trying to wrestle with me like she wrestles with him.  And I am just not into it.  We desperately need to get outside to run off some of that energy... it just needs to happen. 

But really, we're doing well.  I don't know how single moms do this all the time though.  It gives me great appreciation for them.  I am exhausted and just plain weary in a whole new way. 

Piper is getting top teeth, so she hasn't been sleeping the greatest, and Emmy has been having bad dreams and growing pains.  Between the two of them, there aren't many hours during the night that someone doesn't need something.  We've watched more Curious George than ever before in our lives, but we've also been better at getting out of the house and doing fun things.  I've tried to relax my standards on "projects" in our house and allowed Em to paint almost every day, along with other ultra messy projects (baking soda + vinegar + medicine dropper is a current fav). 

If you've made it this far in reading this blog about mostly nothing and are a praying person, my big prayer request right now is that I would be able to wean Piper by the time Jordan graduates so that I can fly down for graduation without Piper.  Since she got sick back at Christmastime she stopped taking a bottle.  She still cannot figure out a sippy cup, either.  So if weaning her is not possible, then I just pray that Piper is a willing adventurer with me.  It's a long flight.

Hmmm... I think that is all for now.  It's almost time for me to pack up from my cozy spot at Panera, scurry around and get a few groceries, and get home to tuck my dumplings into bed.  And I have to say, I'm pretty excited to see them... :)

Pip

Can't. Stop. Rocking. Baby.

She's just so warm and snuggly and has the most wonderful freshly bathed baby smell.

But I'm so tired. And haven't eaten supper. And the house is a mess.

But I seriously just can't stop. It's like a drug.

Yay Friday!

We made it to Friday of the first week Jordan has been gone. Praise. the. Lord.

In some ways, it has been better than I dared to hope. The first few days especially. Everything was going so smoothly... but then the door on the van broke and I realized how very close to the surface my emotions were. I know it's silly, but I was especially worried that I'd have car trouble while Jordan was gone. And then I did. 3 days in. I feel so incredibly inferior when it comes to car decisions.

But guess what. The van door part that was broken was covered under some sort of extended manufacturer warranty that I didn't even know we had. No decisions to be made! Such a blessing!

So we continue to be plugging away one day at a time. The hardest part of my day is finding a way to feed Piper. She is so distracted by all things Emberly, so would like to nurse in complete silence. Without complete silence there is the potential for biting. Not ok. Unfortunately, this means E has been watching quite a bit of Caillou when I need to nurse.

Today an amazingly dear friend stopped at my house with an armload of new toys to borrow in boxes that I can pull out just when I need to nurse. I almost cried. Oh, and a little starbucks treat and new scarf! And earlier that morning my sister-in-law stopped to visit and brought some starbucks liquid gold as well! My friends know the way to my heart! ;)

I'm extremely humbled by how thoughtful people have been already in the 6 days Jordan has been gone with phone calls, texts, grocery deliveries, treats, offers to watch my children, etc. Sigh. So very thankful.

That's all for now! Off to cuddle a teething baby, feed a hungry two-year old, and fold laundry. All at the same time ;)

Piper is 8 months old!

Piper hit the 8 month mark a few days ago. I am behind, per usual... but better late than never, right?? :)




She is a mostly smiley, always pat-a-caking, and cuddly cuddly baby. I cannot get over her cuddliness, as I just can't remember Emberly being like that. Piper puts her little head on my shoulder and wraps her little arms around me and just snuggles. She loves to rock and be held and this is mostly awesome. Except when there are other needs to be met. But, we manage. :)

Piper sits very well and seems to have no desire to be mobile. Yet. I can't say that I mind, and if she just held off on crawling until Jordan returned in a couple of months, that would be fine with me! She could sit and play with toys and watch Emberly all day. The tiniest little things that Emberly does make her laugh, but everyone else seems to have to work for those giggles and smiles. She loves her big sister.

Her nap schedule is just completely out of whack these days - sometimes she takes two good naps, other times 3 or even 4 short naps. But she consistently goes to bed between 7 and 8pm and sleeps until 7 or 8am. I wish I could say she's still sleeping through the night, but I think she's having a growth spurt and thinks she's desperately hungry once or even twice in the night suddenly! This mama is tired!

Oh well. I just hope it is a short season!

P is eating two meals of baby food and rice cereal each day and seems to prefer carrots, bananas, squash, and applesauce. She gags something terrible when I give her green beans or peas. And she's maneuvering Cheerios, puffs, and bits and pieces of other soft table foods into her mouth with awesome accuracy these days as well. So fun to watch. And so messy. I am relearning how to relax in that department again.

She wears 6-9 month clothes comfortably and I'd guess weighs somewhere around 17 pounds. She is a perfect little peanut. I absolutely cannot wait until it is nice enough to put her in the stroller sitting up so I don't have to lug the car seat in and out of each place we go! Come on, Spring!

This baby girl loves her daddy. He gets the BEST smiles from her and I know she will miss him coming home each day. So... I guess we will just be taking lots of pictures!

That's all for now on the Piper front!

Quotable

As we were leaving the shoe store this morning Emberly held her shoes, looked at the sales person and as serious as could be said, "don't you worry. I will take good care of them."

And right now she is in bed and between long strings of {very loud} singing I hear in a sweet sing-song voice, "Fraaaaaaaanklin! It's time for breakfast! I made you peaaaaanuuuuutbutter! Mmmm. Eat up!"

I seriously have no idea where some of these things come from.

Flu

A moment to whine please?

My parents offered to take E for the weekend so that Jordan and I could spend some time together sans two-year-old craziness before he leaves.

She left at 6:00pm last night. By 7:00pm, Jordan was 100% down and out with the stomach flu. It continued all night long. I know this because Piper rolled over completely swaddled yesterday and therefore swaddling ended. So I was up a very large portion of the night with her, detoxing from the swaddle.

And now it is morning and I have the flu.

Happy date weekend to us.

Boo.

Ok whine complete. Things that are positive about this:

1. Piper can't move and is relatively easy to take care of, even with the flu.

2. E is having a blast with grandma and grandpa and she would be impossible to take care of while down and out.

3. This is not happening while I'm single-moming it up.

So... yay weekend?

Flexible

Under that pink blanket is Miss Piper in the sling. Sleeping. Hard. And that is what happens when you have a sick baby that won't let you put her down and a two year old with needs. The two year old is in the bath... washing her own hair :)

Word of the day: flexibility

Spring? Is that you?

Watching E get absolutely crazy happy because it's kinda nice outside made.my.day. She just came in the door with Jordan talking a million miles an hour with sparkly happy eyes. Yay warm(er) weather!

And Miss P on the other hand has the ickiest, slimiest cold of all time. She only wants to be held by yours truly (constantly) and still is sadly whining while I hold her (all out scream-crying if someone else is holding her, or if you put her down). So I'm feeling super thankful Jordan has the day off to give E some TLC today. Piper and I will be bonding in the rocking chair.

Imagination

This is what I overhear Emberly saying, as she's playing by herself:

(Sitting on our front bench) "wow i sure have to wait a long time for the school bus to come. It is so hard to be patient."

(A little while later) "here we are!" (Hops off the bench) "Hello friends! My name is a Emberly Ann Wobbema. And I am your teacher. Today we will learn. That sound ok?"

:) I'm still smiling.

My girls at 6 months

 

Can you tell who is who?

Do they even look related? 

Change Ahead

Dear Life,

We got official word that Jordan leaves for Officer Training (to start the process of becoming a pilot) at the end of March. And it just hit me like a ton of bricks. He is in fact leaving. 

His application to get an officer slot was accepted almost a year and a half ago. We found out we were pregnant the day before we got the news. We were living in a different house, with a family of 3. And it felt like such a crazy decision, but we just had this crazy peace that this is what the Lord intended for our family, not knowing one bit that we'd be living in a different house, have a 2.5 year old and 7 month old when it actually happened, that officer training would be extended, or anything else. But God asked my over-controlling, ducks in a row, hate it when my husband leaves for a weekend, type-A personality to trust Him and that he held the unknown in His hand.

It's good to remind myself of that... because right now I don't feel the crazy peace that I did when we made the decision. I just feel kind of crazy. I feel emotional that my girls will be without a daddy for 14ish weeks and emotional that I will be without the support, encouragement, and just general awesomeness of my best friend for that long too. Already I'm playing the "what if the power goes out and I can't find a flashlight?" or "what if the dryer quits and I need to decide if we need to fix it or buy a new one?" or "what if one of the girls gets sick in the night and we need to go to the doctor?" game. {Why are my scenarios so silly? I have no idea. But seriously... I keep dreaming about these things. Last night I had a dream that Emberly's nightlight needed new batteries and I couldn't figure it out...}

I have written and rewritten multiple calendar pages of things we are going to do while he's gone to pass the time, countdowns of how many days he'll be gone the first time, (it's 51 days in case you were curious... with very minimal contact) and when I'm supposed to pay the bills, take out the trash, and all that jazz.

This is not proving that I am letting Christ give me peace that surpasses all understanding.

I'm not entirely sure how to do that, to be honest... to let Christ rule in my heart and take away the fear of the unknown. But I do know how to pray, and when I pray, my fears calm. And I do know what the Lord promises in scripture, that when I trust in Him with all of my heart and lean not on my own understanding, but instead acknowledge Him, and He will make our paths straight.

I think I need some new post-its to stick reminders all over my house. Plus, who doesn't love new post-its?  Lemonade from lemons, right?

SO... do you have any favorite scriptures for times when your life gets rocky? Or that have greatly impacted you during tough times? I'd love it if you shared... :)

And if you are a praying person, I'd love it if you prayed too. 

Piper 6 months

My sweet Baby Piper at 6 months old...