If a one year old could have a favorite author, Elijah's would be Eric Carle. He loves Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See and The Very Hungry Caterpillar, which are the only two Eric Carle books we have.
When reading Caterpillar one night, we got to the end, read about the beautiful butterfly and our little blond boy started saying "Buh...buh...buh..." It was the first time he'd tried to say something without lots of prompting and repetition.
He is so proud of his attempts to say the word "butterfly" that he wants to get right to it when we pick up that book. He doesn't have the patience for all the pages and flips through fairly quickly. So, Caterpillar has taken on a strange new form in our house. It goes something like this:
"In the light of the moon, a little egg lay on a leaf.
He started to look for some food.
On Saturday he ate through one piece of chocolate cake, one ice cream cone, one pickle, one slice of Swiss cheese, one slice of salami, one piece of cherry pie, one sausage, one cupcake, and one slice of watermelon.
Now he wasn't hungry any more, and he wasn't a little caterpillar anymore.
He was a beautiful butterfly!"
Followed by a very enthusiastic "buh, buh, buh!!"
I wish uploading video worked for me, it's much cuter to see!
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Friday, April 19, 2013
The Great Dilemma
We've been really lucky so far to keep Elijah out of daycare. Ever since I went back to work I've been on second shift and our dads who both work from home have been good enough to watch him for us. It's been so nice knowing he's with family, well looked after, and loved.
It also created a pretty neat bond between him and the grandfathers. Nathan's dad goes by "Pop Rice" with the grandkids and my dad is "Grandpa." Elijah has tried to say those two words before most others. He loves his grandmother's also, of course, but his grandfathers are his buddies.
We always knew we would not be able to impose on them forever, though. And now my father-in-law is getting ready for planting season and my dad has his own things going on. So it's time to start looking for daycare. There are other reasons as well. I try not to be, because everyone always says he'll do it when he wants, but I really am concerned about his not walking. I'm hoping putting him with other kids closer to his age will encourage him to do what they are doing.
And I think he could use the socialization in general. He needs to get to know other people than just Mama, Daddy, and his grandparents.
We are lucky that it won't be full time. My 3-11 hours from Thursday to Monday mean he only has to be watched for about 3 hours 3 days a week. Our parents, who actually do enjoy watching him, are going to alternate one day a week, so really, he only has to be in care two days a week.
Still, it bothers me to think of leaving him with someone who isn't family. We don't know much about the world of day care. What we do know is that we don't want him in a "center;" we'd rather he stayed with someone in a private residence who only watches a few other kids. I thought about getting a babysitter or nanny to just come to our house, but then he wouldn't get the socialization.
Pray for us!
It also created a pretty neat bond between him and the grandfathers. Nathan's dad goes by "Pop Rice" with the grandkids and my dad is "Grandpa." Elijah has tried to say those two words before most others. He loves his grandmother's also, of course, but his grandfathers are his buddies.
We always knew we would not be able to impose on them forever, though. And now my father-in-law is getting ready for planting season and my dad has his own things going on. So it's time to start looking for daycare. There are other reasons as well. I try not to be, because everyone always says he'll do it when he wants, but I really am concerned about his not walking. I'm hoping putting him with other kids closer to his age will encourage him to do what they are doing.
And I think he could use the socialization in general. He needs to get to know other people than just Mama, Daddy, and his grandparents.
We are lucky that it won't be full time. My 3-11 hours from Thursday to Monday mean he only has to be watched for about 3 hours 3 days a week. Our parents, who actually do enjoy watching him, are going to alternate one day a week, so really, he only has to be in care two days a week.
Still, it bothers me to think of leaving him with someone who isn't family. We don't know much about the world of day care. What we do know is that we don't want him in a "center;" we'd rather he stayed with someone in a private residence who only watches a few other kids. I thought about getting a babysitter or nanny to just come to our house, but then he wouldn't get the socialization.
Pray for us!
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Order from Chaos
The blog isn't the only thing that's gotten a facelift in our lives lately. For some reason I've felt a strong need to simplify just about everything. I have never been much for housework and since we became parents my motto for house cleaning was "we can do it later, just play with Elijah."
That meant dishes were piling up, laundry wasn't getting done, and I don't even want to tell you how badly the floors needed sweeping. Actually the dishes didn't usually make it a long time without getting done because my parents would do them when they came to watch Elijah on Thursdays. While this was helpful, it made me feel like the world's worst wife and housekeeper.
Then, I came home to find they had not only done the dishes, but also swept the downstairs bathroom, which gets bad because it's also where the litter box is. I knew it was time for a change. That night I stood at the white board on our refrigerator and came up with a weekly chore list. Each day of the week has one chore or one room to be cleaned, that way we only have to do one thing a day and everything gets cleaned every week.
Monday--dust and general pickup
Tuesday--bathrooms (sweep, clean fixtures, clean mirrors)
Wednesday--kitchen (dishes, countertops, sweep, take garbage out if necessary, clean out fridge monthly)
Thursday--sweep and vacuum (stairs and two main living areas)
Friday--laundry (either fold, or move it along in the machines)
Saturday--pay weekly bills, an work on Nathan's office
Okay, so Nathan's office is our one really really horribly messy room. He doesn't care and I just do my best not to go in there (I say as I type this from his computer). Also, Thursday usually means I sweep before work while Elijah is playing and Nathan is meant to vacuum after Elijah goes to bed, but he's been busy and sick so it hasn't been done.
And the laundry gets done throughout the week, Friday is just in case I get really behind. So far, things have been going very well. I also finally had enough of digging through the linen cabinet and not finding what I was looking for. I bought two Sterillite bins and a little set of drawers and created a sense of order in there too. I found a TON of toothbrushes and the pacifier thermometer I bought the first time Elijah got sick and lost as soon as I put it in the closet.
I also brought a new order to the kitchen so that all the food fits in the cabinets instead of crowding the counter and the book case I had my cookbooks in is now a shoe rack by the front door.
I'm quite proud of all my efforts.
I love these cabinets above the stove.
That meant dishes were piling up, laundry wasn't getting done, and I don't even want to tell you how badly the floors needed sweeping. Actually the dishes didn't usually make it a long time without getting done because my parents would do them when they came to watch Elijah on Thursdays. While this was helpful, it made me feel like the world's worst wife and housekeeper.
Then, I came home to find they had not only done the dishes, but also swept the downstairs bathroom, which gets bad because it's also where the litter box is. I knew it was time for a change. That night I stood at the white board on our refrigerator and came up with a weekly chore list. Each day of the week has one chore or one room to be cleaned, that way we only have to do one thing a day and everything gets cleaned every week.
Monday--dust and general pickup
Tuesday--bathrooms (sweep, clean fixtures, clean mirrors)
Wednesday--kitchen (dishes, countertops, sweep, take garbage out if necessary, clean out fridge monthly)
Thursday--sweep and vacuum (stairs and two main living areas)
Friday--laundry (either fold, or move it along in the machines)
Saturday--pay weekly bills, an work on Nathan's office
Okay, so Nathan's office is our one really really horribly messy room. He doesn't care and I just do my best not to go in there (I say as I type this from his computer). Also, Thursday usually means I sweep before work while Elijah is playing and Nathan is meant to vacuum after Elijah goes to bed, but he's been busy and sick so it hasn't been done.
And the laundry gets done throughout the week, Friday is just in case I get really behind. So far, things have been going very well. I also finally had enough of digging through the linen cabinet and not finding what I was looking for. I bought two Sterillite bins and a little set of drawers and created a sense of order in there too. I found a TON of toothbrushes and the pacifier thermometer I bought the first time Elijah got sick and lost as soon as I put it in the closet.
I also brought a new order to the kitchen so that all the food fits in the cabinets instead of crowding the counter and the book case I had my cookbooks in is now a shoe rack by the front door.
I'm quite proud of all my efforts.
Monday, April 15, 2013
To begin
This blog really isn't about holidays.
I've said this before, but we'll start with it. That quote from St. Augustine is probably my favorite. It reminds me, whenever I think of it, that the Resurrection of Christ was not a one time thing. The Resurrection is for all time, for all people. It is an ongoing event and condition about the world.
It's like St. Augustine's version of St. Paul's "be in the world, not of the world." This is something that I have been trying to do more and more lately. I'm not entirely sure how successful I am from day to day, but I am working on keeping this thought as the central focus of my life in Christ and in the world.
For those of you who followed my other blog up to this point, you know my son is my first child and dearly loved. But I'm finding different challenges in each new phase of parenting. Mostly it's the whens and hows that confuse me.
When, for example, will he start walking?--He's almost 15 months old and vocally opposes all our attempts to help him walk.
How do I explain to him the vastness of God and His love? It's almost an abstract concept in the way that it just is. Because we always have it, how can you describe it to a young child? I really don't remember what my parents said to me on the subject.
So these are the things I deal with day to day.
I work full time strange hours, I love my husband and son deeply, I do my best to keep a clean ordered house, I write as often as I can manage, and I try to live according to God's Will.
It's been interesting so far.
I've said this before, but we'll start with it. That quote from St. Augustine is probably my favorite. It reminds me, whenever I think of it, that the Resurrection of Christ was not a one time thing. The Resurrection is for all time, for all people. It is an ongoing event and condition about the world.
It's like St. Augustine's version of St. Paul's "be in the world, not of the world." This is something that I have been trying to do more and more lately. I'm not entirely sure how successful I am from day to day, but I am working on keeping this thought as the central focus of my life in Christ and in the world.
For those of you who followed my other blog up to this point, you know my son is my first child and dearly loved. But I'm finding different challenges in each new phase of parenting. Mostly it's the whens and hows that confuse me.
When, for example, will he start walking?--He's almost 15 months old and vocally opposes all our attempts to help him walk.
How do I explain to him the vastness of God and His love? It's almost an abstract concept in the way that it just is. Because we always have it, how can you describe it to a young child? I really don't remember what my parents said to me on the subject.
So these are the things I deal with day to day.
I work full time strange hours, I love my husband and son deeply, I do my best to keep a clean ordered house, I write as often as I can manage, and I try to live according to God's Will.
It's been interesting so far.
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