SO BIG!

Elyse has been reminding me a lot in the last couple of days how big she is. . . and NOT just because I'm still carrying her around while being ready to "EXPLODE" (as my thoughtful neighbor so aptly put it today). She LOVES to try to say "big" whenever I compliment her on her latest trick, and all this praise might be coming back to bite me. I already hear her say "yay" to herself upon her small accomplishments. Soon enough, we'll be regretting all of this positive reinforcement, but, hey, she's still a baby, right? :) For now, I'll enjoy hearing her tell herself "yay" when she gets the cow's sound right.

It's just too fun and I can't stop.

The best things in life...

... are free :) Friday night, we headed over to Rita's to utilize some good ol' freebie coupons and enjoyed Italian ice. Of course, we had to head over to the park and enjoy some of the pre-summer weather to go along with it! Elyse didn't mind a bit. She's still a bit timid with slides, but the swings are a HIT.

Of course, as I watched my hubby and daughter playing (I'm not exactly great on slides these days), my mind drifted to how much life changed in the last couple of years. Can't help but think, as well, of how much life will change in the next two years! I must say, the park was never so fun before Elyse.

Books-a-million

Well, there's been a lot of reading going on in this house all week. My neighbor dropped off an armload of books from her playroom that weren't being used anymore, and Elyse is in book-heaven! Some of them are still a bit old for her, but she is fascinated by all of the new stories and pictures. My new favorite is Corduroy, but I love the way Elyse is addicted to the two books with princesses in them (much to my poor husband's chagrin). I didn't have the heart to hide them from her :)

In such a little thing, I am so grateful for God's gifts. I'm not too picky to buy used books, but they are very hard to find in good condition. These are in beautiful condition. I have been a bit on the sleepy side this week (I LOVE my naps these days!), so nothing suits me more than having Elyse drag her books over for a good read. I have probably spent hours with her this week on my ever-shrinking lap as she giggles over her favorite pictures. I know I won't forget these special moments with her as long as I live. She probably doesn't notice how I just have to play with her curls or smell her hair, because she's far to wrapped up in the little bear without the button. I love it, love it, love it. . .

Have I mentioned that I love being a mom?

Sweet 16

16 months. 16 months! Wow!!! It has been sweet, too. Elyse is growing like a weed and I am enjoying all of the new fun! She has been progressing so much in her mobility, which has strangely started/accelerated with the arrival of the cute pink glasses... ?? I don't know enough to correlate the two, but it definitely has made me think about what the vast living room floor looked like with very poor vision: a bit intimidating, perhaps? Either way, in the last two months, Elyse has been doing all of the things that babies do between 6-12 months. I think it's adorable to see her actually care about the toys that sit in the next room, explore the house like there's no tomorrow, and giggle when she achieves something she's worked hard for. It's mostly adorable because she still adopts crawling and scooting, and although we know she can cruise around on furniture, she has deemed that it's just not for her right now. Let's just say Jordan and I do a lot of chuckling at our little miss lazy pants :)

She will try to repeat just about anything you ask her to say, and it usually comes out in a one syllable grunt. She loves her books more than ever and is often found in her room at the base of her bookshelf "reading" Jordan's old collection of Sugar Creek Gang books. I'm amazed they aren't shredded to pieces. She is very passionate about grapes, peas, yogurt, and jam (we blame Daddy for that one). She is pretty independent in her eating these days, but cannot master the fork to save her life! Silly forks. Who needs 'em? She does have moments when her bowl of cereal and milk is just TOO tempting not to tip. Ugh. I feel in the last few weeks, something has REALLY clicked in much of her understanding of what I'm saying regarding sometimes "poor" behavior :) For that, I am thankful, but it hasn't exactly made this new phase a piece of cake! She enjoys testing us more than ever, and it does keep us on our toes! Here are some of my fun's and not-so-fun's for this stage:

fun's:

* She will repeat "mommy, daddy, mommy, daddy, mommy, daddy" until she has to literally catch her breath. This is usually done while plowing down the hallway as quickly as she can move (which isn't that quick).

* She adds new inflections to the words she says: "baby" & "happy" can be said in about 10 different ways as if she's telling a really dramatic story :)

* She's as bad as a puppy with the phrase "bye-bye"

* She is VERY chatty.

* Her animal noises are hilarious, but they all sound about the same :)

* She now pushes her glasses up if they start to droop by smashing her hand against the lenses

* She likes to clap along with "If You're Happy..."

* The word "banana" comes out "nanana"

* She will dig up the smallest specks of lint on the carpet and hunt me down in the house to "give" them to me. I wish she would pay more attention to the big stuff. :)

* Waiting for daddy to come home as we sit on the porch steps. LOVE seeing her face light up when he pulls into the driveway!

* She still lets me rock her, despite the growing sister between us :)

not-so-fun's:

* watching Elyse beat a toy to death trying to get it to "cooperate" in some way.

* seeing her little "practice" baby experience head trauma in her crib repeatedly...

* playtime in her crib before bed and naps can sometimes last almost 2 hours since she has officially figured out her baby and animals can keep her company!

* she knows how to remove her diapers

* she knows how to weasel out of her strap that should keep her confined to her changing table

* Her "sign" for "all done" is evolving into speaking the word "done." Sadly, it comes out "die, die, die."

* Disobedience has a brand new intentionality :-/

* I've known girls are moodier than boys, but WOW! This girl can go from sobbing to giggling in a split-second!

I've cherished these months with Elyse, and I'm so excited that her little playmate is on the way in a few weeks. I can't wait to see how she will interact with Emily and learn to love her :)

Sacred

Amidst being "housebound" this weekend with a sick, fussy little darling, I listened a bit more closely to this song. The melody is catchy, and I'm a huge fan of Caedmon's Call to begin with. I'll soon be joining the ranks of those of you moms with more than one child, and I know within a matter of weeks, I'll soon be able to relate to this song even more! It doesn't take long for days like these to drive my mind to how much I have to be thankful for (admittedly, after a bit of grumbling). Elyse's cold will go away, unlike many ailments children suffer from in the world. I get to take care of my baby, a privilege many moms without working husbands don't have. I have the Lord to remind me that each action in my day can be done for his glory, even when no one is watching. AND, I can remember that everything is sacred. There is no "banal" task (I admit, rinsing out Elyse's cloth diapers will test that truth) in life when all of life is worship to our God.

"Sacred" from the album Overdressed

This house is a good mess:

it’s the proof of life.

No way would I trade jobs

but it don’t pay overtime.

I’ll get to the laundry;

I don’t know when.

I’m saying a prayer tonight

cause tomorrow it starts again.

Could it be that everything is sacred?

And all this time. . .

everything I’ve dreamed of

has been right before my eyes.

The children are sleeping,

but they’re running through my mind.

The sun makes them happy,

and the music makes them unwind.

My cup runneth over,

and I worry about the stain.

Teach me to run to You

like they run to me for every little thing.

Could it be that everything is sacred?

And all this time. . .

everything I’ve dreamed of

has been right before my eyes.

When I forget to drink from you

I can feel the banks harden.

Lord, make me like a stream

to feed the garden.

Wake up, little sleeper!

The Lord, God Almighty

made your Mama keeper

so rise and shine,

rise and shine cause

Everything is sacred!

And all this time. . .

everything I’ve dreamed of

has been right before my eyes.

Words and Music by Randall Goodgame and Andrew Osenga (c) 2007 House of Mirrors Music (ASCAP) admin. by Simpleville Music, Inc. / 2007 Mighty Molecule Music. (ASCAP) admin by Music Services

Some things...

... never change. And, I hope this thing never ever changes!

Can I just say that I love sleeveless dresses and bare feet?

...and chubby ankles and neck rolls...

ALL, of course, on Elyse... not myself.

Silly Faces :)

She might as well be saying,

"Mom, KISS MY CHEEKS!!!"

Just Cruisin'

Please note that at no time did Elyse's feet touch the grass. Not once :)

15 months with this sweetie & we have officially turned to mush!

Randomness

is the title of this post for a reason. Just lots of little things going on here, most of which won't be too exciting, but a few are interesting enough to make me want to write them down!

SPRING!!! Though here tomorrow, we took advantage of the weather yesterday to spend an afternoon at the lovely oceanfront. Ahhh, yes, a moment that I think to myself, "I never want to leave the beach." Remind me of that in September when we've been there a total of FOUR times, or something like that. It sure is lovely, though, and I will miss it someday. Elyse loves having the breeze blowing in her face, and she decided she doesn't like to touch sand. She stayed mostly on her towel with her hands off of the surface, so as to remind me that she wasn't a fan of the sand. Having said that, she did manage to eat a goldfish cracker coated in sand. She was a great sport, and I hope she will love the water when it comes above freezing temperatures. BRR! We picked up Daddy on the way home and had frozen yogurt together, which topped off the perfect afternoon.

TOYS!!! My sweet neighbor surprised us with a "Little People" dollhouse for Elyse. It was waiting on our porch for us yesterday. She claims she is cleaning out her playroom, but I think she's seen my pitiful lack of toys here and took pity on us :) Jordan set it all up for her before he went to work this morning, and she is having a blast with it. She's definitely not at the point where she's playing "house" or anything, but it is fun to watch her rearrange the furniture. Our neighbor also gave us some backyard toys, and Elyse (though frightened at first by the car) has really taken a liking to them. I'm so thankful for Irene and her generosity to us. Her granddaughters love to come visit :)

FOOD!!! Today marked the first day that Elyse fed herself a bowl of cereal. With a spoon. By herself. With milk and everything. I almost cried. She was quite proud of herself, and I don't blame her. I still have a hard time chasing down the final cheerios in the bottom of my bowl!

WORDS!!! Anything Elyse says these days is hard to bank on. Once in a while, she'll just come up with a "word of the day" and fail to use it for days to come. It is fun to hear her say them, though, even if it's for just a day :) We've had "bye-bye," "yummy," "bum-bum," "baby," and today was the phrase "be happy." I really hope the "be happy" sticks around, because it's like a MadGab phrase. Very funny to hear!

GLASSES!!! Last week, we seem to have had a small breakthrough with the concept of Elyse wanting her glasses. I went to get her up from a morning nap, and she greeted me by squinting and pointing to her temple, the "sign" for her glasses. I about lost it with excitement. *Knock on wood* Ever since that moment, Elyse has done SO much better in keeping her glasses on. We've had several days when they've come off only when Jordan or I have taken them off! This has been revolutionary for my day to day (okay, I might be overdramatizing) routine, as I am no longer forced to follow her around the house to do glasses patrol. YAY! We're praising the Lord for a great follow-up visit, too, with the ophthalmologist last week. He gave us great news: Elyse's eyes are responding perfectly to the glasses, and at this point, we don't need to head down the path of patching and surgery. She is one of the few "baby" cases that he's seen that is purely farsighted. We're thankful that she can see so much better with her glasses. On that note, they're broken :) Somehow, the part that wraps around her ear is broken. Hmm... I wonder how that could have happened? :) Yes, we resorted to taping it. Yes, she looks nerdy. Yes, it was actually Jordan's idea! Yes, we'll get them fixed on Monday.

BABY!!! We've spent a little more time working on the concept of "baby" with Elyse, but she still has no clue. She has about 2 months to get her little mind around it, because this little baby is going to arrive eventually! I'm 30 1/2 weeks now, and I've been feeling great. Other than an achy back (still hoping Elyse will get on her feet and move soon), I have felt just fine. I'm so thankful for our new little girl, and we are SO excited to finally meet her! I'll admit, I'm already kind of intimidated by this 2nd girl... memories of my sassy ways have started to haunt me, but I hope that will bond us in an even greater way :) Emily delights in kicking my ribs most of the day, and I love knowing her little feet in there will soon be kissable! She is definitely an active baby, and she's kept me up parts of several nights squirming around. I try to use those moments to focus on praying for this little girl and her sister, that they would find the only true source of joy in life.

Well, that about sums up what's going on here. As you can see, it can definitely make Elyse quite sleepy :)

Busy, busy, busy.

These last few weeks have kept Elyse hoppin'. She's had numerous play dates, lots of errands with Mommy & Daddy, visits to the park during lovely weather, etc... She's been exploring every nook and cranny of our house on TOP of eating scheduled meals, reading, eating lint from the floor, rearranging our DVD collection, taking baths and walks, napping, and sleeping soundly at night.

We've seen new teeth, heard new noises,

played with new toys, met new people, and received new boo-boo's.

Yes, this little girl is worn out. Can't you tell?

Just look at those tired eyes. And just when you think life can't get any busier, Mom starts taking pictures.

Yes, life is rough for this little girl. Good thing she has a mommy and daddy who love her very much. Whew!

A New Perspective

We have embarked on a new journey around here: glasses for Elyse! Needless to say, it's not the journey we would have chosen with a 13 month old little girl, but we're there. Back in December, we started to notice that Elyse's right eye would cross occasionally when she would stare at something. I dismissed it for a few days, thinking it was just a goofy thing kids do, but after a few days, it was often enough to concern both of us.

Step 1: Figure this all out. We were told it might be difficult to get an appointment with a good pediatric ophthalmologist, and sure enough, the first doctor we called was booked until May! We found another great doctor that would see Elyse with only a five week wait, so off we went. He wasn't exactly Mr. Personable, but he seemed to know what he was talking about (thankfully). He informed us that Elyse is quite farsighted (+4 in both eyes). (Side note: he told us this, and I then asked him when he would do the exam- I didn't know he had already done it in about 10 seconds. I'm sure he was astounded at my faith in his profession. HA!!) Anyway, we were prepared, since farsightedness was one of my initial guesses. I did way too much horrifying "research" on the great and mighty internet... At this point, he believes that glasses will do the trick to keep her right eye straight and help her vision. We'll return to the doctor next month to see if the glasses are indeed doing the job. If they don't seem to be helping, it looks like we'll head down the path of patching and potential surgery. Elyse was crossing her eye in an effort to focus, and if she continued to strain in that way, her brain would eventually cut off the sight in that eye and completely ignore the confused signals.

Step 2: Go shopping. Well, our next great adventure was the hunt for glasses. AND, not just any glasses: glasses for a 13 month old baby. I was pretty optimistic at first, but we discovered that our vision coverage was limited to only a few stores in our area, most of which did not carry any baby glasses. Our vision coverage meant the difference of more than a few dollars, so we had to be choosy :) We finally ended up at Walmart, and were shown SIX pairs of baby glasses! In our limited experience, this was the jackpot. We had 2 pairs of "girl" glasses at our disposal!! (That basically meant they weren't brown or blue... we were happy, even though the two "girl" pairs were identical :) Not only was there a pair that actually fit her, but we were able to pay $20 for a warranty that will cover unlimited breakage/repair for a year. I found a blog by parents of kids with glasses and saw that it is pretty normal to need new frames within days of starting this fun :) Needless to say, we left relieved!

Step 3: Get Elyse to deal with it. The real fun started yesterday when Elyse woke up. I had been dreading this moment from the time we drove away from Walmart Tuesday... I had attempted to have her wear her glasses that afternoon and was completely unsuccessful for more than a few moments. We managed by the grace of God to get her to wear her glasses for most of her awake time yesterday and today! This was so much more than I could have asked for. Elyse has always been a bookworm, and for the last few months, she will choose books anytime over her toys. I must say, the highlight of this entire process was reading Elyse her first book. It about brought me to tears to think that all this time, she's had a hard time seeing what is right in front of her nose! She giggled most of the way through her book, and we spent MUCH of the day reading! Daddy took her on a tour of our fridge, which holds pictures of our family members... she pointed and smiled at each one in a whole new way. As inconvenient as this process might be for the time being, it is so amazing to know that these little specs are helping her see!!!

Step 4: Get Mommy to deal with it. I've been so aware of God's grace during this entire process. When we first realized that this would be a "permanent" part of our family, I had lots of fears and felt a great deal of disappointment. Don't get me wrong, I never expected to be able to protect Elyse from all discomfort and pain for her entire life, but I guess I figured I would have that opportunity to sit beside her on her bed someday and explain why the jerk she adored dumped her for another chickie-poo. OR, I expected to be able to tell her why she gets to wear glasses to school... But, this is one of those situations that requires no explanation, so I should be even more thankful. My little munchkin doesn't wait for an explanation as to why she can't rub her eyes or why everyone is doing a double-take when they look at her. She doesn't ask "why" yet, so she doesn't demand an explanation when I repeatedly replace the glasses she's just chucked on the living room floor. I look at her little face and realize that she couldn't care less why she has to wear these crazy lenses, she just wants them off! :) God has given me so much peace during this experience, and I know it will be the first of many life experiences that "seem" to be obstacles. A sweet friend of mine shared some encouragement with me a few weeks ago that has continued to stick in my mind. She told me how John 9 had encouraged her during this phase of her life.

"As he passed by, he [Jesus] saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” Having said these things, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man's eyes with the mud and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing."

I know Elyse is not blind or anything, but this passage has meant so much to me these weeks. My friend shared this passage with me so I could be reminded that God's purpose in all of this is to display His works in Elyse's (and my) life. Bottom line.

I think I've blabbed long enough in this post, so I'll wrap it up. I determined to be thankful during this process, and though Jordan could vouch for the fact that I have NOT succeeded much of the time, I have so many things to praise God for:

* We were able to detect the problem early, something very important for Elyse's sight!

* We survived the appointment itself! If you'd spoken with me before we went in, you would realize how nervous I was about Elyse having her eyes dilated and cooperating for a thorough eye exam (which apparently was less thorough than I expected.. Ha!). I know there were more raisins on that office floor than I could count, and I'm sure I left some behind :)

* God has revealed so much about the human eye to doctors who can glorify him without even knowing it.

* We were able to find glasses covered by our benefits.

* God gave us some unexpected monetary blessings within the last couple of months that remind me of his constant care & provision for us.

* Elyse should be fully adjusted by the time sweet Emily Mae arrives in a few months- what a blessing that we'll at least hopefully have glasses mastered when our lives change again!

* Elyse has been handling this so well. I am so proud of her & her mostly sweet attitude when I'm sure it's a difficult adjustment for her. I will determine to remember this for the next few days :)

* I have the most amazing husband in the world. I don't need to expound, but I will. He has made me laugh when I've had meltdowns, he's assured me over and over again that he LOVES the way she looks in glasses, he has reassured me that this is SO minor in the scheme of things, and he has been right down on the floor with her as she gets used to them. I am astounded and in love :)

* I have a healthy, happy little girl who does look stinkin' cute in her tiny glasses!

(Elyse's first Praise Baby with perhaps some clarity???)

I love this girl!!!

Noah and the..umm..Barn.

The other day, my sweet neighbor brought by a treasure that was buried in her garage. I was a bit scared at first, but she presented Elyse with a Fisher Price barn and a tub full of animals.

Elyse is thrilled with her new toys (can't you tell by her face?), but it didn't take me long to figure out that most of the animals were from a Noah's Ark set :) That explains the giraffes and zebras, I guess!

After giving them a LONG bath in the tub, we dried off her new friends and have been having fun with them ever since. Noah looks great on a tractor, I say.

Learning to listen

We've experience all sorts of fun new challenges in the communication department these last few days. I started attempting to teach some basic signing when Elyse was about 8 months old, and it wasn't exactly successful at first :) Really, I've never been very committed to it, but I did decide that since we're with her 100% of the time, we might as well give it a shot when we remember! And, I am glad we stuck to it. If for nothing else, it has convinced me how much she can learn in other areas. My sis-in-law Anneke says often that these little kiddos know a LOT more than we give them credit for, and this is one of those areas. We started with "please" and moved to "all done" and "more." The first was and is a great challenge. For some reason, she will not sign "please," but she'll sign "more" and "all done" almost consistently. I had all but given up on "please" when she proved Aunt Anneke right :) The other day, she was rolling around under the piano bench (yes, she rolls around here since crawling and walking are still not on the radar) and managed to get herself wedged pretty good between the bench and the piano. She started whimpering and looking at me with those sad eyes, so I asked her to say "please, Mommy" before I would free her from the bonds of the piano bench. She was holding a small block in each hand, and the first time I asked, she looked at me with the "blank" look. I asked her again, and almost impatiently, she dropped her blocks and signed "please." I just lost it laughing. Well, needless to say, we aren't giving up on that sign.

Now, the fun issue (and I KNEW this was coming) is listening to her "speak."

Elyse now signs "more" for books she likes: Cute.

She signs "more" for food she likes: Good!

She signs "all done" when she's ready to get out of the bathtub: Helpful.

She signs "all done" when I have just removed her diaper: Nope.

She signs "all done" after one bite of veggies: Nope.

She signs "all done" when she's sick of playing alone: Okay *sigh* (how do you resist that?)

She signs "all done" when she's tired of Daddy tickling her: Kind of funny.

She signs "all done" when she gets put in her crib: No, ma'am.

She signs "all done" when I'm trying to cut her nails: Dangerous.

We've definitely laughed a lot during this phase, because it begins the verbal communication. Yes, hers is still mostly nonverbal, but ours has definitely become verbal & very instructional. I have no idea how much of "No, honey, Mommy wants you to eat 790 more bites" she understands, but it's got to start somewhere, right?

Ahh, the joys of communication. Hasn't it baffled anyone else how much these little people have to learn from scratch!? Wow. Stay tuned: right around the corner is "not getting her way," and I'm sure that will be just as fun. I am definitely learning to listen, and I sure hope she is, too!