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January 30, 2006

Weekend Update

Looking back on this weekend it seemed really busy and somewhat productive but if you were looking around my house you would not agree. I desperately need to catch up house work, but first things first.
Andy was sick home from work on Friday and sick the rest of the weekend. I took full advantage of nap time to leave and run errands when I could while the kids slept. Lizzie and I spent Saturday morning together. We went to Barnes and Noble and I got a bunch of books in great condition. There were so many great finds. I love that place. I went looking for Curious George books so we could gear up for the movie which will be her first. Then we went to Hancock fabric and out to lunch at Amigos where she ate chips and salsa to her heart's content. This is rare, since I'm strict about what she eats and wanting her to get her meal in before the extra stuff. She also had her own sprite for the first time (I'm buying her love with food, HA) But I really wanted this to be a fun experience without harping. With Julia's arrival Andy and I sort of paired off with the girls and I'm trying to be more intentional about my time with Lizzie.

Here she is making a collage, I think she had just stuck glue in her mouth. The glue didn't dry clear which was a disappointment because I wanted to scan this and make it into several cards. I love doing cards with her art work. I still have some thank yous to send out for Christmas gifts. The next night we did it again with double sided tape which worked better but probably wasn't as exciting. Plus its so hard for me not to affect her composition. UGH! I try to make suggestions quietly so Andy doesn't give me a hard time for influencing her art.
Saturday afternoon (during nap time) I went with Christy and Amy to the bead store and we spent 2 hours purchasing and planning our next project. I had looked online for jewelry that I wanted to copy and had found this crocheted bracelet at banana republic.
I replicated it (as best I could) that night, mine is on the left and the banana one is on the right. I bought the cheaper glass pearls to see if I was going to be able to do it (versus the $25 strand of pearls). It worked out well, but I need to find some bigger beads.

Sunday was my sixth weekend to miss church. Unless I'm on my death bed next weekend, I am going! I can't wait till the entire family is healthy again.
I think my days of nursing are over. Julia will hardly nurse anymore so I will then make her a bottle. This morning was the first one that I gave her a bottle instead of nursing. I'm kind of sad and yet excited at the same time. It's like someone has unlocked the prison cell but I'm not sure if I want to leave (maybe that was a tad dramatic). I don't really mind it coming to an end, I made it longer than I thought I would. But it's probably not the best time of year to end it with all the sickness around us. Maybe the worst of our sick time is behond us. LOL Here's hoping!

My baby is growing up so fast. (sniff, sniff)

Posted by JennR at 5:11 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack

January 27, 2006

Felt Advent Calendar Finished Just in Time. . .Phew!

I wanted to start on some curtains for the girls' room and Andy started teasing me about all my unfinished projects. So in the last week I have completed a homemade hooded towel for a baby gift, a scarf (I bought the yarn for it last May!), and an advent calendar that I started in the beginning of Dec for the girls. I bit off more than I could chew this holiday.
At least it will be ready for next year! ;)

The tree is a nice sage green and it's sewn to a large piece of cream felt. I still need to stick the dowel rod through the top and attach a cord to hang it with. The hard part is done at least. (please note the pleats in each pocket where the ornaments go- they were a pinning nightmare)

I started making these hooded towls as baby gifts. This is one of those projects that is cost effective and sews up really quickly. It's basically a wash cloth sewn to a large towel. I really like how they turn out. This one has a hello kitty ribbon across the top which you can't really see. I need to figure out what to do to make it a suitable gift for a boy as well. Ribbon, even if its a sports theme, still looks feminine- I might use ric rac. Any suggestions?

I'm so excited about finishing this scarf. It's something I did for myself! I really love the yarn and it is incredibly soft. This picture of Lizzie cracks me up since it doesn't really match her personality. heehee

Now I can focus on making some jewelry for a while, oh and of course the curtains in the girls room, and learning to crochet booties, and finishing a sweater the I started knitting for Julia, and of course I need to sew berries and leaves onto the Christmas tree skirt. . . it never ends.

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January 24, 2006

Lookout Juilliard

Hannah and Christopher came over for the morning today and Lizzie and Hannah spent majority of that time in tutus.
It cracks me up to watch them all twirl around, including Christopher. Hannah has actually taken a class before and when she dances around she is concentrating so hard, she actually believes that she is one step away from Juilliard- which of course she probably is! ;)

everyone is twirling

please note the accuracy of the hand positioning on Christopher- what elegance!

nice wings, this is the picture that I'll be enlarging for his 18th birthday!

Little Miss Graceful

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January 23, 2006

Beyond the Gates of Splendor

Three years ago Andy and I took my Mom to a Steven Curtis Chapman concert for her birthday and it was one the most memorable spiritual experiences of my life. It wasn't just his great performance and music but we had the pleasure of hearing Steve Saint's testimony and account of his journey back to the tribe responsible for killing his father, Nate Saint. It was quite moving and he spoke of his relationship with a man, Mancaye, who had killed his father and how his children actually call him grandfather now, it was almost hard to process. What an amazing testimony, that family members of the men who were killed went back to reach out to the tribe responsible for their tragedy. Then to our surprise he introduced Mancaye and he came out on the stage and shared with us (Steve translated).
It was unreal and such a blessing to be there.
They were promoting a documentary and for a year after the concert I checked the internet for its release and found nothing.
Well, since the recent release of End of The Spear which is based on the story, I have been able to find the documentary. I'm actually more interested in the documentary then the movie since actual footage and interviews are used. I remember this clip that they showed of the missionaries making contact with the Waudoni tribe and one member turned around and looked at the camera and he had this look on his face of excitement and hope. They were making a connection.
I just ordered the documentary from amazon (2 copies actually) and I can't wait to get them.

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January 22, 2006

Sick and Secluded

I feel like these last two weeks have been especially trying. I'm really not used to having a sickly child, Lizzie (our formula fed child) has been to the doctor for sickness only twice in her 2 1/2 years- but Julia (breast fed child) is a frequent visitor to our doctor's office (they know my voice when I call for crying out loud!). I guess that's not completely fair since a lot of the visits were weigh ins since she was failure to thrive. She has had a cough for the past two weeks (not a productive cough at first) and she has also cut 4 teeth since Christmas day. WHAT FUN!! We finally went to the doctor on Friday because she had a temp of 103. We have been fighting that fever all weekend and I am just hoping and praying that she doesn't wake up warm tomorrow. We are all in need of some serious sleep.

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January 15, 2006

A few shots before bed (not those kind of shots)

Julia had a hard time sitting still but Lizzie was a pro "I love my Daddy and I like cheese."

Posted by JennR at 8:18 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

My Own Reflection

I've been noticing lately how much Lizzie mimicks me in speech and in her expressions. The other day she was excited about something and said "woo-hoo" and I realized that I say that a lot. I also noticed it a while back when she started saying "Oh my gosh", which we did not like and couldn't figure out where she got it . . . till I heard myself say it several times during the next few days. Oops.
She is incredibly compassionate and if I hurt something she is quick to check on me and to kiss it but lately she's been saying "you'll be ok," in a very matter of fact way. I say that to her when she complains when I fix her hair.
Well today she topped all when she got home from church. Andy had done something that made me upset and I said to him in a very calm but serious voice "I'm very upset with you." Not five minutes later, Lizzie was running into the kitchen asking Andy, "Daddy, I want you make my lunch, " and then in a very serious voice, "I'm very upset with you!" (cringe)
Well, needless to say she and I had a talk about respect and I told her that I should not have said that to Daddy and that she was absolutely not allowed to talk that way to him.
It's like having a record button on all the time when she's in the room. I have been discouraged about being the ultimate example at all times because its impossible. I do realize that her ultimate example needs to be Christ and I certainly hope that I some how reflect that during the day to her, today I'm just feeling especially defeated.
My attitude lately with fatigue and just being worn out in general is reflected in the way I talk to her and I'm starting to hear it in her voice as well and today I saw a clear reflection of myself in her . . . and it wasn't pretty.

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January 11, 2006

Adjusting to Reality

No more afternoon naps by the fire with snow falling outside, we are back at home and back to responsibilities. Don't get me wrong, we were so happy to be here. . . at first. Now I am realizing how nice it was to be somewhere without the burden of major house cleaning and meal planning. Lizzie and Julia are glad to be back but Lizzie keeps asking for ice cream for meals and at random times during the day. You can definitely tell that she is coming off of vacation. (not that we gave her ice cream for meals while we were gone but she had more treats then usual)
Julia has a cold which is keeping us from a bible study I go to on Wed mornings. It's not too bad and at her 9 month appointment on Mon the Dr checked her ears and said they were fine. Still, I didn't want to freak other mothers out with the green snot creeping out of her nose. (mmm, lunch anyone?)
She weighed 15.7 on Mon for those of you who are keeping track of her weight gain. Dr. Slack seemed pretty pleased with this and we won't go again for 6 weeks to do a weight check.
I think we're phasing out nursing, Julia seems to be weaning herself. It's been a long nine and a half months of stressing over what she's consuming so I'm pretty fine with this and glad we came this far. She seems too busy to nurse now and the less she nurses the more bottles I give her to make sure she's getting enough. The more bottles the less nursing, you see how it works? She still nurses a good bit when she wakes up and a little before nap and a little before bed. Yesterday I watched her eat a ritz cracker and master the idea that you have to tip back a sippy cup to get the juice and it was like all of a sudden she aged 3 months right there before my eyes and I could see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm not a huge fan of the first year, mostly because I feel so tied down and now we're nearing the end. I'm so excited about the freedom and at the same time sad that my baby is getting so big. Pretty soon she'll be sassying me and sitting in time out next to Lizzie- HA!

Last night we sent Lizzie into the living room after her bath to find her lotion for her ezcema and she was quiet for some time. Andy went in to investigate and I heard her say "Daddy I found powder". She had gotten into the powder that was in the diaper bag and had sprinkled it on herself. I don't know if you can tell in the picture but there is some on her face.

When she did go back and find the lotion she came back singing "I found it, I found it, la-la-la-la-la, my journey to the aveeno is done". That's from Sesame Street's journey to Ernie. Which by the way has been switched from 8 am to 9 am, what is up with that!!! How can they switch the time that Sesame Street comes on? It messes up my whole morning routine. They really ought to consult with mothers over decisions like that. :)

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January 6, 2006

Sledding adventures with the Ross family

For our last day in MA the entire family went out sledding, well except Julia who was fast asleep. And Mema who caught the whole humiliating event on video.
When you see Lizzie's face, please feel free to laugh at our child's expense and I can assure you that she was laughing in the end. Don't call children's services on us!

I tended not to stay on the sled that much and Lizzie would yell to me as I walked up the hill "don't fall Mommy"!

Here are Lizzie and her Papa, I promise she did have fun!

Lizzie was done after her two times down but the rest of us took a few turns by ourselves, proving that we were young at heart and will probably pay for it tomorrow.

Hitching a ride back home.

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January 3, 2006

Let it snow!! Let it snow!!

We are in our third day here in Massachussetts and we just got 8 inches of snow. Everyone here kind of dreads it but we think it is so beautiful. It has been a very fun trip so far.
We flew in on Saturday and the girls were awesome on the flights.
We celebrated our Christmas with Andy's family on Saturday night.

Believe it or not almost all the presents under the tree are for her. And that's her new face. Andy taught her that on the plane.

She is loving her Papa's piano and gets up on the stool and calls to him "Papa, come play the plano (that's how she pronounces it).
We took her out in the snow yesterday and she walked around for a half hour before she told us that she was too tired, we didn't break out the sled yet that Papa got her but we will soon. She is currently walking around in her snow boots so I think she's ready.

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