our little girl: 28 months

These P updates are getting more and more sporadic. It's not that she's doing fewer awesome things, it's just that I don't notice as much anymore because they seem more normal. Or something. I'm not sure. Also, P would rather be outside than anywhere else, making it difficult for me to finish up all of my inside chores and still have time to blog. I'm not complaining about this at all - I love it, in fact! However, we may have to raise our budget this summer for sunscreen.

As always, P is talking up a storm. Though mind-blowing at times, her speech has also been one of the saddest developments for us lately. She is continues to say more words correctly that she used to say in endearing toddler ways. Luckily for us, we still hear "pan-yo" instead of "piano" and a few others. She's also getting better at consonant clusters to begin words. She doesn't quite say them together yet, so words come out sounding like "b-read" and "p-ray." So darling!

Letter recognition has really taken off lately. At last count, I would say she knows just over half the alphabet. I credit this to Sesame Street, her letter puzzle, some Baby Einstein letter books, and a really annoying little caterpillar that she pulls around the house that sings it's ABC's. I wouldn't say we "work on" letter recognition with her, but we'll ask her what certain letter are when we're reading or coloring.

This kid has a crazy good memory. I didn't think two year olds were supposed to have too much in the way of specific long term memory, but she sure does! It's usually little things that I don't even remember until she brings them up. Last fall she decided that clothespins should be called "owies" because they can pinch you. Then the clothespins went away all winter, only to be brought out a few weeks ago. What do I hear? "Mommy, do you have the owies?"

Bedtime routine has been expanded to include flossing. She loves it. We even caught her flossing with a piece of thread that had frayed off her sock one time. Gross, but pretty darn resourceful.

We have yet to make any headway on potty training. We do, however, have a bath time baby with a strategically placed hole that may aid in this endeavor. It sure would be nice to have her solidly trained before the next little one comes along, but I'm certainly not concerned about it. I can handle two in diapers for a little while!

As stated earlier, there is nowhere this kid would rather be than outside. She loves to play in the yard, practice riding her trike, and go down her kiddie slide. And walking. And running. She LOVES to go walking and running. And by walking and running, I no longer mean riding in her stroller while mommy pushes her. She wants to walk and run by herself. She gets very upset whenever I tell her it's time to turn around and go home. One of these days I'm going to pack food and water and walk until she tells me to turn around. Our record so far is five miles in one day.

The other day (I am not making this up) she ran a half mile all by herself. Now, I won't say there was no stopping. She is her mother's child and gets easily distracted by things like planes, puddles, and piles of dirt. However, she covered the full half mile before she walked any distance. Obviously, I won't love my children any more or less if they do or don't share my interests, but I'd be lying if I said this wasn't one of my proudest parenting moments so far.

Favorite phrases we've heard recently:
"I want to snuggle with your face." Then she wraps her little arms around your head and nuzzles her face against yours. She is shockingly strong.

"Can I use your hands?" Meaning: "Hold my hand, pat my head, let me hug your hand," or basically just "give me any kind of physical contact!" This is especially fun when she's her car seat in the back seat of the car and I'm in the front. I've lost count of the number of times my arm has fallen asleep.

Me: "P, do you want ice cream with strawberries and chocolate?"
P: "No, just strawberries."

I was working in the kitchen, when I heard, "Look Mommy, I colored a D!" I'm sure it was 100% by accident, but still. How cool is that?!

Helping mommy fold socks. Look at that concentration.

Reading to baby

Playing her new horn. I can sacrifice my dough hook for that kind of creativity!

We spent the morning at the park a couple weeks ago, and she had a blast. More pictures here.

P's (and daddy's) new favorite toy.

You may have seen this one before, but I just wanted to reiterate how much this child loves to run.

Taking daddy for a ride on the mower

P just had to help me build her new storage shelves!

The flossing. Cute, right?

fmf: hands

Here are the rules:
1. Write for five minutes flat for pure unedited love of the written word.
2. Link back to Lisa Jo Baker's blog with the rest of the Five Minute Friday-ers.
3. Comment on the person who linked up before you.

Please join us!

Today's prompt: Hands

GO

"Do you want to use my hands?"

This is one of the cutest things my two year old says. There are a lot of cutest things (earlier this week, "I want to snuggle with your face!"), but I do love this one. Basically, it means she wants to hold my hand. Or she wants me to stroke her head, pat her knee...basically, she just wants contact with her mommy.

This leads me to wonder:

How do I use my hands on a daily basis?

Right now they're dry from the load of dishes that hubby and I just washed.

Tomorrow morning, I hope they will be dirt streaked from planting my indoor herb garden. (Tips welcome; I have no idea what I'm doing!)

I use them to stir my morning coffee, prepare meals for my family, drive a car, pet a dog, pack a box...

My mind keeps going back to the phrase the ELCA has adopted: God's work. Our hands.

Now that's quite a commission.

Do your hands do God's work? Sometimes it's as obvious as helping an elderly person carry their groceries to their car. Sometimes it's as unglamorous as changing a messy diaper or as simple as holding open a door.

God's work. Our hands.

Ready? Go.

STOP

fmf: nothing

Here are the rules:
1. Write for five minutes flat for pure unedited love of the written word.
2. Link back to Lisa Jo Baker's blog with the rest of the Five Minute Friday-ers.
3. Comment on the person who linked up before you.

Please join us!

Today's prompt: Nothing

GO

It's a word we use all too often, usually, probably, without meaning it.

"What can I do for you? What can I do to help?"

"Oh, nothing!"

"Thanks for having us for dinner. What can I bring?"

"Nothing at all!"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

That last one especially. If there's anyone out there who claims they haven't used it, they're most likely lying!

But what is it about the response? Why do we feel the need to deny the help of others? To shield our real feelings from them? To refuse to even let them pick up a bag of baby carrots and some ranch dip when they just want to bring/do something?

Are we so arrogant that we need to be that self-sufficient? We want to open our homes and be hospitable for a dinner or a night or a party, but we can't allow them to reciprocate by bringing a bottle of wine, a salad, or a platter of fruit? We really have to prove that we can do it all ourselves? And why, even, sometimes, around close friends, do we hide ourselves? If something is wrong, it's true that they may not be able to do a single thing about it. In fact, they probably can't. Maybe they can offer some advice or tell about when they were in a similar situation, but, most likely, they'll just have to listen.

And that's okay. Because even if someone can't solve your problems, even if you don't want them to, just speaking them out loud to a trusted friend can make a difference.

As a soon-to-be mom of a toddler and newborn, I've been mentally prepping myself to drastically reduce, if not eliminate, this word from my vocabulary. So if you come to visit after the little nugget is born, and you ask what you can bring or what you can do to help, you'll probably be swinging by the grocery store for milk and fruit or spending a few minutes sweeping my floor or washing a few dishes.

And if I come visit you and ask what I can do to help, I fully expect you to come up with something.

You have been warned.

STOP

our week in pictures

Today's blessing:
Sunshine

Friends, I've been absent for awhile. For about a week, we were without internet. There are certain places in our house where I can pick up a 3G signal on my phone, so I could occasionally check e-mail or facebook, but for the most part, I was unwired. Not going to lie - it was kind of nice.

But now it's back, and I'm back in the virtual world. However, the weather has been so nice that I haven't spent much time on my computer anyway. Here's a quick recap of what we've been up to:

We went to the park one morning. It took her a little while, but by the time we left, she was going down the biggest slide all by herself!

"Look, Mommy! It's a P!"

Rockin' the shades and exploring the tunnels.

Baby wasn't quite so adventurous. She waited until we got home, and P helped her go down the little slide.

We planted some flowers. P helped me dig the holes and then water them. She dumped her little cup of water in the dirt near the flowers, and then said, "Happy eating, flowers! Happy drinking, flowers!"

We got to meet baby C, friend S's baby brother. When P was holding him and he started fussing, she leaned in and said, "It's okay, baby. It's okay!" Cutest thing ever.

Highlight of my life so far: P wanted to go running with me. Not riding in the jogging stroller, but actually running with me. The tutu is a nice touch.

Then she got distracted when she realized that the dirt road is basically like a giant sandbox.

This is the result.

fmf: grateful

Here are the rules:
1. Write for five minutes flat for pure unedited love of the written word.
2. Link back to Lisa Jo Baker's blog with the rest of the Five Minute Friday-ers.
3. Comment on the person who linked up before you.

Please join us!

Today's prompt: Grateful

GO

So my husband has started this new thing (well, not super new, but he's being more intentional about it), and it's pretty wonderful. He's a pretty great guy, and he's had some really great mentors who have helped him become the stellar human being he is.

He's always been good about thanking me for what I do. Some days it doesn't feel like much, but he finds something for which he is grateful, and makes sure I know about it. Even if it's just laundry, which I actually don't mind doing, he thanks me.

I think I'm just doing my job - nothing more than what is expected of me. But he can see the love in that.

Love is always having clean underwear and socks.

Love is not having to wash a plate quick to eat a snack because they're all dirty.

Love is noticing the little things and being thoughtful enough to say "thank you".

I'm so grateful to have such a great guy!

Tell someone today you're grateful for what they do; it'll make their day!

STOP

another celebration

Today's blessing:
10,000 views!

Amazing! It seems like just yesterday I was doing my first giveaway for reaching 5000 blog views, and now it's doubled! Wow!

I wanted to do something special for you, my friends, for helping me reach this exciting milestone. I mean, five digits...that's pretty cool!

I've been playing around with some do-it-yourself spa stuff lately, and it's been a lot of fun. So, I figured I might as well share the fun with you! In thanks for your kind devotion - whether you read every post, once in while, or have just stopped by because you saw the chance to win something - I think you'll enjoy this one. I'm giving away a little collection of my homemade spa treatments! Here is what the kit will include:

Peppermint Grapefruit Salt Scrub
If you live in the Midwest like me, you may be just starting to think about summer and getting your feet flip-flop ready! This fresh smelling scrub will do just the trick - I started using it a few weeks ago once or twice a week, and for the first time, they didn't have to bring out the nasty heavy-duty cheese grater thing for my feet when I went for a pedicure! (Out of, you know, the four times in my life I've had a pedicure.)

Honey Vanilla Bubble Bath
It smells so good, and it leaves your skin feeling so nice and soft! You might think it would be sticky, but it's not; I promise!

Homemade Soy Candle
In my favorite scent: Warm Vanilla Sugar!

There you have it - everything you need for a relaxing night to yourself!

We'll see, maybe I'll even throw in some more fun stuff if I try any more great recipes in the next week!

Note: I actually am moderating the entries...you are required to comment on this post for any of your other entries to count, so if you say you commented but you actually didn't, you will not be eligible to win. I know, I'm mean!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

fmf: mess

Here are the rules:
1. Write for five minutes flat for pure unedited love of the written word.
2. Link back to Lisa Jo Baker's blog with the rest of the Five Minute Friday-ers.
3. Comment on the person who linked up before you.

Please join us!

Today's prompt: Mess

GO

"Please excuse the mess; we live here."

Someday, I will have this on a giant sign displayed proudly in my home for all to see. It will most definitely have a place of prominence.

I don't like to clean, but I hate living in a mess even more. Therefore, I will clean just enough to be passable. I may be messy, but I cannot tolerate living in "dirty." There is a difference!

Right now, however, I am dealing with a different kind of mess. I'm in the midst of the mess that comes with loss. My husband lost his dear aunt just under a week ago. She was a piece of work. She was stubborn and sometimes a little bit scattered. But she loved fiercely. Every living thing - be it one of her crazy family members (and they have more than their share of crazy in that family!) or a pregnant stray cat that got stuck under her porch and, before long, the stray's kittens. All of them.

She left behind a bit of a mess.

Her family is an extremely emotional one, and they can, at times, be a mess.

Her cats are confused as to where she is, and they are a mess.

She died too young, unprepared. Who plans for the trifecta of sickness: lungs, heart, and blood, at the age of 52? That left everyone, and many things, in a mess.

But, as she would say, you just have to put one foot in front of the other and keep moving forward.

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and your staff, they comfort me."
Psalm 23:4

We don't run. We don't crawl. We don't stand still and look around. We put one foot in front of the other. And we walk.

And we do not walk alone.

STOP

She has not aged at all...her face is exactly the same!

I wish I could take credit for the "just keep swimming" spirit of this post, but I can't. I based it on a message preached by my husband, which was based on a sermon preached by the remarkable PK, who I am honored to call my friend. The simplicity of the message is what makes it so brilliant.




For another take on "mess" and how I'm dealing with it, click here and here.