Monday, September 26, 2011

a family update


John David

He's a smiley little guy these days.
And the smiles extend beyond his gas.
They are usually in direct response to touch, rocking, 
and as soon as he has a nice, warm, fully tummy.

I brought down the play-mat from storage.
His hands are always waving around.  Which means he unknowingly hits the lion, monkey, or tiger that dangles down.  It causes him to coo and make all sorts of excited noises.  The thing is, I can't tell if he's completely freaked out by the whole process or if he feels complete joy.  At this stage of his expressions, one can't be sure.  It makes me laugh, regardless.

Speaking of noises, his nick-name around our house is
"Mr. Squeaky."
He's the loudest baby I know when in a state of rest.
He makes squeaky noises that could potentially be categorized as "non-human."

And the best part about my little man
{other than him being the cutest baby on the planet, making him irresistibly kissable...}
is that he is starting to sleep at night!  
We got a good 6 hour stretch out of him Saturday night!
I can see/feel the healing powers of sleep, again, on the horizon....
...but for now, I'll resort to my {ever-flowing} cups-o-joe...

Annaleigh

She is only a few months away from her 2nd birthday!
Where has the time gone, I ask you?!?

Her vocabulary is HUGE and she's learning new words everyday 
{and repeats almost everything you say to her}.
My favorite is when she says, "It's OK" {and pats the closest body-part} whenever her brother {or I} cry.
She has the sweetest, most empathetic, and loving heart!

She climbs the stairs, standing upright, holding the railing, BY HERSELF now.
Who am I kidding?  She climbs EVERYTHING now!


She loves, LOVES, to draw with crayons, markers, or pens {but not always in/on the proper places - Mike has had a few of his prized resources highlighted in a few unconventional places...}.
She holds the writing utensil properly {which BLOWS my mind, as a former teacher}and draws and endless amount of tiny circles {I can't get over her fine-motor skills as a 21-month-old!}.  
She is constantly asking me to draw "a meow" {a kitty cat} for her.  It's close to 100 times a day!!


Annaleigh is too big for size 12 month clothes and too small for 18 month clothes.
Same goes for her shoes.  Size 4, too small.  Size 5, too big.
She will just have to live with being "Raggedy-Ann" for a few more months.
But I LOVE the excuse of having to buy her all new clothes!

Potty training is not that far away for my big girl.
She is waking up from most of her naps, bone dry!
And she is VERY aware when she is wet/dirty.
We plan to buy her a potty-seat, soon.
Here we go!

Michael

He's back to school {seminary}.
The first day was about a month ago.
It's his LAST 1st-semester {of his Master's degree} ever!  WAHOO!  
He's back to writing and reading and studying like a {oh so handsome!} maniac.
But thankfully, he doesn't have many credits left to take, so that has freed up some of his time.

His job, as an usher for the Yankee's Farm Team has ended{I know!  I can't believe it myself!  I never dreamed of the day I'd allow the "Y-word" on my blog!  Please be assured, I'm throwing up a little in my mouth right at this moment....bleck}.  It's bittersweet.  He had SO MUCH FUN doing that job and it brought in an extra paycheck {ka-ching!}.  But, I'll be happy to have him home at night, now that their season is over {and I'll be happy that he's no longer working for that team...}

His traveling season begins.
{He's an admissions representative for the seminary, remember?}
Most of the places he's going this year are on the West Coast 
{California, Oregon & Washington State, to name a few}.  
I'm excited for the adventures, opportunities and resources he'll get to have while out there!

He is currently teaching through the book of Ecclesiastes in our ABF
{adult bible fellowship aka. Sunday School}.
I've learned SO much from him.
Like, that even though the book of Ecclesiastes appears to be a sad and depressing book,
it's not!  It's packed full of optimism!
SERVE GOD and ENJOY LIFE is it's basic message!
His teaching confirms in my heart, each Sunday, of God's calling in our lives.
The Lord has blessed him, greatly!

Internship begins for us in less than one year.
I'm excited and nervous, all at once.
And, no, we do not have any ideas about our placement...
but we are placing our trust in our Lord that He will set us in the right spot!

Michelle

I'm currently reading four books:
It makes me giggle to see what I'm reading.
Three of the books are to show me how to get better in particular areas of life,
while the fourth is teaching me not to expect perfection!  ha!

I recently bought orange, yellow, and white fabric to try to make this.
 I think it's wonderfully adorable and perfect for the Fall season!
Annaleigh's scheduled to get one {and me, too!}.

I'm doing my best to get back into a routine.
Seeing that written in black and white makes me laugh out loud!
Routine-shmoutine...

Tonight we have a free hot date, the hubs and I!
BBC&S throws a yearly Trustee Dinner for all it's employees and their spouses.
Dinner, dressing up, no kiddos, and a handsome date....HERE I COME!

We had our first SWF {seminary-wives-fellowship} meeting on September 15th.
Not only the ladies who attend {who are my dearest and closest friends},
but the teaching of God's Word encourages and challenges me in my walk with the Lord.
What a blessing it was to my heart!  I'm glad to be a part of something so wonderful!

Along with the {hundreds} of other crafts I'm pursuing,
I've been a crocheting machine, lately.
I just completed this, for Annaleigh.
And this, for John David.
We're ready for the cooler weather!
Well...maybe not....


Happy Monday!

4 comments:

  1. Ashley W.9/26/2011

    so impressed w/ your craftiness in the face of exhaustion! gonna have to steal the candy corn one myself! great updates on a beautiful family!

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  2. I don't know how you do it! Many blessings sent your way, gail

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  3. cant tell - are you busy or something? :) loved reading all your updates on the family. will Michael make it out to the Portland, OR area? we would love to say Hi :)
    miss you and you are doing a great job, mommy!

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  4. Ashley, my craftiness keeps me sane, believe it or not! I need an outlet that reminds me I'm more than just a mom!!

    Gail, Thanks! And I don't know how I do it either! ha! One day at a time {actually one moment at a time...and somehow they all start adding up to one day...!)

    Jeanette, I'll ask him if he'll be close by you...I always have an unclear understanding of what/who he will be close to when he travels...lol! The west coast is such a foreign concept to me!! I've never really thought about it until family {and you} started moving out that direction...ha! Hopefully, you all could meet up!! {but, I'll be bummed that I won't be there too!!!}

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Love is to the heart what the summer is to the farmer's year - it brings to harvest all the loveliest flowers of the soul. -Unknown