Happy Trails

Well, last week sure turned out differently than I thought it would! On Monday, I had an email from my dear friend Stephanie, who is currently hiking the Appalachian Trail, saying that a close family friend had passed away and she was going to come off the trail and try to make it home for the funeral. The idea crossed my mind that this might be the perfect opportunity to drive back home as well--perhaps I'd see Steph, and I'd also get an opportunity to meet a little man named Isaac who was born to another dear friend, Lorie, almost 3 months ago, and also a chance for the kids to see their grandparents and other extended family. I was still on the fence about the matter when my mom called me--she and my dad were on their way back home from visiting my brother and had pulled into a rest area when who should they see? Stephanie. The odds of that happening, of their meeting by chance in a random city in West Virginia, are so very slim that I took it as a sign I was supposed to go home. So the next morning, I packed up the car, buckled up the kids, and headed for my parents' house.

I won't bore you with details, but I did eventually get a hold of Steph, and we arranged to meet the next morning for breakfast. The kids stayed home with Grandpa while Grandma had to go back to work. It was wonderful! Not only did I enjoy a kid-free outing with another adult, it was with Stephanie, one of my favorite people of all time. Later that day, we learned that two of my favorite relatives, Jim and Marilyn, were in town from South Carolina. We all jumped in the car and headed for my great-aunt Gee's house to visit with them and my grandmother, and also to see Gee's daughter-in-law and grandkids. Except for Jim and Marilyn, whom I have not seen for several years, we see the others maybe twice a year, so it was a great family shebang, and nice to visit when we're not centered around a holiday. Then, we were invited back to my grandma's house for dinner, so we were able to extend the visit and share a meal. It was just a wonderful day.

The next day, Aunt Connie invited us to the zoo, so Charis, Judah and I picked her up and headed out to look at the animals and have lunch and a troll through the gift shop (with Aunt Connie, there always seems to be a prize at the end!). It was apparetly one of the highlights of Charis' life, because ever since that day, she asks if we can go to the "zhou" and see the animals. On a side note, the zoo had an excellent area called the "Australian Adventure" which I enjoyed very much. At the time, I was reading Bill Bryson's book about Australia, In A Sunburned Country, and was feeling a great deal of fondness for the land down under. I would recommend almost anything written by Bryson (I haven't read all of his stuff, but close), but read with this asterisk: he's a little rough around the edges with his language and whatnot, and a little coarse at times, and his ideas about the beginning of the world are definitely not mine, but other than that, he is delightful to read. More than any other travel author, he makes you feel that, beyond having read a simple travel narrative, you have actually traveled to the places he writes about, and it's always special when a book has that sort of transporting power. Back to the day's events, we capped off the evening with a tasty, gut-busting meal at Max and Erma's with Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Connie. Good day.

On Friday, I took the kids to visit my dear friend Lorie and her two beautiful (in a handsome sort of way) boys, which is always a treat, not the least of which because her house is very kid-friendly, so it's a bit of a break from the constant redirection I do at the houses of people who don't have small kids. Visiting with Lorie is always easy--we just pick up where we left off, which is a very valuable thing in a friendship. It helps that we've been friends for--gasp! I just did this math for the first time--17 years. Wow.

Saturday was reserved for Grandma. The kids spent ample time with Grandpa all week, but were only able to see grandma in the evenings, so what a wonderful thing to have a bit more time for them to enjoy each other! I don't think we did anything dramatic, but how often do the kids just get to "hang out" with my mom and dad? Not often enough.

Sunday was very similar, except that we also celebrated my dad's birthday (which was actually on Monday), so we had a big lunch, and Charis sang "Happy Dithday" A LOT. Then Mom, Charis, and I headed out for a bridal shower of a family friend. Now, this is the little girl I used to practice french braids on way back in the day, and now she is apparently old enough to marry, which will make you feel old in a hurry. Charis enjoyed her first bridal shower, especially because they served fresh strawberries and had a trampoline she could jump on. We didn't get back home from the shower until sometime after 8, but still found time for cake and pizza with the whole gang.

Monday, dad made a birthday breakfast, and we ate, then the kids and I hit the road back home. We arrived at about 2:30, at which point I began writing this blog. Now it's Friday. My next blog will be about how we passed this week. Oh boy.

Actually, I just tried to go back and add pictures, but it won't let me. So my next blog will be pictures from the week. Then the one after THAT will be this week's craziness. And I think I also have a blog in me somewhere about Gas prices. Stay tuned.

Word to your Mama

Judah is getting words! So far, he has mama, uh-oh, this, that, and dada. And he has a lot of babble, which our pediatrician describes as "learning the music before you know they lyrics." Sweet!

The best Thank You

Dear Charis. She's so wonderful, generally kind and helpful. She loves going to church. But I cannot see to get her excited about praying--she is just not amenable to the idea (no pun intended. okay, maybe I intended the pun just a little), and will in fact say "AMEN!" while I am praying in an apparent attemt to curtail my conversation.

For a week or two, I've been asking her who she wants to pray for each night, and her standard response, as I mentioned in an earlier post, is Diego. Dora's adventurous cousin. One night I did end up praying that somehow God would use Diego to help His children learn about and appreciate His creation, but I'm pretty sure that line of reasoning was lost on my two year old, and Abe mentioned that he didn't really think it was a good idea for me to be praying for a cartoon character. So we've been encouraging her to pray for others with needs--a growing baby in the belly (you know who you are), mommy's friend Stephanie who is thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail, Great-grandma who fell and bruised her kidneys and may have broken a rib... but still, she thinks it is sort of a game, and continues to be silly even as I am praying.

So I told her that a very important part of our day is saying Thank You to God, who gives us all good things. I told her that we need to appreciate what he gives and does for us, and named some of her favorite things--food to eat, friends to play with, our family, a nice home, a church to belong to... After I had finished my mini-speech, Charis looked at me for a minute, as if piecing together what I had just said, looked up towards the ceiling and said, "THANK YOU, GOD!"

Doctor, Doctor, Mr. MD

We've been to the pediatrician's office a couple of times in the past two weeks. Fun stuff.

Visit #1: The kids had both had cold-like symptoms for about a week and a half when we woke up that Wednesday. Both were still couchy, snotty, drippy, and late in the afternon, Charis' eyes looked a little bloodshot. "Do they look pink to you?" I asked Abe. "Not really. I think they're okay." "Okay, I guess she can go to church tonight, then!"

When we picked her up from her wednesday night class, the conversation changed. "Do her eyes look pink to you?" Abe said. "Oh, dear." I replied.

That night, I called Abe's mom to see if she would be available to go with me to the pediatrician's office. I asked Charis if she wanted to talk to Yia Yia on the phone. "Charis, tell Yia Yia what color you eyes are." "BLUE!" "And...?" "PINK!"

When I called the pediatrician's office the next day, they asked me if her ears also hurt. I asked, and she said no, so we went to the appointment, and I figured pink eye was it. But no, she also had an ear infetion, so obviously she has a high tolerance for pain. We were prescribed eye drops (a two-year-old's FAVORITE THING) and ten days of amoxicillin (free at our pharmacy!). I spent the rest of the afternoon on the phone with the parents of all of her classmates apologizing for any sickness she may had unwittingly spread.

Thankfully, perhaps due in part to my hyper-sanitizing, no one else got the funk.

But we returned to the office today for...

Visit #2: Judah's 12-month well-baby. He is in excellent health, right on track in everything! He was 23-odd pounds, and 29-odd inches, 50th percentile all the way. He got shots, which made him very clingy and needy the rest of the day, poor kid (and mom). We're glad he checked out okay!

One more thing: Charis has learned a new trick. The other night, I was putting her to bed, reading her a Curious George story, when she said randomly, "Two mommies!" What on earth...? I wondered. I looked over at my beautiful, precious, flawless daughter, and her eyes were crossed like some sort of goofy teenager. It completely creeps Abe out!

Fun on a Friday

One thing I will always look back on fondly is our Friday Afternoon Fun. It's never planned, but occasionally we'll all end up on the big bed, tickling, wrestling, laughing, and just generally being goofy. Here are some photos from a recent Friday.

channeling Mr. Potatohead

let's put our heads together and see what we come up with

junior birdgirl

no...they love it.

Judah's party and other stuff

Well, I've been waiting to post because I sincerely believed I could upload the many videos from Judah's birthday party (including every digital representation of him eating his cake), butI have tried, and failed. So rather than wait any longer, I thought I should at least mention his party, even if I don't have the most fun pictures to show for it.

It was a "traffic" theme, with decorations including red/yellow/green balloon stoplights and other red/yellow/green things. He had cupcakes made by Grandma Donna (devil's food and angel's food--for whichever way people were leaning that day) frosted red, yellow, or green, with m&m stoplights on them. He LOVED his chocolate cake! Judah had about 28 guests, counting the kids. Other food included: bbq cola meatballs, ham and pickle roll-ups, veggies and dip, and various chips and snacks. Judah ate loads. This picture, above, is Judah opening an outlet cover for his bedroom. Arguably his favorite gift all day, it was also the only one he could really get close to, since his big sister and her bigger friends did all the unwrapping for him. He didn't seem to mind.

It being a theme party, he received many theme-related gifts--lots of books about trucks and also actual toy trucks. He also received quite a few items of clothing and some bath toys, which we have been putting to good use!

A present...for me to open!?!?!?

Um...no. Just an empty bag...

The next day, we dedicated Judah at church. Both sets of grandmas and grandpas were there, along with a great aunt and a lot of other aunties and uncles.

It was a busy weekend, and I wish I had better pictures to show for it, but most of them are on actual film. Can you imagine that? How...dark ages.

Another Charisism

Blessyous: commonly sold under the brand name Kleenex, used to wipe a runny nose or stifle a sneeze.


The weather has been great here the past few days--I've been able to take the kids outside so they can play on the swingset and run and soak in the fresh air. The fresh air factor has been wonderful, especially since both kids have been sick since last week. They've both got the snots something fierce, and Judah, who has of late been a champion sleeper, is back to his I-need-soothing-at-4-am ways. Sigh. The combination of snotty faces and backyard dirt means that in the past two days, the kids have had three baths. I don't normally bathe the kids that often, because a) they just don't usually get that dirty, and b)their skin tends to dry out if I over-bathe. I find twice a week is usually sufficient, but clearly did not suffice this week!

We have fallen into a nice routine, though, and this is how it's gone (this will be boring, but I wanted to record it just so I could remember in the future):
8:30-9 am-ish: Kids wake up, eat breakfast, play, watch Diego, etc. Lately, we've been alternating whose room we play in in the morning. Yesterday it was Charis' room, where we read books, danced to music, and drew on the chalkboard. And also I picked up...
10:30-11 am-ish: Judah goes down for a nap. Charis and I do work, read books, color, etc.
12:30-12:45-ish: Judah wakes up, we all eat lunch.
1-1:15-ish: I take a shower while the kids play in Judah's room (works nicely that I can see what they're doing from the shower).
1:30-1:45-ish: We get shoes on and head outside for about half an hour.
2-2:15-ish: We go inside, the kids have a small snack, then they go down for naps.
2:30-ish: I get to work cleaning the kitchen, doing laundry, paying bills, etc.
3:45-ish: Judah wakes up, eats a light snack or has some juice while sitting in the highchair watching me work--I'm usually finishing up the kitchen or making dinner.
3:45-ish: Abe gets home
5:30-6-ish: Charis gets up, we eat dinner
6:30-ish: We play or do projects or watch TV
8 pm: Kids go to bed.

A day in the life! Of course, it can't always go as planned--this morning, Judah was UP, ready to go, at 7:15, and Charis was awakened by a very very soggy diaper at around 7:45. So today's schedule will be a bit out of whack...

Four-dollar Word

Charis' new favorite word is fascinated. Where on earth did she learn that one? She'll use it like this:

"Daddy, you are so FASCINATED!"

Sometimes we'll just ask her to say it because it's so much fun to hear.

Also, during her visit, my mom pointed out that Charis has a very good grip on verb usage, and now that I've been paying attention to it, I have to agree! She is, of course, comfortable with being verbs (am are is was were be being been), but she also spices it up with others--want, need, etc. It just confirms what we thought all along. She's a genius. Of course, we usually think she's a genius when Grandma and Grandpa are around saying things like, "Ooooh. That's so advanced. She's not even three!" or, "I'm so impressed with her mastery of ___________. What a smart girl!" Thank goodness for grandparents!

1 Year of Fun

It's time for another Top Ten, this time celebrating Judah's FIRST BIRTHDAY! I know. I can't believe it either, and I live with the child. I will tell you that his first year has been like a heartbeat compared to Charis' first year; I think it has something to do with being in the perpetual motion that two children require. At any rate, it has been fast, but (except for a few moments in the first few semi-colicky months) it has been really, really good. Here we go...

Top Ten Reasons I Love Judah

10. He's just so darn cute. As his mother, I may be a little bit biased. Also, he's got my dark hair and brown eyes, so again, I'm slightly partial. But everywhere I go, people can't help but comment on him, especially his gorgeous eyes and long eyelashes. True, they may just be being polite, and that's fine, but I can't help but agree with the woman named Patty at our church who, not in our presence, looked at him and simply said "Yum." When he was born, he had a plugged duct in one eye that made a little lump and caused his eyes to be very asymmetrical. I always thought he was beautiful because he was mine, but it was a revelation a month or so later when it cleared up and the lump went away--he was like a new kid! A new, devastatingly handsome kid.

9. He's (mostly) a mellow fellow. Charis has always been a fireball of energy, and that certainly has its charms and is fantastic entertainment. Judah's disposition, while certainly playful, is much more low-key. He's the "easy one" in the nursery, so much so that many nursery workers have told me in hushed tones, "I love your son. He's my favorite. I hold him every chance I get." *wink* Judah's biggest (outside of the family) fan is his Wednesday night nursery worker, Jan, who doesn't share him with others (perhaps to our delight). She unabashedly, without hushed tones or winks, claims Judah as her favorite, and that's fine by us. She's our favorite, too.

8. He loves to look at books. Abe is not a reader. I really, really am. I have always had this secret fear that my kids wouldn't like to read and I wouldn't know what to do about it. I think reading is very important and, most of all, fun. I recall spending hours upon hours reading as a child, being transported to all sorts of places and times, experiencing things I just couldn't have experienced in my backyard by myself. I was always sad when the last page was read because I didn't want to leave the world I had become a part of. Now, I'm not saying I caught Judah reading The Count of Monte Cristo or anything, but it just isn't unusual for him to sit down with a book and leisurely flip through the pages, and that makes me happy. (On a side note, Charis also LOVES to read, so we seem to have dodged the bullet thus far.)

7. He is mobile and independent. He scooted for a long time before he crawled, and crawled only briefly (a month or so?) before he walked. Now he practically runs. He rifles through the toys on his own, he explores on his own, he is bold and adventuresome in trying to climb places he has never been before. When I'm trying to get the laundry folded or dinner made, this is an especially handy trait. However, he is still...

6. A cuddly bunny. Charis is a toddler. She's very nearly 3. She is a go-go-goer and only occasionally stops to cuddle with mom. I know Judah will reach this stage, and as a boy, he will probably reach it sooner and to a greater degree, but for now, especially when he is tired, he will let mom cuddle with him.

5. He is all boy. Rough and tumble. Charis sits on him and he laughs. He flops face-first onto a pile of blankets on the floor. He eats sand. He likes his trucks and cars. Abe is already (in fact, was from delivery) planning all of the things he is going to teach Judah--sports, car maintenance, home repair... And this is what Charis has to say about it: "fgfgvfvvvvvvmnm,m " She typed that herself.

4. His expressions are priceless. Maybe it's that Abe and I are overly melodramatic, or maybe it's the huge mirror in the living room that the kids like to stare into, practicing their best faces, but both of the kids play with expressions so much, they may be destined for a life on the stage. People have actually asked me if I teach my children to make all of those faces. Judah's faces have only started to emerge, but he can already run the gamut. You just wonder what's going on in his little head... Which leads me to #3...

3. His personality. The older he gets, the more it shines through. This past weekend, at Judah's birthday party, Aunt Beth mentioned that she thought he would have a dry sense of humor. How can you extrapolate this while looking at a one-year old with very few words who is cramming cake into his mouth? I don't know. But I kind of agree--he seems to have restraint, and may be the quiet life of the party, but the life nonetheless. I don't see him ever being a blank slate. I think he will be a fascinating canvas! The fun part is watching that personality emerge.

2. He loves his sister. I know, what's not to love? But just the same, it is amazing to see the look of adoration in his eyes when he turns a corner and sees her. His face just lights up! Or when I have almost completed a task and he wakes up from a nap, he is comforted when Charis takes my place in the wake-up process. When I do make it up there, he's usually giggling just watching her perform or play. I love that I have not taught him to love her, or forced him or implored him in any way to be fond of her...it comes as naturally to him as loving his mom and dad. It's sweet.

1. He is uniquely Judah. I love that he will tilt his head down so we can bonk heads when he is sitting in his highchair. I love that before he lets me set him down in his crib at night, he loves to give me slobbery kisses. I love that I have to hide when I pass by the nursery so he won't see me and all of a sudden be sad that I'm not with him. I love that he has as much fun wearing his food as he does eating it. I love when he copies me when I blow on his face, or when I say "uh-oh." I love that he thinks the cat is so funny. I love everything that makes him Judah, and I wouldn't trade him for anything in the whole wide world.

Happy birthday, Judah!

Charis Lexicon

Judah turns 1 soon, and to help celebrate, my parents are going to come spend the weekend. But I got to thinking about Charis' vocabulary, and thought that my parents might need something to help them decipher her words. So, without further ado, a few words from the Charis Lexicon:

1)King Hat: the headpiece worn by a reigning monarch, e.g., a crown.

2)Eggo: Dora's cousin. Also spelled Diego.

3)Bawberry: the fun-loving, fruit-smelling girl with the surname "Shortcake."

4)Darby: Ken's significant other, Skipper's older sister.

5)Araf: Long-necked spotted mammal.

6) Bear: a location word, used in phrases like, "That's neither here nor bear," or, "Hey, mom, there's a McDonald's over bear."

7)Beer: Abbreviated name for the stuffed animal popularized by Theodore Roosevelt.

8)Mealk: Bovine by-product commonly poured on cereal or mixed with Ovaltine.

9)Mealted: what cheese is after being exposed to high temperatures.

10)Deedog: aka, frank, wiener, redhot...

11)Newels: what you find underneath spaghetti sauce

12) Seal: e.g., Rice Krispies, Cheerios, Corn Flakes.

13)Buell: a vessel which may or may not contain seal and mealk

14)A Nana: long yellow tropical fruit that you may slice on top of your seal.

15)Tittatales: You know; Bob, Larry, Junior Asparagus et al.

Good luck, Mom and Dad!

What a Tangled Mess We Weave

Ever since I gave birth to Charis, I had been anxious about this time. I knew her hair would keep growing and growing, and I knew that eventually, I'd have to graduate from doing her hair in pig tails (easy peasie) to a pony tail (lemon squeezie) to....

a french braid. I have dreaded this because, while my mother did fantastic french braids on my hair in my youth and my mother-in-law did all manner of braids on her two girls, I am fairly inept in the french braid department.

I started practicing my french braid technique when I was in my teens. When we'd visit with our family friends, Lucky and Dennis, I'd play with their young daughter's hair--thick, full, espresso brown hair that begged to be styled over and over. As I reflect on this, it is remarkable to me that she willingly sat still for this--now, trying to do even a simple pony tail on Charis involves bribery. I was successful in every sort of -tail imaginable, but the braid taunted me. I would try and try to weave her hair with my fumbling fingers, only to produce a tangled mess of many braids that I called a "Scotch Braid," which I pretended was an actual thing that someone would want to have done to their hair instead of what it was in reality--a gnarly, confused, elaborate knot on the back of her head that would require additional hours to comb out.

So, the other day, I thought it was high time, what with Charis' bangs being at prime eyeball-poking length, to not only try the french braid, but to try the double french braid--one braid down each side of the head. I was afraid it would be my Waterloo. I armed Charis with snacks and her Diego video (she calls him "'Eggo") and set to work, and I am proud to say that 15 years of practice have paid off! Here are some photos of the final product.

Little Man Walking

How quickly time passes. Just a few short posts ago, I was pontificating about the virtues of crawling on hands and knees, as my brilliant little guy had just learned to do, and now this. This past Saturday, Judah officially switched from being a crawler who occasionally walked a few paces to a walker who occasionally feels he must crawl. By and large, Judah is toddling everywhere; today, he walked from our downstairs bathroom all the way to the living room coffee table, an as-the-crow-flies (though, enclosed in a house, a crow flying would leave quite a mess, so I say this for illustrative purposes only) distance of about 20-25 feet. He is becoming so bold!

He's also wiping out a lot. Poor kid--when he goes down, he goes down hard, but that doesn't keep him from trying. I love that. He's got permanent-looking bruises on his knees from his rescue falls (when he catches himself mid-fall before he kisses the floor) and has had quite a few head bumps (when he doesn't). It's really amazing to see him stumble from room to room! And also a bit stupefying when I consider the mess that two walking children can make--as if the mess wasn't already big enough!

I will post some pictures of him walking when I have some good ones to share.

One Giant Leap For Judahkind

The other night I was on the phone with my mom. She asked if Judah was now crawling with his belly off of the floor consistently. "100% of the time," I replied.

That is now a lie.

Judah is quickly on his way to being a walker! That's right! He's not quite 11 months old, but over the past week, he has been taking steps! It started with his pulling himself up on furniture and then letting go--he'd stand there for a few seconds, then topple over. Most of the time he did this on the couch, so it was a soft landing that brought him great joy.

Next, knowing his legs were strong enough to hold him up, I began initiating "come to Mama" walking sessions where, at any one time, he'd take 4-15 unassisted steps before diving into my arms. [A cute side note: Charis, not wanting to be left out of the action, declared, "I walk, too!" and proceeded to toddle 4 or 5 steps before falling into my arms laughing.] I've showed Abe, so he can confirm. The most effective method I've found for encouraging his steps is walking behind him, but holding my hands out in front of him--it's the carrot-on-a-stick method. Using this procedure, he has taken as many as 20 unassisted steps.

But then, this morning, he was holding on to the coffee table, he let go, and he actually walked 5 steps to the nearest footstool--unassisted and, most phenomenally, self-initiated! Pretty cool!

Another cute Charis story, just so this post isn't Judah-heavy: This morning, Charis was eating her breakfast in the booster seat. I had just gotten Judah up (who has been sick), and he was cuddling with me on the couch. Charis was ready to get out, so she requested that I set brother down and help her. "Well, let's give him just a minute. He just woke up and he's getting his mommy fix."
"Oh, no!" Charis said. "Mommy's broken?"

Antiques Roadshow Update

I think I mentioned this past summer that we traveled to Milwaukee, WI for a visit with Bank Girl Noelle and her husband Mike (great hosts and great friends--what fun!) and to experience the PBS phenomenon Antiques Roadshow for ourselves. Abe and I are fans (Abe especially), so for his birthday, I applied for tickets to attend and have items appraised. We got tickets and scrambled for some antiques (we don't really have many antiques of note), finally settling on some family silver. It turned out that the value of our silver was negligible--a child's flatware set was valued at $40, and a tea and creamer set was valued at about $150--but that totally wasn't the point. We went for the experience, and it was so much fun! We didn't make it on camera with our items, but we were standing in the background when a woman was having her item appraised, so there's a good chance that we'll show up in the background on the show.

We also got in the "Feedback Booth" before we left, and this is where we might really shine. We had Judah with us, and he was sort of the focus of our Feedback Booth spiel, so we figure we have a GOOD chance of getting on with that. PBS would be silly not to put our cutie on TV!

At the time of our visit, the most detailed information they supplied regarding Air Date was "beginning in January," so I was hoping we'd be on soon. Turns out that the Milwaukee episodes won't air until this coming fall, so if you've been checking out Antiques Roadshow hoping to see us, you've got quite a wait! I will update with specific dates when I know them for those of you interested in seeing our TV debut (Mom)!

The Blizzard of 2007

Our meteorologists tell us that we haven't seen temperatures like this since 1995. Temperatures like what? Well, check out this photo Abe snapped of our outdoor thermometer yesterday before he left for work:


As if it weren't cold enough, it has also been snowy. Snowy, snowy, snowy. On Saturday, Abe decided to go out and snowblow the driveway.

This is what it looked like from the house:

Granted, this photo was taken through a window that is less than sparkling clean, but most of the interference you see is blowing snow.

And no, Abe isn't flipping me the bird--snow-lover that he is, he was holding up one of those hand signals that, in sign language, means "I love you," but which has been adopted by surfers, snowboarders, and the terminally cool everywhere to mean, loosely, "This is awesome, dude."

Here's another one taken from our front porch, looking up the street. See if you can identify exactly where the street is:

If you guessed that it is past the telephone pole, you're right! I believe, though I may be incorrect, that if you look very very closely, you may even be able to see a car passing in the background. Or not. Either way, you'll note that few birds have frequented the birdfeeder.


I know that some people hate the snow and cold. Let's be honest: I am no fan of cold...unless it is accompanied by snow. There's just something about being inside a cozy warm house, bundled up in fleece and slippers, sipping a hot chocolate (if you're into that sort of thing), and watching the snow whirl and rage outside. It makes you want to curl up in a blanket on the couch and watch a really good old movie and revel in the fact that not only are you hibernating at home, most everyone else is, and things are peaceful and quiet.


I imagine you'll be reading a very different post when it starts to warm and all of this snow turns to slush and mud...


In other news, I want to report that, effective immediately, Charis has changed her brother's name from Judah to Bubby. Just thought you should know!

Snow Babies

We were completely afraid that this entire winter was going to be a big fat dud. Many of its early days saw temperatures of 40-45 degrees, so on the rare occasion the temperature dipped low enough to allow snowfall, it was quickly melted away. In fact, it has been quite some time sice we've had any snow of note; we purchased a sled for Charis last winter which she was completely unable to use in the year 2006.

Now, though, we are enjoying--and I really mean that--a bonafide winter. It is a sign of a true northerner that when told by the weatherman they can expect temeratures well below freezing and a snowfall of several inches, they smile contentedly and say something like, "It's about time!" My personal feeling on winter is that I don't mind it as long as everything is frosted in white. When it's just cold and dead and grey, well, that I can do without, thank you very much.

So last Sunday, we went to Abe's parents' house to belatedly celebrate his mom's birthday. We had a great winter meal (chicken broccoli alfredo and garlic bread, angel food cake and chocolate angel food cake with three different ice cream varieties to choose from and a homemade raspberry sauce to top it all off, and homemade sparkling grape juice to drink), and then we bundled the kids (and grownups!) and turned to the outdoors. Abe's parents have a decent-sized hill for sledding--perfect for younger kids, but still fun for the bigger ones, so Charis finally got her first sled ride.

She was not thrilled.

Here she is with Auntie after going down the hill and being pelted in the face with snow. We realized that she vastly preferred going down backwards--no snow or freezing wind in the face, no feeling of impending doom when racing towards the trees at the bottom... Still, she was honest:

"Charis, do you want to go down the hill with mommy?"

"No."

"Daddy?"

"No. Inside, please."

Oddly enough, after introducing her to the wonderful world of snow angels and freeing her from any sledding obligations, she was all too happy to remain outdoors even after all of the kids and ladies had gone inside.

Here is our little snow angel.

Judah's role in the day was a bit smaller. He did go down the hill a couple times with various parents and aunts and uncles, and seemed neither to enjoy it nor dislike it.

His nose did run like a faucet. And he did have an unmistakable "I'm freezing out here, guys" look about him, even though he was bundled to the hilt with a snowsuit, hat, cozy pjs, extra socks, and warm boots. His greatest show of pleasure that day came when he was finally freed from his fleecy confines and allowed to be nekked.

Here's our cold little fella with his Uncle and Auntie who, by the way, lovelovelove him. They have assured us that if he ever turns up missing, chances are they have borrowed him from us.
That's okay by us! Uncle Jed runs dogs--and is really good at it--and wants to take Judah someday when he's older. Won't that be fun, especially for Judah?






This last picture was taken towards the end of our time outdoors, when the sun was going down and it was really starting to get nippy. I offer it as proof that big kids can have fun, too! (Though I was a bit afraid we were going to pop this snow tube) All in all, a really really good day! And the weatherman has lined up single-digit temperaures for us in the next week, so it seems we will continue to have opportunities for outdoor winter fun!

My, my--milestones!

I was beginning to wonder if it would ever happen--and now it has! For quite some time, Judah has been sort of Army-crawling, on his belly, as if he's wriggling under barbed wire in enemy territory. (Already, he has an active imagination!) But he moves so quickly using this method, he didn't seem to have any inclination to get his belly up off the floor, even when I supported it or lifted him up with his overall straps. Generally speaking, he fussed and whined until I set him back down on the floor, where he'd continue to evade the enemy's snares (Already a theologian!). I have been more than ready for him to start crawling for quite some time now.

I even asked the pediatrician if it was anything to be concerned about. I have heard that there's a link between crawling and reading--that crawling develops the reading part of the brain, so if that crawling milestone isn't met, the child may have difficulty reading down the road. Well, hello--I was an English major (though the grammar and syntax in this blog may suggest otherwise). I will do everything in my power to help my kids love reading, even if it means intensive crawl-training. The pediatrician said that he wasn't familiar with that link (but I swear I've heard it multiple times from several different sources, and I believe it to be true), and said that I shouldn't worry.

Judah is also an adept sitter, but only achieves a seated position with assistance or from a standing position. He has never crawled into a sit, or pushed himself off the ground to sit. Again, I've been trying to teach him this, but to no avail.

But look at those pictures! Last Wednesday was the first time he crawled with his belly off the floor--but it was only about two strides, and he hadn't done it since, until this morning! He crawled enough that I was able to get the camera and take some pictures, and then he finished with his dismount: a reverse half-somersault in the tuck position for a perfectly stuck butt landing! While he was diaper-clad, he was a crawling fiend! When I put clothes on him, I think he found them a bit too slippery to support him, and his knees kept sliding out from under him. Even so, I'm calling it: as of today, Judah is officially a crawler! Yippee!

Climb Time and Water Wonders

I wanted to give you a couple of snapshots of the kids. This first one is my illustration of the fact that Judah can now climb stairs without any assistance. On this day, I followed him at a small distance taking pictures, just to document it. [My brother bemoans the fact that my parents' picture-taking--or perhaps just picture developing--habits dropped off significantly between their first and second child, so I want to make sure my son won't have the same thing to whine about. :) ] Anyway, I digress. So there I was, snapping away, holding steady as Judah kept advancing. It finally occurred to me that if he should fall, I was too far away to do anything, so I moved closer. About 10 seconds after this picture was taken (and you'll note that he's at the top of the stairs), he looked back over his shoulder, and his body followed. He tumbled down about four stairs before I caught him mid-air and upside-down. He was a little shaken, but otherwise fine, and I was thankful the Holy Spirit had moved me to move closer!

These next two pictures were taken when we went swimming with Yia-Yia and Auntie M. They are a good illustration of the kids' differing responses to water. You'll see that Judah doesn't hold on at all--indeed, he gives the impression that if you'd only let go, he'd swim away. He splashes and laughs and just generally seems to be having the time of his life. I wish we could take him swimming more often, if only to encourage this kind of joy.

Charis, on the other hand, loves water where she can touch the bottom--like in a bathtub or kiddie pool. But get her in water more than 3 feet deep, and she keeps a death-grip on whomever is holding her. If you let her go, I think she'd panic. No, check that--if you let her go, she panics a lot. I suppose she does warm up to the idea somwehat the longer she's in the water, but she's still very timid. I have a feeling that swimming lessons will be very important for her.

It's yet another illustration of how every kid is unique--here we have two kids with the same parents, growing up in the same house, but in regard to water and swimming, they are polar opposites. It's such a joy to see how God has made them to be individuals, and wonderful to be able to encourage their uniqueness. I know that at their tender ages, my kids have only just begun to reveal to us who they are, and that makes me look ahead with anticipation to knowing them more and more fully.

Literally ogling the goodies

I meant to put these photos on the "Post-Christmas Christmas Post," but lost them for some reason...but I just think Charis is too cute here, greedily eyeing the feast. These are the leftovers from Christmas lunch, set out for people to much on for dinner--not that any of us needed it--and it is amazing to me that there was this much left!
Charis mostly ended up eating bread and grapes, and she paid for it with a doozy of a diaper rash. It actually woke her up that night, and she was crying so hysterically that it woke everyone in the house up (except Judah--go figure). We've figured out now that grapes and grape juice are verboten to her. Poor girl. They're only her favorite food in the world.

Shhhhh.....

Charis has a cute new habit, though I try not to encourage it... sometimes, she just doesn't want to hear me talk. Either I've said the same thing over and over ("Charis, pick up the blocks. Charis! Blocks, please! Charis! I just stepped on a block!"), or I'm telling her something she doesn't want to hear ("No, you can't have gummy bears for breakfast."). It is at those times that she will look me square in the eye and say in her loudest whisper voice, "SHHHHHHHHHHHH! Brother's SLEEPING!" Even if he's, say, fully awake and sitting on my lap. I'm not sure who she thinks she's fooling...

She has also taken to calling Judah "Bub." As in, "WAKE UP, BUB! WE'RE HOME!"

Judah has discovered he loves eating yogurt. And graham crackers. And pretzels. And cheerios. And shredded mozzarella cheese. And floor lint.

Man, I love those kids. Tonight, I got away for a couple of hours to go see Moriah play volleyball, and the kids stayed home with Abe. While it was nice getting out, and while I sure didn't break the speed limit getting home, it is always amazing to hug your kids after you've been away. That's the best part about being gone--the coming back.

...And a little Christmas rant to go with it...

I frequently exchange emails with a group of friends from college days, known as The Bank Girls (we lived in what was formerly a bank). When we have a lapse in emails, someone will initiate another string so we can get caught up. This is a copy of an email I sent in response to one of those emails. My friend had asked us all to tell about our favorite memory from this past Christmas, and also a favorite gift we or our kids received...

"hey, all! it has been a while. well, i thought a lot about these questions, and they were actually hard for me to answer right away, which i think is a sign that we haven't developed any super traditions yet, but here is what i came up with:

Favorite Memory: I am divided between two: 1)the evening the week before Christmas when we bundled up and took the kids to a park downtown that is all set up with lights and stuff. There are these candy cane lanes where you can walk underneath arches of giant candy canes, all lit up, and there's a light fountain, and a (close to) life-size manger scene ("Look! God!" Charis said, and proceeded to ride on the sheep, saying "yee haw!"), and then after that, we walked a bit more downtown and then went to our favorite coffee shop for hot chocolate and coffee (for us). My other favorite memory is 2)when we celebrated Christmas, just the four of us, which we didn't get to do until New Year's day. I counted up all the different times we "celebrate" with different parts of the family and the kids open presents, and it came to 6!--6 times they are bringing home more stuff. It's a little bit ridiculous. But for all of the times I watched them open gifts, it was the best and most memorable whan we were at our own home, and I made breakfast quiche and bacon and our traditional Christmas Morning sicky rolls, and we made a big huge mess of paper and toy parts. I liked it best because it was ours.

Favorite gift: I pretty much got one gift (and a few stocking stuffers)from Abe, and it was a DVD-Recorder, and I'm pretty psyched about it. I have for a long time hated our vcr recording quality, so this will be nice. We also got a few "gifts to us--" a great speaker system for our computer, and also a new stereo for our car. I feel incredibly technological. I should also mention that I'd asked for 3x5 recipe cards from Moriah, and she MADE them for me--hand decorated every single one. The best things the kids got...hmm...Judah got a blanket from Abe's sister-in-law Lindsay. One side is flannel, and the other side is fleece, and she hand-binds them with a running blanket stitch. She made one for Charis when she was tiny, and it is Charis' favorite. I was sooo hoping that she'd make one for Judah! You know, they will last forever, and they mean so much more than something purchased. Charis got...a truckload of toys. Nothing fantastically special, I'm afraid, except a bear/blanket thing that my mom made for her to cuddle with. I mean, she made the bear and everything. I wouldn't even know the first place to start. I guess I love those homemade things because most of the other stuff will end up as garage sale fodder at some point, but I know those handmade gifts will be things to cherish. Of the toys the kids got, I'd say my favorites are the ones that aren't battery-operated. :) Blocks, toy trucks, a doll that wets, a doctor kit, puzzles, books...

The more I get into being a parent at Christmas, the more ridiculous the whole thing seems, with the presents. Especially between adults--we did a gift exchange with Abe's immediate family, and decided on a spending limit, and then all pretty much got stuff off of the other people's wish lists. It was definitely cheaper than buying for everybody, but it later struck me: if we all spent the same amount, and didn't actually have to think about getting something meaningful or special, all it means is that we went shopping for each other, which we're all perfectly capable of doing by ourselves. So what does it mean? Why do we do it? Gift cards are the worst--they say, "I have no idea what you want, so you get it...but you can only get it at this one store." It's a half-step away from handing someone a check. Don't get me wrong, I still give gift cards on occasion (and received some pretty handy ones this year), particularly to family members I don't see often and therefore don't know very well, so I am speaking to myself as well.

Here's what I think Christmas should be:

...Traditions of doing things together as a family--memories, not things, are the true treasures of Christmas.
...Giving each other gifts that cost more than money, gifts that cost time and effort and thought--that probably means fewer gifts, but I think that should be okay.
...Getting together with family and just enjoying one another's company, not necessarily centering around the tree celebrating commercialism.
...Enjoying the simple things: baking Christmas treats for people, singing carols, decorating the tree, watching White Christmas or The Grinch or It's Christmas, Charlie Brown...
...Doing for others--caroling, picking out a couple of toys for "Toys for Tots", or picking out coats for "Coats for Kids", or shopping together for a box for Angel Tree. I am hoping some of these things will replace the marathon gift-opening sessions we now have.
...Celebrating the true reason for the season. Our nativity scene is a lovely ceramic set hand-painted for us by a family friend, and it's beautiful and very breakable, so I put it up, and I put it up HIGH, away from little fingers. But I would love to have a plastic one that we could set up as a family, and maybe read the Nativity Story from Luke 2. What if my kids grow up believing that Christmas is about presents? That will be a true shame. I do think we should celebrate Christ all year, but Christmas gives us a chance to focus on His birth, and what that meant for the world, which is what life is all about.

There is is. I'll get off my soapbox now. I want to note that these are things I aspire to--definitely not things we currently do. I just spent a lot of time "doing" Christmas this year, and the fact that it took a while to think about my favorite parts of it made me realize that it was all a blur, and I don't want my kids to have blurry memories of Christmas. I don't want to have blurry memories of my kids' Christmases."

Now, if you read my previous post, you will realize that I didn't think our Christmas(es) were bad--but where we are now, standing at the crossroads of our own childhood traditions and making new ones for our kids, has really put this on my mind a lot. I want my kids to look back and remember the important stuff about Christmas. Several of my Bank friends chimed in with great ideas and their own family traditions--the Fisher Price Little People Nativity Set was a recurring one, and I love it--but I always love to hear about others' traditions. If you've got a good one, let me know!

Post-Christmas Christmas Post

Well, once again, we've done all of the shopping and the decorating and the visiting that the Christmas season entails, and I wanted to jot down a few highlights. . .

First of all, if there was one word I'd use to sum up this season, it would be busy. All tolled, we celebrated Christmas 6 times, with different cross-sections of our families. It is always so nice to see family you haven't seen in a while (in some cases, last Christmas), and the yummy food that usually accompanies the visiting is a nice bonus (even if it does mean our clothes don't fit until February).

This year, our first celebration was on Christmas Eve Eve with Abe's immediate family. That one is always a fun time, mostly because there are four children--Charis, Judah, Gideon, and Elise--to watch and enjoy. Charis (age 2.5) and Gideon (nearly 2) are at the stage where every present is theirs--and even if it isn't, they unwrap it anyway. Judah and Elise don't seem to mind. Pardon me if I think the kids typically enjoy the unwrapping more than the actual present. The first picture above is Charis and Gideon enjoying Uncle Jed's wild ride in Great-Grandma's walker. Charis is a little bit of a drama queen, as you can clearly see. Judah is pulling himself up to stand and cruise along furniture quite a bit these days, so it was particularly fun to be able to let him go and explore. We don't usually have the chance to celebrate with Abe's family so close to Christmas--or on a weekend, for that matter, so it was great to be able to do a Christmas breakfast (complete with the traditional sticky rolls, of course) and spend a long day playing with the kids, watching White Christmas, and making good use of all of our gifts.

A few days later, we headed to my parents' house to celebrate the second and third Christmases with my side of the family. I love this particular picture because c'mon--Judah looks a little bit sauced, Charis looks...um, frightened? surprised? and Grandma just looks happy to see her grandkids. Christmas was very full--breakfast in the morning with Grandma, Grandpa, and Great Aunt Connie, followed by the first (and LARGEST EVER) round of present-opening of the day. Charis and Judah got lots of neat stuff and were, of course, spoiled. With Grandma, Grandpa, and Great Aunt Connie living so far away and getting this yearly opportunity to lavish gifts upon the munchkins, the kids didn't have a fighting chance! Charis had her fill of paper-ripping. But then, it was on to Charis and Judah's Great-Great Aunt Gee's house to visit with my mom's extended family and gorge ourselves on delicious food...and of course, open more presents!

Our fourth Christmas celebration was with Abe's mom's extended family, on New Year's Eve Eve. We gathered at his grandma's assisted living home, in a huge room perfect for the little kids to run around in. There are five kids under six, and a seven- and nine-year-old, so room to run is imperative. We did a sort of potluck with sandwiches and lots of dishes to pass--everyone went home with lots of leftovers, as usual. And again, the kids got lots of presents. Charis' favorite seemed to be a chunky kids' version of a barrel of monkeys--ah, the simple things in life.


In the middle there, we went to a New Year's party with our friends Tim and Tanya and Jake and Julia, and all of their kids, and it was great fun. The kids are actually getting old enough to play with each other, which left time for the adults to play a hilarious game of Balderdash. What a luxury!

(This picture of Judah with a Cheerio stuck to his lip has nothing to do with Christmas, but I just get a kick out of it. If you must know, it was firmly attached with some nose goo, and stayed put for quite some time. He never even seemed to notice...)

The fifth Christmas celebration was no less raucous or gluttonous, but thankfully resulted in fewer gifts for us to find homes for. It was with Abe's dad's extended family. The kids mostly received money or gift cards, so we'll get to decide what to use them on. The highlight of the event was something that has become an annual occurrence--the Great Paper Toss. This involves the adults chucking wads of paper at a ceiling fan set on high. It started last year when my husband casually tossed a crumpled piece of tissue at the fan, and everyone was apparently thrilled with the result (We are a simple people.). Now, it's a new tradition. Some things you just can't make up.

The sixth celebration was--finally--our own. We didn't get to do it until New Year's day, which I hope will not always be the case. Abe went hunting in the morning, but when he returned at about 11:30, we pretended it was the first thing in the morning and had breakfast and opened the presents. The kids are still so little that we haven't really come up with (yet) what will constitute a "traditional" Christmas for us. But I really do think that this was my favorite celebration of all. Not that we don't enjoy celebrating with our extended family; we do. But there's something about sitting in your home, in your pajamas, opening gifts and having fun with your kids...it's just pretty cool.

I know this was not the most entertaining post, and I promise you that I will have more posts soon with funny kid stories, but I knew if I didn't get this down soon, it'd be gone.

I hope your Christmases were a blessing to you as ours was to us!

Well, we tried...

This past weekend, my parents came to visit. Right before they left, they said, "Hey! Let's get a family picture of you guys in front of the tree! One, two, three, CHEESE!"














"Okay, let's try that again: One, two, three, CHEESE!"















"Well, third time's a charm! One, two, three, CHEESE!"
















"Okay! Tough crowd! One, two, three, CHEESE!"


"We'll try again on Christmas."

Concolor Fir

This is our fam last Sunday afternoon in front of the Christmas tree Abe felled for us.

We went with Yia Yia and Papa and Auntie M and Aunt Beth and Uncle Tim and Gideon and Elise (whew!) on our annual pilgrimage to the tree farm. Yes, those are plastic bags on Charis' feet--she had no boots at the time due to her parents' woeful lack of planning.

That situation has since been remedied.

Here's Charis helping Daddy carry the tree.

...and also plotting a snowball attack.

Here's Judah trying to stay warm (if not exactly fashionable).

...and also curing forever his case of the munchies.

(We still don't know where Charis found that paci.)

Warming the Cockles of My Heart

Last night, we sat at the table for dinner--a rare occurrence in our home, indeed. We instructed Charis to fold her hands and close her eyes so we could pray, and she was definitely not in a cooperative mood. In general, it dawned on me, she is not overly excited to pray, even when I explain to her that it's our chance to talk directly to God. We pray before bed every night, but it's usually me praying while she's arranging blankets or something.

"Why doesn't she like to pray?" I asked Abe anxiously. Perhaps she's already rejecting the faith? At such a young age?

Abe looked at me and said drily, "She's only two."

Still.

So tonight, Abe put her to bed with stories and whatnot, but she requested (as she always does in these instances) that I lay down with her after he was done. ("Mommy, bed!") So I did. We hid under the blanket, we sang "Head, Shoulders...", and I got up to leave.

"Mommy, BAY!"

"Bay?" I asked.

"No, BAY!!!"

"Pay?"

"BAYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Pray?"

She nodded. "Yeah, pay." So we prayed. She had us get on our knees, then sit on the pillow together, and she held my arm while we prayed.

And she's only two.

...A Very Good Place to Start

You know when you haven't talked with a friend in such a long time you actually put off calling them because there's just too much to say? You know the phonecall would be easily six or seven hours long before you were all caught up, so you put it off, and put it off, and put it off, until you realize that something's got to give. So you suck it up and call, and hope you cover everything...

That's where I am now.

How can I possibly write down all of the things that have happened in the past couple of months without creating a terrifically long and boring blog? But I must suck it up and begin.

Truth be told, I created this blog mostly for my mom. It's hard being a grandmother living several hundred miles away from your precious grandchildren. After that, I created it as sort of a journal for my kids--so that one day, they will be able to read a bit about their formative years. After that, well, I guess it's just about putting it out there. And whoever wants to read it will, I suppose. And whoever doesn't want to, won't. So this blog promises to be lengthy; I know my mom will read it, and someday, my kids will. As for the rest of you, you're under no obligation. But here goes...

Judah

Judah is growing...fast! He is somewhere in the neigborhood of 20 lbs.. To put that in perspective, Charis was 19 lbs. 4 oz. at her 1-year check-up. Judah isn't even 9 months old yet. He's sleeping much better, which is to say that on a normal night, he sleeps from about 9 pm 'til 6 am or so. He has developed the new trick of self-soothing, which was heretofore an unknown concept to him. I am a huge fan. Of course, we still have rough nights occasionally--especially the night we arrived at Andrew and Beth's house. The poor little fella (that is to say, Judah--not Andrew) was so stuffed up, he couldn't breathe through his nose at all--which meant that he really couldn't nurse, and he really couldn't sleep on his tummy, so Judah and I spent the night--most of it awake--sitting on the couch together, dozing on and off. Yes, that night was the roughest.

But as I say, things have improved significantly, probably because his intake of solid foods has SKYROCKETED. I mean, the kid can seriously put down some FOOD. He looks like a little miniature linebacker. Applesauce and oatmeal is his go-to meal--I think he would eat just about as much of it as you'd care to toss down his gullet. Frankly, of the usual meals of peas, sweet potatoes, carrots, squash, bananas, or pears, I don't think there's a thing he doesn't like. He has also begun experimenting with Cheerios and star puffs and the occasional stiff bread crust. His pincer grasp is really coming along, so more and more things are actually making it to his mouth.

As far as physical milestones go, he is light years ahead of my last post in September. He rolls over with great ease now, so no more getting stuck like a turtle in the middle of the night. He's also sitting up--without tipping! Seriously, it is as if one day he woke up and decided to show us his new tricks. He is also creeping--if you can imagine an Army guy crawling under barbed wire, you can picture Judah creeping. He really does get around lightning-fast for a creeper. I'm still trying to persuade him to get his belly up and off the floor, but he is not quite interested.

A couple of things he is interested in are:
1) Swimming. We've taken him to a pool a couple of times, and he kicks and flails so much you'd almost believe that if you let go, he'd swim away. He laughs and splashes and just generally loves it.
2) Ditto for baths. Where Charis has a definite aversion to getting water in her face, Judah seems to enjoy it. Go figure. We very often give them baths together these days--it's just quicker--and Charis likes to dump water on Judah. Good thing he likes it!
3) Charis. He thinks she's quite funny. Last night, the two of them were on the couch hiding under a blanket, and we could hear Judah cackling away.
4)The Johnny Jump-Up. Charis mostly dangled in it when she was a baby, but Judah has springs for legs and actually jumps up in it. It is especially handy when I am trying to clean up in the kitchen--he can bounce while I work. Though, the other day, Charis decided to push Judah as if he were in a swing, which he of course loved...until his head smacked into the door jamb. It was all downhill from there.
5)Power cords. If childhood fascinations are any sort of indication of a future profession, Judah will be an electrician. He is drawn to outlets like a moth to a flame, much to our chagrin. We've actually taught Charis how to tug on his feet to remove him from a dangerous power cord situation, and we have random things strategically placed in front of all outlets to try to discurage his interest, but he has established object permanence, so he still knows they're there.


Charis

What a little actress! You never have to guess what Charis is feeling--she shows it at every minute of the day. When she is happy, she is the smilingest little girl you've ever seen. This morning, I caught her standing in front of the Christmas tree gazing at her distorted image in a glass ornament and cracking up. And yesterday, I taught her the "Don't Smile" game: she puts on a grumpy face and I say, "Oh! So grumpy! You'd just better not smile!" And goodness, she tries...but cannot contain it. She practically erupts with laughter. Do this a few dozen times, and she never even makes it to the first grumpy face.

When she's sad, though, you know it. If we reprimand her, she slumps her little shoulders forward and hangs her head--the same expression you might expect from an over-acting mime.

But usually, she's the life of the party. This week, we had the opportunity to get together with an old college friend of mine and her husband, who are home on furlough from Hungary. We went to Panera, and I promise you she visited every single person in the restaurant. At one point, exhausted from the chase, Abe and I were gathering up stuff to leave and getting Judah bundled, and I turned around to see Charis had actually climbed into a booth to visit with a lady. Our shy little girl was standing on the seat, leaning across the table saying "Hi!" when I scooped her up and carried her out to the car.

She has a couple of favorite sayings: one is "Oh, Okay, Mom." That is my favorite. But the other night, Abe and I were both putting her to bed when she must have done or said something hilarious. Abe chuckled and said, "Oh, crap." To which Charis replied, "OH, RAP!!!" He has become a lot more careful lately. But the best thing she says--hands down--is "I love you." The first time I figured out that's what she was saying, she was hugging Judah, and said, "Love you, doo-dah." What a way to melt a mom's heart. "Wuv OO! Mom!"

At bedtime, we usually read two books, but if it is late, we only read one. The other night, though, I told her, "Only one book tonight. It's late."

She shook her head, held out two fingers and said, "No. Two books."

"One book," I said.

She shook her head, grabbed a handful of books and declared emphatically, "TWO!"

She also loves to sing "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes," "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," and "My God is so BIG." She can count to ten (most of the time--sometimes it's "seven, eight, seven!"). She now knows hundreds of words. One of my particular favorites is banana--which she refers to as "mynana." She can also finally say Judah, though it has a distinct "doo-dah" quality to it. She also assigns ownership to things, like "My church, mama's car, daddy's truck, mama's house, Yia-Yia's house, Beth's house".

Well, that's all for now. I know there's more, but isn't that the beauty of blogs? And of children?



And once you've talked with your friend, after long last, you hang up the phone and think, Why was I so worried? That was fun.

Did you miss us?

Well, after much ado, we're back online, and I'm WAAAAYYY behind. We've been without internet since the beginning of October, and it's a long and boring story why it took so long to get connected, but suffice it to say it was the type of situation where they tell you, "Hey...this week. For sure." --and you just roll your eyes and say something like, "I'll believe it when I see it." So I've had to go to the library to do things like, you know, pay bills, and with a 30 minute limit at the local library, not much else gets accomplished. So anyway. Not that you should wait with bated breath, but I do have updates and anecdotes to share about the kids... to come.

A quick tidbit:
On a recent trip, we had the opportunity to stop in at IKEA. Yay for us! Anyway. Charis was in one cart and Judah was in another, and some cute little old ladies approached Judah in a "Oh, how cute!" kind of way. You know, sort of the pinch-the-cheeks kind of approach. Charis, a few feet away, all of the sudden got very serious and pointed both fingers at the ladies and said in her most authoritative voice, punctuating each word with a wag of the fingers: "Don't touch, guys! Guys! Don't touch!" Very protective of her little brother, our little miss muffett.

To come: Why Judah wants to be an electrician and Why Charis had occasion to use the word rap.