That's Spectacular!

OK...so this post is more for myself than anyone else. As a first time mom, I can honestly say that every time my child does something for the first time it always seems so spectacular. Now, I know that most first time moms feel this way but I have yet to figure out this awkward phenomenon. I think it might be because, at this age, we still consider them babies and the experience of labor is still fresh in our minds. Before labor, I was almost sure that the kicks I so often felt in my stomach were actually just "really bad gas"...hey, it was better than feeling as if you had an alien inside of you! Of course, after labor, I soon realized that that bad gas was actually the doings of a tiny baby. I remember getting home with Presley and just looking at her and thinking to myself, "ummm, now what?" Well, somewhere along the way, I figured out the "now whats" and this little baby of mine has grown into an actual little person. I absolutely love experiencing all the little "first times" in Presley's life. One of the many reasons I love being a stay at home mom. :-) So what exactly did Presley do today that made me think that I have the most spectacular child ever created? Nothing! Just kidding, but before I go on about this spectacular event let me just set the stage for you. Since Presley was a baby I have been doing sign language with her. She caught on to some of it, but would only do it occasionally. It was more of a pain than anything because I could not get her to mimic the signs I made. However, I continued to use sign language along with the words I said. As she has grown up, she has tried to mimic the words I say rather than the signs. I decided not to push her, but to just continue using signs along with the words to see what might come of it. There are two things that drive me nuts...one, Presley will throw her cup on the ground when she is all done, and two, she whines when she wants more food. These two things lead me to continue with the sign language. She would use the "more" sign occasionally, but would never use the sign for all done. She now knows how to say all done, but she rarely says it when she's actually finished eating. Today, I was in the back room cleaning up while Presley was eating her lunch in the kitchen. All of a sudden, I heard the cup hit the floor and I walked into the kitchen, aggravated of course, and asked her if she was all done. She then looked at me and gave me the more sign! I could not believe my eyes! I grabbed her cup of milk and gave it back to her, but she pushed it away and said "teka teka teka." This is what she says when she gets frustrated. Everyone in my family refers to it as chinese jibber-jabber. After she pushed the cup away, I grabbed some veggie sticks and asked her if she wanted some...lo and behold, she gave me the more sign! I could not believe my eyes! I have been trying to get her to do this on her own for months and she is finally starting to use it...and with a purpose! My older sister, Elizabeth, used sign language with Corbin and my little sister, Sara, used it with Reid...but he doesn't count because he can do everything and anything! lol...j/k Sara. I really don't know why I was so amazed because I know that babies use it all of the time and I have seen just about every mommy friend of mine use it with their child, but for some reason I was just overjoyed at the fact that my child communicated with me. ;-) Again, I have no idea why we first time moms think everything our child does is so spectacular...we all know that they are just growing and doing what ALL babies do. Oh well, I will enjoy it while it lasts because I have heard that things are different with the second, third, fourth, fifth...Not that we will be having 5 kids or anything. :-)

Daddy's Home!

Could that be my daddy I see??

I better get a closer look

Two anxious looking faces waiting for the door to open

Yeah!!!!

Car Wash Fun with My Daddy!

Nothin like a little Dawn...mmmmm

My very own spray park

I love this sponge!

Look at all these bubbles...and look what I can make them do!

Just a little car wash fun with my daddy on a Saturday afternoon!

The Art of Pouting

Let’s just take a moment to talk about the art of pouting and the fact that my 15 month old daughter has mastered it. I really have no idea where she got it or picked it up from. Although a friend of mine would disagree with me on this, but I really do not ever remember pouting when I was young. I think I may have tried, but found that instead of working, it actually annoyed my dad. Which I think is what caused me to become more of a verbal pouter…whining, pleading, and begging. Regardless, MY daughter has mastered the art of silent pouting. I’m not sure when she will pick up on the fact that her voiceless pouting works a bit better on her father, but for now, she is testing the waters with whoever will look her way. Last night, Presley was getting ready to get into something she was not supposed to and Joey told her no. She immediately turned around and walked back to him. He looked at me in awe and said, “she is so awesome.” I looked at him and said, “yeah, your welcome.” Let me just take this moment, again, to remind you of a little post I wrote about 2 months ago. I am pretty sure I was in great distress over the fact that my child would not listen to the word no, would cry every time I removed a toy from her, and would kick and scream every time we left WinKids or any other fun activity for that matter. I am pretty sure that I went in search for ideas on how to discipline a 13 month old child and exhausted every possible solution. I read new books, re-read old books, searched the internet, and asked all of my mommy friends for advice. To me, a bad behavior is just a challenge waiting to be tackled….let’s just say it comes from teaching. My husband (and my former principal) calls me the master manipulator…which actually sounds bad, but I’ve decided to take it as a compliment. Lol ;-) I am pretty sure this gift, again I chose to believe this to be a great gift, Ha, was inherited from my father. Although, if my husband wants to think our daughter is “awesome” than who am I to take that away from her. She is pretty awesome. ;-)

This would be the look I got after she put the rock in her mouth and I told her no

this is the look I got after I told her no, took the rock from her hand, and gave her the duck instead

And this is the look I got after she saw me put the rock up on the table

And this would be why her hair looks the way it does ;-)

When Little Folks Pout...

So how many of us have ever caught ourselves saying, “oh man, say it isn't so! I just sounded like my mom/dad when I said that.” I hear my parents come out of my mouth just about every day. It’s quite disturbing actually, but I guess it’s just the inevitable and one day my daughter will be doing the exact same thing. The other day I heard my little sister singing one of our family favorites to her son, Reid. It goes a little something like this…”when little folks pout and their lips stick out, it ruins the looks on their faces. So, don’t you know, no smile will grow with lips that are out of their places.” Apparently, my grandpa sang it to my dad when he was little, and my dad sang it to us girl, and now we sing it to our kids. Reid’s reaction was pretty much priceless. It went a little something like this…”stop singing that song, STop singing that song, STOP singing that song!!!!” LOL…oh, how I wish I had Sara on recorder when she was young because her son sounded exactly like her.

Patience Is....

....a virtue. Patience is the companion of wisdom. Patience is the art of hoping. Patience is the state of endurance under difficult circumstances. Patience is waiting in line for hours just to spend a moment of time on a rock!

We’ve all been there once or twice, maybe a few more than that even. We’ve stood in line for hours just for the thrill of a ride that lasts no more than 45 seconds. Of course, I have always found that the ride has never been well worth the wait! A few weeks ago, we went to an Independence Day celebration at our church in Grapevine. My nephew, Corbin, tagged along with Sara and Brian. As soon as we walked out the doors of the church, Corbin saw a rock wall in the distance that apparently had his name written all over it. When Corbin popped into line, I’m not sure he completely grasped how long of a wait it would be. I don’t think he ever caught on to the fact that there were 20 kids in front of him and that each child was taking 5-10 minutes to get up and down the wall…time must not exist in the minds of little ones because he waited and waited and waited. He waited in the muddy field that housed the wall, he waited through the fireworks, and he was still waiting when we left. In fact, had it not been for this picture I think I would have assumed he was still waiting. I think we were all amazed at the patience of this little guy. I hope the climb was well worth the wait, Corbin.

Memorable Music

My mom and grandma after one of her children's choir performances

Growing up, my mom played the organ at our church. She started playing at a young age and played for my grandpa’s church when he was a pastor. She played the piano as well, but the organ was always her baby. At our church, you would often find her sitting on the second row on the right side. She would always take her shoes off when she played and I never understood why until one day she so graciously signed me up to play a piano solo for everyone. ;-/ I must admit, it is much easier to play when shoeless. My mom so desperately wanted me to learn to play the organ, but it was just never meant to be. I tried, but I was absolutely no good at it. I never could figure out how one could get their feet and hands to play at the same time. After my mom passed away, that old organ sat in the church for several months…looking a little ghostly if you know what I mean. My dad finally told our pastor to remove it…by that time, our church had moved on to a full musical band and so there was no need for an organ anymore. My mom loved music and created a children’s choir at our church when I was little. She was always involved in music. When Elizabeth and I were growing up she would buy us records to play on our record players. We used to open our windows and sit out on the ledge listening to Burt and Ernie’s Sesame Street Time. There are several records and songs that pop into my mind when I think of my childhood. Last week, I came upon an oldie but Goodie…The Music Machine! Tell me you’ve heard of it! It’s related to the album, Bullfrogs and Butterflies.I am in desperate need of buying these cds. I would love for Presley and her cousins to have these songs to listen to. They have stuck with me for years!!! Anyhow, there is a song called Have Patience. I actually found myself singing it to Presley when she was a baby because she used to cry while I was preparing her bottle. I would sing this song which is what lead me to go searching for the cd online.

15 Months

Presley will be 15 months old this week! She had her 15 month check-up last week and here is where she stands...weight: 18.9 pounds (6th percentile) Length: 30 1/2 inches (50th percentile) She is a tiny little thing and can still fit into her 9 month old clothing. :-) She loves to be outside and discover new things. The other day, Joey came home from work early and we spent the afternoon in the front yard. Presley was all over the place and into everything. She loved to look at the rocks, flowers, grass, and pretty much anything that was on the ground. Her ball goes with her wherever she goes. She loves to carry it around, throw it, and kick it. Ever since she has started walking she refuses to be carried and held. She would much rather be walking around, exploring. Her vocabulary continues to grow. She repeats words that I say and has started to point to things she wants. Some of her first words are: dada, ducky, goose, sheep, mama, baba, dot, tigger, thank you, uh-oh, all done, ball, circle, and hot. She loves for me to sing Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star and tries to chime in, but only gets as far as "tinkul tinkul." When she awakens in the morning, her first words are usually "goose" and "tinkul, tinkul." She absolutely loves music and can usually be caught dancing to it. :-) Presley's newest thing, giving me butterfly kisses. It is absolutely adorable, but kind of gross when she has a runny nose!!! She loves for me to play with her. She often brings me a handful of toys or throws me the ball to try to get me to play with her. I continue to do her "playpen time" 2x a day for 20-30 minutes...this allows for her to entertain herself and play independently while I get things done around the house. We are down to one nap a day, 1:00-4ish. She can tolerate two naps a day, but usually she will only sleep for an hour which doesn't leave me much time to get things done ;-) SO I opt for the one nap a day. ;-) She listens to the word "no" and really has the desire to please. She gets really upset if I raise my voice or have a disappointed tone in my voice. She seems to be very sensitive and continues to be a mama's girl...unless I leave the room. I am pretty sure we are past the stranger anxiety stage...the "crying when mommy isn't near" is just a learned behavior. ;-/ She still has a little uneasiness in new places, but seems to warm up rather quickly once she sees all the toys.
However, she continues to do well at Sara's house. As soon as we walk in the door she goes running through the house as if it's her own. We still have some things to work on, but all-in-all she is still a very good baby. :-)

A Sweet Miracle!

"For this reason I kneel before the Father...I pray that out of his glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your heart with faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us." -Eph. 3:14-20

My older sister needs a blog of her own ;-) so today I am going to share her facebook post about her precious Logan. Logan's first birthday is today and what a special little boy he is. Not only because he was born 3 months early, but because he beat the odds even from within the womb. It is amazing to see how God protected my sister and this child. He went through great distress, was born 3 months early, had heart surgery within the first two weeks of life, and was protected all the while. Even after my sister brought him home, there was still so much for this little guy to overcome. He continues to overcome the odds daily and continues to be such a little fighter. It is no surprise to me that my sister showed great faith in the midst of this trial. She was the face of strength and faith during the time my mom was sick...and after. She deals with things head-on and was there for all of us during the hardest of times. She stood by my side during the most challenging time of my life by attending a bible study group with me at our church called "grief share." I had a really hard time opening up in such an intense atmosphere and so she came with me to help me get all that I could out of it. I knew nothing about grief and had misconceptions about it from the beginning. I was familiar with loss, in that, I had lost great grandparents and a friend of mine in 9th grade to cancer. However, losing someone in your immediate family takes on a whole new meaning of the word loss. In my mind, I thought grief would last a few months and then be gone, but in fact, it lasts much longer and is a process that must be worked through...and on your own. So needless to say, I was very thankful for my sister standing by my side. Today, she continues to stand in faith and fight for her precious Logan. I am so proud of her and the mom she is! Here is her facebook post...I hope she's not embarrassed by my posting ;-)
"July 14, 2009, I was reading a book my mom gave me before she passed. It said, "Father, I am so delighted that You are both loving and sovereign, and that You cause all things to work together for good to those who love You, to those who are called according to Your purpose. I thank You in advance for each disappointment, each demanding duty, each pressure, each interruption that may arise in the coming hours and days." The next day Logan was delivered emergency C-section and the next year would rock my world. Isn't it beautiful how God spoke to me the night before to reassure me that even though I would be experiencing extreme trials in the next year He would still be there by my side carrying me every step of the way. God is so good and I am reminded of this as I read the same passage in my book a year later. I am so blessed to have a healthy one year old little boy! A true miracle from heaven!

Bubbles!!!

Presley loves bubbles. Coach Jack would always bring out the bubble machine at WinKids when the class was winding down. Presley would crawl around after them and try to eat them. When we were in San Antonio last month, my friend had a bubble machine for her girls. Presley absolutely loved it so when I was at Target last week I picked one up. The one I got was on sale and shot out a ton of bubbles so it was perfect!

Last week, one of my piano students, Gretchen, came over to help me out. Presley absolutely adores Gretchen and they played together all afternoon while I got some things done around the house. It was a great little break and Presley had a ton of fun. Gretchen pulled out the bubbles for Presley.

Presley and I went to Celina today to visit my friend, Jill, and her kids. I went to high school with Jill and have not seen her in FOREVER! It was so great to see her and meet her kiddos....the sweetest kids you will ever meet! While we were there I pulled out the bubble machine. Haddie and Harrison thought it was great fun to run through them.

We also had a great swim and picnic. Presley went under the water for the first time...thanks to Jill. :-) She used to be a life guard so she re-assured me that it was ok. I think I was more nervous than Presley...you can totally tell I'm a first time mom with only one child. Ha! Presley ended up loving it and I am thinking about putting her in swim lessons....she is a fish out of water. No fear of the water at all.

Miss Jillybean giving Presley her first swim lesson ;)

Thanks to Jill and her sweet kids for a great afternoon. We really enjoyed our time out at the farm. It was a fun day and Presley was asleep by the time we left the driveway!

A July BBQ

This weekend we went to Joey's parent's house for a bbq to celebrate Joey's dad's birthday which is July 12th...my mom had the exact same birthday. This is nice because I am still able to celebrate this day with family. Christy and Cooper came into town so it was great fun getting the kids together again. They had not seen each other since Presley so rudely invaded their home last May for 5 days. :-) lol. We had a great time with everyone and the food was delicious! Of course, Presley was welcomed with clothes and toys from her Nana Burda and Aunt Christy. She is always in need of cute clothes and Nana Burda ALWAYS has them waiting for her when she comes walking through that door. Cooper gave Presley a green hula-hoop and it has become her new favorite toy.

Cooper and Presley playing on Nana Burda's iPad with Aunt Patty.

Presley loved showing great grandad all of her toys. It was very cute to see them interact.

Presley's new obsession is kicking and playing with balls...we have a ton of them in all different sizes. I am pretty sure this obsession started at WinKids ;-)

Joey, Cooper and Presley playing with army men...I wonder who is having more fun? hmmm...my husband maybe ;-)

Uncle Joey handing out the fireworks...again ;-) Joey was quite upset that he didn't bring his blackcats...which continue to sit on our kitchen counter! He was even more upset that he didn't bring them when he saw all of his nephew's army men laying about! Oh goodness...good thing we had a girl!