Friday, October 30, 2015
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
Eva's 2!
Little Eva's two. And our family has reached a new equilibrium. We
celebrate every day for the happy place we have finally arrived at. The
girls are learning to play and have fun. Braden and I are gaining more independence and finding time for ourselves and each other.
Eva is a sweet and funny little person. Last week, I was putting dishes away and sneezed. She immediately and instictively said "Bless you Momma". She's very thoughtful and considerate of others (most of the time). All week, we've been singing Happy Birthday in preperation for her day and she consistently redirected to others wanting us to sing the song to other people too.
I think she looks like me but has Braden's temperament.
She loves animals...both the live, breathing and stuffed kind. We took her to a local farm yesterday and she loved interacting with all the critters big and small.
She LOVES to drive. She tells us that she's going fast. I'm hoping this is a passing fancy.
Sports and the associated balls are a favorite too. She especially likes soccer.
Shoes. All and any shoes. If you come to our house and take you shoes off, they will be on her little feet minutes later.
She likes to sleep. Putting her down for a nap and bed are not an issue (saying prayers that this continues). But we can't get her off the bottles. They have become part of the routine. I know pediatricians every where are cringing. She's a decent eater. Meats and veggies are not high on the list but neither are breads. She really, really likes fruit.
She likes to climb. TV is a take or leave it. Curious George, particularly the lobby dog, Hundley are a regular request. She's not into books as much as Ellie was. She has great verbal abilites and is picking up spanish well. She surprised us this week counting up to Diez.
She holds her own socially. She is generally outgoing and happy to meet people of kinds and sizes. But never confrontational with other kids. She knows when to walk away and when to assert herself.
She's about or over 30lbs. Solidly 36ins and wearing 3T's.
I think this video captures the happiness we get to see in her every day. She has been sunshine in our lives this year.
Love you so very much Little Eva!
Video of Eva @ 2 - Domino's Farm Ann Arbor.
Eva is a sweet and funny little person. Last week, I was putting dishes away and sneezed. She immediately and instictively said "Bless you Momma". She's very thoughtful and considerate of others (most of the time). All week, we've been singing Happy Birthday in preperation for her day and she consistently redirected to others wanting us to sing the song to other people too.
I think she looks like me but has Braden's temperament.
She loves animals...both the live, breathing and stuffed kind. We took her to a local farm yesterday and she loved interacting with all the critters big and small.
She LOVES to drive. She tells us that she's going fast. I'm hoping this is a passing fancy.
Sports and the associated balls are a favorite too. She especially likes soccer.
Shoes. All and any shoes. If you come to our house and take you shoes off, they will be on her little feet minutes later.
She likes to sleep. Putting her down for a nap and bed are not an issue (saying prayers that this continues). But we can't get her off the bottles. They have become part of the routine. I know pediatricians every where are cringing. She's a decent eater. Meats and veggies are not high on the list but neither are breads. She really, really likes fruit.
She likes to climb. TV is a take or leave it. Curious George, particularly the lobby dog, Hundley are a regular request. She's not into books as much as Ellie was. She has great verbal abilites and is picking up spanish well. She surprised us this week counting up to Diez.
She holds her own socially. She is generally outgoing and happy to meet people of kinds and sizes. But never confrontational with other kids. She knows when to walk away and when to assert herself.
She's about or over 30lbs. Solidly 36ins and wearing 3T's.
I think this video captures the happiness we get to see in her every day. She has been sunshine in our lives this year.
Love you so very much Little Eva!
Video of Eva @ 2 - Domino's Farm Ann Arbor.
Monday, September 14, 2015
Responsibility
Ellie has recently purchased a fish. B and I are not big pet people. Although we love animals, we don't like caring for animals.
Ellie has wanted an animal in the worst way this past year. We agreed a fish would be a good place to start. She is suppose to take care of the twice a day feedings. Within days she wasn't happy about all the responsibility. Mission accomplished in our opinion.
But I couldn't miss the opportunity to capture her little voice in this VM about "Josh" the fish.
Saturday, September 12, 2015
I'm 22 Months
She's been talking and singing. She loves athletic endeavors...kicking, throwing balls, swimming, etc.
Her personality seems to parallel Braden's... Nice and easy going. Just want to eat her up!
Loving this phase...although being a second time parent am on high alert for the terrible twos ;)
Monday, September 7, 2015
Ellie at Five
I've been dragging my feet to write this yearly birthday note. It's been a very special year for our family but capturing the essence of it feels difficult. We've hit an inflection point, a new normal.
We've worked really hard this year to grow as a family. We have worked to reorient the relationships so that it wasn't always Momma/Eva and Ellie/Daddy. It feels like it's been a good focus for all of us. I know Ellie still has lots of moments when she prefers being with Daddy. But I don't feel the same resistance to having me be the person hanging with her or doing things for her. One of my favorite parts of the day is snuggling with her at bedtime. Her body almost fills the curve of mine. But when she's quiet and calm, she shares her thoughts and is most loving.
Ellie continues to be full of gusto! I recently finished reading the book about Spirited Children and it really hit the nail on the head. She's just "more". She's more intense than most. She's more determined. She's more perceptive. And for sure more sensitive. Although it's hard to see through her precociousness, she's very soft and sensitive. She doesn't like when Braden and I have disagreements. If I'm tense, she seems to reflect it and we struggle. I have worked really hard to be in place where I can stay as calm and present as possible. When I do, our day flows much better.
Like every other year, she has grown and changed in amazing ways. The only remaining part of being little is the dimples on her knuckles. Her hair is a horse main of auburn colored hair. She's 47ins and 50lbs. The little blond hairs on her legs have fully grown in. There's no longer a reference to a "T" on any of her clothes or shoes. She's wearing size 13 shoes and size 8/medium clothing. It's all full childhood stuff.
She still has tummy troubles. But her awareness of it has made resolving easier. At her new is school, they provide lunches and she's "forced" to try new foods since it's all that is available for lunch. She's more open to meats, veggies and fruits.
We have also found that if we keep her sleep area bright with light that she sleeps much better. (Nighttime and darkness has never been my thing and she seems to have the same dislike).
So between, better eating and sleeping and maturing, Ellie's daily temperament has evened out. She's venturing into the world more. She impressively will engage adults help in stores or other places. She's not afraid to ask for help.
She still very much enjoys big body stuff. She switched from gymnastics to swimming over the summer. I would say she is most skilled at skiing (also now able to do on her own) and swimming. We are just starting ballet.
In the last few months, Ellie has started to see Eva as a potential playmate. But the road to blissful siblinghood is long. B and I have been working hard to help them both learn how to engage the other. The 3 year difference is a pretty big stretch to cover in comprehension and physical size. Eva comes up to Ellie's chest.
If you were to ask her, her favorite color is purple, she loves all treats, she doesn't really have best friends, her cousins are pretty important. She doesn't like wearing pants with buttons. All clothing should be comfy and easy to move in. She loves TV. All new experiences excite her. Being outside calms her.
She's processing the beginning of math. She can do basic addition using numbers below 10. She's beginning to process letters being words and is starting to recognize sight words. Her disdain for Spanish comes and goes.
Although she keeps us on our toes...always! We count our blessings for an Ellie. She's on an adventure and we're going to tag along.
We've worked really hard this year to grow as a family. We have worked to reorient the relationships so that it wasn't always Momma/Eva and Ellie/Daddy. It feels like it's been a good focus for all of us. I know Ellie still has lots of moments when she prefers being with Daddy. But I don't feel the same resistance to having me be the person hanging with her or doing things for her. One of my favorite parts of the day is snuggling with her at bedtime. Her body almost fills the curve of mine. But when she's quiet and calm, she shares her thoughts and is most loving.
Ellie continues to be full of gusto! I recently finished reading the book about Spirited Children and it really hit the nail on the head. She's just "more". She's more intense than most. She's more determined. She's more perceptive. And for sure more sensitive. Although it's hard to see through her precociousness, she's very soft and sensitive. She doesn't like when Braden and I have disagreements. If I'm tense, she seems to reflect it and we struggle. I have worked really hard to be in place where I can stay as calm and present as possible. When I do, our day flows much better.
Like every other year, she has grown and changed in amazing ways. The only remaining part of being little is the dimples on her knuckles. Her hair is a horse main of auburn colored hair. She's 47ins and 50lbs. The little blond hairs on her legs have fully grown in. There's no longer a reference to a "T" on any of her clothes or shoes. She's wearing size 13 shoes and size 8/medium clothing. It's all full childhood stuff.
She still has tummy troubles. But her awareness of it has made resolving easier. At her new is school, they provide lunches and she's "forced" to try new foods since it's all that is available for lunch. She's more open to meats, veggies and fruits.
We have also found that if we keep her sleep area bright with light that she sleeps much better. (Nighttime and darkness has never been my thing and she seems to have the same dislike).
So between, better eating and sleeping and maturing, Ellie's daily temperament has evened out. She's venturing into the world more. She impressively will engage adults help in stores or other places. She's not afraid to ask for help.
She still very much enjoys big body stuff. She switched from gymnastics to swimming over the summer. I would say she is most skilled at skiing (also now able to do on her own) and swimming. We are just starting ballet.
In the last few months, Ellie has started to see Eva as a potential playmate. But the road to blissful siblinghood is long. B and I have been working hard to help them both learn how to engage the other. The 3 year difference is a pretty big stretch to cover in comprehension and physical size. Eva comes up to Ellie's chest.
If you were to ask her, her favorite color is purple, she loves all treats, she doesn't really have best friends, her cousins are pretty important. She doesn't like wearing pants with buttons. All clothing should be comfy and easy to move in. She loves TV. All new experiences excite her. Being outside calms her.
She's processing the beginning of math. She can do basic addition using numbers below 10. She's beginning to process letters being words and is starting to recognize sight words. Her disdain for Spanish comes and goes.
Although she keeps us on our toes...always! We count our blessings for an Ellie. She's on an adventure and we're going to tag along.
Wednesday, September 2, 2015
Ellie's First Day at Big Kid School
Ellie started at St Thomas the Apostle in their Young 5's program. She visited the other day and was excited to start today. Both Braden and I went as moral support. But no support needed. She barely remembered to hug us goodbye. She was off on her next adventure. She's keeps telling people she is going to learn about God at her special school. I guess we are doing our job but it's not easy to think that this is the first day of her new life building relationships outside of our house. I started a new grocery list post drop-off and it had Proverbs 22:6 at the bottom. God is good and it made me smile. |
Saturday, July 25, 2015
Farm Living
We went to a local artisan farm this morning. They specialize in goat cheese among other yummy products. It was part farm, part gardens and all fun. The girls feed their goats grass and whatever else they could pluck from the ground for an hour.
Makes me sad we don't get to experience farm living more often. I think God intended for us to live connected to nature, not in buildings all our lives.
It was a special morning...
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Friday, January 9, 2015
Ellie's Thoughts on God
I've been taking classes at our local seminary the last couple of semesters. I've grown distant from God and my faith over the last couple of decades. I'm working to really understand the Christian history and teachings.
As there has been more general talk of God in the house, Ellie has been chiming in with her thoughts. It's been fascinating the kinds of insights she shares.
For instance this morning, we were headed back into her room and it was dark because the curtains were closed. She asked me to turned the lights on so she could see better. I told her we just needed to open the curtains.
Without even thinking she was quick to respond..."That's a good idea Momma...we'll just use God's light...it's free!"
I haven't thought about daylight being a gift from God but it really is. How neat that children intuitively know what it takes adults going to class to learn.
I'm jealous and sad all at the same time. Jealous because they have a connection adults have lost. And sad knowing it will probably happen to them too.
But in the mean time, it's wondrous to hear all her God thoughts :)
Monday, January 5, 2015
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