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Just curious...

When someone posts a comment on your blog, do you comment back to them on their blog or on your blog post that they commented on? I am never sure what I am supposed to do. Thanks!!

Eating Can Be So Exhausting

It finally happened to me. I have always wondered how a child could be so tired that they fall asleep in their high chair. Now I know.

It was so funny too. We were eating homemade pizza for lunch and I was sitting right next to her. I had cut up her pieces and I was watching her eat while I ate my slices. I looked away from her to talk to Jackson about how to make homemade pepperoni. (He had asked me if I knew how to make homemade pepperoni. I told him no. He told me that I should learn to make my own so that I can make it not spicy so he won't have to take a drink of water after each bite.) After that conversation, I looked over at her and she was squinting her eyes shut. I thought she was playing, but then she relaxed her eyes closed and her head fell toward her hand. I was in disbelief. I decided to finish my slice of pizza and before I was done, she was snoring! I wiped her hands without waking her up. We pulled the bib over her head too. She whimpered when we lifted her out of the chair, but as soon as she hit my shoulder, she was out again. Now, that is a tired girl!

Who? Me? Yes. You!

Who? Me?

Yes. You, my little angel. You:

• acted like a princess all morning until 10:30 when I had my interview for a position as a children's leader in BSF. At that point, you decided that your sin nature was too strong to resist and you wanted me and the BSF teaching leader to recognize all that you were doing. You acted like you had never put a puzzle together (something you are a champion at doing) and didn't know what to do with the pieces other than throw them across the floor. You climbed on top of the table several times and got out Jackson's modeling clay. Then, when she left, you went back to being your sweet little independent self. (I know you are just a child, but comparing your behavior before and after the interview was like comparing night and day. Thank you for that, my sweet little stinker!)
• decided to pour sweet almond oil all over yourself and my bed sheets while I was putting Jackson down for his nap. You unrolled the wet diaper that was on my nightstand and put the wipe in my bed. And if that wasn't enough...
• decided that one time was not thrilling enough, so when you woke up from your nap, you poured the oil all over my duvet and down comforter, your clothes, my nightstand and Daddy's nightstand. Should your mother have been wise enough to remove the bottle of oil from my nightstand after the first incident? Yes! But you were asleep and I didn't consider what you might do when you woke up. Perhaps I should buy a new monitor so that I can hear you when you wake.

Allison, you keep me busy and on my toes; and clearly, I have a lot to learn as I parent you. I can't count the number of times per day your daddy or I say, "Man, she's so fast!" because you can get into something quicker than we can blink and turn around. You bring so much joy and laughter to this home. You are independent and inquisitive. You are loving and affectionate. I can't wait to see how those qualities mature and develop as you grow older.

Who? Me?

Yes. You!

We Have an Eater...and an Accessorizer!

Just in the past two weeks, Allison has finally started eating food!! What?! I am sure you are thinking, "Isn't she almost 18 months?" Yes! She has just been very slow to accept table food. She's been eating a bite or two or three at each meal for months, but that's it. We've always offered her everything. Sometimes she's taken it and sometimes she hasn't. A lot of times she just chewed things FOREVER and then she'd spit them out. So what has she been surviving on? Breastmilk! Yes, I still nurse her and she loves it. Her lack of eating never bothered me until around 14 or 15 months. Then I began to wonder if I had done something wrong. All of the questions started going through my head, "Did we introduce food too late? Have I made her think that breastmilk is the only thing that can fill her tummy? Have I made her too dependent on me? Etc." All ridiculous questions, really. Because my husband is FABULOUS, he attacked my fears with truth and set me straight. I continued to nurse her and offered food as always. We had a suspicion that her teeth had something to do with it because teething has been horrible to her.

Whatever it was, it stopped because two weeks ago she looked at the spaghetti I made (Jackson's request for dinner and a rarity around here), demanded her own bowl and own spoon and went to town! After each of her spoonfuls made it into her mouth, we'd clap and say, "Yay!!!" She was so proud of herself that she clapped and exclaimed, "Yay!!!" too. Then, she'd say sign "more" and say, "Mmmm. Mmmm." (with a little rising intonation on the end of each mmmmm, which is what "more" sounds like coming from her. Maybe I should have been making spaghetti all along!

Ever since Grammie sent the jewelry and jewelry box for Allison, we've been having a little fun with accessories. I got out some of my jewelry from my dad's mom and let the kids play with it. Jackson thought it was great. He said, "I wish I was a girl so that I could wear pretty things." I assured him that guys have pretty things too, they just look a little different.

Memory Verse 2 of 24 in 2011

Being totally honest, the 15th crept upon me and I hadn't picked out a new memory verse. It's taken me since the 15th to decide on one! I really want my verses to speak about what I feel God is working on within me. Trusting Him is always something I want to be better about with each passing day; but, pouring out my heart to Him is something I believe He wants from me right now in my life. He wants it always, but I believe He is really driving it home with me right now. It seems that everywhere I go or everything I read speaks to me of crying out to Him. I'm so glad He loves to hear my cries and that He is faithful to answer!

Adrienne:

"Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us."

Psalm 62:8

Jackson:

"Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God has given you."

Exodus 20:12

Jason:

"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."

Romans 12:2

No Batter Deprivation Here

There is one thing my children will never be able to say that I withheld from them: BATTER! Raw eggs included, my children always get to lick the batter. In fact, Jackson usually makes a deal with me that he can lick batter out of the bowl while I fill the muffin cups. I fill very quickly! My mom always let us lick beaters, spoons and bowls. We never got sick, so I let my kids do it too. I hope we never do get sick from it because this is one of the joys of life!

I think this is one of Allison's first experiences with batter. Up until now, Jackson has had sole rights to the spoons and beaters. Alli, welcome to the batter club!

Holladay Farms

The farm is a great place to raise a child. I would love to live in a place where we could have animals and lots of space for running and exploring safely. I know we can make those things happen wherever we live, but living in the country sure does make it easier. I know that farming is HARD work. I guess I just long for the olden days - simple life, days full of work but full of learning and fun, growing your own food, eating from the earth, making things with your hands, etc. I'm reading Little House in the Woods right now. Can't you tell?! I would love to go back to that time! I've always said that I was born several generations late. (I was born at the perfect time that God chose. I'm not complaining. I'm just saying that, in my mind, life was better 100 years ago.)

My BSF leader is wonderful. She and her husband are farmers and they come from a line of farmers. Living on the farm is all she knows. The week after Christmas, she invited my family to her farm. It was wonderful!!

Mama Mitz, as she has my children call her, and her husband Ronnie, drove us around in their pickup truck to explore their farm. We saw their chicken houses, the kids sat on a tractor, we went off-road and explored the expanse of their property (it's HUGE), we fed their cows, and we played. Mitzi treated us to a wonderful lunch using Holladay beef. It was yummy! In fact, Jackson was done with his cheeseburger right after the adults sat down. That is a record for him! I left my camera in her laundry room for most of our visit :-(( but I did get some photos at the end.

The kids had a blast on the playground Ronnie built:

Jackson LOVES cats. He has always loved them. When he was only 1, he would make us turn to every page in his Bible that had a cat on it. He loved to look at them every night before he went to bed. Because their cat has been raised around children, she's great with being held. Jackson was in heaven!

They had a great time in the sandbox. The sand is actually from the beach in Destin. If you can ever get your hands on beach sand, do! It doesn't stick to your clothes so it's a lot less messy and doesn't make it into your house. (It's a funny story how he got the sand. Ronnie asked a friend who drives trucks if he could get him some sand the next time he was down in Destin. He came back with an 18 wheeler full of sand!! It took them a long time to get rid of it all, but lots of children in Selma have sandboxes now!)

The Charolais cattle we fed (Allison chose to have a little sample of their food!):

Alli actually escaped into the pasture chasing after their cat! It's a good thing the Lord causes me to keep my eyes on her every few seconds. She can get into things FAST!

Mitzi rides a dirt bike. Yes, Mitzi in her 60's still rides! The kids loved it.

On our way out, Mama Mitz had a bag of gold for the children. The bag literally was gold and it was full of children's books from Lifeway. We were overwhelmed by her generosity. It was a wonderful day. We can't wait to go back!! I am so grateful to the Lord for putting me in BSF and giving me Mitzi as my discussion leader. Blessed. Blessed I am!

Rookie Days of Skateboarding

There's a great skate park in downtown Montgomery, which is very close to our house. We took Jackson there the week after Christmas because he was eager to try out his new skateboard.

Poor kid. He's covered in safety gear!

Practicing cruising...it really makes me miss our driveway in Oklahoma:

Up ramps:

Down ramps:

And chasing the skateboard, which was a lot of fun for him:

Allison had fun too. She walked up the ramps and slid down them on her bottom. I was worried I would never get the black stains off of her jacket and jeans, but I did!

Tired?

But only for a moment...until she found some very small object worthy of being picked up and put into her mouth!

Little House and Underwear in Toilets

Yesterday afternoon, I took the kids to the library. We had so much fun playing computer games, putting together puzzles and picking out books. Because Jackson is interested in long books with chapters, I decided to give the Little House series a try. We checked out the first book, Little House in the Woods, and started reading it last night. Jason was away studying, so I was home alone with the kids. All three of us read some Berenstain Bears books, a family favorite, but when it came time for Little House in the Woods, I set Allison free. She loves to play with puzzles, she does puzzles all day long, so when she went upstairs, I assumed she was in her room putting together puzzles. At least, it sounded like that was what she was doing.

I told Jackson that I'd like to go upstairs to read so that we could be closer to Alli. When we went upstairs, we saw her running around. Great! No major destruction or mess, which she is a champion of making. I brushed their teeth and asked Jackson to go the the bathroom. He was standing in front of the toilet when he said, "The floor is all wet. Why is the floor all wet?"

"Oohh. Allison must have gotten into the toilet." She loves playing in the toilet although she gets in trouble for doing it. I wiped up the floor and then lifted the lid to clean the water off the seat. That's when I found this:

I couldn't help but laugh. It's not the first time she's put things in the toilet. Last time, it was a pair of Jason's clean socks. This time it was Jackson's dirty underwear. Gross! I guess she thought they needed cleaning. One thing is for sure, she keeps this home interesting!

I got this quote off of our library calendar and love it:

"Children are made readers on the laps of their parents."

Emilie Buchwald

Allison's 1st Haircut

My sweet little girl has baby fine blonde hair that she refuses to dress up with a bow. I put the bow in and she rips it out, with hair attached, in a matter of seconds, looking at me as if to say, "Don't put those ridiculous things in my hair. I won't wear them." Her hair was getting longer, misshapen, and in her eyes, so I decided that it was time for a little haircut.

The week of Christmas, we were out ice skating and Jackson really wanted his haircut. We took him to get his cut, happened to have the cameras with us since we'd been ice skating, and decided to have Alli's cut too. I usually plan for little events like this, like making sure she has a cute outfit on, but I'm realizing that those things don't matter, life is too short, and it makes things too difficult. All four of us were together AND we had the cameras. Perfect!!

It was December 21st and our little pro led the way. He is a hair stylist's dream child...perfectly still, does exactly as he's told, and LOVES to have his hair dried! The lady cutting his hair had just had a bad knee accident and could barely move. We assured her that he would be perfectly still and he did an excellent job for her. Way to go, Jacks!

Little Allison does not like being messed with. She's a mover too...always on the go. Her first cut went well...

and so did her second...

but then we lost her! I love this child! Every day she makes me feel more and more like a real parent. :-))

"Daddy, rescue me from these women!"

Our hair stylist saved the day with a Dum Dum!

Oh, how she loves Dum Dums!

I was so proud of him because we were on the other side of the room and he did great without us.

Sharing with Momma!

Yum, yum Dum Dum! Thanks, Alli!

Sharing again...

and again!

Shaping up the back:

All Done!

We made through the first hair cut! Yay for Allison!! And Yay for my man on those pictures.