Monday Thoughts

Two notes from sermons I've heard recently...

"God's plan is to change me, to conform me to the likeness of His Son."

"Walking by the Spirit: fighting the battle of the inner man to allow the Holy Spirit to grow His traits in me, little step by little step."

A Baby Sprinkle

Last week I hosted a baby sprinkle for a sweet friend who is expecting a little girl very soon. (A sprinkle is a smaller baby shower for second, third, and more babies--I think all babies should be celebrated!)


Pretty table


Yummy cupcakes


Who doesn't love a good reason for a girls night?
 

Party time!


We had lots of fun helping get ready for the new baby and gabbing about our husbands and kids.


Sweet favors made by Honey

Sister Love

(ignore the bad lighting, I don't have time to edit today)

Weekend Visit and Playroom Bunting

Bebe and Papa Rick came for a visit and the kids had the best time! I have some cute pictures but since JJ is in them I can't post them here--you'll just have to take my word for it.

I did a little craft project for our playroom over the weekend: bunting to hang over the windows. I wanted a bit more color in this room but I didn't feel like tackling curtains. I think this does the trick nicely. Not the greatest pictures but you get the idea...







I cut fabric scraps I already had into triangles with pinking shears, then hot-glued them to ribbon and taped them over the windows. Happy!

36 Hour Recap + Cute Pictures

So the Gent was out of town for 36 hours. In that time:
JJ broke his big toe.
Annie decided she was ready for potty training.
Sophie learned to roll from her back to tummy and has become a tummy sleeper.
Life changes fast around here! Yay for Friday. And as my thanks for sticking around, here are some cute pictures of the big kids painting with water last week.

JJ's new footwear

See Twitter or Instagram for the full story...

Girls in the Tub

Bread for Today

From my Bible reading this morning, James 4:17:
So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is a sin.

Brings to mind these words from Proverbs 3:27: 
Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.

What is God calling you to do today?

Annie Kate

Thought it was time for an update on my "big girl," as she calls herself. At two and a half, Annie is very verbal and a fast learner with something that interests her. Right now we are learning Bible memory verses and learning to recognize states on a map. She has started her first little ballet class (more like guided creative movement--but she loves it and she takes a good nap afterwards!) and is going to Bible Study Fellowship's children's program and toddler story time at the library. We round out our socializing with play dates and trips to the children's museum, zoo, art museum, and our favorite parks and splash pads. Annie loves loves loves to play dolls and read books. Lots of books. She is not potty trained but we're getting ready to try again. I've been talking it up--we'll see how it goes. :) Annie is very independent and she likes to assert that independence. The Gent and I are doing our best to guide and shape her strong little will. It will stand her in good stead when she is older, I'm sure!

Splash Pad

It was a hot day and I was tired but the pure joy on their faces makes it all worthwhile. Sophie, continuing her claim to best baby ever, slept in the stroller or sat contentedly in my arms in the shade. Hurray for the dog days of summer!

Sophie: Three Months

Sweet little baby loves to smile and babble and is rolling over consistently now (she started at three weeks, yikes!). She loves her fingers and is reaching for toys now. Sophie is such an easy baby, with the exception of dinner time. As soon as we all sit down at the table Sophie decides she is ready for bed! This month Sophie was quite a traveler--San Francisco, the beach, and her first football game. She was a trooper through it all. Her schedule is still about the same--nursing about seven times a day, cat naps in the morning while we are on the go, and a long afternoon nap. Bedtime at 7pm and sleeping till 9am, waking about 10pm and 5am to eat. Sophie just moved up to 3-6 month clothes and is still wearing size 1 diapers.

Summer Goals Update

So, if you recall, I had three summer goals for my toddlers.

1. Potty train
2. Move JJ to big boy bed
3. Learn to drink from regular cups and retire the sippys

Here's how we're doing.

1. Potty training. JJ is doing really well. He wears a pull up at naptime and bedtime, but is wearing underwear the rest of the time we are at home. I still put a pull up on him when we go out, but he is staying dry 95% off the time. Another couple of weeks and I think he'll be in underwear when we're out of the house, too. Annie was so stressed out by potty training that I bought her another box of diapers and told her we could try again when the diapers ran out.

2. JJ is now sleeping in a big boy bed. He's doing pretty well, learning to stay in his room until his OK to Wake clock turns green.

3. Ahhh cups. So they know how to drink from regular cups, but every now and then they forget and dump them everywhere...and I'm lazy and don't want to keep cleaning up spills...so I'm trying to get them to drink from regular cups at dinner but sometimes it just isn't worth it. :) We'll get there eventually.

Fall goals? Preserve Mama's sanity and continue working on concepts.

Annie can count to 20 and JJ to 5, and they recognize most of their numbers now. I'm continuing to teach JJ his colors, and Annie is learning states from her U.S. map placemat. And I think I'm going to introduce phonics. Annie knows all her letters and JJ knows most of his, so I figure they might as well start learning the sounds the letters make. And we'll continue to read, read, read!