Some Days You Just Get it Right

This winter is getting to me.  I mean, really getting to me.  I don't think there's been a week since Christmas that one of us hasn't been sick with something.  Normally, I don't hate winter, but if March 20th doesn't get here soon I'm moving to Florida.  We have been stuck inside for far too long without seeing our friends or doing fun activities.  We have watched way too much TV.  And I don't know how many more times I can push the train around the track before I lose it.  Like send me to the nuthouse lose it.

Lately I have just felt like I am missing the mark so much.  I lose my patience quickly.  Give in too easily.  Neglect the activities I have planned (all that time spent on Pinterest!) in lieu of another episode of Thomas.  I didn't make those sensory bottles for Judah yet.  We're only on letter B with Micah.  I didn't make that dinner or bake those cookies.  I've been focusing on all the things I haven't done, frustrated because I know I can do so much better.  And every morning I pledge to do just that, but then Judah is cranky and takes a long time to go down for his nap.  Or Micah is so happy just watching Thomas.  And I go to bed feeling like I failed yet again. 

Then, there's nights like tonight.  Brad was at work so it was just me and the boys at dinner.  We are sitting at the table and I tell Micah we have to pray before we can eat.  He folds his hands and says, "Dear Lord, thank you for today." 

And I just said "Amen."

Amen.  Let it be.  Not only did my son just pray for the first time ever, but it was so perfect.  Thank you for today.  For the blessing of this day.  For waking us all up this morning.  Thank you for the time I had to play with both of my little boys.  Thank you for lunch that we all enjoyed together as a family.  Thank you for this day, with all of its successes and failures. 

Suddenly, I'm not so focused on how I failed, but on what I've done right.  Micah prayed for the first time.  What a proud moment.  Some days you just get it right.

Home Sick

I've mentioned before that we try to do a little homeschooling with Micah each day.  I keep the activities fun and try to cater them to what he is interested in.  Last week both of the boys were sick so our schedule was a little off, but we still got some things in!

Uncle Kevin got Micah a trampoline for Christmas.  We decided this was the perfect time to bring it out.  He enjoyed jumping on it for a little while.

Daddy brought out the fingerpaints one morning.  We were supposed to take Micah on his first train ride that day, but because he was sick we didn't get to.  So, Daddy said if he doesn't get to ride a train he would get to do fun train things.  So, he painted him a train that was almost as wide as our living room.  Micah thought it was more fun to paint Daddy, though!

In preparation for Valentine's Day, we made this heart rainbow sticky wall to help Micah practice sorting colors.  Brad cut out a bunch of different color hearts.  Then, we drew a rainbow on a piece of contact paper and taped the paper to the wall in the playroom.  Micah had a lot of fun matching the color hearts to the colors of the rainbow.  This was a great sorting activity for him--something we haven't done much of, but he seems to instinctively know how to do.

However, Micah had more fun throwing the hearts up in the air and yelling, "Yo Gabba Gabba!"  This is something he learned to do when we took him to "Yo Gabba Gabba! Live"  He kept filling the bowl up and asking Brad to dump it on him--he loved it!

Of course, he doesn't want his little brother to miss out so as soon as he heard Judah wake up we had to go upstairs and get him.  Micah climbed into the crib with him and wanted to play.

Later that day, Micah wanted to "dot dot dot" his letter "B."  So, we got out the dot paints.  He loves to "dot dot dot" with everything, except the dot paints!  He always uses them like markers.  Oh well.

That was our week last week.  A little lax, but still lots of fun.  I'm hoping to do more posts like this on a regular basis just to keep track of the progress that Micah is making and to share all of the great ideas that I've been collecting!  I'm also linking up with 1+1+1=1 for their Tot School Link. 

9 Months

I know I say this all the time, but is my baby really nine months old already?  It's so hard to believe that nine months ago he was just an itty bitty baby.  He's come a long way!  This has been a HUGE month for him, he's learned so much.  I can't put him down and expect him to be in the same spot anymore.  He's always chasing after his brother and wants whatever he has (especially his cars and trains!).  People always tell me he's such a content baby.  I love when they tell me that because, honestly, I don't usually see it.  I know he's a good baby and he's pretty easy going, but he cries way more than Micah did (which really isn't saying a lot).  Judah knows what he wants and he wants it NOW.  And if he's not happy he will let you know.  But he's also very happy just people watching.  He really likes to be around other people.  He's much more of a cuddler than Micah ever was.  Often I can pick him up and he'll just put his head on my shoulder or he crawls up to us and wants us to just hold him.  That never happened with Micah!  I love seeing how the boys' different personalities develop as they get older.  Here are some of Judah's milestones from his ninth month:

  *He learned to wave "bye-bye."  He does it all the time.  It's the cutest thing ever.  You just tell him
    to wave bye-bye and he does it.  I love it!

  *His first tooth finally popped through!  It was a rough couple of nights before it came, but it's here
    and now we're working on the second one.

  *He full on crawls now.  He is getting all over the place!

  *He pulls himself up on everything.  He loves to stand and play with things, he thinks the world is
    so much more fun higher up. ;)

  *He went to his first story time at the library.  He went to Micah's story time, but he still had a lot of
    fun.  I can't wait to take him to his own story time, I love doing this with Micah and look forward
    to it with Judah.

  *We saw the Huskie dogs at the Arboretum.  Just like his big brother, Judah loves being outside so
    he really enjoyed this outing.  I'm very excited for warmer weather and watching them both play
    outside.

  *He has been fighting something for a little while now and was finally put on amoxicillin as a
   preventative.  After a couple days we figured out he's allergic to it.  That was a rough couple of
   nights, let me tell you!  But he's back to his normal self now.

  *We brought the baby pool inside the house one day so the boys could play and Judah loved it!
    I'm not surprised because he's enjoying his baths more and more. 

That's my little boy.  He's seriously changing so much!

Blessings

Do you find it hard to find the blessings in life sometimes?  I know I do.  It's so easy to get caught up in the busyness of day to day life.  Dishes have to be cleaned, clothes have to be washed, babies have to fed and bathed, floor swept and on and on.  It never ends.  There's always something else to do. 

It can be so easy to wake up in the morning and go throughout your entire day without even thinking about God.  Without giving him thanks.  Without seeing all of the blessings he has poured down on you just today.  I am determined not to let this happen.  I want to enjoy this time I have.  I want to see God around me, to be aware of his presence in everything.  I want to count my blessings every day and be so overcome by how good God is because the fact is I can't count all of my blessings.  They are too numerous to count.  Even on the hard days.  The toddler puking and baby screaming days.  Still, they are there. 

Little hands to wash.

Cheerios left on the floor.

Leftovers to pack for lunch.

What about you?  What blessings can you find in the unexpected?




70. Finding God's faithfulness in my BSF lesson
71. Unexpected time spent one on one with my oldest
72. New markers
73. A homemade hat
74.Time alone with a book
75. Laughter shared between friends

New Year's Goals

I already mentioned how I have decided to name this year.  This year my focus is simplicity.  In thinking about it, sometimes simplicity is actually quite complicated.  Ironic, huh?

I want to simplify my life, to not worry about the little things, but to be focused on a few important things.  But what are those things?  And what do I do to focus on them?  I love setting goals.  I always feel so accomplished when I've achieved them.  That's one reason why I love New Year's.  I don't really like setting New Year's resolutions because they're so vague and unclear.  Instead, I like to set goals.  I look at all different areas of my life (my kids, my role as wife, finances, spiritual life, housekeeping, etc.) and think about what I would like them to look like at the start of 2014.  I know perfections isn't possible so I pick a few small goals in each area and make those my goals for 2013.  Sometimes the goals are real simple and can be achieved quickly (i.e. save $1000 for vacation) and other times they are more difficult and might not even be achieved by the end of the year.  But I think it's good to always be thinking about how we can better ourselves.  One of my favorite quotes comes from my high school youth group: If better is possible, good is not enough.  I try to live by that.  If I can be doing better, I want to be working toward that.  Not towards perfection, just towards better.  So, without further ado, here are a few of my 2013 goals:

Financial
  *Pay for (all) vacation(s) with cash.
       We currently have a vacation to the Outer Banks planned, and I'm hoping to go on a few mini
        vacations.  I would like to use all cash, only cash for all of them.  Not even put it on the credit
        card this month and pay off next month.
   *Pay off one student loan.
        Brad and I each have a couple student loans.  It can get discouraging sometimes to see so many
        little loans so I'd like to knock out at least one of them.
   *Start doing home repairs so that we can sell our house when we want to.
        We're not really sure when we're going to sell our house yet, but there are definitely a few things
         that will need to be fixed before we can do that so better to be prepared.

Home
    *Go on monthly dates with my husband.
         Brad and I both know how important it is that we have time to get away just the two of us.  We
         both need that time together, but aren't always great about making it a priority.  So, this year we
         will make it a priority!
    *Be more present with my kids.
         I love staying home with my kids.  I tell Brad often how thankful I am that he goes to work so
         that I don't have to.  But sometimes I forget what a blessing it is.  I get distracted by other
         things.  But I will never get this time back, and I really want to enjoy every minute of it.  I want
         to get down on the ground and play with them more.  I want to go to the children's museum
         without anyone else.  I want to play at the park for hours.  I want to sit and read books all
         morning or snuggle together and watch a movie.  I want to do craft projects and play games.  I
         want to get messy and follow their lead.
      *Complete the cookbook challenge.
          More and more I'm discovering how much I love to cook.  It's just so much easier to eat out.
          But in 2013 I want to cook more meals.  A great way to do this is by participating in this
          challenge.  Both Brad and I are really excited about it.  We have decided to use the Biggest
          Loser Family Edition cookbook, which goes great with Brad's word for 2013, which is
          "healthy."

Spiritual
      *Faithfully finish BSF.
           I have truly enjoyed participating in BSF this year.  I am learning so much and being
           challenged beyond what I could have imagined.  I want to finish strong and I look forward to
           starting the new study in the fall.
      *Model and practice spiritual habits with the boys.
            I want Micah and Judah to see me praying and reading my Bible every day.  I want them to
            see the joy that I find in worshipping through music.  But I want them to participate in these
            activities themselves.  I want to pray daily with Micah and regularly read Bible stories so that
            he, too, can find what a joy it is to be in the present of God.
       *Pray and read the Bible daily with my husband.
            Brad and I do pray and read the Bible together daily.  But we do it before bed which is not
            always the most quality time.  My goal is for us to move that time from night to morning.  I
            know how important it is for us to start our day off on the right foot together so it is my goal
            that we would consistently start our mornings together in the Word and praying for each other.

Those are just a few of my goals for 2013, what are some of yours?

8 Months

I can hardly believe my baby boy is 8 months old already!  I know moms say this all the time, but there's a reason they say it!  He is growing up so fast.  I feel like with Micah I was always so excited to reach the next milestone and it feels like he just grew up so fast.  But I'm trying to enjoy it all more with Judah.  Don't get me wrong, I knew to slow down and enjoy it with Micah because I had been warned about how fast it goes, but until you experience it for yourself you can't really know.  I often find myself looking back at baby books because I have no idea when Judah should be doing certain things!  But he reminds me all the time that he doesn't need a baby book to tell him what to do next! 

This month he has become so much more active.  He babbles to us all the time and he is really getting around!  It's like he has really just come alive and I love it!  He's a much more active participant in our family now and needs to be included in whatever we are doing.  He and Micah get along great.  Judah always wants to be where big brother is and playing with what big brother is playing with.  Micah has learned that if he gives Judah something to play with then he'll be satisfied and not bug him.  Fortunately, Micah usually gives him something that he is playing with (i.e. a piece of train track or one of his cars) so Judah feels included.  Micah cracks Judah up, too.  I love it when the two of them just keep laughing at each other.  Judah's favorite is whenever Micah "throws" something (this usually means he's actually just dropping it behind his back.  He thinks it's the funniest thing in the world! 

In general, Judah is a pretty cuddly baby.  He loves being held and will just sit there for a decent amount of time, enjoying your company.  I'm pretty sure this will change soon, though, as more and more he is on the move.  Here are some more highlights of Judah's eighth month:

*He started the month getting up on all fours and rocking back and forth and now he is pulling himself forward.  It's not quite crawling, (it's more like the worm!), but he is definitely moving forward!

*We went to Chicago and Frankfort Children's Museums this month and he actually got to play at some of the exhibits.  It was so fun watching him play with his own age-appropriate toys.  But it definitely makes going to the children's museum by myself a lot harder!

*Judah came with us to cut down our Christmas tree.  He did great despite the cold weather, and he really enjoyed watching us decorate it.

*Judah is babbling more and more.  He is seriously a little chatterbox, always with something to say (that does not remind me of anyone else I know!).  His sounds are sounding more like real words, too.  He has starting saying "dadadadada."

*We went to Holiday Magic at Brookfield Zoo.  He didn't complain once and was so content being all bundled up and snuggled close to Daddy.

*We celebrated Judah's first Christmas.  We did our family Christmas Christmas Eve morning, then went to Uncle Phil and Aunt Karen't house for dinner.  Christmas morning we went to Mimi's house, then to Boompa and Oma's house for dinner.  We could not have asked Judah to do any better than he did.  He slept relatively well and was very content no matter where we were.  He really enjoyed playing with the ribbons on all of the presents, and he always has so much fun playing with his cousins.  I am really looking forward to next Christmas when he can really play with them and enjoy it even more.

*Judah celebrated his first New Year's Eve at home.  We had a family sleep over at our house.  The kids played so nicely together.  Judah gave Brad quite a bit of trouble going to sleep, but he finally did it and slept very well, despite the fireworks.

Enjoying the Enchanted Railroad.

*We're giving Judah more and more regular food.  We're trying to move him to only table food.  He's been eating pureed pears once a day, but we're trying to stop that and he is really loving eating the food that we eat.  He's even learned how to drink out of a sippy cup this month.

*We went to the Morton Arboretum to see the Enchanted Railroad.  It was so cool!  Judah was all bundled up in his new winter coat and he had a blast just watching everyone else watch the train.  Then, we walked around the children's garden a little bit and he did so great.  He loves being outside, just like his big brother!

Smiling while walking at the Arboretum.

Rosie loves Judah.  She always looks out for him when they're together.

Enjoying a special New Year's Eve bath.

Some quiet time with Daddy.

Picking out our Christmas tree.

Helping Daddy put on Judah's first ornament.

All smiley on Christmas Eve.

The bows are the best part of the present!

All the cousins on Christmas Eve.

Fun at Mimi's house.

Playing with some new Christmas toys.

                                                                                                                                                                   

Kissing that adorable baby.

Playing at the Chicago Children's Museum.

All bundled up and ready to look at the Macy's windows.

He loves being outside!

Holiday Magic with the fam.

Despite being cold, Judah did great at the zoo!

Enjoying some mashed potatoes and broccoli.

Brother picture in front of the tree at church.

 

Accepting the Joy Dare

I mentioned before that there were some challenges I was going to do this year.  One challenge is the Joy Dare.  Last year I read the book 1000 Gifts by Ann Voskamp.  In the book, Voskamp talks about how she decided to challenge herself to keep track of 1000 blessings from God.  Not your typical blessings,but little ones that often go unnoticed.  She was challenged to really look for God's blessing in her life.  It was a great book and really challenged me to look for God in my own life.  It reminded me of when I was in college and one of my professors would always begin class asking "How did you see God today?"  Voskamp has a great blog.  It's so challenging and inspirational.  So, I decided to join the community this year and keep track of my own 1000 gifts.

So, I'm going to start right now.  Yesterday and today's blessings:

Three Things Heard:
  1. Judah laughing at his big brother.
  2. Fireworks as we rang in the new year.  The sound of a fresh start!
  3. The sound of receiving a text message and knowing that I have friends who care about me and   
      know my child so well.

A Gift Outside, Inside, on a Plate:
  1. Cards in my mailbox, personal cards that require no money from me!
  2. A washing machine that I use daily so that I don't have to wash clothes by hand.
  3. Yummy leftover orange dip.  We're eating better in the Kolar house, but can't waste leftovers!

What about you?  Will you take the dare with me?  What are you thankful for today?