Category Archives: blog posts

Feb6

Radio-Flying

Posted on by
Radio-Flying

For her birthday, Analie got the Cadillac of Radio-Flyer wagons.

This wagon is not messing around.  It has six different seat configurations (drawing table, snack tray, with friends, without friends, flatbed, etc…) storage caddies, cupholders, and a UV protectant shade.

And safety harnesses.

Since it was gorgeous weather, we decided to (finally) set the thing up today and go for a spin around the driveway.  Analie invited her BFF Maddie to come play wagons and ride in her swing.

First of all, let’s all just have a giggle over the size difference.  Analie and Maddie are one day apart.  On the growth charts, they’re about 80% apart.  (Analie is the bottom 10%, Maddie is top 10%.)  It hilariouses me every time I see it.

And is this child not CUTE?  I would totally give her spoonfuls of sugar but her mommy would kill me in my sleep if she found out.

Analie was munching on Bunnies (her current favorite snack – do not get between the child and her bunnies) and Cheerios as they rode around the yard.  I’m trying to get her bigger but it’s not working.

Poor Maddie looked like she was suffering the entire ride, but I think it was just too bright outside for her.  I giggle when I look at the pictures, though.

Am I a meanie?

She looks like one of those celebrities with their hands out to indicate, “Please, no pictures!”

Aaaaaaand then Maddie discovered that Analie had food.

I love Analie’s look of MOMMY, SHE IS TOUCHING MY BUNNIES!

There is no question as to what what Maddie wants.  And also no question that Analie doesn’t want to share her bunnies.  (Just look at those selfish, pursed lips.)

Poor girl.

Look at my child’s gloating face…

Maddie was ready to be done with the wagon after 15 minutes or so, and then she got to experience…THE SWING.

So cute.

I love babies in swings.  They have this look of WOAH!  LIFE IS SO AWESOME! all over their faces; I just wish I could bottle it up and store it for rainy days.

When Ana’s swinging she always looks like her head is going to pop off from all her pressurized excitement.

Wouldn’t it be awesome to stay like that forever?

Feb4

Bathing Cutie

Posted on by
Bathing Cutie

Analie loves to go in the bathroom these days.  Because in the bathroom are all kinds of delightful treats like tooth brushing!  and hand washing!  and bathtime!

Oh, and there’s the washcloth drawer that I let her empty.  She loves that too, maybe more than all the other stuff combined.

While in the bath, we let her brush her teeth which, I KNOW, is probably some kind of safety hazard.  Especially since she loves to lean down to the water, submerge her face and inhale.

So then she comes up sputtering with a toothbrush in her mouth.

And she thinks it’s hilarious.

She also learned to pull up onto her knees a few weeks ago, which I think is so cute.  Her tiny little arms gripping the tub ledge, soft rolls of chunk still visible.  I hate that she’s losing her baby chunk.

I need to feed her more marshmallows or something.  (Wait, that’s the wrong kind of chunk.)

Ana got a squirty flower bath toy for Christmas, and it’s her current favorite thing in the bath.

I’ve been squirting it at her since she got it, and a few weeks ago she figured out how to refill it with water and squirt herself.

And what, you ask, is her favorite thing to squirt?

Her face.

OF COURSE!  (When I squirt it at her face she opens her mouth and tries to catch and swallow as much as possible.  It’s the most hilarious thing.)

As soon as the flower runs out of water she always looks at it, with her face dripping wet, like WOW THAT WAS SO AWESOME!

Then she fills the flower back up with water and does it all over again.

And that is why you can’t give this child a bath without full body waders on.  She takes bath time by the horns and shows it who is BOSS.

Joie de vivre. 

Feb3

TODAY is the best day of my life!

Posted on by
TODAY is the best day of my life!

Well, maybe you’ve heard that the Superbowl is coming to Indy on Sunday?

It’s just a little football game.

But you know what the BIG news was?  THE TODAY SHOW WAS BROADCASTING FROM DOWNTOWN!

Guys.  I love the Today show.  It’s, like, my favorite.

One of the things on my Bucket List was being in “the crowd” on the Today show.  For serious.  (And now that I’ve written it down I’m kind of embarrassed to admit it.)

So last week when they announced they were broadcasting from Indy this week on Friday – Monday, we were SO in.  In fact, this is how in we were: Joey took the morning off to make this happen for me.  He is a rockstar.

THANKS, JOEY!!!

A couple days ago, Angel’s husband Chang also became a rockstar because HE took the day off so she could come with us!

And that’s how it became a party at my house at 6:00 a.m. this morning.

Should I mention that I was so excited last night that I couldn’t sleep until after 1 am?  So when the alarm went off at 5:30, it felt super lame.  But we got up, we got ready, and we got in the car.

We drove down and parked in one of the garages near the convention center.  I am not going to disclose how much we paid for parking because it was a shameful amount of money, but I know from a Very Reliable Source that the cost for that same garage has increased by $20.00 in the last 4 hours.  I think that makes me feel less bad?

Angel brought her carrier and we loaded Analie up.

Analie was fully dressed in an undershirt, leggings and socks underneath her PJs, was also wearing a hoodie and covered in several blankets.  Oh, and a hat.

Poor girl was so tired and confused.

But she was a champ!  She didn’t fuss at all the entire morning; she just looked around sleepily at everything.  YAY ANA!

We ran upstairs and walked the two or three blocks to the broadcast site, and I think half of Indianapolis had beaten us there!  It was packed with screaming people waving their signs.  We didn’t get very close, but that’s OK.  Just being part of the crowd was so fun.

See that big gray post in the right third of the shot?  And that cute little lady in the white jacket?  That’s ANN CURRY, guys.

We heard buzz in the crowds behind us that Al was going to zipline at 7:30, so since our spot wasn’t very good for watching the broadcast, we moved to see if we could see Al go flying above our heads.

Sure enough, we did!  (That’s him in the top right of the photo.)  He totally looked right at me.

We lined up on the street by the end of the zipline and waited with a small crowd for a few minutes while Al did the weather from up in the tower.

Ana did all the beautiful coloring on that sign herself.  (And she got it all over her foot in the process.)

AND THEN AL ROKER WALKED PAST US.  (Also some IMPD officers.)

After that we decided to walk through Superbowl Village and over to Monument Circle and see the big Superbowl letters.

That’s when we realized how cold it was outside.

And by this point, our Miss decided she’d really rather not be in the carrier for awhile.  She wanted to be able to actually see what was going on.  (She’s too short to see much over the carrier.  Poor thing’s going to be a midget.)

Superbowl Village was OK, I guess.  It probably would have been ten times cooler if things were open.  But it was 7:45 am, and most visitors were probably still having their coffee in their hotel bathrobes at that time of day.

IF they were awake at all.

Analie was getting to the point where she was wondering why SHE was awake.  (We did not pose her like this.  It was hilarious.)

We made it to the Superbowl letters just as the sun was coming up!

And you’re wondering what Angel’s sign says?  Uh…”Chang is the Baby Ninja”.  I was really tired last night when I made it and it was the best thing I could come up with at the time.

After Monument Circle we all realized we were starving.  So we hit up a Panera and got bagels and tried to warm up some.

Have you ever seen a more sleepy pair of eyes in the entire world?  (I even put her to bed at 5:30 last night knowing we’d be getting her up an hour early!)  We’re going to have another early night tonight, I think.

I am so glad we were crazy and got up early to do this.  Sure, you’d need a magnifying glass to find us on TV (we found ourselves!), but just being a part of the spirit of everything was so worth it.  It made me feel like I was part of something in my adopted hometown.

Now I need to feed an early lunch to my exhausted baby girl so I can put her down for an early nap.  Then Angus needs a bath.  You don’t want to know why.

And we’re back to  business as usual.

Feb2

Analie has eight teeth. COUNT ‘EM.

Posted on by
Analie has eight teeth. COUNT ‘EM.

This afternoon the weather was gorgeous, so we went outside to go mudding in the backyard.

I dressed Analie in her most awkward pair of pants, two pairs of socks, and two undershirts, thinking they might get ruined if she got super muddy.

But I needn’t have worried about her clothes.  She’s not into getting dirty, although I tried really hard to show her how to dig in the mud.

She does love Angus, though, so he tempted her to at least crawl a tiny bit off the blanket twice.  And then he got too far away so she went right back to where it was dry.

But how sweet is that smile?

My little girl is getting so big.  I love this stage; the curious wonder of a stick or rock she dislodged from the grass, the  fascination she has with picking furry bits of moss off the ground and handing them to me proudly.

Oh…baby girl…can we freeze time?

Jan27

Being a Mommy Counts

Posted on by
Being a Mommy Counts

So, I read the “Don’t Carpe Diem” article everyone’s sharing around on Facebook.  And you know what?  I think I may be, like, the ONLY person on the whole Internet who didn’t love it.

Maybe that’s because Analie is in such a magical stage right now.  Guys, every single day I get all misty and choked up because she is so amazing and so sweet; I just wish she’d stay like this forever.

But I know she won’t.

And I hate that.

Sure, yesterday she noticed I hadn’t latched the Tupperware cabinet and emptied the entire thing on the kitchen floor within a matter of 25 seconds.  But the look on her face of utter joy in the discovery was absolutely unparalleled.  It took me probably 2 minutes to clean up and reorganize the disaster once she was down for a nap, but two minutes of my time is a drop in the bucket when it comes to filling Analie’s days with the beginnings of rich life experiences.  (Even if it IS only Tupperware.)

Sometimes I feel frustrated by the negativity that can surround being a mommy.  I feel like we mommies get so caught up in expecting our children to behave like they’re years older than they really are so it will be more convenient for us…when what they really need is for us to get on our knees with them (even though it HURTS these days, right?!) and crawl around the house, pull stuff out of drawers and bang blocks together.

Discover life on Analie’s terms.  Not mine.

And isn’t that why I chose to become a mommy?  To do life with my baby?  Even when it hurts?  Or annoys me?  Or wears me down?

Maybe this stems from the increasing panic I am feeling about losing my “baby” as she grows up.  But Analie’s earliest picture of Jesus is going to be what she sees in Joey and I.  And one of my biggest prayers these days is that what she absorbs about Him isn’t that she has to fit into the predetermined behavior box we’ve made for her based on the behavior books we’ve read by well-intentioned Christian authors, or just what makes our lives more convenient.

I want the moments to matter.  The late nights and early mornings aren’t forever.  And I know that someday, when I look back on the early years of Analie’s life, I don’t want to regret my lazy parenting choices.

(AND OH MY GOSH, doesn’t the Internet make it so easy to be a lazy mommy?  Does for me!)

I hope nobody reading this feels judged.  That’s totally not my intention.  Because I am at least 60% less awesome at being a mom than I think I am.

But I’m Analie’s mama.

And I’m the only one she’ll ever have.

I want to make it count.

Jan25

The Partial Rapture

Posted on by
The Partial Rapture

Yesterday I was putting away dishes from the dishwasher and Analie and Angus were playing in the hallway to our bedroom.  While it is true that I couldn’t see them from where I was, this setup was safer than than the last time Analie helped me unload the dishwasher; she had pulled herself up on the door and was helping herself to a paring knife (which shouldn’t have been in there anyway) when I realized what she was doing.

So no more helping with the dishwasher.

And besides, I had shut all the doors in the hallway, so there was nowhere to go but out into the dining room and right into Mama’s line of sight.

Less than a minute after I checked on them, I finished the dishes. And suddenly I realized it had gotten altogether too quiet in the house.  I walked over to the hallway; it was empty and all the doors were still closed.

Fine, fine, no problem; they had probably just sneaked around to the entryway and were trying to open the front door and escape again.  (If I don’t get it quite latched all the way, girlfriend has figured out how to pry that heavy door open. TRUE.)

They were not in the entryway.

Or the purple bathroom.

Or the den.

Or the living room.

Or Analie’s room.

Or under the dining room table.

Or in the kitchen.

OR ANYWHERE ELSE THAT I COULD SEE.

My heart started racing and I flashed back to one of my Bible college classes where the professor was talking about Eschatological views, one of which was that there would be a Partial Rapture and those who were ready would go on up to Heaven, and the rest of us would have to stay down here on Earth and work on it for awhile.

But that wasn’t possible, right?  Because every Bible college graduate worth their Grudem’s Systematic Theology knows that a.) 14 month old babies haven’t yet reached The Age Of Accountability, and b.) dogs don’t have souls.

That theory was off the table, so I did a second check of the house.  We don’t have a large house, Internet.  THERE AREN’T ANY PLACES TO HIDE.

The second trip around the house didn’t turn them up, and I was really starting to freak out.

And that’s when I heard it.

There was a NOISE coming from behind my CLOSED BEDROOM DOOR.

I carefully pushed the door open and was greeted by a grinning baby girl and a devilish puppy who was deep in a pile of clean, formerly folded laundry which I had been intending to put away during nap time.

They were so proud of themselves.  Because, MAMA!  WE ARE IN HERE ALL ALONE!

I have no idea how they got in my room, but I guess the door must not have latched when I shut it.

I’ma have to be more careful going forward.  A closed door doesn’t mean an empty room anymore.

But the really good news?  I haven’t been Left Behind!

Jan23

One Perk About Having A Late Crawling Baby

Posted on by
One Perk About Having A Late Crawling Baby

Analie is, like, the least advanced baby when it comes to movement.  She’s all, Yeah, I know about that cool toy you have over there, but WHATEVS MOM, I’M COOL WITH THIS PIECE OF LINT I DUG OUT OF THE CARPET.

Short version, it has been difficult to entice her to crawl.

Finally, finally, FINALLY, the Wednesday before Christmas, girlfriend started crawling.  (And it’s good that she did, too, because I’m pretty sure our pediatrician was about two weeks away from firing me as a mother.)  Ana’s crawling progress has been slow but steady, but over the last week she’s really gotten if figured out.  More often than not I’ll turn around to make sure she’s still in the same room as me and catch the wobbly backside of my child as she haphazardly scootches herself along the wood floor.

It’s so hilarious.

Last week, Analie discovered Angus’s food bowl.

Several times on Wednesday I told her no and distracted her with one of my mixing bowls.  (Because she loves to alternately stir and whack Angus with the spatula.  Surprisingly he thinks this game is fun too.)

The next day as I was loading the dishwasher and she and Angus were playing on the kitchen floor, she suddenly took off for his food bowl.

I busted out my first Mama Voice and said, “Analie.  NO.”

She was leaning forward with her tiny little hand was outstretched to the food, but when she heard my voice, she JUMPED. (Then I freaked out that I’d been too firm with her.  (Did I yell???!  I need a hidden camera!))

Analie sat up and stared at the food bowl.  She didn’t move.

I continued to freak out in my mind that maybe what I had thought was my firm voice had really been a yell.  (One of my parenting goals is to be just like my mama and speak firmly but with no yelling!  EVER!)  I wished I wasn’t looking at the back of her head, because I wanted to see those little wheels turning; one thing I love about this stage is that Analie can’t keep her emotions off her face.

It seemed like forever, but was probably only about two seconds, before Analie turned around and happily crawled back to the mixing bowl and picked back up where she had left off.

Victory?

The very next day, we repeated the same situation, right down to the mixing bowl and spatula toy on the floor. But this time when I told her no, I used only a fraction of the firmness I had used the day before.  And you know what?  She immediately turned around!  AND SHE HAS IGNORED HIS FOOD BOWL EVER SINCE!

I am totally expecting her to sneak over there again. But for our first NO! crawling boundary, I am so proud of Analie.

And I’m also glad that she waited so long to start crawling.  Because I’m not worn out by saying no yet.  (That’ll probably hit next week, right mamas?)

 

 

Jan16

Excellent Parenting 201

Posted on by
Excellent Parenting 201

Last week Joey taught his Youth Culture adult Connection Class on music. So he played the Top 3 songs for the parents and then they discussed what the song was saying, why it connects to students etc. I’m going on record now to say that we were probably the only church streaming Sexy And I Know It from the Billboard website.

But it was an awesome conversation and Joey and I were both super encouraged by the comments the parents made.

This morning, Ana and I were watching a Red Carpet recap from the Golden Globes, and of course they were playing Sexy and I Know It during the clip.

Ana? WAS DANCING TO THE MUSIC.

I knew I should have covered her ears in Sunday School last week.

Jan16

Early Learning Activities: Week 2 (What Made That Sound?)

Posted on by
Early Learning Activities: Week 2 (What Made That Sound?)

This week we’re working on associating unique sounds with the thing that makes them.  Sure, sure, Analie clearly knows what many sounds sounds come from, but this is more intentional and it allows her to explore them.

If you want to do this at home, you need three(ish) things which can probably be found around your house.

  1. Something that rings or dings (bells, or maybe a kitchen timer?)
  2. Something that shakes and rattles (a marble in a metal box?)
  3. Something that swishes (water in a tupperware?)

Today during Ana’s nap, I assembled what I needed. Well, with one correction.  We don’t have any reliable kitchen timers that are portable, so I grabbed a bag of 25 small bells for $3.00 from Walmart.  (I’m going to use them for other things later; we might make a tambourine.)  Ana got to hold the bag of bells in the store and she was SO proud of herself, shaking them for everyone we passed.

Here’s what I put together.  And again, please be advised that these are point and shoot pictures.  So please don’t hurt your eyes looking at them.

Step 1: Ringaling!

I don’t have any ribbon, but I have bias tape (and I have no idea where it came from or how to use it), so I strung the bells on the tape.  It would have been much easier to do with ribbon, incidentally, because bias tape is flimsy and disintegrates.  So don’t use bias tape if you don’t have to.

Step 2: Shake, shake, shake!

I have neither metal box nor marbles.  But we’ve got coffee beans and pint jars!

Step 3: Swoosh!

I found a small, nearly empty decorating candy jar and put a few drops of gel paste in the bottom of it.  Add a bit of water and it’s perfect!

I also thought to add some glue to the inside of the lid so that Analie won’t be able to peel the lid off and spill bright blue water everywhere.  AND STAIN THE RUG.

Step 4: Admire your work!

Step 5: Play with your baby!