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February

Earlier this month: He's sporting Daddy's work shoes.

I don't know. He only asked if he could take off his shoes, and that sounded innocent enough...


My cilantro, chives and parsley sprouted! Green feeds my soul!


I love tulips, too.

And Joseph gave me some for Valentine's Day! I also got some beautiful daisies, carnations and roses from my wonderful Aaron.

Sorry there aren't more pics from our trip to FTW, but this is what intrigued me: Have you ever wondered about grass? In the springtime, does new grass grow out of the ground, or does the old grass become green? It may be obvious, but I don't know. This is Exhibit A, though.

For Chrystoval.

The best dinner I've had in a long time. I marinated chicken breasts overnight in a mixture of olive oil, fresh lime, the zest from the lime, cilantro, salt, pepper and garlic. Aaron grilled it just right and we served it with black beans and Keely's Perfectly Cooked Brown Rice, adding a good amount of butter and salt to taste.

I Email Aaron

"My knight in shining armor doesn't rescue me from dragons, or even bad guys with guns. My knight in shining armor barges through the door valiantly bearing a huge smile, dinner, and endless patience and optimism. He only cringes slightly at, but recovers quickly from, hearing the grim stories his fair lady tells him of her perils: a baby who cries for 2 hours, poops, and then pees so much that the poop seeps out the diaper and onto every surface in or near the crib; a little boy who can't understand "no" (and instead throws huge fits or cries terribly from disappointment), but is still so good-hearted that he gives his little sister her stuffed animals to play with...while she's in the bath tub; a leaky poopy diaper that drips onto the rug that now needs to be cleaned; and fingers that still smell like poop even after a good scrubbing.

This is what my Knight in shining armor is coming up against. Anyone want the job??"

Remember, Remember

I want (need) to remember the best day of motherhood so far. It happened last Friday and it was glorious.

I got home that morning, from working out, and Aaron and I were chatting. We always recap the previous night, and so I asked, "Did you get up with Emma at all last night?", because (miraculously) I hadn't. "No", he answered. Shock hit my face, and then tears welled up in my eyes. I promise I'm not this emotional normally. Really.

But Emma had just slept her first full night of sleep. 12 hours of gracious rest.

I'd been waiting 14 months for her to sleep more than 6 hours at a time (she often only slept 4 hours at a time). And we got 12 hours! It's cheesy to blog about how relieved and excited I was to realize she'd slept so long, but this was a mile-marker that was months and months overdue, and it felt life-changing. Don't blame me for being so dramatic about this - sleep is powerful, and a lack of it is even more powerful.

Joseph also contributed on The Best Day of Motherhood.

You need to know that, on a whim, I've been working on a few sight words with Joseph. I'm not pushing him, or expecting him to read before he's 3 or anything; just some fun to see how he does and to get him in the habit of learning. So, written on his index cards are the words "God", "the", "Daddy", "Mama", "Emma" and "Joseph" - words I thought he'd see often enough to have them stick. We try to practice everyday, around the same time we practice his catechism questions.

Well, later the same morning we discovered Emma had found Rest, Joseph was eating a snack in his booster seat, facing the refrigerator. I was washing dishes. He said, "Mama! 'The'! 'The', Mama!" Huh? I asked him to explain and he said the same thing, pointing to the refrigerator. I couldn't believe he might be pointing to an actual word, so I picked him up, and asked him to show me what he meant. Sure enough, right there on a piece of paper on the refrigerator was the word "The", and he pointed to it again and said "'The', Mama!"

He read his first word!!!

I'm not one to sit around gloating about my children, holding strangers captive with pictures and stories of their excellence, beauty and superiority. I try to be realistic. I know I'm biased, after all.

But my little boy read his first word all by himself at 2 1/2!!! I'm so proud I could just burst. I was beaming at Joseph! He made me full of a joy that I couldn't explain. I know it was just a word, but I was awe-struck by him.

After that, I thought about God, and wondered if He delights in His children the same way. Does He beam at our successes and our victories? Does He celebrate with us those tiny things we accomplish, as if we'd just conquered the whole world? Is He proud of our efforts, and rejoicing over our progress?

I had a great day on Friday. I really felt like a Mama. Not a new Mama. But a Mama whose whole life has always been about her children: offering her soft body for hugs, her time for their learning, and reserving her special smiles for them. The rest of my long life will be about their successes, their efforts and failures.

How is it that mothers do that? Give up so much for their children? I know my Mom did. She still does. We're grown up and away from home, but I still hear the smile in her voice as she congratulates me on finally folding the laundry, or not losing my temper with the kids. And, of course, my own children have become her life as well. Surely this is the image of God in us? To so love the ones we created, and for whom we've sacrificed so much, that our own happiness disappears and theirs takes its place?

I'm grateful when I can think like this. It's the sane reminder on days, like today, when I'm not just suspicious (but convinced!) that their existence is to make mine difficult. Why do their noses leak soooo much?! Why does he have the urge to hit everything, including his sister?! Why is she hungry (and cranky) every hour today?!

Yes, reminders are good.

Emma's First Outlasting Session

Poor Emma. The "session" ended because she couldn't stay awake anymore. What caused all this? "Take a drink."

We were eating lunch and Emma signed for a drink. I handed her the sippy cup full of a raspberry-lemon fizzy drink I want her to drink. She pushed it away! A light bulb went off in my head, so I said, "Here, Emma, it's yummy. Take a drink." And she whined/screamed a bit and pushed it away. Aha! She knew what I wanted! I'm all for training a baby to have manners as long as I'm convinced they're able to do what I'm asking. And I'd rather be safe than sorry, so I've waited on this one. But I didn't wait long after that.

So, I settled comfortably into my chair, made a slight grimace toward Aaron (who said, "you're going to do it?"), and I said, "No, no, Emma, take a drink.". My voice was pleasant, but the command alone was negative enough for Emma to start crying her shrill, angry cry.

Within fifteen minutes of my relentless but oh-so-pleasant requests, she took a drink! I have gained a tiny bit of wisdom though, and I knew that only half (or less than half) the battle was over. I asked her to take another drink. :) Of course, she absolutely refused and got angry. (We also got to practice "no screaming" quite a bit!)

I think about an hour into it she gave up and took a drink. But she's tricky, and didn't actually drink, just put her lips on the spout. When I said, "No, sweetheart, you need to take a drink.", it started up again, and she refused. It's sweet raspberry-lemon for crying out loud! :) But Emma didn't want it and Emma wasn't going to have it. Period.

About 1 1/2 hours into it, she began getting really sleepy and staring at the wall. Oh no. We called a truce and she's asleep now. I imagine I'll ask her again when she wakes up, and the process will start again.

It's funny that when Joseph was around the same age as Emma is now, he learned the same lesson. It was painful for both of us. I was not quite as practiced or patient; and he was much more stubborn and passionate than Emma. It's all about principles with Joseph: he did not want me telling him what to do - it didn't matter that he was thirsty (with Emma this is just a taste preference, I think). We sat there together for 3 1/2 hours, and then he just. Changed. He took a drink when I asked him. And every time after. And despite all the 2yo things he's going through now, I smile when I notice that he has never once hesitated when I tell him to take a drink. Some things stick, I guess. :)