She did it!

As I was thinking about writing this post, I realized that most people will think I'm talking about Gemma walking...which she hasn't learned how to do yet. :) However, she learned how to do something else that I've been trying to teach her for the last few weeks: drink the remaining milk from her cheerios bowl in the morning! Hahaha.
Here's are the pics of her, showing how proud she is of her accomplishment:



Gemma has been so fun to watch lately, as she's learning lots of words, and similar to her personality, even her babbling is spoken in a cheerful, lilting manner. :) She say's book ("buh?" with a questioning tone), doggy, kitty, sissy, mama/mommy, daddy ("dehddy"), thank you (day-doo), and most recently, "Chee", which, depending on the situation, can either be Cheerios or Cheese (for smiles or the food). She also still says "moh" and "mil" (more and milk), and I think she's starting to say "pees" (please) and juice. It's so fun to hear all the words & ideas that are starting to form in her little mind, and I love hearing her "talking" to Hannah, as she's doing right now.

This weekend we had one more celebration for Hannah's birthday, this time with Grandma & Grandpa J. My mom and I were agreeing that Hannah has been the most excited for this birthday, and she has seemed to understand the significance more this year than even last year. For one thing, she talked about it/started making her list a few days after Christmas! For another, since her actual birthday, she's been saying "I'm a four-year-old now!" so I know she gets that she is now a different age. It's really fun, as I've always loved birthdays! :)
Here is a pic of her new dress-up dress from Grandma. (Hannah's doing her normal twirling pose that is so common when she wears any kind of dress.)


These last pics are some I was quite proud of...yesterday Keith was doing a few things out in the garage and so Gemma hung out in the yard for a while. I caught her playing with some dried grass & stuff, and it was the perfect picture op!

Hannah's Birthday

I promised a post about Hannah's big birthday yesterday, so I'll get that up before Lisa & her kids get here! :)
Hannah came downstairs yesterday morning in proper birthday attire...

(She comes downstairs like this most mornings, alternating between her "evening gowns", her pioneer-looking nightgown, and this ballerina thing. :) It's pretty funny!)

After breakfast and watching Aunt Senia's funny e-card, we went to a Andreea's house for a walk & park playdate. The weather was gorgeous for the first day of summer, and we were all hot by the time the walk was over (but NOT complaining!) :) Hannah & Lorena played nicely, and then it was time to head to Hannah's birthday lunch with Aunt Mary Brown. Shari's ended up being a great place to go, as they have lots of kid's lunch choices and free pie for birthdays! Hannah had mac & cheese, and chocolate velvet pie for dessert. (I did not force this choice--that girl just has good taste!) Here she is blowing out her candle after we sung to her:

Although she only ended up eating the chocolate syrup and chocolate flakes at the restaurant, she thoroughly enjoyed another piece of it when we got home!

The gift of the day was from Aunt Mary, who had picked up a set of Disney Princesses--straight from Disneyland! Very special. :) Hannah was in awe of the set, and ripped it open as soon as we got home. She played with them for two hours that afternoon, and then off & on the rest of the evening. This morning before even coming out of her room, I found her in there talking to them & arranging them in formations. Here she is setting them up in front of the castle picture that was part of the box. (I was quite proud of myself for thinking to save it before recycling the rest...We'll see how long it lasts. ;)


Later, another gift arrived with Daddy--he brought home an inflatable pool that had Hannah jumping up & down and racing upstairs that second to put her swim suit on! Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of all that hubbub, so I'll take a couple next time she's in it. (Today, of course, it's looking a little cloudy, so I doubt she'll be able to go in it. Ironic...)
Here is Hannah with her birthday quiche for dinner. Probably not the most ideal 4-year-old choice, but she already had her choice on Sunday night, and I had already planned to make the quiche last night. :) Notice the clever candle holders...

She looks pretty happy about the quiche in this picture, but I think it's because this was taken before she had tried it, so I'm pretty sure she thought it was another pie.
:)

Last night it was so nice out that Keith & I sat outside with our coffee and treats. I felt really good about the day with Hannah, and while it is hard to believe she is 4, it is so fun to see what a sweet little girl she is becoming. She is so smart & just, well, interesting! I love that she says things every day that make me think, make me wonder, and make me marvel at all she imagines & dreams up. I'm thankful for my Hannah!

This last picture is a cute one of the girls outside of Shari's. Those are my sunglasses, by the way, although they don't look too bad on Hannah! :)


I love my girls, and I'm blessed to be able to see moments like this every day!

Happy Birthday, Hannah!

Well, it has been almost a month since my last post, so it's definitely time to post some more here.

First of all, my firstborn is 4 years old today!! Wow--time really does fly! Hannah has turned into this super funny, sweet, energetic, precocious preschooler/young girl...what do I even call her now?! I guess she's more on the "little girl" end than the preschooler, since she'll be entering PRE-KINDERGARTEN in the fall! Ahhh! Anyway, we are so thankful to have our Hannah Mariah in our lives, and we are kind of celebrating her all week! Sunday night we celebrated with a family dinner, next Sunday we'll go to my parents' house for a BBQ, and today we are hanging out with friends & going to an ultra-special lunch at a nice restaurant...Shari's! :) That was Miss Hannah's choice, and she is super excited. We've been there a total of...one time, and that was after we saw "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, so I think she has fond memories of the place. Later this evening after Keith gets home, we'll just have a relaxing dinner, maybe a trip to the park, and I'm sure we'll sing "Happy Birthday" at least one more time! It is so fun to see how excited she has been about her birthday this year--she's been anticipating it for months, and we talk about it quite often. It's pretty cute! I'll post some pics later, but here's one of both the girls. Hannah is being her silly self.


Second, I've decided to leave the facebook world. I know that may not be exactly news-worthy (or even blog-worthy!), but it was significant enough to me that I had a really hard time clicking that "deactivate" button. (Which, in & of itself is probably a good indication that I should not be on there...) I won't go into all the details, since they are probably less interesting to you than they are to me, but basically after taking a few weeks off to participate in a prayer activity through church, I realized something: I didn't miss it! :) I also realized that I was spending more time in my bible, in prayer time, and reading good books. More importantly, I wasn't spending so much time telling Hannah "Just a minute!" while I caught up on all the Facebook news. The part I will miss is keeping in touch with all of you, but Keith reminded me that there are SO many ways to check in with one another, that I really am not losing much. :) I'm hoping to update my blog more often, in case you're interested, and I always love getting e-mails, texts, or even the good old phone call! Haha. I'll also try to post pictures on here so that if you are out of the area (Aunt Senia...sniff sniff!), you can still see what the girls are up to. Keep me accountable, okay??

What else is new?? Gemma isn't quite walking yet, although she is close. She walks around anything sturdy, and has even been caught standing for seconds at a time. She's not big on taking any steps on her own, and does more of the "lurch" thing than actually stepping, but she'll do it! :) In everything, I see more of her laid-back personality coming through, and I think that is beneficial when you have a big sister who insists on picking you up & "helping" you move around the house. Gemma isn't a total pushover, though, as she will wave Hannah away or flap her arms at her if she's really not into being carted. It's funny to watch them interact with one another, and I catch glimpses of them as they will play together in the years to come...with only a little fighting, right?!

Keith is really loving his job and the company. A couple weeks ago they had their annual community service day--a company-wide paid day of work that is spent helping in the community. This year they helped at a teen shelter, and they did a bunch of landscaping. Keith was tired after that day, but I could tell he was proud of the work they did. I am proud that he is associated with such a wonderful company that values family, a balanced life, and community-building. God has certainly blessed us with this job, and we are confident that the six to eight months of job uncertainty has made us all the more thankful & appreciative of how God provides so perfectly.

I am taking a couple months off from my regular piano lessons, with the exception of one very diligent student! :) It's nice to have a free schedule each week, and then to be able to do some spontaneous playdates, walks to the park, and backyard water play (hopefully!!). I'm doing a great bible study called "Experiencing God," and I am thoroughly enjoying that. It is truly changing my life. Look it up if you are trying to find something joyfully challenging to do this summer! :)

Tomorrow we get to have our reunion playdate with Lisa, Luke & Ellie, who have moved back to the NW after a stint in southern California!! YAY! We are so excited, and Lisa & I can't wait to visit in person while the kids get reacquainted. :)

I look forward to keeping up to date on here, so be looking for posts....weekly?? :)

There's something about...

For the next few weeks, I'm taking a break from facebook. It has been a little hard to get used to, and I find myself saying "I wish I could write that as a status on FB!" However, I know that God is going to teach me lots of things during all the time I would normally spend on Facebook...as long as I spend the time wisely. So far, I've found that it is a great time to pray, to crochet, to have fun with Hannah, to read, to reflect on my family & what a blessed life we live, to read my bible, to cook, to bake, and today, I found that it's a great time to clean random spots that need said cleaning. :) For example, how often do I wipe down the washer & dryer? From the looks of the rag I used, not often enough. :) Now it's all sparkly clean, with a load of rags in the wash. There's something about cleaning my pile of rags feels good.
I am also currently cooking up some dry beans for a soup tonight, complete with a chicken carcass. Now normally, that would really not be a step I'd be willing to take, but I feel so thrifty & "waste-not-want-not!" There's something about using every bit of a whole chicken.
Hannah is out playing in the backyard with nothing but the garden hose. She is really intrigued and interested in all the nozzle choices, and has been out there for at least 45 minutes already. In the meantime, she may or may not have peed her pants, and she's probably getting really dirty, but I'm actually okay with it. There's something about letting your kids play out in the backyard on their own.
Gemma is waking up from her nap right now, and I am having fun listening to her gibber gabber up in her crib by herself. She is really coming into her own personality lately, and I love that she says "Mommy" very clearly now. I also love how she reaches up for me to pick her up and then rests her head on my shoulder in the most loving, tender way. There's something about baby hugs.
Thanks for listening in this afternoon. Stay posted!

Babies are funny

I find it very funny and odd that a baby will crawl along the floor, notice something on the ground, and then proceed to put it in their mouth. It's not even a question of "should I do this?" It is: "I see something on the floor--I'm going to eat it!" As if we all go around doing that. How weird would it be if I just randomly walked up to a table or a counter, (thinking of something at my level) saw a rubberband or piece of fuzz, and then ate it?
Obviously, babies can get away with it because a) their immune systems are much tougher than ours b) they are exploring their world c) they just look so cute; they can get away with anything! :)

Just so you know...

I started a post (during a blogger update, unbeknownst to me) that did not save in my drafts, so I really did try to post something within a week of my last post. Unfortunately, I can't remember all the details, so I'm not going to try & re-do it right now.
However, I wanted you, my readers--(Senia... :)--to know that I had attempted! :)

It's been WAY too long!

Well, I don't even know how many people will see this post, since it's been so long--almost a year?!--since I posted.
However, lately some mommyhood things have happened where I've thought to myself "Maybe I should get back to blogging", and then I sort of forget the idea after a few seconds because something else happens to draw my attention. I think that I'm going to try it out again because I am feeling like it could be a good outlet both for sharing what's going on in my ever-challenging, but ever-rewarding life of being a mom and for the opportunity to express all the ways I am seeing God work in our family! I ask for your encouragement and even accountability to ask me when I'm not posting. :) I think it will help me stay focused & get these things written down where I can go back to them & refer to them years from now.
All that said, on to the "important stuff."
Gemma is now a year old, and she is quite the little charmer! She is very sweet & good-natured, and I often find her entertaining herself or observing the goings-on of Hannah, myself, Keith, or our animals. That keeps her quite busy! Currently she's pulling all the DVDs & videos off our shelf, which is actually okay by me, since she is apparently done with her nap for the day. :) (It was one hour. Ha.)
Hannah is almost four (yikes! How did that happen?!) and she continues to be my little fireball, both in regards to energy & attitude. We definitely have had our power struggles, tantrums, and breakdowns; and that includes Hannah! ;) At the same time, she is VERY imaginative (case in point: she discovered a long piece of blue yarn the other day and proceeded to pull it around, calling it her "hair," just like Rapunzel in the movie "Tangled." She still hasn't given it up!) and she also loves to play with her various fancy dresses. Most mornings before she comes out of her room, she changes out of her pj's and makes her entrance wearing one of her "wedding dresses", as she calls anything that is made of velvet, satin, or has flowers on it.
She is also very smart (if I do say so...), and every once in awhile, one of her arguments is so convincing and well-thought-out that I just changed my mind! :)

I think that today, for the sake of time, I won't go into too much detail about the latest...challenges...with Hannah's behavior or the like, because I sort of feel like starting over from scratch! Today we spent a wonderful morning & early afternoon going to Starbucks & Target, walking to a park, and just thoroughly enjoying a very sunny day--one of the first "full-sun" days we've had this spring!! When we got to the park, we came upon a big group of kids who all had disabilities of various degrees. I wasn't sure what Hannah would do, and I was glad to see she accepted them as any other park-goers! It was really neat to see all of the kids--of various ages--enjoying the park with joyful hearts. I found myself so close to tears just watching all of the kids with disabilities, who I later found out were from the class at the local high school. I think I was moved by how excited each of them were about being at the park, enjoying the day, and how much like Hannah they were. The sweet innocence that exuded from them was astonishing, but I heard the bittersweet thoughts that told me some of them would never advance much beyond Hannah's age in terms of development. It gave me pause, because I realized (maybe for the first time in the almost-four years since Hannah was born) just how blessed & fortunate we are to have two healthy, well-developed children. Please don't misunderstand me; I realize that if we had/have a child with disabilities, we would adjust. God would equip us for that parenting challenge, just as He has for the challenges we face with the children we have! It was just a good moment for me to be thankful, and yet somewhat awe-inspiring to see the happiness of these precious children who in some ways, because of their innocence, will never face the same frustrations or pain of this life. It's an odd dichotomy to face, I'm sure, to be "thankful" for their naivete in some ways.

Anyway, that may be too much for a Wednesday afternoon, but it was on my heart since we left the park, and I thought it'd be a good way to start back up to blogging regularly. My fresh goal is to be thankful every day for the children I have, and yet to know that EVERY parent has a tough job to do: correcting, encouraging, inspiring, and most of all, loving our children to the best of our abilities. Beyond that, we have to trust God to give us the rest of what we need, because we certainly can't do it on our own! :)

Thanks for reading!