Six Months

Happy six months old, sweet Abigail!

A half a year has passed since your birth. While some of those moments have seemed long (there have been a few long nights, sweetheart), your little life has zipped by so far.

You are rolling all over the place now. Rolling for fun and rolling with purpose. You try to grab Rugby, but he's still faster than you. You spot toys and wriggle your way closer to them. You don't crawl, but you've got this wiggle that starts with driving your head into the carpet and kicking your legs up. Not exactly prety, but effective. Between your wiggle and reeeeeeaching your chubby little arms, you are starting to keep Andrew on his toes. His toys are treasures to you.

You weigh 15 pounds and measure 24.5 inches. You are a small little thing, but you manage to have some chubby cheeks and legs. We love every inch of you. Go easy on us - we want to slow down and enjoy the second half of your first year.

Woopty Woop

Ahh... I've experienced many funny speech things in my work. Now it's my turn to see these silly speech patterns at home, in my own children. Here's a conversation I had with Andrew today:

"Wook, Mommy! I made a woopty woop!" He's made a circle out of train tracks. A loopty loop, of course.

"Oh, wow! You made a woopty woop?" Bad modeling, mama. But it sounded so cute, I couldn't resist saying it back to him in his cute way.

"NO! Not a woopty woop. A WOOPTY WOOP." Like, duh, mom.

Hee hee... it's so much funnier when it's your own kid!

Giggles and Rolls

Abigail is developing quite a personality! She copies our laughs, she smiles and flirts, rolls all over the place, and can usually get a toy or her pacifier in her mouth by herself. She also has learned the 'dropsies' game in the high chair. I was trying to get some stuff done in the kitchen today, so Andrew was coloring and I kept handing Abigail toys. I call this picture, "Gravity":

Trucks!

Last weekend we went to a local "Touch a Truck" day. All sorts of community vehicles were there and kids could climb up and sit in them. And honk them. It was a bit loud.

Andrew was in his element. He loved all the big trucks, diggers, dozers, semis, etc. Here are some highlights.

Summer's End

This is my last week of summer vacation. Next week I start back to work. And, while I'm excited to be working just three days per week instead of five, I'm still feeling blue about summer ending. When Andrew was a peanut, that first summer, I had a hard time being home. No routine, no structure, nowhere to go? I don't know, but I felt restless. Last summer I was newly pregnant and very ill. It was mostly a blur.

But this summer. This has been pure joy. I'm not a brand new mommy anymore - I found the guts to travel all over with two wee ones. Everywhere except the grocery store. I'm still not that brave. But we went to beaches - big and little, the zoo, children's museums, parks, picnics, walks, blueberry picking, visiting family, and much much more. The blissful part of summer is that we could do all that but still not feel rushed or hurried. It has been wonderful.

So last night I told Ryan, "This is my last week at home. I don't know if I should try to cram it full of lots of fun things. Or if I should just stay at home and play with my babies." Today we stayed home. Played outside. Made a chalk racetrack for Andrew to "ride" his bike (read: sit on it and walk with his feet).






Before the day really got going, before the racetrack and lunch and tantrums around naptime, we had a sweet morning. Abigail dozed off on me and I reclined a bit on the couch. Andrew came over with his favorite yellow blanket and cuddled up with us. Awww... how long will both of my babies fit on me like that? Hopefully they'll still fit next summer. Cuz mommy isn't ready to give that up.

Zoo!

We went to the zoo last Saturday! It was a perfect day, too. A little on the cool side, perfect for strolling around outside. The kids both did great and we saw some cool animals.


The highlight was feeding the giraffes. You can buy crackers and these dudes are ready to eat. They just stick their faces right up there and grab the cracker with their huge tongues. Andrew thought it was funny at first. Then he decided, "You do it, Mommy." It was more fun to watch.



The first time we spotted the zebras, I asked Andrew, "Look! What are those black and white animals?" He answered, "Cows. Mooooo." I guess that could be right - had we been at a farm! Then he saw the zebras and caught on.



Abigail enjoyed the view from her favorite spot - the Baby Bjorn. But mostly, she snoozed in the stroller.



Daddy rode the train with Andrew. I think this train ride may have tied "Feeding the Giraffes" as Andrew's #1 activity of the day. He loved it! All in all it was a great day! And both kids slept on the ride home. What more can you ask for?

First bites

Today, for the first time, my baby girl tried some not-completely-liquid food. Well, it was rice cereal with breast milk, and it was pretty close to liquid. But it was her first non-milk meal, how about that?

We captured her first bite and first reaction on camera. She opened right up, like a little birdie. Heck, she's been trying to grab food from our hands and plates for awhile now. But once that oozy cereal hit her mouth, poor Abigail gave us quite a sour expression. She tried more and ended up eating about a dozen bites. Of course, much of that was pushed back out by her tongue. But she welcomed each spoonful.

I know Andrew started on these 'semi-solids' earlier in his young life. (We were hoping it would help him sleep longer at night!) But somehow, this still seems so early. Like my baby girl is too young for this. But she's getting bigger. More coordinated with her hands. More expressive with her laugh. And she might just be ready to join us at the table.

I don't know how that cereal mush tasted to Abigail, but to me, it was bittersweet.

Time of Need

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Hebrews 4:16

This verse popped out at me at church last weekend. I wasn't sure why - but I felt the need to write it down, post it somewhere prominent, and mull over it all week.

Early in the week, I was struck by the word "confidence." Reminded that we are not cowering in the presence of our Creator, but invited to approach Him with our concerns, our gratitude, our prayers - and to do so with confidence. Wow. That stretched my brain for a bit.

A couple days later, I was caught up in the last part - "time of need." Well, shoot. We're doing pretty well. We've been blessed with two beautiful children, health, family, friends, jobs, and we're surrounded by many comforts. It reminded me that many of my prayers lately have been for the true needs other people. And for personal growth - to learn more about seeking God with all my heart. But I hadn't really felt any strong "needs," per say.

Thursday we got news of some changes at hubby's job. Not life-altering yet. But a sign of the times. I guess it's cheaper to pay someone overseas to do a techie job than it is to pay someone in the States. While I trust that God will provide for us - and even more, that He'll use this change to challenge us and bless us in new ways - still I admit that my heart fluttered with panic for a moment. We've grown accustomed to hubby's income. It's allowed us to have these comforts, to let me work part-time or take an unpaid maternity leave.

His job is secure at the moment, but change is in the air. And it brought this verse back to my mind. This time it's the "grace to help us in our time of need" part. I pray that I'll find that grace, and continue to search for it with confidence.