I'm Sorry

Let me just start by saying that if you haven't already figured out that Leah is "special" you need to read all the blogs labelled Leah on the sidebar. Go now - this post will still be here when you are finished.

For the rest of you...

Leah tends to run off, without permission. She especially likes this behavior at church, where our spiritual discernment in training her righteously might be seen at its fullest. In fact, Wednesday nights during our church's AWANA program is a particular favorite of hers. It is always very humbling to have YOUR child be the one lost from the group where both you and your husband are bona fide leaders!

Well, tonight was no different, and as soon as Cubbies were dismissed Leah was missing. She pulled this stunt more than once, and earned the promised reward of a spanking when she got home. Daddy made good on his promise, and during their reconciliation time she repented for having run away, specifically for running into the parking lot without an adult. She knows this is a huge no-no because of possible traffic. This is exactly what she said:

Please forgive me Daddy for running away. I'm sorry I got hit by a car.

Maybe this explains everything else.

Words Only

I think I might have a problem. You see I am beginning to see life in terms of blog posts. And I am kicking myself for opportunities lost! For instance, I just spent the better part of the past week and a half redecorating my kitchen, based on a new KitchenAid mixer in RED. And then I worked to transfer my whole office from a desk and file cabinet in a room to a hutch in my living room. Josiah now occupies the space in my office. But in both these instances I have NO BEFORE AND AFTER PHOTOS!! What was I thinking? You can't see how I used the top of my horizontal file cabinet as a changing table, or how the top two drawers were emptied and now are used as dresser drawers for Josiah's clothes. You can't appreciate the transformation from catch-me-all hutch to stunning office, which I completed by purchasing a 2" wood-boring drill bit to make precisely cut cord openings in the back of the hutch so that when the doors of the hutch are closed there are no unsightly cords hanging about. Oh what I wouldn't give to have had the presence of mind to snap off a few "process" pics of the transition from cradle to crib for Josiah. Alas, I have nothing to show for all my work, and hence nothing but words to give you in this post. At least you may know that I have not forgotten to blog. And if you are in the neighborhood you can stop by and see my new red kitchen, office hutch, and nursery.

Baby Doll or Baby Brother

Caleb was holding Josiah for me while I finished up a few things in preparation of nursing the baby. My little helper decided he had "helped" enough, and was trying to figure out a way to pick Josiah up and carry him to his swing. As Caleb began to rock forward I noticed his hold on Josiah turn precarious, and told him he wasn't strong enough to pick him up from a sitting position.

He isn't a doll, Caleb. You can't just try and pick him up like that. He is a whole little person, and if you dropped him he could be very hurt.

Yeah, and we're tryin' to keep him alive.

Pretty much.

Just A Sunday Night

I love evenings like tonight. There isn't anything out of the ordinary, expensive, or even planned about them... they just happen. All the same components can be mixed together and result in completely different dynamics. The inability to reproduce the sweetness, on demand, makes it all the more enjoyable. So what was so special about tonight? Just my family, having dinner, sharing conversation, watching a movie, and loving one another.

Dinner:
meatloaf; sweet potato soup; salad; baking powder biscuits - no leftovers
Conversation:
girls - talking about getting married when they get older; boys - talking about anything that makes noise and might cause bleeding
Movie:
Lady and the Tramp

Loving One Another - priceless

Mary

Mary Ellen is a cutie. She flirts shamelessly with her Daddy, and smiles for the camera any time one is pointed in her general direction. Although she hardly speaks, she manages to communicate fairly efficiently. When she does actually use words they are adorable sounding. Some of our favorites are:

Peas - please

Ah duuuuun - all done

E mana - yes, mama

uh huh (have to hear this to understand the sweet inflection of tone) - yes

babeeeee - Josiah

Mary loves to have books read to her, and will sit in your lap for hours if you have a supply of her favorites close at hand. She doesn't mind having the same book read repeatedly, and will even ask you to start at the beginning of whatever adventure you just finished, so she can hear it again. Goodnight Moon, Good Night, Gorilla, Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb, My Many Colored Days are among her all-time best loved. She will at times read to herself, which is about the cutest thing in the world. When you add a small child who can't read, with a small child who doesn't even really speak, and then try to have that same child pretend to read a book the results are comical, endearing, and altogether adorable.

Mary is Daddy's princess. She has him wrapped around his finger, with nothing but a simple kiss to seal any deal. She flirts outrageously with him, and knows that running to his lap will always protect her from whatever onslaught awaits from her older siblings. Daddy is her mighty knight.

She has a penchant for independence, and relishes when the older children are away so that she might have some alone time with the toys. Not so much because she doesn't like to share, but because she is quite content playing quietly, and without interruption. She will sit for long periods of time happily entertaining herself each Wednesday evening when she gets alone time with Nana. I think she probably looks forward to this event greatly, and were she to have any sense of time would be clamoring about it all week.

We are so thrilled that Mary joined our family. What would we do without our Mary Moo? She makes us love her each day. I know that God has an incredible plan for her life, filled with adventure she couldn't possibly dream up on her own. I look forward to watching the show. 

A's and B's

I love order. I like everything to be in its place, and a place for everything. I like routine. And I absolutely LOVE patterns that work out symetrically, or at least aesthetically (sometimes asymetrical has a place... sometimes). For example, I have a picture of each child hanging in my dining room, all in matching frames. I had to add a new frame recently, for Josiah, and I was absolutely tickled when Aaron Brothers had my exact match. I would have seriously considered purchasing all new frames had I not been able to get the one that goes with my existing pattern. Another example is the towels that each child gets when they turn two. We buy a personalized towel from Pottery Barn, in a color that coordinates with a painted initial hung over their bath towel hook by the bathroom. It is killing me that I might have to buy my towels from a new vendor because Pottery Barn doesn't have the color availability to allow each child their own signature hue. I certainly could not MIX my existing towels with others that don't have the same font style! Jesu forfend. I expect my children to cooperate with this quirk of mine. And up until Josiah they were behaving quite well. Let me explain... we have A's, and B's.

Hannah - A baby. She weighed just shy of 8lbs, was 19" long, and has a body type that tends toward the petite. She also has bad allergies, blond hair, and dry skin.

Bethany - B baby. She weighed just shy of 10lbs, was 21+" long, and has a huskier body type. She has very few allergies, with great skin, and brown hair. In fact, it was black at birth!

Caleb - A baby. He weighed just shy of 8lbs, was 19" long, and has a body type that tends toward the petite (sound familiar?). He also has bad allergies, blond hair, and dry skin.

Leah - B baby. She weighed just shy 10lbs, was 21+" long, and has a huskier body type. Shehas very few allergies, great skin, and brown hair which was, like her elder B sister, black at birth.

Mary - (you should see the pattern by now) A baby. She weighed just shy of 8lbs, was 19" long, and has a body type that tends toward the petite. She also has bad allergies, blond hair, and dry skin.

So far, so good. We have a strong A,B,A,B,A pattern, and on top of that a gender pattern of G,G,B,G,G. We knew what we needed. The next baby needed to be a Boy, and a B baby. This would fit into the pattern. So how does Josiah "fit in?" Well, he is a boy, so we know he at least got that part right. But is he a B baby? That is not a question easily answered, and while I adore my little prince, I am quite out of sorts that he isn't fitting into my pattern. Here are the facts:

Josiah - ? baby. He weighed smack dab in the middle of my A's and B's; just shy of 9lbs. He was 21+" inches long, like my B's, but he seems to have petite facial features, like my A's. He has some obvious allergies, but not enough to create the tell-tale at birth eczema that came with my other A's. And even though he wasn't has husky at birth as the other B's, he is by far my biggest baby at this point. In fact, he even has rolls! I love it.

Well, perhaps we have a C baby on our hands - although this would create no shortage of mental anguish on my part as I try and figure out how the pattern will continue. Apparently God doesn't want to be put in a box.

Knock Knock

The kids have gotten into "knock knock" jokes. They especially like to share their version of this timeless treasure at the dinner table. Our meals have been filled with comic relief for the past 2 weeks, and it is a true wonder that I am still sane. Hannah and Bethany try hard to come up with unique twists on double entendre, which sometimes works... and sometimes doesn't. Take the following for example:

Where is gravy's favorite place to go? (we were eating meat and gravy)

Where?

The gravy-yard.

So you get the combination of morbid humor along with your meal. Nice. Sometimes the joke is just plain ridiculous. Enter: Caleb. He has been on a role with a particular knock-knock which he finds to be humor defined. It goes like this:

Knock Knock.

Who's there?

Banana Chippie.

Banana Chippie who?

Banana Chippie your neighborhood.

When we discover the meaning of "banana chippie your neighborhood" I will be sure to blog about it. Until then we can only save for his future therapy, and hope that medicine produces a breakthrough.