Growing Up (sniff, sniff)

Have you every woken up one day to realize your little baby isn't a little baby anymore? That has been my day today. I really did it to myself, but I think it was about time. I spent the morning doing this.

I know, I know, she is two and a half for crying out loud. It is time for her to sleep in her "big girl" bed. I just didn't want to switch her over. Part of me didn't want to give her that much freedom. I like that she is captive in her crib. But there was another part of me that just didn't want to see my little baby out of that crib. It really means she is growing up. I decided it was silly of me to keep waiting because she is growing up regardless of where she sleeps. Also, she can't sleep in the crib forever.

So this morning, I asked her if she wanted to sleep in her big girl bed today and take the crib down. She got all excited and didn't stop talking about it until we had the whole bed set up. She got to pick out which color sheets to use and she kept saying, "It's so pretty!"


Even at lunch she told me, "wanna go nite nite in my big girl bed." It did take her a little while to fall asleep, but she seems to be doing well now. Hopefully she will transition without any problems and I can get her room organized again. I also have to find a place to put the crib. We just don't have any storage space.


So did I stop with that big change today? No. My philosophy is why only do one big thing when you can do two on the same day. Well, this second one isn't nearly as big of a change for her as it is for my own mindset. I am putting away the highchair until our next little one comes along. Brenna is now sitting at the table in a booster seat. Unfortunately, now I need a new table. Her knees hit the table, and I'm not sure if I really trust our chairs to hold up against the wiggles of a toddler.


Those are all my changes for today. Later we will go to the fall festival here in Karnes City. Hopefully I will be able to post some fun pictures tomorrow.

For now, this mother of a "big girl" is going to transplant some plants.

Spontaneity

I love it when I am spontaneous. It doesn't happen very often, but those are always the best days. I guess if I were always spontaneous I would never get anything done.

Saturday I woke up and decided we needed to go to Sea World. Brenna and I hadn't seen Nathan very much that week and I thought it would be a fun way to spend the day together as a family. I was not disappointed. We had a great afternoon. Brenna loves to see all the shows with the animals. I think she agrees with most of the world. The Shamu show is her favorite. I am so glad we decided to go. I love making memories with Nathan and Brenna.

First we saw the penguins. She loves to see them swimming around. She laughs at them as they dart about in the water. She always has so much joy in her giggle. I love hearing it.



Next, we saw a show we hadn't seen before. She laughed at the sea lions in this show. She also cried when the show was over. She wanted to touch the walrus and didn't understand why she couldn't. There isn't really a good way to explain that to a two year old.



Then we saw the Viva show. It has the Beluga whales and dolphins in that show. You can see that she is completely engrossed in this show too. She loves to watch everything that is going on in the shows. I think she could watch them a million times and still seeing more.


Sunday we all rested. We were pooped and needed our naps. I was amazed how tired we were from just the afternoon at Sea World. Hopefully we will be able to go again when they do the Christmas specials. I would like to go one more time before this season ends.

Busy Busy Bees

This week and next week feel like frantic weeks. Nathan and I both have a lot going on. Well, lets be honest, Nathan has a lot going on, so I have a lot of entertaining to do. That is okay with me most of the time, but as always, I wish there were more things for me to do in this town. Nathan has multiple games to attend tomorrow and then the regular game on Friday night. Then next week, he has more games, we have a fall festival, and Brenna and I are going to Houston. Okay, when I write it all out, it doesn't really seem impossible.

So in the mundane world of Brenna and I, today we went to the... (wait for it... wait for it...wait... yes)... the park. Nothing new and exciting about that, but there were 4 two year olds and four mommies. I think we all enjoyed the time together. These are the four mommies that I have met in the time we have been here. I'm not sure if there are even any others with toddlers in this town. Well, maybe there are, but they must all work outside the home. Anyways, it was nice to spend time with the other ladies. We chatted and just had a nice time watching the kids entertain themselves for a change.

The biggest thing going in my life right now is that I am helping to start a youth group at the church. There hasn't been one in many years now, and I am really excited to see where God leads us. Luckily I am not doing this all on my own. Nathan is helping and there is also a college student who is committed to the group. We are praying for another male to facilitate the guys group. Then there are the "behind the scenes" planners that are helping me brainstorm and get this thing off the ground. It is all very exciting and nerve-racking for me. I am praying that God will use me here in big ways, but that I won't get overwhelmed when I look at all the "bigness" around me. I am also taking suggestions of resources or ideas that might help.

That is all that is happening in my world today. I'm signing out now. Hopefully Brenna will drift into sleep land soon and finish her nap strong. Maybe I can shut my eyes for a bit too.

The "bee in the title refers to my sweet little girl. Poor thing had to be a bee again this year because her mommy didn't get life together enough to decide on a different costume for her. Oh well, at least she is two and doesn't really know the difference. We don't even really "trick or treat", she just likes to wear the costume to the different fall festivals. Actually we will even be in Houston that Friday. This really isn't one of my favorite holidays, but do love all the cute costumes. I'll post a picture soon. She is a mighty cute bee even if she is in her second year of the costume.

Silence

You know the saying, "When there is silence in the house with a toddler, there must be trouble?" Well, we don't follow the norm on that one. Not that I am really surprised by that. I like to do things just to keep people guessing sometimes. Apparently, Brenna does too.

I was busy doing something the other day and noticed that I hadn't heard anything from Brenna in a little while, so I decided to go investigate. Here is what I found.

Not even a million of her books all around her as I have so often found in these silent times. No, her one favorite library book was all this time. What better way to spend a lazy afternoon than reading a library book on your bed in the sun. (Notice how she uses her whole body to read.)

The Best of Friends

We have a wonderfully tolerant cat and dog living with us. I have to say that I was most surprised by Westin's relationship with Brenna as she has grown into a toddler. I expected him to be the worse of the two animals. On the contrary, there are many times when he is the most tolerant. When he is tired of Brenna, most of the time he simply jumps higher than her reach or disappear until she is in bed. For instance, Nathan left a perfect lounging spot in his open dresser drawer.


Annie has been a great little dog too. Unfortunately she hasn't found the art of removing herself when she is frustrated. She growls and tries to sit by Nathan or I. For the most part though, she is very tolerant of all Brenna's antics and games. Annie's favorite time of the day is meal times because Brenna is always the first to drop something on the floor. She has also been known to steal Brenna's snack right out of her hand, off the couch, or off Brenna's little desk. Poor Brenna now asks for her snack and immediately asks for Annie to go outside. Sometimes being a mediator is just too much for me to take, and out Annie goes. That is until her obsessive barking becomes too much for me to handle. Oh well, you can't win every time.

All this to say, they all play well together for the most part.



Brenna loves her pets, and she and I both get many laughs from all the interactions.

A New Week

Sometimes I feel like so much changes in one week. At other times the week seems to drag by with a boring sameness. This week has been the former. Brenna seems to be talking non-stop. Her vocabulary is growing by dictionary pages. Yesterday at lunch we were all sitting together at the table. Brenna looked over at Nathan and said, "Daddy, how is your lunch? To which Nathan responded, "It's good, Brenna. How is yours?" Brenna looked down at her next bite and said, "Good." I can't believe she is carrying on a normal conversation. It just doesn't seem like she is old enough yet.

I also brought out the paint brush and water to paint on the already printed paper this week. Brenna loved this new activity. She probably painted for 45 minutes. She even bought apples (imaginary ones) to me so that we could share them while she worked.


She had to concentrate so hard. I love to see her expressions while she works and learns. Everything is just so new to her. I wonder if have the same expressions when I am sewing or working on a project.

I must have been in a crafty mood this week because we also played with playdo. She wanted to cut out all different shapes "all by herself". Then she proceeded to have the shapes interact with each other. She is so relational. It is especially evident in her play. Even today, she was carrying all her animals to different places around the house and having them interact together. I wonder if this is an important learning time in her life. She seems to be developing in so many different ways.



One last thought for the evening. Is it strange that we dress our child in Georgia attire? I mean most parents dress their children in clothing from their Alma mater. Neither Nathan nor I went to UGA. I guess it is okay because that is where Nathan wanted to go. I just go along for the ride. Maybe I was won over to the dark side. Does that mean that some of the "Texas" has left and was replaced by a little "Georgia"? I guess you would have to say I am a little of both. So Brenna will continue to sport her Georgia attire. Saturday game days just didn't feel right when she wasn't wearing her cheerleader outfit.

Potty Training update

I am officially calling Brenna "Daytime Potty Trained" now. She has very few accidents and often tells me when she needs to go potty. I can't tell you how exciting and sad it is all at the same time. Potty training can be such a difficult time for everyone, and I was really dreading it. Fortunately, God blessed me and let Brenna be relatively easy. Now, I'm not saying there were never days I wanted to go back to diapers, but for the most part, she was easy. I can only hope that the next child will be as easy. The sadness only comes because my little girl is growing up so fast.

Brenna does one thing on the potty that just cracks me up. She can't just sit on the potty to poop. She has to be playing with something. True to her father's form, often she reads one of her many "Blue Bug" books. We have them strategically sitting next to the toilet for her reading pleasure. Most recent she has a love for her doll house "grandma", "puppy", and a toy (from the kids meal at Wendy's) she calls "yellow spider". She has been making them interact in all sorts of ways. Sometimes she will want to sit on the potty for up to 20 minutes just playing. I wonder if this trait is inherited. It just sounds so familiar. Sorry, Honey. To Daddy's credit, he doesn't normally play with Brenna's toys.

She cracks herself up, which in turn, cracks me up. Notice the book used as a board. We one too many toys fall in. I decided it would be better to have some sort of "table barrier".

Recently she has been asking for two things when it is time to play. She either wants to play outside in the front or backyard, or she wants to swing. She is quite humorous playing in the front yard as she "plays" her "violin". Daddy has been teaching her about music and she is taking it to heart. She has a stick and she moves it across her body as you would a violin bow. Every time we step out on the front porch she starts looking for her "violin". We have spent many an hour playing with it on our front porch. I love being able to watch her imagination develop.


She also loves being able to swing in the "big girl" swings. She still has to have a lot of help, but she loves being on them. Most of the time she wants me to swing with her. There were several arguments between us until I figured out she wanted me to swing on a different swing beside her, not the same one with her on my lap. Let me just stop to say I'm glad I figured that one out. She wanted to swing "by herself". We are hearing those words a lot around the Jones house now too.

This one just makes me laugh. She must have found something quite funny. I'm glad she didn't fall off. She is not very coordinated yet.

I also love the concentration she gives to swinging. It is a new skill she is learning. Sometimes she just has to think hard to stay on.

Words and Stings

I love words and language and the process of putting our spoken language into written words for others to read. I find it ironic that I am also slightly dyslexic. I can't spell very well. In fact, most fifth graders could probably spell better than me. I also can't tell you my right from my left very quickly. Cindy had to learn to teach me horseback riding slightly different for that very reason. There were no last minute directions in our lessons. Mom and Dad just informed that they heard a report about a thing called directional dyslexia. I think I can safely diagnose myself with that. I spent years teaching myself to enjoy reading and books, and to this day, Mom asks me to repeat any number I right down or give to her. Ironically I decided on English as my major in college. And what do you suppose was one of my favorite college courses? Diagramming sentences. Strange huh? I am just one big irony.

This is all going somewhere, I promise. The other night Nathan and I were lying in bed talking. He used the word "paradigm" when he was telling me something. Only, I didn't know what he was saying because he pronounced it wrong. He said "para" and then he pronounced the "digm" part saying the "g" like you would in the word bridge. I started laughing and corrected his pronunciation. He told me I couldn't write this in my blog, or he would erase it. Please don't Nathan, you can comment away though. To his credit, it was very late. And I think under normal circumstance, he would have pronounced it correctly. My point is coming I promise.

Here is my question for all you non-dyslexic people out there. When you say a word, do you see it spelled out in your head? That is the only conclusion I could come to for Nathan's mispronunciation. I don't do that. In fact, if I did, I would have spelled it like I say it. It seems as if most people, at least those who can spell well, must have a running spelling list of words in their head. I hear words, but don't see them spelled out unless I write them out. I guess that could also be why most people can spell words correctly in their head. For the most part, I have to physically write them down and then determine whether or not I have a correct spelling.

And thus ends my questions and observations of language tonight. I hope all have enjoyed this brief lesson.

Now for the "sting" in the title. Sadly Brenna received her first sting on Sunday night. We aren't sure what it was, but we think it was most likely an asp. Nathan was outside with her and came in with a very upset little girl. She was hurting a lot, but we didn't see any sting mark. We did, however, see that her pointer finger was very red. It was very sad. I guess that is just another part of growing up. She was perfectly fine on Monday morning with no sign of pain in her finger. We have survived one sting. My guess is that we will have several more to come. I just hate stings.

Leave it to a Two Year Old to...

... let you know how your speech sounds to them.

Brenna: "I know Buddy, you're hungry."
I wonder how many times I have said that to Westin for her to repeat it in play.


... make you feel incapable of parenting well.

She has taught me to be creative as well as humble. Two is a hard age. She has to learn to share and cooperate with others. She has to learn about obeying, but also how to be her own person. Two is just a hard age.

... make taking a good picture without shooting hundreds at a time next to impossible.

Multiply that impossibility by 3 when you add a few more.




"Hey, you're touching my arm."

"You're still touching my arm."

"Don't touch my arm."

Notice Avery's hand now on Tanner.

Tanner now removes his sister's hand from his arm.

Two toddlers looking happy at the same time.

Now one toddler and one baby.

I never did get a shot with all three looking happy at me. I guess that is too much to ask.

... melt my heart with a sweet voice saying, "I love you, Mama."