More and more lately, I find myself realizing that I’m the mother of a little girl, not a baby. Every time I blink, it seems, more of the baby falls off of Micah. At 18.9 months old, my little girl is in full-blown toddlerhood. She loves to talk on the phone {or any rectangular shaped object that she can make into a phone}, and she babbles all day long. Her favorite word is bow, but she’s also very fond of plo, which can mean plate or pillow, because obviously, they’re the same thing.
If I tried to list all the words she says, I’m sure that I’d miss some, but she’s getting really good at matching animals with the sounds they make. “Micah, what’s the dog say?” is sure to draw a dog sound from her, and just yesterday, she learned that sheep say baaa.
She’s a mess, that one is, but I wouldn’t trade her for the world. At her 18-month checkup, the doctor was amazed at how much she’s grown in the past six months, and honestly, so am I. At 12 months, Micah still wore 9-month clothes, but she’s grown so quickly that she now wears a 2T in some things. She went from being too tiny to even register on the growth chart to reaching {almost} the 75th percentile in height and the 60th percentile in weight. Now that’s a growth spurt, people.
She sleeps for 12 hours at night and takes one nap a day, and on Sunday, she pooped in the potty for the first time. That same night, we ditched the paci and haven’t looked back. Of course, after she used the potty Sunday, she pooped in her diaper four times on Monday, so we obviously have a long way to go, but still, babies don’t use the potty. Big girls do. I’m telling you people, the baby is disappearing and being replaced by a sassy little lady. And she is definitely sassy. She loves shoes {pronounced shooos}, and she knows where to find them in her room. She demands a hairbow and likes to carry her “purse” around.
At the same time, she is her father’s child. She was intrigued when Dennis changed the oil last week, and she’s certainly not afraid to play in the dirt. If you know Dennis at all, you know that at his core, he’s a hard worker. He can make or fix anything, and Micah’s following in her daddy’s footsteps. At least she knows how to swing a hammer.
Hope you’re all doing well. I’m sure there will be more tales of Micah’s hijinks in the future.
Until next time, grace and peace.
Seriously. Is there anything cuter than this little ponytail? Wednesday was the first day I pulled Micah’s hair back, and I admit, I’m smitten with those blonde curls on the back of her head. So precious! We played outside for a long time before I had to go to church. She “helped” Dennis change the oil, and I even managed to snag a picture of the two of us together. That rarely happens, you know, but I’m trying to do better about it.
I read a post on Under the Sycamore last week about “getting in the shot” that inspired me to make it work. I’m always a little too sheepish to ask other people to take my picture, and I’m also a little protective of my camera. But as I’ve looked back through pictures from the past year and a half, there are only a tiny handful of shots with both me and Micah in them. That should change. I’m committed to taking at least one picture a month with her. That may not sound like much, but it’s infinitely better than what we’re doing now. Perhaps it will be a small exercise in helping me be more disciplined and intentional.
How do you get in pictures with your kids? Are you always behind the camera, or do you ever make it in front of the lens? Let me know your tips and tricks!
Until next time, grace and peace.
It’s been another busy week, which is surprising, considering that I haven’t done much real work {the kind that I get paid for} since Monday. We’ve been to Corinth and Florence, and although I haven’t gone grocery shopping, we’ve somehow managed to survive. There has been painting, felt flower making, stationery printing, baby shower planning, bowling, bathroom cleaning, babysitting, and lots of general silliness. The week has been full of this and that, and I’m ready for a weekend with my little family. Nothing exciting planned, just a couple of days off to relax and enjoy one another.
I read a post on Her.meneutics today about the everyday grace of the “quotidian” stuff of life. Quotidian things, according to the article, are the commonplace, ordinary practices of everyday life. I’m certainly not a master of the balancing act required to be a stay-at-home, working-from-home mommy, but I’m trying. As I scrubbed the shower this week for the first time since December {yes, it really was that bad}, I realized that sometimes it’s in the drudgery that character is formed. I mean, who really wants to clean a shower? Or wash the dishes? Or change poopy diapers? Or cook supper…again? But the things that we do day in and day out whether we want to or not are the things that help us maintain an orderly and worshipful life. You really should go read more about it on Her.meneutics.
It’s been a quotidian week. In parting, I thought I’d leave you with a few snapshots from the quotidian life we live. They’re sure to make you smile. Brownie batter anyone??
As Micah would say, yum, yum!
Until next time, grace and peace.
You’ll never believe what I’ve been seeing lately. This winter has seemed SO long, and every time I turned around, it seemed like we were getting more snow. That’s saying something in Mississippi. Just so you know.
Anyway, over the past few days, I started seeing signs of life that made me run and grab the camera to make sure I wasn’t seeing things. Sure enough, the forsythia and bradford pear trees are blooming yet again.
Sigh.
I love those two heralds of spring. I’ve never been so excited to see blooming plants in my life.
Micah and I celebrated by spending the morning in the park. She played on the bouncy motorcycle thing, and I tried to coax her up the stairs to go down the slide, but in the end, she was satisfied to play with the multitude of acorns scattered across the ground. They fascinated her.
Oh, the life of an almost-18-month-old. Sometimes I wonder how the world looks through her eyes. She’s so easily captivated by the simplest things, and there are moments when I wish that I could recapture some of that wide-eyed wonder.
We’re so glad that spring is unpacking its bags and setting up to stay for a little while. How are you enjoying the warmer weather??
Until next time, grace and peace.
Welcome to How To Tuesday, where I’ll introduce you to some of my favorite DIY tips from all over the web. I have a folder bookmarked on my computer that’s chock-full of fun stuff. I saved some of the ideas for inspiration and others because I just thought they were pretty or fun, and now I’m sharing them with you.
Enter Under the Sycamore, the blog of Ashley Ann Photography. LOVE reading this blog, but that’s beside the point. Today’s tip is all about how to get sparkly eyes when you’re playing photographer. I tried to use this tip in my photo session with Micah the other day, but she just won’t stay still long enough for me to plan a shot, so I take what I can get.
I succeeded a little bit, right? The picture’s not perfect, but her eyes DO have a bit of sparkle.
Anyway, last week, Ashley Ann posted a little DIY tutorial on a little vintage tin craft, but down at the bottom of the post, as a little side note, she threw in a photography tip that you must go read. If you want to know how to give your kids sparkly photo eyes, click through to read Ashley Ann’s advice {you’ll have to scroll to the bottom of the post to find the photo tip}.
Happy shooting!
Until next time, grace and peace.
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