Yippee for Maeve!!!! My baby girl is 18 months old!
We are having so much fun with Maeve it is awesome.
She is now chattering away. She has many more words than last month... she now says mama, dada, noah, ba ba (bottle), doggie, woof, thank you, cheese, snack, shoes and much more. She signs well and so we normally know what she wants. She "yells" more when she wants more by fiercely putting her fingers together!
We are excited, however, to see what happens as her speech develops. She has very very long conversations with us but we can't understand a word she says! She chatters away with hand motions and facial expressions and we just smile and giggle. Some day we will surely ask her to quiet down!
Maeve continues to be physical. She climbs up on tables and runs very quickly. She isn't afraid of much.
Noah and Maeve have found a pretty good groove playing together which is amazing. They have a few standard routines. Maeve will sit in the baby stroller and Noah will push her full speed in circles around the house... she giggles with joy. Another favorite is Noah and Maeve emptying Noah's 500 stuffed animals on to his bed and then putting them all back. Maeve has even started coloring nicely with Noah. She doesn't really get any crayon on the paper, but she pretends and chatters away while she does crafts with her brother. They do not share a love of television, however.... by this age, Noah was a pbs poster child... Maeve doesn't have 10 seconds of stillness in her and tv has no worth in her mind.
Maeve continues to be very interested in dolls. She is almost always carrying around her doll, patting it, hugging it and kissing it. She is also very into mimicing and LOVEs to clean. (Could this be more gender stereotyped?). When I get out a towel to clean up a spill, she demands her own and walks around wiping the entire floor. If she finds any rag, tissue or wipe she is automatically trying to clean something with it. Other favorites are hair brushes and shoes.
At 18 months, Maeve is an incredible joy. She lights our world and makes us smile and laugh every single day!
Last night there was a lunar eclipse that was plain to the eye for us. I thought it was nice, but wasn't interested in getting out of bed! Paul was very excited and told Noah about it and they devised a plan. At about 2:30 Paul got up and got out some blankets and grabbed Noah out of his bed. They bundled up and headed out to the front porch to lie down and look at the sky but it was freezing. Luckily you could see the whole thing from our front windows so they sat on the couch by the window instead. I rolled over in bed and took a glimpse and went right back to sleep.
It was really cool to see... I thought the sky looked 3d last night. I was more excited for my two favorite men to have this special time together!!!
I had pictures taken recently because I had a free coupon. Maeve was not interested. at. all. We had to chase her almost the whole time and Noah kept sighing and rolling his eyes at her!!! The outcome wasn't so bad!
On Thursday I had to go to the eye doctor. It was misting of snow and it took me over an hour to get there. Then another hour to a store to make an exchange. Then an 1:45 to make it home. It was a nightmare-- rush hour, snow, and Christmas mall traffic. When I was driving, this song came on the radio and made me smile...
I do get caught up in the Christmas every year... but mostly because I don't want to disappoint anyone. I want my gifts to reflect the love that I have for each person. I want my family and children to be WOW-ed, not because anyone needs anything or because any material thing can fill the whole in our hearts, but because I want to convey how much LOVE I have and how GRATEFUL I am for my life. I know no thing can do that, but I do think that our actions convey our feelings... I want the loves of my life to know that I searched and searched and found something that was carefully chosen and lovingly picked.
I want to bake cookies and decorate trees and carol because I want my children to remember this season as so amazing.. as the moment when God broke through in human form on earth and changed the course of humanity and I don't want them to feel that anything about Jesus and Christmas isn't worth every ounce of energy I have. But, I do hope that somewhere in the midst of all of this I can be calm and still...
I stumbled across this devotion today... all beautiful things to keep me centered and focused.
“But Mary was keeping within herself all these things (sayings) weighing and pondering them in her heart.”
Luke 2:19 (AMP)
“Come on! Move quickly kids or those popcorn balls will harden before they’re formed!”
“Step on it! The live nativity is about to begin and we want a front row view!”
“Hey, can someone get the door already? FedEx is here waiting for a signature on those packages!”
Dash; dart; hurry and scurry. The hustle amidst the holidays causes our stress levels to sky rocket and sets our Santa caps spinning. With added activities and gift-buying responsibilities on our December day planners, we find ourselves on a seasonal treadmill lacking any “slow down” feature. Instead, it only boasts a crank-it-up knob that somehow seems to be twisting itself!
I’ve often wondered why at this magical time on our calendars, our hearts don’t always shoot to the ”merry” stage on their own. Rather, they often migrate to the “weary” zone as our seasonal responsibilities parade through our minds. You know, instead of the visions of sugar plums that are supposed to be dancing there about now! Our minds swirl. And our hearts sink.
But when I stop and remind myself that Christmas is like everyone I love all having their birthdays on the same day—oh and they are coming to my house and expect it to be lavishly decorated, complete with a gourmet menu AND a twinkling tree standing in the middle of my living room—well, its no wonder my holiday cheer turns to holiday fear!
This festive frenzy is really nothing new. Even in the account found in the Gospel of Luke during that first Christmas in Bethlehem, urgency was afoot. A quick read through chapter two finds an angel abruptly appearing, a heavenly host “suddenly” filling the sky, simple shepherds deciding at once to go examine the scene for themselves and the words “so they hurried off” chosen to describe that investigative journey.
However, smack dab in the center of that fast-paced story we find two simple words:
“But Mary.”
When the mother of the baby King is mentioned, the hustle halts. She isn’t depicted as scurrying and hurrying. Nope. She is weighing and pondering. Her contemplating goes beyond the commotion, right to the heart of what the hustle is all about.
Jesus.
Jesus, the Savior of the world. The hope for the heart-broken widow; the rest for the worn-out woman; the answer for the maxed-out mom; the truth for the tormented; the way for the wayward; the only calm in our chaos.
Weighing and pondering.
Could we do the same? Could we dare find calm in the Christmas chaos? A holy hush among the hustle? More importantly, could we model for the wide-eyed kids in our lives just how to slow down and, like the Wise Men of old, actually look for the Savior? Here is one idea to try:
Have one evening where you use no electric lights, but do everything by candlelight. Prepare dinner by candlelight. Eat by candlelight. Wash the dishes by candlelight. Get ready for bed by candlelight. Then, set the family on the couch and read (by flickering flame, of course) 1 John 1:5, “God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all.”
Talk about this truth. What would our lives be like if we had no lights to use? Discuss also where we’d be if we didn’t have the light of Christ, sent to us as the baby in the manger so many years ago. For a memory-making conclusion, prepare a thermos of hot cocoa for the troupe, hop in the car and go look at your town’s Christmas lights.
Pause. Ponder. Wait and weigh.
If we are intentional, as was Mary, we can suspend the season for a flickering moment; discovering Christ in the chaos and experiencing a holy hush among the hustle. Then, when the last strand of lights is taken down and the fruitcake is finished, we can look back on a Christmas season that was blessed, not stressed!
Dear Lord, calm my anxious heart. Whisper to me in the holiday hustle. I want to experience You afresh this year. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
I LOVE that my children aren't old enough to really get into Christmas lust yet!
Noah asked simply for a robot and a pillow pet. We don't know what this robot looks like or where he heard about it, but plenty of friends have pillow pets. For $30 he would be completely satisfied. We have yet to start the LIST yet and don't plan to for many years to come. Noah saw Santa at brunch last week and Santa insisted that he needed a list and should go home and make one immediately. Noah responded and told him it was the third Sunday in Advent. Love it!
Maeve will be the perfect age for tearing off wrapping paper and laughing at each item.
I know the days when only the "it" thing will do are approaching, but for now, I'm truly loving the simple Christmas wonder.
Thanksgiving was a wonderful holiday here! We had a huge feast, as usual! We were ready early and so we concocted our own Pumpkin Martini which was wonderful!
I tried to get a picture of the kids but Maeve was completely uninterested in that idea. Noah quickly got upset, not at taking pictures but at Maeve's lack of cooperation. Here's a few shots from the day!
I was playing with my external flash and this is what came out....
Watching Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving
After dinner we brought out the Black Friday Ads... it was a family affair!
Noah's preschool had a big Thanksgiving show on Tuesday. The kids dressed up as Pilgrims and Native Americans and sang lots of adorable songs. Noah is super into winking right now so he spent much of his time winking at us!!! He is so cute!!!
One of the things we are so grateful for are the amazing clothes that we receive from our family!! Our kids are so well dressed and it is rarely due to us! Here are some cute things from family on the kids!!! I just get so sad that they grow out of their clothes so quickly!
We're just not sure what that mission is!!! Maeve is rounding out 17 months and she is very determined with her business. She is CONSTANTLY talking on the phone. This is a little (very real looking) fake phone that she is obsessed with. It doesn't matter if she doesn't have a phone, she will put anything to her ear and jabber away. She has most recently been seen with a toy ketchup bottle to her ear sharing the days news. Her phone voice is so different than her regular voice and she gabs incessantly in her own language.
The second part of her mission involves the world's craziest hair. Maeve's wild locks are untame-able like her spirit. We have gelled them, moussed them, used barrettes and clips, but her hair will not stay down. She sort of looks like she has her just put her finger in an electrical socket all day long.
Who knows what Noah is doing here!
P.S. Thanks for my awesome new owl jammies Nana!!!!
Well, I don't like any weather that demands the presence of a jacket, but seeing my little ones play in leaves makes it almost worth it. Noah is so plugged in to his surroundings and engaged in seasons that it is awesome to hear and see his observations. He was so excited to rake leaves and jump in piles. Maeve just wanted me to push her on the swing and could care less about leaves. Every season with my two little monsters is absolutely wonderful.....
We have gone to the Delaware Natural Science Museum many times. They have a huge dinosaur bone exhibit that we love. It is a super kid friendly place where the little ones can run around. Plus there are tons of animals which is always a plus for us. On election day we were looking for a play place and all decided to go here. Well, they totally revamped their kid's room and it was AWESOME!!! They have lots of live animals and staff walking around with them for kids to touch -- snakes, dragons, spiders, turtles and more!! They have a (pretend) bat cave with (pretend) bats for the kids to play with. They have an eagles nest -- my kid has been making "nests" everywhere for months! It was truly a wonderful day and the perfect thing for all ages... we LOVED it!!!
Of course, Maevey only wanted to go up and down this little step over and over and over, but she was happy!!!
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