New Discoveries

This is really an exciting time for David as he is nearing 2 and understanding more of his world everyday. I have captured just a few of his new discoveries. Here's the amazing shadow:

And the thrill of emptying cupboards and climbing in them:

Unfortunately, he hasn't yet discovered the art of holding still for the camera (might have to wait a while for that ;) so that's all I've got.

Changing Seasons

Well the day after Thanksgiving marked the beginning of Christmas at our house as Lucas braved the early-morning cold to get us started on our Christmas shopping. David and I joined him a little later -- the mad dash is growing on me, and we got a lot done early. When we got home, David discovered anew the joy of boxes and I caught this picture of him at 21 months with his birth picture on the wall behind. Oh, how life has changed (and more on the way)!Oh, and we had a great time putting up the Christmas tree. It is so fun to do the 'family traditions' we remember from growing up with our own growing family now; it gives the holidays new zest. David was enthralled with the lights and has since done pretty well with not touching the ornaments, but sometimes looks wistfully at them and whines at me. As long as he remains obedient, I can sympathize with his cute longing.
Then this past weekend, we went to meet the State Farm Santa. He was a little intimidating with that beard and all, but gave David a really cool toy that he's been loving so maybe he's not all bad...
Oh, and snow has been by far the greatest thrill of late! On the first morning that it snowed, when we got up in the morning, David ran from window to window squealing about how the world had changed while he slept. Of course we had to go check it out!
Hope you all are enjoying the fresh newness of God's changing creation as well!

Thinking about Thanking

Well I have been reading a lot lately about this odd phenomenon that the more we have, the more we tend to take it for granted. I'm afraid that's all too true of me. I remember coming home from a year abroad in Honduras and being SOOO grateful for hot running water in the bathroom and seats on the toilets and carpet in my workplace. Now I routinely take delicious hot showers and think rather gripe-y thoughts about how I need to clean the shower. There was a time that I cried in prayer asking God for a husband and a place to belong. Now I sometimes kiss my wonderful husband goodbye in the morning thinking about how long a day it'll be with our toddler before he's home again. Speaking of that toddler, I remember feeling his kicks from the womb and wishing for those 9 months to go by faster... now I sometimes wish for naptime to come sooner. So lets just say, these Thanksgiving reminders have been good for me to hear.

So here are some of the things I'm thankful for (though I imagine I'll miss some, I'm SOO blessed)

1. Access to grace through Christ's atoning death on the cross-- Oh how I need it!

2. A rich relationship with my Savior as He is teaching me and comforting me moment by moment

3. The strong, kind, intelligent, funny, interesting, initiative-taking, sometimes annoying man God gave me for a husband

4. That cute, smart, sometimes naughty, sometimes disarmingly sweet little 20 month old God gave us to train and be blessed by

5. The kicks that remind me there's another brand new person on the way to our family

6. My far-away but often-present-on-the-phone family who listens and cares and shares life

7. My closer yet sometimes more foreign, often available to help and love in-laws

8. Our cozy home with it's in-progress kitchen

9. So much technology that simplifies my life: phones, cars, heater in the house, washing machine, dishwasher, internet, elliptical for working out ... the list could go on

10. Health and youth

... Oh surely there are more, but I think this covers the big stuff I'm thankful for this year. How about you? What are you most glad God doesn't ask you to do without?

St. Louis Visit

So, due to Lucas working looong hours as an election judge and my parents buying a new house, David and I decided (well I decided for him) to go down to St. Louis for a night and visit. Then we (I) remembered that my cousin just had her baby girl and this was probably our only chance to see her as a newborn, so we made a side trip to meet the baby.

Here's David enjoying Grandma and Grandpa' s new kitchen. There house seems so big after their apartment. It has beautiful hardwood floors in part and is really nice! It'll be neat to see what it looks like once everything is unpacked and it is more throughly 'theirs' feeling. It was nice to see the 'before' and be asked my opinion on where to put things. Congratulations, Mom and Dad!
Over at my cousin's, David had fun playing with the new big brother (who is remarkably good at sharing!! -- I must teach David to do better at this kid-skill!)
Baby Chelsea was beautiful and sleepy. I love newborns! She slept on my lap for a while,
then woke up and became more interesting for David. He was very careful with her and waved at her. So cute! Wonder what he'll think when his little sister gets here?
Wishing lots of sleep to the new parents-of-two!

Our Little Mechanic

Here is our little mechanic after trick-or-treating. He had a great time walking up the steps to all the houses on our block and visiting our neighbors with Daddy. Then when they got back,

we looked over his loot. Here, David is enthralled with his new discovery of candy:

And then we had some fun playing with his matchbox car:

And speaking of food, here's a snapshot of a messy toddler on the road to feeding himself someday. He loves to 'use' the spoon after I've fed him almost all of his food:

Baby Speed

These days pregnancy has been teaching me a thing or two about the speed of life. Now with Baby #2 on the way and an incurable back pain that's due to last until she comes, things have changed a bit.

For starters, I can't always carry Junior up to his room or to the potty or the car. That means he has had to learn how to obey when I ask him to come or hold his hand and lead him somewhere. Then there's the issue of housework. Sweeping, cooking, laundry and grocery shopping all involve some element of back-strain which I never really noticed before, so I have to pace myself to the limitations of my back. That means less going and doing the 'fun' stuff. I hate to say 'no' to a weekend away with friends or a trip to the pumpkin patch, but the fact is that I can't handle much beyond the basics just now. And then there are those delicious moments when my husband is home. They used to be a lot more free for fun and 'us' time, but now he spends a lot more time carrying things around the house in order to make my days easier.

So what's the point of my woe? Learning, of course! Parenting has this sweet way of pulling out our selfishness and helping us mature. I have to slow down. I have to accept my limits. I have to ask for help. Grr. I have to be humble.

As I am training our 19 month old to do more on his own, I am seeing a lot of benefits. He is getting better training on obedience because he has so many opportunities to practice it when I don't pick him up and essentially obey for him. He has become quite helpful, throwing things in the trash for me or picking things up off the ground that are hard to reach; and he's getting better at coming when I call and happily getting into his carseat on his own.

And surely my husband is learning a lot about "respecting the wife as the weaker vessel" as he takes on so many of 'my' jobs on the weekends and after work. Practice at selflessness always does people good (though he is already quite good at it, in my opinion).

So, am I in a position to give any advice? Well, life isn't always easy when you're limited, but slowing down brings into focus a lot of rich moments. If you take a moment to just notice how much your husband does for you or talk your kids through accomplishing a task you might normally do for them, you might gain a new appreciation for your family too.

Photo originally uploaded by National Media Museum
Creative Commons

Fall Fun

It has been such beautiful and unseasonably warm weather lately, we've had lots of opportunities to get out and enjoy the day. David is so easily entertained by sticks and rocks and loves exploring. Here, he paused very briefly for a picture with Mom.

Oh and he has been such a good helper as Daddy is installing our beautiful new kitchen cabinets (that he built!!). Seriously, David loves being Daddy's Little Helper! He cries when it's time to clean up.
And this is the work in progress...
Hmmm..... something's not right here, Mom. This was so cute as he hopped on his fire engine toy and then seemed quite confused until I rescued him and turned him around.

Back to School

Still a teacher at heart, I really do love this time of year. It feels like fresh beginnings and empty notebooks waiting to be written in. So while I'm not teaching school this year, there's certainly a lot of learning going on at our house and it's too cute not to share.

This one looks the most like 'school.' I decided at 18 months, perhaps the little student was ready for coloring. He was so cute trying to figure it out... and then decided eating the crayon was more fun so we didn't do it real long :).
Oh, and I'm training him to help Mommy later. Doesn't he look like a pro? He loves to watch me sweep while he plays with the dustpan and get's really excited when I'm done and it's his turn.
And then there's the "Daddy's Little Helper" training too. This is more fun for me as it involves taking a break on the couch while David is held in rapt attention and Lucas is making progress on our kitchen remodel.
And we've also taken the next step in potty training - underwear! - but I didn't think it was quite decent to post any pictures on that one ;)

Moments in August

Whew! August has been busy! Actually, life seems to be getting busier everyday as David is getting to be much more of a toddler and testing all kinds of boundaries and learning to climb on things he couldn't before and well, I'm pregnant and tired!! At the same time, it it great to watch him gain mastery over more skills and see some fruit from the discipline/structure work I am getting tired from :) We've also been able to get out and do more things now as David is able to do more and sleeping less. Lucas and I are so enjoying the everyday adventures of family life :) Here are some snapshots:

Walks where we let him help are more fun and make for better naps ;)

Dancing in the kitchen. He loves to spin in circles when music plays and loves it even more if I join in!
Playing in the empty dishwasher is the holy grail of all toys. It's kind of rare he gets the chance really. Here he's all spiffed up for Church. My little man :)
We went out to Jacinta and Brendon's to spend the day while Heather and Ned were in town and made home-made ice cream with crazy Uncle Ned. Gotta love him :)
And then there was the county fair. We (especially Lucas) had a great time running into lots of old friends. I love that David is old enough to actually play with some of the kid stuff they have there now. He loved filling up toy tractors with corn and ended up with corn in odd places after ;)
He really thinks he has mad skills on the piano. I hate to burst his bubble, but he really needs to practice! Seriously, he is playing in a more mature way with the piano, though, pushing one key intentionally over and over... uh, sounds great.
Wow, I'm kinda surprised I captured as many face shots of our fast-moving little guy!

Congratulations, Leon and Chrysti!

Welcome to the Family, Chrysti! We had a wonderful weekend down in Cincinnati celebrating the wedding. Chrysti was just radiant with joy and Leon looked so happy too. We got to introduce David to some extended family members and he very conveniently slept through the ceremony and had a blast at the reception. He loved 'dancing' and exploring all the new things and people. I loved having so many around willing to help with toddler management and giving me the opportunity to connect with college friends. Lucas was a very handsome best man and gave a wonderful toast and helped MC the reception. All in all, it was a tiring but joyful weekend.

I really didn't take many pictures, but here's David with his new aunt:

Keeping Up with your Toddler: Why It Matters

OK, I admit it. My 17 month old has a million times more energy than his pregnant and often tired mom. There are usually at least 3 times during the day when I look at the clock and wish that nap or bed was just a little closer. There are games to play, books to read, meals to prepare, feed and clean up, potty times to manage, a house to keep up, and rules to enforce. Walking sure makes that last one a lot more time consuming!

Oh, but it is worth it to stay on top of the rules! Consistency in discipline is where a parent's power lies. If Junior gets away with playing with the dishwasher knobs just once because you're too tired to walk over there and enforce the "no" you just issued, your "no" just became weaker. You don't want that. A child who obeys Mom's verbal direction is a child who can be a joy. There are lots of years before this child is going to be out on his own.

I find myself sometimes being tempted to slip on this one. It would be so much easier to let him just fiddle with the knob. The dishwasher isn't on right now. But what about when it is and he messes it up next time? Or what about when you're out in public or at Grandma's house and he doesn't think Mom's "no" holds any water? Then you have to pay for taking the easy road earlier.

Now it's not that you have to say "no" to your dishwasher knobs. That's not the important part. Every parent will choose different rules. It is wise to think about how allowing or prohibiting something is going to play out when Junior is a little bigger and smarter, but what you choose to allow or prohibit really isn't the main thing. The main thing is that when you say "no," you follow through. For us that means a smack on the hand if the thing is touched anyway and being removed from the temptation for a minute or so if it's touched again. The punishment could be different for you. Again, the main thing is that you consistently apply the rule. Junior shouldn't haven any surprises.

Oh, you know this already, don't you? But it's hard! That kid's got so much energy and is so curious about everything (especially the off-limits stuff!). But keep up! You'll be so glad later when you have a child who obeys. I have seen just wonderful children in grocery stores who are helping and obeying. I know it's possible, but I also know it's not natural. Those Moms have worked hard to train their children.

Now, I know this sounds kind of cold. "Discipline." "Train." "Get them to obey." But it is actually a really kind thing for a parent to do. The Bible says "the Lord disciplines those he loves" (Proverbs 3:12). Toddlerwise reminds us that teaching obedience and order is training the "habits of the heart." The child who is accustomed to trusting Mom and Dad's word and complying will be a child whose heart is ready for obedience to the Lord. A selfish, self-willed person will have no end of trouble in life. A person who can obey and consider others will excel and enjoy life much more easily. Teaching our children obedience is giving them a wonderful gift.

Photo originally uploaded by juhansonin
Creative Commons

Toddling Footage

After 16 months of studying us big people, David has finally decided to give walking a try. In the span of 3 days he went from a few tentative steps to now walking almost as much as he crawls. He is so proud of the new skill -- and we are too! Way to go, big boy!

And here he is helping Daddy out on the ladder. I just think this is adorable with the tool-belt shirt and everything. Doesn't he look mature?

Finding His Fins

This summer has been lots of fun! It seems like every day David is learning something new and we are having a great time helping him along. Lucas really loves showing him around the pool and sharing his love of swimming. That's great for me because it means (1) that I can relax and get a tan when we go to the pool and (2) that David is really brave around water and doesn't fuss if a little gets in his eyes during bathtime. His first steps were in the water!He's also gotten much braver about the sprinklers lately. He never used to crawl so close.
The pool we go to has lots of neat cranks where you can make water spray and he just loves being able to make things happen.
And then there's our mellow little pool at home for days when we don't go to the big pool. The only danger here is that he really likes to try to drink the pool water from his little cups. We've been showing him how to drink from an open cup and so he has to learn what he can and can't drink. Silly boy!
PS: In other very exciting news, walking has progressed to the point of taking about 5 unassisted steps on land! Yay!

Just Hey

I've been a little remiss in picture-taking lately, but life is still happening and it seems like our little guy is growing up fast, so I want to post a picture in honor of him turning 16 months old. Here he is banging sticks together and having a great time. He is walking a *little* which means a step here and there between holding on to things and when he's in the pool. And his noises are definitely forming more words lately. He's got "yes" down pat which is so cute and also "dada" and "bmm" for boom and "gaa" really means gracias. So, fun times at our house and I promise more pictures soon :)

Been Busy!

Spring has just flown by as David is becoming a busy little guy. He's still not walking, but definitely gets around. He loves to explore the world. Perhaps we have a budding musician?

Or perhaps not... sounded a little out of tune.

He's also been helping Daddy with some house projects. Here are my men sprucing up the yard. We're also working on tearing out a wall to open up our kitchen to the dining room. It's not done yet, but I can tell it's going to look great and make our cozy little house feel much more open and airy.

Oh, and in other news, we got a new phone. Here David is playing with the old one. I love this picture because it's so cute to watch him with technological gizmos. He's so serious about figuring them out. Here he looks like he's saying "Mom, please! I'm busy texting."

And here are my two snappy dressers. They matched at church this Sunday and we got a lot of comments. We love our happy little guy.

Maybe a picture of me next time... lots of the boys today:) I'll have to get that camera into Lucas' hands a little more.

Hmmm... a naughty streak in our sweet little boy?

So on our recent family vacation in Branson, MO, the youngest cousins were playing together. I don't think David quite 'gets' sharing yet.  Or maybe he knows what he's doing....

       

Hedding Happenings

In a rare moment of whole-family-togetherness, we caught all the Hedding "kids" together:

And here are all the adults in the family, including Chrysti, Leon's new fiancee:

Where Does Your Strength Come from?

Being a momma is hard work. It's hard on the body from morning sickness to aching backs. Sometimes the mind whirs to figure out the best schedule or do 5 things at once without messing one of them up. Then there is the emotional agony of watching someone you love so much cry and not being able to fix everything for him. Even the strongest mother is bound to run out of strength for the day sometimes.

But I love the promise in scripture, "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength" (Isaiah 40:31).  How often I need that sweet strength renewal!  But the best part isn't even the strength that comes from the Lord, it is the sweet intimacy of waiting UPON the Lord.  I used to think that meant waiting for the Lord, and I suppose it does.  But it also means resting my head on his chest, just like my son does before his nap, and gaining the strength I need for today's trials from Him.

Some of my favorite ways to wait UPON the Lord are:

*Reading the Bible:  My husband is so diligent with this, waking up at 5AM to spend an hour with the Lord before the day begins.  He is such an inspiration.  I usually read during my 14 month old's morning nap.  I read a few verses then pause and pray, processing with the Lord what I've read and how it applies to my life. I find this is a great way to build intimacy with God.  I usually do find much more strength (especially emotional strength) to be an excellent mother rather than just get through the day after my time with the Lord.

*Praying during the difficulty:  When my son can't settle for a nap or misses the potty or has no interest in any food I offer him aside from possibly dropping it, I get to the end of my rope fast.  It is so helpful to pause for a few seconds, close my eyes, and ask God to help me behave as He would have me.

*Praying together:  My husband and I pray together each night before bed.  It is so good to discuss our struggles and then pray for one another.  This helps me see beyond my own world into his.  Being prayed FOR is also so refreshing and helps me to let God wrap his arms around me.

*Get outside:  Especially now that it's Spring, God's beautiful handiwork is so evident in the great outdoors.  I try to take at least a short walk each day with my son so that I can reflect on how God causes things to grow without any worrying on the flower's part.

Surely there are other ways to connect with our Maker and wait UPON Him as we go through our days, but those are just some of my favorites right now.

Photo originally uploaded by ericmcgregor
Creative Commons

Speaking without Words

I am super-excited to hear David's first words, but he's not ready for that quite yet.  He's too busy exploring the world and taking it all in.  In the meantime, it is fun to watch his nonverbal vocabulary grow as he communicates more and more with expressions, pointing and gestures.  Here are some I caught on film:

"Hey, look... a flower, a rock, a house, a tree (But, honestly, sometimes I really don't know)!"

"No, no.  Yucky.  I'll put this back on the ground just like mom says.  I'm so obedient.... sometimes."

"Please, Daddy, may I have some more?"