Swimming Lessons

Today was Ella's first swimming lesson. Prior to signing her up, I was back and forth in my mind about the value in paying for a meager 30 minute class. Seemed kind of like too little bang for too big a buck. I learned today though, that there's a lot of wisdom in *just* a 30 minute toddler swim class. Time is relative, especially when you're walking around in waist deep water with a screaming toddler clawing you in an effort to reach dry ground. I felt like I got a LOT of bang for my buck. If nothing else, I possibly lost some hearing during those 30 minutes. Thanks to a water-safe Elmo doll who demonstarted "Humpty Dumpty's from the pool's edge, we did manage a break in the tears, a wee little giggle, AND a request for "more". Thank you, Elmo! Props to our sweet girl, though, as she's just days away from turning two and this was only her second time in the water. All things considered, I'll call it a success and predict she'll be loving it by the end of the term.

Ready to take on the pool (yes, we are still working on camera smiles) :)



Class begins

Imagination

Ella's imagination is soaring . . .

- a half eaten cracker is a giraffe
- a block creation is declared a tractor
- tiny balls of play-dough are eyes and noses
- animals in books eat her fingers
- an arch of toys from the swing is draped over shoulders and called a coat
- shoes are placed on hands to become mittens

"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world." -- Albert Einstein

Visiting the Jennings family

At the end of June we took our annual trip to Canberra. We hope that we can continue with the tradition of visiting each other twice in a year, plus spending the week at Challenge Camp. So far so good. It's so much fun to see Lily and Ella (just five days apart in age) enjoying each other's company. Even though 'almost-two' is such a difficult age for sharing, the girls did so well.





Catching the three of them for a good picture is pretty tricky.



Noah got a little extra loving that weekend, too. Since our June visit, Lily's baby brother, Eli, has arrived, so things will be a little more even for our Spring play date.

Its great to watch the kids play together, but also great to enjoy some quiet conversations while the kids slept. Though not before our little escape artist fled the Kindercot and headed UP the stairs.




Here's a couple of pics from our time together last year. Love these girls!




And . . . I always think Ella has "lots" of hair until I see Lily! Check out just how bald my sweet Ella was when we visited in June 2009.



We really treasure our growing friendship with the Jennings family. And thanks to the Mitchell family for having us stay with them during our Canberra stay.

Introducing . . .

Noah Kai . . . our newest dual citizen. Aussie by birth, American by descent.

Thoughts on Motherhood

My kids have been trading colds almost constantly since April and I've seen more stuff coming from and crusted under their tiny noses than I ever thought possible. I've decided its by far the most disgusting thing I've had to deal with as a mother. Snot can end up anywhere after a sneeze, even on my clothes or face, in my hair, and sometimes my mouth . . . thankfully not the case with other messy areas of parenting, such as poopy nappies. Of all the things that babies CAN do, I'd have to say I grieve that they CAN'T at least "sniff" or "blow" on demand.

Speaking of what babies can do . . .

Ella: can recite/"read" with us the Golden Book, "Little Mommy" and another book called "Little Blue Truck". It's amazing. These are both rhyming books, so we read them and leave off words and she fills them in . . . "This is my _____ (house) and I am the ____ (mommy). My children are Annabelle, Betsy and _____ (Bonnie)." So there really is a benefit to reading the same books over and over again! It is also a good tool for distraction on road trips and makes the Grandparents very proud.

We've entered a stage of jealousy/sibling rivalry. My belly is full from eating my words and thoughts. You know, things like, ". . . surely my kids will never fight. They will lovingly share all of their toys every day. . . ", and so on. That said, there are some extreme sweet and loving moments between my two kids . . . like this one.



Ella can get a great belly laugh going which in turn produces some great giggles from her brother. She continues to climb on everything, took her first ride in a coin operated ride (thanks to another little guy we had a ride for half price), and recently we are AMAZED at what she can do with her hands. She loves to buckle things, take lids off, put them back on and just figure out how things work. She has a rich vocabulary and we're surprised daily with words she must have just been storing away in her mind, like "coffee" and "washing". She can tell her brother to be "careful", ask us "what happened?" and tell us when she is happy, sad or shy.





Noah: is crawling (not commando style, true crawling), AND pulling up on things. He had been moving around since he was about 5.5 months but we declared him an official crawler right at 7 months. He occasionaly pulls himself into a standing position. There is no stopping this boy and I have a hunch we'll have an early walker. But he is adventurous and courageous and we enjoy those traits in him very much.

He is kind to his mamma, giving me a good blend of great snuggles, long naps, and long stretches of independant play time. He still LOVES to be carried in the baby wrap and I enjoy those moments a lot.







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People weren't wrong when they said kids will change your life. I expected many of the external/physical changes. Things like how my house looks, the amount of laundry, sleep patterns and so on. I'm finding, though, that having kids is changing me on more on the inside than I'd ever expected.

There's something about the responsibility of shaping and guiding the hearts and minds of my children that really makes me think twice about the things I say and do, or even want to say and do. Perhaps I'm more confronted by this right now because I have a daughter who I thought was still a baby, but she is in fact a little girl with a striking capacity to copy what goes on around her; both the spoken and the unspoken.

I have a large influence in who she becomes. Not control, simply influence. I wonder, am I giving her a gift by helping her become a blessing to others? What will their hearts learn from me and my interactions with them and others? What do they hear from and see in me? Will Ella and Noah grow to act and react as I do? Am I responsible for their every thought and action as they grow? Of course not. Will I always act and speak in a Godly, loving way? Sadly, no. Will I have to seek forgiveness when I set a poor example? Time and time again, no doubt! .

I am especially mindful of their presence lately. They have reminded me that out of the overflow of my heart, my mouth speaks, and so too I believe, do my actions. They have helped me to be slow(er) to speak. To be silent, at times. To wait. And to search deeper and harder for the ways of God instead of following my own ways. If it takes two babies and the weight of responsibility to help grow a change in my heart, than thank you God for giving them to me when He did! :)

And I'm so thankful, too, that its not all up to me, but that a life in step with the Spirit promises to grow within us characteristics that come from, and point to, a gracious and loving God, rather than a broken me.

Well, thats quite a deep ending to a post that started out the way it did. But there you have it, the deep, and the not so deep thoughts from my life as I know it right now.

So far in May . . .

- we've had an enjoyable visit with a new friend from Abliene, Texas. We were blessed by his presence in our home. My kids loved Steve, though Ella was terribly confused thinking he might be one of her Grandpas, but called him "Grammy" the entire week. We were thankful for all he did for and with us. I especially enjoyed the times he played with Ella and rocked Noah.

- our church hosted a tree planting at a former landfill site. We planted a bunch (around 450) native trees, bushes and grasses with friends; some old, some new. Jason, along with others, had spent several month preparing the land for the planting, and many hands made for light work on the day. By light work, I don't mean "not hard", I mean I'm thankful for the help. It would have taken much longer without those folk. If you live in Wollongong, consider joining us for another tree planting on November 13th.



- I turned 33. Jason made a great video from snippets of home video we've taken over the past almost two years. Ella stayed up and watched it with us while we ate Thai food. All I can say about the past two years is "wow".

- we introduced Ella to the Sound of Music and she loves it. Her favourite song in the Yodeling one. I have good memories of watching this movie as a kid, so I'm thrilled to see Ella enjoying it. Her other loves of the month are the Park, calling relatives on the phone all by herself, telling stories about The Park, climbing, and asking to go to The Park.





- and, we said goodbye to the Baby Mullet/Rat's Tail (i.e Ella's birth hair). It was time. The next day I found Ella with the scissors in her hand (???) saying "Cut. Hair." Thankfully, she didn't.



The end of the month will be busy. We're heading to a Youth Retreat where Jason will speak on Saturday and we'll get to hang out with a great bunch of people. We also have family and friends arriving from Texas and Oklahoma and look forward to catch up with them.

First food

I'd have to say that our Noah's first solid food experience was almost a little disappointing. We broke out the rice cereal at 6 months and one week (remember, you're reading my kid's virtual baby book . . . hence the details) We had the camera ready to capture that "what-on-earth-is-this-stuff?" look and the messy face that typically follows a baby's first bites. We got neither. Noah took his first solids as though he'd been eating from a spoon his whole life. No look of surprise. He just sat patiently with mouth open for the next bite, his shirt busting at the seams and took every last bite. He's our little rugby player in training . . .

"I've been waiting for this . . . "


We'll work on the table manners . . .

Content . . .


Relaxed and ready for round two:



Can this boy be any more relaxed?


And for memory's sake, here's Ella at the same age having her first solid food. How I miss those baby cheeks!


I love the unique aspects of my kid's personalities. Even just the little window that I see for now. I love Ella's cautiousness, her love for the outdoors and her tender heart which manifests in out of the blue hugs and kisses. I occassionally appreciate her strong will. In Noah, I think I see an spirit of adventure . . . a go-getter who warms quickly to new things. (I hope he'll warm quickly to a later waking time . . . tomorrow would be good)

Noah Kai at 6 months

It hardly seems possible that a whole SIX months have passed since we welcomed Noah into our family. There is something so sweet about those first six months of life. Something amazing about a little life that is sustained on milk and love alone! The next six months promise to be action packed: solid food . . . first teeth . . . sitting to crawling to possibly walking . . . first words . . . We'll make sure that each day is loaded with baby snuggles because we know too well how fast babies grow.

Preparing for your arrival with BOY colours!


Your arrival!


I'm glad that my kids won't ever remember life without the other


April 27th - 6 months old


Noah, at just the right time, our family received a gift in you. How empty our days would be without your smile and giggle. Without hearing your sister say "hey, Buddy!". (Or without me telling your sister to get off you . . . I don't blame you one bit for trying to be an early crawler!) We're so glad that God brought you into our lives.

Happy 6 months!

This past week we enjoyed a change of pace and scenery. A time of retreat and renewal in Bateman's Bay. We've all been a little under the weather but feel refreshed anyhow. We didn't take many pictures but had a great time. Jason turned the big 3-5, we had devotional times together, ate freshly cooked eel (which led us to reminiscing about our days in Japan), I went for my first "jog" in . . . well, a long time (it wasn't pretty!), Ella fed the ducks and enjoyed "the bounce" (aka large jumping pillow) and Noah was just along for the ride. He did try to scream the cabin down once or twice but thankfully returned quickly to his laid back self.







On our way home to Wollongong, we stopped by the Murramarang State Park. Got Noah's first picture with the kangaroos and took Ella to the ocean rock pools. Ella is still a little timid around the kangaroos. Fascinated and brave from a distance but not so much once they get in her space (or Mamma's space, or when they try to eat pizza from us). Hopefully it won't be long lasting trauma.



The obligatory kangaroo picture. I know they'll thank me for this picture when they're older! Or at least the relatives in the US will.


In other family news (i.e what's going on with the kiddos) . . . Ella is now in a big bed and has done great with the transition. I am so proud of her. At least once a night though, we find her under the bed. In fact last night she was so far under the bed that Jason couldn't see her but heard a faint snore coming from under the bed.

The best part about Ella being in a big bed is the night time routine. I love to be able to lay beside her and talk to her about her day, sing to her and pray with her. But no sooner do I end our prayer with "in Jesus' name Amen!" she says "BYE! See you. Night!" . . . and closes her eyes. Its game over for Mum at that point. I'm not complaining, I just can't believe it. The baby days really do slip through your fingers like sand.



Ella recently overcome her fear of the broom. I have no idea why she was afraid of the broom and isn't now. But I entered the living room the other to find this . . .and it suits me just fine!


Never mind the PILES of laundry on the sofas and the general mess of our house. Now if only we can overcome fears of the vacuum cleaner, blender, and vaporizer . . .

Big Boy Noah . . .


Noah's most recent trick involves the coffee table. He'll scoot under it from one side and pop out the other. He usually spends a little time underneath it. I'll hear him cooing and talking away and then out he comes . . .


Noah is sleeping happily in the crib/cot now and there is NO pack-n-play in our room. Noah isn't yet crawling but sure can get around in his own determined way. He is so good at playing by himself. I'm really enjoying this age with him. And I'm enjoying not being pregnant and not making an international move with a 5 month old!

Family expansion . . . Our good friend Greg gave us our first family pets . . . two bearded dragons. These were a gift to commemorate Noah's birth but gave us one for each child. Ella LOVES them. I often find her trying to open their home with the key, or scooting her little sofa up to the glass so she can sit and watch them. She asks after them each morning and after her nap and tell us they eat "kits" (crickets). Any of you who know Jason know that he's also thrilled about the new family members.





Come to think of it, Ella has always been "into" lizards and such. Here she is at 7 months of age with a blue tongue


From the lizards to eating fresh out of the garden, Ella is a girl after her dad's heart in more ways than one . . .