Why Our Bodies Need Water

We were sitting on the potty this morning; nothing new, we do this every day with varying success several times a day. Lately with more failure than success. She went. We cleaned her up and I told her to run get an M&M (current reward candy of choice). She took off. I heard the subsequent rattling of the glass dish and scrape of stool, and Abigail was suddenly back in the bathroom with me. 

"Pee again." She announced gleefully, promptly pulling down her panties and filling up her little potty. 

Up she pulled that underwear ( before I had time to wipe, mind you) and ran for the kitchen and her reward. 

Chuckling I started to clean up when, lo and behold, here she was again.

"Pee more, Mama." she said, confident she had this racket figured out. She plopped down happily and sat, and sat, and sat. Nothing doing. 

"Punkin, you're going to have to drink more water before your body can make more pee." I offered "That's how it works."

Her eyes lit up, up came the panties, and she took off for the living room and her water bottle. In maybe 15 seconds flat she was back, slid down those training pants and sat. She looked up at me, looked down at the empty potty, and came to a decision: " I need mo' water." she stated and off she went again.  

    The funny thing is: I woke up grumpy this morning. I'm tired, we've had a lot of sickness that's kept me up, a lot of Calvin waking up during the night, a decided lack of naps on my part and, well, I'm tired (which happens as a mom, go figure). So I wanted to wallow in my bad attitude. I didn't want to be a parent today. I knew I should let the Holy Spirit handle my attitude and give me His peace and joy, but I didn't want it. I prayed anyway, begrudgingly.  And in His graciousness the Lord made me laugh.
    It started with her holding her baby doll over the trash can so it could puke ( it's fresh on her mind),and continued on throughout the morning so that by naptime I had completely forgotten about my bad attitude and was loving being a mother. God is so soft in how He dealt with me today. I love it. And I love her.

This is my Ouma, my dad's mom. They just recently moved to Birmingham and I can't even begin to express how thankful I am that Abigail and Calvin have the chance to know their Ouma and Oupa.

Ironically, it's now 5:34pm and my attitude is bad again. I've found other things to be grumpy about. I didn't really realize that until sitting down to write the post...this time I want to hand my self-centeredness to the Lord with a willing heart and stop and remind myself of all I have to be thankful for just in today. I have a feeling we'll all have a better evening that way.

With joy,
Katy

I two.

That's what she'll say on a very good day. On a normal day, in response to "How old are you?" she'll say  "I Abigail." which is close, but no banana.

As of December 19th, this is sweet girl is, in fact, two years old. 

She has also had the flu this past week, so when I tried to take pictures, this is the best I got out of four. Yep, just four. That's all she would sit for. Oh well :o0 At least her nose wasn't running at the time. 

 

 

Here are the other three.

 :o) 

She is growing like a weed, I can tell because I've been holding her a lot this week and her legs drop down much, much further. It's almost unbelievable how much she's changed this year, the unbelievable part being how much I've already forgotten. It's scary that the memories become a distant blur so quickly. If it wasn't for the quick notes I occasionally jot down there's no way I would have any memories of her second year of life.  Because she has changed so much I'm putting up 12 pictures, one a month, so you can enjoy her change too...what more could one ask for, huh?

 

January 

She is playing her chapstick, aka kazoo, I think. She started giving us peeks into her sense of humor around one year old, and I love it. She thoroughly enjoys a good joke, especially if it's on her papa.

 February

This picture makes me laugh, because she still does this ( she's doing the laundry). We start 'em young around these parts.

 

 March

Bringing in the flowers. Nothing funny to say here. She's just cute.

 April

She grew up a lot from March to April, I can see that as I look back. No, we did not start potty traning in April ( though I wish we had....it's taking long enough now), but she had fun experimenting. She also had fun playing in her birthday suit in the backyard. We did that a lot this past summer, a cute tan resulted. 

 

May

She picked up her pacifier the day she was weened from nursing.....and she's kept it ever since. We managed to keep it hidden whie she was  a flower girl in her Aunt Sarah's wedding. I love this last picture. I love my husband and how much fun he has with his little girl. Makes me weak-kneed.

 June

The serious business of blueberry picking requires serious accessories.  

July

we have no pictures in July. John? Papa? Will? anyone? 

 

August

left to right: One of my all-time favorites: Abigial pushing her best-buddy Amelia. Drinking from a 'big' cup. Always take your bike safety seriously: wear your helmet. And last but not least, the value of a well-protected baby doll can never be underestimated.

September

She grew up a lot from August to September as well. Some of that might be the addition of a new baby, but her hair grew too and that lends an appearance of age somehow.

October

Clockwise: Proper black walnut picking costume; a hoe-down skunk; good accessories make the outfit (or make up for the lack thereof); and taking care of the baby (she'll lay down and say "baby, tomach, mama. Baby tomach")

November

She went for her first ever hike over Thanksgiving and loved it (we came back with pockets laden with acorns). She walked at least half of a 2 mile trip, and wanted to carry the backpack for the home stretch. She would fall backwards without extra support. Kind of how the Lord's yoke is light and his burden easy.....

                    I love being with her. She makes me smile, knows how to push my buttons, is growing in understanding every day, and is a delight to know. May the Lord continue to grow her into a woman who loves him wholeheartedly and loves life with abandon.

Happy birthday punkin.

Pictures tell a story

I have had several friends say this lately, in fact, most of the friends whose blogs I read have said this recently as pregnancy has been in the air....but the motivation to spend any constructive time on the computer has been incredibly lacking these last few months. Notice I said constructive time: like responding to e-mails, updating a blog, actually doing needed research. Time to waste always seems abundant....especially since I discovered Fanfiction a couple of months ago......can anyone say 'addictive'?!

The baby is due in less than 8 days ( please Lord, please, let on-time babies be a trend for me!) and I'm figuring time will be short after the birth so I wanted to post a few pictures of what we've  (mostly Abigail) been up to lately.  When I went to upload 'a few' pictures I realized I had about 7.....so here they are :o)

Abigail has spent lots of time on the back porch by herself:  "tay Mama; tay" I have been happily watching from inside, adding to our air conditioning bill by not closing the door all the way ( we really need a child-height handle on the outside....)

We've been cooking. Aprons a must. Notice the "one sock on, one sock off" state. It's almost perpetual right now.

Spending lots and lots of time in our Cozy Coupe; being pushed, just sitting on the back porch, or even pushing our friends.

Although, when Abigail stopped and demanded that it was Amelia's turn to push the game kind of fell apart......

Pushing the doll is much easier. It was the best $1.87 I have ever spent at a thrift store. Dolls have been a huge part of our day. We have a basket especially for 'changing' the doll's diaper; we take the doll to the potty where she gets a chocolate chip for going ( this is a once-a-day limit, for obvious reasons......); we wrap her up for naps and carry her around in the car....and dump her on the sidewalk when Daddy plays too (please see John's Facebook page for further enlightenment)

And we've been riding 'bikes'. With, I think, our helmet on. We know about helmets from hanging out with our best friend's older sister. Actually, we know about bikes because of Penny too......

Another shot, for good measure.

 Even in the midst of tiredness and the late-pregnancy laziness, we've been having fun. Ready for the baby to come though; definitely ready for him to come.

Katy 

The vegetable dream

If cucumbers had been my main vegetable goal, I would be over the moon right now.
In actuality, they were an afterthought; a productive one, but only an afterthought.

I seem to find at least 4 every time I go check, and I don't know that many recipes for using up cucumbers ( we will have no carrot sticks this summer, only cuke-sticks)......any suggestions would be helpful. Especially if mint is included. I have that in copious amounts too ( although I love putting mint in vases around the house.....smells delicious).
Abigail's favorite part of the cucumber overproduction is when we miss one for a couple of days and she gets to find something like this:

Although, it is nice to have lots of something edible. Last year the only thing we succeeded at growing well were rotten watermelons. Rotten because they got lost under the crabgrass that exceeded a foot in most parts of the garden. Crab grass does not count as a vegetable.

So being able to actually harvest edible produce has been fun.

 Things we have eaten/are hoping to eat:

Snap Peas: Abigail was fantastic at finding the pods. Problems arose as she would always take a bite out of the top before we could get hers inside. Then she would spit the top out after chewing on it for a bit. I think she'll have gum figured out no problem. She's good at not swallowing things.

Tomatoes: They're all green, mind you, so this is enjoying in advance and with the hope that we can save some from the birds. (any tips on encouraging good tomato growth?)

Squash: Even if we never get tons, I love seeing the yellow blossoms from the house, and the leaves are scratchy enough that Abigail isn't tempted to pick all the flowers off. Double bonus.

Bush Beans: I would have had fun growing these if the rabbits weren't topping all of them. Beans are a bit of a wash unless I get this  (the best picture by far is the 6th one).

Strawberries:  These were designated, unwillingly, as the rabbit's personal property. It was too hard to protect them. Next year maybe.

Asparagus:  Mmm, mmm I'm excited about these.

They look cool don't they? Maybe even romantic with they're wavy stems ( I now know why Asparagus Fern is so designated). 

I won't see anything edible for another year or so, but the satisfaction alone of growing a perennial  vegetable ( as in, I don't have to plant it each year) has already earned me back my money. The only thing dampening my spirits with perennials is the fact that John and my father (who only has raised beds) went in on a BCS 712 Tiller  (Italian-made btw. I can read him the directions if he needs) new price of $1900, auction price of $278....and I'm nervous about the success of transplanting everything so the "tiller-thirst" can be satisfied.  It's even designed so you have to buy........attachments.......that's what has me really worried.

Corn:  I was excited about this, and then really confused when my ears never filled out fully
(although Abigail thought they were just her size). A nice friend at church clued me in last week that I needed at least 2 rows so they could cross-pollinate. Apparently only east-west winds work for corn. So maybe I'll tear all the peas and corn out and give it another shot. We all like watching how fast they grow.

It's been fun though. As opposed to last summer when it was really just a looming chore. Abigail is big enough to entertain herself and even help some ( she's good at pulling peach seedlings out); I'm actually weeding and, when I get behind, John comes through with round-up and nukes the paths; and we're even seeing some of the 'fruit of our labors' as long as, for the moment anyway, we confine our definition of 'fruit' to 'cucumbers'. :o)

 

As in "cool as a cucumber"

much love, 

Katy

PS- maybe next year we'll be ready for this

Of Radishes and Roses

Have I mentioned lately that I'm thankful for flowers? One of my favorite parts of our yard is the three rose bushes that were already planted in the back corner. Add two more to the mix ( from my wonderful friend Becca, who gave me many other perennials, most of which I've killed) and we've got a decent rose garden. Enough, in fact, that Abigail and I go out there almost every day to pick some. Her picking consists of pulling all the petals off every rose she can reach, but she's good at it.

She's also good at eating hummus. As long as good is defined as "wiping it everywhere after we tire of eating".

You could also blame her daddy, since she was distracted watching him. I get distracted watching him as well. So I can understand the forgetful, contemplative state. 

 Speaking of lawn mowing, this is our garden.

Right there, I promise, underneath the mounds of hay.

Which I realized gives me a headache any time I spend a lot of time in it.

Live and learn. :o) There are actually beans and peas and corn and tomatoes and a couple of other vegetables growing among the hay (which was scattered to help with weeds and moisture but the debate is still raging in our household as to the actual effect).

This is the first produce picked. It was, well, radishey. 

 

I'm hoping for better things later.

So is Abigail.
Who, by the way, has discovered a passion for flower arranging.
She 'helps' to bring them in with her wagon

Then carefully pulls off all the petals

and chooses just the right spot in the bowl to place them. Three guesses about which bowl was hers. 

Then she helps clean up by wiping everything off onto the floor. It's a huge success. Every time.

Almost as much fun as washable markers. Almost.

A Little House-Help

It's been slow around here lately. Not because of a lack of activities, but because I've been feeling pretty draggy during this first trimester. Mmm, mmm. In truth it's been better than with Abigail, probably because I have her to distract me during the day....and also because we're not living in an extended-stay-hotel with all the complimentary smells they provide.

Either way I'm pleased. 

What has been fun is Abigail. She has taken a leap in her comprehension and it's been a blast to play with her and have her help around the house.
Typically, one of the first things she does after breakfast (besides making sure she knows where her blanket and pacifier are located) is get dressed for the day:

It just so happens her favorite outfits consist of my underwear and slips. Colors and styles vary by day, but they are what she reaches for when it's time to get dressed. She must know high-fashion is demanded of her and wants to perform accordingly. 

(although it can make unexpected visitors a bit awkward)

Once dressed she actually has been a big help around the house, mostly by being content to let me do housework while she puts underwear around her neck.  But she's also fantastic at putting laundry away.....

and generally puts them in the right place ( as long as I don't mind when she pulls them all out ten minutes later. But it's hard to begrudge a girl her favorite games).

Then we'll play office, to top the day off

We cram as many ads, old coupons, and pieces of junk mail into one envelope as possible, then lay everything out and start all over again. When that finishes we put stickers on our faces and throw crayons at pieces of paper. It's fun. I really like her. 

PS- anytime I say the phrase "we play office" it makes me think of this book

one of my all-time favorites ( thanks Mama!)

Double-unders

Abigail and I took a one-night trip to Birmingham recently so Mimi, Papa, and Abigail could fill their tanks up ( me too, although for me a large part of 'why I enjoy my mother's home' is that I'm not in charge of anything there.....I tried explaining to John why that's so relaxing, but I'm not sure I succeeded. Does anyone else agree? Visiting and helping is more of a vacation than having a long weekend at home where you're still planning all meals and cleaning all messes). 

My dad was working on his 'double-under' skills with the jump rope ( two turns to every jump) and Abigail thought it was the funniest sight she'd ever seen. Deep belly chuckles came forth as she watched him jump. In fact, it was so funny she had to try it herself.

Her feet never left the ground but she had the hand motion down perfectly. She was laughing so hard at herself she could hardly turn the handles.

Sigh, I love that girl.
Thanks Papa, for getting her started off right.

Present and accounted for

Whew, we're still here, I promise. Honestly if I didn't put up pictures I would post more often. I hate really dislike organizing/editing photos....especially since I didn't do any of that for almost 4 months after Abigail was born. Can we say over 400 photos that weren't in any type of folder or category?

But, the best part about this blog is, I'm pretty sure, the photos of Abigail. So I'll keep pushing on. To entertain you in the meantime here's a video of what it looks like when spoons are in use at our house.

It's here!!!

One year old today! Hip, hip, Hooray!!

Happy Birthday my sweet Abigail!
 From the very beginning you absolutely filled up our hearts,

but somehow each day brings even more fullness, and we love it. And you.

We love your funny faces,

how easily you get tickled at yourself,

(we were out for a walk on a 32 degree day. Christmas Story anyone?) 

 

 

and the simple joys you find in each day.

they all delight our hearts on a regular basis.

chasing Mimi

And the delight we find in you must be, I think, just a small taste of what God's delight in us feels like.

 We love you sweet girl, I'm so glad your ours!