And she's off!

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Toddling

While Jonathan has been focusing on swimming lessons this summer and is doing really well at the local swim center, Abby's been learning to walk and talk. She's even put a little effort into throwing tantrums like a real toddler.

By now she's taking an 4-8 steps at a time, but she still often prefers to hit the ground and crawl to the other side before standing again rather than make the effortful walk. Abby is still quite graceful, and while she may stop and plop down, she rarely actually tumbles over, falls, or bumps her head. It's a totally different experience than the last time we had a toddler in the home! Just the past two days she's even learned to turn around and back down feet-first from the fire place when I catch her sitting up there and instruct, "no, no, Abby, not safe, get down."

My iPhone has proven to be a wonderful Mommy tool for catching all kinds of precious moments, but despite even the immediate availability of the phone, I can't seem to catch her walking! These are some of my attempts, taken about 8 days ago. [This entry has been sponsored by iPhone. All photos and videos were iPhone captured]

This little girl has also taken to climbing. If I step around a corner for a minute, I'll return to find her standing on any stool or chair available, clinging to the best support in reach. She hasn't fallen yet, but I'm trying to keep doors closed to prevent turning around and seeing this, as cute as she is when she's so proud of herself.

I went to answer a phone while wrapping Jonathan's birthday presents and returned to find my daughter was ready to help me finish wrapping. Jonathan didn't mind the wrinkles, so we just went with it :)

Abby is also doing all kinds of "talking." Well, she has quite a few words for a 10 month old. She enthusiastically exclaims "Mama!" or "Dada!" when we walk in the room, or even when she hears Mommy or Daddy on the phone. Her first additional word, a few weeks ago, was "Uh oh," initially pronounced as a very effortful gutteral "uh.... uh" that even Jonathan pointed out sounded a bit like she was working on a dirty diaper. But she now has a bright little "uh oh!" to exclaim when something falls down. Or, more often, just before she throws something to the floor. Her next word has been ball, pronounced "baaaaah!"

Abby told her first story today. It went like this, "Aaaaah! Baaaah! Ooooooooh, baaah! ... Uh oh baah! ... Mama!"

Translated to grown up speak it was, "Oooh! Yeah! I see a ball! Here I come, little ball. [Abby hits ball which falls off the chair]. Ut oh, oops, looks like the ball fell down. Hey Mommy, get that ball, would you?"

While I've been surprised at how quickly she's picking up words and how much more she seems to understand each day, her new found expectations for communication have brought about what seems a surprisingly early discovery of the frustration of toddlerhood. This week we had some full blown roll-around-on-the-floor-till-I've-exhausted-myself tantrums. One of them started like this, at which point an attempted rescue from the high chair brought only more frustration, and she was deposited on a carpet until she'd reached the end of her rope and was ready to calm down and be cuddled again. I'm hopeful that if we hit the tantrums early, maybe the stage will burn out early, too?

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Haha!

Yes! I've waited 25 years to have someone else do my chores. I must delight in the success. I don't know who had more fun in this endeavor, but I think it was the unsuspecting victim of child labor. He found the task a blast (large loud machine = unquestionable fun), and Pepper's attempts to wrestle the hose and attachments out of his hands only added to the fun.

Of course, the reason there were no cushions on the couch in the first place is because EVERY couch cushion and pillow in the house was in a large pile in the front room.

And you know THAT wasn't my idea.

Mommy Ducky, Mommy Doc

Whew, so much catch-up to do. Jonathan's Birthday Party was a fun celebration, made even better by Daniel, Kimie, and Baby Lucy who drove down to celebrate with us. Kimie took some amazing pics, which I'll post here soon, but meanwhile you can find the highlights here. Have I even mentioned that we've been to 2 wonderful family reunions this summer? I just treasured the time we spent in North Carolina with my dad's family, and we returned just recently from an amazing weekend with David's family in Minnesota. I'll have some pictures to post from those trips one of these days, too, though I'll confess most are "borrowed" from other family photographers, as I managed to forget my camera most of the time while chasing my two sweet munchkins.

Meanwhile, I've also been throwing together a second blog site. David is forever encouraging me to spend a little more time writing. He knows I enjoy it, and teases me that I'll be responsible for putting the kids through college with proceeds from some book or another. As I rounded out 7 years of medical school and residency, I realized that the minimal margin in life in the preceding years left me largely reacting to life with little effort to reflect on my experiences. A very meaningful conversation with my sister a few months ago presented a stark contrast between our professions and training, as I heard her (the social worker) reflect with meaning on why she chooses the words she does, the habits she does, and how intentionally she cares for her marriage. While I once took the time to think and to write, it had all but disappeared in the years of my medical training. So to those ends, I have set aside Mommy Ducky, Mommy Doc. If you visit, you'll see, for right now, that the majority is a few selections from this blog that I've pulled out to re-post, and a little blurb about the origins of the title (aside from the fact that the first 20 or so options were taken and yet entirely empty).

And now, I find myself again awake, sleepy, and hungry at midnight. To snack, or to sleep? Sleep.

If only I'd known... Construction workers wear underwear

You'll recall Jonathan spent a good 3 months as "Baby Ducky," consistently referring to himself as such, introducing himself as such, and correcting me daily if I referred to him by the name I'd chosen for him well before he was born.

Apparently "Baby Ducky" was only the beginning. Following about 3 months living as "Baby Ducky," he spent a few weeks changing daily... I've been Mommy Butterfly, Mommy Bee, Mommy Whale, Mommy Tiger... the list goes on and on. [My Little Baby Screaming Worm and His Gentle Hair Bugs]

Simultaneously, we've been working on the self-help skills of potty training. We've got the bulk of potty training down, but my son has had no interest in putting on his clothes by himself, which has left me chasing a naked 2 year old around the house multiple times a day. I've tried all kinds of things -- stickers for any attempt at dressing, sitting the two of us in the time-out spot together until he uses his own hands to hold his pants as we put them on, etc.

Apparently what I failed to recognize is that duckies, worms, and whales all have very little need for such self-help skills. Really, they should be naked, and I'm lucky he's as kind as to compromise enough to wear clothes at all.

But yesterday, on his third birthday, Little Guy declared, "I'm a construction worker!" as he pulled on his (cowboy) boots and headed out to dig at the construction site with his new excavator. And at bed time, it was "Thank you God for my construction job."

This morning, Jonathan's PJ's removed and successfully pottied, I approach him with underwear, jeans, and a shirt. "Time to get dressed, Sweetie."

"Oh yes! Yes, Mommy. Construction workers wear underwear." And right then and there he took his underwear in his hands, confirmed that the tag goes in the back, and doned the underwear, then jeans, before pulling on his boots and heading out the back door. "I'm off to the construction site, Mommy!"

REALLY? That's all it takes? Well, Thank Goodness that construction workers wear underwear.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

And a few sweet moments I never want to forget...

Since starting preschool last year he asks for "A little kiss, a little hug, and a little tickle" as our parting ritual.

He also loves to nuzzle noses, but has moved on to request "Let's nuzzle cheeks, Mommy," then "Nuzzle foreheads?" "Nuzzle chins?" "Nuzzle eyes?" And as goofy and not-so-cozy as nuzzling eyes is, I do it eagerly, because I love being so close to his sweet little cheeks and I know the day will come when I'd give anything to even just nuzzle chins.

Birthday Party!

It was wonderful to have Daniel, Kimie, and Baby Lucy come down to Houston for the weekend to celebrate Jonathan's birthday and help us with the party. We so much enjoyed their company, and their help on party day proved to be invaluable. It was so much fun to see more of little Lucy and spend an evening holding my sweet niece. She's adorable!

So, celebrating my dear son's 3rd year... here's his train party! [Photography courtesy of my multiply talented sister in law.]

A fun part of the weekend was opening his presents from his aunt and uncle. Daniel and Kimie, thinking of how Jonathan loves to put his animals in families, bought him a mommy ducky and baby ducky. It was love at first sight!

And whew! After such a fun weekend, Baby Ducky was one tired Ducky

Three Years with Jonathan

Happy 3rd Birthday, Jonathan!

Happy Birthday to my Jonathan! What an amazing birthday for this sweet boy. We started the day reading Jonathan's baby book all about the day he was born and how he grew up from a little baby to a big boy. Then it was off to the kitchen where Jonathan helped me make muffins.

He even got a piece of "chocolate [Nutella] toast" from Daddy, and we read the Bible story of the friendship between Jonathan and David, telling Jonathan about how his Mommy and Daddy picked out his name before he was born.

Abby was a big fan of the blue berry muffins, too!

After breakfast, the kids took a little time to jump on Daddy...

Then it was time for presents! Jonathan, with Daddy and Abby's help, opened a new Lego set, a bridge and tunnel for his train set, his very own CD player, and some wonderful books, trucks, play dough, and water toys. Lots of fun to be had!

After a little time to play with the toys and put them in their places, Daddy and Jonathan were off to the zoo! Highlights included feeding the giraffes, seeing the chimpanzees, and riding the Herman Park train.

After their morning at the zoo, it was off to lunch, then to the toy store. I hear it was love at first sight. Jonathan picked out an excavator and walked through the store with it singing "This is the work of an excavator." At the check-out counter he was so excited he could barely get his words out, telling each employee he saw all about the digging his excavator was going to do at home. [Random aside -- if you haven't seen it, and chances are you haven't, you've gotta see the excavator song. It's more or less a ballad to giant diggers, and it's totally hysterical. It starts about 10 seconds into this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXhhXXsxSfE ]

After acquiring the new treasured toy, the guys went to a nearby construction site to watch real excavators at work. Then it was off to Marble Slab, where Abby and I met up with the boys for ice cream. On returning home, Abby took a nap while Jonathan took the new vehicle out to the construction site and got to work. He told me that he's not Baby Worm any more, he's a Construction Worker. Cowboy boots double easily as construction boots.

Then it was off to swim lessons, where Jonathan is learning to jump in the pool and turn over to float on his back. On arriving home, we had macaroni and cheese for dinner. Little guy chose the same birthday dinner his Mommy ate for about 10 consecutive years in her childhood! Whew, then we curled up in his bed, read his new stories, and said prayers. When asked what he's thankful for tonight, in addition to his birthday festivities, Jonathan said, "My construction job." Well, I guess everyone's thankful for a job these days.

Happy Birthday to my sweet little Jonathan, Big Brother, Baby Ducky, Baby Worm, Construction Worker. These three years with you have been so much fun, and we can't wait to see all in store in the year ahead.