Playground days

The past few days have been extremely warm and I have been able to spend a lot of time on the playground with Hunter and Adelyn.  It has been a while since I have spent hour upon hour on the campus playground.  This winter was long.  Being cooped up inside has advantages, like long cuddles on the couch while watching Sesame Street.  But the dreariness of the cold season seems to have stopped me from seeing how my kids are changing.

Watching my kids on the playground today, I realized they have both grown so much.  Their abilities and their interests are different than they were last time we spent significant time on the playground....

-- Hunter can swing on the big kid swing by himself!

-- Adelyn has zero interest in the baby swing
-- Hunter is very interested in baseball bats, gloves, basketballs, and soccer balls
-- Adelyn loves to be pushed in the little tykes cozy coupe
-- Hunter can do everything on the playground equipment with very little supervision
-- Adelyn can do everything on the playground equipment, yet requires non-stop supervision
-- Hunter loves to engage people on the playground by starting little games
-- Adelyn actually spent several minutes digging in the mud today

Being out on the playground highlighted new milestones for each child.  Hunter is such a big boy and Adelyn is testing out her independence in every way possible.  Hunter needs much less hands-on supervision and Adelyn needs a lot more.

I am thankful for the fresh view of my kids.  It is so easy to lose track of what is important in the busy-ness of life.  A different setting to watch their little hands and feet explore and embrace the world is just the re-set my heart needed.  I am such a blessed mommy.  Though there are times I am exhausted by all that caring for them requires, they are both blessings to me in their own ways.  I am looking forward to lots of time with them this summer--- free from school!!! :)

That Hunter, he makes me LAUGH!

Cute Hunter Sayings Lately

Dad!  We have got to go outside because it is just so gorgeous!  Because the birds are singing and it is so pretty!  Can we do all of that stuff, dad?
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I need five dollars Courtney.  Ya know, I have a ball pit and I need more balls. So I am explaining that I need more balls. Ya know?
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Let's go to the BotaniFul gardens!  It is so beautiful there!
  (He was mixing the words "botanical" and "beautiful" together!)
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Me: Hunter do you want to play baseball?
Hunter: Yes!  But I only want to play it at the Cubs game.
Grancie:  Oh! That would be wonderful. You need to practice hard and then you can play there!
Hunter: Yes, I want to play there.  We will be with God there.
Me: *dying laughing- We will be with God there?
Hunter: Yes, I want to play at the Cubs game and we will be with God.

Yes, Son, Wrigley field IS close to Heaven.  :)
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Daddy was tucking Hunter into bed tonight, and Hunter was squirming around as usual.  Then, this happened.
Hunter: Daddy, rub my belly.
Daddy: okay. (proceeds to rub belly)
Hunter rolls over, sticks his bottom in the air and farts.
Hunter: Do you smell that daddy?

--> Mommy and Daddy try not to laugh...

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Sister just learned me how to sing this song!!
(He meant "taught" but didn't know that word!)
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Me: Oh!  That 18 wheeler is from where I was born! It says Las Cruces on the side of it.
Hunter: Mommy, you were born in that truck??
Me: OH! No Hunter, I wasn't born in that truck. I was born where that truck lives.
Hunter: Mommy, Whose belly were you in?
Me: I was in Grancie's belly.
Hunter: WHY were you in Grancie's belly?
Me: Because she is my mommy!  I am your mommy and you were in my belly. She is my mommy and I was in her belly!

silence

Sitting in my apartment enjoying the sound of
nothing.
Silence.
How rejuvenating.

All day long this apartment is full of sounds.
From Sesame Street to tiny little trains being pushed on their track
and sibling rivalries to toys that make 10,000 different sounds.

All I hear right now is the ticking of my clock and the sound of my own typing.
It is like I can hear my own thoughts for the first time today.

I am not an introvert by any stretch of the imagination.
I love the energy of being around people.
My children teach me the importance of play and fill my heart to the brim with happiness.
I love their sounds, noises, and energy.

But, oh, I miss the sound of my own thoughts.
I long for quiet.
I long for the energy to stay up later or get up earlier just to tune in to my own heart.

I never thought I would be so thankful for
silence.

15 months

 Adelyn is 15 months old!

Height: 29 inches (12th percentile)

Weight: 19 lbs, 2 oz (5th percentile)

Sweet girl is still growing, but she is tiny!  She still wears her 9 month footed pajamas and some 12 month footed pajamas, too.  For the most part she wears 6-12 month clothing.  Some 9 month pants still fit her, too.  It is crazy to me how different kids can be!  Hunter was much bigger (here is a link to him at 15 months!) and was wearing more like 18-24 month clothing.  Our little girl is petite!

But she is strong and knows how to hold her own.  Last night he was pushing her around on her little car in circles around the living room.  She would laugh and giggle.  Then he would get so excited and start going faster and forget to slow down as he rounded the corners.  He knocked her off that thing multiple times!  She would hit the ground and cry for a few moments but then get right back up on the car.  She loves playing with Hunter, even if it means getting knocked around now and again! ;)

Adelyn walks nearly all the time now.  She has figured out that if she is walking, she can carry items in her hands.  Now it makes much more sense to her to walk!  It is adorable to watch her toddle around our apartment.  She is so proud of herself.

She loves books, her bunny and all food.  She eats more than Hunter at most meals.

Adelyn has 7 teeth: four on top and 3 on bottom.  It looks like 2 more may cut soon...


Her words:
Mommy
Daddy
Bobby (that is what she calls Hunter!)
Shoe
Yes (she also nods her head-- adorable!)
No
Puppy
Bye-Bye
Tickle
Night Night
Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

She babbles a lot of nonsense but in a way that makes you think she is being very clear!

She will point to these when asked where they are:
Head
Hair
Tongue (she loves tongues. She always wants to touch them... ewww!) 
Nose
Eyes
Feet

bath time

Hunter LOVES bath time!  Many days he asks to take a bath and will enjoy playing in the water for nearly an hour!  He loves to 'float' and splash and pour water from one toy into different buckets or cups.  Water completely fascinates him.

 Now we let Adelyn bathe with him occasionally.  She requires much more supervision!  But we let them bathe together for a few minutes sometimes.  He gets so excited to have her play in the water with him.  And she is so brave, letting Hunter pour water onto her and crawling in and around him.

 She loves bathtime, too!  Really, anything to spend time with her older brother.  She just adores him.  It is really sweet to see their little relationship.  They are each other's greatest fans!

See the water splashing?  Adelyn loves the bigger bathtub!!!

 These pictures are from January.  I'm behind!  But better late then never.

Valentine's Day Cards!

We had so much fun making our traditional Valentine's!  This year, I had to buy bigger paper since Hunter's hands have grown so much.  We did Hunter's left hand and Adelyn's right hand.  

 (please excuse how I look!  I didn't plan to be in pictures, and normally I wouldn't post one like this of me!  But Hunter just looks sooooo cute!  It is tough to get a REAL smile from him!  So I post this so you can see him!!!)

 She wasn't so sure about having the paint on her hand.

And of course, as soon as we were done, my little Hunter had to wash his hand as soon as possible!  He does not like to be dirty.  

Here is our finished product!

The T where God used to be

For Christmas, we drove to New Mexico.  One of the nights we were there, Hunter asked his Paw Paw to take him to “Old McDonald’s” to go play in the play area.  We decided to all go and enjoy a little time out.  Because of our car seats, we drove separately from my mom and Glen.  In the short (seriously, 10 minutes top) drive to McDonald’s, this conversation happened:

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“Mommy, that T is where God used to be!”  Hunter said excitedly. 

Confused, I looked around the dark street, lit only by a few houses lined with Christmas lights and the occasional home that had a few decorations in their yard.  

“Oh, you mean the cross in that front yard?”  I responded, when I realized Hunter was looking at a lit up cross.

“Yes, that is where God used to be.”

“You are right, son.  That is a symbol of where Jesus used to be.  But he is not there any more.  Do you know where he is?”

“I don’t know?”

“Jesus is in Heaven!  He has arisen!  The cross reminds us that Jesus paid for our sins.  He died on the cross, defeating our sin forever.  And now He lives in Heaven forever!!”

“I want to go there!!”  Hunter said, eagerly hanging on to every word I was saying.

“You can go there, too!  All you need to do is ask Jesus to forgive your sins, trust Him to do so, and He will live in your heart now and you will get to live with him in Heaven forever!”

“I just have to ask?”

“Yes, you just pray and ask Jesus to forgive your sins and then you can be in relationship with God and live in heaven forever!”

There was a moment of silence, so I turned to look at Hunter in the backseat, strapped in his car seat.

He has his hands folded, eyes closed.  Then he said, “Heavenly Father, forgive my sins and help me trust Jesus.  I love you. I want to live in Heaven with you.  Amen.”

AMAZING!

We didn’t prompt him to pray or tell him to do it... He just wanted to and he just did it.  It was amazing and so genuine.  I teared up, Josh and I looked at each other and just praised the Lord together.  It was so neat to all be together and to see Hunter begin to desire to walk with the Lord in his own, personal way. 

His baby faith is continually inspiring to me.  He loves the Lord in a trusting, open, genuine way.  He is understanding the Gospel and he really loves God.  I am constantly in amazement of his baby faith. 

Oh Lord, continue to grow this child in your ways and in your Word.  Thank you for the blessing of getting to be a part of watching him come to faith as he grows everyday.