Seven Months

For once, thinking of a blog topic was easy; today is Hunter's seven-month birthday, so now's the perfect time for an update, no?

Our little man is officially crawling, army-style. Every so often, he'll hitch to his knees, but he hasn't figured out how to move while in that position. No matter. Scott and I don't think Hunter will stick with crawling once he figures out/ is strong enough to walk. Even now, he prefers "walking" (see photo). Seriously. When he's "walking", he's even happier than usual. AND he directs us where to go (usually to Leah's Jeep or some other toy). 

Now that we've introduced solids, I'm hoping that the little man will gain weight a bit more consistently. He seems to enjoy his food, especially the fruit, but sometimes I wonder if the play factor is more appealing to him. Just yesterday, I left him alone with his breakfast while I walked a friend out. What was I thinking?! When I came back, he had managed to dump the rest of his cereal out on the tray... and into his chair. Oh my. 

Have I mentioned his tooth? His first tooth showed up at the beginning of this month, and we're expecting a second one any day based on the excessive drooling lately. This means he's gnawing on EVERYTHING in sight. 

We're slowly but surely learning the differences between Hunter and Leah's personalities. While Leah loved books even as an infant, Hunter prefers anything with music and lights. Occasionally, he'll sit still for one and maybe two stories, but that's only if he has another book to chew on. He's already shown an interest in Leah's toys, which isn't a problem now, especially the fireplace in her dollhouse (it lights up and plays music, see note above). He also loves playing "food" with me and Leah. Basically, he just loves playing with Leah period.

Here's to my happy, cuddly baby boy. Happy seven-month birthday! 

 Happy Birthday!

 Scene from yesterday's breakfast. 

 Hunter loves standing up in his high chair...

 especially if Leah's waiting for him on the other side!

Walker, Texas Baby

New Year, New Endeavor

I'm not one for New Year's resolutions, but for some reason, posting a new calendar on the wall inspires me to start a new project. This started a couple years ago just by chance:
  *2010: Read through the Bible in a year.
  *2011: Compose a list of 52 qualities I love about my hubby (I listed one for every week of the year; that way, I could stay on top of it).
  *2012: A year in photos.

I hadn't exactly planned on undertaking this challenge, at least not this year. After all, I'm just trying to take enough regular photos of Hunter to document his first year. But somehow, I was compelled to complete this task. A few years ago, I read about a woman who had done just that: she took a photo EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR. The subjects and images didn't have to be spectacular or indicative of major events. In fact, some were of the mundane, apparently. The point was, it was a visual record of her family's year. Brilliant!

So far, so good. There are a few photos that I never would have taken in the first place (like Leah's sandwich pizza or her stuffed lion playing food), but they capture who we are and some of what we do regularly. If I can maintain this momentum, then the end result should be fun to peruse. Granted, scrapbooking allows me to do the same thing (basically), but the only photos that make it into a book are those that warrant significance (or are especially cute). Thus, the mundane, day-to-day living often gets neglected.

So here's to this new undertaking, this new journey. Enjoy some sneak peaks of our year so far.

 Dinner-time antics.

 Sandwich pizza.

 "No pictures, please!"

 A lion has to eat, too. 

Cuddle time with my babies. (This was extra special since Hunter doesn't usually sit and listen to a book.)

Sacrificial Love

In our small group, we've been reading about being Godly parents, and using the Gospel as our guide for child-rearing. The second-to-last chapter discussed the importance of loving sacrificially, and the timing of it couldn't have been better. 

Loving sacrificially (as Christ did for us) entails giving up some things for the benefit of our children. The chapter focused on great sacrifices we might make such as a career move or a luxurious vacation, but I immediately thought of the little sacrifices that I must be willing to make daily. See, I'm okay with the larger ones (though at times I do wish we didn't have to stick to a budget and could just purchase this or that without saving for it), but it's the daily smaller instances that really challenge me. 

And this past Sunday was the perfect reminder of said sacrifices that I'm called to make. Scrapbooking is my creative outlet, my re-charge and decompress time. Unfortunately, despite my best efforts at working on it weekly, since Hunter's arrival, I haven't had the luxury of maintaining the albums. If I can't get to it during the week, I do try to work on it on Sundays, and so I had planned to do so the other day. Silly me. 

We had just put the kids down for their naps, and I myself was a bit sleepy, so I decided to lie down for a bit (go figure that I never should have in the first place because I couldn't sleep anyway) with the intent of working on my album afterward. (I should have known.) Upon "waking", Hunter woke up, and wanted to eat. ("What?! He didn't sleep long enough!" I thought.) So, I fed him, played with him, then put him back down.... only to get Leah up from her nap. (Where was Scott? I had already given him permission to go for a motorcycle ride after my nap.) 

Yesterday, though I hadn't planned on scrapbooking, was a repeat of Sunday when it came to quiet time for me. There wasn't any. It's as if God really wanted to hammer home this point about making sacrifices as a parent. 

Now I know that giving up a hobby or some quiet time isn't easy or ideal, and in fact, I truly think that all parents NEED some downtime on a regular basis so that we can be better parents. However, we are called to die to ourselves (make sacrifices) so that our children might live. In this case, I need to give up that downtime (on occasion), so that my children's needs are met. When I really stop to offer them what they need (an extra cuddle, a snack, etc.), then my love for them is stoked, allowing me to love them even more. 

New Year, New Look

Thought I'd mix up the features on my blog just a bit this year. So, instead of a running slide show, I thought I'd add a weekly vocabulary word, sort of as an homage to my time as an English teacher. (Here's an interesting tidbit that you might not know about me when it comes to vocabulary: I have a rather limited one. Most are surprised to hear that-- "But you're an English teacher!"-- but it's true. I attribute it to being a visual learner [vocabulary is not our forte].)

Anyway, I thought "Words for the Wise" (as in, a stronger, broader vocabulary can make anyone appear wiser and more intelligent) might be beneficial to me as well as others. Feel free to suggest other words or ways to improve that column.

In the meantime, I pray that when face with a crisis of faith, you cling to it, focusing on its truths, rather than committing apostasy. For what is faith if it's not enough to pull us through life's challenges?