She's THREE.

I don't know what people were talking about when they came up with the term "terrible twos"; seems to me threes are much more terrible.

Recently, Leah -- my sweet, loving, obedient, kind, funny, creative daughter-- has morphed into a three-year-old... and it hasn't been pretty. Those are the days when she cries over the little things or for no apparent reason (a sign of what's to come in the teenage years?); when she refuses to follow instructions (or commands); when she can't help but play a little too roughly with Hunter; when she pouts and throws a tantrum if she doesn't get her way. Ahhh, THREE.

And so I must remind myself that "She's THREE." She's at that age where she's becoming more independent, but she still wants Mommy (or Daddy). With new experiences, come new feelings, some of which are a bit difficult to label (for her).

On those days, when the hubs asks how my day was, I simply utter the phrase, "She's three," and he knows EXACTLY what kind of day I had.

In spite of those three-year-old moments (which she's having right now, by the way), I love her to pieces. And after she settles down, and returns to her sweet self, we can continue with our day or our activity. There's grace.

So that got me thinking: how wonderful that God loves me in spite of my 30-something moments. When I'm ugly. When I pout because things don't go my way. When I am deliberately disobedient. That makes me wonder: Does He look at me and say with a shake of his head, "She's 3__"? 

Pre-school Light

This past spring I wrestled with the decision about whether or not we should send Leah to pre-school this fall. Through prayer and consideration, I finally came to the conclusion that we'll do pre-school "light" here at home. (I won't detail all the reasons for this; let's just say this is what will work best for our family.)

Anyway, the teacher (and dare I say it, "nerd") in me is REALLY excited about this. REALLY excited. I've already started planning some lessons. (Well, I've planned one unit, but I've considered other topics!) Since I don't want to do anything too intense (after all, Leah is only three, and won't start kindergarten for two more years), I thought we'd cover four subjects over the course of two weeks (so two subjects a week). The beauty of PSL is we can cover those subjects when we have time. Thus, one week we could do school M/T, and another week do school T/TH. Plus, I figured this would help us transition into homeschooling (yes, this will be a LONG transition). We could see what works, what doesn't, and of course, figure out how to keep Hunter occupied while Leah is in "school."

The teacher in me is excited because I can create my own curriculum based on Leah's interests, which is why I'm planning units now. She's expressed an interest in learning about bears, butterflies, ladybugs, and flowers, so that means doing the research to find science; math; art/craft; and reading/writing activities that tie in with these topics. Inter-disciplinary learning is so important for encouraging creativity, and making connections (that's one fault I find with our educational system; all subjects are taught in isolation when students should be required to see how they all work together), so the challenge of connecting the topics/ finding activities compels me forward.

Yesterday, we had our first experience with PSL. Leah checked out "Who Ate All the Cookie Dough?", a story about a momma kangaroo on the hunt to discover who ate the cookie dough. (Super cute. Very endearing. Plenty of rhyme and repetition. Beautiful illustrations.) Anyway, we read the book and then made kangaroo cookies (quite tasty, I might add). Thus, PSL. We didn't spend that much time on the "lesson" as a whole, but we could read, discuss the story (comprehension), and bake (following directions; measuring; science). Still, it was a rewarding experience, especially when, while talking to Grandma later, Leah could tell her what we made and why, as well as share bits about the story.

I know not all of our lessons will be successful, but God's grace is bigger than my flops; and, as I reminded myself when I was teaching high school, the students will learn something, even if they don't retain everything.

Like Family

Growing up in a military family and living on base, we were always surrounded by friends. Since we didn't live near relatives, our friends were our family. We did life together. And that was my normal. It never dawned on me that life on a military base and the relationships formed there are very different from life in suburbia... until recently.

A friend (military wife) remarked recently that what we (our collective group of friends) have is more like what military families find on base and not like the typical suburban relationship. And that got me thinking; she's right. She's absolutely right.

Maybe this (our friendship) is due to the transient nature of our area, though I doubt that. After all, there are plenty of people in each one of our neighborhoods who are recent arrivals, yet we haven't bonded with them in this way (not to say they don't have these types of relationships with others, either). A greater reason is our similar love of and for God. That probably seems obvious, especially since we all know each other through church, however, even attending church together doesn't bring this immediate close-knit community that we have. (Case in point: Friends who have moved away and who are still trying to connect within their new church communities.) Yet perhaps the most compelling reason is a combination of the two: our love for God brought us to a church home that's filled with other believers who desire a relationship with other people. And I'm so thankful to be a part of that.

I am so blessed by these women, and so thankful to call them family, that I can't imagine why they'd want to move away (to be closer to family). Yes, my family is local (a definite blessing), but I don't even see them as often as I see my girlfriends. Honestly, I just couldn't imagine living in a community with just my family (no offense), and that's probably due to my upbringing: remember, we never lived near family, so my "norm" was substituting friends for family.

What a blessing this is! I know that if I need anything, I have a network of friends on which I can rely. The odd day is that on which we don't have plans with someone. Again, what a blessing!

So to my girlfriends who are part of this community (and yes, this includes those of you who have moved away), thank you. Thank you for choosing and allowing me to be a part of your family. You have no idea how much I treasure your friendship, or how grateful I am for your presence in my life.

So much for that idea

So, at the beginning of the (calendar) year, I had the crazy notion of documenting our entire year via photos. That meant taking a photo EVERY DAY. At the time, it seemed like a decent idea, especially since I had ample opportunities for a variety of photos, and it encouraged me to take photos of Hunter (I've heard that photos of the second child are significantly less than those of the first). All went well for the first month or so, but then, life became, well stayed, really, life. How many photos of the kids playing could I really take? How many messy food pictures? And what about the totally contrived, last minute mundane photos when I realized that I hadn't documented anything that day?

Thus came June. Sometime during that month I realized that I was going to abandon this project. It had lost its appeal, and I, the clutter-hater that I am, didn't want any sort of digital clutter taking up space on the computer. Besides, I'm behind on my scrapbooks as is, so why would I want to pressure myself with photos that weren't even scrapbook worthy? (And, to be honest, I did happen to forget to take photos one day.)

And so I'm free of this self-imposed restriction. Ahhh, freedom. Freedom to enjoy the moments as they come, taking a visual snapshot each day, and an actual one on occasion. For no matter how hard I try, I won't be able to stop time or capture every single moment. Instead, I'll just savor them.

Photo Celebration

Hunter enjoyed the week-long birthday celebration, especially since that meant enjoying birthday cake on a regular basis. (Maybe it's a good thing we aren't celebrating anymore; too much cake --- though tasty-- is too tempting to have around the house.)

On Wednesday (last week), we celebrated with a playdate at the playground, complete with friends, juice, and cupcakes. Hunter loved the attention (he was the man of the hour, after all!), and the freedom to climb the playground equipment. (The tunnels were his favorite, probably because he could play peek-a-boo with whoever was standing outside the tunnel.)

Saturday we celebrated with family (both sets of grandparents, Great Grandma Teddy, Uncle Ray, Aunt Mel, and cousins Alyssa and Kenzie). After devouring lunch (that boy can pack away some fruit!) and cake and ice cream, Hunter opened the gifts... with a little help from his cousins and sister. His favorite gifts were a set of cars that you pull back and let go, and a Cozy Coupe, which didn't surprise me or Scott since Little Man LOVES to ride anything with wheels. Apparently, Leah loves the CC, too; so much so, that she got up early Sunday morning, went downstairs (by herself), and camped out in the CC along with Hunter's toy remote! I think this toy is going to be pivotal in learning about sharing. 

And, to cap off Hunter's week-long party, Sunday night he took a few steps on his own from the couch to his CC. (Mind you, he hasn't done so since, but it looks like he's in the final stages of not walking. Watch out, world!)

 What's a birthday playdate without cupcakes?

 It's a DUMP TRUCK (not a bus, as my dad thought).

 Hunter loved walking around with Alyssa.

 Scott opened up the Cozy Coupe and the kiddie pit crew sprang into action.

 Hunter immediately took to his dog pillow-pet. Guess it's the next best thing to owning a real dog.

 I think he'd live in his CC if he could (and if Leah let him).

 (Me to Scott: "I wish you'd smile for the picture." Scott: "What? I am smiling." 

*sigh* seriously? At least the kiddos are cute!)

Yea, ladies. Check me out!