Ten Month Old Esther

• No official weight, but Wii Fit says Esther is 18 pounds.  Hmm, I'm not sure about that.  I'd guess a bit less.  But her appetite does seem to have increased in the last couple of weeks.
• I hear that Esther looks like her brother all the time.  I have trouble seeing it but I believe it since it seems to be a fact so widely agreed upon.
• I have done moderately well with my plan to introduce Esther to more finger foods and foods with more texture.  Bits of bread spread with hummus are a recent new food that has been well received.
• Esther has gotten into the habit (TOTALLY enabled by me) of waking up in the 5:00 hour for a feeding.  Then she usually sleeps until 6:30 or 7.  (Before I started doing her morning feeding so early she was waking up for the day around 6, if not a bit earlier.)  This new schedule encourages me to get out of bed and shower and read my Bible before Austin wakes up.  But every once in a while I'd like to really sleep in...oh well, can't have everything.
• Esther has been a great napper this month.  Two naps, an hour and a half each, is now the norm.  Finally.
• Esther doesn't crawl yet, but when she's sitting up she leans over really far, often landing on her tummy.  She looks like she wants to crawl but nothing so far.
• Esther waves, sort of.  Not on cue, but she likes to put one or both hands in the air and wave them around.  Since it is usually accompanied by a smile, this move is adorable.
• Esther loves toys that light up.  (Yes, the battery operated toys whose universality I lamented a few weeks back.)  She gets so excited when things start flashing.
• Esther says ma-ma-ma and da-da-da and some other sounds. (ga, ba, the usuals)  Zach thinks she says ma-ma-ma when she wants something like food or a nap.
• Esther is now in Austin's old carseat, the Britax Roundabout.  No more infant seat.
• Fortunately for me, since she can't just hang out in the infant seat when we're out doing errands, she is really content to sit on the floor and play with whatever I can find to give her.  Example: being totally content playing with the wipes for nearly half an hour in the bank while we waited to use the coin-counting machine.
• Content though she is most of the time, Esther does get frustrated if she can't have a toy/object she wants.  Like the camera's USB cable she wanted to pull out of the computer as I worked on this post.
• Whoa, did this month go by fast or what?  Let's slow down as we approach one year!

Sleeping Beauty

Sideways in the crib, blanket on the face...doesn't look comfy to me on an 80 degree day, but she's been asleep a long time, who am I to judge?  (Yes, she's breathing, I checked.)

Just Call Me Soccer Mom

We've gone from this...

...to this!

Yes, after nine years and 140,000 miles we've traded in our little car for a minivan.  They were good years; lots of memories in that Alero.  But two kids and two tubas do not fit in your average four-door sedan, let alone an extra kiddo or two that we hope we'll be blessed with someday.  So we've been saving for a few years, knowing this day would come, and here it is, our new ride.  It is a 2010 Kia Sedona with about 19000 miles on it.  We were pleased to find a relatively "young" used car in our budget; we even get the balance of the original warranty.  We have several trips planned for the summer and this van will be a real blessing with so much extra room.  I'm excited for all the memories we'll make in our new vehicle as we travel down life's road, literally and metaphorically.

Something to Check Out

I won an internet giveaway this week!  Winning something is always fun, right?  I won a book from Real Hope for Haiti, so I wanted to invite you to check out their website.  They didn't ask me to link to them; I just want to share what they're doing with you.  God has really given me a heart for the Haitian people through their work.  They truly serve the "least of these."  I had heard that Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere but now I understand what that means: fathers who can't feed their newborns after a mother dies in childbirth, children burned by cooking fires, hundreds suffering from cholera (the epidemic is still going on, even though it's no longer news in the U.S.)...Charles, Lori, Licia, Enoch and their staff help with all these problems and so much more.  They are heroes of the faith in my eyes.  So check them out!

Taking Advantage of Grandma (or her nice camera, at least)

Esther's first barrette

Austin's birthday cake.  I am rather proud of this.  The idea was mine, but I have my mom to thank (Thanks, Mom!) for the execution of my vision.  She is way better with frosting than me.

Birthday presents from his best buddies Noah and Micah, who picked out the recorder and the truck themselves.  Yep, music and vehicles, that's my boy.

Attempting to get a nice picture of both kiddos...I like how they have similar expressions here

Sidewalk chalk from Grandma.  You can't see much because he didn't actually draw much, but the idea of it sure excited him.

Attempting to get a family picture.  They were all some variation of this: Austin looking anywhere but the camera, Esther looking at Austin to see what in the world he was doing.

Have I mentioned how amazed I am to have this daughter?  Still amazed, after nine months.  Esther is just pure joy poured into my life on a daily basis.

She looks all cute and girly here, but what you can't see is Lofty the crane (one of "Bob's fends," as Austin would say) that she's playing with.

 

After Dinner Playtime

Tonight was one of those nights where the whole family played upstairs after dinner and the kids were just adorable.  Happy, busy, and adorable.

Esther was honing her basketball skills.

She loves the lights that come on when you make a basket...don't think she's figured out yet that you have to make a basket to get the lights, though.

Austin, on the other hand, was feeling more of a culinary bent tonight.  He and Daddy, aka Buzz and Woody, were cooking up a pineapple souffle.  (We've been reading Babar Learns to Cook recently, in which Queen Celeste cooks a strawberry souffle.)  Woody asked Buzz what they needed to add besides pineapple.  Buzz promptly replied "gahlic" and "salt and peppeh."  Woody suggested they might need some wet ingredients, too.  "Milk and eggs," replied Buzz.  So of course then it was time to mix it all up.

What a nice night. So thankful for my little family.

Clapping

Esther hasn't figured out how to clap her hands yet.  She can, however, clap mine.

She is doing all the work here.  So fun.

Three!

Three Things We Love to Hear Austin Say
1. yizard (lizard)
2. Can we fick-it? (Can we fix it, from Bob the Builder)
3. oyive oil (olive oil)

Three Books Austin Loves to Read
1. Busy Day, Busy People
2. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
3. Click, Clack, Moo

Three Foods Austin Loves to Eat
1. fruit
2. yogurt
3. frozen custard from the Meadows (we're raising him on the good stuff)

Three Songs Austin Loves to Sing
1. The "A-B-C-D Song"
2. Be Thou My Vision
3. She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain

Three Activities Austin Loves
1. playing with trucks
2. watching videos
3. wrestling with Daddy

Three Ways Austin is Like Mommy and Daddy
1. he has good pitch
2. he can be a bit obsessive about cleaning up messes
3. he loves Esther

Three Ways Austin is NOT Like Mommy and Daddy
1. he still has some potty training accidents
2. he likes to chew on non-food items (like his toy yizard)
3. he shows his love for Esther by "patting" (banging) on her head and "giving her a hug" (pushing her to the floor)

Three Prayers for His Future
1. that potty training would come to an end...soon!
2. that he would continue to learn obedience and his place in God's world
3. that he would grow to know and love Jesus

Three Amazing Years, as Shown in Four Pictures

Happy Birthday, sweet boy.  I can't believe you're three already!  I love you so much.

Almost Three

For months I have been hearing from friends that the terrible twos are a myth, three is the really challenging age.  And now I see what they were talking about!  In the last month my sweet, usually compliant boy has turned into a still-sweet-yet-tantrum-throwing-at-the-drop-of-a-hat boy.  Gone are the days of quick obedience!  The littlest things lead to ten minutes of yelling.  Example: We put the kiddos to bed in two layers of pjs for warmth, but after the morning trip to the potty it makes sense (to me) to just put one layer of pants back on before breakfast.  Two mornings this week that unpopular decision on my part has led to all-out wailing, and twenty minutes later at the breakfast table, while suppressing a sob, the murmured comment "I just 'kyin' cause I not wearing two pants."  In fact, "I just 'kyin' because..." is probably the most oft-heard phrase in our house right now.  Sheesh.

My pastor Stephen posted something on his blog a while back that has been really helpful to me as we face these new challenges.  He says that when he was growing up, his dad Mark (who is our senior pastor) expected him to be a sinner, so he never acted surprised when Stephen messed up.  Instead, he (Mark) reacted with grace and patience, knowing that he, too, was a sinner.  It is so easy for me to became frustrated and impatient with Austin these days (there's my sin coming out) but I am trying to remember that this phase is completely natural and to be expected, really.  The Bible is so clear that we are all sinful creatures by nature so of course my little ones will act like it sooner or later.  The more tantrums we go through, the more chances I have to point him to the One who has provided the only solution for our sin.  If you mention Jesus, Austin will tell you that "Jesus died on da coss to be punished for all da bad tings we done." : )  That's a big truth that I pray he will understand more and more.

Baseball According to Austin

So baseball season has started.  Not a big deal to me so much, but quite important to certain members of my household.  Well, one member in particular, plus the little ones he's attempting to indoctrinate.

So anyway, Zach has been trying to explain baseball to Austin this afternoon as they watch the Rangers season opener.  Here's Austin's recap of a play they saw: "the man with the ball threw it to the bat man."  It was a "home wun."  And Zach says he's cheering for the guys in red shirts, but Austin likes the guys in black shirts.  It's about time the umpires got some love, don't you think?