Catching Up, Kinda Sorta

Hmm, at some point I had all sorts of plans to blog more about our trip to Texas, celebrating Esther's birthday in Missouri, our trip to the beach, and a few other things I can't even remember right now.  I can blame the death of our previous laptop for some of that; perhaps I can blame our ongoing basement painting project for the rest.  Zach and I have spent many of our evenings after the kids go to bed downstairs with paintbrushes in our hands but we are nearing the end. It WILL be done before he goes back to school. :)

But there are at least a few things I want to put in writing (should I say put in typing?), if for no other reason than that I will know where to look when I eventually get around to finishing Esther's baby book.  (Which is another project I'd like to finish this summer...or maybe I should say I'd like to finish by the end of 2011 and raise my chances of success.)

• Esther started pulling up while we were on vacation with my family.  Then she immediately climbed an entire staircase.  She has gotten steadier every day since then so we expect first steps pretty soon.
• Esther's first tooth popped out on Wednesday.  That's a day shy of 13 months. Finally!
• Esther gives Zach and I kisses when we ask for them.  Big sloppy ones right on the mouth.  This, I think, is my favorite thing ever.
• Esther is into EVERYTHING she shouldn't be into.  She loves to pull Austin's school supplies off the shelf, pull down the toilet paper roll, play with Daddy's alarm clock, pull up on the floor lamp, touch the dishwasher when it's open...sweet but busy is my girl.

And what about Austin?  He is getting more independent, which is good on the one hand as he has always tended to be a needy child, but scary, too, as he wants to just head outside on his own when he feels like it (we live on a busy street so bad idea) or pull entire gallons of milk out of the fridge by himself heedless of what he may knock down in the process.  "Ask first" we say over and over these days.  Parenting Austin continues to be challenging, to say the least.  Statements of unarguable fact such as "You put the bag in the stroller" are met with responses like "It's not a bag, Daddy" many times a day.  (This was an actual example from last night's outing to the mall.)  "Do everything without complaining or arguing" was one of the first memory verses we taught Austin...let's just say we're still working on the application. :)  We are trying to use these episodes to teach Austin about the sinfulness of his heart because as he fights against Mommy and Daddy of course he is really fighting against God.  His heart seems so hard sometimes but I believe God is at work.  No doubt about it, being a parent requires a heavy dose of faith.

Okay, it's late but I'll post just a few pictures of this and that from the last month or so.

Esther's first time in the ocean.  She loved it!  Even on the days when the water was quite cold she wanted to play in the waves.

Esther's first trip up the stairs, with the gracious company of her brother and cousin.

This was at the science museum in Fort Worth.  Austin loves grocery shopping, real or pretend.  We never have behavior problems at the grocery store and he asks as soon as we go in if he'll be able to help me put stuff on the conveyor belt.  (I wish I could remember how he says that; I know it's cute.)  And at home he likes to hand play food to me and have me swipe it across my lap and beep, like I'm the checker and he's the customer.  So this exhibit was perfect, naturally.

At the pool in my parents' neighborhood. Don't know why but I love this picture.

Matching

I did not mean to dress my kids in matching clothes today; Austin started the day off in something different but a half hour playing outside in the 90+ degree heat called for a bath and a wardrobe change.  I pulled a shirt and shorts out of the closet for him, then realized when Esther woke up from her nap that I had little twinkies.  So of course I had to take pictures.

We do not have a nice camera; ours is sloooooow.  So while both kids were originally looking happily at the camera, Esther turned away in multiple attempts, maybe so she could see her brother's cheesy smile.

Guess the two and a half hour nap wasn't enough?

He may drive me crazy for large parts of the day but I sure do love this boy.

This pretty much sums up the sibling relationship.

I don't think Esther was trying to hit Austin in the face with the shape sorter lid, but you could only call it self-defense if she did.

Aww, three seconds of happily playing together.  A preview of things to come in future years, I hope.

A "Death" in the Family

Our laptop died last week.  You could say it went to sleep and never woke up: it worked at my parents' house Tuesday night while I worked on Esther's one year blog post, then it traveled home with us to Pennsylvania and when I tried to turn it on Thursday night to pay some bills...nothing.  So we were without a computer at home for several days while Zach did some research.  (Oh, how thankful I am that he is willing to do that.  My head starts to spin if I look at techy websites and try to compare one laptop to another.)  He made a decision a few days ago, placed an order, and after a little family trip to Pittsburgh last night we are the proud owners of a new Toshiba laptop.  I am still getting used to the keyboard layout but otherwise like it just fine.  (Thankful for Zach again; he is doing all the work of loading software and transferring stuff from our old hard drive.)

But this past week...quite interesting.  You sure do realize how much time you waste on the computer when you don't have it all of a sudden.  I haven't been on a total internet fast; Zach's mom just gave us her old ipod touch so I have been able to check email, but the process of browsing on an ipod is too arduous to do more than the minimum.  So I've basically been ignoring my Google Reader, Facebook, and the dozens of little curiosities that might send me online in the course of a normal day.  And what do you know, my quality of life hasn't suffered a bit.

But excuse me, I think I'll go read some blogs and see what my friends have been up to lately.  :)

One Year Old Esther

Unbelievable.  That's how it feels that our baby girl (if it's even fair to call her a baby anymore) is turning one year old today.  One year ago we had a normal Monday planned.  One year ago I woke up and continued to feel Braxton Hicks contractions as I had for several days but thought I'd ask my doctor about them at the next day's appointment.  One year ago we sat on the back porch and read the newspaper while Austin played in the yard.  One year ago we took an afternoon walk that ended by jogging up the hill towards our house because of a sudden light rain shower.  One year ago we ate dinner like usual and started to load the dishwasher.  One year ago my water broke in the middle of loading the dishwasher and we scrambled to find someone to watch Austin before we headed to the hospital.  One year ago our little Esther popped into the world after a short labor and two pushes.  One year ago we marveled at the miracle of a new baby as we gazed at her through the side of her isolette.

But today...

• Esther weighs about 19 pounds, according to the scale in my parents' bathroom.  That's the same weight the Wii gave her last month.  Hmm.  We won't have an official weight until her one year checkup on July 18.
• Esther has learned how to clap and wave.  She started doing that stuff right after she started crawling.  It was an exciting week.
• Esther can't quite pull up to standing yet but gosh she seems close.  Any day now.
• Esther's ability to feed herself has really taken off this month.  She can now eat pretty much whatever the rest of the family is eating.  Sometimes she hardly eats anything, then she'll surprise us one night and eat a huge meal.
• Esther starts flinging food off her tray when she's done.  I think she learned that from her cousin Milo.
• I find the variety of foods she eats impressive given that she STILL has no teeth.  She has continued to be fussy the last few days though.  They've got to come soon, right?
• Esther likes ice cream.  When the family got soft serve a few weeks ago, I gave her a little bit.  Then she went "ah ah ah ah" until given another.  And so on.  Sheesh.
• Esther does not like cow's milk much.  She is still nursed three times a day but I've been trying to give her a little additional whole milk with a morning snack.  She'll take a few sips then push the cup away.
• Esther has a toy cell phone.  She pushes the buttons and then holds it up by her head.  I don't remember teaching her to do that.  Kids these days!
• Esther also likes to play with Daddy's Ipod Touch.  She scoots her little finger over it like she was born with a piece of technology in her hand.  Good grief.
• Esther can play catch.  If you roll a ball to her, she'll pick it up, hold her arm out, and drop it.  Of course, she usually holds her arm out to the side so the ball generally rolls away from her playmate but it's fun nonetheless.
• Esther continues to be a mommy's girl.  When she wants me to pick her up she crawls over and butts her head against my leg.
• BUT...Esther happily spent an hour in the crawler's room at Pops and Gran's church and didn't cry.  Making progress.
• Although I think it's fair to say I'm Esther's favorite person, she has been saying "Daddy" semi-regularly for a few weeks.  She says "Mommy" occasionally but Daddy more often.  Needless to say, she is one of our favorite people.

Esther Bug, I love you more than words can say.  You bring joy to my life every day and I am so grateful that God gifted me with a daughter!

Esther's 1st Birthday, the Texas Edition

Although Esther's birthday is not until Tuesday, we celebrated with our Texas family this weekend.  (We will get to celebrate again with my side of the family in a few days, stay tuned!)  Our kids are blessed (as are we) to have such a big, loving extended family.  We really enjoyed the day with Gran and Pops, Uncle Heath, Granny and Grampa Collins (Zach's grandparents), Aunt Debbie and Uncle Paddy and their baby Faith (whom we met for the first time since God brought her to them through adoption), and Paddy's mom, "Mrs. Patty."  Unfortunately Esther seems to be on the verge of getting her first teeth and frankly, had one of her fussiest days ever, but there were lots of loving arms to hold and comfort her.

I used a ladybug theme, of course, for my little Esther Bug.  My friend Laura taught me how to make these cupcakes, and she also gave me the idea for the tablecloth.

They're watching you!

This one's watching you, too!

Esther had fun opening her presents and playing with her new toys.

It's not just me, right?  This girl is ADORABLE.

And then of course there was the cake.  Once she got going, this little chocoholic didn't stop until most of the cupcake was in her tummy or on her face.  Yeah, that's my girl!

Esther wasn't the only one covered in cupcake.  Austin took those frosting-covered hands and rubbed them in his hair!  Ah, that's what bathtubs are for.

Happy early birthday, Esther!  And fond remembrances of my Grandma Irene, from whom Esther gets her middle name, who died 18 years ago today.

Vacation

I am feeling rather lazy of late but why not?  We're on vacation!  Nine days ago we packed up our van and began the long journey to visit our family in Texas.  Three days later we arrived, after a pit stop in the Kansas City area to surprise my mom for her birthday.  (Props to my sister for arranging everything so Mom was completely shocked to see us.  So fun.)  When people hear we drive to places as far away as Texas they tend to  react like we're a bit crazy but to us crazy is being strapped into an airplane with two little ones and no way out.  At least in the car if they fuss no one hears but us. :)  Actually, I think our kids do pretty well in the car and Zach and I enjoy road trips ourselves.  Esther keeps herself occupied with toys and besides asking for snacks ("sumpin to eat an sumpin to dwink") every two minutes, Austin handles himself well, too.

But here we are and it has certainly been nice to NOT be in the car all the time for the last five days.  We have been staying quite busy: a Rangers game on Monday, the science and technology museum on Tuesday, the zoo yesterday...and of course lots of rock throwing in the pond out back.  I have been loving all the time to read while the kids nap or after bedtime.  Just finished In the Company of Others by Jan Karon (from her Father Tim series; if you haven't read her stuff I highly recommend it) and have started the Duggars' book plus my book group's July selection, Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah.  I don't think that last one is a book I'd choose on my own but since I'm hosting next month's meeting I figured reading the book would be nice.

Zach and I have enjoyed some child-free evenings revisiting places from our past.  There's a mile-long walking/jogging path near Bill and Becky's old house on which Zach and I took many late evening walks the first year we were married; we did two loops Sunday night at 9pm in the 95 degree heat.  Of course that called for strawberry limeades at Sonic afterward.  Then last night we had dinner at Razzoo's in downtown Fort Worth and just wandered around a bit.  Lots of good downtown memories from college.  We do love this town.

I have been pretty good about taking pictures but haven't put them on the computer yet.  Later, I promise.

A Little Explanation

A few people asked why Austin is in physical therapy so I thought I'd give a word of explanation.  He is a toe walker.  We asked our pediatrician about it at his two year and two and a half year checkups and was told "it's just a habit" but at three years we felt like it was something that needed to be addressed before the habit became unbreakable.  So we've been going to PT for about two months.  Although he was wary at first, Austin loves it now.  He gets to climb and jump on all sorts of fun equipment and Carole usually lets him drop a parachute-wearing "Buzz Lightenyear" over the lobby's second floor railing before we go home.  Carole thinks Austin's issue was initially due to both habit and some muscle weakness but she thinks his strength is improving and we're mostly dealing with the habit now.  So if you see my son, feel free to remind him to walk on his whole foot. :)

Just a Few Cute Things I Don't Want to Forget

Austin has said some awfully cute things this week and I don't want to forget them.

• Austin calls physical therapy "mickle serapy."  This always brings a smile to my face.
• At physical therapy this week, Carole (the physical therapist) asked if Austin was going to do anything fun this weekend.  Zach prompted him to talk about our upcoming trip to Texas, asking "Who are we going to see in Texas?"  Austin replied "The Wan-gers!  And we gonna wear our hats!"  (Zach and Austin have matching Rangers hats and Zach had told him that we'll probably go to a game while we're there.)
• At the park a few days ago Austin desperately wanted Zach to play with him instead of Esther.  He said "Daddy, I think you need me!  You neeeeed me!  You neeeeed me!"  Projecting his feelings a bit, hmm?

Anniversary Outing

Zach and I celebrated nine years of marriage this week!  Our wonderful and generous date night-swapping friends Liz and Scott said they would watch our kids for a longer-than-usual date if we wanted to do something special.  A few days later I found out that the Duggars were going to be in Pittsburgh to sign their new book.  I'm a fan so this was exciting news for me!

Obviously people have differing opinions about this particular family, but I think they're fantastic.  Although we don't agree with 100% of their beliefs, I think we share all the essentials of the Christian faith.  They are genuine, loving, and glorify God with their words and actions.  And in person, they seem pretty much the same as they do on TV.

The whole family is on tour so Barnes and Noble had four tables set up full of Duggars.  We were directed to a table with Anna, Jessa, Jeremiah, and Johannah.  (I was kind of disappointed that you were only allowed to go one table, especially since there was not a huge crowd but oh well, you take what you get.)  I could hardly believe that Anna came on this tour; she is due to have a baby in a couple of weeks!  Now I don't personally know what it is like to be 38 weeks pregnant but I'm pretty sure traveling hundreds of miles from home wouldn't have been on my to-do list!  She said she and Josh were very excited to be there, though.

We were told that posed pictures at the table wouldn't be allowed and it was hard to get good shots from the line but here are a few I managed to snap.

The family sang before going to the table to sign books.  It was sweet to hear all the little ones' voices joining in loud and proud.

Don't you just love Johannah's signature?

I took this in the parking lot when Zach and I came out of P.F. Chang's where we ate lunch after the signing.  It's hard to see, but John David, Jinger, Josh, and one of the little boys were throwing a football around.  I thought that was so neat--I have heard them talk about their siblings being their best friends and I think this shows that they really mean it.

A Few Cute Pictures

Just thought the grandparents would like to see the family this week. :)

Eleven Month Old Esther

• UPDATED: The Wii says Esther is 19 pounds.  Zach and I have been noticing that she feels heavier lately so that sounds reasonable to us.  How tall is she?  Tall enough to make 12 month clothes fit nicely.  And we have such cute clothes. (Thanks, Grandma!)
• Esther has been crawling for two days now and what a change that makes in our life!  We are not used to walking into a room and having to look around for her.
• Crawling gives Esther increased access to some of her favorite not-baby-friendly items: shoes (yuck, why do babies like to chew on shoes?), little puzzle pieces, plastic bags (that the little puzzle pieces are supposed to be in).
• Good thing for me, Esther seems to understand the word no.  She usually stops moving toward something if I say "Esther, no."  Of course maybe she's just stopping because she hears her name.  But whatever, it works.
• Esther likes books.  Especially Austin's books.  She can totally tell the difference between paper books and board books and she prefers the former.
• Esther likes to hand things back and forth to Mommy or Daddy.  She also likes to take things out of baskets or boxes and put them back.
• Esther cries if you take something away from her that she wants.  Like shoes, little puzzle pieces, and plastic bags.
• Esther still has no teeth.  Surely soon, right?  She has been gnawing on my shoulder a lot lately and it feels like something is in there.
• When Esther knows she's about to be picked up, she lifts her arms up toward you.  I love it love it love it.
• Esther is Mommy's girl.  She loves her daddy, sure, but I think she prefers me to all others.  Sorry, Zach, I love this too.
• Except I don't love it so much when I'd like Esther to go to childcare.  I tried putting her in the baby room at MOPS this week for the first time.  (She has typically been napping at that time in the past.)  She was crying inconsolably within three minutes.  Took her out, nursed her, played a bit, tried again.  Same thing.  Sigh.  This is new territory for us.  Austin has never fussed about being left with someone.
• We have been trying to move Esther's bedtime to 8:00 (which is Austin's bedtime, too) so that we can do family stuff in the evenings like go to parks or go for walks.  Staying up a bit later has not been a big deal for Esther, but she and Austin are having a terrible time falling asleep in the same room.  Typical sibling stuff, laughing at each other and playing around.
• Esther is still napping well.  Her naps are generally starting later, which means they often don't overlap with Austin's nap at all.  Oh well, he seems about ready to give up his nap.
• Esther continues to be a joyful baby who lights up our life.  I can't believe it's been almost a year!

Little Mover

We have a crawler!  About time, huh?  For eleven months Esther has seemed pretty content to sit still, no rolling from place to place for her.  But now she's on the move.  Her crawling is such a cute little scoot right now, don't you think?  Let the fun begin!

Night at the Ballpark

We went to an Altoona Curve baseball game last night.  (They're the Pittsburgh Pirates' AA team.)  What a great evening!  After seemingly endless days of rain, it was mostly sunny and in the 70s at gametime.  It was "Two-for-Tuesday," which meant that you got two-for-the-price-of-one tickets, hot dogs, and popcorn.  Dinner and entertainment for the whole family for a hair under $25--what a deal!  Austin sat and watched the game for a few innings, then we busied ourselves with eating hot dogs, visiting the Fun Zone, and running up and down the mostly empty aisles.  It was a late night for the kids but we had a wonderful time and are really glad to have such a family-friendly sports team within easy driving distance.

In Austin's own words, "I was tyin to wun away."  He sure was.  But I tickled him and got a smile. :)

While we were eating our hot dogs an elderly gentleman who was part of the security staff came up and asked Austin for a french fry.  Austin wordlessly offered up the half-eaten one in his hand.  The man liked Austin's willingness to share so he gave him a baseball!  It hardly left Austin's hand the rest of the evening.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Yeah, yeah, I know it's a Christmas song, but I have been singing that song (at least the first line) in my head a lot the last two weeks.  Because Zach is off work for the summer and that makes it the best time of our year!  When we have those weeks in October or February where he has to work loooong hours or is gone every night at rehearsals and concerts, I look ahead at the reward to come, and here it is!

So with Zach being home so much now and sweetly sharing the responsibilities of children and household, I have no excuse for not blogging...oops.  So what have we been up to?

Lots of snuggle time and playtime with Daddy:

Ironically, as Zach is done with school for awhile, Austin and I have started doing a bit of preschool each day.    A couple of month ago I would have said that just-barely-three is too young to start doing school but it's really working for where we are right now.  Austin is a rather needy child; he wants Mommy and Daddy's attention all the time.  Playing on his own is difficult for him.  So while of course we try to encourage him to be independent sometimes, our school time is one-on-one time (while Esther naps) that Austin loves.

Austin loves our "a-tivities."  I'm using Confessions of a Homeschooler's Letter of the Week curriculum.  Although Austin already knows his letters and sounds, I think he is getting a lot out of it, especially fine motor development and increasing his attention span.  And there's a memory verse to go along with each letter, which is good discipline for both of us.

Doing a letter I "poke page" with a toothpick.

This is the kind of smile on demand you get these days.  This is a number matching activity made extra fun because the pieces have velcro.  The tree on the right is our letter tree that we add to each week.  I'm kinda proud of that thing.  Not my idea, but I managed to make one that is cute if I do say so.

Zach and I are tossing around ideas for home projects we could do in the next three months.  One that is already in progress is painting our basement.  We have done one coat but I didn't take a picture of that yet so you'll just have to wait until it is finished.  It will be a medium blue ("Valor") with white trim.  This will be our schoolroom someday, FYI.  We also have plans to paint Zach's music room (which is through the doorway on the left) this summer.

The official "before" picture.  See how low the ceiling is?  No ladder required for this project.

Just one more picture of the kids, in a rare moment of playing together in which Austin is not climbing on Esther or taking a toy from her.  Hope for the future. :)

Afternoon Fun

I think watching Esther wave her arms in the air like this is one of my favorite things right now.  She did it about a dozen times at dinner tonight, clearly because she got such a response out of Mommy and Daddy each time.  Even Austin started going "yay!" each time.  Fun stuff.