The Small One

Partly these pictures are a record of how cute our youngest is. And she is really really really cute.

She's also not just one handful, but two. She's a pistol, a spitfire. A ton of work.

I am so thankful for Rose. She is healthy and smart and all of those things are gifts from God.  

But I also must say she is very exhausting.  She's busy almost all day every day, she's very demanding, she loves to make messes, and she rarely can be left alone (except in her room, which is child proofed) for more than a few minutes.

All this is to say that parents of small children deserve a lot of patience.  Some kids are mellow. I've had some.  Some are less so.  I've had some of those too.

I have confidence, based on experience, that Rose will mature and stop trying to destroy the house or herself.  In the meantime, a remarkable amount of our time must be devoted to her personal safety.  

May the Lord grant us wisdom, strength, and resolution.

Our Precious Adorable Terror

I truly adore this kid!  She is so bright and energetic and amazing. But she's also a TERROR!

Today we had some guests who were buying our old minivan (yes, it is sold!  We pray it is a good vehicle for the gentleman who bought it.)  Rose had just had a bath and was wrapped up in a big towel in my lap.  She actually sat quietly on my lap due to shyness for, I don't know, 3 or 4 minutes!  It was amazing.

Because she usually will not cuddle with me. She is way too busy running around, throwing water on the floor, and writing on the walls (thankfully, usually in pencil.)

We are not lax parents. We have lots of experience. We discipline her.  We are working with her on self control and obedience.

And she is still a ton of work.  A TON!

We are very thankful for her. But if you happen to see a kid throwing a tantrum in Kroger, that might be our kid. And give us grace.

The Rose

And just like that, this beautiful little lady is mostly potty trained. She is doing GREAT.  From clueless to an adept in one short month. We're so proud of her!

  She's also calmer and safer than she used to be. I say that because yesterday she had a really bad day, and reverted to her crazy ways, and it made me realize that she is generally wiser and more careful of her personal safety!

I took her to the library with 2 other kids mid afternoon and she was a total terror there, running all over and getting into stuff.  Later in the day, I hid in the bathtub enjoying a long epsom salt bath while our competent older girls took care of her.  In addition to other ballistic behavior, our sweet girl leaped from the top step into Lydia's arms when Lydia was chasing her up the stairs.

But as I said, she's usually calmer now (that kind of behavior was an all day, every day thing 6 months ago.)

Of course, we always love and adore and enjoy her, but I am appreciative of her new maturity in a number of areas.

And yes, we may have purchased our LAST box of diapers from Sam's Club. I just can't even wrap my mind around the wonder of THAT.

Rose is Adorable

This is for all those Rose fans out there...

Yes, she did indeed push the laundry basket next to the wooden side table next to the table so she could climb up on it. And did. This kid wants to gain altitude.

It was lovely this week with temps climbing into the low 60's. So we went outside and played. Here, Rose is removing gravel that she threw into the wagon some weeks ago.  Very helpful.

And this is a montage of one of her daily tantrums.  Life just does not conform to her will sometimes!

Wrapped up like a burrito.

Miss "I've got the attention span of a gnat" spent 15 full minutes playing with this pan while I made cabbage rolls. It was awesome.

Toddlers Are Great

  Rose is awesome and totally wears me out.  No fooling. She continues to have very little sense and she climbs and she grabs things out of the cupboard and she makes messes.

She is great. And I am tired.

  So I am thinking again about how blessed we are to have a healthy little person who can climb on chairs and tables and fall off said chairs and tables.  Not that I want her to fall off, but she IS mobile, she is healthy, and that is a blessing.

  There are times when I really get frustrated with her energy level.  But then I think of precious kids who can't walk.  I think of children with physical struggles from birth,  And I am thankful.

 In addition to being in nearly constant motion when she is awake, Rose is also starting to talk.  She says a bunch of words and a few phrases, and can point to various body parts.  One thing she can mimic is the words "I so cute" and "I adorable."  It is out of this world awesome.

  So yep, Kid, you are great.  And you wear me out.

Keep On Keeping On

  I was reading an Elisabeth Elliott devotional this week.  The gist of this devotional is that often a great challenge to a godly life is the need to do mundane tasks over and over again.

  I have read many missionary biographies, and the people who amaze me did, well, amazing things!  Elisabeth Elliott's first husband, Jim, tried to reach the Waoroni tribe in Ecuador.  He and his 4 companions were speared to death.  Elisabeth and Rachel Saint (sister of one of the martyrs) later went into the Waoroni tribe that was responsible for the deaths of the missionaries, and shared the gospel. That is an amazing story.

  Amy Carmichael reached out to children caught up in temple prostitution in India, and gave dozens of such children safe homes.

  Gladys Alward successfully shepherded dozens of children through war torn China during World War II.

  Eric Liddell won a gold medal in the 400 meters in 1924 (see Chariots of Fire if you haven't, great movie!) and then went to China as a missionary. He perished in a Japanese internment camp during WWII, due to a brain tumor.

  Ida Scudder turned her back on a life of comfort to work as a female doctor in India, at a time when Indian women were woefully underserved.  She started medical schools for women and brought relief to literally thousands.

  And then there's me ... living in comfort in the United States.  My family is my main priority during this season of life.  Since I've had little ones for a very long time, I have changed diapers, and changed diapers, and changed diapers.  I've potty trained, and potty trained, and potty trained again.  I've overseen the washing of 10,000 loads of laundry. I've settled 92, 364 sibling squabbles (give or take 10,000).  I'm now protecting my 9th toddler from hurting herself on a daily basis due to her lack of wisdom.

  You get my drift.  My life is blessedly comfortable.  No war, no famine, no plague. But a fair amount of boredom.  A fair amount of doing the same tasks over and over and OVER again, especially where the little ones are concerned.

 I've long been someone who thrives on routine and even now, I find pleasure in getting certain things done.  Having said that, I've struggled with discontentment lately as I am finding some aspects of parenting tiresome.  I would say, in particular, the tantrums of the preschoolers are especially exasperating right now.  I'm tired of tantrums.  I've DONE tantrums. Sarah, of course, has never been at the age of tantrums before so all this is new and exciting to her :-).

  So this devotional was encouraging.  Yes, life has its boring moments.  Yes, we just have to do the same things, faithfully, over and over and over again.

  And there are some really nice things about this season too, of course.  My big kids now can have exciting and interesting conversations with me.  I'm past the age when I was at home with tinies who couldn't talk much.  WAY past.  And the big kids help a lot with the little ones. We now have built in babysitters.  What BLISS.

 The young ones are also delightful, of course.  Daniel keeps us chuckling with his adorable remarks.  Sarah, whose brain works overtime, has come up with some astounding comments that delight and amuse us.

  And of course, Rose.  Well, Rose is consistently adorable.

 So partly I need to count my blessings, and partly I just need to keep on keeping on.

Our Crazy Squeak

This is a very typical pose for our darling Miss Squeak.  She loves to climb.  She loves loves loves loves loves to climb.  Any time she can, she's UP.  It is strenuous to keep this girl safe. And yes, she HAS fallen off of things, but thus far hasn't hurt herself seriously though she's had her share of bumps.

And just look at those skinny little legs. We feed and feed her, but she is so active she burns much of it off. MAYBE she is 20 lbs now.

She is such a precious little person. We are thankful for her, even as we worry about her, and pray for her, during this stage when her abilities exceed her wisdom.

Our Little Climber...

Yep, she scares me.

Lord, please keep our sweet Rose safe.

You've Got To Be Kidding Me

http://www.shoecarnival.com/baby-girl-infant-emily-5-10/white/85214.scp



Take a look at this!  I need to buy shoes for Rose and was looking online to see what prices are. I came across this treasure.

Wow.  Seriously?  Heels for a baby?  That is CRAZY!

True confessions here.  Rose is almost 15 months old and has never worn a pair of shoes in her life. I'm sure that sounds weird, but she is home a lot and when she is out, she either is carried or walks around in socks or bare feet.  It really is easier for a little person learning to walk to not be in shoes. BUT, fall and winter are coming, so I need to buy her some shoes.

But no heels :-).