Letter to Munchkin

I meant to post this earlier, but didn't get a chance to until now....

Dearest Munchkin,

It is so hard to believe that you are turning two already! You’ve grown and changed so much over the last year--from just beginning to be confident with walking alone to running, jumping, and climbing on/over everything (including your baby gate a couple of days ago--which you are now a pro at doing--even after I raised it a couple of inches off the ground).

Just a couple of weeks ago you started having a ‘vocabulary explosion’ of sorts, and since then you’ve made leaps and bounds in your verbal skills. While you still have a long way to go before you get there, I can’t wait for the day that you say “I love you, Mommy” back to me. For now though, we are trying to convince you that “bus” is really not pronounced “butt”. :)

This past year has held many firsts for you: your first set of stitches (and hopefully it will be the only one for a very long time!), your first night in a toddler bed, your first time in a pool (it was a kiddie pool, but you LOVE it--especially the sprinkler that it has built into it :), your first cookie, and soon your first bite of cake.

You’ve become a very independent (in situations that you are comfortable in anyhow, you still prefer to observe new things from familiar arms) and strong-willed little fella, but to be honest we were kind of expecting that. Most of the time when we say “No.” it becomes some sort of a challenge or a game to you and you just grin and do what we’ve said not to do. I have to admit, that has been really frustrating at times. However, I know eventually you will be able to comprehend the reasons behind our instructions (and that we aren’t trying to prevent you from having ‘fun’, but are instead trying to protect you and keep you safe). Until then though, I have to constantly stay on top of you otherwise the next thing I know you’ll have gone into the laundry room and brought the broom back out and started “sweeping” the floors or something else mischievous or unsafe.

You are such a goofball! You love to take pictures with my phone of yourself making goofy faces. Oh, and speaking of phones, over the last month and a half or so you have been making ridiculously cute make-believe phone calls on your cell phone. I love it when you pretend to have a conversation with someone and will pause as though listening to a reply before you carry on and then eventually end with a quick “Bye!” and close your phone.

I can’t wait to see what this next year will bring (though I’m fervently hoping your Terrible Two’s stage won’t be too bad or last too long--especially since you’ve already been showing some signs of it for the last couple of months already!!), and I’m excited to see you change and grow. Maybe sometime soon I will hear: “I love you, Mommy.”

I love you my Little One--forever and always!

Love,
Mommy

An Overdue Update!

This may be a rather *long* post, as quite a bit has happened since I posted last. I never intend to 'disappear' from the blogosphere for so long . . . I just get caught up in my daily life and run out of time during the day, then by the time night comes around I'm usually to tired to compose my thoughts into something readable. However, I really should post more often.

Now, on to the update. . . .

The first week of October was quite eventful for my little munchkin--first he learned to wave (he's still working on it, but he has the general idea!), then he learned to associate "SPLAT!" with when he smacks and splatters the food on his highchair tray. On October 3rd he stumbled and fell against a wooden toy box that we have in his play room (and consequently removed from the playroom soon thereafter!) -- that incident resulted in his very first bloody lip (poor Baby!) and a cut underneath his lip as well.  The next day (Oct. 4th) he clapped his own hands (he's been clapping MINE for quite a while, ha ha)! Then on the 6th I was blowing bubbles for him, and he came over to me and said "Buh-buh.' So I think his third word may have been 'bubble'. :-) On the 8th he made it almost all the way across his playroom walking on his own, and he tried walking down the hallway that night before his bath (and even turned a corner!). Now he can walk in circles and turn around! He still loses his balance and plops down, but he is improving every day. Oh, and we can't really put him in his walker much anymore because he can climb out and I'm afraid he's going to fall on his head (I've always gotten him out before he loses his balance, but it's only a matter of time if we keep putting him in there, so I'd rather not chance it). So, that is what Peanut Butter Cup has been up to lately!

Since he figured out the whole clapping thing, he absolutely loves to clap! Oh, and Karissa, you can tell Courtney that she doesn't need to worry too much about him having a lack of rhythm and timing--when he claps to a song he is almost always on beat. :-) He actually clapped while watching Wheel of Fortune October 7th (he saw the contestants clapping and he decided he was going to clap as well--it was too cute)!

This past weekend (along with the past few days) have been hard as we have had to make a difficult decision in regards to Quigley. I will post more about that later, as that is a post in and of itself. Please be in prayer for our family though through the rest of this week as it is going to be a difficult next few days.

First Trip to the Beach

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Dearest Peanut Butter Cup,
    Today was your first trip to the beach! How excited I was about you getting to experience the ocean! You love your baths, so I had been wondering if you would enjoy the waters of the Pacific just as much (even though there would be a big difference in temperature).
    We set out for Ko’Olina after running a few errands after lunchtime. The drive was pretty short--though we had to drive around to look for parking for a while. Eventually we were able to get a spot in the “Lagoon 4” parking lot (though we ended up walking down to “Lagoon 3” as there were fewer people there, so it was a LOT less crowded). After parking, I fed you and then Daddy changed you into your special swim diaper and put your little blue swim trunks on. I then slathered you with sunscreen as I didn’t want you to get sunburned on your first trip to the beach.
    After shuffling things around in the designated ‘beach bag’ and blowing up your froggy floaty we were ready to go! You were so excited and curious as we were getting ready to leave the car and on our walk from there to the beach. Halfway there I realized you were still clutching the swim diaper I had given you to hold while Daddy was changing you, I tugged on it gently and you smiled. How I love those sweet moments! You continued holding the diaper until after we’d picked a spot out on the beach and I had spread out a towel for you to sit on. Daddy put you down on the towel to let you explore as you liked; at first you seemed somewhat befuddled at to what was surrounding us (the sand), then you decided to reach out and touch it. Daddy talked to you about you froggy floaty and you crept to the edge of the towel and perched there on your knees for a moment. 

    Then it happened. You crawled off the towel and put your legs in the sand--your reaction was instantaneous: confusion, fear, and surprise, which--when combined with your tiredness from not having taken a very long nap earlier--resulted in your dissolving into tears and screaming about the sand clinging to your legs. Daddy scooped you up and took you to the water to see if that would distract you as you love the water in the bathtub so much. You had hardly gotten wet when you decided that this strangely large, communal bathtub was the last place you wanted to be! After a minute of waiting to see if you would come around and like the water, Daddy gave you to me to see if I could convince you it was safe. 

    We waded out into the water that was only up to midway past my knees, but as soon as I tried to dip your feet in you began screaming again and would pull your legs and feet up as far away from the water as you could manage. After about four minutes of trying to convince you that the water in the ocean was just as much fun as the water in the bathtub, we decided that today just wasn’t the day you were going to enjoy swimming or playing in the sand.
    Daddy suggested that we go sit in the grass in the shade just up the hill. So, we gathered up all of our stuff and trudged up the hill--once again spreading out the towel to sit on. This time though I was thinking, “Surely you will enjoy playing in the grass--since you’ve loved it every other time you had a chance to be in it!” With that in mind I sat down directly on the grass and stood you up on it. No sooner had your feet touched the ground then you began to scream again and pull your feet up to keep them from touching the ground again.
    We sat there for a few minutes, you sobbing and clinging to me for dear life, until you eventually calmed down. Daddy held you for a few minutes as well, but each time something changed (like when you were passed between us--or when whichever one of us was holding you went from standing to sitting down), you would immediately dissolve into tears once again. 

    A random man came up the hill to show us a little-bitty, baby sand crab he’d caught. You looked at it, but not with your normal enthusiasm. Even when Daddy tried showing it to you again after the man had left you still didn’t really want to have anything to do with it. 

    After a couple more times of trying to convince you that the grass was a fun place to be--and failing miserably in our attempts to do so--we decided to head back to the car to drop off some of our stuff and then go in search of the Black Pearl (the ship from the movie The Pirates of the Caribbean), which Daddy had seen docked nearby when he’d been there the morning before for PT.
    Back at the car we put you in your stroller, and then set off to find the Pearl. After a bit of walking we did find the ship--though it was across the marina and we didn’t have an entirely clear view of it. I snapped some photos of it nonetheless for posterity, and then we continued walking trying to find a better, more un-obstructed view of it while you sat contentedly (for the most part!) in your stroller and took in the sights from it’s safety and familiarity. 

    You were tired, however, which eventually caused you to begin fussing. At which point we turned around and made a beeline for the car and then home. 

    Today’s trip may not have gone exactly as I had envisioned it, but I know you will eventually change your mind about the ‘sand and surf’ and will then be able to enjoy both. I had the same reaction to sand when I was your age, so I guess you may have gotten that from me. I’m looking forward to the day when we will build sandcastles together, look for shells, and chase the little fish in the water that come close to the shore! Until then though, we will keep chasing those fish in the bathtub!

    Mommy loves you Dearest--now and forever!
    Love always,
        Mommy

10 Month Milestones and More

Peanut Butter Cup is 10 months old today! And he decided that he was going to do a bunch of new stuff today. :-)

For starters, he pointed at something for the first time. We were in his playroom and he pointed out the window at the flag, turned his head towards me, and started babbling. After that he was pointing at a bunch of things!

Then while we were on our nightly walk my husband noticed Peanut Butter Cup had his finger up his nose, and then he stuck his finger in his mouth. Hmmm . . . . :-/ Not something I wanted him to learn. Maybe it will be a one time thing. Ha ha!

Then tonight before bed he gave himself one of his teething tablets. It was funny because it dissolved on his fingers after his first attempt at putting it in his mouth, so he decided to suck the remnants off of his fingers. I thought that was rather ingenious for a 10 month old, but that could just be because I've had limited baby experience aside from my own. :-)

Oh, in case anyone is wondering what he has been eating lately, Pear-Cado (or Avocado) is what he has been eating for breakfast, though Applesauce, Bananas, and Banana-Cado are also favorites. For lunch he usually has either Peas or Carrots (he hasn't decided whether he likes those yet). His dinnertime favorite so far is Acorn Squash, but Butternut Squash is a close second (and he likes them mixed with Applesauce).

On a more somber note, it has been 9 years since the terrorist attacks in New York, Washington D.C., and that field in Pennsylvania. It seems like many Americans have gotten comfortable (and dare I say it? Cocky) and forgotten the scope of the attacks. Now most of what I hear is about tolerance and how we shouldn't offend anyone. Please don't get me wrong, I have nothing against Muslims or Middle-Easterners! They are people just like you and me. It's the extremists that I have an issue with, along with the way my countrymen seem to think that we should apologize to other countries for our way of life. If it is so bad, why does everyone want to come to America to live? I haven't really noticed people flocking to Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan or any other country in the Middle-East. So, if the way of life there is so great, why leave?

The arguments being made in favor of the Mosque being built a couple blocks away from Ground Zero make no sense to me. If it is about tolerance, where is the tolerance for the families of the victims of 9/11? What is such a big deal about moving the Mosque somewhere else in the city (a little bit farther away from Ground Zero)? I heard someone on the news the other night say, "If it were a church or a synagogue being built there, no one would say anything." Well, duh. Christians and Jews had nothing to do with the terrorist attacks nine years ago. Have some respect for the families of those who were killed that day and stop telling them to be 'tolerant'. Talk about a slap in the face. Not to mention the fact that Imam Rauf believes in Sharia Law which is radical, and intends for the Mosque to follow it's laws. Tell me, how does that mesh with American Governing? Like I said before, I have NOTHING against Muslims and Middle-Easterners who are for PEACE. Even the ones who mean harm, I believe that as Christians we should pray fervently for their hearts to be changed and for them to come to know Christ (it can happen! Nothing is impossible for God).

Anyhow, bunny trail. Sorry folks! My main point is this, why should we apologize for who we are (what are we ashamed of? Does anyone apologize to us for their way of life?), and why should we bend over backwards to accommodate those who wish us ill?

This is how the rest of the world treats Christians: Voice of the Martyrs . Where is the tolerance there?

Side note: no, I do NOT support the so-called pastor in Florida who wanted to burn the Koran. Doing something like that is ridiculous, childish, and causes way more harm than it does good.