Bow ties

I bought the boys bow ties for their Easter outfits. William likes to wear his around the house with random outfits. Today, for example:

Love this little boy!! William turns 21 months old this weekend. He will be 2 on Aug. 13. He loves the Three E's: Elmo, Ernie and Elliott. He is a diligent worker and usually finishes anything he starts. He is my laundry helper and will hand each piece of wet laundry to me until he reaches to the very back to get the last piece and then shuts the washer door. He pulls the lint trap from the dryer for me to clean. He likes singing the alphabet, Hello Everybody, and Happy Birthday. He still falls asleep by sucking his thumb and twirling my hair. He still wakes up during the night but can easily be put back down. He likes to take his diaper off. He is a good eater, although he doesn't care for many vegetables. He seems to like basketball a little more than his brother does (yay!) He loves talking on the phone to his Nana and Granny. He sometimes requests to call them and always wants walk around while talking, and usually insists that Elliott also talks to them. Some of his favorite sayings are "I don't want to do that," "I love you too" and "Ernie! Elmo! (requesting to watch them on Youtube). He is best known around our house as the gatherer of shoes and coats when it is time to go somewhere. He gets everyones out of the closet while we try to force Elliott to sit down to get ready. To say they are a little different in personality is an understatement :)

Baseball picture

Forgot to add a baseball picture to the last post ...

Baseball

I have never liked baseball. Elliott loves it. We deal with the challenges we are dealt in life, and this one could be worse. (I am hoping for a conversion to basketball soon).

He is playing on a 3 and 4 year old team. Here are some observations from the season thus far:

* I am still unsettled by barky coaches. Elliott's coach is a nice man with a rough manner. It causes both Elliott and I to be a little unsettled at times.

* I am competitive and a hands-on parent, and if not careful, could be quite annoying as a sports mom. We're working on it. Deep breaths. It is my nature to want to cheer on (run beside, direct to the base, coach to the next base, hoist to my shoulders as they cross home plate) each player. And even though I know nothing about baseball, I'm quite the expert on WHAT WOULD REALLY WORK IF THEY WOULD JUST LISTEN TO ME!!!!! Yeah, I might need to dial it down right about ... yesterday.

* Baseball laundry is not for me. White pants? To play in dirt and grass? And I'm supposed to keep them clean? This is not going to go well. The pants, which have been worn once and washed once, already have a permanent knee stain.

* I will never put a 3 year old in time out for not wanting to play.

* I might wind up liking baseball after all.

Send me away

In two hours, I will apply for a passport for the first time in my life. We are fairly sure that I will be accompanying Tim on a work trip to London, England, and to a town on the south shore, Portsmouth (sure enough to pay the ridiculous passport fees.)

This will be my first trip out of the country. I could never quite make financial sense of studying abroad in college (should have actually talked to someone about it instead of letting the $$ spook me out of pursuing it). Tim and I discussed traveling internationally before we had children, but that never materialized, either. So here we are, lucky to have this opportunity to go at quite a reduced price since Tim will be working while we are there.

While Tim is working, I plan to go grocery shopping with the Duchess of Cambridge and of course go hat shopping with Princess Beatrice. I will be sure to wear my best Duchess of Hazard attire.

On a serious note, I cannot wait to travel more as the boys get older. Our church is going to China this summer as well as Trinidad. Tim and think we'll probably go on the Trinidad family missions trip in a few years. After reading the book Radical, I'm challenged as a Christian not to leave foreign missions work to those who are "called" to it. We are all called to it under the Great Commission. To think that we are somehow exempt from that but privy to God's more comfortable blessings is flat-out wrong. I am praying today for God to use this passport as a much more than a ticket to visit my Royal friends but to serve a real King around the world. Some of you might think I'm a bit nuts for buying into this Jesus stuff. But I'll own it. As excited as I am to spend some time abroad for the first time this summer, I'm more excited to see where the Lord will lead our lives when we follow him. That is a true adventure.

Bloggity blurg

Okay long-haired freaky people, I think I'll start blogging again (not that I ever really was a diligent blogger anyway, also random reference to the old song "Signs" which is now in my head)

New blog start: Take 2

I am working on a writing project with a local business man. We were talking about the topic of passion. He is very passionate about his business. He was trying to come up with some different examples of things people are passionate about. He tried this one on me, "You know, like when you clean your house and get into it you are so passionate about it looking great that you even go back and do little touch ups here and there."

I'm not a good liar, nor do I aspire to be, so I had to break it to him that I couldn't relate.

I am not passionate about cleaning. I think my response was "I would be passionate about being able to afford someone else to clean for me."

This conversation carried on into my evening night out with some girlfriends. Most of them said they really love to keep things clean and orderly and get frustrated when their spouses drop things on the floor.

Why do I not possess this gene???

Part of it (no offense to my mother or grandmother) must come from childhood. I never had chores. But I'm not sure that quite explains it. I just really hate cleaning. Certainly I love a clean space. But finding joy in the cleaning? I can't fathom it. Maybe I should start praying that God would grant me joy in this inevitable task of life, because it certainly isn't springing up from own flesh. If I were single, I seriously probably would have an incredibly messy apartment (I also wouldn't own a house if I were single, but that's a post for another day).

Thankfully, I have a husband who doesn't appreciate a messy house so it motivates me to try to keep it somewhat clean. But I can seriously say that I have never just cleaned something because I wanted it clean. Never in my 30 years of life. I have only cleaned out of obligation or duty or to keep fruit flies at bay.

One of my friends said last night that I should embrace my feelings about cleaning because to be otherwise is stressful in its own right. Maybe she's right?

I do want my kids to learn the habit of cleaning and tidying up, so I do put more emphasis on it now. I'm not sure any crazy little schedules or routines will do anything but make me more stressed about it (believe me if there was a repository of trash with my name on it, you would find several wadded up spreadsheets with "Daily chores" gracing the top). This is probably just an area that I need to surrender to God and let Him motivate me in because man-made ideas aren't doing much to make me get up and clean for this Derby party we are having tomorrow ... in fact, i am avoiding it so much that I starting blogging after a year's absence.

Whew. That feels better. I guess I'll go clean something.

Dear blog

Dear blog,

I think of you sometimes. Sitting here, so neglected, so unloved. I imagine writing in you, using you as you so want to be used. I would like to pledge my allegiance to you. Dedicate myself to writing in you once a day, appreciating all you can and will do for me. A photo, a link, a video embed ... you bring all the goods. But I can't. I'll see you when I can, knowing you will be here waiting to start with a blank slate each time. Forgive me dear blog. I'll give what I can.

Two months!

William turned two months old last week. We had his well-check this week and found out that he is 14 pounds (90th percentile) and 24 3/4 inches long (97th percentile). He is my mega-baby. He has a nasty case of cradle cap. The pediatrician suggested Selsum Blue, but I am a bit leery of using something so medicinal. I might try some oils first.

He is getting a lot better head strength and smiling more. He sleeps well at night, a blessing I never expected after Elliott's sleep struggles. We just got a crib for him this week and plan on moving him from the bassinet to the crib this weekend. I am praying that it will be a smooth transition for him and that his good sleep continues.   

Elliott is still unpredictable with him, but now that William is getting less fragile I am not as horrified by it.  But it is still pretty shocking to see your newborn baby hit in the head or bitten. But other times Elliott kisses him, wants to dance with him or give him toys. He even talks to him in this baby voice. He shouts "Will-em!" whenever one of us brings the baby into the room.