Youngs

I'm slowly but surely checking off my summer to-do list. Today we spent a few hours at Young's Jersey Dairy, a nice working dairy farm, restaurant and activity center in the Dayton area. The ice cream is amazing (I had a scoop of white chocolate raspberry swirl) and I am smitten with their onion rings. Elliott got a chance to feed some goats and to check out the other animals in the petting farm. He shows no fear when it comes to animals. I have always been leery of them. But I don't want to raise my kids to be. So I fake bravery but let Tim handle most of it.

"NO!!!!!!!" and other expressions

I have failed at keeping a log of Elliott's milestones. I have no real idea when he started to do things, just vague recollections (I blame it on sleep deprivation for the first 10 months of his life). I'm going to try to start doing better. So here is a list of words he is saying

* "NO!!!!" I hear this many, many times a day. But, he probably feels like he does, too.
* "Ball!" a big fan of balls, Elliott also says this a thousand times a day.
* "Bailey" our dog
* "Meow" he picked up this word from a song and rhyme we often sing. Now he points to cats and says it. It is his only animal sound, although I am certain he knows more but just keeps them under lock and key.
* "Two!" I count "1" and he says "Twooooo" and then I say "Three!!" and he kind of squeals the number three.
* "Hello" I heard him today saying this into a toy hammer as if it were a microphone.
* "Bye"
* "Dad, Daddy, Dada"
* "All done/All gone!" He's just started saying this phrase this week, throwing up this hands and saying and then clasping his hands together with a smug little smile.
* "Shoe" He says this every time we put on shoes.

Maybe there are others? I can't remember.

Appreciate those you love

A friend of mine from college lost her husband to cancer last night. He was 39 and was diagnosed last summer. They had dated for about five years and married this February. I cannot imagine what she is going through right now. We should all hug our families a little tighter today.

Zoo

We took a half-day trip to the Cincinnati Zoo over the weekend. We met up with my uncle and his family as well as my sister. I'm not a huge fan of zoos, but I do like them more than I did B.C. (before children). There's something more interesting to me now about the animal kingdom - I think the whole process of carrying a child, delivering it, nursing it and watching it develop has made me more appreciative of animals and their instinctive behaviors.

Elliott was interested in some of the animals. He and his cousins were able to pet and brush a goat. We pestered him until he hugged it. We sound ridiculous on the video - "Hug the goat, Elliott! Give the goat hug! Hug the goat!"

The end of Awana

I worked in the Puggles room of our church's Awana program this year. It was my first time working with Awana, which is a nation-wide Christian program for children and youth. Puggles are the youngest class, mainly the three-year-old children of other Awana workers. Tonight is the last night. I'll be glad to have my Wednesday nights back, but I know I'll miss the weekly antics of these kids.
Some of the highlights:

* Calling God. A few of the girls like to "call God" on the phone (which is usually a wooden block). They run around the room telling him of whatever make-believe situation is going on at the time. It's very sweet to see the fruits of parents and church workers nurturing their children to understand that we can talk to God anytime, so much that they would incorporate it into their play.

* Potty time. Most of the kids in Puggles are potty-trained. I had my first experience of taking a little boy who was in the throes of potty training to the bathroom. He took me step by step through the entire experience. I'll spare you the details.

* Fighting/drama. Most of the Puggles are girls. One week, they'll get along famously. The next, they'll be at each other's throats - hitting, pushing, screaming, the whole bit. "I AM THE MOMMY!" "NO! I'M THE MOMMY" "I'M CINDERELLA!" etc.. .. stealing the coveted baby stroller from one another, it goes on ... It's like a toddler Jerry Springer.

* Story time. The kids listen to a lesson at the end of the session. For all of their craziness, they are usually very sweet during this time. The lessons often revolve around a simple message, such as "God created families" or "God loves you when you're scared." We ask the kids one by one to answer easy questions about the lesson. Their answers never fail to crack us up. For instance, "When are you scared?" elicited many answers about Moms and Dads.

I'm taking off next year with the new baby on the way, but I think I'll definitely come back as an Awana worker in fall 2010. Elliott will be old enough to go to Puggles and Will can go to the nursery or stay home with Tim. I would like to work with one of the older classes so I can experience what Elliott and William will be involved in as they grow up in the church. Tim grew up attending Awana and his Dad was an Awana leader for years. I'm looking forward to it being a part of our family's lives, too.

Preparing for baby

Lately I've been getting out an old Cabbage Patch Doll to *attempt* to get Elliott ready for a baby in the house. Today, he walked over to it, said "Baaa-bee" and brought it to me. I picked it up and on a whim, pretended to nurse it. Elliott never noticed. When I finished, Elliott wanted to hold the doll. In keeping with it being a "real baby", I should have declined, but it was early and I was tired so I let him have it.

He promptly laid it on ground, straddled it and stabbed his thumbs into its eyes.

The training continues!

The not quite ready for primetime jumper

Elliott understands what it means to jump - he can even kind of say the word - but he can't actually get his feet off the ground. I think that comes later, maybe around two. But he tries.