What's Wrong with This Picture?

We've (praise the Lord!) moved into the final phase of potty training with Norah. She's been accident-free during the daytime (and naps) for a couple of months now, but we'd been relying on pull-ups at night.

Last week, we ran out of pull-ups, and didn't buy anymore, hence, leaving Norah to wear her big girl drawers to bed. Since she can't quite make it all night, Jason or I usually take her to the potty one last time before we go to bed (she almost always sleeps through it, but does, take care of business).

Early this morning, I heard Norah shuffle into my room when she awoke. (She comes to snuggle with us a little before our alarm goes off on a regular basis, so I didn't think much of it.) When she slid under the covers, I reached around her legs to pull her in close, and noticed that both her legs were crammed into one pant leg.

I immediately recalled the "shuffling" sound I heard upon her entrance into our room and laughed out loud. Since Jason had been the one to take her on her "last potty run", I had to give him a hard time for her wardrobe malfunction.
To compound the hilarity of the situation, I noticed that she was wearing her sparkly flip-flops. Maybe she thought the flashy shoes would detract from the attention to her pants?

She is such a sweetheart. She never questioned our incapacity to properly clothe her. She just made do and shuffled her way into our room. (Although, she did think the whole ordeal was pretty funny when all was said and done)

Discovering His Hands (and other milestones)

Little man is growing by leaps and bounds! We go in for his 4-month well check next Tuesday, and I can't wait to see how much he's grown since our last visit.

He's found his hands, and as I mentioned in a previous post, he likes to hold them together. (He also likes to lounge with the bottoms of his bare feet touching each other...so cute!)





He's becoming more aware of his ability to manipulate objects around him.

See hand.









See hand touch.











Touch, hand, touch.

He's been rolling for a couple of weeks now (he actually had his first "roll over" at the exact same age as Norah...to the day. Crazy!), and he's trying his best to crawl, but seems only to make (slow) backward progress.

He is very strong, so I think he may get there a little sooner than sister did, but time will tell!

Her First Verse

Jason and I noticed about a week ago that Norah is developing a fantastic memory. (It's always been good, but she's been able to remember much longer sentences/complete thoughts lately) We decided it would be a shame to let her memorization skills go to waste, so we started teaching her a Bible verse. We thought Proverbs 17:17 ("A friends loves at all times and brother is always there to help you.") would be a great start, since "friend", and "brother" are two words that she knows and really understands.

I was amazed at how quickly she committed her verse to memory. She says the first sentence very clearly. (The second is a little slurred, but she's still working hard at it). Jason and I are so proud of her! So, to commemorate her very first Bible verse, I made a keepsake pillow with her name and scripture reference on it.

I put the pillow on her bed and told her she had a surprise waiting in her room. (a "special prize", as she calls it, always gets her a little giddy)











It wasn't long before I heard her exclaim, "I found it!", followed by, "My pillow! It's so berry, berry, berry cute!" ("berry" is her current adjective of choice, especially used in multiples of three--not sure where she picked it up, but it's pretty cute when she says it)

I explained to her what her pillow said (she's also showing a lot of interest in letters/words, so she seemed really pleased by her gift) and, of course, she proudly recited her verse. Sweet girl.

It is such a neat feeling to make something special for her, and to see her receive it and appreciate it. (I don't think I did a very good job of that when my mom sewed for me growing up, and I wish so much that I could go back and be more appreciative.)

Moreover, it is so thrilling hear scripture recited by such a tiny, precious, eager voice! I can't wait to share more of God's word with her, and to watch her faith grow as she does.

From the Mouthes of Babes...

N: "I want to sturrve it!" (exclaimed pretty much any time I'm stirring anything in the kitchen)

While I was putting Eli to bed, Norah came in and sat down on his floor. Jason followed behind her with an orange popsicle, which Norah immediately zoomed in on. Their conversation went as follows (bear in mind, we're working overtime to instill good manners in the inhabitants of Robinson County).

N: I want a bite.
J: You want a bite, what? (Fishing for a please)
N: I want a bite of orange. (Seemingly pleased with her answer)
J: You want a bite of orange, what? (Trying again)
N: I want a bite of orange popsicle?
J: You want an orange popsicle, what?
N: (Epiphany!) I want a bite of orange popsicle, PLEASE! (And you'd better believe, after all of that work, she got one!)

N:" Norah's a girl. Eli's a boy."
A: "Mommy's a girl, and daddy's a boy."
N: "No. Mommy's a ma'am. Daddy's a sir."
A: "Oh. You're right. Good girl."

Passing the Torch...

Since Norah's becoming increasingly interested in helping me in the kitchen, I try to have at least one kid-friendly dinner preparation per week.

Last night she helped me prepare salmon patties, just like I used to help her Mimi make, when I was a little girl. (It's not one of Jason's personal favorites, but I had to make it with Norah, just once, for sentimental reasons)

Just as I suspected, crushing up the crackers was her favorite part (it was always mine, too!).


She wasn't nearly as keen on forming the patties. She would pat a couple of times, then turn her hand over for careful examination, as if to determine just how slimy they were getting. After one and a half patties, she looked at me with those big, blue eyes and questioned, "my pan and my spoon?"

So I indulged her and she set to work on her own specialization, water soup! Guess she's picked up at least one other habit of mine in the kitchen (I'm a big cook-by-taster) Her post-finger-licking exclamation: "Iss almost ready!"

And in case you're wondering, the precious apron was a handmade gift from Jason's cousin, Tara, and her sweet daughter, Aidan. (We love it and use it all the time!)

Slobber Police to the Rescue

Since the appearance of tooth one, Eli's been drooling to beat the band. He seems to have decided to go ahead and cut all his teeth at once (at least he's been slobbering like there's no tomorrow), so I decided it was high time to employ a drool-repelling device (AKA "teething bib").

I had a couple of random, cotton bibs, but they get soaked in a matter of minutes, and I always hated to cover up his church clothes with bibs that didn't match. So, after a little inspiration via House on Hill Road (and Gramps' brilliant suggestion to use denim), I set to work. The bib is three layers (solid denim front, batting, and striped denim back), so it should be durable, in addition to being absorbent. I added a patchwork panel, some homemade bias binding, and of course, personalized it with little man's name.

I have been going through a bit of a "dry" spell, as far as sewing goes. Jason is helping me refinish my sewing desk, and I just have a hard time getting excited about sewing on a card table. (I'm so spoiled). This was the perfect project to get me back in the mood to sew. I really enjoyed it, and it's officially the first thing I've made for Eli. It fits, and he's already drooled all over it--which really makes me happy. Seriously. I felt like it was totally worth it to know that I made something that was functional and cute (if I do say so myself). It matches almost all of his church clothes, too! I foresee making quite a few more of these- both for Eli, and to give as gifts.
While modeling for my "new bib photoshoot", Eli struck my latest, favorite pose. (I'd been wanting a picture of it, so it killed two birds with one stone) He clasps his little hands together like this, all the time. (Honest, I didn't even have to pose him, his little hands just gravitated there on their own) Sometimes he even falls asleep with them that way (I don't remember Norah ever doing this, which makes it extra cute to me because it is "his" thing).

Let Them Eat Cake...or Not

Jason's birthday was Thursday, so to celebrate, he had had a "guys night", complete with video games and snacks.

I always get a big kick out of making J's birthday cakes because the #1 reason I started making cakes was so that I could create original/special birthday cakes for my own husband/kids.

This year he's been really into "Warhawk", a PS3 game; so a Warhawk cake seemed to fit the bill.


Since the game is largely about fighter airplanes (and I'm not the world's greatest artist), I cheated and had an edible photo scanned from his video game box. The words around the sides all relate to the game ("Pocket_Sand" is his handle, "T2P" is his clan name, and KDR: 5.73 is a game stat. The back of the cake reads, "Wingman", which is J's current rank)

Jason loved it...and so did the guys. A little too much, I'm afraid. When I returned home after the party (it's was guys-only), the cake was still fully in tact. Not a piece gone. Anyone want some cake?