Christmas

This Christmas holds much excitement for me. I think I am more excited for Christmas now that I have a kid than I was when I WAS a kid.... well, at least AS excited :) I'm planning on packing the tree full of presents, filling the stockings, setting my coffee maker for the morning and going to bed late. All of this so that I can get my 8 month old baby out of his crib, bring him into the living room and watch him look at me like, "Ok mom, where's breakfast?" Ha, yes I may have to counter my anticipation with a bit of reality, as he obviously won't understand what is going on.... but I am excited nonetheless. I am fully prepared to plop him down in the middle of the boxes and let him attack the wrapping paper and bows. I am also fully prepared for him to get more joy out of those than he will out of his new toys. I just can't wait to spend my first Christmas morning with both of my favorite people on EARTH. All the stress of planning, shopping, and getting here or there this holiday season will melt away for those few hours Christmas morning, and I can't WAIT!

This year I have been thinking a lot about gifts. As a first time parent, the desire to give my child the world has come naturally and not only in the form of Christmas presents. I mean, really... how can you give a gift to a child? EVERYTHING is new to them. Jadon has more fun banging his hands on his highchair tray or exploring Mommy's shoe than anything else. This makes it possible to give him gifts all day long! A new position on the floor, a new food to try, a new game to play, and sometimes a new toy.

Just a few weeks ago I was at Meijer buying some groceries. I decided to pick up a small bath toy for the nights bath that night since he plays with the same ducky every night. When I gave him the silly little turtle on a stick, you would have thought I was giving him a million bucks. His arms flailed, he splashed water hear and there as he squealed and grinned from ear to ear. Nothing compares to the satisfaction of bringing joy to your little one. And I was reminded that God is a parent too. Does he feel that deep satisfaction when we delight in the gifts he has given us? Those times of pure delight when I pick Jadon up and he growls while he squeezes my neck and I am overwhelmed with love for this little gift. Or those nights where Mark comes home, scoops Jadon up and takes both of us in his arms and again I am overwhelmed with delight in the gifts I've been given. But my mom reminded me when I was talking to her about these things that God's greatest gift was not material and not even family, but his greatest gift was His own son's life. Born as a baby. Born to die. A death that brought salvation- a gift we couldn't earn, a gift of grace. How often I look past that, or take it for granted. Sometimes I never give it a second glance. Or when its mentioned I say , "Oh yeah, thanks for that." and go about my business, delighting in his OTHER gifts.
I am trying to remember these things and focus on God's greatest gifts, but I realize that I know very little about the goodness of Salvation. I mean, I understand the basic idea, but I don't think I begin to comprehend all of the facets of its perfection. Even God's purest earthly gifts, like family and friends, will fail us. They will disappoint or make us angry. They will take our time and leave us. But salvation is PERFECT and not dependent on us. This is difficult to grasp. But I want to learn more, and experience more, and delight in this gift on a new level. Sounds like a good goal for 2012....take delight in God's greatest gift of all!

So Many Changes

It has been a while since I've posted anything. Sometimes because I don't know what to write, other times because I can't CHOOSE what to write, and a lot of times because I'm too tired to write! But now, staying true to my blog name, I am waiting to switch the laundry before I go to bed so I will have clothes to wear to church tomorrow, and I have been wanting to say some things about stuff.

First of all, my little boy is growing up SO fast. Just yesterday, I had the most delightful day with him. He woke up with his grin as usual and squeezed me tight to start my day. I thought to myself, I REALLY don't know what I did without this morning routine! I can't think of a better way to get the ball rolling.

Secondly, speaking of rolling, Jadon has become a PRO at rolling, scooting, rocking, pulling, twisting, and anything OTHER than crawling. When he figures out where he wants to go, he figures out HOW to get there.... he just doesn't do it the traditional way. He has also started with a few finger foods. I let him play with some Gerber puffs and a sippy cup in his highchair while I was washing dishes in the kitchen. About half the puffs ended up in his seat or on the floor, some stuck to his face, some to his clothes. But he did manage to get a couple in his mouth and drink a couple sips of water. It is so funny to watch him concentrate SO hard and grin when he knows he did it! And the changes continue....

He has also learned peekaboo, lip smacking, tongue clicking, and the 'word' "bababababababa" which he over enunciates using his entire mouth. Reading these paragraphs over again, these things sound kind of boring- run of the mill baby stuff. I can't describe how every giggle and peekaboo and new trick warms my heart and makes my day. Its all in the little things. The things I can't write down, the things that I won't have forever, and the things that will change again. How can I hold onto those things.... or should I? Well, right now I have to change the wash, kiss my sleeping baby goodnight and go to bed because tomorrow has enough changes of its own!

When Skies are Gray

Today I decided last minute to go to Taryn's cross country meet. She only had one left after this and I thought errands could wait until tomorrow. Besides, I was already headed out that way for a wedding shower later that night. Just as I pulled into the parking lot, it began raining pretty hard. Luckily Grandpa had left about 15 umbrellas in his car that we bought from Grandma after he passed away.... Its days like today I thank him for the little presents he left :) Anyway, I put Jadon's carseat in the stroller for full canopy coverage. As I'm wheeling him down to the field, I discover that the school has decided to fence the field so that its only access is through a gate and down some steps. I managed to hoist the stroller onto the hill after going through the gate and began pushing it over lumpy wet grass to get down to where they were running. Meanwhile I'm getting soaked and fighting with the umbrella to keep it from going inside out. I must have been quite the sight! Somewhere in the middle of this frustrating dampness, I looked down at Jadon to make sure he wasn't getting soaked. There he was, dry as a bone and cracking up. He giggled over every squishy bump and I couldn't help but laugh. I don't know if he was laughing at me or the bumpy road, but he sure brought a smile to my face :) He is so much like his dad sometimes....always finding something to laugh at....no wonder I love him so much. When the day was done, I had caught the end of Taryn's race, she had blown her old time out of the water (literally) , I went to my shower a bit sloppy, enjoyed time with friends, came home and put a super tired little boy to bed. Rainy days aren't always convenient, but they also don't always have to get me down!

Thinking too much

Its official: Bath time is my favorite time with my baby. As soon as I lay him down in his tub, the fun begins. He grins, he giggles, he makes hilarious faces. He has a toy duck that squirts water from its beak. As soon as I lift that thing into his view, he goes CRAZY. Arms and legs flailing, tongue out, back arched. Tonight the tongue was really going. He use to barely stick it out, but tonight it was ALL the way out, while the limbs were flailing. How ridiculous would I look doing that? However, he looked absolutely adorable! Oh to be 5 months old :) Yes, the personality just pops when he's soaking in the tub. Bathtime is my favorite time... that is, until I rock him to sleep, or wake him up in the morning, or see his funny grin behind mounds of rice cereal.....I love my job :)

I looked at Jadon today and thought he literally grew overnight. He really looked bigger to me today than he did yesterday. When I was pregnent, and when he was first born, everyone I came into contact with would say, "enjoy him, they grow up so fast" or something to that effect. What do you do with that though? I distincty remember sitting in the rocking chair with him on my chest, all 8 or 9 pounds of him. Just sitting. Sitting and conciously enjoying. Now he's pushing 20 pounds and I am still enjoying. But the thought struck me today that I won't have those chubby armed hugs around the neck forever. The realization that such a HUGE joy is temporary brought me to tears, until I remembered.... that 8 or 9 pound baby didn't have such chubby arms, and he definitely couldn't use them to hug my neck. And my 20 pound baby can't say "Mommy" yet. Only God can give gifts that keep giving!

The first Cycle

Mothering is round the clock.... like laundry :). I love it more than anything I've ever done, and I love him more than anything in the world, but kids have this thing about routine.... eat, play, sleep, eat, play, sleep, etc. until tomorrow when we do it all again! So in between the eating and the playing (during the sleeping), comes the mommy moments. The times when I actually can eat lunch, or read, or well... throw in a load of laundry. Its in those moments that this blog will take form. So forgive me if there is a missing sock or an occasional dirty t-shirt thrown in here somewhere. It probably just means that the baby woke up mid-sentence and the cycle started over! But, my hope for this blog is that it is a mis-matched collection of funny stories, cute sayings, and life lessons I learn from my child(ren) and my husband during the simplest moments.