Sunday, December 30, 2012

The Latest and Greatest of Adeline Rose

Bleh, I've been a terrible blogger. But here I am to give you the updates on our sassy little lady. Though she is not yet 2, she has hit something terrible in the behavior department of her brain. She's quite generous with her tantrums. She's like a hormonal teenager. I am open to lending her out to those who need to provide practical birth control to teenage relatives. 

In brighter news, she is learning how to clean up her messes. She can wipe her hands and face. She even got down on the floor to wipe up the crayon art she left for us in the kitchen.
 She has also enjoyed supervised art. She LOVES to be messy, whether with paint or food. She's not picky about the medium, as long as the end result is a disaster.

 We don't put on too many TV programs for her. Usually she ignores them after 5 minutes anyway. But there are times when she completely zones in and we know we may need to turn the TV off. 


 Adeline is a woman of flare. She knows what she likes. 
 Right now, she likes her toddler bed. It all happened very suddenly. One night she woke up crying with what sounded like fear. Gerrit put her in her toddler bed and she stayed there all night. Amazing. But there have been times since then that she has walked out to the living room after an hour of sleep and scared the daylights out of me. 

Addie has a boyish energy. Everything (including us) is a jungle gym. She loves to wrestle and climb. She literally runs laps around us. 
But she also has a tender side. One of her first words was "baby" and now she likes to "feed" them and hug them. And tonight when I was putting lotion on her, she started rubbing my arms too. 

She has always been a chatterbox, but now she is amazing us with new words each day. Her favorite phrase is still "Wassat?" She's a curious little bug and loves to learn.
And she repeats much of what we say now! Which is endearing and a good reminder to think before I speak! 

Adeline encompasses our daily lesson in patience and selflessness. But she is also a source of much joy in each day as well. And she's pretty darn cute, to boot!



Sunday, November 4, 2012

I Am Not a Pinford Wife

Remember that film, "The Stepford Wives" with all the fake, perfect women masquerading as real women?
I think that's what my Pinterest account has become. 

Now, don't get me wrong. This is not a Pinterest problem. 
This is a ME problem.

And what I am about to show you is NOT a cry for help.
This is not a "Before and After" project.
This is REAL LIFE.
This ridiculously large and organized living room is not mine.
This is my living room and what it looks like on a daily basis.


This is not what our dinner this evening looked like.
This is what our dinner looked like.
This is a dream kitchen.
This is my real kitchen, certainly not every night. But tonight, yes.
And contrary to the pictures you see, I have found and used some great, realistic tips from Pinterest.  
 But I have also spent hours coveting other women's craftiness. 
I have made idols out of ideas. 
 I have ogled at others' organization skills.

And there is always an idea more clever than the last.
There is usually a cuter outfit to be seen on the next page.
And look! There's an adorable, athletic family posing in a garden of fairies!

I have been hoarding images of what society (myself included) is telling me I should value.
But God wants the exact opposite from me!


 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." 
Matthew 6:19:21

My heart has been storing up the wrong kind of treasure lately. As a baby step, I am cutting myself off from Pinterest for a week. My hope is that instead of perusing for pins, I will spend that time on things of more value in REAL life and on the eternal treasures. 

And here are some real people now, in our real living room. 
 Can you believe this isn't a professional, airbrushed photo?

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Autumn is for Orchards: Part 2

As is tradition, for our friend Maria's birthday each year, we go to an apple orchard. 
She chose a new-to-us orchard this year and it was quite lovely.
Last year, it was about 80+ degrees. It was somewhat nippier this time around.

Adeline and Delia are SO ready for some orchard fun.

Birthday girl Maria! with Delia and Adam. 
Adam was actually trying to look awkward and ended up looking more normal than usual. :)

If you couldn't tell from our faces, we were struggling to take a semi-decent family picture. My hair was static-y; Adeline was hating her life; and Gerrit....actually looks very nice. Well done, babe.


And then this was happening. Autumn carolers! Everywhere we went--there they were! 
I was tolerating them when we began, but then they started a caroling version of Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance." If there's anything I hate more than a Lady Gaga song, it's an off-key a Capella version of one.


Our last hoorah at the orchard was the store (where I bought apples to make a delicious pie). 
The girls took it all in. 

"Delia, look over there!"
"Now over there."
"No, Addie, look right here."
"No. No.No. Let's just hold hands for a while."
"Fine."

Good times were had by all, even during choral performances. And Maria was celebrated in true Autumn fashion.

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Autumn is for Orchards: Part 1

Last month, I got to hang out with some of my dear friends at an orchard which met us all in the middle.
We don't see each other often, so it was glorious to be together. 

Mandy brought her sweet babe, Caleb, whom Adeline was fascinated with. She wanted to touch him and kept saying "hi" and laughing. And in typical Addie fashion, she thought his stroller was a jungle-gym. 

Here, Jess and Rachel do some synchronized apple picking, to make some delicious treats, no doubt. 

Mandy's mom, Kay, is always our group photographer when we are together. Thanks, Kay!

After the orchard, we headed to a pumpkin patch/ petting zoo. Rachel taught Addie that goats are gross.

And Jess and Addie admired the large and awkward statues.

Caleb couldn't be a part of our picture this time since he was in a milk-coma by the time we got to the patch.

This picture is for my mom. It's a pink tractor! And read the writing under my feet. "Sweet and Sassy."

Addie was running around the field yelling, "Go, go, go!" I think we need to teach her how to relax, but I admire her energy.

She really enjoyed the big pumpkins, but we found the littlest of them all to take home. (It's the one in her hand.) It is proudly displayed on my desk at work.

Speaking of little pumpkins: how cute is this guy??? Caleb woke up for a photo-op. He is such a delightful baby. We heard hardly a pip from him all day. We were just treated to smiles.

Thanks for stopping by. More orchard pictures to come later from Maria's traditional Birthday/Orchard day!

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Little Prima Ballerina



If Adeline is awake.....

....she's wearing her tutu. 
And don't try to tell her she can't!


Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Addie Antics

This kid....she's got personality. Here's what she's been up to, as of late. 

*Being animated.*
She can't help but move her body at the slightest sound of music or any rhythm.
She practically flings herself to the ground with her interpretive dancing.
She's mastered the art of peek-a-boo by looking AROUND the blanket. 
Yeah Mom, I know you're back there. 
She points at EVERYTHING and asks, "Wassat? Wassat? Wassat?" with a whisper of a lisp.

*Wanting her way.*
She is bored with her baby board books. She only wants the "real" paper books which are located on a shelf too high for her. She points and whines until we bring them down. I am trying to instill the importance of "please" by using sign language, but she thinks a very sad cry will suffice.

In the picture below, she wanted all of her available stuffed animals on the floor and blanket with her. She gestured to me until I helped her in this task. Then she sighed and laid among them, quite content.

*Loving Water.*
She screams with delight at the sight of water. Gerrit is in Texas at the moment, so I have had to take showers with the door open in the mornings. She likes to peek in, get her face wet, grab a toy from the living room, and throw it in at me. Repeat that 10 times and we have a morning routine. While I get the tub full of water for her bath she has also thrown in 2 books and 1 pair of fuzzy bunny slippers.

*Missing Dada*
She has walked around the apartment looking for him everyday. She was shocked to find my grandma sleeping in his spot in the bedroom the other morning. She makes sure to point him out in pictures around the house, "Da....dada. Dada."

*Being my sidekick*
I can't do anything without Addie on my heels. She wants in on the action. She wants to be in the shower, to get her hair blow-dried, to check email, to eat what I eat (even if her dinner is the same OR more exciting). If I'm very lucky, I might get one kiss a day from my non-snuggly daughter. I must soak those in! 

Adeline is a treat. Sassy, serious, smart and spunky. That's our Addie Rose.


Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Living the Dream

When summer began, I had big dreams of using my free Mondays and Fridays to take Adeline on beach and park outings. The ridiculously hot weather this season dashed all those high hopes. 

But finally, the day came when the weather, the timing, and a friend all lined up to make one fabulous beach day. (And when you have a small child: day = 3 hours max.)
Addie finally got to wear her adorable beach cover-up given to her before-birth by the lovely Lindsay O. I've been looking forward to her wearing this for over a year! It was precious.

My pal, Rachel, was the best beach buddy a girl could ask for. She kept Addie in snacks; so naturally, Rach was Adeline's favorite lap.


Tiny life-jackets are the cutest...

...until the neck flap causes your child's face to go IN the water and she is unintentionally baptized. 

But alas, she was a trooper. And had some more snacks in the shade!

We took a little trolley ride back to the car. As you can see, Addie was a bit tired. She was asleep before we left the parking lot. We came home, dumped the sand out of our suits, took baths, and slept hard that night.

Beach dream, fulfilled! 

Saturday, August 11, 2012

L.O.V.E.

Last week, my dear friend Jess married her main squeeze, James. As her friends, we've all schemed and dreamed of this day for as long as we've known her. I couldn't be happier for her that she met this wonderful Liberian man with the "big arms" and snatched him up for life. 


Five of my beautiful, bosom buddies were there. That was a rare treat for my soul. We are so seldom together nowadays. Mandy came sans-husband and child from Wisconsin; and Amy bushwhacked her way through the Boundary Waters to be there. She even shaved! I'm so proud.

Our other lady-love is Brittany, who as you may know, is in Ukraine working for Jesus. She was with us in spirit in every happy tear and hug. How we miss her so.

Gerrit was my very handsome and understanding date for the evening. 

I was gabbing and giggling with these two all night. Amy and Mandy were my college roomies and I couldn't love them more. 

Congrats to J and J. Happy Marriage to you both. 
Seven, I love you much. My heart was full that night.