I’m kind of a perfectionist. If I can’t do it right, then I probably won’t do it at all. That’s not really a good attitude in life and it certainly isn’t a good thing to try to be as a parent. It makes things a lot harder than they have to be. I really want to raise a respectful child. I don’t want him just to obey and follow a set of rules, but I want to get to his heart. Well, Nicholas is 2 ½ and loves to test me. I know I’m not supposed to take it personally, but often times, I do.
No child is going to be perfect. No parent is going to be perfect. That can make for some difficult circumstances at times. Something I am really learning right now is to look at my reaction to situations. What is my tone? What does my body language say?
There’s only one perfect parent – God. So, lately I am trying to remember how God parents me. He LOVINGLY disciplines me. He extends GRACE. He doesn’t push me away, but draws me close. Is this the way I’m treating my son when he disobeys? Sometimes I do, but not as much as I should.
Raising a 2 ½ year old is hard enough, but I had to start at this age. I wasn’t able to work up to it. I didn’t have a chance to just hold him in my arms and rock him to sleep as a young baby. I have an active, all-boy son! It does have its perks though. He is able to tell me what he wants. We are able to do fun activities together. But, at the same time, it’s a very trying age.
I guess I need to dwell more on the positives and stop focusing on the times when he is disobedient. I need to not blame myself for times where he acts up. Nicholas has been such a joy in so many ways. He has a huge, contagious smile. I love the way he dances to music. He sometimes yells out a spontaneous, “Buckeyes” cheer. He’s amazed me by how well he has adapted to a new country, culture, language and home.
Not only do I need to extend grace to a little boy that is learning to be a son, but I also need to extend grace to myself – a young woman learning how to be a mother. God’s lessons are never ending. Thankfully, I have learned over the last couple of years to be more open to what he’s trying to teach me.
Kristin
Monday, September 28, 2009
Saturday, September 26, 2009
“C” is for Cookie . . .
The Letter “C” went okay. I feel like my creativity was better the first week. Some weeks I have several activities planned, and other weeks I’m still trying to figure out. On a positive note, I did see Nicholas pointing out the letter “A” on the water fountain to some boys at the church on Wednesday. Then, he pulled out a foam letter “B” out of his toys and correctly identified it yesterday, so I guess he’s getting it.
So, this week we decorated the letter “C” with cotton balls.
We colored a picture of Cookie Monster.
We made a cat out of construction paper.
Finally, we baked cookies. I think this was Nicholas’ favorite part. He helped me mix the dough. Then I rolled the peanut butter blossoms into balls and he rolled them in the sugar. In the beginning I think he was confused over my instructions because he ate the first couple dough balls (or maybe they were just too tempting to resist). Then, he helped unwrap all of the kisses without eating any. That’s self –control. I think he loved trying out the finished product. He talked about the cookies all day!
Can I tell you how much I love teaching Nicholas? It has been something I’ve wanted to do for years. I just love to learn and I want him to be able to learn and explore areas further where he has a great interest.
I am just wrapping up a more personal blog, which I should have up in the next day or so. I don’t want this blog to be all about the letter of the week. I hope you enjoy these pictures today, but I promise my next blog will have more depth.
Kristin
So, this week we decorated the letter “C” with cotton balls.
We colored a picture of Cookie Monster.
We made a cat out of construction paper.
Finally, we baked cookies. I think this was Nicholas’ favorite part. He helped me mix the dough. Then I rolled the peanut butter blossoms into balls and he rolled them in the sugar. In the beginning I think he was confused over my instructions because he ate the first couple dough balls (or maybe they were just too tempting to resist). Then, he helped unwrap all of the kisses without eating any. That’s self –control. I think he loved trying out the finished product. He talked about the cookies all day!
Can I tell you how much I love teaching Nicholas? It has been something I’ve wanted to do for years. I just love to learn and I want him to be able to learn and explore areas further where he has a great interest.
I am just wrapping up a more personal blog, which I should have up in the next day or so. I don’t want this blog to be all about the letter of the week. I hope you enjoy these pictures today, but I promise my next blog will have more depth.
Kristin
Thursday, September 24, 2009
“We could smell it on his breath.”
It just looked so good. All he wanted was just one sip. Maybe no one would notice. He just couldn’t resist.
“We could smell it on his breath” was actually the words of the nursery worker when I picked Nicholas up from his class on Wednesday morning. It turns out that Nicholas got a hold of some bubbles and had a little drink. Apparently, he was thirsty and thought bubbles would make a nice beverage. He never did that before and hopefully, after realizing it didn’t taste good, will not do it again. It seems like the nursery workers always have something to tell me when I pick him up. I find it somewhat amusing.
I’ve been thinking lately about the last few months. I just put Nicholas down for a nap and it was so EASY! This is a big deal because he used to scream and cry. He used to fight sleep. It was horrible. After instituting the choice of rest time on the couch, things slowly got better. Now he just goes down for a nap in his room. And, as an added bonus, his naps have been closer to an hour and a half or longer lately. This was a trial that never seemed like it would end. He also goes to bed well at night. We have a routine, which has helped a lot.
We’ve moved onto a new trial right now – potty training. Before we actually got serious about it, Nicholas would use the potty 2-4 times a day. He would tell us when he was wet or had to go to the bathroom. I figured that making the transition to full-time potty training would be easy. Think again! I think it is stressing him out. He’s had some accidents. He refuses to go the potty or he wants to just go into the bathroom and not do anything. So, I decided to wait a little longer. And, guess what? He’s using the potty again several times a day. He’s even asked to wear underwear. I’ve decided to keep the training casual again for a little bit. He’s got a sticker chart for when he does go, which has actually helped his counting skills (I have to count every sticker each time I put a new one on). I know there are books and methods out there, but for now, we’re letting Nicholas take the lead.
This will be a short blog today. I should have another one (possibly two) in the next day or so.
Kristin
“We could smell it on his breath” was actually the words of the nursery worker when I picked Nicholas up from his class on Wednesday morning. It turns out that Nicholas got a hold of some bubbles and had a little drink. Apparently, he was thirsty and thought bubbles would make a nice beverage. He never did that before and hopefully, after realizing it didn’t taste good, will not do it again. It seems like the nursery workers always have something to tell me when I pick him up. I find it somewhat amusing.
I’ve been thinking lately about the last few months. I just put Nicholas down for a nap and it was so EASY! This is a big deal because he used to scream and cry. He used to fight sleep. It was horrible. After instituting the choice of rest time on the couch, things slowly got better. Now he just goes down for a nap in his room. And, as an added bonus, his naps have been closer to an hour and a half or longer lately. This was a trial that never seemed like it would end. He also goes to bed well at night. We have a routine, which has helped a lot.
We’ve moved onto a new trial right now – potty training. Before we actually got serious about it, Nicholas would use the potty 2-4 times a day. He would tell us when he was wet or had to go to the bathroom. I figured that making the transition to full-time potty training would be easy. Think again! I think it is stressing him out. He’s had some accidents. He refuses to go the potty or he wants to just go into the bathroom and not do anything. So, I decided to wait a little longer. And, guess what? He’s using the potty again several times a day. He’s even asked to wear underwear. I’ve decided to keep the training casual again for a little bit. He’s got a sticker chart for when he does go, which has actually helped his counting skills (I have to count every sticker each time I put a new one on). I know there are books and methods out there, but for now, we’re letting Nicholas take the lead.
This will be a short blog today. I should have another one (possibly two) in the next day or so.
Kristin
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Growth Spurt
The other day I talked about how Nicholas had grown height-wise. Well, Wednesday we found out that his feet have also grown. The lady at the shoe place told us that most kids outgrow their shoes every three to four months. Well, it has been about two months and Nicholas went from a 7 ½ to an 8 ½! His feet are also thinning out and he will soon be out of a wide shoe.
Nicholas had us laughing at the mall. I told him that he had to hold my hand, Nana’s, or Amy’s. Sometimes he would choose Amy’s hand, but most of the time, he just stuck them both in his pockets. We got some comments from people in the mall about how cute he looked. I would have pictures to show you if it weren’t for a camera mishap (something about a battery being put in the wrong way). We continue to see that biology is not the only factor on whether or not a child is like their parent. Nicholas stopped and looked at all the store windows that had Ohio State merchandise in them. There are many days when I hear myself saying, “This is definitely Evan’s child.”
Nicholas has finally given names to two more of his grandparents. My dad is now “Poppy” (He wouldn’t pick a name, so he let Nicholas pick), and Evan’s mom is “Gamma”. We are working on “Grandpa” for Evan’s dad, but he is kind of calling him “Gamma” too. I guess we’ll just give him a week or so and he’ll come up with something. He surprised me the other day by recognizing Curious George in some books he had never seen before. He has seen the show on PBS once or twice, but he saw the books and said, “George”.
Finally, we spent the week working on the letter “B”. We had fun decorating a “B” with bows.
We also made a bear out of a paper plate and some muffin baking cups (Sorry. He's been holding everything in front of his face lately when I take a picture).
Finally, we made a boat out of construction paper.
We also worked on following directions. We made a Stop/Go sign and played a game similar to “Red Light/Green Light”. He actually did “stop” better than he did “go”. I am trying to train him to stop when he hears me say it. If he is in a situation that is dangerous, I want him to listen to me the first time. I know this takes work, but I am up for the challenge.
Well, Nicholas is suited up and ready for today’s game. Go Bucks!
Kristin
Nicholas had us laughing at the mall. I told him that he had to hold my hand, Nana’s, or Amy’s. Sometimes he would choose Amy’s hand, but most of the time, he just stuck them both in his pockets. We got some comments from people in the mall about how cute he looked. I would have pictures to show you if it weren’t for a camera mishap (something about a battery being put in the wrong way). We continue to see that biology is not the only factor on whether or not a child is like their parent. Nicholas stopped and looked at all the store windows that had Ohio State merchandise in them. There are many days when I hear myself saying, “This is definitely Evan’s child.”
Nicholas has finally given names to two more of his grandparents. My dad is now “Poppy” (He wouldn’t pick a name, so he let Nicholas pick), and Evan’s mom is “Gamma”. We are working on “Grandpa” for Evan’s dad, but he is kind of calling him “Gamma” too. I guess we’ll just give him a week or so and he’ll come up with something. He surprised me the other day by recognizing Curious George in some books he had never seen before. He has seen the show on PBS once or twice, but he saw the books and said, “George”.
Finally, we spent the week working on the letter “B”. We had fun decorating a “B” with bows.
We also made a bear out of a paper plate and some muffin baking cups (Sorry. He's been holding everything in front of his face lately when I take a picture).
Finally, we made a boat out of construction paper.
We also worked on following directions. We made a Stop/Go sign and played a game similar to “Red Light/Green Light”. He actually did “stop” better than he did “go”. I am trying to train him to stop when he hears me say it. If he is in a situation that is dangerous, I want him to listen to me the first time. I know this takes work, but I am up for the challenge.
Well, Nicholas is suited up and ready for today’s game. Go Bucks!
Kristin
Monday, September 14, 2009
Patience!
We spent about five hours at the Cleveland Clinic today and we are so tired! We scheduled appointments with two different doctors, so we could get it all done in one day. Nicholas held up really well. There were no temper tantrums. In fact, he was charming several of the nurses with his big smile.
Our first appointment was with our pediatrician. She wanted to see Nicholas to follow-up on how he is doing after two months home. The answer is awesome!!! He is on-track developmentally and physically. She’s impressed by how well he is speaking (I stopped counting once it got around 100 words). He is growing! We could tell he was getting taller, but it was confirmed that he has grown 1 ½ -2 inches in 2 months! He is now between the 20th and 25th percentile in height. He is still in the 80-85th percentile for weight. He didn’t gain too much weight since the last appointment, for all those people that think he can eat a lot.
Nicholas followed all of the doctor’s instructions. The only time he cried was when he got 3 shots. However, he forgave the nurse rather quickly and gave her a “high five” and “the rock”! I think it made her feel better since she always has to be the bad guy and give all the shots.
We shouldn’t have to go downtown any longer for pediatrician visits. We received some referrals for doctors a little closer to home. Going downtown is just too far, and too costly. We paid way too much for parking today! We missed the cheapest rate by three minutes. I guess there is no grace period when it comes to parking downtown.
Our second visit was with the pediatric cardiologist. I haven’t gone too much into Nicholas’ medical history, but he was born with a hole in his heart. When we met him on the first trip, we were told it would close on its own. However, back in July 2008, they decided to do surgery (which is why our second trip was so delayed). We didn’t know much about the procedure, but we do know that the surgery kick-started his weight gain.
Anyway, we were just getting Nicholas evaluated to see what exactly was done and how he is doing now. He had an ultrasound and an EKG. The ultrasound tech told us that he was a very well-behaved 2-year old. Some 2-year olds need some kind of anti-anxiety medicine to relax them, but not Nicholas. He laid on the bed with his lollipop and watched PBS on the television. After a little while, he decided to help, and the lady let him use an extra wand with gel on it to rub on his chest. He kept asking for “more” gel. By the time we were done he needed a wet washcloth to clean up.
Nicholas is quite healthy. He will have to come for an annual check-up with the cardiologist, but he has no restrictions. They are keeping watch on one of his valves, but he may never have to have any work done on it. If he does, it will be with a catheter, years in the future.
Like I said earlier, Nicholas has been talking a lot. He’s soaking up words so quickly, so I shouldn’t be surprised by what happened a couple of days ago. Nicholas is ready to be potty-trained. We just haven’t been home to focus on it yet. But, we do have him sit on the potty a couple times a day. This particular time he was just sitting there, talking and not really focused on trying to go. I was getting a little impatient and trying to hurry him along. I asked him, “Are you going to go pee pee or do you want to get off the potty?” He looked at me and replied, “Patience!” I looked at with shock and asked, “Did you just say ‘patience’?” He yelled, “Patience!” Apparently, I was not taking my own advice, and he was calling me out on it. I guess I should be happy he’s listening, and I probably should be a little more patient with my son too.
Tomorrow should be a “fun” day. Due to Nicholas’ doctors’ appointments, he had no nap today. Well, he did have 30 minutes on the way home, but that really isn’t enough. That means he’ll definitely be a handful tomorrow. I think I know what tomorrow we’ll need – Patience! I better start praying for it now.
Kristin
Our first appointment was with our pediatrician. She wanted to see Nicholas to follow-up on how he is doing after two months home. The answer is awesome!!! He is on-track developmentally and physically. She’s impressed by how well he is speaking (I stopped counting once it got around 100 words). He is growing! We could tell he was getting taller, but it was confirmed that he has grown 1 ½ -2 inches in 2 months! He is now between the 20th and 25th percentile in height. He is still in the 80-85th percentile for weight. He didn’t gain too much weight since the last appointment, for all those people that think he can eat a lot.
Nicholas followed all of the doctor’s instructions. The only time he cried was when he got 3 shots. However, he forgave the nurse rather quickly and gave her a “high five” and “the rock”! I think it made her feel better since she always has to be the bad guy and give all the shots.
We shouldn’t have to go downtown any longer for pediatrician visits. We received some referrals for doctors a little closer to home. Going downtown is just too far, and too costly. We paid way too much for parking today! We missed the cheapest rate by three minutes. I guess there is no grace period when it comes to parking downtown.
Our second visit was with the pediatric cardiologist. I haven’t gone too much into Nicholas’ medical history, but he was born with a hole in his heart. When we met him on the first trip, we were told it would close on its own. However, back in July 2008, they decided to do surgery (which is why our second trip was so delayed). We didn’t know much about the procedure, but we do know that the surgery kick-started his weight gain.
Anyway, we were just getting Nicholas evaluated to see what exactly was done and how he is doing now. He had an ultrasound and an EKG. The ultrasound tech told us that he was a very well-behaved 2-year old. Some 2-year olds need some kind of anti-anxiety medicine to relax them, but not Nicholas. He laid on the bed with his lollipop and watched PBS on the television. After a little while, he decided to help, and the lady let him use an extra wand with gel on it to rub on his chest. He kept asking for “more” gel. By the time we were done he needed a wet washcloth to clean up.
Nicholas is quite healthy. He will have to come for an annual check-up with the cardiologist, but he has no restrictions. They are keeping watch on one of his valves, but he may never have to have any work done on it. If he does, it will be with a catheter, years in the future.
Like I said earlier, Nicholas has been talking a lot. He’s soaking up words so quickly, so I shouldn’t be surprised by what happened a couple of days ago. Nicholas is ready to be potty-trained. We just haven’t been home to focus on it yet. But, we do have him sit on the potty a couple times a day. This particular time he was just sitting there, talking and not really focused on trying to go. I was getting a little impatient and trying to hurry him along. I asked him, “Are you going to go pee pee or do you want to get off the potty?” He looked at me and replied, “Patience!” I looked at with shock and asked, “Did you just say ‘patience’?” He yelled, “Patience!” Apparently, I was not taking my own advice, and he was calling me out on it. I guess I should be happy he’s listening, and I probably should be a little more patient with my son too.
Tomorrow should be a “fun” day. Due to Nicholas’ doctors’ appointments, he had no nap today. Well, he did have 30 minutes on the way home, but that really isn’t enough. That means he’ll definitely be a handful tomorrow. I think I know what tomorrow we’ll need – Patience! I better start praying for it now.
Kristin
Thursday, September 10, 2009
This Blog Was Brought To You by The Letter “A”
What a busy week!!! Here’s the wrap up . . .
Parties:
Nicholas enjoyed his party this last weekend. In fact, I think he is partied-out! He was full of energy most of the weekend. I don’t know how he kept going and going. He didn’t get overwhelmed by all the new faces at his party. He spent a lot of time eating sweets and then burning it off. By the time we got home, I was the one ready for bed. We paid for it the next day though. While he did have a nice, long nap, the hours leading up to it was a little rough. I think I have started to be able to read all of Nicholas’ cues. I diverted one major meltdown on Sunday by reading him.
We finally finished the weekend with a birthday party for his cousin, Logan. Nicholas must truly believe that all we do is eat cake every weekend. Luckily, that’s starting to wind down. We still have birthdays coming up in the next few months, but not every week. We have Nicholas on a bit of a sugar detox this week. No sweets are passing through his lips!
Tot School:
After reading a number of other blogs, I decided that I wanted to do some intentional play with Nicholas. I want to teach him things, such as the alphabet, numbers, and shapes, but I also want to make it fun. So, I kind of made of a “lesson plan” for the rest of the “school year”. We’re focusing on one letter a week. We’re just going to color, do some crafts, and have some fun snacks -- Nothing too taxing for either of us. If he gets it, he gets it. If not, I’m not too worried. It will come. For the letter “A” we:
- Decorated “A” with pictures of Apples
- We colored a picture of an ant and then, we had “ants on a log” for a snack (celery, peanut butter, and raisins)
- Played a matching game with different pictures of apples, which Nicholas loved and wanted to do over and over.
I’m hoping to get more creative as we go along. It’s a learning process for both Nicholas and me. He seemed to enjoy what we are doing. He can identify the letter “A” (He calls it “Amy”, but at least he knows what I’m talking about).
I’ve also come up with some creative ways to teach him numbers, colors, and following directions. One activity we did was match blocks and cars with different colored paper.
Even Evan has enjoyed getting in on the fun!
A Couple of Stories from the Week:
Evan started his first day of class on Tuesday night. He was drinking a glass of water in a travel cup before he left, and I think Nicholas was eyeing it the entire time. Once Evan was out of the house, Nicholas struck. He brought the glass over to me and we went over a couple of times that it was Daddy’s water. I could tell that he still wanted to drink out of it. All of a sudden he disappeared into his large canvas fire truck and I heard this “Aaah” (the sound someone makes after a satisfying sip of a drink). He soon reappeared. I asked him if he drank Daddy’s water and he admitted he did, with a satisfied grin on his face. I figured that since Evan left it out, he wouldn’t care, so Nicholas ended up finishing the water, but nothing was as satisfying as that first sip.
The second story came at church this morning. I went to a MUMS (Moms Uplifting Moms) event and Nicholas was in the nursery. When I came to pick him up, the head teacher looked a little frazzled (probably from 15-20 2-year olds in one room). She said to me: “This one . . . well, I don’t know if you’re having lunch now, but he ate A LOT of crackers. We tried to stop him, but . . . well, he ate a lot of crackers!”
I told her that it was okay. I didn’t feel like giving her the back-story about why Nicholas eats that way. I wondered why they left those crackers out, or kept giving them to him, but that’s another story. Nicholas has never been able to eat anytime or as much as he wants. I’m sure we’d all ask for “more” a lot more often if our food was rationed our first two years of life. In fact, there are many people that ask for “more” that haven’t had that lifestyle. I’m sure the more he realizes that there is always going to be food, the less he’ll keep shoving it in. We don’t have a free-for-all at home, so I’m not overly concerned.
The week is almost over, but the activities are far from it. Our lives have never been busier now that Nicholas is home. My sister reminded me that we had seven years to rest. Little did we know . . .
Kristin
Parties:
Nicholas enjoyed his party this last weekend. In fact, I think he is partied-out! He was full of energy most of the weekend. I don’t know how he kept going and going. He didn’t get overwhelmed by all the new faces at his party. He spent a lot of time eating sweets and then burning it off. By the time we got home, I was the one ready for bed. We paid for it the next day though. While he did have a nice, long nap, the hours leading up to it was a little rough. I think I have started to be able to read all of Nicholas’ cues. I diverted one major meltdown on Sunday by reading him.
We finally finished the weekend with a birthday party for his cousin, Logan. Nicholas must truly believe that all we do is eat cake every weekend. Luckily, that’s starting to wind down. We still have birthdays coming up in the next few months, but not every week. We have Nicholas on a bit of a sugar detox this week. No sweets are passing through his lips!
Tot School:
After reading a number of other blogs, I decided that I wanted to do some intentional play with Nicholas. I want to teach him things, such as the alphabet, numbers, and shapes, but I also want to make it fun. So, I kind of made of a “lesson plan” for the rest of the “school year”. We’re focusing on one letter a week. We’re just going to color, do some crafts, and have some fun snacks -- Nothing too taxing for either of us. If he gets it, he gets it. If not, I’m not too worried. It will come. For the letter “A” we:
- Decorated “A” with pictures of Apples
- We colored a picture of an ant and then, we had “ants on a log” for a snack (celery, peanut butter, and raisins)
- Played a matching game with different pictures of apples, which Nicholas loved and wanted to do over and over.
I’m hoping to get more creative as we go along. It’s a learning process for both Nicholas and me. He seemed to enjoy what we are doing. He can identify the letter “A” (He calls it “Amy”, but at least he knows what I’m talking about).
I’ve also come up with some creative ways to teach him numbers, colors, and following directions. One activity we did was match blocks and cars with different colored paper.
Even Evan has enjoyed getting in on the fun!
A Couple of Stories from the Week:
Evan started his first day of class on Tuesday night. He was drinking a glass of water in a travel cup before he left, and I think Nicholas was eyeing it the entire time. Once Evan was out of the house, Nicholas struck. He brought the glass over to me and we went over a couple of times that it was Daddy’s water. I could tell that he still wanted to drink out of it. All of a sudden he disappeared into his large canvas fire truck and I heard this “Aaah” (the sound someone makes after a satisfying sip of a drink). He soon reappeared. I asked him if he drank Daddy’s water and he admitted he did, with a satisfied grin on his face. I figured that since Evan left it out, he wouldn’t care, so Nicholas ended up finishing the water, but nothing was as satisfying as that first sip.
The second story came at church this morning. I went to a MUMS (Moms Uplifting Moms) event and Nicholas was in the nursery. When I came to pick him up, the head teacher looked a little frazzled (probably from 15-20 2-year olds in one room). She said to me: “This one . . . well, I don’t know if you’re having lunch now, but he ate A LOT of crackers. We tried to stop him, but . . . well, he ate a lot of crackers!”
I told her that it was okay. I didn’t feel like giving her the back-story about why Nicholas eats that way. I wondered why they left those crackers out, or kept giving them to him, but that’s another story. Nicholas has never been able to eat anytime or as much as he wants. I’m sure we’d all ask for “more” a lot more often if our food was rationed our first two years of life. In fact, there are many people that ask for “more” that haven’t had that lifestyle. I’m sure the more he realizes that there is always going to be food, the less he’ll keep shoving it in. We don’t have a free-for-all at home, so I’m not overly concerned.
The week is almost over, but the activities are far from it. Our lives have never been busier now that Nicholas is home. My sister reminded me that we had seven years to rest. Little did we know . . .
Kristin
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Buckeyes!
For those of you that know Evan, you know that he loves Ohio State. We have Ohio State merchandise all over the house. I think I’ve tolerated more than my fair share. One day I even found a flag on my car right before I had to go to work. He can do that on his own vehicle, but he can leave mine alone. Anyway, so once Nicholas came home, I knew “Buckeye” would be a word that he had to learn and he has successfully done it. He also knows their logo. He likes his Brutus doll, which he calls “Brusha”. Today is their first game and Evan informed me that Nicholas needed to be dressed accordingly. So, here you go:
We’re looking forward to seeing many family and friends today, many who have not met Nicholas yet. Nicholas loves a good party, so it should be a good time. We’re thankful for such a beautiful weather weekend too.
I’m going to keep this blog short today, but I’ll let Nicholas close it.
Kristin
We’re looking forward to seeing many family and friends today, many who have not met Nicholas yet. Nicholas loves a good party, so it should be a good time. We’re thankful for such a beautiful weather weekend too.
I’m going to keep this blog short today, but I’ll let Nicholas close it.
Kristin
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Off the Deep End?
I was contemplating lately about how much my blog has changed in the last few months. There was a long period where it was pretty deep and open. It really hasn’t been that way since we’ve been home. I think that in the near future, I may open up more again. I just feel like my mind is mush when I sit down and write some of these blogs.
I guess one thing that I can share is how I asked God to not let me forget all He has done for us in Nicholas’ adoption. When things are resolved, it is easy to go back to the way things use to be and forget everything you’ve learned along the way. Well, God has certainly been reminding me of how he took care of Nicholas’ adoption and how he continues to take care of me now.
I am continuing to learn a new Bible verse twice a month. For my last verse, I decided to use a verse I know, but in another translation. The New Living Translation of Proverbs 16:1-3 says: “We can make our own plans, but the Lord gives the right answer. People may be pure in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their motives. Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed."
I have learned that I can’t plan my life and have realized that God’s plans prevail. I know God has a plan for my life and I know He will take care of me. It’s hard to see where we are going sometimes, but these verses remind me to have faith and actually believe that God knows what He is doing, even when I don’t understand it. We won’t always know why, but sometimes we actually get that “a-ha” moment and realize why God took us down that path and wondered why we wasted time worrying all along. So, as hard as things can get at times, I have to make a conscious effort to commit all my plans to the Lord. Maybe we're going to be on the same page, or maybe He has a better way.
I hope my thoughts made sense. I’ve just been thinking about all of this lately. I’m learning a lot about myself now that I am a mother, but I’ll probably share more about that in a future post. I'm not where I want to be yet, but I feel like I'm at least on my way.
In Nicholas news . . . this is a week of play dates. Yesterday he played with his cousin, Carter in the morning. They are working on sharing. Nicholas, as most 2 year olds, isn’t always fond of other kids playing with his toys. We had some good moments though and the visit did end with them kissing each other on the lips (they did that all on their own). One thing about Nicholas though is that when he loves you, he loves you hard. He loves to take a running start before he throws himself at people for a hug. That’s fine for adults, but Carter wasn’t ready for his stockier cousin to give him a huge bear hug. There also was the incident where Nicholas gave Carter “the claw”, which is when he puts his hand on someone’s face. I guess we need to remind him that it is only supposed to be done with Daddy. Too bad I didn’t have my camera handy to get Carter’s shocked face though.
Tomorrow we have two play dates. In the morning, we are meeting his friend, Anthony. Anthony is a little bigger than Nicholas, so I don’t think he’ll attempt “the claw” there. Then, in the evening, he’ll get to play with his friend, A.J. I’m sure Nicholas misses being around other kids, so we are doing our best to make sure he has friends.
I’ll leave you with Nicholas and Evan demonstrating “the claw”!
Kristin
I guess one thing that I can share is how I asked God to not let me forget all He has done for us in Nicholas’ adoption. When things are resolved, it is easy to go back to the way things use to be and forget everything you’ve learned along the way. Well, God has certainly been reminding me of how he took care of Nicholas’ adoption and how he continues to take care of me now.
I am continuing to learn a new Bible verse twice a month. For my last verse, I decided to use a verse I know, but in another translation. The New Living Translation of Proverbs 16:1-3 says: “We can make our own plans, but the Lord gives the right answer. People may be pure in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their motives. Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed."
I have learned that I can’t plan my life and have realized that God’s plans prevail. I know God has a plan for my life and I know He will take care of me. It’s hard to see where we are going sometimes, but these verses remind me to have faith and actually believe that God knows what He is doing, even when I don’t understand it. We won’t always know why, but sometimes we actually get that “a-ha” moment and realize why God took us down that path and wondered why we wasted time worrying all along. So, as hard as things can get at times, I have to make a conscious effort to commit all my plans to the Lord. Maybe we're going to be on the same page, or maybe He has a better way.
I hope my thoughts made sense. I’ve just been thinking about all of this lately. I’m learning a lot about myself now that I am a mother, but I’ll probably share more about that in a future post. I'm not where I want to be yet, but I feel like I'm at least on my way.
In Nicholas news . . . this is a week of play dates. Yesterday he played with his cousin, Carter in the morning. They are working on sharing. Nicholas, as most 2 year olds, isn’t always fond of other kids playing with his toys. We had some good moments though and the visit did end with them kissing each other on the lips (they did that all on their own). One thing about Nicholas though is that when he loves you, he loves you hard. He loves to take a running start before he throws himself at people for a hug. That’s fine for adults, but Carter wasn’t ready for his stockier cousin to give him a huge bear hug. There also was the incident where Nicholas gave Carter “the claw”, which is when he puts his hand on someone’s face. I guess we need to remind him that it is only supposed to be done with Daddy. Too bad I didn’t have my camera handy to get Carter’s shocked face though.
Tomorrow we have two play dates. In the morning, we are meeting his friend, Anthony. Anthony is a little bigger than Nicholas, so I don’t think he’ll attempt “the claw” there. Then, in the evening, he’ll get to play with his friend, A.J. I’m sure Nicholas misses being around other kids, so we are doing our best to make sure he has friends.
I’ll leave you with Nicholas and Evan demonstrating “the claw”!
Kristin
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