Growing up too fast!

So over the past week or so as I sit and watch Alexa playing, talking, and interacting, I can't help but think how much she has changed and grown up! She's only 14, almost 15 months old but she acts as if she's older! (at least most of the time) I thought it was about time I start documenting some of the stages of her life before I can't remember them anymore! :)

Here's some fun facts to show you what I'm talking about:
* She wants to walk everywhere on her own. She'll hold your hand and go almost anywhere with you and she's actually not that slow of a walker - good thing she has daddy's long legs!
* She opens doors and loves to close them again
* She thinks that she always needs to feed herself. When she's playing with her toy kitchen she'll take a pan and a spoon and she'll pretend to make food and then eat it or share it for you to eat
* She talks as if you should understand the full sentences she's saying -- the sounds out of her mouth truly do sound like complete sentences, but I'm just not sure what language she's speaking them in!
* We'll walk in to Alicia's in the morning and Alexa will turn and look at me and put her finger over her lips and say "Shhh....baby sleepin"
* If I'm laying on the couch sleeping or even just pretending to sleep, Alexa will come over to me, put her arm on my back, hold her face right in front of mine and say "Boo" then back away and giggle and smile
* She constantly wants to go potty! -- That's right at only 14 months old my little girl will look at me and say "momma, potty" then she goes and trots over to the potty and asks to be put on it! Today alone, she has gone potty on the potty (or what she thinks is the potty- more on that later) 3 times! In no way, shape, or form do I believe its time to get rid of the diapers yet but at least she knows and understands the concept and is interested in it!
* The last time we checked she was 22lbs & that was about 2 months ago!

* She LOVES phones -- cell phone or home phone she constantly begs to play with them all. She'll hold it up to her ear and say "Hi" over and over again!

* She thinks the remote to our fan is fasinating! She loves being able to make the wind start and stop over and over again! (see pictures below!)

* She's silly and only has 7 teeth and has had them since before she was a year old-- four on the top & 3 on the bottom (the fourth front tooth is still missing!) (See pictures below)

* She says more words than I can believe. Everything out of our mouths she tries to repeat and she seems to understand what she's talking about...from ouch, cup, milk, juice, diaper, kiko, momma, dada, chair, more, please, kitty, puppy, bear, cow, car, shoes, door, hat, phone, blankie, bag, bed, nigh-nigh(night), kiss, hug, grandma, grandpa, papa, Bobbie, the list just goes on & on!
* She's using sign language and she is getting really good at it! More and please are her favorites to sign but she's also learning milk & thank you!

* She LOVES shoes -- give her shoes and she'll be happy playing with them for hours!
* She loves backing up to sit on anyone and anything so watch out -- if she's backing her little butt up to you -- she's about to sit! :)
* She loves stairs -- going up them is her favorite thing to do -- this scares mommy and daddy but she is pretty good at it -- now if only she could master going down...

* Playing horse is her favorite game. Beware - if you let her ride you once, you'll have to let her do it a hundred times or more!
* She is a smart little cookie - she piles her bear, her baby, and all her blankies against the side of the crib and she tries to get her body over the edge by pulling her little body up to the top and then she sort of hangs there on her tummy until she goes back down having unsuccesfully gone over the edge - its a good thing she hasn't figured out she could be doing that against the shorter side & she'd actually succeed in getting out!
* She has to be a big girl & help with everything! From telling her to bring mom something to give something to dad -- she actually listens & does what you ask (most of the time at least!)

* Her belly button is not private. It is totally okay in her mind to lift up her shirt at anytime and show everyone her belly button and tummy. Oh and beware - if you say anything when she does it - you're next! She has no hesitation in going up to others and trying to pull their shirt up to find their belly button! :)
* Every morning she has to carry her diaper to the garbage and throw it away herself. We keep our garbage hidden in a cupboard that she has to open and close which she absolutely loves to do!
* She's getting so big! Everyone tells me she's just a little peanut and although I know she is -- the girl is only 14-15 months old and is wearing 24 month clothing!

Some other cute stories to document about our little 'angel'
- she thinks if anyone in her sight or vacinity is eating something, all she has to do is tell that person please and then they'll give her some of their food...no matter what it is - so beware our little piggy LOVES to eat your food! ;)
- she has decided that in addition to using the potty chair and the big potty, the booster chair that daddy left sitting in the living also makes an excellent potty chair:
Last night I was working on my bible study lesson (which I had put off for far too long since bible study was at 8pm that night) and I was sitting on the couch trying to focus on the lesson. Daddy had agreed to keep an eye on our adventurous and impossible to contain little darling who was running around diaperless as she had gone potty on the big potty just a short time before. Alexa comes into the living room to see what I was up to and after I tried sending her back to her daddy, I saw her headed for the booster seat in the corner of the living room floor...she backed up and sat down and said to me "momma" "potty" and I looked up to see her sitting there grinning at me. So I of course told her no, that's no the potty chair, and I called for Micah to come watch her. "I am" was the answer I received from the other room ;) by this time Alexa had again grinned at me and said "potty mama" and as I watched her stand up to run away she wiped out on the floor -- having of course gone potty on the booster chair and by that point she had gotten the floor all wet! Good thing we have hard-wood floors and not carpet!

Now for the second night in a row she has used the booster chair as a potty chair successfully - much to mommy's dismay! In my opinion there is not enough disinfectant in the world to make me say that's okay!

Goodbye hand-me downs! :(

So irony strikes again! When I was a little girl I hated, absolutely despised, getting hand-me-downs! I begged & pleaded & wished & hoped for the day I could buy my own brand new clothes & finally wear something that no one else had worn before! Being the youngest of 5, accomplishing that goal took a very long time!

Now that I am grown up (sort of) and have a little girl of my own do I hate hand-me-downs? No way! I absolutely love them. It lights up my day to get "new" clothes for my little girl from my sister (who's had two girls of her own). The first year of Alexa's life her babysitters often commented on the fact that she wore a new outfit everyday with hardly ever a repeat in outfits! It was amazing & grand & I loved every minute of it, especially as my husband tends to think that children's clothes should cost about $0.25 or less! ;)

Only there's one problem with my beautiful world of hand-me-downs...they will be coming to an abrupt and awful end! Alexa, my 14 month old little girl, is the SAME SIZE if not bigger in some aspects than her older cousin, Faith, who will be 3 in November! Yes that's right -- there is an almost 2 year difference between the two little girls & yet they are currently the same size!

So apparently my animosity to hand-me-downs has come back to bite me in the butt big time! I suppose all that complaining I did as a child had to have consequences but who would have ever thought it'd come this soon or in this way. I guess I'll just have to keep feeding Alexa until she's bigger than Faith & then Alexa can get her older cousin Mackinzie's hand-me-downs before Faith does! :) hehe oh how a girl can dream!

His last message...Watch Therefore!

Below is the recording of the last sermon my Dad ever preached. I had the privilege of being in the congregation that Sunday, August 31st, 2008 at Lynden URC where he was preaching as a favor to their pastor. He passed away while golfing in a charity tournament only 6 days later on Saturday, September 6th while on the 7th hole.
I find it comforting and yet ironic that his last sermon told people to Watch Therefore! As you do not know the day or the hour... -- We never know when the Lord will call us home or when He will return...we must always be ready & watching...

Tired, Stressed, and Emotional -- a very bad combination!

So I'm going to keep this short for once -- a shock I know -- but with everything going through my mind, my heart, and my life right now I just don't think I can fully process everything in my head these days.

Work is busy busy busy as usual and I'm pretty much a basketcase rushing back and forth between sanity and insanity -- I feel like I'm giving every aspect of my life 50-75% effort & the rest I'm just in robot mode... which makes for many mistakes and even more work.

The bright side is, perhaps if I stay busy enough my mind and my heart won't realize that its already been a year without my dad, my life has continued to happen, change, and grow each and every day... part of me wants to scream & just say STOP - -go back - - I want a do-over!

To bad that we don't get that chance! -- This week at work, two of the people I directly work with gave me a wonderful and totally undeserved thank you card & gift & I couldn't even keep from crying... I wonder, when will anything or everything in life stop making me cry & miss him more?

To young to potty-train?

What age is too young to potty train? - - Seriously people? I've heard mom's out there saying that a child isn't ready and can't possibly control their body like that until their well over 2 and almost 3 years old. "There's just no way" I've emphatically been told!

BUT - on the other other side of things, I know many children who have been trained well before they're 2 years old and many who have been fully trained shortly after turning 2...and there are websites & articles out there that even talk about infant potty training (to me that's a YEAH RIGHT) but hey what do I know!?!

Before jumping in & telling me what you think, here's my personal experience (which is pretty limited considering Alexa is only 13 months old!)

Many observers of my little girl tell me that she's getting ready to be trained -- based off of what they see only. After all, she can says many words but she usually doesn't make too much sense & she certainly isn't using full sentences or anything so its not like we're hearing "I have to go potty!" from her sweet little mouth!

Instead, she's been doing this little form of a potty dance, bending over and holding the front of her diaper whenever she's going potty. As for going #2 -- lets just say she's ALWAYS been obvious about that one -- she typically stops what she's doing, scrunches her face all up & grunts as she starts to turn pink or red in the face! So a month or so ago (shortly before she turned 1) we went out & bought a potty chair so she could begin to grasp the concept & at least get used to the idea of sitting in the chair. She LOVES it -- at least she loves playing with it! She has always been one to want to follow anyone into the bathroom to see what they're up to & she thinks its so funny to listen to the noises & hear the toliet flush and now being able to sit on her own potty is tons of fun to her... so she's at least intersested in the idea!

But here's the kicker- - every now & then -- the child will take her diaper off! -- and I mean OFF. If we change her out of her clothes and don't immediately put her pj's on she'll get up & run around & play in just her diaper -- pretty normal I know -- but then she decides she's had enough of the diaper & wants it off -- so she takes it off with relative ease, throws it down & walks off free as a bird! Again, we find this cute and funny as after all, its in the privacy of our home & can't really hurt.

Then on Sunday night we're all just standing around after church talking and she's just off playing like the rest of the kids. I look over at her & notice she's playing with her tummy -- and taking her diaper OFF! -- Silly girl! So I race over & strap it back on telling her "No, No, we don't do that" trying all the while not to laugh!

I have no idea if or when my little girl will ever learn to use the potty instead of a diaper but I know this -- any outfit that doesn't come with bloomers or shorts is SO not going on my child without adult supervision nearby! Next thing you know she'll be trying to go naked everywhere!

All moved in...ALMOST! ;)

Wow, so the time has come. After months of thinking about it, talking about it, planning for it, and preparing for it the time has finally come! My mother is officially on her way back to the US! Her stuff all arrived on Tuesday & she'll be arriving tomorrow night! :)

For those of you that know me really well, you know that this has been something I have longed for, prayed for, wished for, and hoped for many many times over the last 7 years. However, it is very bitter-sweet. I found myself unable to sleep tonight & so I began to write...if this doesn't make much sense I'm sorry! ;) - In 100% honesty, I wanted this so badly I could taste it, and now it not only is something I am totally looking forward to, but something that scares me to the core.

I LOVE my mom. She is an amazing woman. All my life she has poured herself into being the best mother, wife, and preacher's wife she could ever be, and let me tell you, she topped the charts! Talk about a woman that could handle/manage 5 children, a busy church calendar, be always ready for guests & entertaining, and keep a perfectly clean and presentable house -- that's amazing to me! Memories of my childhood involve no frozen meals (no matter how much we begged because they seemed so special) but always home-cooked meals, baked goodies, and tons of games and fun. As we got older things turned from children's games to card games and stimulating conversations. I still remember coming home from college my freshman year to have "coffee" with my parents every chance I got!

Then why am I scared? Because that's the life/memories/dream I have...having that simple, safe, "perfect" feeling back again. For the past 7 years that is what I've wanted back (and my parents of course)... you know the age old saying..."be careful what you wish for"...its because how you end up getting your wish to come true may sometimes (and usually does) come at too high a cost/price! As much as I am longing for my Mom to be here...it makes me miss my Dad more and more.

After a bunch of wonderful people came and helped unload the 53 foot semi which brought my Mom's stuff here from Lethbridge, Sarah and I were left with the unreal task of organizing and unpacking it before Mom sees it and falls over - - (there is stuff EVERYWHERE, from in the house, to in the unfinished basement, to stacked and piled all over the 3-stall garage that Mom & Sarah & Jason share... which no longer fits a single car in it...

As we began unpacking over 30 years worth of stuff, memories came flooding back. Things I literally haven't seen in years have surfaced, from favorite mugs (which we now wonder why we even liked!) to egg holders to magnets and on and on. Its been great to see it all and cherish it, tell stories about it and laugh over it. However, as I lay awake tonight, I can't seem to get the memories out of my mind and instead of laughing, I find myself getting sad and then worse yet getting mad. Its awful but I keep having to resist the urge to yell and scream and throw a hissy-fit like a little child - - this was not the way my wish was supposed to come true!

All in all - I'm a grown up now (whether I like it or not) and I've accepted things are the way they are. Doesn't mean I have to like it all the time, but its life. So if you're looking for me over the next few days, weeks, well, better make that months, come to my Mom's house & weave your way through the maze of boxes...better yet - bring your wallet & make an offer if you see something you like! :)

Happy Birthday Alexa! :)

WOW! What can I say? My baby just turned 1!

I can hardly believe it...it seems like just yesterday I was in the hospital holding my tiny little girl --- now she's over 20 lbs, is above 75% for her height & her head & is walking, talking, and changing like you would not believe! :)

Here are a few pictures of our little "party" for her 1st birthday...