Like mother, like daughter

Abby (2008) and me (c. 1982) at around 6 months.

(Special thanks to Mimi for hanging on to this dress for 26 years and making this moment of nostalgic cuteness possible.)

Downhill to 30

Age has nothing to do with years and everything to do with perspective. In a few years, I'm sure my daughter will affirm how very very old I am. My mom, on the other hand, will continue to reiterate my youth. And in a way, they're both right. But having to change a poopy diaper at 8:00 on the morning of my birthday sure made me feel a lot older than last year. Then again, as if somehow he knew I was downhill to 30 and needed a boost, the cashier at Safeway saw fit to card me this week...baby in the buggy and all. The truth is, I'm a lot older than I once was, but (Lord willing) not nearly as old as I will be one year. So a happy birthday to me...and many more!

Veggie Tales

Since before Abby was born, I've been looking forward to the day I could start making my own baby food. (I guess breastfeeding is the ultimate in making my own babyfood, but that's not what I'm talking about.) If there's one thing I've come to love over the years as a wife/mom/homemaker, it's being crafty in the kitchen. I can't draw, my sewing skills are mediocre, and scrapbooking just isn't my cup of tea...but hand me a cookbook and my creative juices start flowing.

So armed with my new food processor (thanks Nana!) and some fresh yellow squash from Wegmans (the way grocery shopping was meant to be), and with the help of a pretty straightforward website on the topic, I set off to create Abby's first taste of people food. The result: pureed squash mush, conveniently frozen into little squash-cubes and stored for future lunches. And at 7 cents an ounce instead of 20 for the store-bought variety, the little economist in me is satisfied as well.

Next on the menu: mashed sweet potatoes.

Things I love about being a mom

Imitation is the highest form of flattery...and even if she doesn't understand what she's doing yet, my heart still melts a little when Abby blows kisses back at me.

My family has this pesky habit where we add a kissing sound (muah!) to the end of conversations. It goes a little something like this:

"Love you!"
"Love you too!"
"Bye!"
"Muah!"
"Muah!"

We've always done it, and probably always will. After we'd dated for a while, Justin picked the habit up as well. Now all our conversations with each other end the same way, with a little kissing noise as if we were planting a kiss on the other person before heading off to work, the grocery store, the bathroom...whatever. (This can be a dangerous habit to get into, as Justin found when he accidentally offered an over-the-phone kiss to an unsuspecting friend. Proceed with caution if you decide to employ this practice with your loved ones.)

Inevitably, we've taken to doing the same with Abby, so when we're not actually planting kisses on her cute little cheeks, we're blowing kisses across the room with the accompanying lip-smaking "muah!" noise, which she finds to be quite entertaining. And last night, she reciprocated with an Abby-sized "muah!" of her own. Twice actually.

Now every once in a while, when we blow kisses her way, she'll respond by blowing them right back. If you listen carefully, you can hear the cuteness scale tipping heavily in her direction...

He is Risen Indeed!

For your daily dose of cuteness, I offer this picture of Abby looking oh-so-adorable in her Easter dress.

I have no trouble admitting that I thoroughly enjoyed getting her all dressed up in the beautiful dress her Nana made for her and watching her play with the Easter basket her Mimi and Papa sent to her. But as we sat in the front row at church this morning (the only seat left when you arrive late for the busiest service of the year) I realized that it's far too easy for me to celebrate this holiday without truly celebrating what this day is about. It will be even easier as Abby gets older to get caught up in Easter egg hunts and Easter baskets and Easter dresses. And while there's nothing wrong with these things, they do fail miserably at getting to the heart of the matter of what this day really means.

As for me and my house, this day means everything. If this day is only about bunnies and baskets, our whole life is a sham. But this day is about a risen Savior--our risen Savior, the one who was God in the flesh, born of a miraculous birth, who lived a perfect life, who died a shameful death, who conquered the grave when He rose from the dead, and who did it all because He loved us. And what greater love is there than this? He loved me before the foundation of the world. Even before "let there be light," there was this great love, and the knowledge that one day a spotless lamb would be slain so that I might not be eternally separated from the One who knit me together in my mother's womb.

But the good news of this day is that the story didn't end when that lamb was raised up on a Roman cross and left to die. No, I celebrate this day because His death was the sacrifice necessary to pay for my sins, and in taking our sin upon Himself, he paved a way to eternal life for all those who would believe. I celebrate this day because when Christ rose from the dead, it was an action that defied belief and demanded a response. I celebrate this day because He has given me eyes to see and the faith to believe in His life, death and resurrection, and to respond with humble thanksgiving.

On the inside of our wedding bands, Justin and I had a reminder inscribed for ourselves: Micah 4:5, which reads "As for us, we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever." These are no mere words, but a humble reminder of whose we are and who we serve: the risen Savior, Christ the Lord. Happy Easter!

Christ, the Lord, is risen today, Alleluia! Sons of men and angels say, Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia! Sing, ye heavens, and earth, reply, Alleluia!
Love’s redeeming work is done, Alleluia! Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia!
Lo! the Sun’s eclipse is over, Alleluia! Lo! He sets in blood no more, Alleluia!
Vain the stone, the watch, the seal, Alleluia! Christ hath burst the gates of hell, Alleluia!
Death in vain forbids His rise, Alleluia! Christ hath opened paradise, Alleluia!
Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia! Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia!
Once He died our souls to save, Alleluia! Where thy victory, O grave? Alleluia!
Soar we now where Christ hath led, Alleluia! Following our exalted Head, Alleluia!
Made like Him, like Him we rise, Alleluia! Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!
Hymns of praise then let us sing, Alleluia! Unto Christ, our heavenly King, Alleluia!
Who endured the cross and grave, Alleluia! Sinners to redeem and save. Alleluia!
But the pains that He endured, Alleluia! Our salvation have procured, Alleluia!
Now above the sky He’s King, Alleluia! Where the angels ever sing. Alleluia!
Jesus Christ is risen today, Alleluia! Our triumphant holy day, Alleluia!
Who did once upon the cross, Alleluia! Suffer to redeem our loss. Alleluia!

-Charles Wesley

A learning opportunity

The ability to sit up carries with it some tremendous responsibilities for a nearly-seven-month-old child. There's the burden of maintaining balance so as not to collapse headlong onto the floor, for one. And we can't forget the task of holding up a head that is terribly large in proportion to a little infant body (imagine if your face was as tall as your calves...)

But perhaps most importantly, sitting up provides an opportunity to play with new types of toys, and when those toys are currently in the possession of another baby, Abby is learning it is imperative to be tactful when attempting to play alongside. Today, for the most part, she succeeded. We'll see how good she is at sharing once she also possesses the skill to remove a toy from its owner's grip and crawl away with it.

For more pictures from playtime, click here.

Spooning

Who knew a plastic bowl and a slotted spoon could be so much fun? When she's not trying to devour my kitchen utensils, Abby's quite the little drummer. Now playtime and dinner preparation no longer have to be mutually exclusive activities.

Things I'll never say

I know, I know...dealing in absolutes, especially in the realm of parenting, is treading on dangerous territory. Many an "always" or "never" statement has come back to bite its speaker in the butt. Plenty of children suck happily on pacifiers whose parents once affirmed they would never resort to such measures to soothe their child.

Regardless, I must have goals as a mom, and so I present to you the following list of things I overheard today at the playground that I hope I never hear myself saying to my offspring:

• "Sticks can be dangerous. Let's not play with that stick, okay?"
• "We're not going to climb trees today. We came to play on the slide."
• "Stop picking up pine cones. Those aren't yours!" (And just who, may I ask, do those pine cones on the ground belong to? The trees we're not climbing?)
• "Don't kick that ball so hard!" (Perhaps we should learn to kick the soccer ball more gingerly while we're on the soccer field?)

I might add that the kids to whom these insane playground laws applied seemed to be on the fast track to growing into a bunch of sissies. I'm not advocating that we throw discipline to the wind and let our kids run around like a bunch of hooligans. I'm all for teaching kids boundaries and obedience. But sometimes (and warm days at the park are ideal times), how about more fun and fewer silly rules? It's the playground, after all. If they can't be kids there, what chance do they have?

Splish splish, I was takin' a bath

You'll notice Abby is sitting beside, not in, her specially designed bathtub seat. That's because last night, she got her way and we had the great privilege of watching her enjoy the freedom of sitting up in the tub and splashing her little heart out. I don't think we've ever seen her have as much fun in the tub as she did last night, and I'm pretty sure the floor (and our clothes) are still soaking wet from the experience. Eventually we did move on to scrubbing, hair washing, and the chasing down of rubber duckies, but something tells me splashing is going to be our new primary bathtub activity.

Yep, time's still flying

September 2007

March 2008

Southern hospitality

It was a whirlwind weekend for our family with some dear friends from down south! We tried to pack in as much of D.C. as we could in four days, in spite of the blustery weather. Friday found us walking the national mall to check out the monuments, and when the rain set in we took cover in the Museum of Natural History (old dinosaurs), the National Archives (old documents), and the Air and Space Museum (old airplanes). Saturday Heidi helped me at a baby shower while the hubbys headed to yet another air and space museum. Sunday it was back downtown to see more monuments then over to Ashburn for some Carolina bbq. It was a great visit, but much too short! (Check out our photo album for more pictures...)

Rachel and a Root Beer Float

Abby had quite a night out in Pentagon City...meeting her cousin Rachel and sampling a root beer float for the first time. She seemed pretty excited about both. (Special thanks to Rachel for taking a break from her class trip to spend some time with us....)

Sunny with a high of 70

A warm afternoon found me rushing home from the grocery store in order to get Abby to the park before naptime. The hurry paid off when she started giggling in the swing. And it was well worth the pile of groceries on the floor I had to sort through when I got home.