Wallpaper woes

What's worse than one wallpaper border you hate?

Two wallpaper borders you hate.

A couple of feet into what will soon be Abby's room, the previous owners decided it was too much trouble to tear down the teddy bear border, and instead opted to simply wallpaper over it with a larger floral border of their own. And while the teddy bears are kind of cute (in a 1995 builder-grade nursery decor sort of way) I've got big dreams for this room that don't include bears dancing gleefully on its walls.

I'm happy to report that Abby's morning nap left me just enough time to erase all traces of both tacky borders, and her walls are now prepped for some pink and green paint action. She may be walking by the time we get it done, but one of these days, this little girl's going to have a nursery!

Bust a Move

It's taken about two weeks of trying, but Abby is successfully propelling her body forward now, albeit a little unconventionally. Her commando crawling--imagine a little green army man with his knees forever stuck to the floor--gets her where she needs to go, and she doesn't seem to have much interest in pulling her legs up under her to push her body forward. So for now, she's developing some super upper body strength by stretching out and pulling all 20 pounds of herself forward using only her arms.

Always and Forever, one decade at a time

Travel back in time with me to May 2, 1998. My hair was too tall, Justin's tux was too big, and the two of us obviously had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. (And don't even get me started on that back drop. What was the prom committee thinking?)

Always and Forever
North Hall High School
Prom 1998

A five dollar bet about Justin finding a date to the prom seemed innocent enough. Until he asked me...bribed me rather, with a bag of M&M's. I was a sophomore, it was my first date, and my mom threatened his life repeatedly from the time he showed up at our door with my corsage. I recall her exact warning going something like this: "Justin, this is my one baby girl, and if anything happens to her, I'll kill you." (No worries mom. I understand just how you feel now!) My dad, meanwhile, tried to reassure Justin that we were really very normal people, which I think we can all agree has not proven true.

Over dinner and at the dance, we were two nervous teenagers on a first date, but we had a great time, and soon we were officially "going out," which for us meant dinner at El Sombrero and a movie, every weekend, without fail. Six years later we were engaged, in seven we were married in nine we welcomed our daughter into the world, and at ten we're moving into our second home. It's hard to believe all that's happened in ten short years. I wouldn't trade it for the world!

Underage groupies

Rebecca and I decided, on somewhat of a whim this morning, to skip out on all the things we needed to get done around our respective houses and take the Abbys to Jammin' Java for some Tot Rock. (Actually, Rebecca reports that in the hour between the time I called her and the time she left the house, she did manage to clean her bathroom. Kudos for being productive!)

We arrived to find the usually calm atmosphere of the little coffee shop seriously disrupted by a bunch of toddler-aged groupies sporting Rocknocerous t-shirts and Bono sunglasses (indoors, 'cause they're that cool).

It was quite a show, and I honestly couldn't tell you who enjoyed it more: the moms or the kids. It was a rock concert all right, scaled down and rated G for the five and under crowd, complete with screaming fans, electric guitar, and shout outs to the audience.

Afterward, we stood in line so the Abbys could take their picture with Williebob, the guitarist who looks kinda like an Ewok. Abby Jean was fascinated by his hair. Abby Mae was too distracted by her psychedelic puppy to notice. Neither was as excited as they should have been to be that close to a real live rock star.

The grass is greener on this side

With spring in full swing, I'm on a mission to acquaint my daughter with the great outdoors. To this end, we are dedicating some time each day to stroller rides, swinging at the park, or exploring the greenery popping up everywhere around Goose Poop Pond.

The results are such that at the ripe old age of 26, I'm being reintroduced to our fascinating world through the eyes of an eight month old.

Yesterday I learned that long skinny sticks are more manageable than long fat sticks, but short fat sticks are easier to hold and better for poking the ground.

Spiky grasses hurt to sit on, and aren't much fun for anything. But long soft ryegrass (like the kind growing around the pond) is just right for rubbing your hands through.

Weeds are wonderful...without them, flowers would be contained to flower beds, and the grass is much more fun to play in when there's an occasional dandelion to grab at.

I'm also becoming aware of just how noisy our world is. Birds chirping, planes flying overhead, cars whirring by, bugs buzzing around, geese honking, lawnmowers mowing, doors opening, runners running, leaves rustling...Abby doesn't miss a thing. Every little noise catches her ear and she has to turn to find it. I guess I've learned to tune out all these nature sounds over the years. It's nice to hang out with someone who isn't so adept at that yet.

Teach them to your children

It's important to have career goals in any job, and parenting is no exception. I'm realizing this more and more as Abby is getting older and arguably more human-like. (That's not to say she was un-human before. But before the sitting up, eating real food and imitating of adults, she was similar to a pet in many ways. Now I can see this whole little person starting to show itself in our little girl, and it's easier to imagine that she'll be walking and talking before we know it.)

My goals up to this point have been overwhelmingly simplistic and short term. Each day, I must accomplish at least the following

• keep Abby alive
• make sure she's fed and watered
• spend quality time with her

While my short term goals are beginning to get a little more complex now that she's starting to interact more and becoming more mobile, I'm seeing more clearly the need for that one big goal. It is this goal, that one big long term goal, that must govern everything I say and do with my daughter, for it is this goal that defines my role as a parent and sums up everything I hope to accomplish for the 18 or so years that this little person will live under my roof. If I fail to accomplish this goal, it matters not how well-mannered, well-fed or well-adjusted my daughter is. I will have failed her, and myself, if I do not aim toward this one goal in everything I do.

"You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise."

-- Deuteronomy 6:5-7

It's right there in black and white: the first and greatest commandment, with an addendum just for parents, leaving no margin for error. I am to teach my child the ways of the Lord, raise her up to love and serve and worship Him, and I am to do it with diligence. That's a pretty lofty goal, in my opinion, and I'm thankful that this God of ours is the one who will equip me to accomplish it. "My God, I would not know how to do that if You did not enable me to do it" (Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God).

This is not a goal that will happen to be accomplished by accident. No, that part about "teaching them diligently" rules out that option. This goal of raising up a child to love the Lord must be a deliberate effort. In discipline, in play, in my interactions with her dad and others, I must model Christ's love, mercy, grace and forgiveness. My heart is heavy at such a daunting task, for I know how often I have failed and will continue to fail to live this way. Paul's mental anguish strikes at the core of my fears when he writes in Romans, "I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway."

How then will I model for my child a life that I myself cannot live? By admitting just that. I am a sinner, saved by grace, and in daily need of Christ's forgiveness. I will show her love by pointing her to the One who knew her before she was born, who made a way for her salvation before the foundation of the world. I will show her mercy by teaching her of the One who withholds the judgment we deserve and offers us grace by giving us life abundant when we do nothing to earn it. And I will show her forgiveness by seeking hers when I wrong her, by admitting where I fail and when I fall, and by showing her how to seek God's forgiveness when I sin.

And when I come up short on these goals, I will go again to the foot of the cross, to the Father who calls me daughter, to find strength and mercy and grace to run with endurance this race He has set before me called parenthood.

Just another Monday in Boston

Let's see...on Monday afternoon:

• Abby was napping
• I was eating lunch
• Justin was at his desk at work
• and Matt was finishing his second Boston Marathon

If there's an award for productivity, Matt wins for this Monday.

Congrats Matt!

For details on just how much slower you are than Abby's uncle Matt, see the chart below:

Bib	Name	Age	M/F	City	State	Country	Ctz	*
3153	Fisher, Matthew	29	M	Kennesaw	GA	USA
Checkpoints 5k 10k 15k 20k Half 25k 30k 35k 40k 0:21:36 0:42:54 1:04:14 1:25:42 1:30:15 1:47:05 2:09:00 2:31:20 2:56:52 Finish Pace Projected Time Official Time Overall Gender Division 0:07:10 3:07:47 2079 1949 1348

Nobody puts baby in a corner

The work that goes into getting a new house ready to move into seems to be lost on Abby. While Justin ripped up 14-year-old carpet and I cleaned the kitchen and floors, Abby played contentedly with her toys until she pooped out in the middle of the (now clean) family room floor. I think she's getting pretty fed up with all the car rides back and forth to the new house. That's ok...moving day is only two weeks away!

Strollin' in an Abby Wonderland

colorful flowers + inquisitive baby = one slow stroller ride

Some sun on her cheeks

I'm going to love having a backyard.

Abby and I have spent a lot of time at the new house this week. My intentions each morning when I set out are to get some cleaning done in preparation for moving in, but Abby's cuteness is getting in the way, and I find myself playing with her instead.

She loves the way her voice echoes in this big empty house because of all the hardwood floors. She's considerably noisier at our new home than she is at the one we currently reside in. Also, the complete lack of furniture means she has unlimited rolling around space, which she has been taking full advantage of.

The backyard gets a healthy amount of afternoon sun so we've spent a good deal of time on the back deck sans shoes (mom) and diapers (daughter). Abby's working on her base tan since swimsuit season is just around the corner. Any advice for applying sunscreen to a 7 month old?