Adventures in La La Land

1. I took both girls to the doctor this week. They both checked out totally healthy, but they couldn't be more different size-wise. Lena was 27.5" (35%) and 16 lbs (19%). Lucy was 39" (80%) and 31 lbs. (41%). 2. I decided to change up our "homeschool" schedule this week. I think we're going to do the alphabet one day, numbers one day, and the Bible story one day. Ideally, we'll work on our verse every day, but I'm not always super faithful with that.  3. This was on facebook, but I need to record it here too: On the way home from the doctor today, we saw a deer on top of someone's truck. (Opening Day here in MI, just FYI) Lucy and I had a little chat about how the deer got up there. She proceeded to tell the story as follows: "a reindeer was running in the woods and a guy shot him and put him on his car to bring him home. I think the reindeer's name was Rudolph." Fast forward to tonight: We're making cupcakes and talking ab...

1. I had such a nice weekend at retreat. I missed a few sessions, and didn't hang out as much with everyone else thanks to Lena, but I greatly enjoyed the relaxation. I also enjoyed someone else making all my meals and the escape from (most of) my usual responsibilities. Lena was so good all weekend, and I'm pretty sure we got more sleep than we've ever gotten at retreat before. (6 hours a night! That's unheard of!) Lena's friend Josie was there with her mom, Amanda. It was fun to compare the girls in person. Lena is 2 months older, but you sure wouldn't know it! I came back from retreat so excited to see Lucy and Justin, and feeling refreshed and ready to get back to my routine. Just what I needed. 2. I finally got Lena on a 4 hour breastfeeding schedule this week!! It only took 9 months! Haha. I've been really trying to give her at least 2 meals a day of real food. She usually eats a big breakfast (one day this week she ate a whole waffle!) and then ...

I'm leaving for Ladies' Retreat tonight, so you get a special advance-edition of the Saturday 7! 1. I always talk up my Halloween costume in the Saturday 7, but then I post the pictures on facebook and they never make it on the blog. Let's remedy that this year: We were Flo and Mayhem ! Apparently Flo is a pretty popular costume, because Progressive's website has all the logos ready to download and print. Easy peasy! Didn't Esther do a great job on my hair and make up? It took me days to get my hair back to normal! Haha. We had so much fun with our small group that night. We played a new game called Telestrations . It's a cross between Telephone and Pictionary, and the result was hilarious . I'm bringing it to Ladies' Retreat. :-) 3. The girls loved Halloween, too. Lucy picked out her own costume at Once Upon a Child. It's actually Cherry Blossom, but she thought it was Strawberry Shortcake, so we let it slide. ;-) And my mom found this awes...

Week 7: Moses Verse: "When I'm afraid, I will trust in you." Psalm 56:3 (NIRV) Moses is a major Bible character. There's way too much to cram into one week, so for this unit we focused on 2 parts: the baby in the basket and the burning bush. Here are the activities we did. On Monday, we read the story of Jochebed putting Moses in the basket and sending him down the river. I looked up The Prince of Egypt   on Netflix to show Lucy a clip of Moses  catapulting  down the river amid hippos and alligators and waves. Not gonna lie. I was fighting back tears watching Moses' mother relinquish him to the river. Can you imagine?! I can't even think about it. We discussed how scared Jochebed must have been, but how she trusted God to take care of her baby. (Verse.) We went on to make this little game. It's admittedly a little morbid, but Lucy was none the wiser. She just thought it was fun. :-) I got this idea from a game Lucy was playing online. Basically,...

I recently came to a sad realization: Lucy is done napping. She used to fall asleep once or twice a week during rest time, but it's been weeks without a wink of sleep and I'm finally accepting that she's outgrown the nap. (I'm not accepting it gracefully, but I'm accepting it as truth.) I love  my kids. (How many times have I made a disclaimer like this?) I love  reading books and doing crafts and laughing with them. But I'm realizing more and more how much I need a little down time during the day. So Lucy is still having an hour of rest time . I let her pick 5 books to take upstairs, put a CD on for her, and tell her she can read and play, but she needs to stay in her bed. Great idea, right? Ugh. She screams "Mommy!!!!" down the stairs pretty much every five minutes to tell me, "I need a new CD. I want to play when I get up. Is it time to get up yet? I don't want to stay in my bed anymore. I think I heard Lena. I see a bird out the window...

1. The day after I wrote in Lena's 9 month update that she doesn't pull up on furniture, she did this: See those very enticing choking hazards (aka bracelets)? That's all it took to get her to pull herself up! Haha. 2. This is her other new trick: (she doesn't really start until 9 seconds in) She does this alllll day. Haha. 3. My mom, Justin, Lucy, and Lena all have nasty colds this week. (This is Lena's 3rd in as many months. Grr.) I've been getting sinus headaches and coughing. It's coming for me. Nooooo!!!! I had horrible headaches most of my teen years and into my early twenties. After having Lucy they all but stopped. Thank you, hormones! Let's keep that going! Having headaches again this week reminded me how awful they are . . . and what a baby I am. 4. Justin and I finally  watched the last few episodes of The Office this week. I loved it! I laughed, I cried, I ran the whole gamut of emotion! (I just love the word gamut, don't yo...

I had a really hard time getting Lena to sit still and smile this month. I wish I could get a picture of her real smile (not her ridiculous open-mouth shriek thing). It's so adorable! But she freaks out every time she sees the camera! Before starting this entry, I went back and read Lucy's 9 month entry to see how they compare. It's funny how I'd forgotten so much, and how similar my girls are! It's also interesting to see how differently I parent. I was so worried about Lucy starting solid foods, started her so much earlier, and had tried so many more new foods with her by this age. We're just kind of moseying along, taking it slow with Lena. Anyway, here's the 9 month update! Routine She has been waking up ridiculously early. Like between 6 and 6:30. She usually plays in her bed for 15 minutes or so before she starts to cry and I get her up. We come downstairs, make a strong pot of coffee and play for a while, but she doesn't last long before ...