Kate's last month of being 1

Here we are, the day before Kate's second birthday. It's so exciting! I remember when Kate was small I used to see kids who were close to two years old and it felt like they were teenagers. Now I see the little ones and I hardly see the difference. "Oh, my daughter is almost the same age", I often say.  I'm sure their parents have the same denial I once had! It truly goes by quickly. I'll start were I left off last time!

So we started Mother's Day Out! It's always so funny trying to take porch pictures because she thinks that we're standing outside to play. She was really excited to carry her backpack and nap mat, although after the first week the thrill was over and she now wants me to carry everything. She's only got to go twice so far because we were off for Labor Day and this past week we were getting over a cold but she enjoys it. She doesn't take a super long nap, but oh well, at least she gets some rest! Meanwhile, I love love love my Mondays! 

I'm trying to have something fun planned for her when she gets home from MDO so we can have some good mommy/daughter play time. We've been doing lots of apple play the past few weeks- sensory activities, songs, and books. Lots of fun! On this day I'd made apple pie play dough which smells amazing! So we enjoyed making apples. This was the first time she's really played with play dough which was exciting! I think she'll get into even more once I find some little tools to use with it. 

 We also did apple sorting. While she definitely knows her colors and knows how to sort, this didn't keep her very occupied. We'll try again next year! 

 Apple bobbing! She really enjoyed this one, although she preferred to not use the spoon. 

 I'll confess, we only did it with water once, now it's an indoor activity. :) Also she likes pulling the door mat or a blanket over to play on. Really cute! 

 She is really into having tea parties. She wants you to come sit with her and she'll pull over all of her stuffed animals. I did not show her how to do this, I think Blake may have. Anyways it's really fun. I can't wait to take her to Inspirations Tea Room in Edmond to have a little tea party and buy her a nicer tea set. (Then these can go back to the bathtub!) 

MiMi and Gramps came to visit and they brought her part of her birthday present! What a lucky girl! She loves her cradle and high chair for her dolls! She is really interested in pretend play. She enjoys putting her toys down to go night night or to have a snack. She also likes to pull the diapers out of the drawers because her little friends all need a diaper change. 

While my folks were here we went to see Jake play with the OC Summer Singers for the freshman. Pretty fun to watch them play as the sun was setting. 

 She's getting so grown up! Her hair is getting longer and she's learning how to do and say more each day. Sometimes I have moments when I look at her and just can't believe how grown up she looks. This was one of those moments! 

 She really enjoys helping me in the kitchen. I don't always feel like having a toddler helper of course, but I'm trying to look for ways that she can get involved. I've heard stories about my grandma Lehman cooking with kids and I guess I just feel connected to her somehow when I've got Kate up on the chair helping me. In this picture she was simply moving the veggies over from the cutting board to the pan- she loved it. 

We made an apple pie sensory bin that has proven to be loads of fun. Oatmeal with cinnamon sticks and apple pie spice. Also some pretend apples and little cooking tools. She can make a mess but it's just a quick sweep to clean. Worth the mess for the fun it is! 

We've also made apple pie, applesauce muffins, and applesauce! She loves to help. She wanted to help when I was peeping them so I gave her a little measuring spoon to pretend like she was peeling. Then she discovered that you could bit into the apple and it tastes pretty good! 

Our girl loves loves loves applesauce. This fall has been tricky for us though. All of my homemade apple sauce has been giving her a rash around her mouth- never happened in the past! So I've been trying different recipes. I used one that had less spices and was sweetened and used no green apples and she's been doing pretty good with it. 

Meanwhile, I've got lots of apple sauce in my freezer for muffins!!! 

On a personal note, I'm going to be facilitating our Monday night bible studies at church this fall so I've been getting a head start. We are going to go through Pricilla Shire's The Armor of God. I've been getting ahead and it is so so so so good. I'm excited to see how God will change me in the next few months. Blake has also gone back to school to get his masters in computer science at OC. He is gone just one night a week thankfully. So we've both got stuff we are working on! 

My cousin Candy loaned us a little dress that was her's when she was a little and was worn by some of the cousins as well. It was fun to see little Kate in it! Also worth remembering that Kate has started wearing bows again! She will finally keep them on her head and I'm pretty sure this was the first Sunday in a long time for that to happen! 

Sometimes there are moments when I look at Kate and see her daddy so so much. This was one of those times. :)

For Memorial Day we went over to John and Janine's and had steaks and potatoes for Blake's birthday! Jenny made a yummy cherry crisp-- so so good. I need to do a better job of taking more pictures when we are all together. Those Friend kids are so good with her. Lots of mental pictures. 

By the time Blake's birthday rolled around he was in school! We were able to give him his gifts and sing happy birthday to him before he left. He wasn't feeling that great so we didn't do anything special for eating, poor guy! 

Kate got this puzzle for Christmas last year and it's been put up because Kate mostly liked to throw the pieces everywhere. I decided to pull it out and she was occupied for a very long time! I was impressed that she could complete it! She would go back and forth between identifying the shapes and colors. So proud of her! 

And eating. Oh boy. Someone please tell me that it will get easier. I miss the days where she would eat what we offered her. When she would eat chicken, pork, and beef. Oh, what has happened? She does not have much variety but it's not because I don't offer it. She usually loves to eat carrots unless the are leftover so at least there is that. Her sources of protein are peanut butter, cheese, and yogurt. Favorite snacks are raisons, teddy bear cookies, and pouches. She also likes applesauce, bananas, peach and pear cups. Sometimes grapes. Sometimes green beans. Always bread. 

Hoping for some changes in her third year! 

She is learning new things everyday. Sometimes putting 3 words together! She is starting to sing more, she loves to sing "Head Shoulders Knees and Toes" "Wheels on the Bus" and "If You're Happy and You Know It". She loves her books and loves going to the park. She loves the swing the best but is starting to enjoy climbing and going down the slide. She loves going up to the church. And she LOVES to FaceTime with MiMi and Gramps! 

She will get to see Blake's folks soon too and I know she will be so excited! She's starting calling Blake's dad "PawPaw" all on her own. We've never ever called him that so that's completely on her! We tried correcting her but she wouldn't hear it! So PawPaw it is. :)

Lots coming up for our girl! 2 year check up on Friday, a visit from MiMi and Gramps this weekend and then next weekend Grandma and PawPaw and her birthday party! Woo Hoo! 

Ready for School! (okay... mother's day out!)

Tomorrow our baby will grow up just a little bit. She will go to her first day of Mother's Day Out at Covenant Community Church! I'm a excited and nervous at the same time. I think I'm more nervous for her teachers, but here are my main concern:

-Will she eat her lunch and drink her milk?

-Will she nap on her nap mat?

I think she'll have fun though and it should be a good experience for both of us! She will only be going one day a week so I'm wondering how that will affect her routine, but hopefully it'll help her to be more flexible!

We're calling MDO "school" for simplicity. If we call it "church" it might confuse her with our congregation's building and Mother's Day Out is just a little too long to say sometimes. Who knows, maybe Kate will get to be a SWCS patriot in a few years, so might as well get her used to the facility as "school"!

We are all ready to go! She has her first backpack and lunch box! She even got some new play clothes and big girl shoes for all the playing she'll be doing on the playground! 

She is pretty excited about her backpack and of course she loves her new shoes. (What girl doesn't?) 

  

She was fascinated with her nap mat. Although I think she thinks it's just for play time. One of her favorite activities is to pretend to go night-night, and she also loves to put her toys down for bed. So when she first saw her nap mat I think she thought it was her pretend bed... hopefully she'll figure out it's for nap time!! Bless her teachers, that's all I have to say. 

I know this is not the same thing as parent's getting their kids ready for school, but it's pretty darn good practice-- We'll ease our way into this transition over the next few years! 

Father God,

You are our good good Father. You care about each of your children so intimately that it makes our greatest love here on earth look weak. Thank you for loving our sweet Kate, for caring about her even more that we her parents do. Thank you for the opportunity we have to try mother's day out. Thank you for her loving teachers and each little friend that will be in class with her. Give her teachers the energy and wellness they need to meet the needs of the class. I ask that you help this be a positive experience for Kate. Help her to feel safe and loved and help her to grow. Guide her so that she might learn how to share and play with others, and also find healthy independence. Help her to learn more about you and your mighty love. 

It's in Jesus name I pray,

Amen 

Life with Kate- Spring and Summer 2016

I've not done a great job of recording our family events and happenings, except for on Facebook. I keep thinking I'll work on the scrapbook but that hasn't happened yet... so it looks like I'd better take better care of the blog! A lot has happened since our last family update post so I thought I'd play catch up from this year with Kate's second birthday just a few weeks away! 

This year I started a new venture as I was invited to be a contributor for Creatingagreatday.com. It's been such a blessing to have that area of ministry, especially at a time in my life when I often feel trapped because I can't always serve in the ways I'd like to. Anyways, I'm thinking that I'll start to focus this blog on our family as use it as a way to document our life and I'll save my more devotional posts for Creating a Great Day, but as always, parenthood seems to show me many lessons and this wouldn't be my blog if I didn't share from time to time how God is changing me. I might look into some different blog formats, we'll see. But for now... let's just get updated on the year! 

Because it's been so long, I'm trying to keep the pictures condensed- for each picture there is about 5 more I want to share... but don't have the time to do that!! At least I'll have a base for if I ever get to that scrapbook! 

So we'll start with Easter! Aw, my precious baby girl. :) Mimi bought this sweet smocked easter bunny dress for Kate and it's perfect! The Saturday before Easter we had a little easter egg hunt (with empty eggs) for Kate in our backyard. It was fun because Kate had never had a back yard before and the weather was just getting warm so Kate was having a blast walking around in the crunchy brown Oklahoma grass. On Easter Sunday we went through our discovery basket as a family and talked about the story of Jesus, and of course took a peek at what the bunny had left for Kate! After church Blake had to go back to Houston but Kate and I met Uncle Jake over at our cousins house for brunch and an egg hunt! It was a fun Easter! 

It's been really fun to watch Kate's play develop over the last few months! In this picture she was walking Cinderella up and down the stairs- this was the first time to really take interest in pretend play. Of course it's blossomed even more since this picture but this was the beginning! 

We found ourselves back in Houston as Blake's job in OKC still had not started. Ben and Jerry's had their free ice cream cone day so of course we had to go! I didn't think we were actually going to give Kate her's so I ordered like a chocolate chunk type flavor---I was wrong!

 Kate had her first ice cream cone and LOVED it! This experience, while fun, was I'm sure stressful on my husband. He can't stand to have sticky hands and of course a toddler having her first ice cream cone is well... a big sticky mess! Blake, you're a good sport, my dear! 

While in Houston we wanted to milk all the time we could with our friends. We had a zoo trip with Juliana and Kayla... oh I miss them so much!! Leaving our friends and family in Houston was not an easy thing to do. Can't sugar coat it, just so grateful for our time in Houston.

Of course that brings us to the day we actually had to say goodbye! It was some time in April. Of course it was hard, but we were happy to not have to be floating back and forth anymore! Those were a stressful couple of months but it gave us more time to say goodbye and that was nice. 

It didn't take us long to get settled in and the weather happened to be amazing! Blake got his first grill- a weber! We were pretty excited as we'd been looking forward to the day we'd be able to have back yard cook outs! We had fun trying different recipes! 

Couldn't leave this one out- Kate LOVES her rhyme Bible! On more than one occasion she's wanted us to read the whole book to her. She knows where her Bibles are and asks us to read from them often. I've tried to have a set bible time each day with a craft and song but I wasn't very good at sticking with it. (Sorta like how I'm not always good at keeping up at my personal studies) Anyways, I'm hoping to get a some structure set up so that Bible time will become a priority. That being said, Blake and I are doing everything we can to incorporate our love for Christ into our daily lives. We are praying with Kate often and she's learned how to fold her hands out of respect and say thank you. We try to point out all that God has made whenever we think about. Sometimes when we walk home from the park I'll just say a prayer as I push her in the stroller and we say thank you for for the fun time we had at the park. She loves going to church and bible class (even if she does cry at drop off time) and I'm so thankful for all the people in her little life who show her God's love! 

Another fun part about being back in the OKC area is being close to my brother! He's been busy this summer with Summer Singers and classes but we still have gotten to see him a few times and that's been fun for all of us. Kate knows who he is and calls him by name. She loves it when he plays with her or reads to her. Hoping he'll bring over his guitar or violin one of these days because I know she'll love that too! 

We got to take Kate to her first tea party at Inspirations Tea Room in Edmond. Perhaps my favorite place in the whole OKC area, this sweet little restaurant is tucked in an area of tall tress and full of charm. Kate LOVED her scone! I'm so looking forward to many many tea parties there with my sweet girl! I imagine we'll have all sorts of conversations in their dining room over the years. :) 

Of course, we're able to send more time with Blake's family now, which is wonderful. We've had a couple of fun visits this summer for different activities like going to see the Bartlesville High School production of "7 Brides for 7 Brothers" and watching Pam accompany the children's theater in Beauty and the Beast. They have made their way down here a couple of times too! 

Mother's Day 2016! We had a relaxed Mother's Day with church and then came home and Blake made waffles! Kate wore a little dress that was mine when I was her age- given to me by my Grandma Lehman. 

What would this lengthy post of memories be without a bath picture? A couple of things to note about this one- first is her bard animal toys! These are the toys that really started to help her speech. She began to identify them by their sounds- calling the horse "neigh" and the lamb "baa" ect.. We LOVE barn toys, books, and songs because they helped Kate learn to talk. Before she got interested in barn animals she was pretty much only saying, "Dada" "cracker" "more" and "Mama" but learning her animal sounds opened up a wide door of language for her! So exciting! 

The second thing worth noting with this picture is that our little pumpkin was sick when I took this- can you even tell? We were taking a morning bath to bring down her fever- it didn't work and we ended up at the clinic a couple hours later. Turned out she had the flu and strep throat! Poor girl! It was a tough week but we all made it through! 

We ventured to the OKC Zoo as well!! We actually got membership passes but it's been too hot this summer to want to trek out there. Looking forward to fun fall visits though! OKC has a great zoo, which is a good thing because Houston has a good zoo too and we'd be sad if we had to move somewhere with a not-so-great one! 

We also got a fish this year. Kate had learned to say "fish" and it was really cute so we got one. Sadly our fish is no longer with us, but he hung around for several months! Also any tiny desire I had to own a pet was diminished after buying the fish. Just having to change his water every week was a pain, not sure I have it in me to care for a pet that requires even more care than that- ha!! I'll still with my toddler! :) 

Memorial Day 2016

It's so much fun for Kate to be around her Aunt Jenny! 

Seriously though, Jenny is a wonderful example of a christian wife and mother and I'm grateful I get to be around her more now that we are here! I learn a lot from her! Plus, she is pretty fun! :) 

And speaking of Jenny... we love her kids too! Meredith is the best babysitter. :) It's hard to get a picture with her 4 kids AND Kate when we are together so I'll make it my goal to get one soon! 

Things have been going really well for us at South Yukon Church of Christ, and I owe a lot of that to my sweet friend Doris. Right away she got me back in the bunco group and leading the skit for the spring Ladies Day. It was almost like we'd never been gone. Doris tells me often that she knows it might sound weird because we are so far apart in age but that I really am her friend- and I feel the same way. It's so easy to limit our friendships with those in similar life phases and circumstances but I'm so grateful that my parents raised me to look beyond that stuff. Love this woman to pieces. 

Father's Day 2016-- This is how it goes when you wait until after church to take a picture! I love it though because this picture speaks the truth 100%. Can't remember exactly how we spent the day but I think we picked up Golden Chick for lunch.

We got an inflatable pool this summer and only used it a handful of times. Next year I think we'll go with something more simple! But I just love the sky in this picture. I think Oklahoma has some beautiful evenings, especially in the summer. 

So thankful we have a nice backyard where we get to see them! 

This summer Kate went to Splash and Play the community pool in Mustang. She liked it a lot the first couple of times and then she'd had enough. It was still a good experience. Swimming hasn't been her favorite thing to do this summer- which is fine by me because it's a lot of work to take a toddler swimming. I'm sure in a year or so she'll be a little fish that we can't get to come out of the water! 

She did enjoy her little backyard pool though. We really should have used it more! We had a fun playdate with our new friend Lilly and the girls had so much fun splashing around. It's been fun meeting new friends at church and entering into the world of play dates! 

At the end of June, Kate and I got to take a fun trip to Galveston with my parents. We had a beach house right by the water and enjoyed Moody Gardens as well. It was Kate's first time to see the ocean and she was pretty amazed by it, she of course loved getting dirty in the sand! We also got to see a lot of family on this trip like my Aunt Mary and many on my mom's side of the family. 

So glad we got to  do that! 

Next up... Forth of July!!! My parents came up and we all had fun at John and Janine's house. All of my cousin's kids are great with Kate but Caleb is just so sweet-- love catching moments like this one! 

Kate is loving the park! We've spent lots of time playing at the park this summer and I'm sure we'll do it even more as the weather gets better. Right now Kate's favorite things to do are swing and climb. She's enjoys the slide but doesn't always enjoy the work you do to get to the top of the slide! 

This summer we made the drive to Ponca City to celebrate Genie's 90th birthday! Her church had a really special party for her and we were so glad we got to be there. 

Kate got to meet her Great Grandma on Blake's side of the family in July. We drove up to Atwood, Kansas to stay with Blake's Uncle Ron and Colleen. We met up with Pam and Heather while we were there too. We got to see some of the farm and visit with family and of course, had great food! They loaded us up with some good beef to take home with us and we saw my Aunt Thelma in McPherson on the way home. It was a short trip but also fun! Kate loved the wide open spaces. 

There is so so much more I could post but I think I've covered the big stuff. There are pictures with friends and family I wish I could add but that would make this post way too long!! They are on Facebook at least!

I have to add just a couple of pictures of what Kate is interested in right now though! 

She loves to play! Even more, she loves to play with you... or me... or anyone who gives her attention! Blake started a new thing with her where he ties a rope to her laundry basket and calls it a boat... Kate loads up her "friends" and they go for a spin. It's now impossible for her to keep her dirty clothes in the hamper!! Thanks, daddy. ;) 

She also is growing quite fond of her dolls and stuffed animals. She enjoys making them do things ride on her pony, read a book, eat, or sleep. She is good about practicing life skills with her toys now. 

She likes to make "soup" with her pretend veggies and one of my small pots and wooden spoons. 

She likes to put momma and daddy to bed- she covers us with a blanket on the floor, pats our head, and tells us night night. We do this over and over again every day. 

She enjoys stacking blocks to make a tower and doing the little box shape puzzles, where you put the different shaped blocks in the correct hole. She has a big barn we picked up from Craigslist that she has fun with. She loves books. Loves them. 

She loves to color! She calls her coloring projects her work, and like it best when you are doing it with her-- but only with the crayon or marker she puts in your hand! She loves stickers. We especially like stickers during church. 

Her eating is hit or miss, but she loves her snacks. Her favorite snack is "teddy bears" those little teddy graham cookies... trying to limit those but she asks for them almost every day. She likes Tyson chicken nuggets- the thing I promised myself I'd never feed my child until suddenly they became the only meat she would eat. She loves applesauce, yogurt, peaches, grapes (just started eating those this week!!), cheese, raisons, cooked carrots, and bread. Oh my, the bread. Food is a challenge but I'm not stressing over it. It's just not worth it! We offer her new foods every day and sometimes she goes for and most of the time she doesn't. We just keep trying! 

Life is so much fun with this girl. She keeps us busy and helps us to grow more that she knows. 

Now that I've gotten some documentation of the year 2016 in an organized manor I feel a little better. Maybe someday I'll get to that scrapbook but if not I'm happy to have the scrapbook of my generation- my blog! :) 

Moments to Savor

In a few days our little Kate will be just three months away from her second birthday. As everyone likes to say, the days feel long but the years feel short. That's exactly how it feels. This week in particular has been a long one. Kate's got her first upper "cuspid" tooth coming in and it's not treating her well. In addition to this fun we've had daily swim lessons (which we cut short) to let her get over her runny nose and low grade temp.

Anyways... weeks like this one... the ones where you had such high hopes of everything going so perfectly... it's such a bummer when things don't go as you planned! I've learned not to stress over it though, to just relax and try to enjoy the ride.

Yes, it's true not every moment of parenthood is blissful and one you want to treasure always. For example....

The mess seems to abound always and chores, phone calls, books... all get forgotten about. 

When she wakes up at 5:30 AM, and then only naps for an hour during the day I feel weary. When she throws her yogurt on the floor it about does me in. 

Make no mistake, often parenthood seems to feel like this:

But it's OK. You know why?

Because of this....

When she wakes up early and can't wait to be with me... that's what makes it OK. One day I'll be longing for her to want to wake up and spend a Saturday with me instead of her friends. I love her favorite place to be is in my lap. When I'm sitting on the couch and she comes over saying, "up!"- that's a moment to savor. When she brings over a book and says, "eead" (read)- that's a moment to treasure. When she takes me by the finger and pulls me over to the snack cabinet and says, "eease" (please)- that's a moment to remember.  My baby girl loves me.

 As I watch her dance, sing, and giggle with her daddy to praise and worship music videos- those are images stamped on my heart. 

Seeing her try new things, like going down the frog slide at the pool or roaming in the grass barefoot, it just excites me. 

When she gives me a hug while we're walking down the lane at Wal-Mart. 

Watching her enjoy others at church. Holding their fingers, leading them on walks. Happy in Bible Class when we pick her up. Excited to hear the singing during worship service.

 Putting her hands together to pray before each meal. 

Or I'll look over and see her imaginative and purposeful play develop. Listening to her say the animal sounds or copy their movements. Helping her sort by colors. Watching her little toes learn to walk faster. Seeing her delight as she figures out how to fit the shapes into the puzzle. 

Oh, you should see the happiness it gives her daddy and me. 

Who am I to be loved by this sweet little girl? What have I done to deserve the happiness she brings me. I have about 1000 insecurities and short comings but in her innocence she doesn't see any of them. She sees me- her momma- whom she depends on and loves. 

This little girl is one of the greatest sources of joy and love I've ever known. Scripture tells us to dwell on what is good and praiseworthy. I don't want to get bogged down with all of the challenges this season of life brings me. Years from now, when I look back, I want to remember these good moments so I must be intentional about noticing them.  Years from now, I don't want to remember myself as a frazzled momma who was overwhelmed with trying to do it all. 

I want to remember that with every ounce of breath in me, I embraced the journey of motherhood.