Boxed In

When I opened my blog, I nearly laughed out loud when I saw the title of my last post. "Be Still" is anything but that around here. Let's play a little game to guess what's been going on. Your clue is this.

If you guess we are trying to create anything resembling the awesome cardboard city over at Nessa Dee, you would be sadly mistaken and so will my little one.  Gavin would have more luck if his daddy stepped in to help although I can draw a pretty mean stick figure. I digress.

No, we are actually packing everything up to move in approximately two weeks. It's been fun in the country for the past three years, but look out city, err suburb life, here we come. Cue the theme song for Green Acres. And, if that were not enough, I am trying to put together Gavin's fourth birthday party for this weekend as long as figure out how to make Sunday feel equally special for the birthday boy and all of the fathers in our immediate family.  And, I just received a call from the much sought after swim teacher that she has a cancellation and can teach Gavin the week we close on the house. I need a nap just typing all of that out.

However, and this is a big however, I am not feeling too stressed. I keep telling myself to keep it simple, prioritize, get in lots of snuggles with the nearly four year old and tons of giggles with my nearly six month old who, by the way, is turning into an inchworm.

I need to go make sure I didn't pack the birthday candles.

Be Still

I will be in the middle of a task and suddenly have this great epiphany in my head that makes me think it would make for some profound blog post. But four loads of laundry, kids' baths, loading the dishwasher and picking up clutter make those epiphanies vanish in thin air. And that's what I do, get caught up in the tasks.

As I was vacuuming this morning's leftovers from the floor (I think I live with a family of squirrels or at least one four year old squirrel), I had this strong desire to rock my five month old. After the vacuum was put away, I picked her up and held her in my arms. We rocked in my chair and I gently gave myself a talk. Abbey - you get so wrapped up in the never ending to do lists, that you don't take nearly enough time to rock your babies, even the wriggly older one who is running around like a superhero. You get caught up with their physical needs - feeding, changing, clothing (all of which are important), that you often put their emotional needs on a lower pedal stool.  I then reminded myself that the snuggling, tickles and eye to eye contact are just as essential to their upbringing.

I am probably being somewhat hard on myself, because I do those things, just not as much as I or they would wish. It's activities like this that cause me to "be still" because it requires one on one time. It's the same way with God. He wants us to be still. Sure, He provides for our needs, but the greatest need is for relationship growth.

I would expound on that but my oldest is asking that we build a puzzle together. I think this has replaced the snuggling but it is not any less important. Now if I can just not focus on wanting to clean his fingernails.

My Little Loves

 

We recently met the talented Cristina Murphy of Snapshotz Photography at the Mercer Arboretum and couldn't have chosen a better day. We were very thankful that Cristina was so patient with our kiddos. It's not easy taking pictures of a then 4 1/2 month old but when a certain almost four year old gets a case of the sillies, it can be pretty trying. However, the outcome are beautiful pictures, but of course I think that, I'm the mama.

 

5 Months Old

Little girl, you my dear, are growing way too fast. I'm either suffering from heat exhaustion or I just had a vision of you going off to college. 

 

This past month you have reached several new milestones. You are rolling from front to back and back to front.

You found your thumb and it is now you best friend. I guess it's ok as long as it's no longer your best buddy when you go off to school. It is nice that something will calm you as you drift off to sleep.

 

 

You also got your first taste of rice cereal.

You weren't quite sure what to think of your cereal and after almost two weeks, I think you are getting the hang of it.  If we could just keep you from eating your bib or your hands, it would be a much easier process.

  

 I realized the other day you had on an outfit that you wore in your three month old pictures. I thought it would be fun to compare.

3 Months

 

  5 Months

 

 I can see some change especially in those cute legs of yours. At five months, you are mostly wearing six month clothes, although a bathing suit you had on today was twelve months. You are still sleeping well and thankfully have been taking a fairly consistent morning and afternoon nap. You love to stand. Those rolly polly legs of your are so strong! It makes me wonder if you are going to want to cruise around before long.

  Your hair is looking even more auburn and your eyes seem to be changing to slate blue. 

 

Ava Grace, your smile and even your puffed out bottom lip fill us with so much joy. Daddy says you have a contagious laugh and a knack for studying things. Your big brother can't get enough of you as evidenced by his constant need to pet your head or hold your hand. And I, sweet girl, love you to the moon and back and more.

Mama

Wild Strawberries

“Are wild strawberries really wild? 

 

 

Will they scratch an adult, will they snap at a child? 

   

 Should you pet them, or let them run free where they roam? Could they ever relax in a steam-heated home? Can they be trained to not growl at the guests? 

 

 Will a litterbox work or would they make a mess? Can we make them a Cowberry, herding the cows, or maybe a Muleberry pulling the plows, or maybe a Huntberry chasing the grouse, or maybe a Watchberry guarding the house, and though they may curl up at your feet oh so sweetly can you ever feel that you trust them completely? 

 

Or should we make a pet out of something less scary, like the Domestic Prune or the Imported Cherry, 

 

Anyhow, you've been warned and I will not be blamed if your Wild Strawberries cannot be tamed.”


― Shel Silverstein, Where the Sidewalk Ends

What's Going On

I have a few rare minutes of quiet time with only the sound of a mixed French CD my husband made for me (yes, he still does that after all these years) and the ahhh, and ooohs of a gurgling baby rolling on the floor next to me. She is entertaining herself by rolling over and attacking her pink owl blanket with such vigor. I can't believe I just typed she is rolling over. She has been rolling from her tummy to her back for a little while now but just found even more freedom by rolling from her back to her tummy. Oh my, it won't be long before she is cruising along.

Blogging has been sporadic around here because quite frankly life is busy and something has to suffer. So, that something is blogging and sleep. Oh wait, those cute baby ahhh and ooohs have increased with intensity. To her mama's arms it is.

And the above two paragraphs were typed three days ago. Since picking up that adorably ferocious baby, life has moved on with warped speed. I just emptied my camera of its pictures and saw time truly fly by.  I guess the good thing is there's something to document that time because even if that adorable baby is out of my belly, I'm still working with baby brain. I feel like there is so much I want to blog about but can't narrow it down, so I'll just post a few pictures of what we have been up to lately.

Creating masterpieces

Being Silly (I'll remind him one day, he asked me to take this picture.)

Celebrating Mother's Day with my Kiddos

Serious Puzzle Building

 

And Smiling Up A Storm

Superhero Yoga

No wonder Spiderman and Superman are so flexible!