I apologize for the LONGness but not for the CUTEness

Alden with his favorite book. He'll look at it instead of trying to tear it, eat it, or throw it.

We've taken a few giant leaps around here. Alden has started talking AND walking! You may say, "NO WAY!" but it's true! At first we didn't believe it either, but then mommy finally convinced daddy that when Alden was saying "Dun dun dun dun." in his booster seat at meals, he really meant it! When we started acknowledging it, Alden rewarded us with big smiles instead of moving on to the "I've had it with you guys. Now I am going to scream to make it clear" phase of supper. Even so, we often won't be sure that's really what he is saying since mommy and daddy have very different views about how much Alden should put in his tummy, but it is so cool to see him trying to communicate in our language and seeing his little face light up when his point is understood.

He ALSO has been testing the limits and getting into everything. But most of the time it seems more of a game than anything else. He'll try to get into the trash can and we'll say, "Alden..." and he'll turn to us and say "Nuh nuh nuh." with a little impish grin on his face (Translated: No, no, no.). We'll say, "That's right. No no." and he'll just move on to something else. It's so ADORABLE it's hard not to smile while telling him no. (No, he's certainly not perfect and if he's determined to do it, he won't listen...turning over on the changing table is one fight we never win without having a tantrum-head).

Sibling friendship has been another really enjoyable development that I hope will continue to grow. Now that Alden is interacting more on our terms, he also seems to play better with Rhianwen. I made a tent in her room the other day, and they both LOVED playing in there together for a couple of days.

Tent fun.

Getting Alden to walk was on mommy's and daddy's agenda this month. Little did we know that it was on Alden's too! Saturday, I had just been at a birthday party with him where I had been talking to a friend about when I thought he'd walk. I gave him until the end of May (I had been noticing that Alden was starting to stand without holding on to things). When we got home, Alden just took off and walked across the kitchen and down the hall! Guess he was listening! He gets this little smile on his face because he knows he's doing something exciting. He still likes to crawl and cruise but if we put him down from our arms he'll often stand instead of sit and walk to where he wants to go.

And here is video footage as proof (facebookers, you have to go to the real blog to see it):

And this one's in response to Aunt Clara's request:



Rhianwen's been doing her own exciting things like learning how to float on her back at swim lessons and coasting on her balance bike (a very scary thing for mommy who anticipates many scrapes. None so far). She also likes picking out her own clothes and hair bows and has learned how to match colors. However, she may not get the idea that a smidgen of pink in her shirt does not necessarily mean that everything else should coordinate with it instead of the predominant color. Sometimes that works, and sometimes it doesn't. But we try to give her freedom.

A favorite outfit of hers.

She finally got the guts to hold a caterpillar...I convinced her it wouldn't bite.

Mommy's also decided that she's big enough to start some craft projects. We made a fairy the other day out of ribbons and a wooden candle cup. Rhianwen painted her nose and mouth all by herself! She loves playing with her and let her hang out on her light where the ceiling fan spins the fairy around. It must be fun to watch at naptime.

Fairy Elisabetta (named by Rhianwen after her Great Aunt no less). 

Silly songs are a constant request in our home. If it weren't for mommy's sanity, they would be playing all day long and daddy would be singing them all day long. He was singing this one the other day:

"It's my job and I like it fine. No one has a better job than mine."

Rhianwen interrupted and said,"Not really. Somebody else has a better job than you."

Wally responded, "Who?"

Rhianwen said, "Mommy!!!"

Recently we've been trying to figure out ways to teach our kids positively about God. Obedience is such a focus in our house that sometimes it shuts out other aspects of life. All along we have been trying to explain motivations of the heart to Rhianwen, but it's been really hard to make it something understandable. I had been talking to a friend and to Wally about rewarding good behavior and what that is supposed to look like in relation to obedience and to encouraging proper motivation. How do you prevent encouraging good behavior for the wrong motivation? I don't want my kids to behave well b/c they expect a reward or b/c they want to avoid punishment...that would be obeying for a purely selfish motive. It would be teaching them to be self-serving. At least that is what it seems to me.

I think I can see using an "incentive system" for teaching new concepts. For example, if I introduce the concept of setting a good example, then when I notice Rhianwen doing that (even if she doesn't know she is) then I would tell her what she did and use the chosen activity/tool as a way to cement that behavioral concept into her head. But I think would not want to use it after she clearly understands the concept and our expectations.

Later, if I see that on a given day she has had a fabulous day in a certain area, then I could choose to reward her, but she shouldn't be owed a reward for good behavior.

On the flip side, I don't really want Rhianwen's main objective to be to obey in order to avoid discipline. I'm not really sure how to avoid that attitude, but I'm hoping talking to her throughout the day about God's love, planning, provision, and beauty will help her see that obedience is part of the method that He has provided us so that we can live life fully, joyfully, and gratefully.

Balance is SO hard.

Our cuties.

Happenins

Alden is 9 months old! He had his well visit today and is 18 lb 13 oz (25th percentile, so just getting skinnier and skinnier) and 30 in long (90th percentile, skinny and tall). The Dr. asked if we read to him every day. We do, but I feel like not half as much as when Rhianwen was a baby. We are just busier in general, and I read to Rhianwen too, but Alden often loses interest and goes wandering off to crash into things like the sharp edging on our brick hearth. (No we hadn't and yes now we have installed that ugly padding made to prevent such things).


Just in time for our well-visit. From 9 months on, when we have a "well-visit" with my kids, there is always some kind of horrid looking wound that needs scrutiny. At best they say this is normal. At worst, they pat my arm patronizingly and say, "Things happen....have you baby-proofed your house yet?". In addition to Alden's scrape, Rhianwen decided to get a nice shiner on her forehead right before the Dr. appointment. They also ask how Alden's taken to solid food.



Well, what do you think? Even better than grapes is a cob of corn. I think sometimes he wants to stick the entire thing in his mouth. He's so taken with corn on the cob that he forgets his table manners and snorts in enjoyment as he chews away. It's hilarious. Of course, he also really enjoys fistfuls of dirt. I can't work outside without strapping him into the umbrella stroller and letting Rhianwen push him around the driveway. Otherwise, he's eating mulch, dirt, grass, chalk. I wouldn't care except that I worry about worms and parasites. I do let him play and pick up sticks and chew on gumballs and grass. Don't worry, I'm not so much a micromanger, but when I'm trying to get something done outside, he just decides to go all out and come up with his own lunch. He's also capable of climbing. I had the dishwasher open, and he used the top rack to pull himself up onto the open door...all very quietly while my back was turned. When I discovered him there, he just looked at me nonchalantly as if to say, "What do you expect?"

This past weekend was Rhianwen's first swim lesson. She had a BLAST. And to top that off, Grandma Nanny Kim and Grandpa were here when she came home. We had a fabulous time relaxing and enjoying our backyard and Duke Gardens. Rhianwen made sure that we didn't leave Minky and Zephyr (Nanny Kim's and Grandpa's monkeys) and kept track of Grandpa's hat as well. However, somehow, Rhianwen's hat ended up in Nanny Kim's car even though we never used their car over the weekend, and it had to be mailed back...something that Rhianwen thought was just so fun. She loves getting mail. Who doesn't if it's not junk?

Weirdness runs in the family.

Everyone found this pavilion amazing with all the wisteria blooming on it. It's one of my favorite spring flowers even though it's a terrible invasive species!

Daddy often does catechism questions during part of bath, and recently when he gets to "What is God?", Rhianwen doesn't want to answer. She's worried over an apparent contradiction that she voices by saying quickly, "God is a Spirit has not a body like man" Big breath "But Jesus is God! And Jesus has a body!" I can't believe she's already capable of such logic! Talk about questions that are hard to answer even for an adult!

She'll also just say things out of the blue like: "Does Jesus have a soul that will never die?" Hmmm. I don't think I know the answer to that one. I mean, He was fully God and fully man. All men have souls that will never die....I've never studied up on this and really want to look into it. One thing I do know, she absorbs more than we think and mulls over it even when we aren't talking about it!

One strange obsession she has is alligators. She's started having bad dreams about them. I don't know where it comes from b/c we've never talked much about them. She's seen some small ones at the museum. I don't really know if I should talk more about them, find funny stories at the library featuring them, or just ignore it.

Don't worry. We DO have lighter conversations. I've made a habit of coming in after putting Alden down and after Rhianwen's been put to bed to talk to her alone. We often "imagine" things. One day we had found a sparkly circle on her rug and I had asked if a fairy had come during the night. So, that night she said that her fairy was going to come with her bag and get the sparkly thing. I asked what her fairy looked like and she immediately said, "Sparkly and red". I asked, "Where does she live?" Answer: "Oval Park" (a park we had visited for playgroup a couple of MONTHS ago.

Other funny conversations:

If you could have anything to eat what would it be? "cheese and broccoli"

Should we plant something for earth day? "Yeah". What should we plant? "Birthday candles."

Our little independent thinker.

Help not Haylp

A good Southern family.

Wally went out of town on some kind of emergency arc flash business and left us here to our own designs. Mostly that means peeing and pooping in our pants, fussing, and sleeping with fettuccine noodles up our noses and sneezing them out in the morning. Okay and some linguistic lessons as suggested in our title. For some reason Rhianwen has been drawling in Southernese lately. Mysaylf (translated myself) and haylp are 2 such words. The funny thing is when I corrected her for "myself" she said haylp a few seconds later and self corrected without me saying a thing! So, she knows she's drawling! Oh boy, are we in trouble now. I blame it all on Uncle Averett (I love to give him a hard time) though Wally does have his moments (his days of the week are actually dees).

At the start.

Grandpa and Grandma Nanny Kim gave us their canoe along with the bells and whistles (notice the comfy attachable seats), and mommy had the brilliant idea of trying it out this past weekend with an 8 month-old and 2.5 year old. We committed completely to this adventure when we chose a river (no turning back). It was quite fun and I think left Wally with stars in his eyes for his intrepid wife. We saw lots of turtles and even a Canadian goose family with their goslings, oh so adorable!

Rhianwen styling in her Kid Rock wannabe outfit. 

All tuckered out at the end of our trip.

"I don't know how I got here but I DO know I have a graham cracker in my hands. All is well."

Then it was back home for Easter Egg painting.

We got these cheap neat Q-tips that were made by Paas which were filled with dye. When you broke near the line at the top, the dye ran down to the tip where you could then use it to paint the egg. Genius! We'll be buying these every year.

"I'm exhausted. Why are we painting eggs?"

Alden has such a sweet spirit. Despite missed naps, interrupted naps, and late bedtimes, he's still a happy guy just wanting to hang out and do what the big kids are doing. Of course, in his many explorations around the house, he's discovered the thrills of toilet water, plungers, and toilet scrubbers. He searches these items out with a zeal that is unmatched. He even tries to get to them from the bathtub, no longer are water and toys alluring.

Easter morning fun with plastic eggs and a new book entitled "I Love You Stinky Face". 

We enjoyed talking to Grandaddy and Grandmama on the webcam Easter afternoon. Rhianwen got to show off her box of treasure from the Benjamin's Box story. She did a fair job of explaining, but was highly distracted with the novelty of the webcam call.

We're just waiting for dad to come home...Rhi keeps asking if daddy is home now. As if she thinks she might not know if he was home. And when she talks to him on the phone she asks if he is at home (I think the confusion is b/c we recently talked to each other on walkee talkees). We all miss daddy!

1st Haircut

Rhianwen had her first haircut this past week. She went with mommy, and we both got it done. We had been talking it up all week long, but finally right before we went, she asked, "Is it going to hurt?" I wonder if she had thought about it all week and finally asked or if it just occurred to her then. I felt bad that I hadn't thought about that. I have heard that it is a common question before your first cut. Oh well. She did fabulously and sat VERY still. You really can't tell the difference between before and after pics, but it looks much better to me. It's more even and not so straggly especially in the back.

"My first spaghetti...what a blast!"

Alden managed to get a child's plastic hanger caught in his eyelid so we had a surprise visit to the doctor's office. His eye was fine and so were his ears and heart (since there's an obvious connection). Mom says there's nothing like a kid to give you grey hair. He's been using Rhianwen's little ride-on car as a walking-assistant and can walk all the way down the hall with it. Of course, Rhianwen often will see him using it and decide to hop on and take off. Alden tries his best to speed up and run with her, but usually gets left in the dust unless Daddy or mommy makes her slow down. He's getting his top incisors in, but this wasn't obvious to us until we heard him grinding on something. The top teeth aren't even visible, yet he can grind them through the hole in his gums. I find this intriguing and disturbing. It makes me want to cringe.

Styling in his new sandals.

We enjoyed going to a state park this past Sunday despite the clouds (literally) of pollen blowing across the lake. Rhianwen only wanted to "fish". She's continued to talk about the blue fish that she caught. What an imagination! And I suppose it was Alden's first hike on his own 2 feet.

For Easter, we have been reading Benjamin's Box. We read one page each night to Rhianwen. Along with the story are visual aids that we keep in a treasure box. We've also been trying to sing hymns that pertain to the story. She's holding straw which is to remind us of Christ in the manger. I think she really enjoyed this night since she finally got to sing Hark the Herald Angels Sing again. She knows and sings the entire first verse. If you don't know this carol, perhaps you aren't impressed, but it has huge words...like "God and sinners reconciled" and "Join the Triumph in the Skies". It both makes me laugh and fills me with hope to hear her little voice singing such huge words and concepts.