Fun in the Fort

Forts are so much fun to play in, especially when they are shaped like a giraffe and are filled with all of your favorite toys! We gave this Christmas present a break after the holidays and just got it out 2 nights ago. I even let him take his french toast in there this morning -- what fun is breakfast if we can't enjoy it in special places?!

Was Someone's Prayer Answered Last Night?

Over the past week I have been reading the blogs from a group of Christian bloggers who travelled to Uganda with Compassion ministry. Their stories were heart warming and very moving, as they related their experiences. Some left me in tears. For those of you familiar with Compassion, this organization gives you the opportunity to sponsor a child in some other part of the world and to release them from poverty in Jesus' name.

We had always said "someday" we would do that. We would pick a child "someday" when there was one Colin's exact age (you can even search by b-day). Last I checked, "someday" isn't even a day on a calendar, and I felt God tugging on my heart for us to sponsor a child. Now. God didn't promise to love me "someday." He doesn't provide for me "someday." He loves me today. He provides for me today.

We researched various countries. We even reviewed various children's biographies. We found a young boy who lives near Comayagua, Honduras, which is very near to the area where I worked in missions one summer when I was in college. I even drove by there from Tegucigalpa on my way to San Pedro Sula (what a wild bus ride, but that's a story for a whole other posting!)

So with some prayer and the simple click of a mouse, we have adopted Hernan through Compassion. I looked at Matt and commented that I wondered if little Hernan went to bed at night praying for someone to select him. Were his prayers answered last night? I know ours were.

I am excited to get to know our newest "family member." To see his picture posted on our fridge. To send him a birthday present (his birthday is 5 days after Colin's, though he is 4 years older.) To pray for him and show him the love of Christ through letters sent to him. And perhaps someday to meet him in Honduras.

I am humbled that we have the ability to sponsor a child -- I know many of you have done this for years, and I applaud your commitment to fighting poverty in the lives of children around the world. And for those of you who have had a tugging at your heart, I would urge you to listen to that tugging and to make a difference.

All "Dude'd Up" Like Little Joe

One of Colin's favorite things to listen to in the car is a Veggie Tales story. In particular, his favorite is The Ballad of Little Joe -- a western Bible story that tells the story of Joseph when he was sold into slavery by his brothers but ended up saving them many years later during the famine.

We were listening to this particular story in the car yesterday and he now laughs at some of the funny parts, and shows concern when it makes mysterious, scary sounds. I can see his little mind processing all that it is hearing.

We paused the story to run into a consignment store, where I was on the hunt for a Fisher Price barn (we have the animals and not the barn...) When I was quickly successful in locating the barn, I made a quick stroll to the clothing section and we found something really cool: Colin's first pair of cowboy boots!

"Do you want to look like Little Joe, Colin? He wears cowboy boots, you know. And your Grandaddy wears cowboy boots, too." And with that said, I got a huge smile and he grabbed the boots into his arms and that was that.

Colin is now all "dude-ed up" for our trip in a few weeks down to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Every little boy with Texan heritage needs his very own pair of cowboy boots!

The Impostor

When Colin was 3 months old, a friend sewed 2 blue blankets for him, which I planned to use for him at daycare. I had 2 made so that one could always be "the backup." He never seemed overly interested in the blankets then, as he was a swaddle baby and was snugly wrapped up in a swaddle blanket when he slept.

But somehow these blue blankets endured, and now he sleeps with BOTH of them at night. And for naps.

Somehow today I was a bit of a novice at this whole parenting thing. I threw the blankets in the wash and put Colin down for his afternoon nap with a DIFFERENT blanket. "Surely he's not that attached," I thought.

25 minutes after putting him down for his nap he was still wide eyed and bushy tailed. When I went in and picked him up, I handed him the impostor blanket.

"Sniff, sniff." (He actually gave a good long, dramatic sniff of the blanket, as if to make a point.) And then he handed the impostor to me, as though I had to be kidding. I then tried a replacement impostor, which has a stuffed dog head sewed to one end with a tail sewed to the other end.

"Sniff, sniff." This sniff was followed by smiles that indicated he liked it, but was no sleepier than he was with the previous impostor. This blanket got a big hug, but then he ran to play with a toy in his room.

I hustled downstairs and threw the real McCoys in the dryer for a quick 15 minutes and then I went to rescue him from his extended playtime:

"Colin, your blankies took a bath and I bet we can find them down in Elliot's room." (The cat's room is the utility room, and thus is where the dryer was frantically drying his beloved loveys.)

As I opened the dryer, a beam of sunshine appeared and shined direct from the blankies to his suddenly very sleepy eyes. He grabbed each of the toasty-warm blue blankets and cuddled them into his arms while I picked him up and carried him and the TRUE blankies, direct to the land of nod.

Today I was a novice. The blue blankets will now get washed earlier in the day. However, something makes me think he sure did enjoy the warm feel as they came out of the dryer.

Apparently It Really IS That Hard

Apparently getting into a preschool is harder than getting into college. A friend with older children warned me, "Oh, just you wait!"

I had heard stories of parents putting their child on the wait list at a certain preschool the minute the child was conceived (or born, perhaps, but let's be a little dramatic.) You're simply trying to find a place for your kid to go play with waterpaints and playdough, get roughed up on the playground by the "big kid," and sing a few cutesie songs that you don't know the lyrics to.

Though I'm not sure places here start lists at birth, apparently they start them more than 9 months in advance. We got a letter this week from one place for next September -- he's so far down on the waitlist that every boy in the class would have to drop out (what kind of odds are that?) And we got a call from another place, which offered a spot for only one day a week. And so I'm thinking maybe just once a week isn't that bad afterall.

And He's OUT!

Saturday morning I went in Colin's room to find the surprise that most parents dread. Colin was standing next to (not IN) his crib. I'm not really sure how long he had been out, but he is skilled at opening his bedroom door, so I suppose not very long. He wasn't hurt, but did look a bit surprised, as well, as though he wondered how to get back in.

We haven't had a repeat since then, and we by no means are making a plan for a toddler bed. I have no idea how you keep a kid at this age on a bed unless they are 100% contained. He's such a busy body that I just can't imagine! He would simply get up and leave his room. Or go sleep on the floor with a few stuffed animals. Or I'm not sure what else. I'm actually laughing thinking about it right now.

Grocery Shopping: Dream Come True

When we were living in Houston during the dot com boom, I recall seeing all of the online grocery shopping vans delivering groceries throughout the area and thought that seemed like such an odd luxury -- why not just go to the store yourself?

Fast forward seven years. Imagine strapping a screaming monkey in your shopping cart and trying to make sane food purchasing decisions. And woe to you if you forgot something on the other side of the store, as every other poor soul within a 50 foot radius would hear the screams and wonder what zoo this screaming animal escaped from. Oh yah. That monkey happens to be my 21 month old offspring.

OK, so grocery shopping isn't the most fun thing for me either. In fact, I despise it. I was lamenting the horror of shopping with him in tow when a mom reminded me of something so simple -- why not use Amazon Fresh?

Silly me! I have now found my new way to grocery shop! I sat on the couch last night with the laptop and placed my grocery store order while sipping a glass of wine and watching a movie. Then I handed Matt the computer to select his frozen lunches. And with the press of a button, I was done.

My groceries arrived before dawn on my doorstop while I slept. And when I woke at 6:45 am I was so excited to open the front door to find 4 large plastic containers, some with refrigerated packaging, sitting on my doorstep waiting to come inside. How cool is that? Free delivery, AND they threw in a bonus produce sampler to boot!

No screaming child. No spending time and gas driving to the store. I wish I could tell "that women" seven years ago that the "luxury" of grocery delivery would be a key to surviving the toddler years. Do you think she would have listened?

Den Transformation

Over the past half year I have been contemplating various solutions for storage in our den. The room is part play area, part family and tv room. So at night when our lil' guy goes to bed, it's nice to put all the toys away so we can relax and watch the tube.

For a while we had a few big toy buckets that we would load up with toys and stack in the corner. It never worked too well, as he would simply crawl in them to dig for a mysterious toy at the bottom of the pile, creating a disorganized mess. We even try rotating toys from the garage, though the inside toys always seem to line the area near the fireplace.

I investigated various built-in cabinet options, ranging from pretty expensive to "you've got to be out of your mind" price tags. And thus, the idea of "built-ins" was "out."

Then we got on Craigslist this weekend and found a perfect solution! We found an entertainment center that comes in three modules -- one center module for the TV, with storage below, and 2 shelving modules for either side of the TV. We decided we could fit the 2 shelving cabinets together on one side and the armoire for the TV on the other...and it's a perfect fit for the perfect price.

The only bummer was that this awesome set of furniture was 67 miles away and we had to drive both vehicles just to get it all home. But it all fit in our vehicles and we had a Saturday driving adventure to boot!

We have now rearranged the furniture to accomodate the new feel of the room, and we also purchased some storage containers (baskets, clear plastic toy organizers, etc.) I smile each time I now see my den transformation.

I am glad we were patient and looked for the right solution for the right price. Craigslist is such a goldmine!

Ode to the Binky

When I was in junior high, my dad and I would have fun composing haiku as he drove me to gymnastics (25 miles away.) It started out as part of a 6th grade Engligh assignment, and before long Dad and I were composing our thoughts in the 5/7/5 style just for the fun of it.

So, as I did so long ago, I thought I'd use a little haiku to commemorate the removal of (ie, cleansing of) pacifiers from our household. We went cold turkey one night when he threw a fit wanting it when he saw it on the kitchen counter waiting to be cleaned.

Parent educators try to encourage parents to build it up that you are geting rid of them, and a mom even told me her daughter used it as "currency" at Target to buy a doll to sleep with instead. Our method? Cold turkey. It just struck me 2 evenings ago that even if he wasn't done, I was done. Dad showed him the stack of binkies and told him to wave bye bye. Out of the blue. And that was that.

Does he cry himself to sleep? Does he still search under his crib hoping we missed one? Yes, but it is a war of wills. And he slept perfectly until 8 am without it this morning. I never thought I could love a baby product so much and yet at the same time dislike it so much!


Ode to the binky
It was time to say farewell
He misses you lots

~~

Sleep time is harder
No more soothing you provide
Time to say "bye-bye"

~~

Baby nirvana
You were the great silencer,
Purveyor of calm

Zoo

Big Giraffe! He was eating a leftover Christmas Tree for Breakfast.

This orangutan was curled up in his tree seat, covered with his "blankie!"

We enjoyed an outing to the zoo this past weekend and were happy to see some of the larger animals out and about this time. The lion was in good "tourist mode," as he roared over and over for the whole park to hear. At first we thought it was noise piped in for ambiance, and then we saw him. Cool!

The orangutans, elephants & giraffes were in close view, and the orangutans were all carrying around and covering up with their cloth-sack styled "blankies," as it was a chilly mid-30's for these guys!