I miss blogging. It helps me remember the day to day stuff that I don't want to forget.
So here's a nugget for today:
We had dinner at a house that had a trampoline. Once Hope got it to herself, she was saying "Mo mor Mon!" as she bounced...
Translation: No More Monkeys jumping on the bed!
Occasionally she asks to be put in her crib, and she holds onto the railing and jumps her little heart out, saying Mo Mor Mon! as she jumps.
Showing posts with label Hope. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hope. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
My OCD daughter...
I think it's just they way toddlers are, but Hope is completely obsessed right now with:
--washing her hands (we did it for most of the plane ride to Fargo (this was pre-"bathroom bomber")
--brushing her teeth
--putting on lotion
--having her hair put in pigtails (she really doesn't have enough hair to do them, though!)
--washing her hands (we did it for most of the plane ride to Fargo (this was pre-"bathroom bomber")
--brushing her teeth
--putting on lotion
--having her hair put in pigtails (she really doesn't have enough hair to do them, though!)
Monday, December 7, 2009
Top Ten things Hope says...
1. Hi
2. Mama
3. Dada
4. Mao (kitty)
5. Mai (me)
6. Babo (Bravo! when she's done something good)
7. Boo (book)
8. dido (diaper)
9. baba (bye bye)
10 Moa (more)
She would make her Chinese missionary great great grandparents proud--she has four "ma" words :)
(Since I made this list over Thanksgiving, she's also added "goo gil" (good girl), oof (dog), no (no), noo (nose--complete with pointing to her nose), nigh nigh (put me to bed!) and nuh (nurse).
Is it just me, or is that a lot for a not yet 13 month old to be saying?
She also followed her first command--two fridays ago I asked her to get her blankie from in my office (I was in the doorway). She stared at me for a minute, then went and got it :)
Tonight in the car I asked her what a kitty says (expecting to say Meow myself) and she said "Mao"...I did the same for a dog and she said "Oof."
She is growing so fast--somehow she doesn't listen when I ask her to slow down :)
2. Mama
3. Dada
4. Mao (kitty)
5. Mai (me)
6. Babo (Bravo! when she's done something good)
7. Boo (book)
8. dido (diaper)
9. baba (bye bye)
10 Moa (more)
She would make her Chinese missionary great great grandparents proud--she has four "ma" words :)
(Since I made this list over Thanksgiving, she's also added "goo gil" (good girl), oof (dog), no (no), noo (nose--complete with pointing to her nose), nigh nigh (put me to bed!) and nuh (nurse).
Is it just me, or is that a lot for a not yet 13 month old to be saying?
She also followed her first command--two fridays ago I asked her to get her blankie from in my office (I was in the doorway). She stared at me for a minute, then went and got it :)
Tonight in the car I asked her what a kitty says (expecting to say Meow myself) and she said "Mao"...I did the same for a dog and she said "Oof."
She is growing so fast--somehow she doesn't listen when I ask her to slow down :)
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Happy (belated) birthday, Hope!!!
I can't believe my sweet baby Hope is ONE! She is definitely a toddler--her new words today were "No" and "my" (mine). She had a good birthday celebration and birthday-day.
And a Hope funny: her favorite teacher at school, Ms. Amanda, straightened her hair today. Hope didn't recognize her and refused to go to her--it took 20 minutes of talking to her for Amanda to convince Hope it was her!
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Hope is WALKING!
Hope has had a busy week!
She claps and says "Babo!" ("Bravo"--one of the teachers in the baby room speaks only Spanish to them)
She waves and says "Hi" "Ello" or "Bubye" (often after the person isn't looking!)
She shakes her head and says "No, no, no, no"
She tries to stand up in her high chair
She stands near the CD player and bounces up and down
AND...
Friday night she took 4-5 steps several times! She walked some today too. She still prefers cruising or crawling when she's in a hurry, but it won't be long until she's walking as a sole means of transportation.
AND...
After being awake with her from 2-3 am and having not slept through the night myself more than twice in the last year, we moved Hope in with Harmony (who can sleep through anything. This meant bunking the twin beds, removing ALL the little piece toys (read: all of Henry's stuff) out of Harmony's room, and partially taking apart the crib to get it in...but we got it all done.
What a week! Here's hoping she does well in her new sleeping environment (and I do too!)
She claps and says "Babo!" ("Bravo"--one of the teachers in the baby room speaks only Spanish to them)
She waves and says "Hi" "Ello" or "Bubye" (often after the person isn't looking!)
She shakes her head and says "No, no, no, no"
She tries to stand up in her high chair
She stands near the CD player and bounces up and down
AND...
Friday night she took 4-5 steps several times! She walked some today too. She still prefers cruising or crawling when she's in a hurry, but it won't be long until she's walking as a sole means of transportation.
AND...
After being awake with her from 2-3 am and having not slept through the night myself more than twice in the last year, we moved Hope in with Harmony (who can sleep through anything. This meant bunking the twin beds, removing ALL the little piece toys (read: all of Henry's stuff) out of Harmony's room, and partially taking apart the crib to get it in...but we got it all done.
What a week! Here's hoping she does well in her new sleeping environment (and I do too!)
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Wordless Wednesday
A girl after her great-great-great grandpa's heart (he was "The Potato King of the Northwest")
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Hope's birth story
Hope was born on November 16, 2008 at 5:58 pm.
Hope was conceived after two miscarriages, several failed attempts at hiring a replacement for me at work, three trips to the hospital, and five days after my due date.
But even though November didn’t appear to be a good time to have a baby, it was perfect in God’s timing.
On November 6, I was watching our kids and four “extras” by myself. By the time the parents came home, we were making arrangements for Henry and Harmony to spend the night with the friends. But by 2 am, we were back home…while I was having contractions every 3 minutes, I wasn’t making “progress”, so they let me go home to sleep in my own bed. In the morning, the contractions were gone.
November 11 was my due date and my grandmother’s birthday. It would have been a great day to have a baby for many logistical and honoring reasons. I tried going for a long walk to encourage things. And while I did start having contractions and the OB sent me to the hospital (and the kids had another slumber party at a friends’ house), once again they went away. No Veteran’s day baby for us.
I was a very miserable, emotional time bomb for the remainder of the week. My mom came, hoping to meet a baby, but no dice. I may have even made another trip to the hospital on that Thursday, but same story. Every trip they offered to break my water in the morning, but considering I had ruptured waters with Henry for two days before being induced with Pitocin, I wasn’t very interested in that route.
Sunday morning I was having contractions—the first time I had them at the beginning of the day. My mom took the kids to church (their last time there), then to Chuck E. Cheese for lunch and playtime. Meanwhile, we walked around WalMart—I wanted to be completely, absolutely sure I’d deliver before going to the hospital. We saw several people we knew (You’re still pregnant?), bought a few things, and ate a final meal at Burger King.
When we got there around 2:30, the nurse-midwife was on duty and checked me. I was at 6 cm—no way I’m going home now! She checked me again at 4 and I was at 78cm…yes! Progress! It definitely got intense, and Patrick and I did “the labor dance” for a while. At 5:30 I was ready to push. Her chest was bigger than her head, so delivering her body was almost as intense as the head. The midwife did a great job making sure I didn't tear. She was born at 5:58 pm.
The midwife's comment was, "if your day job doesn't work out, you should teach the lamaze class"...somehow I doubt that, but I was glad that once everything FINALLY got going, she came quickly.
Patrick's parents got there about 30 minutes later, the kids and my mom 15 minutes after that. Since we knew they were coming, I got up when they took Hope to the nursery to weigh her (gone less than 5 minutes) so they could clean up the bed (and me a little). I was surprised by how badly I was shaking. With Henry I had an epidural and didn't get up for at least an hour, and with Harmony, I was in surgery right afterwards, so I guess I hadn't tried walking after the others!
We had a great hour or so with the kids and grandparents, meeting Hope. What a beautiful addition to our family!
Hope was conceived after two miscarriages, several failed attempts at hiring a replacement for me at work, three trips to the hospital, and five days after my due date.
But even though November didn’t appear to be a good time to have a baby, it was perfect in God’s timing.
On November 6, I was watching our kids and four “extras” by myself. By the time the parents came home, we were making arrangements for Henry and Harmony to spend the night with the friends. But by 2 am, we were back home…while I was having contractions every 3 minutes, I wasn’t making “progress”, so they let me go home to sleep in my own bed. In the morning, the contractions were gone.
November 11 was my due date and my grandmother’s birthday. It would have been a great day to have a baby for many logistical and honoring reasons. I tried going for a long walk to encourage things. And while I did start having contractions and the OB sent me to the hospital (and the kids had another slumber party at a friends’ house), once again they went away. No Veteran’s day baby for us.
I was a very miserable, emotional time bomb for the remainder of the week. My mom came, hoping to meet a baby, but no dice. I may have even made another trip to the hospital on that Thursday, but same story. Every trip they offered to break my water in the morning, but considering I had ruptured waters with Henry for two days before being induced with Pitocin, I wasn’t very interested in that route.
Sunday morning I was having contractions—the first time I had them at the beginning of the day. My mom took the kids to church (their last time there), then to Chuck E. Cheese for lunch and playtime. Meanwhile, we walked around WalMart—I wanted to be completely, absolutely sure I’d deliver before going to the hospital. We saw several people we knew (You’re still pregnant?), bought a few things, and ate a final meal at Burger King.
When we got there around 2:30, the nurse-midwife was on duty and checked me. I was at 6 cm—no way I’m going home now! She checked me again at 4 and I was at 78cm…yes! Progress! It definitely got intense, and Patrick and I did “the labor dance” for a while. At 5:30 I was ready to push. Her chest was bigger than her head, so delivering her body was almost as intense as the head. The midwife did a great job making sure I didn't tear. She was born at 5:58 pm.
The midwife's comment was, "if your day job doesn't work out, you should teach the lamaze class"...somehow I doubt that, but I was glad that once everything FINALLY got going, she came quickly.
Patrick's parents got there about 30 minutes later, the kids and my mom 15 minutes after that. Since we knew they were coming, I got up when they took Hope to the nursery to weigh her (gone less than 5 minutes) so they could clean up the bed (and me a little). I was surprised by how badly I was shaking. With Henry I had an epidural and didn't get up for at least an hour, and with Harmony, I was in surgery right afterwards, so I guess I hadn't tried walking after the others!
We had a great hour or so with the kids and grandparents, meeting Hope. What a beautiful addition to our family!
Having Hope
One reason I went into labor multiple times before having Hope was that I was pretty much convinced that she would be stillborn. Despite no logical reason, I was convinced of this. Maybe it was the previous miscarriages, maybe it was the turmoil at church, but for whatever reason, I was pretty much expecting that Hope would be dead. (Even though we didn’t know the gender, I was pretty sure it was a girl.)
But Hope wasn’t dead. She completely lives up to her name, and daily reminds me of the passage she was named from, Romans 5:3-5:
Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
It totally hit me this weekend how perfect God’s timing is. I definitely had my plans – “wouldn’t the fall of 2007 be nice? I’ll be on leave!” was cancelled via miscarriage. My plan for my grandmother’s birthday on Nov 11 didn’t work either, despite my attempts to “walk” the baby out.
In both cases, God needed me to be broken so I could fully appreciate the gift I was getting. I don’t think I would have treasured the third (or my first or second) baby had I not had the miscarriages. I wouldn’t have gotten the “pre-requisites” for hope—perseverance and character—had I not had all the prior labor. And her birth in the midst of turmoil and stress over church drama reminds me that really, God IS in all of the messiness of life. His timing IS perfect, even when it’s not mine.
So Hope was born, both literally and figuratively. And she continues to grow and bring joy daily, if not moment by moment.
But Hope wasn’t dead. She completely lives up to her name, and daily reminds me of the passage she was named from, Romans 5:3-5:
Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
It totally hit me this weekend how perfect God’s timing is. I definitely had my plans – “wouldn’t the fall of 2007 be nice? I’ll be on leave!” was cancelled via miscarriage. My plan for my grandmother’s birthday on Nov 11 didn’t work either, despite my attempts to “walk” the baby out.
In both cases, God needed me to be broken so I could fully appreciate the gift I was getting. I don’t think I would have treasured the third (or my first or second) baby had I not had the miscarriages. I wouldn’t have gotten the “pre-requisites” for hope—perseverance and character—had I not had all the prior labor. And her birth in the midst of turmoil and stress over church drama reminds me that really, God IS in all of the messiness of life. His timing IS perfect, even when it’s not mine.
So Hope was born, both literally and figuratively. And she continues to grow and bring joy daily, if not moment by moment.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Update
Sorry I haven't posted much...guess I don't have much to say. We've been busy and having fun. My camera is in the diaper bag, which is at my sister-in-law's house, so no pics for a while...and I got a new laptop, so I'm still figuring everything out.
Hope is crawling all over the place, and pulling up on anything she can reach. She's sporting two tiny teeth on the bottom, and making lots of fun sounds--she's added raspberries, pppfffts, and fish lips to her ba-ba-ba-ma-ma-ma's. She has a re-check on her ear tubes (that she got three weeks ago) on Wednesday.
We've had a fun long weekend. Thursday evening we went hiking, and were stalked by four raccoons while we ate our picnic dinner. One of the water fountains shot the water at least six feet--Harmony held the button while Henry and some other boys tried to catch it with their mouths (and got thoroughly soaked). Henry also fell in a small stream, so he took off everything except his underwear for the ride home. No stopping for ice cream! Though we did stop at an Amish farm and get some green beans.
Friday we went to Conner Prairie with some friends we met on the train. They have two girls, one Harmony's age and one Henry's age. When we got to Conner Prairie, I told Henry that next time we should bring his friends, Jacob and Aden...and about five minutes later, we ran into them! Henry hung out with them for the rest of the afternoon. We met back at the ice cream stand, and ran into some of Patrick's relatives--definitely a small world!
Saturday we celebrated Ava's (our niece) first birthday. She and Hope were very cute, checking each other out. It was also the first time cousin Emma and Harmony could really play together on their own--soo cute! Fireworks got rained out...
Sunday we homeschooled for church on generosity, ran some errands, and played at a friend's house, then celebrated Ruthie's birthday. How big you all are getting!
So that's the news from here. I'm taking the kids on the train to see my parents (20 hours on a train, anyone?), and I doubt I'll have internet access up there, so it'll be quiet around here for a while. Hope you're having a great summer (if anyone actually reads this...I'm writing more for myself and the kids' journals at this point...)
Hope is crawling all over the place, and pulling up on anything she can reach. She's sporting two tiny teeth on the bottom, and making lots of fun sounds--she's added raspberries, pppfffts, and fish lips to her ba-ba-ba-ma-ma-ma's. She has a re-check on her ear tubes (that she got three weeks ago) on Wednesday.
We've had a fun long weekend. Thursday evening we went hiking, and were stalked by four raccoons while we ate our picnic dinner. One of the water fountains shot the water at least six feet--Harmony held the button while Henry and some other boys tried to catch it with their mouths (and got thoroughly soaked). Henry also fell in a small stream, so he took off everything except his underwear for the ride home. No stopping for ice cream! Though we did stop at an Amish farm and get some green beans.
Friday we went to Conner Prairie with some friends we met on the train. They have two girls, one Harmony's age and one Henry's age. When we got to Conner Prairie, I told Henry that next time we should bring his friends, Jacob and Aden...and about five minutes later, we ran into them! Henry hung out with them for the rest of the afternoon. We met back at the ice cream stand, and ran into some of Patrick's relatives--definitely a small world!
Saturday we celebrated Ava's (our niece) first birthday. She and Hope were very cute, checking each other out. It was also the first time cousin Emma and Harmony could really play together on their own--soo cute! Fireworks got rained out...
Sunday we homeschooled for church on generosity, ran some errands, and played at a friend's house, then celebrated Ruthie's birthday. How big you all are getting!
So that's the news from here. I'm taking the kids on the train to see my parents (20 hours on a train, anyone?), and I doubt I'll have internet access up there, so it'll be quiet around here for a while. Hope you're having a great summer (if anyone actually reads this...I'm writing more for myself and the kids' journals at this point...)
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Hope's crawling!
Hope decidedly crawled, part swim style, part army, part regular, about five feet tonight! Time for some serious baby proofing...
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Sunday, November 30, 2008
My Visa commercial
Hospital bill for me: $6200
Hospital bill for Hope: $2100
Doctor bill for me: $2400
Having Hope: priceless.
(Insurance doesn't hurt either...though I already see some of it billed incorrectly. Too bad I don't have better insurance...)
Hospital bill for Hope: $2100
Doctor bill for me: $2400
Having Hope: priceless.
(Insurance doesn't hurt either...though I already see some of it billed incorrectly. Too bad I don't have better insurance...)
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Newborn babies and milk
"Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good." 1 Peter 2:2-3
I'm not sure how Peter came up with this analogy, seeing as he probably never nursed a newborn. But having a newborn definitely sheds some light on this passage!
First, Hope is happiest if she eats every two hours...sometimes more. She's pretty funny when she's hungry--there is a distinct "boob lean" (open mouth, leaning to the side) that she (and Henry and Harmony) has. Sometimes she ends up sucking on my arm or her hand--not quite sure what the real source of milk is. And sometiems she gets so excited she has a hard time latching on.
With all three kids, I've had a pretty copious milk supply--Henry used to "yeep" when he was eating, while Harmony and Hope either choked on it or pulled off before choking. Sometimes Hope wants more, even when her tummy is full (leading to lots of spit-up).
So are you eating from the Word frequently? Do you get excited about what you're reading? What's your strategy when it is pretty intense?
I'm not sure how Peter came up with this analogy, seeing as he probably never nursed a newborn. But having a newborn definitely sheds some light on this passage!
First, Hope is happiest if she eats every two hours...sometimes more. She's pretty funny when she's hungry--there is a distinct "boob lean" (open mouth, leaning to the side) that she (and Henry and Harmony) has. Sometimes she ends up sucking on my arm or her hand--not quite sure what the real source of milk is. And sometiems she gets so excited she has a hard time latching on.
With all three kids, I've had a pretty copious milk supply--Henry used to "yeep" when he was eating, while Harmony and Hope either choked on it or pulled off before choking. Sometimes Hope wants more, even when her tummy is full (leading to lots of spit-up).
So are you eating from the Word frequently? Do you get excited about what you're reading? What's your strategy when it is pretty intense?
Friday, November 21, 2008
Friday funny--Henry's dilemma
On Mondays, Henry does a "weekend report"--a picture with invented spelling description of the weekend's highlight. He had a hard time deciding whether he should write about seeing the principal at Walmart, going to Chuck E. Cheese with grandma, or his baby sister, Hope, arriving. Hope won, but it was a tough decision!
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Thankful Thursday--Hope!
Our major praise for the week is the safe arrival of Hope Eileen! She is a definite blessing. I'm also thankful that Henry and Harmony are gentle and interested big siblings, and that we're surrounded by friends that are just amazing, lifting us up in prayer and providing for our needs.
For more Thankfulness, visit Iris at Grace Alone.
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