Last night, as I was putting CJ to bed, Laurelei kept crawling in to be a part of the action. Daddy was watching her in the living room...but as he "kept and eye" on her, she would come around the corner and smile and crawl right over to CJ's bed. Then Eric would come in and say, "she's fast!" He made the comment that we might have to separate the two. And so it has begun.

CJ is always playing "airplane" and the other day tried on Daddy's helmet. For awhile she was terrified of the contraption, but as you can see, she enjoys playing with it now.















Here is Laurelei, wanting to be outside. She stands at the door for awhile, banging, and then will crawl her way to the toy room to play. As fun as it is to see her develop and discover new things, it feels like a step back with her putting everything into her mouth...CJ just got out of that stage a few months ago and I have not missed repeatedly saying "get that out of your mouth."

Winner

And the winner is....Grandma Linda! That's right folks, don't mess around with grandmas, they know what they are talking about. The correct answers are:

1. Squash
2. Carrots
3. Sweet potatoes and corn
4. Crayon (washable)
5. Green Beans

The picture I took after she fed herself a banana didn't turn out, it just made her have a shiny face. And she does eat fruit...I apparently didn't take any pictures of peaches, applesauce, pears or such. She has eaten spinach, in a mixed veggie variety, and liked it. Yesterday we tried rice cakes and I picked up avocados, which were one of CJ's favorites.
Thanks to everyone who sent me answers, I don't have a picture of the prize, but it is an assortment of cards.

We have had a busy week. Monday CJ had a speech evaluation. They were impressed with how many words she strings together for sentences, and her social and emotional skills scored high also. However, despite her high scores for most of her language skills, she made many articulation errors and it dropped her overall score down to 2.1 (2yrs 1month). Next week we begin speech sessions, twice a week for 30mins each time. We all have confidence that it won't take her long to catch back up, but it is nice to have a plan in place to ensure she doesn't get further behind her peers. Next Wednesday, CJ will have her hearing tested.

Last Saturday, Eric and I, *gasp* had a date without children! It was a really fun night. The girls did great, CJ was asleep by 7:20 and Laurelei woke up after CJ went to bed. Both girls have been doing well in the nursery on Sunday mornings too. Laurelei only wants to stand, and the nursery informed us that she tried to take a step--without holding onto anything. Looks like she is planning on keeping up with her big sister! She is close to "cruisin" and is just as curious as CJ.

Eric has flown 4 days this week. One flight ended up being incomplete due to the sun setting and on yesterday's flight he got sick again. After today's flight, he should have one flight, a check ride, then solo. He's not nervous yet, he has the weekend to get nervous.

We're having friends over tonight for a campfire. CJ has been talking all week about having marshmallows and popcorn when Josiah comes. Then I'm sure Eric will be studying the rest of the weekend.

quiz

Here is a little fun game for you....name that meal. Guess what Laurelei ate and the one with the most correct answers will win a prize! You have until Thursday to submit your answers. Have fun!

To my MOM Friends

I received this story in an email and felt you should hear it too.

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, "Can't you see I'm on the phone?

Obviously not. No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible.
Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this?
Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, "What time is it?" I'm a satellite guide to answer, "What number is the Disney Channel?" I'm a car to order, "Right around 5:30, please.
I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going, she's going, she's gone!
One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in a hair clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it.
I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, "I brought you this." It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: "To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.
In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.
A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, "Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it." And the workman replied, "Because God sees.
I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, "I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over.
You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become. "At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.
When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, "My mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.
That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, "You're gonna love it there."
As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

Great Job, MOM.

Correction

Correction...Laurelei IS crawling on all fours. It happened last night, I had predicted that when she finally did crawl, it would be to the dog. Almost...it was to the dog's bone. And then all around the room. No more slow scoot/roll/reach/crawl...she is without a doubt -MOBILE! I have a friend who likes to say how kids will make you a liar a hundred times a day. Isn't that true! Laurelei has also begun to sleep for longer than 5 or 6hrs at night. Last night it was 11hrs! I hope this trend continues. A clarification, CJ is a wonderful big sister. She loves to share her toys, books (and food) with Laurelei and loves to play with her. Since Laurelei has learned how to sit independently, reaches for things and even pulls her self to standing, CJ has wanted to play more with her, dance with her, and even wrestle. Laurelei doesn't complain much about these activities, but CJ will get excited and inadvertently get rough. So that is what I meant by her getting rough and not being allowed to touch her --except under extreme supervision. CJ loves to help take care of her and the two of them will get to giggling that you can't help but join them.

update

Laurelei is 7 months old today. She is about 17lbs, loving to eat real food and feed herself, has two teeth that have broken through, and getting around -when she gets a chance. She doesn't do the traditional on all fours crawl, but she does a combo of scoot, reach, crawl, roll. It works for her so that is probably what she will continue to do. However, it appears that she is going to try and keep up with big sister! This series shows her trying to stand, without assistance.
One of her other favorite things to do is, pick on her big sister. She lights up when CJ comes around and wants to wrestle, but she also has her own way of getting her attention. CJ is not allowed to touch her, since she is rough at times, but she will sit as close as she can and then be overly happy and excited when Laurelei reaches out and touches her or pulls her hair. Honestly, she thinks it is funny! CJ did not find it funny the other day though. In the stroller CJ was in the front seat and Laurelei would pull her hair, CJ would turn around and tell her to stop pulling her hair to which Laurelei would poke her in the eyes. I know I shouldn't have laughed when Eric told me what had happened, but if I don't laugh, I will cry. Laurelei apparently will "tease" CJ when we are in the car. Both are in their car seats and unable to reach each other, but often I will hear, "Stop Laurelei! Stop teasing me". It boils down to --"she's looking at me" Oh boy, the next decade could be a long one.
As I look at these pictures of Laurelei and watch the girls, I am amazed at all they do. Tomorrow marks 2yrs since CJ began walking..er, um, running, jumping, bouncing, climbing; in short giving me mini little heart attacks everyday.
Yesterday we had music class in the morning. CJ came up to me and said she wanted to wear her jammies to music class. I smiled and told her no. She laughed and laughed and said, "I can't wear my jammies, I'd fall asleep!" In her logical world, jammies are the cause of going to sleep. That made me laugh, several times yesterday thinking of her falling asleep merely because she had her jammies on. OH how I WISH it was that simple. The girl doesn't take naps. This is okay with me since it means by 7:15 she is out! The quiet evening and time to relax has become a cherished time for me. She has mastered the power nap though. If she gets even a 10 minute "power" nap, bedtime ends up being 9:30, with a struggle--this is no good in mommy world. Daddy still would like her to nap, so that he might sneak one in too, but I just am not willing to give up those two hours in the evening. She does well without the naps, and that makes it easier to skip the naps too.
A quick update on her beans. WOW!!! They grow an inch or two each night! We have fun watching them bend towards the light and sprout new leaves. They are also pretty hardy as CJ pulled a couple out and they survived that and the replanting. It appears as though we will need to transplant them to a larger container soon.

Beans

Last week CJ made pictures using dried beans. I then let her take a bowl outside to pretend to cook with. A couple of days later...the beans had sprouted. This is our accidental science project this week.
Typical seeds in a jar to watch them grow......to how they look now.



We do eat beans too. I add them to dishes and make them separately. CJ calls kidney beans "footballs". It is funny to hear her ask for "more footballs please" at a meal.

September?

Really? It's September already? How quickly the days fly by, especially when you get very little sleep and stay busy. We had a good weekend. Busy, but pretty good. CJ was sick Friday night and so that meant little sleep, but she was better on Saturday.
Monday we went to the Gulfarium. It is a nice size that CJ can walk through with enough shows to keep us busy and even fish you can touch. We had hoped to go to the beach afterwards, however, it began to down pour as we left and that made the decsion for us.

Tuesday we went to music class and then friends over so mom and dad could clean the house. Wednesday they came back as the truck was loaded up and carpets cleaned. We are going to miss our friends. Another set of friends who now live in Oklahoma. But having 4 kids aged 3 and under kept me busy and it was fun. Picture: Elijah and CJ playing and sharing.


Today, we had a much needed quiet day at home. CJ and I ate lunch, read books and had cuddle time while Laurelei was napping. Our neighbor brought over pears, so CJ helped wash some dishes and make a pear cobbler. She even "helped" with folding laundry. It has been raining so we've been stuck inside.
Eric is keeping busy with flying and classes. He doesn't always get much studying done at home --especially when there are 4 running around, but he is doing well. Nothing on the horizon for this weekend. We'll probably stay home and catch up on stuff around the house.