Happy 3 years, Sarah!

Last Tuesday we celebrated Sarah's third birthday. When she was 6 months old we went to a pediatric cardiology appointment just outside of Boston. They said she looked great and wanted us to come in for a final check when she was 2.5 or 3 years old. I remember strolling back to the car with my tiny baby girl who was eating purees and just starting to sit up. How could my little girl ever be three years old?! What would she be like and look like? What would her voice sound like? Could she really grow up enough to be potty trained? And here we are!!! She is kind and beautiful and inquisitive and (praise the Lord) potty trained. I don't think my dreams at that time could do justice to the little girl we enjoy today.

Weight: 34.6 lbs (50%)
Height: 37 ins (80%)
Clothes: 3/4T; shoe, size 7 or 8

Likes: pretending to be people she knows, the ocean, bath time, comforting others, singing, listening to music, swinging, climbing, markers, American flags

Dislikes: bugs, vacuum cleaners, dust busters, dogs and cats, being woken up from a nap she hadn't finished

Schedule: Sarah is still resting at 1pm so that she and Josiah have a little joint down time and mom gets a little quiet. She goes through phases where she will nap every day for a week and then go back to only napping every few days. She doesn't mind being in her room, though, and it happy to play quietly until Josiah is ready to get up. When she does nap she does it right and will often sleep until 5pm. Sarah still goes to bed around 7pm and wakes up between 7 and 8am.

Eating: Sarah is the fastest ice cream eater I know. With other foods she is a little less focused, but not super picky. Crackers are the special treat of the moment. She also loves grapes, humus, watermelon, and a peanut butter sandwich "skin off".

Talking: I read recently that toddlers like to try to understand the world around them and sometimes come to funny conclusions in the process. Sarah isn't so much a "why" girl, but she does love to figure things out. Lately she has taken to getting serious look on her face, cocking her head to one side, and starting, "but Mommy.  . . ." From there she goes on to tell me how everything fits together in life. We were talking about how we went to second service on the way home from church yesterday and how we also have friends whom she calls Mr. and Mrs. Servis. She said, "well, we really call it the really rhododendron service, right mommy." Not usually Sarah :) (Rhododendron is the word she uses for anything she doesn't know a word for!) On the same ride home she told me all about the "heli-lobster" that flew over when we were getting in the car. I love the world through her eyes!

Random, but fun:
* I can't remember the last time Sarah had a potty training accident. She does really well telling us, as well as holding it when need be.
* She loves the beach, both the water and sand.
* One of our favorite things to do is go for a walk around the outdoor mall. Sarah walks now (Josiah is still in the stroller) and we talk about flowers, cupcakes, storm drains, and pink dresses.
* Sarah loves to point out an American flag and consider the fact that we live in Massachusetts . . . and go to the grocery store in Massachusetts . . . and Mr. Jay goes to work in Massachusetts, etc. :)
* I love that Sarah loves to celebrate little victories with us. Ex: "Look, Mommy, our little guy is walking! Good job, Siah!"
* Sarah now both jumps and can go up and steps without having to hold a hand. (Though she would still prefer a hand :) )
* Imaginary friends are a regular part of life these days. Sarah always pretends to be the mommy or daddy of someone she knows.
* Before bed we are singing prayers now. The request changes nightly! She also likes Peace Like a River.

Next appointment: Monday, July 21, 2014 at 9:30am- one year . . . wow!!!

Taking care of her baby

"Shoulders!"

She sometimes asks me to put Josiah in her lap :)

Sarah was a big fan of the chocolate cupcakes with pink frosting on Josiah's birthday

She did these herself :)

Early Spring beach walk!

A really good fall in the rocks . . .

. . . made better by a bandaid. It seems bandaids cure most wrongs in Sarah world.

Sarah with her favorite nursery toy

Our own little JFK moment . . . minus the Oval Office!

It was a cupcake kind of evening!

Me: "Sarah did you put the blue marker in your mouth? How about your blue fingers?"
Sarah: "No Mommy, I didn't put annnnnything in my mouth."

Back of the van picnic

Sweet sister :)

Using restaurant manners with her ice water at Starbucks

We can play gamily games (or at least one game) now!

He Walks!

There is a new sound around our house these days. It is a different rhythm than we are accustomed to. We are familiar with the sounds our children make. Sarah tends to be a jogger and announces her presence. Josiah babbles and crawls with not many words, but lots of noise, as he hustles on his hands and feet.

The new sound is steady and firm. And remarkably quiet.

It was one week ago tomorrow that Josiah decided to be a walker.

For a few weeks now he has been standing and taking a few steps. Several times he even walked across the room. But there is an element of choice to walking, we have found, and he hadn't committed yet.

Josiah is quite proud of himself and we are quite proud of him. With every new development we are reminded that our goal is to lead our children toward independence and a heart for Christ. Our desire is to disciple them to that end. Praise the Lord for the good things He is doing in Josiah's life!

Garden Beginnings

The plan . . .

The help . . . 

And now . . .

tomatoes, marigolds, and lovely daisies

squash, lettuce, spinach, flowers, peppers, basil, green onions, carrots, cilantro, and parsley

first fruits!

The West Wing: Reflections

Last Thursday, Dave and I watched the final episode of The West Wing. It was quite a fitting way to spend a patriotic fourth of July evening. The show was on air from 1999 to 2006, but I (Emily) started watching the show in January upon the recommendation of my friend Sara. It turned out that a few other friends were also fans of the show and the local library had the full series. Josiah was nursing at the time and I was eager to find something good to watch while feeding him around the clock. This was such a winner! Here are some of my favorite things about The West Wing:

1. I learned a whole lot about politics. The show spans the two terms of President Bartlett, including the campaign of the next president and flashbacks to the Barlett campaign. They have done an episode on almost everything- there are peace talks at Camp David, an attempted assassination, a transfer of power, news cycles, war, Christmas, etc.

2. I now better understand the news. One of the neatest things has been seeing what I see on The West Wing in real life. I have two particular examples. (1) The evening after I watched an episode on the state of the union the real state of the union took place. I never fathomed that they polled paragraphs of the speech for content and delivery, that they have people use a dial to rate their response to the speech in real time, or that they spends so many months designing the speech/agenda. I listened to that year's state of the union so differently knowing that every words was intentional and fully vetted by hundreds of offices. (2) Recently there has been a lot of buzz in the news about a young man who leaked classified information. The night that story broke we watched Nightly News on NBC and I really thought I was watching the Toby Ziegler leak. Everything Brian Williams said about subpoenas and which departments were investigating sounded like verbatim West Wing. 

3. It is fairly clean. Since it is a story about politicians, they don't do much outside the moral right. And when they do they don't get away with it. They lose their job. They go to jail. They get what's coming without any waiting around. It is primarily set in an office, as well, so there isn't really any immodest dress or actions. A show like that is hard to find!

4. There is character development. There are seven seasons, which makes it feel like reading a good book. All but one regular is still a regular in the last episode. In addition, they find a way to use many of the same characters throughout the seasons for little roles that are in and out of the plot. You get to know and love these people and care about how their lives are unfolding. On this note, the series has a very satisfying conclusion. :)

5. It is fast and humorous. I always enjoyed the fast pace and wit of Gilmore Girls, and The West Wing is definitely on par. At first it might leave your head spinning, but once you get the lingo down and get to know the characters it is super fun. And they have such a keen sense of humor. President Barlett can get away with one liners like none other!

6. Dave would watch it with me. I like that it was a show we could/would watch together. That is a unique thing!

San Fransisco

After our adventurous week at JH Ranch, Emily and I drove down California and spent an evening in San Fransisco before catching an early flight home the next morning. 

We stopped along the way at Muir Woods, a quiet preserve of large trees near busy San Fran. It wasn't until this point in the trip that we really got the camera out.

The entrance

Emily dwarfed by the trees

I had to act like a tourist just once

Then we got in the car and drove over the Golden Gate Bridge to San Fransisco

Laying eyes on it for the first time

I don't know who thought to paint it orange, but what a unique example of complimentary color

The bridge took us into the heart of downtown, so we walked around Fisherman's Wharf until sunset.

After dinner, we watched the trollies go for a bit

Then we went for an ice cream cone at the best possible place for one

And we ate it while we watched the sunset

Said sunset. I can see why they call it the Golden Gate.

The next morning we were up at 4:00, which was actually helpful because it got us back on Eastern Time quickly. We enjoyed a quiet flight (now a luxury for us) and came home to the kids, house, and church we so badly missed. The trip was fantastic, but it sure was nice to hold our kiddos once again!