Emma + Eggs + Carter + One Biter Biscuit =

A GREAT BIG MESS X 2!!

I will attempt to make this long story short (hopefully)...

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away (my bedroom) I was working with Sarah on her letters and sounds as she is wanting to read...

So, Sarah & I are reading in my bedroom, Emma is playing nicely in her bedroom (as I soon discovered things were not as I thought them to be). At some point in our story reading she must have used her stealth like ninja skills and escaped her room to the freedom of an unsupervised kitchen. With the kitchen universe at her disposal (since mom was distracted reading) she decided to venture into the usually off limits world of the refrigerator. Upon opening the door to the great unknown what does she see before her wondering little eyes but the carton of eggs (also a strictly off limits area). With no one to stop her from getting salmonella she opens the carton and stares at the strange white 'balls' inside...
"Hmmm, I wonder if dese bounce high?" her curious little mind asks and before she can stop herself she has grasped one and 'bounced' it to the floor below. Only it wasn't the floor it hit; it was the bottom of the refrigerator. The results were not what she had expected so she tried again, and again, and again. Silly mom that I am, I was not aware that she understood the concept - if at first you don't succeed try, try again. Well, she apparently does understand it because she tried to 'bounce' four eggs! Thankfully, it only took four for her to realize this was probably not the best idea. However, she now realized she had quite the mess and would probably be in trouble so she grabbed the dish towel and tried to clean it up. She soon discovered that this was a mess she could not contain so she left the towel in the eggs and the door to the refrigerator open and under her silent cloak she returned to playing in her room as if nothing had ever happened.

Some time after, Carter decided he was done playing and would like to eat. Sarah & I finished reading and left the confines of my room to head to the universe beyond where, upon entering the kitchen I crossed into a some parallel universe. It was my kitchen but it did not look like it had when I last left it. Needless to say, I was not happy! Nor did I find the momentary silver lining that would later cause me to laugh at said situation - which is why there are no pictures of the cracked eggs.

With Carter screaming for food and me screaming for Emma our quiet little part of the world spiraled into noisy chaos! I could not make lunch until the eggs were cleaned up but I could clean up the eggs while holding Carter. If I placed Carter on the floor he would be in the eggs mess and if I placed him in his high chair without feeding him I would certainly lose my mind to his crying before the cleanup was done. Then I remembered...A friend just sent me some Gerber Biter Biscuits that her daughter was not eating any more. I'll give him one of those. Free hands, quiet baby - PERFECT! Or so I thought...

I finished cleaning the eggs and stood up to see this...I am SO not into messes! Especially food messes...I think of all my friends I am the last one to let my children start feeding themselves and seeing Carter today reminded me of that.
Well, he was happy and quiet while I was cleaning up the eggs - I guess that makes it all worth it. I am thankful that he was half naked so all I had to do when I finished feeding him was stick him in the sink and hose him down.

For now, the equilibrium has returned to my little corner of the universe. Of course, I do not expect it to last long...especially since I hear the door to the girls room opening, meaning Emma is up from her nap.

Here's to a toddler's curiosity, a baby feeding himself, paper towels and nap time. I hope this post finds all things clean, quiet and well in your neck of the woods.

Catchin' Up

Well, we have arrived safely back in the US after spending two weeks in North East Africa (NEA). The trip was good - hard emotionally, physically and mentally but good overall. Carter did pretty good flying considering we had long layovers going and his schedule was turned upside down. He had some difficulty sleeping at night, all in all, he was quite the little trooper.
Our entire team got sick (thankfully not all at the same time) so we rotated staying in the hotel and going out and accomplishing the task at hand. If you want to see some pictures from our trip head over to Jason's blog (http://blog.labombard.net). Why take my camera when he had his?
The girls are quite tan after spending days on end with Grandma and Papa in the pool. Carter is 6 months old now and started army crawling just before we left. He became quite proficient at that skill while we were in NEA. He is getting the rocking down on his hands and knees - I am sure it is just a matter of days now and he will be fully mobile on his hands and knees. I'll try to get a picture of him up soon.
Free time is over for me...time for lunch.
Have a blessed week.
Love,
Kim

Another step

Well, I guess we are definitely on our way to being potty trained...and by we I mean Emma. Tonight marks the first time she has come to me and told me she has to go potty BEFORE going in her diaper. So, off to the bathroom we ran and sure enough her diaper was dry and a moment later she was announcing her accomplishment.
I am quite excited and hoping it lasts. I cannot take any credit for these happenings...I owe it all to her big sister. It is a time like this I am glad Emma wants to be like her big sister!
Way to go Sarah!

Potty Progress

I cannot believe how quickly time goes by. It has been over a month since I last had a moment to post... The posts may be on the light side for the next little bit as we are preparing to go to Africa....now for the real news!
This morning marks day number 5 that Emma has been going on the potty! She doesn't get there every time. But, I will take some time over no time!
It all started on Sunday evening. We had finished up with house church and were just chatting with a few of our friends when, once again, Sarah & Emma were out of bed. Sarah ran into the bathroom with Emma hot on her tail. Next thing I know Sarah is screaming from the bathroom that her sissy has pooped on the potty. In I go to see a very proud of herself little Emma sitting on the little potty telling me what she had accomplished. With the pertinent business taken care of and a diaper back on her buns she runs out into the living room (where we talking with our friends) and announces to everyone (whilst jumping up and down) that she has pooped on the potty! She gets high fives and wahoos from everyone and her special piece of candy for going on the potty.
It took some time after that to get both girls calmed backed down and asleep but all was finally quiet and we were on to a new phase of life. So far, Emma has used the potty every night before going to bed - today is the first time she has used it in the morning. Progress for sure.
Once again there is light at the end of the diaper tunnel. I am looking forward to once again only having one in diapers.
As I mentioned earlier, we are busy preparing for our Africa trip. Just a short amount of time now before we are in the air. If you would like to know more about what we are doing or how you can be a support partner (prayer or financial) please email me. I'd love to share more about how God is moving in our family.
Have a great weekend!

Huey, Dewey & Louie

Our three little ducklings all in a row. Emma has stickers on her face - always something! The only time her face is officially clean with nothing on it is right after she gets out of the tub. However, if you give her five minutes she'll have something on it (like stickers). :-) It is also the rare occasion that I can get her to sit long enough to take a picture of all three. Sarah loves to sit with her brother and get her picture taken.
Anyway, just thought I'd share this rare picture of the three of them together.
Enjoy!
Love from Sunny AZ!
Kim

Kinkle Ars & Peppa Oni

No I am not learning a new language...well, not exactly. I am learning girl speak and this is a phrase from Emma.

Each evening when we sit down to rock, Emma snuggles in and whispers the words "kinkle ars" to me. This is my signal that she is ready for me to sing her bedtime song - Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. It is so sweet. Sometimes I ask her what she said just to hear her say it again - some day she'll be saying it the right way. :-(

In other girls speak news...
Last night I asked Sarah what she would like for dinner, her response was "grilled cheese with pepperoni". Interesting combination I thought - like pizza without the sauce. So I made her a grilled cheese sandwich with pepperoni and Emma plain grilled cheese. However, Emma decided she some wanted pepperoni too. I wasn't sure she would like it so I gave her a slice to try. Her response was "YUMMY, Peppa Oni". Emphasis on the ONI, with a breath in between the peppa & the ONI. I asked her if she liked it and she started dancing around singing "Yummy Peppa Oni"! I took that as a yes. Needless to say, the girls gobbled up this new found cheesy concoction.

I do believe that is all the updates on the girl speak front. I will certainly keep you posted as to new words and phrases that come up.

Blessings,
Kim

Rock Me Mama

These words are still echoed by Sarah, my four-year old daughter. Being born at 31 weeks, we spent many hours rocking. We rocked in the NICU, we rocked when we arrived home and we continue to rock each evening before she goes to bed.

Emma, on the other hand, has never been one for being rocked. From day 1 she preferred to just be laid down in her bed and left alone to go to sleep. I am not sure what has changed - other than everything, but Emma has become quite the cuddler! I have to admit that I am loving it - a new found sweetness to my littlest girl. Last night when her sweet little voice said "rock me mama" it was all I could do to not cry (which probably has more to do with my hormones at the moment than her precious little request). Nevertheless, I scooped her up and into our purple chair we snuggled down. Me with my little baby girl, who is not such a baby anymore and Emma with her 'kiddy cat', blanket & fire (as she affectionately refers to her pacifier). We rocked until she was almost :-) asleep - a lesson learned the hard way with Sarah. It was not the last time we rocked last night, as she was up several more times after that to be 'rocked'. I cherish these moments as some day I know neither of my girls will want to rock. I hope that day is a long way off.

I do believe this is the earliest I have ever made a post. Sarah is off to Walmart with daddy picking up a few items and Emma is napping. I suppose I really should be unpacking more boxes or hanging my laundry on the line but...a post to B&B seemed like the thing to do.

Just a reminder to drop me a line and let me know you have been here - I love hearing from you.

Blessings,
Kim

My first video!

So, when I started this last night I really wasn't sure how often I would be blogging. Let's just say I am having fun spreading my wings. Here is my first video - I hope you enjoy!
Blessings,
Kim