My Little Helper

Eliana loves to help me out around the house, whether it's picking something up that goes in the trash and tossing it in there or throwing my clean laundry on the floor helping me fold and put away clean clothes.  I have been able to capture some of these helpful moments lately and I thought I would share them...

I sweep a lot (I'm not saying my floors are clean, but I do try to keep the crumbs subdued), so she is fascinated with this cleaning tool.  She does more pushing than sweeping, but you've got to start somewhere, right?

Look!  It brings her such joy.  She's hired!

It's all in the toes...

While she likes to sweep and looks so very cute doing it, I have to say this is my favorite-putting away groceries...

They don't just make freezer bags, anymore.  Refrigerator bags too.  And if you put them in the fridge ahead of time they will keep your sandwich cold.

Just kidding.  But it's cute, no? 

Joking aside, I do love to see her sweet face when she does something that she knows (or thinks) is helpful.  It's all shiny and happy, looking at me as if to say,"See what a helper I am?"  It's full of love and confidence.  What a precious sight!

Rest

There is a place to lay your head-

While once it was upon your bed

Or in my arms where you would rest,

It's now upon the Saviour's breast.

He made a promise He shall keep,

I know because His love is deep-

No matter how the river's wide,

His hands across will safely guide.

And when the waves begin to rise

And when the storm drowns out my cries

I'll lift my hands and will not doubt

The Saviour Who will pull me out

Of stormy seas, and rivers wild

Onto a shore with weather mild

Where I will find there's only light

The darkness gone, it's taken flight.

Here is a place that's been restored,

A place for worshiping the Lord,

A place of calm and peace and rest,

A place to lay my head, His breast.

in memory of Cora

550 Days

Five hundred fifty days, or eighteen months, or one and one-half years.  Those are all ways of saying that next week my baby will be leaving for college.

How can it really be that she has been here with us for that long?  Is someone playing a trick on me?  Wasn't I just in the hospital yesterday holding her perfectly round-faced, wet, little newborn body? 

In order to document the day-18 months is a big deal, no?-I tried to use my exceptional photography skills and capture "her" at this particular moment in the history of her life.  Here are the results, for your viewing pleasure.  Or much to your chagrin.  (I think the cuteness factor will make up for my lack of picture-taking ability.)

I'm sorry, but I can't get enough of her toes.  They are almost edible.

"It's my 1 1/2 birthday!"

I think she needs some sugar, don't you?

Um, this is what happens when you tape a sheet to the wall in order to get a white background and then stick a toddler in front of it and tell her to sit and smile.  Highly effective.

Now, here's a funny story.  I ordered pizza tonight.  (At 6:15 Papa John's was my hero, my knight in shining armour.)  Eliana loves pizza; it's one of the few things she consistently eats.  So I cut her piece up into bites, put it on a plate, and set it in front of her on her high chair tray.  She looked at my plate, and pushed hers away and said,"Pizza?"  (It comes out like "peas-uh".)  It was definitely a question.  I was a little panicky.  What if she didn't want the pizza?  I had been so excited, because she was chanting,"Peas-uh, peas-uh."  I really thought she was going to eat it!  I looked at her and replied,"That is pizza."  She held her plate up and repeated,"Peas-uh?"  She did not agree-what was on her plate was not pizza.  I was perplexed.

I looked again at my plate; she could not possibly want my pizza; it had pineapples, green peppers, pepperoni, and a little sausage on it (By the way, what is up with that?  I never eat meat on pizza.  But tonight it sounded GOOD.)  I told her again that she had pizza and again she lifted her plate to me with her eyebrows raised.

Suddenly it dawned on me...she wanted a slice of pizza.  Duh!  Cut up bites would not do...I said,"Do you want it big?"

That made her happy.  When I handed her this slice she nodded her head and smiled,"Peas-uh!"  Silly mommy, you finally got it right.

After dinner I tried to get some more pictures.  I was really hoping for a magical, wonderful shot.  I don't think I got any "great" ones, but they are cute.  I made them close-ups; I like to show her pretty eyes.

And those cheeks!

She was being kind of a goose.  She would smile, but not at the camera.  Only when she was running toward me.  Here is one more sweet one, though.

And finally, to say,"I'm done."

She was through.

Over and out.

Convo

I found this on my cell phone...a text from Michaela to her dad.

How are you doing on your "you know what!?"

Micky

This is precious on so many levels.

The "you know what" is a dissertation.  In the getting-it-finished stage.

"Micky" is short for Michaela, or what she calls herself when with her cousin and they make up names for themselves.

The punctuation...are you kidding me?  How priceless is that?

She's thinking of him as he's working so hard to finish this up...and wanting to encourage him.

She's texting her dad?!  That is something I can honestly say I never did when I was 8.

She's so adorable.

A Visitor

We watched a little boy this afternoon while his mommy had a prenatal appointment.  We know them from Christian's school and playing on the playground.  What a cutie!  This is one of the few times Eliana has been around someone who is about her age for longer than a minute.  She is at home with me all the time, and doesn't go to childcare much.

We sat on the couch and did some reading...books seemed to be an all-around pleaser.

I said,"Smile.  Say cheese!"

Do you think he gets his picture taken much?  Precious.

Christian and Michaela had both been looking forward to our little friend's visit all day week.

They were very sweet and wanted to read together...

The book was about animals and the sounds they make.  Our friend thought it was funny, and he knew the sounds and made them himself.

Eliana was copying one of the sounds he made; I can't remember, but it might have been a horsey noise.

He's showing her how it's done...

It was a real "pbbbbb" horse sound, not that "neigh, neigh" business.  Have you ever heard a horse go,"Neigh!"?

Maybe Eliana needed a closer view...

This is what girls do...

Can you believe they are both patting his hair?  He seems oblivious.  Maybe he gets a lot of that from the ladies.

I just think she's cute.  Doesn't she look big?  Old?  No!  Not so fast!  (But wait, older means better sleeper, right?  Please?)

It was a sweet thing to see my big kids watch after and play with another little one.  They are so loving.  (This is, of course, after they were yelling how mean the other one is earlier today...ebb and flow.)   And it was fun to watch Eliana with another toddler.  She did a great job sharing her toys and handing him things to play with. 

It was a reminder for me how good it is to have friends.  Friends, are you listening?  I love you!  Let's get together soon.