Today's Adventure: Climbing the Playset (and not like you think)

Kael has always been my mountain goat. Elizabeth got stopped by a pile of laundry; Kael climbed over it. Kael also knows how to climb the supports for the patio, and was the first to climb the wall in the backyard.  Today, he thought he could climb across the playset.  You know, the part that holds the swings up? Yup.  And then he thought he'd shinny down the rope for a different kind of swing at the end. Didn't quite work that way.

So there I am in the kitchen, getting my breakfast ready, when I hear these yells from outside. Come to find out it's Kael, at the end of the swingset bar, freaked out and "stuck." I put that in quotes because that's what he  thought, but he really wasn't. I ended up coaching him to go backwards. He was freaked out at first, but he grew more confident, and did finally make it back. He said, "Mom, I was really scared! I'll never do that again."

Elizabeth said, "I'm never doing that."

Good, but... yeah, right.

Lorelai @ 6 months!

6 months ago today, I received my very own angel from heaven. I can't believe it's been 6 months already! Here's a collage of her first 5 months.

The big one is of course one of the hospital pictures. Then it goes chronologically top to bottom, then left to right: Blessing Day, First family picture day, I'm Blue, Pose for Grandpa Jay, and I Can Roll Over!

She's come so far from that stint in the hospital! To give you an idea, Elizabeth (my tiny one) was always at least one size behind her age until just this last year. Lorelai, on the other hand, is already fitting into 9 month and 12 month clothes at just 6 months!!! She's delightfully chubby, and often fat and happy the way a baby should be. She started solids at 4 months. So far she's had egg yolk, cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon, pears, peaches, beef gravy, pineapple and peas, all with great success. Today she gets to have bananas for the first time. I'm sure they'll be a hit! It's hard to get her to drink her bottle, because she's so distractable and it's not her favorite thing, but heaven knows I get as much in her as I can. Then I fill her up with solids after. (For more information on my baby feeding plan, check out Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon.)

She rolls hither and yon, mostly in one direction. (When she hits a wall, we turn her around!) She is starting to do the other direction too, it's just not her favorite. And we can't really keep her on her back for very long. She's starting to get her feet under her, and we all anticipate (excitedly or anxiously, as the case may be) a crawler very soon. She can sit up for a few seconds at a time by herself, but she's so busy, it doesn't last long. As one sister from church said, "Her bottom is still too rounded." LOL

She still sleeps through the night for me, as she has since she was 1 month old, though her naps leave something to be desired, and her morning wake up time is atrociously early. Her brown hair is slowly falling out or fading, and she'll likely be blond by her first birthday. Her eyes are now a clear, bright blue, with divine curly brown eyelashes. And when she smiles, which she does regularly, it brightens the room. (It's a little harder to make her laugh though... tough crowd!)




She's changed a lot, and she's got a lot of change ahead of her yet in this first year, but I'm grateful every day that she is a part of our family, and I know she will bring many blessings to us all.

To Mothers Everywhere

To all mothers--

Young
Middle-aged
Experienced

Wanna-bes
Gonna-bes
Sometimes-wish-I-wasn'ts

New mothers
Old mothers
Grandmothers

Aunts
Sisters
Friends

Mothers of many
Mothers of few
Mothers of none and everyone

Those surrounded by family
Those surrounded by friends
Those going it alone

Those who stay home
Those who work away
Those who do both

Those who seem perfect
Those who obviously aren't
Those who keep trying anyway

Mothers with many resources
Mothers with few resources
Mothers who sacrifice all they have

For all women, everywhere
Past, present, future
Because we are all mothers

Blessed with
A sacred calling
A solemn honor
A gleaming glory

At times
A wrenching heartbreak
A drowning sorrow
A flood of tears

But always
A thrilling happiness
A quiet gratitude
A soaring joy

To Mothers Everywhere
Whoever you are
For everything you do

We love you!