God's Grace

We have had so many close calls safety-wise with our kids. I expect most parents of toddlers would say the same thing. Usually I don't tell anyone because I feel guilty that I wasn't paying more attention. But I was just thinking: God should get some glory out of my failings. After all, He's the one who puts the bubble of protection around us, even when I make mistakes as a mom. In the last two weeks, I've had three close calls in which I see God's merciful hand very clearly.


1. On August 1, I was at a birthday party for one of Katie's friends. John wasn't there yet so I had Joshua in the Baby Bjorn on my front while I chased Katie. She ran up a really steep hill, and when I chased after her, I fell backwards, twisting my foot so badly I ended up in the ER. Yet I have many things I'm thankful for:

- I fell backwards, not forwards, so I didn't land on Joshua. Since his little arms and legs were sticking out of the baby carrier, I could have easily broken one of his limbs if I had fallen on him.

- Even though John wasn't there, I was surrounded by several of my closest friends who helped care for my kids and for me until John could get there.

- I was already planning to move in with my in-laws that week because John was going on a work trip and I needed help with the kids and dog. I already had built-in help!

- My foot wasn't broken, though it was sprained. Here's what it looked like a week and a half after the incident:


2. A few days ago, Katie decided (against my warning from a few feet away) to venture down our 13-stair staircase, and fell on the first step, tumbling from the top. God's grace to both of us is that she only went down about five steps before she "happened" to come to a complete stop. By the time I got to her, we were both crying but she was only scared, not hurt.


3. This evening I was listening to Katie talk to Joshua in the next room while I prepared dinner. When I walked in there to check on them, I found Katie poking Joshua in the face with a pair of SCISSORS!!!!!!!!! God's grace was shown to us in that the scissors were closed and that I got to them before anyone was hurt.



Oh Lord, I don't know what I'd do without you! It's only the grace of God that protects all of us on a daily basis.

Happy Four-Month Birthday, Joshua!

Joshua is four months old today! He is a sweet child who loves to be held and will smile at anyone who smiles at him. It seems his goal is to be Mommy's center of attention every minute of every day -- a challenge when he is a second child! He is also teething like crazy, so we're not getting much uninterrupted sleep these days.

At his pediatrician's appointment this morning, he was pretty much 50th percentile all the way around (weight: 15 lbs, 9 oz.; length: 25" long; head circumference: 42 1/2 cm). But you wouldn't know it to look at him: He's a big boy!

Scenes of Summer, Part 1

A few of my favorite photos so far this summer:

Katie's attending a music class this summer.

Katie with her best friend Daniel, who will become a big brother about 9 hours from now!

Katie's first jacuzzi experience

This is what happens when you forget Katie's swim diapers. Look at that rear end!

Joshua meets my grandma for the first time

"Stuck!"

Katie and her good friend Sofia at the zoo.

We've been finding items lined up in rows around the house. Looks like Katie's got some of her mother's obsessive compulsiveness in her.

Katie, her cousins, and Uncle Jason being pulled by Grandpa.

Katie rides a camel at the zoo with Uncle Jamie.

My brother Stephen graduates from Army Reserves boot camp with his then-fiancee (now wife!) Lindsey at his side.

Speaking of which, congratulations to Stephen and Lindsey, who got married May 2! Here are just a few photos from their wedding and our trip to Seattle.

Joshua slept in my carry-on suitcase while we were in Seattle.

Mt. Ranier


Joshua had his own "First Flight" uniform for the plane rides, complete with aviator goggles, and he was coincidentally given a bear with a similar outfit!

The stewardesses were so impressed they took all of us up to the cockpit, where Joshua got to meet the pilot!

Lindsey and I with all the brothers.


My brother Daniel thought I was embarrassing myself by slow-dancing with Joshua at the reception, so he asked us to dance.

A Few Firsts This Week

Today: Joshua's first movie theatre experience, and Katie's first that she was aware of (she went along with me as a baby, but mostly slept through the movies back then). We saw "Curious George" as part of Regal Theatres' Free Family Film Festival this summer. Katie enjoyed the movie and was mostly content, esp. since I strapped her into her booster seat and plied her with snacks and drinks. Joshua slept most of the movie. Overall, a good experience.

Yesterday: Joshua's first eye appointment. We went in for Katie's eye checkup and were thrilled that the eye specialist was able to squeeze Joshua in as well. I felt too silly to schedule an appointment for him since I didn't know of anything wrong with him, but the doctor started checking Joshua's eyes without me even asking. What an answer to prayer, since John and I have been a bit paranoid about his vision after Katie's early eye problems. Apparently one of Joshua's eyes is in fact drifting a bit, but the doctor is hopeful that he'll simply outgrow it. In the meantime, we've scheduled another appointment for him a few months from now.

This weekend: The kids' first fireworks and parade. We were at the beach for the Fourth of July and enjoyed both a parade and fireworks. I find it hard to believe that we haven't taken Katie to fireworks before, but her first Fourth, when she was five weeks old, we were in the hospital realizing she had something very wrong with her eyes. And last year we just watched the fireworks on TV with our best friends (who are having their 2nd baby next Wednesday -- hooray!). I was tempted to watch them on TV again this year, especially since the Sesame Street Muppets were part of the Capitol celebration, but I'm glad we did them in person. The kids were great overall and Katie really enjoyed the music and lights.

Funny Katie Quotes

I got Katie out of her crib this morning and lifted her up high to show her how excited I was to see her. She said:

"I touch the stars!!!"

No idea where she learned that one from. :-)
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Another funny one: Last week we got pretend food to go with her newly-inherited kitchen set (thank you Marce!). Katie wouldn't stop sticking the plastic food in her mouth, and I kept telling her not to eat it. Her response? "It delicious!"

I had never heard her say that word either.
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Other favorites:
"Jean Jeans" -- her word for my brother Jason
"Mucus" -- her word for music, as when calling for the "Elmo Mucus" DVD
"G-Ma-Ma" -- her word for my mom's mom, when we tried to teach her "GGMa" for great-grandma
"Hap Birday!" -- what she says whenever she sees a candle

Wild for Water

Our local town square has water fountains for kids to run around in.

I've never seen anyone love water so much. Except me. And John. Wonder where she got it from? :-)

Happy Three-Month Birthday, Joshua!

On Monday he started lifting his head entirely up during tummy time. He's a big, strong boy!