December 26, 2011

Dear Joycie: Your 2nd Christmas

Dear Joycie:

Your 2nd Christmas began early on Sunday morning. We went into your room at 7:45 to find you smiling and eager to start the day.  We lifted you out of bed and you headed straight into the living room:

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Once there, you found the kitchen set that Mama and Daddy had bought for you. Daddy had been up until 1:30 a.m. putting the kitchen together, so we were happy to see how much you enjoyed it. 

Since we were suppose to eat breakfast at Aunt Lane’s at 8:00 a.m., we loaded up the rest of your gifts so that you could unwrap them at her house.

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You were very diligent in unwrapping the gifts, taking one piece of paper off at a time.  Then you would laugh at what was inside. But after just 2 gifts, you were more interested in playing with Lacey and London’s gifts rather than opening your own.

After breakfast, we went to church and then to Nana’s for lunch and more gifts. 

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You took silly pics with Lacey and London, ate a good lunch, and then unwrapped more gifts.

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By the time we were done at Nana Becki’s, you were worn out.  We put you into your car seat, and headed to Nana Nancy’s.  You slept for quite a while in Granny’s arms.

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When you finally woke up, there were more gifts to unwrap. You received two more babies, and a rocking horse that sings….

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You were all smiles as you played with your gifts.  And made sure to give thank you kisses to everyone.

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We loved watching you on this special day!  We hope you had a wonderful Christmas!

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Love,

Mama & Daddy    

December 20, 2011

21 Months

 

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Dear Joycie,

As the Christmas season began, you turned 21 months old.  Mama thought it would be fun to snap pictures of you through out the day of December 5th.  The first photo is how we find you each morning – all balled up, socks and covers long since gone….

DSC_1233And a peaceful expression on your face.   It warms our hearts to see you like this – we swear you are almost angelic.

Here are your stats for this month:

    • You are 44 inches long and weigh 28 pounds.
    • You are wearing 2T in tops, and have moved up to 24 months in bottoms. .
    • You are now wearing size 7 shoes.
    • After nearly a year (or more) in size 3 diapers, we have finally move up to size 4 diapers.

Your vocabulary is growing at a rapid pace.This month you learned to say the names of all of your classmates at daycare, each of your teacher, and a handful of the other students.   You are asking for help “Hep me, peas” is your go to phrase.

Another big milestone this month is that you went potty by yourself for the first time.  Daddy and I plan to focus on potty training after the holidays as you seem quite interested in getting rid of diapers.  In fact, last week at school, you took off your pants and wet diaper on the playground because you were tired of wearing them.

I think it is safe to say we may be seeing the signs of the “terrible twos”.  No is one of your favorite words – and we are having to use lots of time outs when you fail to follow the instructions we give you.  Thankfully, you are quick to learn from your mistakes – and one time out a day has you back on track.

You enjoy doing things by yourself – like dressing, brushing your teeth, and getting your cup/snacks out of the cabinet.

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Daddy and I try to allow you to do things by yourself. But sometimes, we come back to find things like the picture above.  Somehow while brushing your teeth, you managed to unroll an entire roll of toilet paper. All we could do was laugh.

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You are mesmerized by the lights and ornaments on the Christmas tree. But want NOTHING to do with Santa.  You had a part in the children’s Christmas play at church….and danced/sang to every song.

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Some of the other parents said that you were even more behaved than the older kids.  We had to agree – you continue to be a pretty laid back, mild mannered little girl….but there is enough spunk to keep us on our toes.

We can’t wait to see what the new year brings with you, Joycie!

Love,

Mama & Daddy

December 06, 2011

#Resound11: Theme Song

If your life was a television show, what would its theme song be? What
music would be cued at the start of the show or when you entered a
scene?

Think about this past year. Is there a song that you've heard that has
really struck a chord, one that has spoken to you? Maybe there's a
song that goes along with your one word for 2011. Maybe there is a
song that you've heard that instantly cheers you up or makes you think
of a special moment that happened this year?


Easy, my theme song would "My Next 30 Years" by Tim McGraw.

"I think I'll take a moment, celebrate my age
The ending of an era and the turning of a page
Now it's time to focus in on where I go from here
Lord have mercy on my next thirty years"

I will turn 30 in 2012 and I eagerly look forward to it as I spent
most of 2011 learnig to appreciate where I am in life!

"Hey my next thirty years I'm gonna have some fun
Try to forget about all the crazy things I've done
Maybe now I've conquered all my adolescent fears
And I'll do it better in my next thirty years"

2011 was really the first year that I did not look back with regrets -
over decisions, choices, life circumstances. I embraced what I had
done in the last 29 years, how it had molded me into the woman I am to
day, and I vowed to live life even better in the years to come.

What would your theme song be? All of the prompts for #resound11 can
be found at http://www.resound.jaemie.com.

#Resound11

I am a few days late to the party for #resound 11….but I figured
better late than never. I am going to briefly catch up from the first
4 prompts in this post, and then start playing along daily. I hope
you will join me.

Prompt for Dec 1 – One Word.

What is the one word that you would use to describe your 2011? Why
does that word sum up your year?

When I read this prompt, the first word that came to mind was
"growing". I think that it is very insightful that I chose a verb as
my word – as 2011 was a year of doing. I grew in terms of work –
taking on more responsibilities and project. I grew in my relationship
with Mikey – learning how to work thru some dark and difficult times.
I grew personally by branching out to teach aerobics and lead a
running group. I grew as a mother – learning how to set boundaries for
Joycie while allowing her the space she needs to explore her world.
And lastly, but most importantly, I am growing in my faith. As 2011
winds to a close, I am spending more time in God's Holy Word, in
prayer, and am preparing to start my first fast.

Prompt for Dec 2: Vices

Did you slip into any old habits that you wish you hadn't? Did you
gain any new habits that you wish you would've walked away from? Did
you discover the evils of Nutella?

One word …. Chocolate! After 7 months of dedicated 5K training and
cleaning eating, I embrace the summer season with a huge slice of
chocolate cake. Then it was ice cream sundaes with hot fudge syrup,
chocolate bars as my afternoon pick me up. While chocolate is
delicious and something I do not intend to completely eliminate from
my life…I can say that 2011 saw a HUGE jump in the amount of candy I
consumed. Hopefully 2012 will see a dramatic reduction.

Prompt for Dec 3: Virtues

What good have you done in 2011? Where do you really shine? What have
you done that makes you proud of yourself?
One of the things I am proudest of this year, is that I stepped up and
offered to teach an aerobics class at my church. The class started
with just my sister-in-law and I, but has grown into a group of 9
women, and has given birth to a weekly running group. Moreover, the
group became a way for the younger women of our church to fellowship
together – we have had girl's days out, movie nights, and weekly
breakfasts together where we just chat about our lives, and enjoy just
being girls (not wives, Mamas, aunts, etc…).

Prompt for Dec 4: Superpower

Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Able
to leap tall buildings in a single bound…we know you've got one. What
is your 2011 superpower?

For those of you doing the initial what the what… stop. Think about it
for a moment: what have you learned that you can do better than anyone
you know this year? What can you do that no one else can? Don't be
shy!
This prompt gave me a lot of difficulty. I tend to think of myself as
just average – nothing special, nothing extraordinary. But then I
realized that I am special – after all God says that I am wonderful
and fearless made. I thought about the "gifts" that I have been told I
have, and I began to see a theme – I am a great listener!

Whether the hubby needs to vent about work related stress, my
sister-in-law needs to talk about her son's struggles at school, or a
co-worker needs to just talk, I am always eager to listen.