It's been a while, huh?

OK, I know. It's been a week and I missed Tiny Talk Tuesday this week. The house is just about ready. It's been pretty thoroughly cleaned by me, I installed the closet shelving, cleaned the windows (with some help from Aunt Wee) and the painter has been doing touch-up work this week. The electrician was supposed to finish this week, but in his absence, Dad pretty much fired him by doing the work himself. Too bad Dad can't dig & install a septic system... That's about all we've got left.

Waiting...

We missed the last 3 weeks of Cubbies for various reasons, but made it this week. I was so proud of David! Not only was he well behaved the whole time, but he was able to recite all 4 Bible verses, catching up on all the ones he'd missed! He got his Hopper patch (which he actually earned the last week we were there, but the teacher was out of patches) and 2 of his path patches.

Saturday was a big day as we spent 5 hours birthday partying. And we didn't even make it to both parties we were invited to! We joined family & a bunch of 8- & 9-year old boys to celebrate D&E's cousin Alex's 9th birthday. There was a bounce house with an obstacle course & slide...

And David picked out Alex's birthday present - a set of "light savers." David could hardly wait for Alex to open them. Alex was very sweet to oblige his young cousin by engaging him in combat.

Then while getting ready for church today, I discovered that while I've been busy this week, my tummy has been growing! So here's a belly shot at 15 weeks with baby #3.

Aunt Sissy and Uncle Bubba have been bragging on their tomato crops. (Please, check out their links!) I thought I'd chip in with a tomato brag, too.

My husband is a bit of a chef (when he wants to). Apparently, a fire station he was at recently was staffed with a bunch of firefighting gourmets and one of them mentioned a recipe that sparked his interest. I had recently read about it myself: Insalata Caprese. And yes, it was tasty!

Sorry for the fuzzy picture. After the fact, I discovered a tiny little fingerprint on my camera lens! With a little twist, this would be the perfect treat for the adult table at your Halloween party!

Cubbies Party!

We celebrated a fun year of Cubbies Wednesday night with a pizza/cupcake/ice cream party! All 15 Cubbies, 9 Sparks (in the background at the square table), and 6 adults in the room sang Happy Birthday to David, too! And he didn't cry!

It was wild, as always. David ate about 1/3 slice of pizza, the icing & sprinkles off his cupcake, a mini cup of chocolate Blue Bell ice cream with sprinkles (had to throw that brand in for Aunt Sissy), and a mini A&W root beer. I was happy she got the A&W, which is caffeine free. A sugar rush plus caffeine at 7pm is not ideal. A new statement came out of my mouth this evening, too, "Eat your ice cream with your spoon, not your finger!"

The kids all thoroughly enjoyed the party and the whole year of Cubbies!

We made it!

I survived another week of Cubbies with 15 preschoolers. Two more weeks...

Tonight, David said his last memory verse from the Cubbies workbook and earned his last patch. So, in the course of this school year, David has memorized all 24 Bible verses and 3 of the special occasion Bible verses, plus his Christmas passage.

You know, this took a lot of work! But I enjoyed doing it and I am thankful for the chance to be at home with him, teaching him the Word of God. I wonder what we'll work on this summer...

Tiny Talk Tuesday

We've been working on this little building for the last 3 days. We finally got it finished last night. David has been very anxious to be able to go inside. He was not disappointed!

David's Cubbies vest has been hanging in the bathroom this week and he's been trying to remember the verses that the A & C on the vest represent. With little prompting, he remembered:

All have sinned. Romans 3:23

Christ died for us according to the Scriptures. (a verse David combined from Romans 5:8 and I Corinthians 15:3)

Then I tried to explain in a way I thought a 3-year old might be able to understand, that Jesus died for our sins so that we could go to heaven and be with him. David pondered this, then asked, "Does he have his car there?"

Huh... I don't think Jesus needs a car...

Read more Tiny Talk over at Not Before 7.

Busy Week for Big Stuff

This has been a pretty busy week so far. Sometimes I just wish for a few more hours to sneak off somewhere, so I could sleep uninterrupted. I'm sure someone would find me & wake me up, though. It never fails. Anyway... 2 major firsts for Elizabeth took place on Tuesday:

1) She ate her first french fry. (I was in the bathroom with David when it happened.)

2) She finally sat herself up, from a laying down position!!! In this video you will also hear a cat meow and see David taking a picture of Elizabeth:

Cubbies tonight - David earned another patch for his vest for scripture memory! Yeah, David! Imgaine this... 15 - 3 & 4 year olds in a room that doesn't seem much bigger than our bathroom! It was very loud.

Now, to try to get a few hours sleep before someone wakes me up...

Eleven Days 'Til Thanksgiving

Today I am thankful that my parents raised me in church. We were there all the time... they even left me there once! (Churches sure do get dark when everybody but the janitor leaves!)

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I don't know what makes some people like going to church and some people not like going (other than God), but I am also thankful that I enjoy going to church.

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And finally, I am thankful that David is enjoying going to church. He loves Cubbies and his Sunday School class.

Tiny Talk Tuesday

David's talking more & more as time goes by. I have found myself telling him to stop talking (at bedtime) or to be quiet ("inside voice"), but I have still never said I wish he didn't talk so much. It's still sweet music to my ears... even if it's too loud or way past bedtime!

David was in the bedroom one afternoon & started crying. I went to check on him & found him where I had seen Fluff, a large cat, sleeping earlier. I asked him if something was hurting?

David: Uh-huh

Mom: What hurts?

David: I hurt Fluff's teeth!

One day, David remembered an episode of Super Why:

David: Peter Piper

Mom: What did Peter Piper pick?

David: A shell.

As we prepared for MawMaw's 50th birthday party last weekend, David really got into it. He was animate about getting a package of spinning party favors and M&M cookies. When we were at the store, though, he saw a huge pink Mylar balloon in the shape of a crown that read, "Princess" in a pretty script. As soon as he saw it, he said, "Need the big pink balloon for Elizabeth!"

How sweet that he was thinking of his sister!

As he made laps through the kitchen one day, he repeated his Cubbies verse from a few weeks ago, "I am wonderfully made! I am wonderfully made! I am wonderfully made!" Lather, rinse, repeat.

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Count your blessings this week. The tiny talkers in our houses are definitely something to be thankful for!

Read more Tiny Talk at Not Before 7.

Tiny Talk Tuesday: A Big Week

There's been a lot of tiny talk this week! It makes me so proud to see David's vocabulary improve. He has come so far in the last year! Visit Mary at Not Before 7 to see more Tiny Talk!

Wednesday night we were late coming in from Cubbies. Dad was just inside the door flicking the light on & off, but David couldn't see him.
David: The light needs new batteries!

Coming home from dinner out with Dad's cousin, the sky was dark but a long wispy cloud was reflecting light from the Metroplex & appeared gray.
David: I see an amazing gray light.
Mom: An amazing gray light?
David: Yeah, a wonderful, amazing gray light!

Sunday afternoon we were hiking around our spot when we came across some critter poop on the path. David stopped for a closer look.
Mom: Some little animal pooped there; don't touch it.
David: It's lion poop!

As we pulled out from that trip, the sun was behind some looming storm clouds. Beautiful rays of sunlight were streaming out from the clouds, but you couldn't see the sun.
David: Mom, the sun is stuck in those clouds!

While watching my favorite show, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, one of the kids got a drum set in his room. David quickly scanned the room & found a box to drum on. Enter Dad, who joined the drum fest on the box...

lots of drumming on a cardboard box noise

David: You're a good drummer, Dad!

And he is!

Later, I was talking to Dad in the bathroom...
David: Why are you being so complicated, Mom?
I have no idea where he heard that one!

Elizabeth has also picked up on some signs and has signed "milk" a few times before nursing! Here she is with our CPR Teddy, which I practiced on today. When was the last time you practiced your Infant & Child CPR skills?

MOPS & Cubbies Update

It certainly doesn't feel like fall around here, but I have been inspired by seeing all of my sister's pumpkin pictures lately... so here is my pumpkin picture! The jar mix of Pumpkin Mini Muffins was our craft Friday at my MOPS meeting. It was fun to be in kitchen mode with all of the other moms as we each made a jar mix. I'll post a picture of my pumpkin muffins after they're made & let you know how it goes!

Also, I am happy to report that David did manage the long Bible verse this week at Cubbies! He recited:

Give thanks to the Lord,

who made the great lights:

sun, moon, and stars!

I was so proud! And that earned him his first Lamb Path patch!

Tiny Talk Tuesday

Here we are for another installment of Tiny Talk Tuesday - noticing and remembering the cuteness all week long!

Some things about David absolutely amaze me. His musical ability for one thing! He can carry a tune so well, he can sing whatever words he wants to, but I can always recognize the melody. MawMaw got him a little toy guitar weekend before last and he has now started strumming it in rhythm with his songs! He also plays Grandpa's upright piano in rhythm with his songs and can match with his voice any note you play.

David also loves to count and is now working on his 30's, though his 30 and his 40 sound the same. We're working on his pronunciation. He also counted backwards the other day (from 8 if I remember correctly), without missing any! And now for a few quotes...

Grandma has a very straight scratch on her arm that has a scab on it. David saw it and said, "Ouchy, Number One." (it really does look like a 1)

While sitting on the potty the other day, he was distracted so in reminding him what we were in there for, I pointed into the potty, to which David replied, "I TT on your finger!" I guess he got a kick out of my reaction, and now he teases that he's going to TT on my foot, on the cat, etc... (teasing is another new skill)

Sorry if this grosses you out, but I was explaining to him why the cat had thrown up one day (cat's tummy hurt like when David was sick) and he decided that the stuff was called "cat tummy poop".

He had a little trouble pronouncing the word "everything" this week, but was able to do it by the time Cubbies came around. So, this week's memory verse that he recited:

He made everything beautiful.

Next week's verse is pretty long... I'll let you know how it goes.


This just in...

David was watching Sesame Street while I was typing this & he made some excited sound that Elmo just made... immediately followed by Elizabeth making the exact same sound! It sounded so much alike, that I had to ask Grandma if that second noise was Elizabeth or not!

Isn't she cute?!?

Aunt Sissy - Recognize that dress? That's the one that was sized 12 months, but that had to be wrong because it just barely fits her now!

Join in the fun of Tiny Talk Tuesday by heading over to Not Before 7 to see what others are saying!

Tiny Talk Tuesday

We've been working on learning manners...

David burps.
Mom: Say "excuse me" when you burp.
David: Excuse me when you burp.

>^..^<

David has learned the routine - when Elizabeth falls asleep while nursing, I put her in the swing for her nap. Now when he notices that she is asleep in my lap, and he wants to play with me, he says:

Mom, you put Elizabeth in the swing.

>^..^<

David earned his first patch for his vest in Cubbies last Wednesday! I was so proud! He recited the verse:

God created the heavens and the earth.

Genesis 1:1

>^..^<

This picture was taken this morning. Doesn't look like he was awake good, does it? : ) Sometimes I get caught up in the whining, crying, waiting beside the potty, changing diapers, etc and forget to take note of the cute things that are happening right under my nose. So I just wanted to say again how much I enjoy "Tiny Talk Tuesday" because it keeps me looking for cuteness all week long! See more Tiny Talk over at Not Before 7, where it all gets started.

So what cuteness did you see this week?

Cubbies: Week 2

David got his Cubbies Workbook and vest last night! He was so proud to get the vest just like Cubbie Bear wears. He even asked to wear it to bed! (no, I didn't let him because I knew that would require me getting up in the middle of the night to unbutton it!)

David recited the Cubbies theme verse:

God loved us and sent His son.

And the Cubbies motto:

Jesus Loves Me!