Thursday, March 25, 2010

Four Years of Curly

Four years ago, this little one...

turned me into... (and yes, that is a belly very near birth)

a Mommy.

How she turned into this:

I'm not sure, but I enjoyed almost every second of it. I'm so proud of her for her heart, the incredible way she REALLY thinks things through and understands deep concepts, and the amazing big sister that she is. Four is going to be a great year! (It is one of my most favorite ages you know...)

I love you my firstborn daughter! Thank you for making me a Mommy.

Side note: If you aren't friends with me on Facebook, you will have missed her comment to me this afternoon when I said something about her turning me into a Mommy because she was my first baby. She said, "Well, God helped me Mom. I SURE couldn't put a BABY in your tummy!"

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Conversations with Curly Daddy

As Handsome and I were preparing dinner on Sunday, Curly looked out the window and said quite shocked and concerned, "The birds are eating mushrooms!" This because we have told the children not to eat the mushrooms that they might find in the backyard.

Handsome: "It's okay, birds can eat whatever they want."

Curly: "WELL, they CAN'T eat people!"

Handsome: "Most birds wouldn't eat people, but if you were dead there are some birds that might. Like a buzzard. But only if you were already dead."

Curly: Sitting on the stool confused and shocked...

Me: If you were dead....really?!? Did my husband seriously just tell my daughter that birds would eat her if she was dead? He did NOT just say that...I'm just dreaming.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Gumby Here...

Do you want to know something? This family has....(sneaks closer to wispser in your ear)...chores!

SHHHH!
Don't tell mom that I told you. Do you know what those are? Well, let me tell you all about them.

Mom says that she thinks all members of a family should help out with the things that need to get done, even when they are little. She said that it's best to start learning to help out when you are little...I've never heard such things.

Smiles and I are in charge of picking up our toys, and helping with laundry. This is the laundry cleaning machine. I like to do the buttons best!

Here's me with my brother and sister pulling dry clothes out of this thingy and into the basket. When we get to the end, Curly has to do it. She has really long arms. Almost like an adult!

We all help carry clothes from the laundry sorter to be put in the cleaning machine.

Curly is really good at it because she has had lots of practice.

I can carry a LOT just like my big sister. (Do you see me wearing her boots? I'm going to be just like her when I get bigger.)


Sometimes Smiles gets in the way and I have to wait for him to move. Mom says we have to be patient with him while he is learning too. He is little, so he doesn't understand the rules as well and me and Curly yet.

I show him how though. This is my strong face.

Smiles pushes the clothes into the back for us. Mom thinks he is trying to get as close to climbing in as he can. She might be right.

Curly has other chores. She folds the washcloths, and sorts laundry into piles. She makes a pile for each person in the family. Then Mom folds the clothes and puts them away. Sometimes Curly likes to help with that too, but she doesn't have to.

Curly's last job is feeding the animals. She fills the cat's food...Daddy does the water.

Smiles can't wait until he can feed the animals! But Mom says he likes to eat their food too much just yet and he has to wait. He just helps Curly by picking up what she doesn't get in the dish. Mom doesn't seem to like when he helps with that though...

Anyway, I've never heard of such a thing! What kind of chores do your kids do when they are little?

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Giant Bib in Action

I told you I would share pictures of the bibs on a child. Here is Gumby before her meal made it messy.

And these are after she ate. To her credit she actually kept pretty clean at this meal. Smiles had a bib that was not so lucky, but his photos didn't tun out very well due to excessive moving and non-participation.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Proof

When you are always the one behind the lens, people tend to question your existence. So, here is your proof that #4 and I do, in fact, reside on the face of this planet.


(I'm not a huge fan of belly shots, but I took a couple anyway...just for you.)

And this Mommy proves that she is not just an imaginary person that some weirdo made up.

May I also mention two things? Well, I guess that's true. Of course I can! It's my blog.

First, it is tiresome to hold a camera up over your head or out to the side. To hold the camera out far enough to fit baby #4 into the frame was not an easy task. Second, the piles of clothing...that would be the bins of outgrown clothes that are waiting to be sorted through and put back in the garage. I've been lazy, what can I say =).

Friday, March 12, 2010

My First Non-born

Non-born being adopted of course. My second little girl. This little one has also taught me more than I imagined that she could. Truly placed in our family by the hand of God, she was meant to be right where she is.

Gumby has given me new understanding of my relationship with the Lord. A new appreciation for the love and patience He has for us when we are adopted into His family. I wish I had patience like that, though I know that I can't because I am not God. Oh how amazing it is that He loves us fully from the moment we are adopted. And He knows who we are.

There are levels of understanding this that I can't even explain. Just thoughts that come to my mind here and there. Thoughts of how I understand God's love just a little bit more.

Gumby is so free. She is herself and is not hindered by much. She watches the other children and tries to play like them, hanging on every move that Curly makes some days. Even the things I would have her NOT pay attention to. But it's not to fit in. The social desires seem different. It's not because she wants to be accepted, because she knows she is accepted. It's more that she admires and mimics just out of desire to be like those that she admires.

It's so easy to get a smile out of my second girl. She loves to be girly and knows that the camera means bring out the smile.

And her favorite thing? Babies! She loves dolls. Most often you will find my little Gumby with a doll in her hand. She is made for mothering...as Smiles will tell you she practices on him all the time. I'm sure she will be a great big sister to our #4.

...right after she learns how to be a little more gentle. She and Smiles will get to work on that a little.

Oh, and did I mention that she isn't just a one baby kind of girl? She often has six or so all around her. I guess she is preparing to go back to her roots when she gets older. Maybe she will serve children in an orphanage somewhere =).

Okay...or maybe not. We will just let Gumby and God determine what her life entails. No matter how she keeps her arms full of God's children.

I told you she watches. She wants to be like the ones she loves. Here she watches Curly and learns how to pose for Mommy when the camera is out.

Silly faces are perhaps not so much her thing all the time =). Gumby is quiet sometimes too. She sits and watches, or will focus on something she is trying to learn.

(Of course, this means with a baby doll in hand.)

Silly faces aren't always out of the question though. She makes this one all the time. She thinks it's funny to make a surprised face when you aren't really surprised...does it all the time and follows up with a giggle.

We love having you in our family Gumby, and we are excited to watch you grow. I'm glad that you were our child of God's promise. We wouldn't have it any other way.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

My Firstborn- Curly

No matter how our family grows, no matter who God adds....

this sweet little girl, with her sparkling curls of gold...

will always be my firstborn.

The first to ever speak the name Mommy in reference to this forever changed heart. The first to show me what it means to be all the many things that Mommy means. The first to teach me the ropes of being the one to fill so many of one person's needs.

And she is a special girl indeed. God picked just the right girl for the job. He picked the perfect little one to train me up in the way of motherhood. The perfect big sister to lead this family's young brood from the sibling side. She was made perfectly for her place in the birth order.

This little girl who is so much like her mommy, in so many different ways. She even carries my special gift of being a lovely willing photography subject...

Curly, my love, thank you for making me a Mother. Thank you for showing me my calling in life and for being the one that started it all. You have taught me patience, how to listen, and how important it is to loosen up instead of being worried about perfection all the time (as you are a perfectionist yourself). Most of all, you taught me to love in a way that I couldn't possibly understand. Until there was you.