One Short Of A Decade

Josh and I celebrated nine years of marriage yesterday! Sentences like "It's been wonderful" or "time flies when you're having fun" just don't fit. The past nine years have definitely had bright spots of wonderful and fun, but a lot of not so wonderful or fun too. This past year blows all previous years out of the water though. We are happy. We are tired. We are stronger. We are smarter. We are more patient. We are a family of FOUR! 

Holy cow this man drives me crazy! Absolutely batty, up the wall, mad! And I totally and completely love him for it. How boring would life be without someone to push you, stretch you, and pull you in (usually) the right direction. When he reads this, he's gonna ask "what do you mean usually?!" My sweet husband is all-knowing, and so I push his him too. *wink

Geez louise I love this man! Heart aching, toe curling love! It makes me speechless that he loves me back. Being parents changes how you see your spouse. Before kids we relied on each other for support, guidance, respect, and comfort. Now there is a little girl looking at us, watching how we communicate, how we give support. A little girl who will learn respect and feel comfort in our home. The way he cares for her grows my love for him. 

Things are about to get even more fun and crazy as our son is due in about two months. I have absolutely no reservations about Josh teaching and guiding our son because Josh is the kind of man I want our son to be. Just as he has done with our daughter, Josh will show our son Godly character, love, and wisdom. I could not ask for a better partner. 

I'm looking to forward to the rest of our lives together, come what may.

Our wedding day nine years ago. Just kids. I had just tuned 21 and neither of us knew what was ahead of us. So glad to have him with me through it all.

My wonderful husband brought me a bouquet of daisies (our wedding flowers) and took me out for dinner at one of our favorite restaurants. We kept things simple as kids and the recent purchase of a new car have stretched the bank. But really, I prefer simple. I love simple. Simple is my zone.

Squeaks spent the evening at Grammy's house. We loved getting text messages and pictures of their crafty activities, even at our anniversary dinner. Even when they aren't with you, your kids happiness and well-being is on your heart. I get it mom. Thank you.

18 Months

I do believe this kid gets better by the moment. I just wish the moments would go by slower! The cutest, funniest, sweetest little girl in the world is 18 months old today. I can even use these descriptive words without hesitation or bias because I am confident her cuteness/sweetness/funniness could be scientifically proven. Seriously, if her pediatrician really thought it through, not only would we get a percentage for her weight and height at checkups, but her personality could be charted for amazingness...Scratch that. It'd be off the charts!

Talk Talk Talk

Squeaks has gone verbal! Squeaks 2.0! The upgraded version. Seriously, that's what it feels like when you can ask your toddler a question, "Are you hungry?", "Do you need a new diaper?", etc, and they answer you! It makes life so much easier. And harder...but mostly easier. Only harder because she likes the word "no" a lot!

So far she can say:

No!

dog

blue (She loves Blue's Clues!)

please (She also does the sign language when she says it. Too cute!)

shoes

go (Usually said in threes as we're walking out the door. "Go go go!!")

bee (She loves bees! Scared the heck out of me one day when she brought me a LIVE bee out in our yard, grasped by the wings. She exclaimed happily "bee bee bee!!!" as I swatted it out of her hand. No sting though!)

momma

daddy (The "y" still doesn't come across though, so "dadda" is closer.)

bye

hi

brush

book
hot (Usually referring to food. She'll ask if it's hot and, if I say yes, she'll blow on it.)
cold (Said between gulps of cold water.)

There are also multiple words that only I understand. Squeaks-speak. So if you come to our house and hear my daughter say "bong?!" in a happy expectant tone, she's asking for her Bible song. Haha!

Not bad for 18 months if you ask me! Her mental vocabulary is amazing too, even if she can't verbalize it yet. The conversation she understands is incredible. One of her favorite books is My First Colors. It's pictures of items separated by color on each page. The red page has lady bugs, strawberries, an apple, etc. Green page has grass, a frog...you get the idea. Each page has quite a few items. She'll sit on my lap and I'll ask her "Where are the purple grapes?", "Where is the red umbrella?", "Where is the yellow truck?", and she'll point to each item on the page! It's tons of fun to watch her little face searching, her eyes scanning the page, and then light up when she finds the item. I love it. I've made it a personal rule of mine, if she brings me a book, or asks for a book, I'll stop what I'm doing and read it. She may have realized this because we read close to twenty books a day (sometimes multiple times). Totally worth it though. 

We've also made it a priority to enunciate our words when we talk to her. No baby talk. We still talk soft and sweet, but accurately as well. Sometimes, with new words, I'll even ask her to watch my mouth as I say it. 

In my mind these are the beginnings of home schooling. It's never too early to start. Good conversation skills are a necessity in my opinion. I can't wait for the day when I can walk into her room, cuddle up in her bed with her, and discuss the day, her thoughts, and ideas. Just like my mom did with me.

Enjoying a good book in her chair.