a couple weeks ago (actually, it was like two months ago...whoops), todd, atticus and i took a family trip to the park down the street. it was so much fun! atticus loved the swing and the slide. he wasn't so sure about "dunking," though...
so little time!
oh my word, atticus has been keeping me on my toes! lots of stuff happening...
..he is army-crawling EVERYWHERE, and thisclose to figuring out how to (for-real)crawl.
..he has another tooth and is working on a fourth.
..he needs YET ANOTHER haircut (his fourth).
..he can get up to sitting from laying down, which means going down for a nap has been much more like playtime than napping lately.
..speaking of naptime, we've cut out his evening nap, so he's taking two two-hour naps per day.
..he's eating lots of actual foods - fruit and oatmeal for breakfast, and a fruit/veggie meal once or twice a day. he's not super interested in them, though. we've also done noodles, biter biscuits, and saltines.
..he's figured out how to hit stuff with other stuff, how to crawl over to the drapes, how to play with the noisy whirligig behind the bedroom door, how to pull up to standing against the couch, how to cruise around the furniture, how to click his bottom teeth against his top tooth, how to spray peas EVERYWHERE (because spitting them out just isn't 'pyrotechnic' enough), how to shake his head 'no' when he doesn't want to eat something, how to wrinkle his nose when he grins, how to cry for attention (seriously, it did take him this long, but he's got it down to a science now), how to reach out his arms when he wants to be held...and on and on.
i would type more, but he's up from his nap. got to go-go-go!
..he is army-crawling EVERYWHERE, and thisclose to figuring out how to (for-real)crawl.
..he has another tooth and is working on a fourth.
..he needs YET ANOTHER haircut (his fourth).
..he can get up to sitting from laying down, which means going down for a nap has been much more like playtime than napping lately.
..speaking of naptime, we've cut out his evening nap, so he's taking two two-hour naps per day.
..he's eating lots of actual foods - fruit and oatmeal for breakfast, and a fruit/veggie meal once or twice a day. he's not super interested in them, though. we've also done noodles, biter biscuits, and saltines.
..he's figured out how to hit stuff with other stuff, how to crawl over to the drapes, how to play with the noisy whirligig behind the bedroom door, how to pull up to standing against the couch, how to cruise around the furniture, how to click his bottom teeth against his top tooth, how to spray peas EVERYWHERE (because spitting them out just isn't 'pyrotechnic' enough), how to shake his head 'no' when he doesn't want to eat something, how to wrinkle his nose when he grins, how to cry for attention (seriously, it did take him this long, but he's got it down to a science now), how to reach out his arms when he wants to be held...and on and on.
i would type more, but he's up from his nap. got to go-go-go!
purposefulness and four others
"purposeful" month has been going well. i've also dubbed it "intentionality" month, because that word really resonates with me.
there are certain things that i really try to be intentional at doing - being a wife and mom, for instance. i try to do those things with intentionality. in other areas of life, though, i take a more "if it happens, it happens" approach - remembering/accomplishing things on my to-do lists and reading my bible, for instance.
this week has been awesome when it comes to bible reading. i finished the gospel of luke, which i've been working through for some time, and began ephesians. i was also intentional about getting my galatians verses memorized before friday morning (lisagrace comes friday afternoon to recite our verses together). i've also been more diligent at drastically cutting back my tv time, which has not only given me more time to read my bible (as well as other for-fun reading and down-time stuff in general) but also an opportunity to think throughout the day about what i've read. i really feel that god is blessing my efforts - which are really not my efforts at all, but his holy spirit working through me.
i've been thinking a lot about the holy spirit lately - but that's another entry for another time.
the other thing i've been trying to be intentional at is relaxing...doing the things i want to do and enjoy doing, instead of either working or squandering away my free time with things that just pass the time but don't bring me fulfillment.
i haven't started 'the seven habits of highly effective people' yet, but i'm planning on doing that here in the next couple of days.
also, in response to various issues that have arisen lately, i've decided on a couple more monthly themes:
september: sabbath/nourishment
so, surprise of surprises to any and all who know me, i'm a type-A personality and i stretch myself entirely too thin. it's a pride issue at heart, because i like to be in charge and in control, i don't like to delegate, i don't like to say "no" to things, and i don't like to look like i have everything less than 110% together. but god gave us a sabbath as a blessing, and it has been one that i've refused to accept before now, but i think it's sorely lacking in my life.
october: hedging in/hedging out
this is in regards to relationships - the working title was "boundaries," but i think i'd like to use this month to develop healthier relationships all around - both by more adamantly fostering and protecting my most important relationships and by setting boundaries on my less important or less healthy relationships.
november: joy in the everyday
this one's pretty self-explanatory. i watched a clip of a girl talking about "inviting the glorious into the mundane" and it really got my wheels spinning. i think i let the mundane rule the mundane. i read this quote in 'love and respect,' and it's so entirely true: 'the problem with life is that it is so daily.' (anon.) i would like to invite god to do glorious things with my daily life.
i'm also hoping to have a book to read that goes along with each theme.
so, in summary:
july: intentionality: seven habits of highly effective people
august: welcome: a life that says welcome
september: sabbath: ??
october: relationships: boundaries
november: everyday joy: homespun memories from the heart (maybe- still looking for something that might fit a little better)
...and seven more left to go...any ideas for books or themes? what has god been laying on your heart lately?
there are certain things that i really try to be intentional at doing - being a wife and mom, for instance. i try to do those things with intentionality. in other areas of life, though, i take a more "if it happens, it happens" approach - remembering/accomplishing things on my to-do lists and reading my bible, for instance.
this week has been awesome when it comes to bible reading. i finished the gospel of luke, which i've been working through for some time, and began ephesians. i was also intentional about getting my galatians verses memorized before friday morning (lisagrace comes friday afternoon to recite our verses together). i've also been more diligent at drastically cutting back my tv time, which has not only given me more time to read my bible (as well as other for-fun reading and down-time stuff in general) but also an opportunity to think throughout the day about what i've read. i really feel that god is blessing my efforts - which are really not my efforts at all, but his holy spirit working through me.
i've been thinking a lot about the holy spirit lately - but that's another entry for another time.
the other thing i've been trying to be intentional at is relaxing...doing the things i want to do and enjoy doing, instead of either working or squandering away my free time with things that just pass the time but don't bring me fulfillment.
i haven't started 'the seven habits of highly effective people' yet, but i'm planning on doing that here in the next couple of days.
also, in response to various issues that have arisen lately, i've decided on a couple more monthly themes:
september: sabbath/nourishment
so, surprise of surprises to any and all who know me, i'm a type-A personality and i stretch myself entirely too thin. it's a pride issue at heart, because i like to be in charge and in control, i don't like to delegate, i don't like to say "no" to things, and i don't like to look like i have everything less than 110% together. but god gave us a sabbath as a blessing, and it has been one that i've refused to accept before now, but i think it's sorely lacking in my life.
october: hedging in/hedging out
this is in regards to relationships - the working title was "boundaries," but i think i'd like to use this month to develop healthier relationships all around - both by more adamantly fostering and protecting my most important relationships and by setting boundaries on my less important or less healthy relationships.
november: joy in the everyday
this one's pretty self-explanatory. i watched a clip of a girl talking about "inviting the glorious into the mundane" and it really got my wheels spinning. i think i let the mundane rule the mundane. i read this quote in 'love and respect,' and it's so entirely true: 'the problem with life is that it is so daily.' (anon.) i would like to invite god to do glorious things with my daily life.
i'm also hoping to have a book to read that goes along with each theme.
so, in summary:
july: intentionality: seven habits of highly effective people
august: welcome: a life that says welcome
september: sabbath: ??
october: relationships: boundaries
november: everyday joy: homespun memories from the heart (maybe- still looking for something that might fit a little better)
...and seven more left to go...any ideas for books or themes? what has god been laying on your heart lately?
12 months of...words.
i've decided to have themes for each of the next 12 months. this month's theme is 'purposefulness.'
so far, this is the plan:
..be purposeful in watching less tv.
..be purposeful in doing what i SAY i'm going to do.
..read '7 habits of highly effective people'
..work on establishing a scheduling/planning system.
next month, the theme will be 'welcome.' after that...i have no idea. i still have 10 more themes to decide on. maybe i'll be purposeful about figuring out what they'll be.
so far, this is the plan:
..be purposeful in watching less tv.
..be purposeful in doing what i SAY i'm going to do.
..read '7 habits of highly effective people'
..work on establishing a scheduling/planning system.
next month, the theme will be 'welcome.' after that...i have no idea. i still have 10 more themes to decide on. maybe i'll be purposeful about figuring out what they'll be.
father's day
the weekend before last, we went down to my parents' to celebrate father's day. saturday night, we had a barbecue and atticus got to spend some quality time with his aunt lauren, grandma karen, and grandpa doug.
then sunday morning, i got to see my high school friend alisha, who lives in south carolina but was back in mp to visit her mom. those are her twins, isaac and liam.
(atticus enjoyed wearing isaac's hat)
then in the afternoon, we headed to my grandparents' to see them as well as my dad and his wife.
four generations on father's day...how fun!
playing the piano with his grandpa...
then sunday morning, i got to see my high school friend alisha, who lives in south carolina but was back in mp to visit her mom. those are her twins, isaac and liam.
(atticus enjoyed wearing isaac's hat)
then in the afternoon, we headed to my grandparents' to see them as well as my dad and his wife.
four generations on father's day...how fun!
playing the piano with his grandpa...
what a fun weekend!
pretty eloquent for 6 and a half months, don't you think?
hi everyone, it's me again. i haven't blogged in a long time because i've been super busy. just ask my mom.
i am getting so big! i get to eat big boy food, like pumpkin, pears and carrots. (mmm, i love carrots!) i even get to sit in my highchair to eat now, because i figured out how to climb out of my bumbo...(the bumbo was sitting on the dining room table when i figured it out, too, so i got a major conk on the head when i fell off the table onto the floor, but i'm tough so nbd.) mom sometimes lets me hold the spoon when i eat, which i really like because she doesn't seem to know how to get it all over my face and in my armpits the way i like it. seriously, if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.
i can roll over both arms now, instead of just over my right side. what does this mean? i'm mobile. i can roll wherever i want to go. like over to mom's plants, or to the drapes, or under the bed. it's just not quite satisfactory, though, so i'm working on my crawling...i can get my knees up under me and can rock back and forth. i know this is supposed to get me moving, but i just can't figure out what the missing piece is to crawling. maybe it has something to do with moving my arms and legs? i'll figure it out soon enough.
i have not been eating in the middle of the night for a week and a half now! mom took some good advice from makenna's parents and has been feeding me an extra three ounces before bed. sometimes i wake up around 5:30 because i have serious pee-pants, but once i'm clean and dry i snooze until 7:30 or 8.
as has always been the case, i'm a huge talker. i love saying bababa, gaga, tatata, and mmmmmmm. i also love making raspberries, making oinking sounds, and making kissy noises. i don't laugh a whole lot, but i smile all the time, and when i'm really happy i like to squeal. i'm ticklish on my legs and in my armpits, and i have a sensitive spot on my back that daddy likes to rub - i turn all red and tense and my birthmark turns purple when he does that.
i started sitting up by myself! after about an hour of practice, i'm now a pro and hardly ever fall over. my favorite thing by far is STANDING!!!! standing fixes all boo-boos and all grouchy moods. i love to stand straight, then plop down and pick myself up. i love holding mommy and daddy's hands while i walk around. i can even hold onto the couch by myself, and last night i stood for a few seconds without holding onto anything!
i'm a really, really mild-mannered kid; i hardly ever cry if there's nothing to cry about, and i LOVE LOVE LOVE people!
my favorite toys are my snake pal, my singing alphabet worm, my 'bear loves opposites' book, and my red plastic cup. i also love my pimped out ride and any old magazines mom gives me to destroy.
well, i should probably go take a nap. (not to toot my own horn, but i'm an awesome sleeper - usually about 11 hours at night and 4-5 hours during the day.) it's garage sale season and all the deals tucker me out.
atticus.
i am getting so big! i get to eat big boy food, like pumpkin, pears and carrots. (mmm, i love carrots!) i even get to sit in my highchair to eat now, because i figured out how to climb out of my bumbo...(the bumbo was sitting on the dining room table when i figured it out, too, so i got a major conk on the head when i fell off the table onto the floor, but i'm tough so nbd.) mom sometimes lets me hold the spoon when i eat, which i really like because she doesn't seem to know how to get it all over my face and in my armpits the way i like it. seriously, if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.
i can roll over both arms now, instead of just over my right side. what does this mean? i'm mobile. i can roll wherever i want to go. like over to mom's plants, or to the drapes, or under the bed. it's just not quite satisfactory, though, so i'm working on my crawling...i can get my knees up under me and can rock back and forth. i know this is supposed to get me moving, but i just can't figure out what the missing piece is to crawling. maybe it has something to do with moving my arms and legs? i'll figure it out soon enough.
i have not been eating in the middle of the night for a week and a half now! mom took some good advice from makenna's parents and has been feeding me an extra three ounces before bed. sometimes i wake up around 5:30 because i have serious pee-pants, but once i'm clean and dry i snooze until 7:30 or 8.
as has always been the case, i'm a huge talker. i love saying bababa, gaga, tatata, and mmmmmmm. i also love making raspberries, making oinking sounds, and making kissy noises. i don't laugh a whole lot, but i smile all the time, and when i'm really happy i like to squeal. i'm ticklish on my legs and in my armpits, and i have a sensitive spot on my back that daddy likes to rub - i turn all red and tense and my birthmark turns purple when he does that.
i started sitting up by myself! after about an hour of practice, i'm now a pro and hardly ever fall over. my favorite thing by far is STANDING!!!! standing fixes all boo-boos and all grouchy moods. i love to stand straight, then plop down and pick myself up. i love holding mommy and daddy's hands while i walk around. i can even hold onto the couch by myself, and last night i stood for a few seconds without holding onto anything!
i'm a really, really mild-mannered kid; i hardly ever cry if there's nothing to cry about, and i LOVE LOVE LOVE people!
my favorite toys are my snake pal, my singing alphabet worm, my 'bear loves opposites' book, and my red plastic cup. i also love my pimped out ride and any old magazines mom gives me to destroy.
well, i should probably go take a nap. (not to toot my own horn, but i'm an awesome sleeper - usually about 11 hours at night and 4-5 hours during the day.) it's garage sale season and all the deals tucker me out.
atticus.
*looking sheepish*
the plan i made...two weeks ago...about blogging more often...
yeah.
didn't happen.
a lot has been happening around here lately, though. spring cleaning had been at a stand-still for some time because i had spring cleaned from one side of the house to the other, meaning the last part of the house ended up with all the junk in it and no place to put it all. (actually, the real reason spring cleaning had...paused...was because i was unmotivated to find a temporary spot for all the stuff.)
you see, we were planning on getting a garage in august, so the stuff just needed a temporary resting place until it could be moved out of the house and into the garage. but i was having such a hard time living amidst all the chaos. i'm a person who can live with clutter, as long as at the end of the day the clutter has a home to go to - meaning, when stuff is put away, the house isn't cluttery. the problem was that everything was in its place, but it was still ridiculously cluttery. i was going nutso.
so todd called me from work on friday to tell me he had gotten me a father's day present. (yes, i said the same thing: father's day? i'm a mom.) he said his father's day gift was being able to give me a gift (isn't my husband awesome?!) and that we could move into our garage on monday!!! so i spent monday moving stuff out there, and on tuesday todd picked up some pallets to put on the floor under our stuff to protect it from water and cold floors and whatnot. i also put all of the stuff we'll be donating to our connection group garage sale in there, instead of packing it into the back of the van and hauling it all around until july. (yes, we are THAT white trash.)
i also spent tuesday cleaning out our hall closet. what's left? the laundry room. that's it. then spring cleaning is finally OVER, and only about two months after it began. not too bad.
i also painted our bathroom. when we moved in, all our walls were bare, white, and all around unfriendly. so we painted our living room and kitchen a buttery yellow, our master bathroom a pale green, and the bedrooms a taupe-y/tan-y/grey. but the guest bathroom stayed white. and somewhat cluttered. and all around unfriendly.
enter: my dear friend megan, whose husband is a house painter. meaning, they have a lot of unused paint from old jobs. so we went shopping in their basement and found an AWESOME grey.
granted, i had a fever and a massive headcold, but i was bound and determined to finish the bathroom walls, and i'm so glad i did.
so...long blog short. our house has been turned topsy-turvy, turned right-side-up again, and is all-in-all a nice, happy place to be.
yeah.
didn't happen.
a lot has been happening around here lately, though. spring cleaning had been at a stand-still for some time because i had spring cleaned from one side of the house to the other, meaning the last part of the house ended up with all the junk in it and no place to put it all. (actually, the real reason spring cleaning had...paused...was because i was unmotivated to find a temporary spot for all the stuff.)
you see, we were planning on getting a garage in august, so the stuff just needed a temporary resting place until it could be moved out of the house and into the garage. but i was having such a hard time living amidst all the chaos. i'm a person who can live with clutter, as long as at the end of the day the clutter has a home to go to - meaning, when stuff is put away, the house isn't cluttery. the problem was that everything was in its place, but it was still ridiculously cluttery. i was going nutso.
so todd called me from work on friday to tell me he had gotten me a father's day present. (yes, i said the same thing: father's day? i'm a mom.) he said his father's day gift was being able to give me a gift (isn't my husband awesome?!) and that we could move into our garage on monday!!! so i spent monday moving stuff out there, and on tuesday todd picked up some pallets to put on the floor under our stuff to protect it from water and cold floors and whatnot. i also put all of the stuff we'll be donating to our connection group garage sale in there, instead of packing it into the back of the van and hauling it all around until july. (yes, we are THAT white trash.)
i also spent tuesday cleaning out our hall closet. what's left? the laundry room. that's it. then spring cleaning is finally OVER, and only about two months after it began. not too bad.
i also painted our bathroom. when we moved in, all our walls were bare, white, and all around unfriendly. so we painted our living room and kitchen a buttery yellow, our master bathroom a pale green, and the bedrooms a taupe-y/tan-y/grey. but the guest bathroom stayed white. and somewhat cluttered. and all around unfriendly.
enter: my dear friend megan, whose husband is a house painter. meaning, they have a lot of unused paint from old jobs. so we went shopping in their basement and found an AWESOME grey.
granted, i had a fever and a massive headcold, but i was bound and determined to finish the bathroom walls, and i'm so glad i did.
so...long blog short. our house has been turned topsy-turvy, turned right-side-up again, and is all-in-all a nice, happy place to be.
mother's day
yes, i said mother's day, even though father's day is in just a couple weeks. here are photos....we spent the day with todd's parents and my parents, and we all went to reiman gardens. (i'm going to need to get the pictures off my mom's camera, as well as jacqi's - there were a lot more pictures, but i forgot i don't have them!)
in other, more up-to-date news, atticus and i both have horrible head colds. lovely.
working on catching up...
he wonked his head, but wouldn't sit still for the ice pack...
...the solution?...
...a cling-wrapped ice cube between two hats.
we love to read!!!
the book won the wrestling match.
the standoff between the baby and the vacuum.
bath time!
wearing his awesome garage sale hat. 
get outta my weh, eh.
my apologies.
i admit it, i'm really behind on posting photos. so, for the next couple of days, i'll be working on catching up...considering i haven't posted his 5 month pictures and he'll be 6 months on friday, and i haven't posted mother's day photos and father's day is in a couple weeks...yeah.
i'm behind.
so here goes.
helping me brush my teeth. and what a big help it was, too.
in his funny bathrobe
developing his sea legs.
what up?! just waking up. (and, no, he didn't stick his finger in a socket, although it would be an understandable assumption.)
fun with the van voorst boys!
where my dutch boys at?
and a little sum'n sum'n for those of you who think atticus never gets upset (although, that would be an understandable assumption as well.)
what kind of mom takes pictures rather than comforts her kid? who knows.
getting his first haircut.
(not sure if i've posted this or not...he's had two haircuts so far)
all done, and looking much better kempt.
the cutest picture EVER of him cuddling with dad.
he's starting to look more like a kid and less like a newborn. i think, anyway.
so there you have it. more pictures coming soon!
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