Christmas!

Wow. Let me tell you, when you work for a church, have a sick nine month old, are dealing with 6 inches of snow, planning on moving the church, trying to figure out a trip to the East Coast, and only have one car-Christmas is thrilling and magical but at the same time crazy busy and a lot of work. I love Christmas and I'm one of those weird people who actually like it in part because of the busyness, but this year is one for the record books. There were so many issues surrounding me, threatening to overwhelm me, it took a couple of good conversations with close friends, some much needed tears, and a lot of prayer to keep bringing me back to reality-this is not about me and it is definitely not under my control. As I sat and watched my kids (and by my kids I mean the 20+ children that I worked with for our church Christmas Eve service) I felt such a sense of peace and honor to know that I was part of something bigger than myself. It's so easy to go through life focused on yourself and what you're dealing with. You let it define and control you. When really the events that surround us are not who we are, rather they are part of God's plan to reveal who He is-through us. There is no plan B. Where I am now is where I am meant to be. Years ago I learned this lesson in the hardest way possible. And much of the time when life is very stressful I am able to look back at that lesson and the truth learned carries me through whatever I am facing. Sometimes though I need a few extra reminders, which was the case during the last several days days. While talking with a friend I was reminded of the story behind the famous hymn, It Is Well With My Soul (find story here: http://christianmusic.suite101.com/article.cfm/hymn_it_is_well_with_my_soul ). Years ago a friend of mine and I used to say to each other, "This isn't what I thought my life would be like." I think many of us can say that at some point in our lives. The problem with that thought is that if you think it once it quickly becomes a mantra that poisons your perspective. It's like a cancer that grows over your eyes only far more dangerous than any other cancer, this one kills your soul. It's scary to me that after learning that lesson once in such a painful way, it still only takes me a few days of doubt and feeling ungrateful to bring me right back to where I was 6 years ago. Fortunately the reverse is true and once I refocus on who God is, not who I am, and the amazing blessings I have, not what expectations aren't being met, I am healed. Healed of doubt and fear, healed of frustration and stress. My physical realities were all still there, but as my friend reminded me there are many good ones to be thankful for. Yes, I worked a lot of hours this last week, including many on Christmas Eve, but I was also honored and grateful to be part of helping children encounter Jesus. And it thrills me to have been a part of their Christmas memories, ones I hope they will treasure forever. We had a great visit with family afterwards, not necessarily family that I am physically related to, but family nonetheless. Yes Evelyn was sick (still is) and that resulted in loss of sleep, stress, and a canceled trip to see family. But she wasn't as bad as she could have been, she still was in great spirits and I think she had a wonderful Christmas. She certainly liked eating the bows off her presents! It was so much fun to give her stockings and packages and watch her play with them. I loved eating Dutch Baby Pancake with her on Christmas morning, continuing the tradition that Bard and I started, and nothing was better than visiting with friends and family all day-watching as she was loved by everyone. The last few days we have spent relaxing together as a family and I am so grateful for this time. As I look back on the week, I can see all the ways God cared for me. There are lots of meanings to Christmas, but this year I think the true meaning of Christmas for me is the blessing of being grateful. Grateful for what I have been given and grateful for what I have not been given. I guess what I have learned is that when we start to pick and choose what we are grateful for, we lose the whole beauty of being grateful. And I can truly say, I am grateful.

Evelyn with Baby Doll on Christmas

Childhood Staples!

Yes it's been snowing, not sure how impressed Evelyn is, but she sure looks cute!

So in the last few weeks Evelyn has eaten two childhood staples-mac n cheese and a grilled cheese sandwich. Many of you know that cheese is the ultimate comfort for me, if all I had were cheese and brownies, life would be so good. So I had a fun time making cheese dishes for her, especially because I enjoyed them both so much when I was a kid. However, these cheese dishes are very different from the ones I ate! First of all, I always wanted "the blue box", yeah, you know the one! I did eat mac and cheese out of a blue box, but it was Albertsons store brand blue box, not "The" blue box. And that always drove me crazy! Bard can attest to the fact that sometimes even now I'll actually buy a box of Kraft mac n cheese and eat it-even knowing that I'm probably not eating real cheese but some chemical conglomeration! And yes, my mom did make home made mac n cheese, but of course I didn't like it. Sheesh, chemicals taste good! ; ) Anyway, Evelyn eats healthier than anyone I know (Bard and myself included) so for her mac n cheese I had organic whole wheat pasta that I mixed with some shredded (Tillamook of course) cheddar cheese and breast milk. Just like the blue box, right?! She was pretty fascinated by the noodles and I'm not sure how much she ate, but it was fun for me.

The next week we tried a grilled cheese sandwich (of course she eats maybe a quarter of it) and she loved it! I haven't made it for her since then and probably won't for a while cause she can be getting her protein and carbs without all that butter-in fact it was the first time she ate butter! But I had fun because I ate grilled cheese sandwiches all the time when I was prego. I didn't crave them, they were just the only thing that sounded good. So it was pretty funny to see how much she liked it!

Feeding her overall is fun because it's interesting to try new things. So far she seems to be the unpickiest child ever. I can mix anything together-chicken, peas, carrots, and applesauce, and she'll eat it! She hasn't turned anything down yet and I'm trying to add more and more to what she eats. Lately I've been adding seasonings-cinnamon on applesauce, oregano or garlic on chicken because I read that one reason why children may only like bland food is that that is all they have when they're babies. Makes sense. She doesn't ever have things with added sugar or salt, but there are a lot of fun flavors out there that we can try. If my dad has his way, I'm sure she'll be enjoying food seasoned with red pepper flakes before I know it!

Cue our favorite whooshing sound, it's Evelyn's back story!

Evelyn has started making some fun sounds lately (yes, one of them has to do with LOST for all you smarty fanatics out there, I’ll get to that in a minute!)

The one that really cracks me up is her growling. She did this quite a while ago but then stopped. For whatever reason she has picked it up again and loves to just sit on the floor playing and growl. What is hilarious is that her cousin Henry was pretty infamous for his growling. So we figure it is a Collier gene, which will come as a surprise to no one.

She also now likes saying “Oh.” Except she doesn’t just say it short like that, she drags it out, “Ohhhhhhh.” She is very serious and it’s just as if she is taking in everything around her!

Last week I was reading my friend’s blog and she has twins who are a few weeks older than Evelyn. She was commenting on how her daughter said “duck” the other day and now loves to say it all the time. I thought that was so odd and random, and really pretty impressive. So imagine my surprise when a few days ago as I was changing Evelyn, clear as a bell, she said “duck”! Weird. She hasn’t said it since then, but it was unmistakable. So, all my linguist and speech therapy friends, is that some common sound formation? I don’t think she has ever seen a duck and she doesn’t have any duck toys, so the word has no meaning to her, but it sure was strange! What are the odds of that? Peer pressure starts young I guess. ; )

But by far her favorite of favorites is a whooshing sound that she makes all the time. It kind of sounds like Darth Vader breathing but without the “kuh” sound. If that makes sense to you, congrats, you’re weird like me. What it REALLY sounds like is the whooshing sound from LOST before they go into one of the character's back stories. Now, if you have no idea what I’m talking about, stop right now, go watch the first 4 seasons of the best TV show ever and then come finish this blog. Okay. What is so funny is that I had never seen this show until after she was born and people kept recommending it to me to watch while she was nursing (you have a lot of time where you’re just sitting and can’t do anything. I also read over 100 books during 5 months so don’t think you can give me a hard time!) You can watch LOST free online so I figured I would give it a try. I was hooked immediately and watched all four seasons in a very short period of time. Seriously, it is so good! You guys know that Bard and I watch barely any TV and it’s kind of funny cause our friends are always talking about shows and we have no clue what is going on, but this one is a keeper. Anyway, naturally since I was nursing her, she was right there with me and heard all the sounds (if you want to debate whether or not this is good parenting, please send me an email, but only if you have nursed a baby for nine months or more). The whooshing sound is pretty common and I am absolutely convinced that she learned it from LOST! You might think that would dismay me, and no, we don’t plan on letting her watch TV for quite a while and even then it will be pretty limited (our family TV spent most it’s time in a closet which I hated then but now think was pretty good). But I’m ecstatic! Yes, the show is just that good : ) By the way, if you’re not doing anything January 21st, we’re having a kick-island party, so let me know if you want to come! Sorry Chris, this was another long blog, but you gotta admit, it was worth it!

Houston, we have a tooth!

Yep, it finally happened! Every day I stick my finger in Evelyn's mouth (much to her dismay) to feel if anything is there. And yesterday there was! She has just the tip of a tooth on the bottom right side. I'm sure she'll be ready for steak in no time! I'll let you know about nursing. . .

Happy 8 Months Evelyn!