Flashback Friday: Halloween

If I'm going to cry every time I do Flashback Friday, I may have to stop! (sniffle...) If only she weren't so darn cute and growing so dang fast!!!!

Last October, Rebekah was 15 months old and only a month into walking!

Yet, she was still on a mission!

Play group happened to fall on Halloween, so that was fun!

Because we lived at Carrie's every Friday, this was NOT her first sucker!

However, this was the first time she held a hand- willingly- as she walked- priceless!!!!!!

Luke was just a bun in the oven- let's see, I would have been 3 or 4 months pregnant, probably closer to 3 months.

Why I love being Rebekah's mama

There are times when your heart is so full, you just about burst. Back when I struggled with some form of postpartum nonsense and pretty severe anxiety, I soooo wish I could have looked ahead to these precious days. Being the mama of a girl is precious in and of itself, but being the mama of my little girl is the best! As I held my shivering daughter straight from the bath in my arms while we read and prayed, the solution was simple- dry her hair! Watching her face light up at the extra bedtime attention, not to mention delay in routine, was worth every moment. Having her ask me to go over her Bible verses, which she calls questions, warms my heart. Reading 4 chapters out of John in a normal Bible (not a kids' Bible) and having her demand for more made me wonder if she is indeed out next Malone theologian? Having her tell me out of the blue, multiple times a day at that, "I love you, Mama!" or "You're a goood mama, Mommy!" just about does me in. Having a little helper who delights in saying, "I helped you, Mama!" and who is always game for popcorn, cookie dough, cake frosting, or any special treat is a blast! Hearing her "read" stories she weaves out of the thousands she has heard to any willing listener makes me proud. Knowing that I am the ONLY one who can really calm her down when she is upset is a special privilege that I have come to treasure, even if it's at 5 in the morning (like this morning) or holding her hair back as she throws up (like a month ago). Being the imminent and foremost Rebekah Grace Malone scholar is a cherished position indeed. I know her better than anyone in that I am with her the most and I could not, would not ever trade these days, hard as they may be for me at times, especially in a foreign land, for anything. Thank you, Lord, for my daughter- that you knew me as You do and still blessed me with such a honey humbles me. (Yes, I will dedicate a post to Luke soon!)

I love you, Rebekah. You keep me sane sometimes with your nonstop chatter and commentary on everyday activities. Thanks for that!

Bekah's art, pony tail, and story time

This particular picture is in honor of one very special Shadley Grimes, who would applaud me for letting Bekah color all over herself and every piece of paper we have AND hanging her art. I hung her first piece of art and from then on, she madly worked to get more "hung on the wall under the big stick"- yes, the people who own this flat hung a piece of wood on the wall- not sure of its significance?

We call these "Circles"

This was a growing experience for me. Finger paints...hmm...

Luke has returned to his sleepy self- morning 1.5-2.5 hr naps, afternoon, 1.5-3 hr naps, evening nap 45min-???? He is sleeping from 7-ish pm til 5am, when he needs his paci, then back to sleep until after 7 am. This last week we had to wake him most of the evenings just to get a 4th feeding in! Josh went in to get him a couple nights ago and this is what he saw. Totally sacked out- on his tummy! On that note, Luke has been rolling more, but only when he's in the mood!

I realized last week that I haven't been reading to Luke!! I read a LOT to Rebekah when she was his age, but we have been doing so much reading when he is sleeping, that I have failed to do that for him. I noticed when I was holding R in my lap and L was in his bouncy seat, grinning at me as I read and my voice changed inflections. Yikes! I immediately snatched my boy and forced them both on my lap for family story time! Luke loved it (I am frequently shocked how much he loves new things: sliding, swinging, flying, being thrown, and now reading!) and rebekah was proud of herself and voiced it, "I'm sharing you, Mommy."

Bekah was particualrly chatty this bath and I LOVED her hair!! I have a face-only video from this bath and am dying to get it uploaded- priceless!

In other news, both kids got shots today. they were supposed to last Monday, but for the SECOND time, I went in on the wrong day! Last week it was b/c I wrote it down wrong- I got the appt in the mail and saw it was a Monday. I went to the calendar and knowing that all weeks start with Sunday, I skipped Sunday and wrote it down on Monday. From teaching Spanish, I should know that virtually all countries except the US start the weeks with Monday, so I wrote it down on Tuesday accidentally! They rescheduled us for today. R wouldn't have gotten a poke except that they do meningitis here, so she got another shot, but we told her it was coming and she got Tic tacs afterwards. She still was outraged about the actual poke, but managed to recover. Luke,l on the other hand, was due for THREE!!!! Little guy got awakened from a sound nap (hey, he'd been sleeping for 2 hrs), to find himself facing 3 jabs! The first one, he just blinked, startled. The second, he let out a little yelp, and the third, he just cried, but relaxed when all was done. We were very proud of both! Sadly, tho, Luke has managed to contract oral thrush again, so we are hoping the meds we got will clear it up- if it's not one thing it's another, eh?

Flashback Friday with...you guessed it, the kids!

Tell me Luke does not look like Rebekah???? People have fought me on this, but the FIRST words out of my mouth were "He's a boy version of Rebekah!" I don't know how Rebekah favors the Malones and Luke favors the McCords, yet as babies, they are so similar! Their bright blue eyes (Josh, his dad, and my dad), the shapes of their eyes (Mom and me), their chubby cheeks (Dad and me), their pointy chins (Josh :) I love you, honey, but he won't mind b/c he doesn't read my blog anyway- the slacker just looks at the pics!), their wispy blonde hair (both of us as kids)...I guess it just runs in the genes.

Rebekah is 4 months in all her shots and Luke is 4 1/2-6 months in all his.

Rebekah-isms from Friday and a few random thoughts and happenings

I thought Luke looked killer in his sweater for church!! By the way, his first tooth came thru!!! I felt it myself this morning! I have been anticipating it for 4 months, so it's about time! Funny enough, he has slept extremely well the past few days and nights, so all my blaming bad sleep on teething was....off! While we're on the subject of Luke, can I just tell you how precious and adorable he is?! Seriously, he and I have had a rocky relationship at times :) and I prayed a few weeks ago for a love beyond myself for my son- one that covered loss of sleep and routine and sanity! :) The Lord has answered that prayer and then some! I am smitten and so grateful we have him!! Luke's cheeks are about the end of me. Josh and I think he looks a LOT like my dad and brother- thus his new nickname from Josh is "McCordian" (my maiden name was McCord).
He is a sweet little guy who laughs and snuggles and fills my heart with joy. You have to know his big sister set the bar pretty high and yet somehow this little man of ours has set his own and
I am crying as I write because my heart is so full of love for my children. In this crazy time of transition for us, I need those little guys and the delight they bring to every moment.

Rebekah helped me make a rather successful yellow cake with chocolate frosting- tricky to convert all the measurements!! Anyway, she was pretty tickled by the frosting on her face. She has this brilliant mirror that is on the lower half of her bedroom door, so she gets to check herself out as frequently as she wants. She cracks herself up.

I wrote these down just on Friday...here goes!

Rebekah singing happy birthday..."It's probably my birthday"
me: "When's your birthday?"
R: "Probably my birthday is on the bench...or in July...right now it's in July...you're laughin' because I'm funny!"

R: Where's Daddy?
me: He's in class.
R: No, he's not in class (then why did you ask, I wonder?). He's Bible studying.

Context- me frustrated b/c Luke is refusing to eat solids for the 50th time. I take a break and look back to see a sisterly pep talk: Okay, Luke. Now, I want you to eat. That's right- good, boy!! See, I'm gonna eat, too. Now, swallow!

(At lunch) Thanks for the biiig apple, Mommy! I liiiike apples!

She now knows all 4 of our whole names. Incidentally, Mickie's whole name as volunteered by R is Mickie Grace Mamone. Sound familiar?

Every night, R asks to pray for Anabelle, Little Grace, and Miss Grace. Miss Grace is our sweet neighbor. Friday night, R wanted to pray for Miss Grace's daddy by name. We have never seen or discussed this man, so I didn't know his name. As if I just wasn't getting the request, R tried asking again: "What's Miss Grace's Josh's name?"

Referring to Luke- "Where's Buddy's food? Where's baby boy?"

Singing to herself, "Bob, the builder, yes we can! Muck and Dizzy.....Lofty and Wendy join the crew!"

She noticed outside it was windy, but not Wendy from Bob the Builder, that's another Wendy.

Wow, Daddy! You're making lots of kinds of things!

To her Nana, "I'm doing all kinds of things!"

This book is about a shepherd an a wittle wost wamb. But the shepherd finds the wamb- he's okay. Read it! (the teacher and English major part of me marvels at her ability to retell and summarize stories)

Josh was playing with R's toes and annoying her, I guess. She asked him not to do it, so he transitioned to playing Mickie's toes. (side note- R knows she can't play with Luke while he's eating b/c he gets distracted) So, Rebekah ordered, "Don't play with her while she's eating" and promptly put her bottle in her mouth.

Hope you enjoyed as much as we do!!

I've been tagged...

So, it was inevitable...with as many blogs as I keep track of, it was bound to happen!

Okay:

1. I could cook all day and not be tired of it! My best days are those in preparation for Thanksgiving and Christmas when I have a million things to make from scratch- I typically wake up earlier than usual because I'm so excited! Additionally, I only enjoy it if I make it from scratch. So, I LOVE making my babies' their baby food. Unfortunately, NEITHER of my kids has loved eating solids! Along those lines, I am totally bummed if we have left-overs, even if they're delicious, because I soo enjoy cooking! So, living in Scotland where eating out is at Burger King and rare at that, is ideal for me! Moreover, I LOVE bowls. Ramekins, mixing bowls, serving bowls, you name it, I want it! I would LOVE to have a job that involved cooking, except that I am in NO way a perfectionist- I don't care what it looks like or any kind of presentation, I just savor making and eating it. Last thing- one of my favorite things is watching people eat meals they love, such as my daughter or husband. Watching Rebekah grin and say "Excited!!!!!" as I make a meal she loves warms my mama's heart. So does making a dessert or meal especially for Josh. The way to his heart s either via theology or thru his stomach!


2. I am a terrible baker! Evidently, baking requires chemistry, a subject in which I did not excel. When you cook, you can experiment and change things with little to worry about. When baking, 1/4 means 1/4...no good for me.

3. I count almost everything I see- and lots of times at that. I count words in a sentence, colors in a picture, lines on the road, letters in a word, etc. I count by clicking it off on my teeth, going back and forth from side to side- I like to start and end on my left side, which means it's an odd number. So, I'll keep counting until I can do that. Did I really just admit that?

4. I don't think calories count if there's not any fat in something. This amuses Josh greatly. For example, Sour Patch Kids don't have an fat, so their calories are worthless and I can eat as many as I want.

5. I have to touch new textures- I am just asking for illness b/c I touch everything and don't wash my hands afterwards. Rebekah seems to take after me in this.

6. I LOVE crime shows, comedies, and Project Runway, as well as Top Chef. I could watch tv all day, I think, but I don't enjoy renting movies very much. I do LOVE going to the movies because I love the atmosphere and very buttery popcorn and massive Diet Cokes.

7. I have traveled to the east and west coast, Canada, Virgin Islands, Alaska, and Germany. I have lived in various parts of TX, OK, IA, Spain, and now Scotland, which should make me adventurous and fun. However, my faves are TX and IA because of the people I love there. I hope to go back someday. :)

Okay, Carrie, Shannon, Kate, Rachel G., Rachel O., Tammy E., Gwyneth, and Sarah P., you're it!

Dunnottar, Part 5

Okay, this is #5 of a series of posts. You have to go back to part 1 and then go chronologically thru them!

This is BOTH children crashed out on the way home!! Luke slept on me in the Snuggli thingy and on the way home and R fell asleep the last 5 minutes, but fortunately, went back down at home. :)