Freedom in Christ

29 Feb

I wrote back in November that I planned to start going to counseling. Here I am, on the cusp of March, with 5 sessions under my belt. Has it been helpful? Yes. Has it been what I expected? Not really.

I think I expected my therapist to overthink things like I do, and to give me deep, meaningful, existential explanations to my problems. Instead, the way she has been challenging my thinking has been utterly practical and no-nonsense. When I lament about mounds of laundry, kids’ messes, or frozen pizza dinners, her response is, “So what? Is anyone going to die if they wear dirty clothes or eat frozen pizza for dinner?”

Obviously the answer is no, so that begs the question – then why do I care so deeply? Why does it bother me so much when my house is a mess, or the laundry is undone, or I failed again to plan dinner? Even as I’ve been doing the hard work of trying to let go and be more relaxed about things, I find that there’s a tipping point. I can ignore the mess in order to go play outside with my family, but if I come back inside to find that they’ve made another mess, I lose my crap.

I honestly cannot fully explain why I have this neurotic need for everything to be in its place. And frankly, sometimes I feel fully justified in being neurotic, because isn’t this the way God created me?! This is just who I am. But sometimes it feels like my need for control is controlling me, and I can’t stop being controlled even when I try. I was expressing this to God the other day and He brought Galatians 5:1 to mind,

“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”

It stopped me in my tracks.

In Christ, I have freedom. Freedom from my own need for control. I do not have to be a slave to my personality that desires organization and tidiness! Armed with that verse, I have the confidence to declare that I AM NOT A SLAVE TO CONTROL. Because of Christ, I can refuse to be dominated by my need for order, and I can instead prioritize relationships.

I have long tried to wage this battle equipped with my own paltry strength. Is it any wonder that I’m still struggling with the same old thing? But this verse has given me something new, infused my soul with gospel confidence. This is my birthright in Christ. This is what He has won for me! I get to live in freedom because of my Savior!

I told my husband about this, and encouraged him, “Please, if you see me going off the rails, remind me of this verse.” I am staking my claim to freedom in Christ, and I will not submit anymore to a yoke of slavery.

Coupled with this promise, I have decided to give up yelling at my kids for Lent. That has, unfortunately, long been the way I deal with the feeling of overwhelm and stress caused by my kids either not listening to me or getting out of control. So, no more yelling. (I am hoping to continue that beyond Lent too.) Instead, I want to pray. Out loud. Instead of screaming at my kids, “We need to go NOW! Get in the car or you will be in big trouble!” I want to say, “Father, we are late. And these kids are not listening to me. Help me maintain my patience and grace, and help motivate them to listen. I trust that we will get to wherever we are going and it will be ok that we are late.”

There’s a quote from Connected Families that I have on my computer desktop – “When kids misbehave, make obedience a secondary goal, and make accessing and walking in the fruit of the Spirit yourself the primary goal.” That is the idea behind “no yelling” – instead of relying on my own power and effort to accomplish, I run to God, confess my inability, and rest in His power to accomplish.

I put this into practice this past Thursday when my oldest daughter was not wanting to go to school, and threw a tantrum. We were 20 minutes late to school, but I walked out of dropoff with a smile on my face. Because I hadn’t yelled, but had instead connected with my daughter and found out that she just plain missed me, which is why she didn’t want to go to school. I am really looking forward to seeing how God works in me over the coming months.

I’ll end with just the amazing feeling that I have of God personally ministering to my soul. I feel so unworthy of even His sideways glance, let alone of His speaking into my struggles. Counseling has been helpful, but the Spirit is the ultimate Counselor.

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2020 Focus: Perspective

17 Feb

Can I write a post about my word for 2020 when it’s already the middle of February?

Too bad, I am.

My word for 2019 was Rest, and I’m not going to lie: I pretty much failed at it. Apparently, rest is not something that comes naturally to me (though I am a lover of naps). But since this post is about 2020 and not 2019, we’ll just leave it at that.

My “word for 2020” is Perspective. It’s actually kind of similar to my focus for 2016: Behold Your God, especially this quote from Glennon Melton: “I don’t want a new better life in [2020]. I just want new eyes to see that my life is already staggeringly beautiful.”  (Momastery, Best New Year’s Ever)

New eyes. A fresh perspective. 20/20 vision. (see what I did there?) Hindsight in the present.

November and December of 2019 were rough. ROUGH. I alluded to that here. And going to therapy has been helping. So has re-reading Ann Voskamp’s One Thousand Gifts again. Because what is my problem? What has it always been, and will always be?

The problem of all humanity — ingratitude.

Stomping my foot like a tantruming child, demanding my life be different. No, this isn’t the life I want. I want THAT one. The one I can conjure up in my head. You know, the one that’s only roses and rainbows, and involves none of the crap I have to deal with on a daily basis.

But that life doesn’t exist. I know this. The life I want is the glorified life, the life that only exists in heaven. I am yearning for heaven. And I will experience that one day, all praise to Jesus.

For now, I’m here, stuck in the catch-22. I can’t imagine a life without my kids, a life in which I am no longer a mom, and yet being a mom unhinges me some days. It’s this life of wife and mom that often threatens my sanity, but there is no universe in which I could just walk away.

So my biggest need, the solution to my biggest problem, is PERSPECTIVE. Do I view my family as a burden, a hindrance from my true potential, from the life I could’ve had? Or do I view them as my blessing, God’s chosen purpose for my life? My family are who they are. Parenthood is what it is. How am I choosing to look at it?

It is a choice. Gratitude does NOT just happen. Like Ann Voskamp says, ingratitude is humanity’s natural bent. Left alone, we are miserable messes, always focused on the thing withheld.

Gratitude is not just giving thanks, though that is valuable and necessary. It is above all looking for how God is at work in any and every situation. How God can use all things for good. When we give thanks to God for everything, even the hard things, we are demonstrating trust in Him. If we truly trust God, we will be thanking Him for every thing. “All is grace, because all can transfigure” (Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts).

We’re a month and a half into 2020 already, and I’ve already seen this practice of gratitude, of sleuthing for grace, infuse my life with renewed passion, energy, and yes, joy. Now the key will be: CONTINUE. Don’t stop being intentionally thankful.

So, 20/20 vision. Perspective.

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A Still Winter Morning

5 Feb

IMG_5993This past weekend, I went to a Women’s Retreat at a place called Camp Lebanon. There were about 100-150 other women there, 20 from my church. I had an amazing time. The speaker was engaging and taught straight from the Bible, the worship music was powerful, and the weather was fantastic so I got to spend a lot of time outside.

Saturday morning, I went on a walk outside before breakfast. It was a quiet, still winter morning. The only sounds were a gentle breeze lightly touching the tips of evergreens, the crunch-crunch of my winter boots on the snow-covered roads, and an occasional sparrow singing its morning song of glory.

I was new to the camp, so I just set off adventuring, seeing what there was to see. I found the zipline (closed in the winter), the snow-tubing hill, a quintessential outhouse in the woods (complete with half moon on the front door), and a slope heading down to the lake.IMG_5995 I walked down to the edge of the frozen water, but didn’t dare venture further onto the lake without anyone else around. Fortunately, I discovered a trail that followed the shoreline. The snow on the trail was packed down enough that I didn’t need snowshoes.IMG_5994I amused myself by trying to guess which animal had left which footprints. I saw (I think) evidence of a rabbit, a turkey, and a deer. 

I stopped every now and then to look out at the lake and the changing colors of the sky.

The refrain from Frozen 2 was stuck in my head–“Show yourself”–and I realized that God was doing just that. Showing His glory, His power, His majesty.

My heart was so full on that walk. I rejoiced in the play of shadows and light on the trees from the sun just peeking over the horizon.IMG_6001 I stopped and gazed at a tree trunk with bark in a wavy pattern.IMG_5996 I took pictures, trying to capture the feeling I had so I could look back one day and remember. Remember how He met me out there.IMG_6005Later I read Psalm 96:11-13 and my soul said, “Yes! That is what I felt on that winter morning walk.”

“Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
    let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
12     let the field exult, and everything in it!
Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
13     before the Lord, for he comes,
    for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness,
    and the peoples in his faithfulness.”

This practice of gratitude, this sleuthing for God’s glory (as Ann Voskamp would say), it transforms a life!

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Corbin Travis: 22 Months

22 Jan

I had great intentions of posting about Corbin at 21 months (I was trying to do every 3 months until age 2) but he was 21 months 2 days before Christmas, so that didn’t happen. Corbin is 22 months as of January 22 (does that count as his silver birthday??)IMG_5873IMG_5079Size

Corbin goes back to the doctor at his 2-year checkup, so stay tuned until then. But I can say that he is still wearing mostly 2T clothes, though some 18-month pants. He wears size 5 shoes and size 5 diapers.

Sleeping

In terms of going to sleep, Corbin is the easiest kid in the world. Give him his “cakey” (blankie) and “baba” (bottle), and he will go right to sleep. How long he sleeps, though, is highly variable.

In general, Corbin goes to bed between 5 and 6 PM, and wakes up between 5 and 6 AM. But sometimes he decides that 3:30 AM is his time to wake up, even though he wakes up super grouchy and is ready to go back to sleep after an hour or 2. That’s what he has been doing this week. Uffda. Luckily, he’s done this before and I know it’s just a phase.

The other slightly odd thing about Corbin’s sleep habits is that he pretty much dropped his afternoon nap, and kept his morning nap (the opposite of most kids). He is almost always ready for a nap 3 hours after he wakes up in the morning–which means a lot of days, he’s taking his nap by 9 or 10 AM. He naps for a good 3 hours usually, putting him awake when most kids would be going down for their naps. Luckily, Corbin is pretty easygoing, and we can push him past his naptime if he’s having fun/being active (but put him in a shopping cart when he’s tired, and the world is ending!).IMG_4897IMG_4936-lowIMG_5253IMG_5624Eating

Man, Corbin is a picky eater. If it was just that there were only certain foods that he would eat, I could deal. But his food preferences change at every meal. It is a gamble every single time I give him food, because I honestly do not know if he will eat any of it. I realized a couple of weeks ago that I had stopped presenting him with food (but was instead just letting him indicate to me when he was hungry and what he wanted), which I realized probably wasn’t the best thing. But honestly, I am so. over. guessing what he wants to eat, giving him several options, all of which either go uneaten, or more likely, get thrown on the table, floor, and/or walls. Because Corbin gets mad about random things, and when he gets mad, stuff goes flying. I tell ya, it’s a good thing he’s so darn cute.

We’re taking it one day at a time. It’s so bad that when he’s actually eating something, I’m like “No one move. No one breathe. Just stay where you are because Corbin is actually eating what I gave him!!”

Since Corbin is still alive, you say, he must be eating something. Yes, he ingests calories. He is not wasting away. But I can’t speak for how healthy his choices are. His favorite food by far is milk, and he is still very much attached to his bottles. His second favorite food is fruit snacks, followed closely by candy and cookies. You would think with his sweet tooth, he’d be all about the fruit, but he isn’t!!! What kid doesn’t like fruit?!?!? His fruit consumption is hit or miss. Though he is newly fond of applesauce and goes gaga over blueberry muffins from Costco. He has also occasionally liked broccoli, shrimp, banana, yogurt, grapes, strawberries, fig bars, veggie straws, PB&J sandwiches, smoothies, and hot dogs. But again, you really can’t predict what he will eat.

Part of the problem for dinner is that if he is tired, he refuses to eat. He only wants a bottle and to go to bed. So I try to feed him a pretty substantial, as-healthy-as-he-will-tolerate snack (which is, in reality, his dinner) after we get home from school/work. Corbin’s eating habits are definitely the most challenging thing about this little dude.IMG_5246IMG_5627Development

Corbin’s vocabulary has really taken off in the past couple of months, and especially just in the past couple of weeks. He can now say Mama and Mommy, Dada, Ball, Tower, our dogs’ names Katy (“Kayhee”) and Charlie (“Chowee”), Bye, Bottle (which is sometimes still baba), wawa for water, cakey for blankie, and uh oh. But what encourages me most is that he’s more and more willing to try to say new words, whereas before he wouldn’t try. He does know the sign language signs for More, All Done, and Please, so he uses those a fair amount too.

Corbin continues to be an adventurous, daring child who loves going down the slide, climbing, and jumping off of things. He loves the snow, especially riding the snowmobile with me or Travis. We also took him sledding down a real hill for the first time, which he liked, except for the face-full of snow that he got blasted with on the way down. #notafan

6FF45B74-E11E-4CC0-9FC6-40012630B672AB828256-8436-4D87-B628-D0448954579FC6E7B447-7B5D-41B0-BAFD-DEBC33DCBD62This past fall, Corbin developed a really weird skin rash every time he went outside for a period of 3-4 weeks. It would go away once he came inside, so it was obviously an environmental but we took him to the doctor just in case.IMG_5076IMG_5071Some other things we’ve done since my last post on Corbin at 18 months:

Halloween – Corbin dressed up as Batman (Emma was Poison Ivy, Annabelle was Batgirl, I was Catwoman, and Travis was the Joker). It was extremely cold for trick-or-treating, so our costumes were much better displayed at the Pillager School Fall Festival and our Chili Cookoff the weekend after Halloween.

IMG_5093-loPumpkin Farm #1 – On fall break, we went to Farm on St. Mathias for the corn maze, and also went on a fairy walk in town. Both times, Corbin did not want to stay on the trail. ::sigh::376192B2-DE1C-4438-A039-08738BC3AF56IMG_5003-lowIMG_5009-lowPumpkin Farm #2 – Corbin’s favorite thing by far at Carter’s Red Wagon Farm was the mini golf course. He carried that club and ball around for a long time. He also played in the corn pit, which at first freaked him out, but he eventually warmed up to it (and then it was time to go).6FA9AC72-C574-4DE8-9B70-4876CA09CD07IMG_5035Beach Day in October – It warmed up to almost 70 degrees one random day in early October, so we went to the beach. The kids were loving it!IMG_4905-lowIMG_4907Puzzles and Books – Mr. Bud’s obsessions for most of November and December were puzzles and books. The puzzles: he would get one out, bring it to the kitchen table, and proceed to throw all the pieces onto the floor. The books: he would grab one and then come pinch your pant leg to pull you over to the chair. Sometimes he’d let you actually read the whole thing, sometimes not. If he really liked a book, he’d make the sign for more when you were done, to have you read it again. So cute.C4332A92-C889-4921-B0CA-A98F1DD40AF6IMG_5604-lowPhone – Mr. Bud’s most recent obsession is playing a toddler game on my phone. At first, he just wanted to watch me play the game. But now he has figured out how to play it himself, and he’s actually pretty good at it for a child who’s not even 2 yet! He also knows where I usually keep my phone in my purse, so he’ll go hunting for it if he wants to play. He also acts like a complete maniac if I get my phone out for something else. Case in point: IMG_5845IMG_5862Santa – Corbin was definitely NOT a fan of Santa.IMG_5632Snow! – We have a LOT of snow this year already so there’s been a lot of opportunities to be in it.IMG_5363-lowIMG_5366IMG_5367And finally, one other random thing that Corbin enjoys doing is dumping out clean or dirty laundry and swimming in it.IMG_5878-lowHe’s a funny little guy!

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My Goals for 2020

12 Jan

I’ve been re-reading Ann Voskamp’s One Thousand Gifts, probably for the seventh or eighth time. I’m reading it slowly this time around, taking a day or two in between reading spells to ponder the truths she learns, and to put gratitude into practice.

This afternoon, I’m choosing to write myself instead of immersing my mind in her writing. There’s something about reading words from a good writer that makes this wannabe writer want to write.

And writing is something that has taken a backseat in my life for far too long. For much of the past year, I’ve been trying to answer the question, How do I desire to do less? I figured, if I desired to do less, then I would by default do less, leaving more time for getting the necessary things done, thereby reducing my stress and busyness (and certainly reducing the stress of having so many things I wanted to do but didn’t have time for!).

So over the course of the past year, I’ve either stopped or significantly decreased the time I spend blogging, reading blogs, keeping up on current events, posting on and scrolling social media, beauty pampering, shopping, and decorating. Even with “giving up” all of those things, I still found it hard to find time for both Bible study and exercise, not to mention reading any of the 50+ books I have on my list. (If I’m being completely honest though, I often chose to watch a show at night before bed instead of reading, leading me to stay up later than I should, making it hard to get up in the morning and study the Bible.)

Here’s what I didn’t factor in though: It’s those things done for sheer enjoyment that make a life enjoyable. What’s the saying, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy?” Indeed it does. All work and no play makes life a miserable mess.

My personality is naturally that you work first, then you play. You get done what needs to get done, then you do the fun stuff. Well, the problem when you’re a mom is that the stuff that needs to get done is never ever done, so you never get to the fun stuff. And keeping an orderly house is a fine task, but it doesn’t amount to a full life.

So in a way, I’ve come full circle. Instead of getting rid of all the superfluous stuff so that I have more time for the necessary stuff, I need to find time for the superfluous stuff, even if it means that the “necessary” stuff doesn’t get done. Even if it means admitting that some of the stuff I thought was necessary isn’t really necessary. It’s hard to find time for hobbies and pleasures, and to fit them into an already full life, but IT’S WORTH IT. There are things that just cannot be dispensed with, and those are some of them.

There are certain things that I plan to keep doing less. Things like keeping up on social media and blogs, beauty pampering, decorating, and shopping. Part of that stems from my desire to continue on with my minimalist lifestyle, and part of it from not wanting to feel like the world needs to know what I’m doing, or that I need to know what the world is doing. When you start thinking about your life experiences in terms of what you can post on Instagram or how it compares to what you see on Instagram, something needs to change.

I also plan to stop watching shows at night. I’m in between things right now anyway, the season of cheesy Christmas movies is over, and the Vikings just lost their playoff game, so it feels like a good time to take a break from TV entertainment (except for the Super Bowl).

Things I want to start doing again are: Bible study, reading, blogging, and keeping up on current events via theSkimm emails. I also want to be more consistent with exercise again, something that fell by the wayside during the holidays. Here’s my plan:

Bible Study/Reading: Get up around 5 AM to hopefully get my Bible study in before the kids get up, and read at night before bed.

Current Events: When I have a free moment to be on my phone, I plan to read that day’s theSkimm email instead of scrolling social media.

Exercise: I’m either going to work out during Corbin’s naptime on Mondays and Fridays, or do just a quick 15-20 minute video/home workout while the kids are in a decent mood. I’m shooting for 3 days a week or so.

Blogging: My goal for now is to blog once per week, most likely on the weekend sometime. I can already check that off my list!

So those are my goals for 2020!

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Where I’m At Right Now…

20 Nov

It has been a hot minute since I’ve posted anything on this blog that hasn’t been an update on one of my kids. But today, I got my kids to school early (!) so I have a few minutes before work to put down some thoughts.

We’re in the throes of hunting season here in Minnesota, which means I’m at the nadir of my emotional and mental resources. Time and time again, year after year, October is balls-to-the-wall CRAZY busy and I enter November feeling like I could take a nap for a year and it would still be too short.

This year, hunting camp ended abruptly when I declared that I was sick and tired of being constantly stressed out, so we just up and left. My poor husband missed opening weekend of rifle season because my dad got remarried (I’m obviously from a non-hunting family), and then it didn’t work out for him to hunt during the week, and then the second weekend got cut short.

I’m stressed out because of busyness — no matter how much I have tried to create white space this year, it just is not happening. That is one of the great questions that has been rattling around in my brain this year: How do we do less, but not be selfish with our time? How do we serve others without overloading our family? 

I still haven’t figured it out. And from what I hear about other family’s schedules, we actually are less busy than most (which blows my mind). I want off the merry-go-round!!

I’m also stressed out by all the conflict in my life. All 3 kids fighting over toys. Various kids throwing various tantrums over various issues. It seems like at least one child is upset at any given time. Corbin crying because he wants another sucker, or to play with permanent markers, or who knows what else (seriously, sometimes I can. not. figure it out). My husband responding in a situation with a comment that he obviously didn’t think through, or cracking a joke in the middle of a serious conversation (not funny!), or swooping in with the dictator approach to a situation with the kids that I was handling thankyouverymuch.

This post is probably a downer, and honestly I’m not even sure why I’m posting it because I’ll probably read it later, and be like “What the?!?”. But my blog is called Life, REALLY for a reason. This is real life. Deep down, I know that I really have a very blessed life, with a wonderful, caring, thoughtful husband (he offered to leave deer camp for me); 3 creative, healthy kids; a beautiful house; a part-time job that I love; friends who care about us; and a God who died for me.

But I’ve reached a point where I’ve lost my emotional resiliency. I forget library day for my middle child AGAIN, and we’re running out of the house late for school AGAIN, and I forgot to do something important at work AGAIN, and I overreact to my kids not listening AGAIN, and I am just done. Done.

So I’m going to see a Christian counselor. I need professional help. My first appointment is the second week of December. I need someone outside of my life to speak into it. I need someone to connect the dots that are scrambled in my head. I need someone to authoritatively tell me that it’s ok to say no to good stuff, stuff that I should be doing, for the time that it takes for me to get my crap together. Or for that someone to tell me how I can serve others without neglecting my family.

Maybe my hopes are too high. I sure hope not. I know several other people who have received counseling for various issues, and they all say that it was the best thing they ever did, and they wish they would’ve done it sooner. Hopefully by next hunting season, I can look back and say the same.

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Corbin Travis: 18 Months

1 Oct

Corbin turned 18 months on September 22. This is such a fun, exhausting age!221777CF-DDCC-4D5E-954D-A15870AD64505EF0D4CF-21DE-4923-B62F-8C826297F19B19BF6AB7-9F49-40F8-ACAF-883F3DBCBE31Size

At his well-child check yesterday, Corbin weighed 26 lbs, 14.7 oz (85%) and was 2′ 8″ tall (32%). His head is now in the 99th percentile for circumference. He is still in size 5 diapers but now wears mostly 2T clothing (except for pants, his legs are still shorties!) and size 5 shoes.

Sleeping

Corbin is still a very good, easy sleeper overall. He has gone through periods of not sleeping as well–when we can’t figure out why, we just blame teething. 😂 During those hard stretches, we’ve tried having him sleep in our bed or having us sleep on the floor with him, but he won’t go for it–instead, he just thinks it’s time to play! The only time he’s actually slept in my bed was up at my in-laws’ cabin. So our only choice is to let him cry in his crib. 😞 Thankfully, he eventually goes back to his normal sleeping habits.

He still takes two naps a day when given the chance. The first is usually 2 hours after he wakes up in the morning, and the other 3 hours after he wakes from his first nap. But he is getting better at stretching his awake time between naps — daycare is helping (forcing) that too. He gets there at 8:30 and only has one nap opportunity from 12 to 2 (at first, he only slept 20-30 minutes, but now he has stretched that out to 90 minutes or so).

He goes to bed between 5 and 8. It really depends on his naps.

Since Corbin started going to a daycare center at the beginning of September, he has been noticeably more tired. He will often lay down on the ground sucking on his thumb, even if he woke up less than an hour ago. He has also let me rock him to sleep more, which is just heaven! I didn’t appreciate it when I had kids who wanted to be rocked a lot, but since he’s rarely allowed it, I cherish it now.54EBCD61-537F-4A54-A5CD-B1EFAC90529AEE885603-08DD-4F5D-A819-FC47296F6206Eating

Corbin is a pretty good eater. He has learned how to feed himself with a spoon, but is still working on the fork (confession: I never remember to give him a fork!!).

His favorite foods are by far crackers (graham crackers, goldfish, Belvitas), French fries, and chocolate. He has a major sweet tooth! He also loves yogurt, applesauce, grapes, clementines, and strawberries. He can now eat small pieces of raw carrots and apples, and take bites of whole crackers on his own (instead of me breaking them up).

Other foods Corbin likes: shrimp, turkey lunch meat, chicken, hot dog, cheese, popcorn, broccoli, banana, avocado, and PB&J sandwiches.

But in general, he’s a moving target. And for the past couple of weeks, he’s been having blowouts several times a day, so we’re wondering if he’s lactose intolerant like Annabelle. (He usually drinks lactose free milk but we had run out and bought some regular milk from the gas station near our house. And now he’s also drinking regular milk at daycare.) But it could just be a diarrhea virus he caught at daycare. We still haven’t figured that one out.

I can’t really remember when it happened (#thirdchild) but Corbin now has all his teeth (minus his 2-year molars). He got all 4 molars and all 4 canines at the same time! 😩A31BE5C6-E288-4CF2-89B7-90BE968BA61CF79A5AC4-B846-41F7-85FF-1B5D9EC8FB17Development

Corbin continues to keep us on our toes. In the past 3 months, he has turned into a climber. At first, he’d climb on top of the girls’ vintage school desk. He had a special shriek to alert us that he needed someone to come help him get down.

Then he figured out how to climb the stool in the bathroom and soak rolls of toilet paper in the sink. (Which we blamed on the girls at first… whoops.)

Then we put the stool out by the futon so he could climb onto that by himself. But he’d climb onto the arm of the futon, and also unzip the futon mattress and pull out the stuffing.

His most recent obsession is climbing on the kitchen chairs to get on the table. He loves playing on the table. Why is that so fun?!

Corbin is very determined, and if you thwart him, he lets you know he is not happy about that by screaming and sometimes throwing himself on the floor in a dramatic “woe is me” pity party. He also will cover his eyes with his hands and pretend that he’s crying if he’s sad about something (which is pretty much the cutest thing ever!). We like to joke that he is a drama queen.  But even if he gets upset, he usually moves on pretty quickly.CDE714BB-5D18-4A90-841C-60CFEA42E385E07659C1-ACE2-4E00-91A2-53817C16C5F9Corbin has learned to go down the slide correctly (on his bum instead of headfirst). He still refuses to go down stairs backwards (though he CAN if needed). He can get on and off the girls’ beds on his own (they’re pretty low to the ground) and loves climbing on Annabelle’s to see out the window.

In general, his common sense and judgment have gotten better but he still occasionally walks off the edge of something without thinking through the consequences. Thankfully it has happened when I’ve been there to catch him! (That may be more than coincidence… it does seem like he has less sense–or he’s more daring–when I’m around.)

Just in the past couple of weeks, Corbin has started to sound like he’s trying to say some words. He’ll hold the baby monitor to his ear and say “Ha.” He’ll throw a ball and say “Ba.” He consistently says Mama and Dada to refer to me and Travis. And a few times it sounds like he has said the girls’ names.65B4C3C0-1074-4CB9-B8FB-79DD602278A588C7DCF7-BF3D-433B-A596-C494F6315100Corbin loves anything to do with water and getting dirty, and EVERYTHING goes in the mouth. His outfit almost always has to be changed after he plays outside because he is soaking wet. He always finds the water, whether it’s a puddle on the rollercoaster, or a bucket filled with rain water. AFB4DBA9-F39B-414E-9D2D-998C41637BFEA0122600-A242-42E6-8692-4FB5A7DA322535CE0801-D61D-47FA-BBC4-FE58C4CF3F56Speaking of throwing things, Corbin LOVES balls (all kinds but especially basketballs, golf balls, and footballs) and he LOVES throwing things (not just balls). He actually has a pretty good arm! But sometimes he throws things that shouldn’t be thrown…C5045E96-78A6-48BD-BE5A-9940A5192745You would think that would mean he likes baths, but it’s really a mystery. He will act excited to take a bath, but then want to get out after two minutes. When you actually do take him out, he’ll try to run away naked, and scream when you wrap him in a towel. I don’t get it. 🤷‍♀️

He did really enjoy the beach and lake this summer, but August was actually too chilly for the beach. In July, he got a sore throat and fever from drinking too much lake water. 🤢 #momfail

Corbin still loves the dogs. He also loves playing with the dog food. It’s actually super cute, even if it does make a mess. He’ll get 5-10 pieces in the measuring cup we use and shake the cup until they all fly out. Or he’ll try to feed the dogs, though he doesn’t quite understand tipping the cup yet. So he’ll shake it into the bowl too.039597FD-3316-48BF-BA15-124A679B08FCOur girls were actually kind of scared of loud noises, but Corbin seems to like them–at least, they interest him. He likes riding the lawn tractor with Travis and just stares at Travis when he’s using the leaf blower. He also likes to play on the lawn tractor when it’s not running. 68FA3B8A-4D8B-4B13-8A96-D290BB613BD3B1BF8DF8-F236-4244-B471-8F5890B45A85For all of his energy, he actually enjoys sitting in the stroller for walks (for 15-20 minutes) and is a fairly good sport about bike rides in the bike trailer too. We don’t go on many walks or bike rides these days though. We did go on a hike with Corbin in the hiking backpack.0DD4EF9A-3A20-42BF-9FCF-3DED448683A9D7716500-C41C-4BF0-A730-608E91A6A916And that’s Corbin at 18 months!

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Corbin Travis: 15 Months

25 Jun

Corbin turned 15 months old on June 22. So much has changed in the past 3 months!IMG_4156 (Large)8424A718-CF3D-48FF-814D-FDAD4D6E0478IMG_3796 (Large)Size

At his 15-month appointment yesterday, Corbin was 25 lbs 4 oz (83%) and 2′ 6″ tall (12%). His noggin is still in the 95th percentile. He now wears 18-month clothing but is still in size 5 diapers and size 4 shoes. IMG_3150 (Large)Sleeping

Corbin is still pretty unpredictable with the times of day of his sleeping. He is consistent, however, with his general routine. He takes his first nap 2 hours after waking up, and usually naps for an hour. He stays up 3 hours between his morning and afternoon naps, and usually wants to go to bed 3 hours after his afternoon nap (unless we’re out and about). His afternoon nap is usually 2-3 hours long.

Fortunately, Corbin sleeps through the night 99% of the time. Unfortunately, for the past couple of months, Corbin has taken to waking up for the day early — sometimes as early as 3:30, more often at 4:30, sometimes at 5:30. He never sleeps past 6. As a result, I’ve started going to bed with the kids at 8 PM, and getting my stuff done in the morning. IMG_4165 (Large)IMG_3956 (Large)Corbin still drinks 3-5 bottles a day. He is super attached to them. When he’s really tired and he sees you getting a bottle ready, he giggles (with his thumb in his mouth) because he’s so excited.

Corbin has been our easiest child sleep-wise. Before naps and bedtime, we feed him a bottle and put him down awake, and he falls asleep on his own. He rarely lets us rock him. But he wants to sleep in his crib. He doesn’t often fall asleep in the car, and can be difficult to get down in new places.

Eating

Corbin seems to get sick of eating the same things over and over more than the girls did. Our go-to’s with him are fig bars, cheese, fruit (clementines, strawberries, blueberries, grapes), turkey lunchmeat, chicken sausage, pizza, and teething wafers. Now that it’s summer, we’ve also given him watermelon, mango, pineapple, and peach. He also likes broccoli and cauliflower.

In general, Corbin does not want to be fed–unless Annabelle does it. Then he will gladly eat applesauce, yogurt, or baby cereal off a spoon. 🙂

Corbin loved the cupcake at his birthday party and ate the whole thing by the fistful!943BE214-57CF-43C1-96B5-8B6300555AFB2A421E55-E084-4C45-A7ED-DEB93995E6FDHis first birthday party was a joint party for him and the girls, and it was a fishing theme.

Development

Corbin has made a lot of progress in the past 3 months! The biggest news is that he’s walking! Still falls over fairly often, and he still pulls up to stand, but he can walk! That happened around 14.5 months. Now he’s even harder to keep track of.

He can also climb up the stairs, and back down them too, but he usually first tries to crawl down them headfirst. He’s taken a few diggers, the worst being at the library. He tumbled sideways down 2 shallow steps, with his forehead catching the corner of a brick wall on his way down. It actually didn’t bleed at all, but it swelled up and got black and blue. 5901CD17-EF41-4208-8493-1513D0895F29He is a maniac! We were at a park with the girls one day and Corbin decided that he wanted to climb the ladder up into the play structure. It was a ladder at an angle that had flat, wide rungs so he was able to do it! As soon as he reached the top, he scrambled over to the slide and wanted to bomb down head first! I held on to him until Emma was at the bottom to catch him. I am surprised daily at the things he is willing to do!IMG_3967 (Large)Since my last post of him at 12 months, the snow has melted outside and we’ve been loving all the different types of weather! Corbin loves getting dirty and wet, and he is curious about everything. He rarely wants to be held–he wants to check everything out! Some gross things he has put in his mouth include: a bike chain, a live beetle, handfuls of sand, dirty flip-flops, tissues, leaves, acorns, and oak catkins. I also caught him one day with dog poop all over his hands but thankfully he did not eat it! (mom fail)IMG_3801 (Large)IMG_3170 (Large)IMG_3205 (Large)E1D4431C-DFD4-430C-9F91-AA3BB5B0F37E9F54A163-F5EA-4FA8-9523-AE9CFF18F3FD18A5C5A8-870A-4664-BCE8-A6DCB6AAE099Corbin loves the water now. He enjoys bathtime (if he doesn’t have to deal with both sisters in the tub with him) and has been LOVING the beach. A few weeks ago, it was 90 degrees and we went to the beach, and he went all the way in the water (me holding him), without me even coaxing him! I’m guessing the water temperature was only in the 60s so he has those Minnesota genes after all. He has also been loving playing on the beach. This boy needs a sandbox at home!IMG_4132 (Large)IMG_4138 (Large)IMG_4145 (Large)We’ve tried taking Corbin on some bike rides in the bike trailer, but it’s not his favorite thing. Just like our girls, he’s a mover! He does ok in the jogging stroller. I took the kids to the zoo a couple weeks ago, and he was content to sit in the stroller if we were moving. We went into the cage where you can feed the parakeets, and had a bunch of birds on my arm, and Corbin was screeching in excitement. He wanted to touch them, but they’d fly away. IMG_4152 (Large)IMG_4174 (Large)Corbin also LOVES our dogs, and always tries to get close to them. Charlie is not having it but Katy will let Corbin snuggle and pet her. She’s only barked at him once, and it was when he pulled her hair too hard. She never nips, but the loud noise scares Corbin. Still, he is undeterred!

Corbin also loves rough-housing with Annabelle. We have two bean bag chairs, and he loves climbing on and under them with Annabelle, and tumbling off them. Emma loves Corbin too, but he and Annabelle have a deeper bond.

Other things Corbin likes to do:

  • Push the wagon and truck around outside, though now that he can walk this has less appeal5D35F24E-E3F3-472A-A244-5BDAA32DF359
  • Make loud noises with whatever he can find (like banging a golf ball against the window or banging a cookie sheet and cooling rack together 🤪)
  • Rip up tissues and toilet paper
  • Flush the toilet and turn on the tub water (we close the bathroom doors all the time now)
  • Get things out of the garbage can (it is now locked in the laundry room)
  • Pull clothes out of his hamper into his crib (and then play peekaboo with them)
  • Empty things out of a bin or cabinet by throwing them behind him as hard as he can, or by handing them piece by piece to someone as they say “Thank you”2772A74B-8326-41AF-BC37-197C7057DD2DIMG_3972 (Large)IMG_3187 (Large)
  • Look at his touch & feel alphabet book (and rip out all the pieces that move)

Another big change in Corbin’s life this past month is that the nanny who had watched him since he was 2 months old moved to Nebraska. So now we have a new nanny (actually 2, they’re two teenagers who are watching all 3 kids together). We will miss her!IMG_4077 (Large)IMG_3894 (Large)B68DA80B-3516-4BCD-97A2-4BC7CDE15470B72BD604-5755-4898-AC0D-CBA93B04D04B6B9DAEA7-239C-4AFA-8F2E-0906CA2D769EAnd that’s Corbin at 15 months!

Emma Grace: 6 Years

1 Jun

Emma turned 6 back on April 7. You can read my last post about her at 5.25 years old here.IMG_5198 (Large)img_4092img_4106Size

At her well-child checkup right after her birthday, Emma weighed 44.5 lbs (49%) and was 3′ 10″ (66%). She wears some 5T, some size 6 clothing in big girl’s sizes (single tear) and size 12 shoes.

Sleeping

With Emma being in Kindergarten this year, she has been pretty much exhausted by bedtime, so if we follow the bedtime routine of books and tick, she’s pretty easy to get to bed. She almost always sleeps through the night. She’ll get up once or twice to pee. If she gets up to pee just a couple hours after going to bed, we go help her, because she’s so out of it that she often can’t figure out how to open the door or where the toilet is (and has accidents as a result). The funniest accidents she’s had is that we once found her peeing on Annabelle’s bed (and incidentally, on Annabelle as well – she didn’t even wake up!) and then sitting on the chair of the vintage school desk they have in their room. But if she goes to the bathroom in the middle of the night or morning, she can get out of bed and back in without help. She usually goes to sleep at 8 PM, and wakes up around 6:30/7 AM.IMG_9793IMG_9790Eating

Emma is a good eater, as long as it’s foods that she likes and can recognize. She’s not the most adventurous when it comes to trying new foods. She’s motivated to finish her dinner by the knowledge that she’ll get dessert if she does.

Her favorite foods are fruit (clementines especially), toast with PB and honey, PB&J sandwiches, pizza, milk, Shakeology, waffles, cereal, mac & cheese, and jello. She says her favorite foods are tacos and chili soup. She doesn’t like pepperoni or spicy things. She went through a period of not liking grapes but then the other day she told me, “Grapes used to be yucky, but now that I’m 6, I’m just going to deal with it.” Her favorite restaurants are China Garden (“China Buffet”) and McDonald’s.0070BF2F-5C19-4705-B093-AD0D6F21EB42IMG_0029 (Large)Development

Emma loves, loves, loves drawing, coloring, and writing. She uses probably 15 sheets of paper a day. I can’t keep up with the papers! She loves making gifts for her friends and grandparents, and loves writing her friends’ names. She can often be found drawing unicorns, mermaids, makeup, jewelry, dresses, high heels, and pictures of her friends and family.IMG_0054 (Large)She did well in Kindergarten at Pillager and can read sight word books fairly easily. She also likes to pretend to read books, making up her own story to go with the pictures. She has also started sounding out words and writing sentences on her own. The harder words aren’t spelled correctly, but I love that she is trying! She’ll even repeat slowly things that we say, and I can tell that she’s thinking about how you would write that.

She seems to have a group of friends at school that she enjoys playing with. We invited five of them over for a unicorn birthday party at our house; three came. It was a fun time – we decorated t-shirts with fabric markers, played unicorn bingo, ate turkey and cheese croissant sandwiches and cupcakes, and opened presents. Emma got a Pomsie, Twist-a-Pet, nail kit, and a couple mermaid Barbies from her friends.

FBCC7B04-D26F-4FBA-A214-F747B38AA100IMG_3108IMG_3110

Back in the fall, Emma threw all-out tantrums quite often. Kindergarten was a hard transition. But in the spring, things went much better. There were still mornings that Emma didn’t want to go to school, but she’s usually a pretty good trooper. If we tell her to go get dressed, she is pretty good about listening and going to do it herself. And when school ended, she said, “I don’t want school to be over!”IMG_0124 (Large)IMG_0070 (Large)In February, Emma got strep throat and Influenza A at the same time, and she did nothing but lay on the couch for about a week straight.

Emma struggles with telling white lies about things, ranging from who used the bathroom and didn’t flush, to who ate the snack and left the wrapper on the floor, to who used Mommy’s makeup without asking. She almost always comes clean when we press her about it, and we’ve tried explaining to her that her lying makes it hard for us to trust her, but it seems like lying is almost a knee-jerk response.

Emma loves makeup, and all things girly. We’ve had to make a rule that she can’t wear makeup to school or church, just when we’re at home. Last winter, Emma decided kind of out of nowhere that she wanted to grow her bangs out (which meant of course Annabelle did too). After making sure they both understood that they’d have to wear ponytails in their hair everyday, I agreed that they could grow their bangs out. And they’ve actually both been really good about it. Previously, they had both hated having things in their hair, but this hasn’t been a battle. We didn’t even really need the sticker chart that we made!IMG_0066 (Large)She has gotten better about praying with us at dinner. She used to refuse to fold her hands and would just keep eating, but now she’ll stop, fold her hands, and even sometimes offer to pray for us.

Last fall, Emma went duck hunting with Travis out on the river. She collected all the empty shell casings from other hunters and put them in a pile.

Emma is generally very helpful and generous. I can ask her to do me favors or help Annabelle or Corbin with something, and she almost always does it (she does flake out on occasion). Annabelle on the other hand…

She still loves to make messes (aka take out all the toys and books we own), though now her messes are organized and intentional. They still take a while to clean up (and she’s not always the most willing participant in cleanup) and they annoy me to no end, but I’m glad she’s using her imagination.IMG_9854 (Large)She loves playing with Annabelle, and is still usually the boss and mastermind behind their activities. They can totally be two peas in a pod, but they can also be at odds with one another. One day recently, Annabelle had set up her outside kitchen stuff and was pretending to cook mud pies. She walked away momentarily and Emma came along and started using the kitchen, putting things in a slightly different spot. When Annabelle returned, she started crying and collapsed into a puddle, looking at Travis. When Travis didn’t intervene, Annabelle went and got a stick, and started hitting Emma on the back with it. Undeterred, Emma played with one hand, and blocked the stick with the other, telling Annabelle halfheartedly to stop it.

Just a few weeks ago, Emma started riding her bike with no training wheels. She’s also been learning how to paddleboard on our river (Travis follows her in the canoe). We are so proud of her bravery, especially since Emma tends to be on the more timid side for things like that. When she first started riding a bike at age 4, she ended up rolling backward and falling off, and refused to get back on it that year. And every spring, she is terrified of boat rides, but usually loosens up by the end of the summer. This year, though, it only took one ride and then she has been all about it!073BB29E-52F2-40E6-9373-09DB9ABAC7FB06ABDC78-4670-4BFD-8C40-709B51C3E5C0A9486619-94EB-46CD-A1FA-C252839F3C38And that’s Emma at 6 years!

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Annabelle Lyn: 4 Years

31 May

Wow, it’s been a long time since I posted about little Miss Annabelle (read her last post at 3.25 years here). She is now 4 years old as of March 27!IMG_5213 (Large)IMG_9792IMG_9791Size

At her well-child check at the end of March, Annabelle weighed 35 lbs (54%) and was 3′ 4″ tall (52%). She is starting to wear 4T clothing and wears size 8 shoes.IMG_2381Sleeping

Annabelle and Emma still share a bedroom, and are pretty good these days about going down at the same time (usually between 7:30 and 8). Some nights, they get a little riled up and won’t stop talking, but usually they’re pretty good about just going to sleep after getting “tick” (though we do still stay in the room until at least one of them is sleeping).

Annabelle hasn’t napped since she was about 3.25 years old. She still falls asleep in the car fairly often if we’re driving in the late afternoon (like to pick Emma up from school), and once she falls asleep for a nap, she’s really hard to wake up. She would sleep 2-3 hours if we let her. Then she’s up until 10. We started asking daycare to make sure she doesn’t nap, because she was ping-ponging around her bedroom at bedtime.IMG_2312Even so, she still fairly hard to get to bed at night. She still likes rough-housing, and can frequently be found using Travis as a slide when we’re reading books before bedtime (or Mommy’s back if Daddy’s not around). Her bedtime shenanigans usually result in her hard noggin hitting someone else. They get hurt; she doesn’t feel a thing.

Annabelle will still put herself to bed if she’s really tired, or sometimes just ask to go to bed. But if she does that, you better be on top of it, because the window is thin. If you don’t catch it, she revives and is up for another several hours.

For a span of a couple weeks, Annabelle started coming into our room at night, usually around 2 AM. She was generally content to just sleep on the floor if we made a little bed for her, but one night, she demanded to sleep in our bed, so Travis was kicked out to the couch. She said it was because “no one is my bed.” When I asked her why that had just started bothering her now (because she’s slept alone in her bed most of her life), she said “Because there are monsters under my bed.”

Annabelle still wears a diaper to bed at night, but is dry about 40 percent of the time. She wants to wear undies to bed but just isn’t quite there. She also still has ezcema pretty bad, and we have to put lotion on her whole body twice a day.IMG_9986IMG_0324 (Large)Eating

In general, Annabelle still eats a lot in the beginning of the day, with a peak of snacks right before dinnertime, and then doesn’t want to eat dinner. Ten percent of the time she scarfs down her dinner, but 90 percent of the time, she requires a lot of wrangling and still doesn’t eat much.

She still really likes meat, and has a fairly adventurous palette. She will try foods that Emma won’t. She even tried a bite of a dog biscuit with Travis just to see what it was like.IMG_2390Her favorite foods are YOGURT, bacon, grape juice, graham crackers, strawberries, blueberries, grapes, egg sandwiches, jello, mandarin oranges, and applesauce. She still seems to prefer water over milk (though prefers juice over water), and doesn’t like the cheese that comes with Lunchables. Her favorite candy is gummies and Hershey kisses. Once, she hid in the bathroom eating chocolate eggs she had stolen from Emma’s backpack. Her favorite restaurants are China Garden (“China Buffet”)and McDonald’s.

She still makes the ‘yum, yum, yum’ noise when she’s eating something that she really likes. And she has started to like cold treats like ice cream and popsicles a lot more. Her lactose intolerance seems to have decreased, as she can eat one serving of regular yogurt a day and be fine. She (we) still drink lactose-free milk though.IMG_0328 (Large)Development

Her favorite phrase is Poopy Butt.

She still likes singing in the loudest voice she can.

She has the highest, most ear-piercing shriek, and when talking, she has two volumes: LOUD or inaudible.

She loves her Big Purple Baby and almost always takes the doll shopping and to bed with her.IMG_8972IMG_0188 (Large)Around age 3.5, she was obsessed with asking us “What you like today?” and taking our order. She would also set up an ice cream shop and yell, “Ice cream for sale, ice cream for sale.”

She loves playing with and imitating Big Sister, but has become more assertive as she’s gotten older. When Emma does something that frustrates Annabelle, she has two reactions: either melting into a puddle of tears, or fighting back dirty (hitting, biting, scratching). Even so, they play well together most of the time, with their Barbies, baby dolls, Legos, or just water and dirt. Since the snow has melted, Emma and Annabelle have enjoyed playing in the Focus, bringing “presents” for their babies out in old gift bags.IMG_9085IMG_0014 (Large)Last fall, Emma got mad at Annabelle and cut a section out of the back of her, so both girls got 5 inches or so trimmed off their hair. (Emma wanted her hair cut short like Annabelle’s.)56081683425__36940D8C-72C3-4504-901C-B1AF1698E16BAnnabelle sporting her new shorter ‘do:IMG_0121 (Large)Annabelle loves her baby brother Corbin, and plays with him a lot. She has enjoyed pushing him around in her doll stroller, or pulling him around in the Mega Bloks wagon. She will also stop to squeeze or tickle his cheek as she walks by (one of her main expressions of affection). If Corbin is crying, Annabelle will go find him a toy to play with, and if he wakes up from his nap while I’m busy doing something, she’ll climb into his crib and entertain him. Lately, though, Annabelle will just walk up to Corbin and tip him over, which he of course doesn’t like. Not sure why she does that?IMG_9808 (Large)img_1925 (large)img_2317 (large)IMG_3013 (Large)IMG_0050 (Large)IMG_0046 (Large)Annabelle flip-flops between demanding independence (No, I do it!) and acting like a wet noodle. She *can* get dressed on her own, go to the bathroom on her own, get on her jacket and shoes on her own, but she often acts like she can’t, or doesn’t even try. And then she makes you chase her when you try to help. ::sigh:: Though I will admit that when Annabelle puts her own shoes on, 90 percent of the time, they are on the wrong feet. She’ll ask “Is this the right foot?” When we go shopping, she either wants to push the cart, or ride in the cart.

She has started to be much more detail-oriented when she’s coloring, and has mastered writing the letters A, E, N, L, and T. She can’t pronounce compound sounds, like cr-, tr-, gr-… Crown in cown. Tree is tee. Grinch is ginch.

Annabelle is pretty adventurous – she loves snowmobiling, went down a zipline and big kid water slides with almost not a second thought, learned to ride a bike (with training wheels) last summer at age 3.5 (and will now ride her bike down the hill of our driveway almost as fast as she can possibly go), and loves boat rides. Last summer and this winter, she has been able to “swim” around in the pool with her PuddleJumper life jacket on. Her favorite is floating around a lazy river in her life jacket or a baby float.IMG_1864 (Large).jpgIMG_0131 (Large)IMG_0545 (Large)One time this past winter, we had been at our neighbor’s house and Annabelle didn’t have the energy to walk home. So I left her on their driveway and told her I’d have Travis come back and get her on the snowmobile (we have a very quiet neighborhood). By the time he was on his way over, he discovered that she had ended up walking home on her own.

In the past year, Annabelle has gotten stung by a wasp on her upper lip; got road rash on her chin from falling off a sled on the driveway; got strep throat, Influenza A, and an ear infection all at the same time; split her chin open on the floor at Walmart and got it super-glued shut; fallen down a whole flight of stairs; and fallen over more times than we can count. Sometimes her tumbles are actually quite comical (when she doesn’t actually get hurt) and when I kind of chuckle, she’ll say, “It isn’t funny!”IMG_9245Annabelle is naughtier than Emma was, and back in January, I came downstairs after making dinner in the crockpot to find Emma and Annabelle, completely naked, throwing wet paper towels and wads of toilet paper around Travis’ office and hallway (which we had just refinished with engineered hardwood) and sliding around in the water. Just, wow. Emma informed that Annabelle had been the instigator, and she tried to tell Annabelle that they shouldn’t do it, but then she got sucked into doing it too because it looked so fun.

Annabelle also drew on the walls of our bedroom with a whiteboard marker; on our old couch and Corbin’s wall with a pen; on our kitchen table with a pencil; and on our coffee table and inside of our minivan with a crayon. “That little duck!” is what we always say. (Her nickname has been Duke, and then Travis started calling her Fon Duck Duke, now it’s shortened to Duck.)IMG_1930IMG_2072 (Large)And that’s Annabelle at 4 years!

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