Joy
My children bring me so much joy, and these pictures show that they can experience joy too. We enjoyed a wonderful vacation with my family, and I did take work off for the most part and was able to relax along with them. No sick kids this time either.
Neither girl was impressed with fireworks. Natalie Loved the poppers, which is what the picture is from, but beyond that she was not impressed. She was even scared of smoke bombs.
I was a very fearful child. I remember forcing my parents to leave a Wild West show at some amusement park because there were guns and I was scared. I wonder what the best way to parent my fearful child is? I do not want to force her to do things she is afraid of, but I don't want her to spend her life riddled with fear. God has not given us the spirit of fear, yet she does not yet know God, so is this promise something to teach her? This is something to pray over, I believe.
Natalie's imagination is blossoming. It is so much fun. I love seeing her pretend with her toys. I love watching her grow up. I pray I can direct her carefully. Today I played the role of the "nice big bad wolf" to her "little pig."
A few tidbits of "Natalie funnies" from our trip:
At one meal stop, I went to take Natalie to the restroom. Without going into many details, the lady's restroom in the Taco Bell was not usable. I sent her with Tim to the bathroom, and apparently a man was using the urinal. She came out and Tim went back in. She came up to me and said, "Mommy, do boys squirt their pee-pees out like this?" and gave a perfect demonstration of how a man "goes." I died laughing (on the inside at least). Too funny.
She has greatly expanded her vocabulary. She was looking for me upstairs at my parents house. She said, "Mommy, mommy, are you up there? Are you up there? Apparently not." Ok, that might not sound funny, but coming out of her little body in her little voice, the word "apparently" is really, really cute.
not to leave Megan out, she accomplished two things this week. She started walking while holding hands, and she stood by herself for a few seconds. I am hoping walking is coming soon! I am so tired of carrying her! I love her dearly, but she is HEAVY!
I am contemplating how to help a three-year-old deal with disappointment. Whenever something does not go as Natalie was expecting, she gets so upset and sad. I do not want her to never feel sadness, but I am praying about how to teach her to deal with life's inevitable disappointments in an appropriate manner. For instance, today she really wanted to talk to our neighbor and watched out the window for quite a while for her to come home. We did not catch the neighbor, and when she realized the neighbor had come home, she almost threw a fit because she didn't get to talk to her. How can I teach her to deal with this frustration and disappointment appropriately? Is there a spiritual lesson here for her to learn? This is a subject of prayer for me!
Finally, check out my dear friend Janna's blog. I am greatly enjoying watching it unfold, and she is a very thoughtful mom who has a great perspective on Christian mothering. Her daughter is beautiful and I will get to see them in just a few weeks! Love you girl!
Neither girl was impressed with fireworks. Natalie Loved the poppers, which is what the picture is from, but beyond that she was not impressed. She was even scared of smoke bombs.
I was a very fearful child. I remember forcing my parents to leave a Wild West show at some amusement park because there were guns and I was scared. I wonder what the best way to parent my fearful child is? I do not want to force her to do things she is afraid of, but I don't want her to spend her life riddled with fear. God has not given us the spirit of fear, yet she does not yet know God, so is this promise something to teach her? This is something to pray over, I believe.
Natalie's imagination is blossoming. It is so much fun. I love seeing her pretend with her toys. I love watching her grow up. I pray I can direct her carefully. Today I played the role of the "nice big bad wolf" to her "little pig."
A few tidbits of "Natalie funnies" from our trip:
At one meal stop, I went to take Natalie to the restroom. Without going into many details, the lady's restroom in the Taco Bell was not usable. I sent her with Tim to the bathroom, and apparently a man was using the urinal. She came out and Tim went back in. She came up to me and said, "Mommy, do boys squirt their pee-pees out like this?" and gave a perfect demonstration of how a man "goes." I died laughing (on the inside at least). Too funny.
She has greatly expanded her vocabulary. She was looking for me upstairs at my parents house. She said, "Mommy, mommy, are you up there? Are you up there? Apparently not." Ok, that might not sound funny, but coming out of her little body in her little voice, the word "apparently" is really, really cute.
not to leave Megan out, she accomplished two things this week. She started walking while holding hands, and she stood by herself for a few seconds. I am hoping walking is coming soon! I am so tired of carrying her! I love her dearly, but she is HEAVY!
I am contemplating how to help a three-year-old deal with disappointment. Whenever something does not go as Natalie was expecting, she gets so upset and sad. I do not want her to never feel sadness, but I am praying about how to teach her to deal with life's inevitable disappointments in an appropriate manner. For instance, today she really wanted to talk to our neighbor and watched out the window for quite a while for her to come home. We did not catch the neighbor, and when she realized the neighbor had come home, she almost threw a fit because she didn't get to talk to her. How can I teach her to deal with this frustration and disappointment appropriately? Is there a spiritual lesson here for her to learn? This is a subject of prayer for me!
Finally, check out my dear friend Janna's blog. I am greatly enjoying watching it unfold, and she is a very thoughtful mom who has a great perspective on Christian mothering. Her daughter is beautiful and I will get to see them in just a few weeks! Love you girl!
Comments
What joyful faces.
I still enjoy your blog so much even if you don't get to write as often. It helps prepare me for a 3 year old and the new challenges I will face as a mother.
All I know is when a child is scared, I would not make fun of them or belittle them. I know you wouldn't do this but many do. They laugh, call names etc.
Can she articulate why she is scared? Too loud, too bright
See you soon! Do you know what dates you will be there?