Things I Don't Want To Forget

Sprout just keeps growing and learning!

-We had to move the straps on her car seat. She really grew!

- She "reads" so many books now. She knows all the words on every page of some of them, the important words on others. She also just starts reciting them randomly, particularly the Dr. Seuss Books.

-She counts to forty! She gets hung up on things sometimes (like she'll say 20-10 instead of 30), but it's pretty amazing. She obviously doesn't quite understand what all those numbers mean, but it's still pretty cool.

-She still sings and picks up new songs all the time. I love it.

-Her favorite thing to do these days is to go for a walk outside. We walk on the sidewalk and she has favorite driveways that she likes to sit down on and places she likes to pick up rocks. She points out numbers on mailboxes and reads the letters on the stop sign. We do this at least once a day, often 2-3 times.

-She spins in circles squealing "wheeeeeeeee!" Not sure where she picked that up!

-She repeats EVERYTHING we say.

-She talks in phrases and sentences - "sit in the chair," "Off the the bed," "Daddy go to work," and my favorite, "Mommy, read book, please, please."

- When she starts to whine and fuss because we aren't responding, she stops herself and says, "ask nicely." I guess she's learning something! And then she usually does ask nicely, which makes it VERY hard to say, "No!"

She is such a big girl!

Child Care

So, with my new ministry pursuits, we are starting to look into more childcare options. I've been utilizing a "Mom's Morning Out" program at a local church that has been good, but ideally, I'd be able to have a full time day-care one or two days a week. That way, I could focus all my projects outside of home on those days instead of running all around town constantly. But, Mom's Morning Out is convenient and cheap, so that is a consideration. There is also a drop-in childcare center that I've used, but she can only stay there for four hours and I pick her up before nap time. Now that I'm working with schools, I need more freedom during and after school hours. I can work with what I have, but we are checking into some other options in town so that I can at least see what is out there.

I'm a bit torn because I feel like I shouldn't want to send Sprout away. I also know she could get so much out of a structured preschool type program. She's such a little sponge and I know she would love it. Of course, she's way too young for any actual preschool programs, so I feel like actual daycare is the next best thing.

So, we're just exploring right now. We'll see what we find and whether it will work for our family.

Wisdom Teeth

Well, yesterday was fun. I got my three wisdom teeth removed. (I was only born with three, fortunately). One began cutting before my regular dentist appointment 6 months ago, so they decided to wait and watch until my latest cleaning when they decided that it would have to come out because it was creating a food trap that could easily get infected. Ick. So, to the oral surgeon I went, where they convinced me that I should just have them all removed.

So, yesterday was pretty rough and today I'm super sore, but managing. Luckily my husband is home today taking care of Sophia and I. And it's time for me to take another painkiller and go back to sleep.

Update on Me

So, you hopefully read what Sprout was up to in my last post, but I've been up to some pretty interesting things myself.

I started volunteering at my old school, helping out an 8th grade math teacher. I have also started a new outreach ministry at my church to an inner city middle school near the church. We have adopted the school as a "Partner in Education," have organized a clothing and supply drive and are working to get volunteers for End of Grade testing in the next few weeks. We are really seeking to develop a relationship with the school so that we can support them in all sorts of ways.

I began the outreach ministry project as one of the first steps to seeking ordination as a Deacon in the Episcopal Church. In our tradition, a deacon is an ordained minister whose main purpose is to connect the needs of the community, especially the poor, the sick, and the lonely, to the people of the church. It is a call that has been on my heart for a long time. I first considered it several years ago, but I feel strongly that now is the time to really start down the path.

There is a long journey to ordination. The first steps involve a lot of paperwork. I had to meet with my priest several times, develop this ministry, and write a "spiritual autobiography," which was an interesting exercise and I recommend it to anyone seriously thinking about how God might be calling them. Now, with the priests recommendation, I am meeting with a "discernment committee" within my congregation. In a few weeks, they will decide whether to support my call. If they do, they will present it to the church Vestry (like a board or a council).

If the vestry also supports me, I will meet with the bishop of our diocese. If he is supportive, I go through a bunch more paperwork and eventually meet with a special Committee on Ministry in the fall that will make the final recommendation about whether to admit me as a "postulant." After that there are more steps, including classes, and ministry work for at least three years (maybe more if we are blessed with another baby in the process), before ordination.

It's a little complicated, but very exciting to me and something I feel very strongly about. I'd talk more, but my munchkin has decided that today is not a good napping day, so I'd better go give her hugs!

Long overdue Sprout update

So, our Lenten fast is over and Easter was a big celebration. I have to say, being away from the Internet was a good thing overall. Let me fill you in a bit on Sprout.

She is still talking like crazy and expanding her vocabulary daily. On Easter, in church she learned "Alleluia!" and said it loudly again yesterday which was crazy adorable.

She says "I love you!" unprompted now and gives big hugs.

She sings! "Baa Baa Black Sheep," her alphabet, and several songs from her KinderMusik class are her favorites. It is so much fun to hear her singing and try to figure out what song it is.

There is so much more, but those are the biggest things on my mind right now. I've been up to a lot, too, and hopefully I'll have time soon to write about it all. I hope everyone had a joyous Easter and is enjoying the beautiful spring!

Lent , My Grandma, and Things I Don't Want to Forget

So, DH and I decided to give up most internet for Lent. We are taking Sundays off (since technically, they are not part of the 40 days of Lent). Perhaps that's cheating, but we are okay with that. Basically, we were allowing the Internet to take up too much of our time and attention and wanted to put that time and attention in other places - Sprout, each other, our hobbies. It's been tough, but I think it's been positive for us so far. Of course, I've spent too much of today (Sunday) online, but at least I've been pursuing other things the rest of the week. And when I miss being online, it is the perfect opportunity to step back, remember the real purpose of Lent, reflect, pray, and refocus on what is important. Just thought I'd clue you in since I haven't been posting regularly. And I can't say that I will manage to even post on Sundays, especially since we will be traveling for the next couple of weeks. But I'll pop in from time to time and let you know how things are going.

Sprout is fantastic. She continues to amaze. We took a trip to New Jersey so that she could see her Great Grandmother. She was very ill at the beginning of the year and we didn't think she would make it much longer, but she has bounced back beautifully. She is staying in a nursing home now. I used to feel sad when I heard that, but she loves it! She has other people to talk to and talk about and isn't so lonely and isolated. She is such a smart woman and her mind is still as sharp as ever. She seems so much happier than the last time I saw her and is getting around and feeling great. She had a wonderful time with Sprout and Sprout was a super traveler. We are very blessed to have celebrated her 91st birthday together and if all goes well, we will probably make another trip to visit over the summer sometime.

Sprout has, indeed been as busy as ever:

She is stacking her Little People alphabet blocks and can make towers 4 or 5 blocks high.

She knows all of her letters and numbers 0-10 except she won't try to say "W." She LOVES pointing out letters wherever we go. I think I'm going to find her some things with lower case letters on them since she seems confused by them. I still can't believe my 17 month old is doing this. If someone told me this about their child I wouldn't believe them.

Speaking of things you won't believe - she also counts. If I start by saying "one," she will say "two" and we can swap off all the way through "10." She does get mixed up sometimes between 7 and 10, but Wow! It's crazy.

AND yesterday, she started trying to say the alphabet. I thought that's what she was doing in the car. Then, I started the song and stopped periodically and she filled in the letter that was next. How crazy is that??

Don't get too amazed. She also tries to eat rocks and drink out of the dog's dish.

She is putting two words together now. She will tell us when she's done with something or narrate when we are cleaning up: "books away, blocks away, cup away, tray away, etc." She also tells me she wants her "shirt on" or "socks off."

She is also becoming a toddler. Asserting her independence and throwing tantrums. It's not too bad yet, but I can see shadows of things to come and it's a little scary!

Things I Don't Want to Forget

Sprout now says "goodnight." Very clearly. It melts my heart.

We traveled to New Jersey and she was amazing for the 12 hour drive. She got a little fussy here and there, but nothing like I was expecting. I'm a proud mama.

She actually used a 2 word phrase today! "Light off" while pointing to the light (that was off).

She is scared of the letter "J" block. Have I mentioned this? She will play with all of the others, but she won't touch the J. If you try to show it to her or give it to her she starts fussing and crying. She will point to and identify the letter J in her alphabet books, but that block - forget it. It is very strange and I so wish that I could get in her little head and figure out what was going on, because it is very strange.