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.

Things I Don't Want to Forget

Sprout has another cold. So far, she seems in good spirits and no fever, so hopefully it will pass quickly.

Her aunt brought her a stuffed pig this week. If you hold the paw down it makes all sorts of fun snorting sounds. She loooves it. And yesterday in her car seat she was imitating that pig. She grunted and everything. So funny!

At church on Sunday, when DH brought her back from the nursery for communion, she just kept looking at the hymnals and prayer books, and bulletins, and kept saying, "Book! book! book!" She was so excited. And all the people in the pews around us were trying desperately to keep from laughing out loud

Among her new words: Walk, broccoli (which she pronounces correctly), owl, bear, flakes (for snowflakes), hungry

She knows almost all of her letters. She mixes up E and F, M and W, and B and D. But that's it.

She recognizes her numbers 1 to 10. And she points them out all over the place. She also usually knows what comes next if I count, especially 1 to 5.

She is starting to recognize her colors.

I'm so proud of my little girl!

On Stage

Now that Sprout is doing and saying so much more, it is becoming even more obvious that she is watching everything we do. And it makes me realize how important it is to set a good example. But I don't always do it. I've been trying really hard, but we all have bad habits, right?

I bite my nails. I play with my phone too much. I am doing better, but still don't always make the best food choices. But now it's not just about me. I'm teaching Sprout with every thing I do. And it makes me painfully aware that I will teach her some things that aren't what I would want for her. I hope those things are few, but none of us are perfect. And I will cause her pain. I've made mistakes and not always been the mom I want to be, but as she grows older, she will remember those times that I snapped at her or didn't treat her the way I should have. She will develop habits and ideas about herself and the world based on my own flaws.

I pray that the good will outweigh the bad. I pray that she will see and learn respect and compassion for others, and herself. That she will see us live what we believe and profess and seek to do the same. That she will forgive us for our imperfections and that we will have a close, positive relationship for many, many years. But sometimes I fear that I will mess it up.

Valentine's Day Weekend

We'd been planning a getaway for awhile. We were supposed to go away for an overnight in January, but then my grandmother got sick, so we just had a few hours to go see a show (which was great, but not the same). My mom came this weekend, though, and DH and I set out for Charleston. We didn't purposely choose the weekend of Valentine's Day. It just happened to be the weekend that DH had Friday off (because he was on-call on Thursday). When we realized that it was Valentine's Day, he decided to really do it up.

We stayed in a swanky hotel where the complementary breakfast was served directly to the room. The service was amazing. We had dinner at two fancy restaurants. We took a private carriage tour. We slept in Saturday and Sunday. We actually talked. To each other. Like those long conversations about nothing and everything. It was wonderful.

Sprout had a blast with her Grandma. I think they were both worn out because she has been napping better ever since! And we both still feel a lot better about life, I think. We needed it as individuals and as a couple.

Things I Don't Want to Forget

Sprout never ceases to amaze...

1. Yesterday, we were walking through Target. She pointed at a big price sign and said "six." It was, indeed a six. How cool is that? And she recognizes letters and numbers all over the place.

2. Did I mention that she is scared of the letter block with the letter "J"? She loves all the rest, but if you pull out the "J" block she starts fussing and crying. Strange kid.

3. She keeps adding words like crazy to her vocabulary. Among the new entries this week: Grandma (ga-ma), cucumber, sweater.

4. It's finally been warm enough to play outside and she loves it. She loves investigating leaves and grass and rocks. It's fascinating to just sit and watch her.

5. DH bought her a big ball this week and she loves it. It's so funny watching her carry around this huge blue ball everywhere.

6. If I ask her to go get a specific book, she almost always does it.

7. She is trying to turn somersaults on her own. It's always a big flop, but makes her laugh.

8. I cannot get her to leave any kind of hair clip in for more than about 5 minutes. But her hair is getting long and hangs in her face. She looks like a sheep dog. But, I don't want to cut her hair. She will wear hats, though, so she wears them a lot! She looks so cute with a little bow in her hair, but you have to look quickly!

Things I Don't Want to Forget

What an exciting week! Okay, not really. Sprout is finally feeling better, so we've gotten out of the house. Hopefully, she didn't pick up something new in the process.

1. Her language continues to explode. We've stopped keeping track of her words for the most part. Among her new favorites: bra, blocks, camera, monkey, car, jar, lion, kite.

2. She is learning her letters! How crazy is that? I bought her some blocks with alphabet letters on them. After a few days she started naming letters. I was floored. She can say at least 10 of them and recognizes even more if you ask her to find them. I also got her a number puzzle and she knows a bunch of them, too. I'm so proud of her!

3. She continues to love the game where she runs around the couch and we surprise her. Sometimes, though, she likes to purposely fall down and laugh hysterically in the process. DH laughed once at her and said "safe!" because she looked like she was diving for home. So now, every time she does it, she says, "afe!" How funny is that?

4. She also loves to just suddenly put her head down on the floor like she's doing the downward-facing-dog. She does it a lot when she's getting tired, like she just needs a little break.

Love this girl. She is so much fun!