6 months old and other items of note

Yeah, yeah, yeah, this update is long overdue. I've been holding off in hopes that my camera will decide to start speaking to my computer again...apparently they are in a fight and until they reconcile I can't upload the zillions of fun photos I have on our camera! Anyone out there have a Sony USB cable they want to let me borrow?

Anyway, the update. Caroline turned 6 months old on September 20th. I've been reminded once again of why I always tell people that I wish babies were born being 6 months old. Don't get me wrong, I love babies. But I also like sleep and normalcy, which (at least for my kiddos) don't seem to become a dependable part of my life again until they are 6 months old. Once we got back from the beach I decided to (finally) cut Caroline off from the milk supply during the night. It took about 3 weeks to get the message that it's not really worth waking up in the middle of the night for a pat on the back, but she finally gets it. Now, after a talking to from her pediatrician, I've got to start weaning her off being swaddled. I know, I know, she's way too old for that. But because the miracle blanket works so well, both my children have been somewhat addicted to being swaddled. I stopped swaddling Katie around 3 or 4 months, but have been much lazier with Liney. I'd attempt to put her down with one or both arms out of the swaddle but would wimp out when she still wouldn't be down after 30 minutes. I'm going cold turkey now though, and she finally fell asleep for her afternoon nap after 45 minutes of fussing about it. Let's hope this doesn't mess up the good things we had going at night!

The Beanie has also entered the world of solid food eating. For months she has been looking longingly at our food, and even now would rather have a bite of my taco instead of rice cereal or pureed sweet potatoes. She's doing well so far, her favorite by far being mashed up avocado...probably because it's the closest she's come to eating what we eat! She had her 6 month check up today and is proportional in every way...75% in height (26.25 in), weight (17lbs), and head circumference.

In Katie news, she is totally on the brink of being a 4 year old. She just seems so grown up to me--so tall, so girly, with a complete mind of her own. She is, however, is a total mini-me. Which is kind of fun but also kind of bad. Fun because she enjoys doing the things I enjoy (like listening to Little House in the Big Woods and Little Women on cd), bad because she sins in the same ways I do (grumbling, greediness, etc). Pray for her. And me.

KJ continues to say things that regularly crack us up. This morning, for instance, I asked her if she wanted to go on a "w-a-l-k." (I spelled it out because that's normally what Adam and I do, even though she long since figured out what w-a-l-k spells. Like a dog, right?) Well, she thought that was fun, so she began spelling out everything for me. For example, as she offered me her plastic tea cup, "Would you like a sip of my k-s-a-g-y?" To which I replied, "Oh, lemonade, yes, please." Or later, "I'm going to be a x-j-m-r-q for Halloween." "Remind me what that spells, Katie?" "Nurse." "Of course." All of this was pretty amusing in and of itself, but then she said something that had me rolling for a good five minutes: "Mommy, can we go to the K-Y-E-S today?" "Where is that, Katie?" "The YMCA."

As for the grown-ups in our household, Adam is LOVING his counseling classes. They are super-challenging, in a really, really good, non-intellectual way. Not that they are not intellectually challenging, but they are infinitely more spiritually/emotionally challenging. I can already see a huge pay-off in his own life, which has overflowed to me.

We have our in-depth interview with "the company" this Thursday. Pray for us!!!! Pray that we would be given the green light to go on to the next step in the process, and if not, that we would trust the Lord's hand in our life.

Golfing (Litchfield Beach, Part 4)

The Seafare (Litchfield Beach, Part 3)

A trip to the beach is never complete without a visit to one of the ubiquitously advertised seafood buffet restaurants (or at least not for my brother-in-law).
You know it's a good sign when the restaurant's take-out car looks like it's about to be hijacked by a gigantic lobster. (There was also a crab the size of a tank climbing up the side of the building.)


Just as advertised, there were over 100 items on the buffet, including crab legs, which is why my brother-in-law was so intent on dining at the Seafare. Thankfully, I managed not to partake in the all-you-can-eat aspect of the buffet. My nephew, on the other hand, enjoyed making a special concoction at the dessert buffet, but neither he nor his father seemed pleased with the results.
Note the classic "kid plate" at the bottom of the picture: chicken finger, mac and cheese, french fries, and the token broccoli floret to appease the mother's guilt.

By far, the best part of our visit to Seafare was the live mermaid. Yes, a live mermaid. Given Katie's obsession with all things Peter Pan, you can imagine her excitement when we were greeted by a scantily-clad college student with a fake mermaid fin upon arriving at the restaurant. In case you can't imagine, here's a picture:
[Former CO'ers: even though this restaurant was less than a mile away from the old Land Lubber Lodge, I can't imagine why this job was never an option for us at the Summer Beach Project, can you? Perhaps Matty B wanted to spare us the bewildered looks that would mark the face of future employers upon reading "Mermaid" on our resume. I hope at least the water was warm in her "lagoon."]

Katie and her cousins managed to eat at least some food before racing back to interview the mermaid. At least it kept them busy!

Today in the Blogosphere

Most of the time (for me, at least) the internet, particularly the blogosphere, is an endless temptation to waste time, yet surfing remains justifiable because of the few times it actually benefits me through spiritual encouragement and keeping in touch. Today was one of those awesome days when I found several blogs to be especially encouraging/challenging, so I thought I'd pass them along to you.

Grace Enough, from Lisa Law
Imitation, from Hannah Murray
Encouragement for Weary Mothers, from Passionate Homemaking

Finally, even though it wasn't posted today, my friend Jenny linked to an incredible blog the other day. If you ever need a kick in the complacency pants, check it out.

Litchfield Beach, Part 2

Here is a picture of the beautiful Patrick Alexa house in which we stayed in Litchfield-by-the-Sea. The rest of our pictures can be found here. (Family: you should be able to order photos through that site.)

I've also posted a video of an awesome impromptu dance party that erupted one afternoon. Don't they remind you of the dancing kids in the Charlie Brown Christmas movie? Who do you think is the best dancer?

Litchfield Beach

We got back late last night (1:30am) from 4 wonderful days with Adam's family at Litchfield Beach, SC. Over the next few days I'll post about different parts of the trip, but for now, here's an overview slideshow.

Trip to Richmond

Last week the girls and I ventured to Richmond to visit my family. It was my first time flying with two children, and minus Adam at that. Thanks to God answering the prayers of many, the journeys there and back went amazingly! It's encouraging to know that our girls are great travelers in view of our potential future of long plane rides back and forth from East Asia.

We had a great time visiting my family. In the slideshow below, you'll see photos of Caroline with her Uncle John and Aunt JJ, visiting my friend Shannon and her two precious boys, our trip with Grandaddy and Lola to the Richmond Children's Museum, and our trip with Grandmommy to the Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens. More can be found here.