Easter and other

Here's my sweet 1 1/2 year old at Easter! Thanks to my sister for taking the picture, as we forgot our camera!

Apple is so much fun! George and I keep wondering if she was really switched at birth, because we can't figure out how we got a kid that is SO cool! She wants to be outside all the time, and she LOVES going to the park. She runs around, climbs the stairs, and then goes down the slide all by herself! Then she goes to the swing, and we repeat this pattern until I force her to leave. And I do have to FORCE her!

She also loves the library. We always pick out an Arthur book, a Clifford book, and then a miscellaneous book. She then likes to pick out her favorite book, sit in this kid lounge chairs that they have, and read the book out loud to anyone who is near. Then, we read the books at home, at least twice everyday, until we return them for different books!

Her personality emerges more everyday. A new favorite game is to pretend that we have dropped something, and say "Uh-oh" with a concerned look on her face. Then, as we play along, she produces the object with a small on her face! She loves to do this in the car or at the table.

Apple no longer like to eat veggies if they are on the side of something. She will eat salad and any vegetable in a casserole. It's very odd, but that's what we're mainly eating now, because I want her to eat veggies! And ground beef is a new favorite, for a meat.

New baby is very active, and loves to wake me up, or let me know if the body position I am in is acceptable. This is especially true in yoga class! Newbie seems to be just fine! Unfortunately, I have begun to REALLY put on weight, as I am now up to 15 lbs, and I am not fond. I was hoping to have a little longer until I hit the 15 lb mark, but I suppose this is what my body needs to gain. Especially since I work out 6-8 hours a week.

George is doing well. He's starting to look for ways to improve our yard. He has lots of ideas and enthusiasm, but lacks the time. He works long hours, comes home, eats with us, and then, if we're lucky, we have 30 minutes of family time! So, the only time to work on it is on the weekend, and if the weather is bad, then he's out of luck.

Well, my baby is waking up, so I should probably go play with her instead of the computer!

Conversations from our adventures

Me: Apple, are you all done? (after completely demolishing everything on her plate)
Apple: Noooo
Me: Do you want a banana?
Apple: Noooo
Me: Are you trying to be difficult?
Apple: Yeah.

Me: Spit that out and give that to Mama. We don't take stuff out of the trash and eat it.

George: I'm going to go transfer stuff from the car to the van and then check out the DVD system.
Me: If I go out there an hour from now and you're asleep in the van, I'm going to kick you as hard as I can, and then blame you for my foot hurting.
George: It took me a minute to figure out why your foot would hurt.

Apple: Ah-pees? (Puppies)
Me: I think the puppies are inside because it's too wet outside.
Apple: AH-PEES! OUTSIDE!!!

Ultrasound technician: Wow! You can really feel this one kick already, can't you! (After seeing where my placenta is)

Me: Apple, do you want to have a chocolate chip cookie right out of the oven? (I turn to hand her the cookie)
Me: Apple! Why did you take the biggest cookie from the plate on the table and crumble the chocolate all over your hands, shirt, and face?

Me: Do you want to go outside?
Apple: Sah? Outside! Outside!

Our baby is so big. I have new pictures, but I keep waiting for George to download them for me. We have so many wires around the house that I honestly have no idea which one goes with what. Apple changes so quickly! A few days ago, I had given her an individual package of Teddy Grahams. She sat in the floor and ate them all (with the exception of two, that we both given to me) and then stood up, walked over to the trash, opened it, and put in the empty bag!!!! I couldn't believe it! And then I immediately thought, "Uh-oh! I wonder what else has gone missing that is now in the trash??!!!" I don't think she's put anything in there that doesn't belong. I've now seen her put tissues and empty bags in the trash, but that's all.

Two weekends ago, the weather was fairly nice. George and I decided to take Apple to the playground at the school by our house. It was actually Apple's first time at a playground! I never took her before because I was waiting until she could walk, and then it was too cold. She was so funny! She wouldn't walk on the little chips thingies that were cover the ground. She just stood there flapping her arms. Perhaps she thought she could fly! Then we let her go down the slide and she loved that! Everytime she got down to the bottom, her face would form an "OOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHH" I tried to get that on camera, but as soon as it flashed the oh disappeared!

Last weekend, George and I went on the marriage retreat and he took that Friday off. It was nice because for the first time since Apple was born, I had the ability to make an appointment at the hairdresser that I actually like. I never get to go there, because I never know when I'll be able to go, so I always have to go someplace where I don't need an appointment. My haircut turned out very nice (compliments out the wazoo!) and I now have long bangs. Then we took Apple to the playyard at a mall close to us that is very kid friendly. She really had a blast, and we had great family time! We had some friends who were very helpful by volunteering to watch Apple that night, so we were able to get away. It was the second time that Apple has stayed overnight without us. She did fantastic! And thanks so much to our friends!

Today, another friend needed us to watch her daughter, so Apple had a playdate. Playdates are so good for her, because, to be honest, she's a poopy sharer. George thinks she gets that from me. But I share! As long as it's not chocolate, ice cream, or cupcakes! Apple didn't want to share any of her toys for the first 15 minutes, and then, Halleluia! she started sharing! There is hope yet! When I was trying to get lunch ready, Apple was staying very close to me, because she was hungry. The other little girl started walking towards Apple with her arms wide open and a smile on her face. What does my little girl do? She get this utterly panicked look on her face. The other girl hugs her, and she starts crying and trying to get away. They both end up on the floor with Apple screaming. The other girl has this look of, "what's going on?" and then decides that it's best to start crying too. And that's when I decided that they should have goldfish before eating lunch.

It's very nice outside today, so I think Apple and I will spend some time in the fresh air!

Okay, time for an update. I haven't been updating very much because I don't like to censor my thoughts. The truth is, I'm pregnant. 2nd trimester pregnant. I honestly didn't want to let people know because I was so excited that they couldn't tell on their own. This pregnancy is so different from my first. I started getting sick around 6 weeks. I had been watching another baby three days a week, but I had to stop because it was too hard to watch him, Apple, and try to convince myself not to throw up. During week 7, I finally lost that battle. The problem is, once I start getting sick, I can't stop. It happens very punctually. I got sick the first time at 9:30. Then at 10:30, then I called A and asked him to be home by 11:30. The same thing happened with Apple. I got sick every hour for 30 hours, called my OB and went to the ER. This time, I did not wait 30 hours. So, we went to the ER, and I got medication, and things eventually got better. After that, I wasn't nearly as sick as with Apple. I took one Zofran in the morning, and then I had no problem eating the rest of meals and even COOKING this time! And it completely stopped being an issue around week 10. Amazing!

Apple is doing very well. She has 8 1/2 teeth. The 1/2 being a molar. Yuck! I don't look forward to when it's brother makes an appearance! Apple was extraordinarily cranky and the diapers, well that's not proper blog material. We, of course, think she's a genius. She has this elephant that has different shapes that you put in the corresponding shapes. It rotates. Apple is very good at spinning the part around until she finds the correct shape, and then she puts in in the elephant. We think this makes her a genius because we remember not so long ago when she couldn't do anything. It's so amazing to see her grow!

Just typed a huge update, and somehow it disappeared. To tired to redo. Will update later. Here are some pictures.

Great Things About My Baby

This is a small snippet of the full list. (The full list is in my mind, and I'm not going there!)

1. We haven't used a bottle since Monday.
2. She feeds herself, including oatmeal!
3. Today when she pulled down a package of tea, and all the packets fell out, she put them all back in the box, and put the box back on the shelf.
4. She has figured out how to put the different shapes in their respective holes about 75% of the time.
5. She can sign eat, change diaper, all done, and sleep.
6. She says "Shh" when I put her shoes on her, and "Sha" when she takes off, or I put on her socks.
7. She thinks its her chore to put the silverware away. By that, I mean she comes up as soon as the dishwasher opens, takes out each piece of silverware, one at a time, and gives them to us.
8. She's extra snuggly.
9. She dances by doing trunk rotations with her hands in the air.

And my new favorite reason that she's great...

10. Last night, Apple was between George and I on the couch. She kept going between the two of us. Once, when she was sitting on my lap, she leaned up to give me a kiss. I said "Mamma loves you!" She said "Mamma lahs"

Thoughts on Havah

I read a lot. I love reading. I love how books entertain, teach, and open your mind about new ideas. Sometimes, books just occupy my mind when I have to stay still for awhile. Occasionally, I'll come across a book that just makes me start to view something differently. I'm usually grateful.

I recently read Havah by Tosca Lee. It is the fictional story of Eve. Like most Christians, I've heard this story from the bible many times. I have recently gained more insight to Eve, so the idea of this book intrigued me. The book itself wasn't exactly overly fantastic. I thought the speech to be to flowery with big words thrown in to prove the author knows big words. I could see how this would fit in the book's topic, but I thought it was a little much for me. For a Christian book, it was also a little sensual. Again, I think it fit, just not what I'm used to reading. The majority of the book was also quite depressing. Those things aside, it was fascinating to think of how it could have been for her. To put real, human emotions with the story. Hopes, dreams, expectations, fears, misunderstandings, failings, longings.

The thing that changed my mindset most, wasn't the characters or description of Eden or how they forged their way in an unknown world with only each other, but the realization of just how much it means to be reconciled to God. In this book, Adam and Havah take the words of God when he is kicking them out of the garden to mean that they will have a son who will lead them back to the garden, and make everything right again by destroying the serpent. The majority of the book is her longing to be made right again and everything in the world to be made right again as well.

I've been a Christian for awhile, and I tend to forget how monumental this is. I've been made right with the One Who Is. It's a BIG deal!!!! But the world hasn't been reconciled yet. And still, I cling to this world. I pray every night, thanking God for my life, my husband, and my daughter, and I ask for the three of us to have another day together. Because you never know when it will be the last. But I think when the world is reconciled, I'll be amazed that I ever prayed that, clinging to this faulty life, when we were meant for so much MORE.

Also, and I know I harp on this a lot. Let me pause for a side note. I harp on this because before my husband accepted Christ, he saw no need for a savior. He hadn't done anything terrible. Why would he need to be forgiven? I wonder if Adam and Eve, when thinking about people with this belief say, "Oh yeah? You think your ok? All we did was eat an apple??!!!" I'm just saying.