Month: August 2015

Tatum’s brain is just that. ONE BIG SPONGE! My job is to fill it with the water of LIFE and LIVING! This means, I give her as many experiences that I can while her brain develops. It is said that you “use it or lose it” between 3 and 16. If I don’t introduce her to as many things as possible, then perhaps she’ll miss out on something! Yes, I’m overthinking it, but I want her to have the world in her pocket; then she can choose from so many things vs. being limited to only what she has been exposed.

So, today we went to the zoo! God knew that we had planned this, because it was quite hazy today and pretty mild weather. I had about two hours of sleep last night, so when it was 6 am, I fell asleep thinking I’ll get up in a minute. Then, BOOM! It was 7:56! Now, this never happens, BUT it was the best sleep I have had all week. Still exhausted and groggy, I quickly got her out of bed, stuffed some food in an insulated bag, and headed out the door. We arrived there about 8:30, and the parking lot was pretty empty. Mostly minivans because the park seems to attract moms and their kiddos on a weekday morning!

She wanted to be in the stroller, so the minute we headed out, my water fell all over the ground. Great. Well, I’d just sip out of her water bottle, right!? That or buy a $5 one, so I opted for the drinking fountain. This disappointment lasted about 10 seconds because we immediately saw a cute little fox sleeping. What a great start! He was not like the foxes in the picture books we read. Gentle, small and innocent looking, and I did not want to find out otherwise.
We stopped for a quick hopscotch challenge, and off we went!

Next, UPHILL, we headed for the lions tigers and bears (oh my!). The tiger was making a meow roar sound, and it echoed! Tot and I were honestly kind of scared! That poor tiger seemed to just sigh and say, “Oh, I am ready for a change.” Yes, he’d like little Tot in his tummy!

The lions were sleeping and so were the rhinos, so not much there. Then, of course we had to find the baboons! Hilarious little guys. They really just seem to have not a care in the world except finding something in that pile of hay they dig through. I can see why being called a baboon might feel a bit offensive. They seem to be the most intellectually challenged animal in God’s kingdom.

Now, while walking around the monkey arena, a zoo lady came by and told us the bears were swimming! A mommy bear was watching her baby swim around in the water. So, we left the frog pit and headed out, THE LONG WAY. (Remember, I’m pushing her..no water!..parched!)

Oh my goodness, I was awestruck. I had never really seen this before, and it just warmed my heart to see her enjoy the bear as well. I’m positive he’d eat us right up, but for the moment, I wanted to just hug him! His mommy sat upon the rock and just enjoyed the view.

After this, the flamingos, macaws and ostriches just didn’t have the same oomph, but I still enjoyed seeing the beauty of God’s creation. We tried to get the macaw to talk to us, but he was more interested in chatting with the monkeys next door. 

It was only about 90 minutes, and we were absolutely..no, I was absolutely exhausted! So…we stopped for a water and snack.

Again, just spending time in HIS creation just made me happy, no matter how hot, tired or thirsty we were.
The puppet show we went to on Friday and the books we read about animals just make these experiences for Tot so much more fun, and for Tatum, she is just soaking it ALLLLLL in! Each week, I’ll attempt to give her a NEW experience so she can find her niche and passion. Right now, it seems to be doggies and still…trains.

I love you Tot!

 

Have you ever had something just hit you, and you just knew it was from God? My heart has been filled with emotions lately coupled with anxiety, and I couldn’t put my finger on it. Part of it was exciting to think that I may have a couple extra hours twice a week, but on the other hand, for what? This was not about me getting more work done, as nice as that sounded. I made a CHOICE to put that on the back burner for a season and focus solely on being the best mom to my daughter when she is in my care. Now, when she is of age for school, then sure, I can be more flexible with being focused on my work.

But today, when I went to the open house at  her preschool, I knew. I just knew. WHY AM I RUSHING THIS? They all sat down for story time, and I noticed every child was way over three.

Tatum sure noticed when she had her babies in her lap. She even handed them to me, and I had to leave the room crying; she should still have her babies and not have to rush being past them yet!

Tatum is shy of three by four months. Does she need to be there right now? She knows her colors, letters, numbers, shapes…. yet I was doing this for social reasons. In my eyes, she is plenty socialized if not more than the average FOUR year old!

I was so glad that my mom and Doug joined me today.

I don’t know what I would have done had they not been there. I needed to process my decision as I stood there staring at the classroom. It was like a ton of bricks hit me..like the moment I JUST KNEW I COULD NOT go back to work. It was the SAME feeling. NO! I cannot do this…just yet.

She did love the classroom, but we will continue to do our activities and I will soak in every minute, because the moment she starts school, the clock ticks and my time with her becomes shorter and shorter.

The rest of our day, Doug, taking the morning off,  kindly joined us for Music class. 

 

I think my little Tot adores him!

So, change in course! Tot and I will make the most of our FALL as we inch closer to that time when school is absolutely obviously the place for her to be. 

Tatum had her first visit to Urgent Care!
The little Tot loves to jump off of everything: curbs, couches, cliffs… Today, after music class, she wanted to jump off the rocket, so holding her hand, I let her jump. No problem. Not until we arrived at Trader Joe’s.

She was limping.

“What’s the matter with your foot?”

I thought she was being silly, and tried to get her to move faster with the cart. Little did I know she was serious. It was one of the moments in mommy hood you wish you could take back.

Later that day, we headed to urgent care by the request of her doctor. When we arrived, there was no wait, and she got right in. The doctor did all the necessary pulls, pushes, twists and turns on her leg, and found it to be fine! Perhaps it was just bruised?

The happy girl got a souvenir bracelet and a clean bill of health..oh,and two cool Thomas stickers. 

Although I missed a date with my guy that night, it was worth being safe and not sorry.

The minute we arrived at our destination, it decided to rain in sheets! Tatum and I were drenched, but that did not stop us from our fun day.

Before we left the house, however, she surprised us with a little present in her potty. Her choice to go! She grabbed about three books and plopped down. (By the way, this is why I (the germophobe) disinfects library books when I get home because I’m sure there was another little one who had the same idea with this same book)

A little bit of everything was the mantra of the day, and honestly, I think each piece of her brain was firing on all cylinders.

Her emotions were flying high when I left her in the Kids Klub at the gym. Usually, she wants three or four hugs and kisses and is FINE, but today, she wanted about five, and as she continued to cry a bit, knowing I ALWAYS come back finally said, “I love you, mommy,” and walked off with her friend Mac.

When I returned, it was a different story. She had a crowd of about three girls (all about six years old) surrounding her on the carpet and she was reading them a story aloud. When she stopped, she said, “Mommy, this is Hannah and ‘Lina (for Angelina), and…’what was your name?’ and Janie.” OK, my girl is 2.8 and she’s running the show and being the social queen. Plus, she’s entertaining them with a  book.

Now only sprinkling, we headed to a makeup swim class for some more neural connections…and of course some social time to talk to the instructors and thank them for all they do! She dove in and rolled on her back then on her tummy three times without Kylie’s help. Yahoo!

On our way home, she wanted to read another book, so I let her read I Want My Hat Back, and we both had a laugh. There is a running debate about the bear and if he ate the bunny who took his hat? Or did he just sit on her….hmmm. 

Finally, it was time to boost that hippocampus which is an area of the brain involved in learning and memory. She practiced her guitar along with Laurie Breckner playing her guitar.

She seems to like “I’m Gonna Catch You” the most, but the side effect is that I’m singing it in my subconscious all day long. It’s like that commercial you can’t get out of your head.

No day can be complete without a little building, so of course we had to build some kind of tower. Tot was more interested in the little truck with a hook and talking to the little girl next to her, but either way, it was fun for me to stack some legos.

It was a WHOLE day engaging the WHOLE brain.
Coti play usually ends our day, but since it was so stormy out, he was hiding in Tatum’s room in the corner.

Whatever God has in store for this amazing child, I have no idea. What I do know is that her LIGHT WILL SHINE wherever she goes, and that she will be a blessing to others. If she can remember that as her purpose, then I know she will be a successful, happy person!

 

Project “draw the babies” has come to a close.

If you know Tot, she has two little friends who go everywhere with her. She used to only have one, but then she found the “backup” baby, and the rest is history. Now, it’s Baby 1 and Baby 2. (Baby 1 is on the left)

It was so fun to unveil the final product to Tatum. Moreover, I found a verse that coincides nicely with the concept of this love. See, these babies are so precious to Tatum, and she reaches for them when she is sad, hurt, down or just needing a boost.

(What you will notice, is Baby 2 has lost a tinge of her nose. Her “nose job” required some scissors to catch the stray thread. Now, her nose is just a bit thinner.)
This is so much like God’s LOVE which never ends; it’s steadfast! Psalm 36:7 says it best.

We discusses where to hang them and although over her crib seemed logical, we both agreed that thematically, they belonged near the other white frames.

She was right.

 

I had just gotten her out of bed, and she instantly wanted to play on her piano. She wanted me to sit right next to her, and when I attempted to hit one of the buttons, she sassily screamed, “No!” I immediately got up and walked out of the room and told her I did not appreciate her attitude. She would need to try again. I proceeded to go into my room.

After about a minute, she begged me to return to try again, and she sat herself on the carpet, closed her eyes, sitting indian style and said, “God help me.” She looked at me and said, “Mommy I need to try again and I need to pray for help.” Melt. I told her she should just say, “No, Thank you,” if someone touches it and she doesn’t want them to.

Next thing I know, she is sweetly saying, “No thank you” when I touched it. The whole experience was a learning experience for both of us. Her ability to honor me and the grace I give her to “try again” is the fuel that keeps her making the right choices and grow.

Focused and ready to take on the day, we went and visited Ms. Barb at her new Preschool. She will be going for about 2 hours 2 days a week. While there, she met a friend, Bren, and they decided to paint.

I love their philosophy about not having commercial toys but more real life stuff. The play is authentic and teaches them to be more imaginative. She’ll start in about two weeks, and although I’m sad to not be with her a bit during the week, I know she will love it. I also know that she will have many opportunities to not give up but to continue to TRY AGAIN!