Living an Intentional Life
I have planned it well, I must say! We arrive when the music is playing, and Tatum is in AWE! She loves the music and the singing,
Then I feed her while the service begins. This takes a good 15 minutes, and then LAP TIME! She seems to keep it quiet and happy the whole time. God is good. Holy Spirit is in the air and in her 🙂
Not only am I thankful for our country, but I’m thankful for this great family of mine. I love you mom and Tatum. (and Coti!)
And after I have played with her and fed her……
I work.
What is it about my job that keeps me completely enthralled? Is English Language Arts all that exciting? I will argue, YES it is. Reading books, analyzing lesson plans, researching ideas, reading English blogs, perusing texts…it all excites me. What is wrong with me? I do this in my free time. Most people go to the news or the latest Hollywood gossip as their sites du jour, but me? I go to Englishcompanion.ning.com or.. TED talks or… some other writing blog. My never-ending question: How can I engage my students? How can I teach them to THINK? How can I insert the needed skills in their head by connecting all the reading/writing/speaking/listening modes simultaneously? AND of course….they need grammar grammar grammar. What new ways can they get it?
The questions persist and they drive me to continue seeking best practices.
We got it!
Sesame Street, Old School…1969-1974. Supposedly at 4 months, I watched the PREMIERE of Sesame Street. Sooooo, mom ordered it on Amazon and Tater is watching right now as I write this.
“On my way to where the air is clean…Can you tell me how to get..how to get to Sesame Street…”
Crazy, I remember these scenes! Man, this is bringing back memories. I think Big Bird has very few feathers in the first shows; he’s more poofy now!? Also, Bert and Ernie are taking baths and it’s no big deal. Now? It would be weird! It seemed very innocent. The sets are incredibly simplistic, but sans the techno-garb and the stimulating lights, it works so much more effectively. It’s slower and less opulent. She won’t ever get ADD with the slowness and purely unadulterated scenes. Nowadays, one would say this is “boring” and perhaps lifeless, but back then? They didn’t have the issues of constant need for stimulation. Things did not light up when you touched them. Every button did not make a noise!
Mealtime is no longer a cryfest. Poor thing. The first 9 days of introducing solid food into her system was heckish! Eating rice, oatmeal or multigrain cereal sans sweetener definitely would make me want to eat my fingers instead as well! But alas, she is enjoying her pears, bananas and apples with her cereal now. Delish!
At lunchtime, we have added veggies! WOOHOO! The fav? Drumroll….Yep, like mommy like daughter: squash and sweet taters…(aptly named!)
Now, if she could only keep the food IN the mouth. This plastic bib is garish, but what’s a mom to do…a wash after every feeding? Apparently yes 🙂
At least she is still enjoying her bottles! Here she is with my dear friend Susan. 
While I tutor Olivia, she watches Taters. Well, at least she was. Now, Tatum has developed this “attachment thingy” so she now has to sit on my lap the whole time. Who is in charge again? Ehhem? 🙂
Yep, Mom…Â You are (wink wink.)
Now that Tatum is one week past 7 months, I’m shocked at how much she has grown.
I just finished watching this: The Science of Babies by National Geographic. It documents one year of a child’s growth. Interestingly, humans are the only species which are completely dependent for the first year. Other mammals come out of the womb ready to walk/fly/crawl… Babies need love and nurturing. Others? Not so much. They need sustenance.
Most of babies’ development is learned. That is to say that if they miss out on the love and nurturing, they don’t develop well. They mentioned an orphanage in Russia wherein babies just stared at the ceiling for their first year. Tremendous effects! Tremendously bad.
She may bypass the crawling stage and go right into walking. They mentioned that some babies don’t crawl but scoot or roll right into walking! Aye!
I’m keeping up right now; soon it may change. The time we have been spending together is priceless. Her crying when I leave the room or give her to someone to hold is sweet, but it worries me that she is not being “adjustable.” I used to crave this, and now I feel bad when I have another watch her. She screams and cries! What happened to my sweet dispositioned child? Keeping up…keeping up. Tatum, my darling girl… I pray to keep up with you and I pray for God to grant me wisdom when I cannot!
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