And so it is. Even the right shoe on the right foot and the right left shoe on the left foot! Hooray!
See mom!?
The missing 7 and 8
“1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10!” She smiles as she completes the series of numbers. Counting up the stairs, counting chips, counting her books..it’s all counting. She says, “no 7 and 8.” It’s as if she has decided that she does not want to conform to the way to count to 10.
Yesterday, I felt defeated. Why? Because if I said up she’d say down. If I said blue, she’d say red. If I said, “7 and 8” she’d say “no 7 and 8″…
Today, I decided and well, after much prayer and asking for help from HIM, I approached today differently.
(this little fireball wants things her way..and I have to work with that.)
I looked for other ideas for ways to get Tatum more involved and excited. (We went to the park with the ball, and I let her run!!! (Not away!!! 🙂
This led me down a path of reading multiple blogs. Positive idea? Nope. I just felt more guilty and ill-equipped, but after again, much prayer…I found some takeaways.
1. We need to get out more. She needs to see the sights outside. However, she wants to walk and be in control. So, I found a way for us to hike but with her both walking and me carrying her. The Boba seems to be a great idea. It can handle up to 45 lbs and she can be carried on my back. Very fun!! We can start hiking.
2. Perhaps she could do some imagination ideas. I think a tent would be perfect. She could hide in it with some pillows, perhaps sleep in it, and maybe do some playing. Man, there are a zillion ways to make a tent, but I settled on just buying a pop tent that can be moved to different spaces.
We shall see how she likes it.
All I know is that I need to stay one step ahead with her swift learning and new ways to deal with her independence. As long as she can say NO with kindness and I can respond with Yes, you can when…. The less I can say NO the better model I can be. NO is saved for serious issues.
Today, we played “what did I take away?” I put up a series of pictures and had her guess which one I took away. This tested her ST memory. She loved it because she thought I could no way outsmart her. After winning multiple times, she tested mine and took one away. Brilliant way to keep her engaged.
So, back to the giving her choices…with this, she will learn I love her and HEAR her, but I am still in charge. The minor things she can have charge! (toothpaste colors, which baba, what color bow, which shoes, in 5 minutes or now, 2 or 3 books…etc) She feels heard, honored, and understood. It’s a win win.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. She might not say 7 and 8, but I will continue to say how much I appreciate 7 and 8. If I say, NO 7 and 8, she may want to include it in her counting repertoire. Hmmm…
Happy mommy, Happy Tata.
The wall speaketh!
“NO! Tata do it!!!” This comes screeching out of her mouth more often than I would like. However, I love it. She wants to be her own person. She’s pretty staunch on what she wants when she wants it. There is a respect and honor factor to consider. HOW do you say “Tata do it.”? HOW do you say “NO!” HOW do you say, “MINE!”
This is where the turning and learning comes in. I have to turn those statements into polite requests or kind No thank you’s.
All the lead and coloring was worth the work…. I have completed the CORE Value and Mission Wall! The matting is still to be desired. I am going with the “included whitish mat” within the IKEA frame. I first had to shrink the lettering to fit this (unless I wanted to pay for a store-created frame) and I had to enlarge the middle mission. Fun at Kinko’s!
First: In the middle is the Mission Statement:
“Let your Light Shine…You were created for a purpose.” inspired by:
Matthew 5:14: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.”
Tatum has her whole life ahead of her, and as she walks through it, she should let her stunning light shine! Her purpose will be revealed as she walks in the LIGHT.
The light that comes from Christ living inside of her. Whatever her purpose is, it is God ordained and FOR HIS GLORY. May she discover this! 🙂
THE CORE VALUES
On the left, to HONOR (God, self, others) Inspired by
Ps 86:10-12: For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God. Teach me your way, O Lord; that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name. I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever.
I desire for her (and our family) to Honor God with her whole heart, to honor herself (body and mind), walking in truth, and to honor others, showing respect coming from her heart.
Next, LOVE, inspired by
Mark 11-13: “Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.””
I desire for her (and our family) to LOVE God with her whole heart, to love herself, and to love others, no matter if she agrees with them or not.
Thirdly, to LEARN (from), inspired by
Proverbs 1:5 Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance
I desire for her (and our family) to LEARN from Jesus by seeing and hearing about his example. Then to learn from herself…her mistakes and failures…that she can get back up and become better with them. Then, from others. We value being a life-long learner, whatever she chooses!
Finally, to LAUGH (with), inspired by
Proverbs 17:22: “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”
I desire for her (and our family) to LAUGH with Jesus by enjoying him and basking in His delight for her. Then to be able to laugh at herself and not take herself too seriously. Finally, develop a fine sense of humor so she can laugh with others and enjoy life.
Altogether, we have the walls that talk and inspire:
May you be richly blessed, my dear Tatum, as you walk this life with faith, hope and LOVE. XOXO
Love so strong
I never thought it was possible to truly LOVE someone so much. I mean REALLY love; a love so deep you would sacrifice anything, even your own life, for someone else. Tatum, this is how I feel about you. Agape love.
Today, she went to the doctor to get a flu shot. It affected me this time more than usual for some reason. As I lay her down to receive the stick in her leg, she screams, “Mommy! Mommy!” I just held her hand tight and comforted her with my stroking hand. All I could do was wish I could take on the prick for myself.
After we left, we headed home and all she wanted was her babies, Thomas shirt, Minnie pants and her other baby we now call Bella. She caressed Bella and loved on her just how I did her. It warmed my heart to watch her love on her own little one.
Then, she just chilled at the table with her pseudo OJ, Beatrix Potter (The Tale of Two Mice) and a laugh.
All she wanted today was to be held and carried. Did I complain? Not with a love this strong.
Deno
He has the magic touch on those ivories with Tatum
Deno, Kasey’s husband, calms the world down. His ability to lighten a room and enliven a mood is evident every time I see him. 
We sure needed him to lighten the air afterward. Tatum needed a diaper change, and I needed to retrieve a diaper from my car. I did not want her to come out with me, and as I closed the door, her finger was right there in the doorway. EEEEK! Oh, boy, did that hurt. She screamed and cried for about 30 minutes (oh, and so did Tatum! (haha). Wow, that was the worst feeling in the world. Helpless. However, she said, “happy fingers” after about an hour and was back to playing.
Tatum is definitely testing her boundaries in every way possible. She’s feeling her way around the world with what she can and cannot do. Most of the time she asks me, but she sure does love to try it on her own. “Help!?” is what I usually hear after multiple tries, but then she pushes me away and says, “Tata do it.” When she does not get what she wants at that moment, she cries, and oh, I can see how moms can give in! It would be so much easier. But, if I do, then she has me wrapped around her finger. I get it. Instead, I try to turn it around and say “Yes you can in…. or, “No, that would hurt you!” It is one new decision with less than one second to figure out the wise way to handle things.
Deno, thank you for teaching us to be fun in the midst of an estrogen overload in a two year old! 🙂
His Presence and his presents!
The night before Christmas, we made a Happy Birthday Jesus cake and celebrated HIM. Santa still came to the house because he loves Jesus too!.
And….it arrived. Christmas morning, there it was under the tree. The one and only, the red racer rocket… of a trike…THE RADIO FLYER!!! (With pole attachment of course)
Tatum screamed BIKE BIKE and jumped on. She cannot yet reach the pedals, but she sure looks cute on top. Thanks to my mom, Tatum has her first little bike. The cool thing is that Robert and Nicholas are both getting the same bike! The three amigos will be flying down the park in no time. Well, I’ll be “pole”ing Tatum down the park with the boys way ahead.
The rest of the day was opening stocking gifts which was our choice as a family this year. No big gifts to everyone..just $15 max. Tatum of course stocked up on books and Thomas paraphernalia. Thomas plate, Thomas baba, Thomas water cup, Thomas fork, Thomas spoon, Thomas bowl
Thomas larger than life puzzle
Reading Corduroy
Smiling and just being.
Legs on your head?
Leading up to Christmas, it has been one antic after another! Tatum and I have tried to spend every minute with family that we could squeeze out of them. Kasey, Kel’s sister, has been in town, so this has become the quest of seeing Kasey when we can in the day!
When arrived at the Kramers, Tatum could not help notice Kasey’s turkey hat. What did she do?
Walked around donning the legs singing, Gobble Gobble. 
Nyla actually owned a pair herself (did I miss the memo about this trend?), so they had to get a picture.
The great thing about my family is we are down to earth. Our favorite times are just hanging around talking and being ourselves. No worries about how our hair looks or if our shoes match.
A truly special set of twins these two. I love you Kelly and Kasey! 🙂