Countdown to 3 Part 17&18

Hide and Seek is probably the most universally loved game that spans generations and continents. Nevaeh is no exception. She can find an excuse to hide for anything. She doesn't hide for long, though, because she amuses herself so much that she either bursts out laughing or she forgets she is trying to hide and answers "Yeah?" when we call her name. It's so funny. What I love most about this game is that in her innocence she thinks that if she can't see us then we can't see her. It is an out of sight out of mind mentality. So her favorite thing to do whenever anyone walks in the door is to either cover her eyes with her hands or just her head with a blanket. If we walk in and ask "Where is Nevaeh?", after a few seconds, she throws open her hands and yells "Here I am". It's these little rituals in life that are the ties that truly bind us.

 

I am learning more and more everyday being a parent why Jesus calls us to be more like little children. The joy that they find in the miniscule everyday things is truly amazing. Another thing that brings the best smile to my baby's face is pockets. She loves the pockets on her jacket, on her tunic shirts, and of course on her pants. If she is having a day and not wanting to get dressed, if she discovers a pocket on her outfit she forgets her troubles. Then the first thing she does is to stuff her hands as far into the pockets as they will go, her smile spreading farther and farther. Who knew that a few inches of extra fabric could bring about a good day to a little girl? It is even more amusing that she hates to take her hands out of the pockets, so she will struggle trying to grab things with her elbows in order that her hands stay warm and toasty inside those pockets. Could this girl BE any funnier?

 

Happy Baby = Happy Momma

 

 

 

 

 



Countdown to 3 Part 16

My daughter has literally been the best sleeper. She was sleeping through the night at just a few months old, and she would sleep for 10-12 hrs every night even with a nap. Although we have gone through a few months here and there with midnight screams, its mostly been a piece of cake. I am NOT  a morning person in any sense of the word. Mornings should not even begin until at least 8am, just sayin'. My daughter, however, faces the morning with the same passion as everything else in her life... at full blast. I no longer need an alarm because my darling will get me up consistently between 6 and 6:30 every morning without fail. What makes mornings bearable is waking up to her sweet voice saying"Mommy I woke up. Can I get up?" After giving her permission to get out of bed, she comes running into my room with an ear to ear grin telling me again that she woke up. If it's really a good day, she will snuggle up with me for a few more minutes of rest before we hit the ground running. It is quoted that "A child's smile is one of life's greatest blessings". Author Unknown. How true that is, and I must say my daughter has an incredible smile that truly lights up my life. Its also is the leash that drags my tired body out of bed :). Her smile is the epitome of all that is good in my life.

 

Countdown to 3 Part 15

Every little girl knows of and dreams of disney princesses. Our house is no exception. I must admit I still love watching all of the disney movies. I especially love the nostalgia of them. Well, Nevaeh has discovered the joy in them as well. I think her favorite for the moment is Ariel but that will probably change here soon I'm sure. I will never forget the first time Nevaeh saw the princesses in one of her books. We were going through telling her all of their names. Then in a completely unwarranted move, my daughter put a smile on my face, a tear in my eye, and joy in my heart. She pointed to Snow White and said "that's mommy". She still claims it to this day that we look just alike. How can I argue with that? My daughter thinks I look like a beautiful princess, and I am blessed beyond measure. I could not love my little princess any more.

Now if only I could see myself that well.......

 



Countdown to 3 Part 14

Every parent is well versed in the world of crayons. Its one of the first gifts given to a toddler, and another added worry of where their marks are going to end up besides on the paper. Well for my daughter, she has inherited from me an indescribable love of office supplies. This is truly genetic passed down from my own mother. Anyway, Nevaeh has always loved her crayons and scribbling all over her color books, but more than that she loves pens and pencils. When she was just one year old she discovered that adults used more interesting utensils. She especially knew that her Opa had special pencils for his daily crossword puzzles and those were the ones that she would like to have... and she does. Seriously, we can literally throw any scrap of paper or junk mail at her, and give her an adult pen and she thinks she is as big as buddy. She imitates making lists and writing messages on her "facebook" aka notebook. What is even more endearing and astounding is how correctly she held the pencil the very first time we gave them to her. If she keeps this up her penmanship will greatly exceed my own. Now, I know that I am biased, but I think I have one smart cookie on my hand. It will be super exciting to see where her strengths and creativities lie as she dives into academia. Though I do not wish for time to speed up any more, I look ahead and think that my hubby might be in trouble as Nevaeh enters kindergarten. Can you say Back to School shopping?

Countdown to 3 Part 13

This afternoon, I was humbled yet again to be Nevaeh's momma. Tithing is extremely important in our family's values and practice of worship. As with a lot of people these days in this rough economic time, it is sometimes terribly hard to write that first check to go to God's work. We push through those fears, however, because we know that it really isn't our money anyway, God calls us to be "cheerful givers", and because God has proven over and over what amazing blessings come with being faithful. Therefore, tithing was one thing we really wanted Nevaeh to grasp and make it part of her own routine. Now, I have to say that if you really know my daughter you know how much she LOVES money. A few coins in her hand make her day, and she will shout to the world that she got some money and would probably ask for more. Money was the one trick that helped with her potty training as well. Anyway, everytime she would receive money, the first words out of our mouths was "Let's give some to Jesus" and "We give Him 10%".We would show her that for every dollar she got, a dime would go in a special bank for Jesus. At first, she wasn't the biggest fan of losing some of her coins, but after a very short while, it became part of the routine of getting money. Now what is humbling about my beloved daughter is that when she does anything she goes for it 110%. The same goes for tithing. Even this afternoon, the grandparents gave her some coins while I was making dinner. All of a sudden my daughter is calling me to come upstairs to give some money to Jesus. I go upstairs and help her get a dime out of her bank, and she told me "No mommy I need to give another dime and some pennies to Jesus too". I was floored. Here I sit sometimes begrudging God His 10% and my daughter who only has a few coins to her name graciously gives above and beyond. I couldn't be more proud of her and her gracious spirit. What a lesson to be learned to have faith like a child and be a cheerful giver.

Countdown to 3 Part 11 & 12

Seriously, where did the weekend go? I think I might have been ambitious with an everyday blog but regardless I WILL have a months worth of Nevaehisms :).

As a parent, we all try to relate to our kids and connect our stories with them. We always say "Well, when I was your age...." and so forth. I think my meaning of the those stories was a little misconstrued because to Nevaeh, everything that has happened to her happened when she was a little girl. Even if the event occurred earlier that same day, she will tell the story as "when I was a lil girl, I just ate lunch" or whatever. It is so funny how the concept of actual time is such  mystery to them but she still relishes each event as something praiseworthy to tell.

 

 

 

On a heavier note, my biggest fear as a parent is that I am going to mess her up. I fear that I will not show her enough of who God is and how great He is. I am constantly reminding myself that it is His grace that covers a multitude of shortcomings and not my own doings. I just do the best I can and leave her in His hands. Thankfully, God is good and sometimes gives me a little insight into the work going on inside my baby girl. Every night as we tuck her in and I have prayed over her, she wants me to sing a song. Let's be honest, me singing out loud is not a treasure for most peoples eardrums. Regardless, the song we sing every night is "Jesus Loves the Little Children". Even if it has been a frustrating evening leading up to this point, singing that sweet song calms all of our spirits. My daughter could choose any of the little kids songs or even a song we sing in spanish class, but she immediately goes for the golden oldie. A song that shows us God, straight to the point. How wonderful to be reminded by my little girl each day that we are all precious.

 

 

Another day of being one Blessed Momma

 



Countdown to 3 Part 9 &10

Its another double header today. I guess I am not June Cleaver.....

I was sitting in front of my computer thinking about the lovely things of Nevaeh that I have already written and those that are on my list yet to write. I was reminded of the one thing that always gave me the biggest kick. It was Nevaeh's love of flatware. I have never before seen a toddler use forks and spoons like my daughter. As soon as she was eating by herself, there were no finger foods except if it was like a cracker or fruit snack. Plus, she used them appropriately which baffled me to no end. To this day, she is adamant that I cut up her breakfast toast, and then she eats it with a fork. She even eats her sandwhiches with a fork. To top it off, now that she knows there is a difference between big people flatware and little kids, she is very particular as to which piece we use when. Oh the little things that make her day complete.

 

 



One thing that I have always so desperately wanted and prayed for is that I would be able to raise a good girl. A girl that is well mannered, kind, generous, respectful and most importantly a lover of Christ. Manners have been something we have worked on from the start. When she started eating snacks and moving around on her own, we taught her the sign language for "please" and "thank you" or something close to it anyway. The one thing we didn't have to teach her was to cross her legs. I honestly think she came out of the womb that way. To this day when sitting on the couch or chairs regardless of what she is doing her legs are usually crossed neatly at the ankles. Sometimes when she is the mood to emulate adults, she will cross her legs at the knee with her hands on top. She looks just like a little lady. I couldn't be more proud. Now if only the other things would be so easy:):)