We Giggled and We Wiggled Today!!

With ribbon sticks!  With maraccas!

Through tunnels (well, one of us did anyways)! And the Bug had to get a pep-talk and sneak preview from Lily first, before entering the unknown…

  Yay! She made it!

With hula hoops!

 

Under the giant balloon!

And with LOTS of Bubbowsh!!!

 

Bubbowsh make us very happy!

Thanks J.B. for being the best Giggly Wiggly teacher and bringing great laughter joy to our toddling day!

“We were filled with laughter, and we sang for joy. And the other nations said, "What amazing things the LORD has done for them." 

-Ps. 126:2

See Baybee…

See Adams No-Stir peanut butter beckoning Baybee and Mama… 

See Baybee beckoning peanut butter right back…

See Baybee subtly letting mama know she is ready to partake…

See Baybee intently making sure she gets every last lick…

See Baybee experiencing pure p.b. delight… 

See Baybee spacing off into p.b. oblivion…

 

There’s not much I can say I know that I know is for sure in this mama journey o’ mine, except this I know is true…

there is no illness, ailment or heartache that these 2 ingredients of perfection cannot help or heal in one fell swoop, gobble, or bite.

Even Baybee knows it’s true.

It’s all about the Baybees!

Notice the wee little “baybees” below the little Bug’s right knee while she’s playing picnic and blowing bubbles at the same time (she’s quite the multi-tasker)?! That’s what we’re ALLLL about right now in this home. The baybee, baybee, baybee, baybees, in whatever form they happen to come in. These 2 happen to be the $1.00 specials from the Walmart doll aisle. She was lugging around a couple of baybees at home that were 3/4 her size and mama decided it was due time to invest in a couple of baybees for the real live toddling baybee girl. I was thinking it would be oh-so-smart of mama to buy 1 baybee for the car and 1 baybee for the home. But oh no, this real live toddling baybee-lovin baybee wouldn’t be having that for one second. If one baybee is by her side, she’s practically distraught signing “more” and hollering “more more baybee” until the other one is back in it’s rightful home, the crook of her elbow. She even refused to go to bed without them the other night. That was another one of those battles mama felt was totally unnecessary to pick. She went to bed with the baybees. Both of them.

But something more deeply important and precious than just seeing my baybee’s mama instincts already kicking in has been shining through the last week, anytime she peers over to her shelf where her toddler-style-board-book  Bible lies. “BAYbee, BAYbee!!” she cries, desperate to dig into that book and find the 2 special baybees featured in this condensed toddler-version of the Bible. Baybee Moses and Baybee Jesus. And because hey, why would we stop this baybee from wanting to read her Bible already, at anytime, for whatever reason? So, we almost always plop down, with her in lap, crashing into the book, to briskly turn the chunky cardboard pages, to first arrive at page 10 with Baybee Moses in his basket and then the last 1/4 of the book with the multiple pictures of Baybee Jesus in his manger and growing into a toddling young boy. She loves animals and she could care less as she passes by each page with 15 per page available for the viewing, because she just has to get to the Baybees. And when she arrives, she just sits, and stares, and smiles, and declares “Baybee!” And if she’s in a really good mood that day, she even leans forward and kisses those Baybees, right on the face. And then when she’s done, after just sitting in awe of the last page of Baybee Jesus, she shuts the book, stands, says and signs “all done” and walks it back to the shelf. She got her Baybee from the Bible fix for the moment, and now it’s on to the next task to complete in her toddling whirlwind style.

She doesn’t even have a clue of the depths of truth she is speaking to this mama’s heart. Cuz isn’t that what a big fat chunk of the whole gospel is about. That HE came. As a Baybee. God with us. Immanuel. To save the world, whoever chooses to believe in Him, and what He did on the cross. God sure does “choose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” And He also chose the baybees around us to speak these truths most purely and succinctly to our hearts.

And Jesus said to them,

"Yes. Have you never read,

'Out of the mouth of “baybees” and nursing infants

You have perfected praise'?”

–Matthew 21:16

And I want to be like my little bug with her just-like-Mary heart. Begging to dive into my Bible, desperate to get to the pages that speak to me of Him coming as a Baybee, to be God with us, both then and now. To sit in awe of the pictures and truths I glean of Him as I pore over the pages. Even her sweet little kisses, I want my heart to worship and love and adore Him like that too.

I love the innocence and the newness and freshness I can receive if I’m willing to slow down enough to watch her…and learn more about Him, in the process too. Thank goodness God knows right where us busy mamas are and still meets us where we’re at, with patient love and precious truths through the ones we love the most.

Praying even now, for more of these moments of slow and sweet truth-absorbing times to consume my days.

“Gooh Guhl”

Good Girl Anna, thank you for putting away your toys…

Good girl Anna, you found a leaf!!

Good girl Anna, you’re learning to stack!!!

Good girl Anna, thank you for putting away your puzzle!

 

She must be hearing it a lot right now, and man was I thankful to hear that she doesn’t only hear “NO Anna, No” in her little eardrums and heart at all times. I must be doing something right being home with her ALL day long if she’s not just hearing her No-No Nazi Mama hollering to not touch one more No-No item or step away from another No-No activity in the house. That must mean that she is also hearing the things to do in life, not only the things NOT to do in her little toddling world. I think it’s one of those things you can’t even know until you get here, because I never would have known the intensity and challenges of toddler parenting on a day to day basis! So it warmed my heart the other night when the hubbs and I returned home from date night to hear from the grand-rents that A had been saying “Gooh Guhl” all night long after doing something she knew she should be proud of and we would be pleased with!

Thank you Lord for speaking grace through us, despite our stumblings as newbie parents, over this precious soul. May her foundation always be built upon the rock of her value, security, confidence and unique giftedness in You. And may she also learn early that her righteousness and goodness exists in You alone.

My mama always told me...

that when things got reeeeally quiet, she knew my little brother Thys was in the other room doing something sneaky. Enter stage left into the room, and YES, there was some shinanagin he was pullin' and proud of it with a bit fat toothless grin to prove it. He was quiet about his sneakies from the very start!

"I'll never have a sneaker like that!!" I always told myself. That's just not me. I was always the rule keeper, you see.

Until today, when I ate a bit fat humble helping of my words yet AGAIN, from this parenting venture I'm on...

Little bug wasn't quite seeing the benefits of the strength building rest she could receive from a nap today and she was lettin' me know it with the volume she was producing from the room to my left, as I was distractingly typing away to prevent myself from hollering back with the same volumes. When all of a sudden...things got myyyyysteriously quiet back there. I took a gander over to the video monitor (one of the bestest shower gifts given to the Irwin 3) and saw that she was definitely quiet, but NOT so sleepy. There was a little paw reaching over the side of the bumper pad, outside the crib to something I couldn't quite see with my video monitor vision.

So, off I went to enforce and remind her of the strong benefits of a healthy nap for a growing toddler (and see what was lurking on the other side of the crib bumper, enticing little bug away from her precious slumber--durn temptations!!)

And what to my wondering eyes should appear?!?! No, not a miniature sleigh and 8 tiny reindeer.

Two tiny toddler hands re-folding the laundry that had already been folded once...by her mama, who left a heaping mile-high load of laundry in a basket, right at the foot of her crib, awaiting it's return to the proper home. The itty bitty sneaker had been running back and forth in the crib and must have spied this gem of a basket from a mile away and then realized it probaby wasn't the most proper way to spend her 1.5hr nap time: pulling each piece that she could reach into her crib and re-folding it into it's proper folding manner, according to her book. But by golly, she was gonna see if she could pull it off anyways!!! So, stealthily as she could do it, she snuck down to the corner of her crib, got all quiet as a mouse, and went to work.

UNTIL the mama arrived.

And had a REALLY hard time gently reminding this child that it was definitely still naptime, not laundry folding time while she received an 8-front-toothed grin that could have sold the sweat off a dead man's toe (as her daddy would put it).

I quickly slid the basket far out of her reach and just as quickly slid back out the door before I could not contain the bust-up of laughter that was dying to come out of me, any longer.

Should have figured something like this would have come by leaving laundry basket eye candy right at the end of her bed. We caught her last week unplugging her air purifying white noise maker every day at the end of her nap. We were wondering how the fan was always off, the three times we went in there, before we found the sneaky culprit. She was reaching under the crib bumper to see what she could find at short-toddler-arm-reaching level. The fan was also removed from the near vicinity of the crib.

Welp, time to go relieve her from toddler naptime torture. It's been an hour and a half and she's decided to use that to sing, burble, giggle and run and roll all around--the WHOLE time. Guess it's gonna be early to bed tonight!!

What can you do?! Not freak out, I'm learning. It doesn't help anybody or make anybody go to sleep, especially me.

Anyone else have these toddling woes?! Please shout out an amen!

SHE's a sneaker all right!! Can't you see it in those eyes?!?!

She's becoming...

bigger.

It was the mini-jeans and the mini-tennies that proved it to me today.

And her signing, telling me she had to go potty, as I raced her in to her big girl chair and watched her indulge herself for the 2nd time on the squishy potty training seat.

And the moment she answered my mom's phone, after looking at the image of me ringing in, and said "Mama?"

And the running into her cupboard, pulling out a bowl and shoving it into my face while pleading "Nack" (snack in her terms).

And the wiping down the kitchen floor with a towel, out of her own volition, because she had spilled some drips of bubbles.

Does anybody have the potion they drink to keep them mini, forever?

What happens when...

you give 2 easily excitable bubble-loving toddlers a bowl full-a bubbles

(bubbows in toddler-speak) on a kitchen floor?!
A BIG FAT WHOPPING mess of a wet floor,
WHICH equals 2 very happy bubbling-over-with-joy drenched girls!
WHATEVER it takes, is my new motto these days!
Another successful day of letting go of the mess and control!


(LINK to slideshow...http://picasaweb.google.com/turtle.irwin/ABowlFullABubbles?authkey=Gv1sRgCI604Zq4soPEwAE&feat=directlink)

Thank you Lord for your bubbling-over new mercies and fresh grace every morning!

A little CAPTIVATING shout-out...

These don't need much of a commentary... Just a BIG FAT thank you to my fabooooooo fotographic friend,

Kellie Trenkle with Captivating Photography and Design Co.

(http://vividly-captivating.blogspot.com/)

for a CAPTIVATINGLY beautiful year full o' pics

that captured our little darling in all of her glory and spunk,

enough to last us a lifetime.

Wonder where she gets it from?!

The Most Incredible Gift

Left us speechless, which is very difficult to do to the Irwin 3, as most of you know.

We arrived back at home today from 2 fun-filled days at Depoe Bay with Will's 'rents.

A large white package was anxiously awaiting our arrival, beckoning us to spill it's contents out all over the floor and pore over every last minute detail.

And so we did...

We inspected every last square...

Picked out every last ducky (the favorite parts for A-bug of course)

Drew out every last kleenex for every last sentence written in a well-thought out, well-orchestrated, well-loved, much pored over book to explain each quilt square that had a story behind it or a letter written, with a scripture given to savor in the heart of this little girl, for a lifetime.

You see, Anna has this aunty...This fabulously darling little blond thing right here...

Who obviously has a deep love for this babe from afar. And she decided that for Christmas, she was going to collaborate 100 different squares of fabric into a breathtakingly beautiful tapestry, mixed with pieces from my wedding jacket, her wedding dress, my mom-in-law's-from-my-wedding dress, grandpa's old ties, grandma's old fabric scraps, and the list goes on... And for each square there is a story. A bit of life story from Will's family's past and even open squares to add in from my family's past. So for each square, there is a coordinating paragraph in a fabulous binder o' explanation, with a personal letter written from a family member, or a quote, or a scripture for Anna to hang onto through life. I can't even fathom the time, the creativity, the coordination of other people's additions, the planning, the cutting, the arranging, the hand stitching and sewing and the great heart that went into this beauty. So, this is just a small tribute for the deep gratitude this family feels towards Sister Charissa and the others who added their loving words of life into her Christmas quilt.

Oh, I already can't wait for the day for her to understand the depth and height of love that was poured into this gift (and recognize there's more to the fabric than just the duckies.)

It's us, on a quilt.

Our story, of how little Anna came to be,

and of all those who love her and what they desire her to become.

I kept mulling over this verse as we were perusing each specially prepared and planned out square...

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." -Eph 2:10

Workmanship: masterpiece, poiema, handiwork, a "thing of His making".

Man, this quilt is quite the masterpiece of a workmanship, if I've ever seen one.

But even more so, I pray that this little girl, that I was privileged to be the carrying vessel for her to enter this earth by, who is SO deeply loved by so many others on this earth,

will ALWAYS know that just as this piece was created by her aunty with so much love and intimate care and detail, she too is one of God's greatest works.

A perfect "thing of His making".

There is nothing that could be added to or taken away from her to make her any more perfect than He made her to be...just her, just perfectly Anna.
And I feel so blessed to just sit back and watch her life continue on as she grows to know Her Maker, the Workman, the Masterpiece Designer who has His good works for her to discover and walk in.

Thank you Aunty Charissa for walking in one of God's good works for your life

and creating this beautiful poiema for our specially loved girl.

And a funny little sidenote...if you notice any blank squares, she even added squares for names of more babes to come!

Isn't she a sneaky lil' hinting sis?!
Yes more Irwin's will join in on the adventures SOMEday,

but until then we're enjoying the ride for 3!