Quotables, July 2022

Older girls:

“catalog” = epilogue

A bit of a paraphrase, but: “why aren’t there many women in the Bible? In the olden days there weren’t much women.”

B, age 2.5:
“I need a tissue for my burger.”

“40+2 is funny.”

“knees” on her fingers = knuckles

While potty-training:
“There’s something coming out of my bottom!”
“What is it?”
“It’s smoke coming out of my bottom!”

“Bird jay! Come down on my toes!”

She is quite bothered by her ankles and has asked for the ankle bones to be removed, and always tries to wash the wrinkles off her fingers after a bath.

Always trying to wash the wrinkles off of her fingers after a bath.

“What are you going to wear to the library? You can’t just wear your diaper.”
“Uh, rain boots.”
“You need clothes.”
“Rain boots and a sweater.” (Referring to a sweater that only goes to the top of her belly).

“Do you need a receipt?”
“Why would I need a receipt?”
“To sit on.” (re-seat…)

Roaring and stomping around the room: “I’m a monster!”
“What kind of monster are you?”
“I’m—I’m a dragonfly!”

Upon waking, very distraught, a bit after going to bed:
“The chickens are going to get me!”
“The dreams are coming!”
“Tuck it tight so the chickens can’t take it off!”

Locks bathroom door, “Now Jesus can’t come in.”

“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me, I sneezed… Saving Grace how sweet you are… Grace got baptized.”

“Because Christ’s death fully paid the penalty for our sins, God will remember some casumin (catechism).”

Quotables, November 2021

E, 4-5:

“My dream last night was so long it had TWO CHAPTERS!”

“Tomorrow B’s going to wear the dress she got the day after last night.”

S, 6-7:

“Why did God make Jacob rich if we’re supposed to be poor and lowly?”

“If there were 19 baby bunnies born on a farm and 7 were given away, how many were left?”
“13. Because there was a mommy.”

Claimed to have known everything when she was little, but forgot it so that she could do school

Wondered if a neighbor knew about us because we were getting famous because she was almost in 2nd grade.

Wondered if there was less gravity in the Olympic Diving building or if fairies were helping them stay in the air longer

“I’m not tired, I’m just yawning. I think I have the yawning gene.”

“If I went to the Olympics on Wednesday and won a first medal, I would scream!”

“Do to others what they have done to you.”

B, 2:

“Hampoween” (trampoline)

“That’s not hopping John, mommy, it’s food.”

“My tummy hurts. Need bandaid.”

What does the cow say? “Moo hoo hoo hoo.”

3 Baby Sleep Stories

(follow-on from my last post, mostly to give examples of how vastly different each baby is – with all 3 we did the same thing from the start! Again, I’m not going into a lot of detail because I believe that what you do is really between you, your husband, and your doctor as you look at your baby. Everyone sleeps through the night eventually, but there comes a point where baby won’t improve unless you do something, and there are things you can do that aren’t just leaving baby to cry)

#1, S. She slept exactly as we had hoped for the first 3 weeks. Then it went downhill from there until at 7 weeks when she just. Would. Not. Nap. Until about 4 months she slept almost entirely on me (or Ezra sometimes at night). We discovered she had some reflux and was sensitive to dairy and gluten, but we had already formed habits of poor sleep. She would also get more and more hyper the more tired she got, so we had to block out everything for her with white noise and blackout curtains, and at church it took a lot of bouncing, swaying, and patting with the hood of the baby carrier AND a nursing cover to get her to sleep. I thought I was crazy until I watched the other babies at church just fall asleep in the carrier and that’s when I knew that her personality was just not going to let her do that.

At 4 months we tried the baby whisperer’s pick-up put-down sleep coaching method for nights and it worked so well for teaching her to sleep without a lot of crying. Three nights and she fell asleep on her own without a peep, and really only the first night took much work. Naps were trickier because I couldn’t figure out when she was tired (see getting hyper when she was tired), but eventually we got it and from then on usually any sleep troubles were temporary (but still rough, like dropping the swaddle) or fixed by changing how long she was awake for. Even so we had to keep the room dark, so sleeping on the go was hard. When she started rolling on her tummy and sucking her thumb we saw a huge improvement in sleep. She still liked to nurse to sleep and once she knew how to fall asleep on her own it didn’t seem to cause any trouble so we did it a lot.

#2, E. She didn’t sleep as well at the start (I nursed her almost all night long in the hospital), and we bounced back and forth between swaddling or not for a while. Before my mom left when E was a month old, I spent some time helping her fall asleep on her own (mostly with shushing and patting), as she was getting to the point of not just sleeping all the time (this has been a tricky transition point all 3 times). Even still, I did often have to work a bit to get her to sleep (the whole “sleepy but awake” thing is not as simple as it sounds, and E was really the only one of our kids who ever had that stage. She got sleepy when tired! :P). It was going pretty well! Then we moved and had a 16 hr time change and that was a really difficult time, especially because we were all in one room and she was ready for an earlier bedtime but was used to going to bed with us but because we were in one room we couldn’t really do the work to make that change. She was also not napping very well, even though she would fall asleep on her own (in retrospect I think it was a sleep regression). It only took a night or two (same pick up put down thing we did with S) once we were in our rental house and then she was going to sleep on her own for nights and eventually naps fixed themselves. She also started sleeping better when she rolled on her tummy and sucked her thumb. We occasionally nursed to sleep, mostly to avoid her getting hungry in the middle of a longer nap (something that has been an issue all 3 times).

#3, B. She was fussy and unsettled from the start, though the first two weeks were easier than later on. Sleep was rare and difficult. We hoped her tongue-tie revision would help, but it didn’t. She seemed very sensitive to any external stimulation, but there was only so much I could do about that because of S & E needing my attention. She cried hard whenever she was tired. She had frequent days where she screamed if I put her down, fussed at feeds, and only slept for 30 minutes at a time in the day no matter what I did. Her reflux diagnosis (mucousy spit ups, frequent gags/coughs, and noisy breathing) at 2 months helped me know I wasn’t crazy, but I still felt desperate.
We borrowed a swing and after a rough transition to napping there instead of in my arms, at least I could do something during her 30 minute naps. That was the hardest thing I have ever done with baby sleep, because she was so upset but we felt we had no other choice, but I also had no clue if we were even right about when she needed to nap.
At night she slept in the cosleeper at first and then my chest for a bit (which meant poor sleep for me because I was so worried about her falling off, even with blankets and pillows far away). She frequently wiggled and tooted which was amusing but irritating. Cutting dairy helped, but it wasn’t until I also cut chickpeas and corn that we really saw a difference in her digestion. Her sleep was so inconsistent that I was confused, frustrated, and felt like I was doing everything wrong because nothing ever seemed to help (she wouldn’t even nurse to sleep!).
Finally, at 3 months she started sucking her fingers and stopped nursing the whole time she was awake (so we had a rough transition to drop the swaddle). She also started taking naps that were longer than 45 minutes! At 4 months, we moved her out of the swing (as soon as she was going to sleep well in it, I started turning down the speed, so now she was sleeping in a non-moving swing), because one day she randomly fell asleep on the floor. We had a visible 4 month sleep regression – she was up every 1-4 hours all night, her naps were short, and she was even crankier again, but finally it passed. At 6 months she started taking naps that were consistently over 45 minutes and now takes 2 at almost exactly the same times every day – and fusses at me if I am late putting her down. And after all that talk about how cranky and fussy she was, she’s now playful and affectionate and we have loved her so much from the start.

Around a year with the other two we stopped nursing at night by just shortening the time they nursed for and they started sleeping through pretty quickly. I really couldn’t be bothered before then because I wanted them in our room the first year (this time I thought maybe I’d be ready sooner but I’m not ready for her to share with her sisters yet – they love sharing blankets and stuffed animals too much!), and oddly enough I actually sleep better when I’m being woken once or twice a night. I don’t have insomnia when I’m nursing at night!

 

Quotables, May 2020

S, age 5:
“The day after Thanksgiving it’s Christmas?”

“But hospitals are for when you’re pregnant!” (ie not sick)

“They’re kung fu dancing.” (During a dance with lots of kicks in White Christmas)

“They didn’t fall in love, they just love each other” (about a boy loving his dog)

“Six times!! The eagle can look six times farther than a human! So incredible! I have to tell mommy!”

“I’m going to pick all the purple clover for you, mommy, even the white ones.”

E, age 3:
wants to build chitty chitty bang bang when she grows up

“Kindergarten… is so lovely!”

Terrified of the wood grain/knots in the wood of our headboard.

“Thanksgiving is not a long day anymore!”

“These are not too big for me, just when you stand up they go down on your feet.”

“I know coronavirus it’s a sick and there’s lots of sick out there.”

“We’re playing gods. We’re the good gods and we killed all the bad gods.” (she was saying guards).

“My feet are so big I might need bigger panties.”

“My baby’s name is percussion.”

“I accidentally tried to get on the counter.”

Princess

{It’s a good thing I love her more than she loves this dress; I’ve lost count of the number of times I have mended it!}

Our self-proclaimed Sugarplum Flower Fairy Ballerina Princess (I’m not convinced I got it all in there or the order correct) is turning four.
I think she liked dressing up previously, but her cousin’s princess dress-up clothes just solidified her love for all things fancy. I always identified more with Caddie Woodlawn and Laura Ingalls, scorning Disney Princesses and Jane Austen (though I do enjoy watching period dramas with friends).
So I wasn’t sure what to do. I felt like some of my scorn for Disney Princesses was legitimate and theological, but wanted to do some more digging.

I’m not giving our exact conclusions here, but will link to the top three reads and say that we won’t flip out if our daughters watch a Disney Princess movie, but that we won’t put that material in front of them. And instead of getting her the usual princess dresses I made her one based on this for her birthday this year (using leftover fabric from my bridesmaid dress when I was in my sister’s wedding!).

But none of that changes that our sugarplum flower fairy ballerina princess requires fancy books: here are some alternatives that S has approved.

*Fancy Nancy (some of these are better than others. The first one is our favorite).
*The True Princess (Angela Hunt)
*Saint George and the Dragon
*The Kitchen Knight (both by Margaret Hodges, illustrated by Trina Hyman)
*The Complete Book of Flower Fairies
*Narnia
*George MacDonald’s stories
(Also: The Ordinary Princess, The Plain Princess, and ethnic versions of Cinderella [usually, but not always, better, like the native American version in the Children’s Book of Virtues])

And best of all, books about REAL “fancy people” –
*Queen Elizabeth II
*Just Being Audrey (Cardillo, Audrey Hepburn)
*Jeanne D’Albret (we own this one, and while there are some things I don’t love about it it’s vastly better than Disney!)
*Esther

Or just people worth emulating. We don’t have either of these yet, but are interested in Lily: The Girl Who Could See (Oxley, about Lilias Trotter), and Katherine von Bora: The Morning Star of Wittenberg (Strackbein).

Little Book Big Story on Princesses
A Personal Survey of Fairy Tales
Disney Princesses: My Daughter Deserves Better
These articles come at it from various angles, not just for and not just against. It’s also important to remember that while the messages of media affect children, so does the overall culture and message of the home.

What are your favorite princess stories?

Words by S, 3.5

“Those are European starlings.”
S: “Hi airplane starlings!”
*seagulls “laughing”*
S: “Are they laughing because S said something funny?”

“I’m going to go pray.”
“What are you going to pray about?”
“About E knocking down my blocks.”

“My name is Fat Girl.”

“When my Papa turns into my wife I’ll be a bride someday.”

“I’m going to cut my knife with the onion.”
E: “Your sin leaves a stain, but God washes it away because Jesus died.”
S: “And mommy dried it. No, God dried it.”

“Last night E stood up in her crib and I said ‘lie down E’ and sang ‘Goodnight my Angel’ and ‘Sleepy Eyes.’”

“I forgot to play in the concert!”
“What were you going to play?”
“Toys.”

“Floggic means play,and dance, and read.”

“I’m lying down like Claude Monet.”

“Sometimes the bananas are sad and I eat them and they feel better.”

“When we get back from church my Nutcracker will be alive.”

“This is E’s papa and this is E’s mommy. My mommy and papa are in India.”

“I’m filling up my toe with grace.”

“I love these songs.”
“Why do you love these songs?”
“Because that’s how God made me, to love these songs.”

“My favorite dog is a panda bear.”

“The sugarplum fairy’s name is scotcheroo.”

“Can you put E outside with me like a friend?”

“Maybe my knees fell or something while I was ice skating.”

“I will be a cow-grown-up.” (not a cowgirl)

“I feel like another woman. It feels glorlious. I like being beautiful.”

“I have no shoes on cuz I’m wearing feet!”

Ezra: Am I handsome?
S: No, you’re pretty
E: How can I be handsome?
S: To be a man
E: What can I do to be handsome?
S: Have a face
E: Is this a good face?
S: Yes.
E: So am I handsome?
S: No, you’re pretty

“You’re a good cooker.” (To mommy after eating airplane food).

“The heater is glorifying my life.”

“Peter Rabbit steals Mr. McGregor’s garden, and the squirrels steal ours. Please, squirrels, let our seeds grow.”

“You have a lobely voice, mommy.” A moment later, “I can’t hear you.”

“Papa, why did I eat all the prunes?”

“I have a pretty/flower dress! I’m learning to do ballet and princess things.” – to total strangers in Canada.

“I want to stay in Japan – what is it, mommy? Canada. I want to stay in Canada forever.” (Because of eating out)

“I’m going to school on my bike. I’m going to earn some money so we can do things.”

“I’m walking backwards because I’m sad.”

Words By S, 3

In honor of S’s 3rd birthday, here is the latest installment of “Words by S.” We’re celebrating with cake after our evening church study, her choosing breakfast & dinner on her birthday (pizza for breakfast and enchiladas for dinner), and then there’s a princess tea party happening nearby a few days after her birthday and it’s a perfect fit for our pink-loving little girl.
It’s been amazing to watch her grown and learn in the last year and to see her continue to develop in personality and knowledge. She is exuberant, empathetic, full of wonder, loves being outdoors, and would have us read to her all day long if we could stand it!

“grumblebee” – bumblebee

“Papa I forgot to get on the giraffe and spin on it.” (talking about the carousel)

“There me are!”

“Once upon a time there was a little girl and her name was…”
“S, and E, and Mama, and Papa.”

“You’re welcome.” “I’m not welcome, I’m S.”

“My birthday is pink.”

“What’s your favorite food?”
“Chocolate.”
“What’s your favorite food for dinner?”
“I like to eat chocolate for dinner.”

“Look, E, I drew popsicle on the wall!”

“Is this my pink finger?”

“Did God bought my pajamas?”

“Can you do this as you hike around the tomatoes?”

“I was pink when I was little.”

“Tomatoes make me happy”

“No, krampa, put the ice in the trash!”

“magnick” (magnet)

“blutterfly”

“Papa, I crashed the spider with the salad.”

“Can you heat up my soup so it will be cold?”

“I made room for mommy but not for chocolate.”

“Maybe {my dress} will grow a pocket.”

“puffet” (puppet)

One day she wanted a story about “A pink bride… when S was married and had a husband and wore a pretty dress.”

“S is mommy’s baby and E is papa’s baby.”

“I can’t see the dark, I Just see the lights.”

“floggic” frolic

“Can you give me a chance for me to wear these ones again?”

“The wind won’t blow away my hands, but still.”

“What do you want to be when you grow up?”
“I don’t want to be anything when I grow up.”

Words by S #2

“(about lightening) “Where’s the flashlight in the sky, Papa?”

“Bug!” “That’s an ant,” “Aunt Susannah!”

“I love you, Papa!” “I love you, S!” “Just kidding!”

“Do you want peanut butter?” “Just butter.”

“Be still my soul, the Lord is on thy face.”

“What’s that come from, Mommy?” <- favorite question.

“last night” = the past
“on Sunday” = the future

“Mommy, my name is S and I have a question for you.”

“Where’s my daddy?”
“Some kids call their papas daddy, you call him papa.”
“Can I call him Ezra?”
“Only if you get lost.”
“Can I get lost?”

“long my heart has panted… like a dog wants water.”

“Did you hurt your leg?” “I hurt my jeans.”

“cashew doll” = kokeshi doll

“I’m feeding my baby. I don’t have milk, just cuddles.”
“We’re going away from the darking bog.”
“Where’s the darking gob?”
“He’s back a few blocks.”
“He’s with the blocks.”

“O precious little baby, yet to be born.” (Blessings upon you, my baby unborn)

“precious little papa, do you have an idea?”

“Can I pet E?”

“No mommy have fun with papa.” (almost every time I put her to bed…)

Words By S

My sister did this a while ago with her oldest and I thought would share some of the funny things S says that really brighten our days. Her chatter can drive me crazy sometimes when she repeats the same things again and again but mostly I really enjoy getting the front row seat on her language development!

“Mommy crying. Mommy papa hold you.” (responding to a woman crying on TV)

“S, what’s your favorite food?” “Uncle David.”
“S, what was your favorite part of today?” “Uncle David.”
“S, who’s your favorite Aunt?” “Uncle Susannah.”

S, with her mouth full. “Nobody.”
Kyleigh starts laughing, trying to hide it, excuses herself to laugh.
S: “Mommy crying. Mommy throw fit.”

“Tummy hurt. Need sammich.”

“cupkick” = chapstick

“wrapping paper” = tortillas, napkins

“Where was the last place you wore your hat?”
S: “ona head.”

“I three months old.”

“tubby bear” = teddy bear

Planting garlic with Ezra: “baby garlics go night night. Baby garlics wake a nap. Baby garlics pretty.”

“Say ‘lasagna.’” “Susannah.”

“Toes dirty. New toes, new toes, I need new toes!!!”

“allergetty” = alligator

She’s 2!

S is 2!

Weight: 26.2 pounds
Height: 33 inches
Teeth: all but 2 year molars
Eating patterns: 3 meals and 2 snacks, nurses in the morning and at nap time.
Favorite foods: oatmeal, eggs, sweet potatoes, squash, bread, dessert, soup, roasted carrots, lima beans.
Sleeping patterns: 7/7:30 AM wake up, 12:30-2:30 nap, 7:30 bedtime. Sleeps with Eden Bunny and her silky.
Favorite songs: ABC’s (nomahny for “now I know my”), Twinkle Twinkle (“how wa wee” for how I wonder), theme song from Totoro, Johnny Cash “I talk to Jesus every day,” and “God Made Me” by Judy Rogers.
Favorite Toys: dolls, cars, balls
Favorite things to do: color, climb, swing, read, play with E, play with stickers.
Favorite Books: Ten Tiny Toes, Are You a Cow?, Goodnight Moon (Hush), Corduroy, photo books, Curious George, Teach Your Child to Swim, and any books with singing in them.
Important events: became a big sister, traveled to Dubai and Palau
Comfort items: sucking thumb and feeling belly button

We celebrated her birthday with a birthday party, since we couldn’t last year and I wanted to do something to try to get all or at least some of her friends all together before we moved, since she loves them so much (and made 3 more in the weeks since her party that she talks about a lot!).

Chocolate peanut butter flourless muffins (that are so rich I decided they could be cupcakes) with chocolate frosting, recipes below.

We had crackers, cheese, veggies, popcorn, and jello.
When I was planning I had two things in mind: ease and what S liked. She loves balloons, coloring, and playing in boxes, so that’s what we had to do, and I made a playlist of some of her favorite music to play in the background and the kids had fun doing all that, eating, dancing, and chasing each other around.

She was thrilled with cupcakes, unlimited crackers, balloons, boxes to color on and play in, and her friends at her ‘happy be party.’
I had gone to set up while she was napping, and when Ezra brought her in the room, the look on her face was priceless. We had been telling her about her birthday party but didn’t think she understood much, but I think she knew, and was even more excited once friends started coming. I think that was the best part to her, her friends.

She was not very cooperative when I was taking her 2-year photos.

Birthday party links:
Chocolate Peanut butter cupcakes (muffins, but they’re so rich! This recipe makes 6 regular-size muffins)
honey-sweetened frosting (+6-7 Tbsp cocoa)
Finger jello