As a Family
We've enjoyed more visits from family again this month. We've hardly traveled this summer, but we've had enough family visiting to make up for it. Damian's parents stopped by again for a couple of days last month. We also had a great visit with Damian's brothers and their families. Adam and his fiance, Shelly, drove down from Tulsa. Gary, Damian's oldest brother, drove up from Baton Rouge with Celeste, his wife, and our two sweet nieces, Jolie and Jordan. The girls are 5 and 3, and they both played really well with Isabelle. Izzy had so much fun and hated for them to leave. It was great to see everyone at the same time and relax together. Usually we only see each other at Christmas, at family functions, and maybe once in the summer, so this was a great time to catch up.
Isabelle at 19 months
Izzy's vocabulary has started booming again lately, and she's become very proficient at communicating her needs. Unfortunately, not everyone understands Isabelle-speak. Let me translate: lala=outside, gacky=thank you, and a doh= all done. Some of her words sound more on target than others, but regardless, we're glad she wants to communicate with us verbally. Even her sign language is becoming unnecessary, since she's now able to verbally say most of the words she signs. She's picking up words pretty quickly. As I was dressing her this morning, I was teaching her a few words. I told her that she would play with Beth and Lily today. She quickly learned to say both girls' names, and then I taught her the sign language for play, since she wasn't understanding the word. In a matter of minutes, she'd learned three words and was able to say "Hi Beth!" when we walked into the living room at my friend's house 15 minutes later.
Discipline is going pretty well with her. She can be pretty persisitent (stubborn) at times, but we've found quite a bit of success with discipline in the past month. I've seen her make great strides in obeying mommy and daddy. I think I've been more consistent with her all day, and we're finally seeing some fruit from it. It can wear a mama out at times, but it's great to see a pay off. I'm sure in a few weeks, she'll start testing those boundaries all over again, but for now, I'm enjoying a toddler who obeys most of the time.
She's doing better at feeding herself, but we still have days where she ends up looking something like this:
While Mommy wasn't paying close attention, Isabelle dumped the bowl out and smeared oatmeal all over herself. Charming, isn't she?
I'm now 14 weeks pregnant, so I've made it to the second trimester! Yay! Too bad the morning sickness hasn't taken the hint yet. It can leave any time it wants. I wouldn't mind a bit. I've continued taking the over the counter medicines I mentioned a few weeks ago, and those continue to prevent me from feeling nauseous all day, which is wonderful. I still get sick, on average, about 3 times a week, but it's manageable. I keep reminding myself that I've dealt with worse, but that's small consolation when you're losing your lunch. But we just roll with it. Isabelle keeps her distance because she doesn't understand, and I just spend the next hour or so relaxing, when possible. Most days, I feel really great, and I'm able to keep the house clean, cook, and play with Isabelle, so I'm very grateful to be feeling so well.
Otherwise, believe it or not, I love being pregnant. I love seeing my friends' new little babies, and knowing I'll have another one soon. I love planning for a baby, and thinking about what this one will look like and be like. And I can't wait to hold it. I did get to feel a few kicks recently, which was exciting.
I'm not showing yet, but I've totally outgrown any non-maternity pants. It's all baby and uterus, because I've only gained the typical 1.5 pounds during the first trimester.
Books, books, books!
Damian and I have continued meeting once a week to discuss God, Marriage, and Family, by Andreas Kostenberger. We've really enjoyed it and our discussion has been wonderful. It's our version of date night. We've also been reading Marriage, the Journey, by Anne Trippe. It's got a great perspective of marriage life that's unlike most of the marriage books out there. Last month, I finished reading Seasons of a Mother's Heart, by Sally Clarkson. Several of us read it at the same time, and I think we all found it both refreshing and challenging. Sally Clarkson and her husband have a ministry for homeschooling parents, so reading this book made me very excited about what's in store for us as a homeschooling family. I'm ready to order curriculum and get started! Now I just need a school-aged kid! But since 19 month olds aren't quite ready for school yet, we'll stick with our shapes, colors, and early phonics for now.
We celebrated our 8th anniversary yesterday! It makes me feel like an old married person to be so close to my tenth anniversary, but I feel so blessed to be happily married, 8 years into this journey.
I hope you and your family are doing well! Thanks again for the helpful contributions during last week's posts. It was fun to write a series.
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