Letter to my Little Lily: 11 Months

My sweet, sweet Lily,

You only have one more month before your first birthday, and I can hardly handle it. This year with you as a part of our family has been such an overwhelming blessing to us (especially me), and I find myself grieving that it's almost over. But then I think...it's just the beginning! No need to grieve! And that is such a happy, happy thought.

This month you've actually been crawling (a normal crawl, not just your army crawl) a little bit, and it's so cute. What's not as cute is that you are into everything. And you're really stealthy and fast, so we have to watch you all the time. You are always trying to get into the coffee bar, which you know is off-limits, and we are always having to drag you out, you stinker. 

You not only pull up now (on anything and everything), but you also cruise. You cruise all around the house. Oh, and another super fun little trick you've developed is pulling up and cruising around your crib. We've had to lower it twice in the past month because of this. The funniest part is that you can both sit and stand up in a mostly-asleep sleep state...but you can't lay back down in the same state. Sometimes, we'll come up to see why you're crying, and alas, it's because you've gotten yourself up and can't reverse that process. And you're crying because you just want to sleep and can't understand why that isn't happening anymore. It's sad and funny all at the same time. Also, a personal sleepy time favorite of mine is that you sleep on your tummy with your booty up in the air. It's the best.

Pulling up everywhere. Even when I corral you in my tub.

Cruising around your room. Forced into queendom by your sister. You weren't quite sure how you felt about it.

Cruising.

Bottoms up.

Oh. You've also learned to pull up and CRAWL ONTO the bottom step. We had to break down and put up the baby gate. We really hate using the baby gate, and yet here we are. We also had to start using the cabinet locks again, as you have discovered those suckers open and have such interesting things inside. You are a curious little learner and want to know what cleaning supplies taste like and how plastic containers work.

Some fun little developments (actually fun) are that you can now drink from a straw! And hold a bottle! And suck from our reusable fruit/veggie/yogurt pouches! This has revolutionized snacks and meals for us. The best part is watching how proud of yourself you are. Daddy also got you interested is getting your own Cheerios out of the little Munchkin snack cups. You still make a massive mess with them, but you at least have some autonomy over your snacks, which makes us all happy.

Eating your yogurt like a champ!

Using the snack cup! And wearing Claire's chosen accessory for you.

Unfortunately, you've had several colds this winter. Fortunately for us, though, you LEARNED TO BLOW YOUR NOSE. It's awesome. You don't do it every time we hold a tissue to your nose, but you do it regularly enough that we know it's not a fluke. Praise hands!

This month, you've also learned to clap, cross your fingers, make a fish face (although I think this one just happens to you- I'm not sure you know how you do it), and you've started trying to give us (open-mouthed, very slobbery, not-really-well-aimed) kisses. I LOVE IT SO MUCH. You usually go for my chin. It's precious. You are also a Master Mess Maker. You can make a massive mess in such a short amount of time; it's disheartening how quick you are in destroying the living room. Bless us. On a cuter note, you still try to mimic sounds or silly faces that we make (so, obviously, this is how we spend a lot of our time). This is something you and Daddy do a lot. And...drum roll...your first word was "hi!" You say it often when you wave. It's not always very distinct, but you're pretty consistent with it, so we're recording it as the first.

Mess-making in progress.

A favorite story of mine from this past month: I came in to get you up from a nap one day, and when I walked in the room, you were laying on your side, waving at your little bunny Wubbanub. Maybe the bunny is your first pretend friend. I kind of hope so.

The Wubbanub in question.

We love our life with you. You are such a funny, darling little cuddle buddy. Or a dragon-muffin (ragamuffin?), which your sister called you the other day.

XOXO,
Mommy

Week 45

Week 46

Week 47

11 Months. Literally the best I could do. And this is with Claire sitting in the crib with you HOLDING YOU DOWN. 

And now, this month's weekly picture outtakes:

Oops. Don't know how Koala fell over.

Whirling dervish.

RAWRRR!

BWAAA!

ARGHHH!

The uncropped picture for this month's "official" picture. Note Claire holding you down. LILY. We can do better than this, girlfriend.

Buckets of fun. :)

Lent with Claire: Resurrection Eggs 2017, memory work, and first craft

We did a version of Resurrection Eggs with Claire last year and decided to do them again this year. I made some adjustments that I hope will make it even more effective for us this year. Like last year, rather than just doing the eggs for a couple weeks leading up to Easter, we're going to do them for the entirety of Lent, spending a few days on each egg so that the symbols and meanings will sink in for her. I'm hoping she doesn't get too bored with it. We'll see how it goes and adjust as we need to.

Our Resurrection Eggs. Claire calls them our "Hosanya" eggs. The first egg is a leaf, representing Palm Sunday. We sing a "Hosanna" song when we talk about it, and it's her favorite.

We've also chosen our passage to memorize with her: Psalm 51. It may be too ambitious, but we're going to give it a go. She has an amazing capacity for memory work, so we decided to aim high. First verse is already committed to memory!

Along with scripture memory, we're adding a new hymn to our bedtime routine: "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross." We've been singing it with her for about a week now, so she'll probably start joining in in the next week or so, if she keeps to her usual song-learning pattern. Our choices of scripture and song were pretty carefully considered, so we hope that they work together in a significant way in her little heart.

And...I'm going to try weekly Easter crafts again this year. Claire loves crafts, and I like to reinforce learning opportunities. So we'll give it a go. If you follow me on Pinterest, you've probably seen me pinning away at Easter crafts and activities. My theory is that if I pin a LOT of things, I can narrow it down to a few really good ones. Or maybe I'll just end up cluttering my "Easter" board. Who's to say? I'm not sure this week's was so much a craft as an "activity." We made some Easter-related items out of play-doh and talked about them as we went along. Please note: sculpting is not our thing. 

Her working face.

Our cross

Our cross and lamb. Lamb-ish type creation, rather. Doesn't matter- we talked about Jesus being the Lamb of God. That's the important thing to focus on, guys.

Next week's craft is actually more craft-like, and I'm hoping to add another couple of verses. We'll see how it goes!

Pretend book club: The Guersney Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Several years ago, when we still lived in Boston, we were preparing to go to the beach, and I asked my Facebook friends to recommend some books for beach reading. Since becoming a parent, I've found that I don't know what to read so much anymore. Which is embarrassing, given that I have a degree in LITERATURE. 

My friend, Mrs. Tidwell (I'm 97% sure it was her), recommended The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shaffer, a book that I had heard of but knew nothing about. All I knew is that I couldn't actually ever remember the title because it was such a mouthful. I didn't end up reading it that year, but I remembered the recommendation.

At Christmas this past year, I saw that Amiee had the book with her, and it made me think that I should finally pull the trigger and read it. Now, I still have the issue of just not having time/opportunity/energy to polish off too many actual books, but I do love a good audio book, and we have an Audible account. I downloaded it in January and got started.

When I first started it, I was a little disappointed because it is written in letter-writing format. I recognize that this is a legitimate storytelling style, but I don't always love it. However, I was sold after the first couple of letters. It is incredibly well done and so engaging! Here are a few of my favorite things:

1. The characters. The characters are so colorful, funny, and have such depth. Every single one. Even characters that don't "speak" are so vivid and real (there are several of those). They are so likable (or really unlikable) and full of personality. The relationships between the characters are so interesting and touching. They're interwoven together so so beautifully. Juliet, Sidney, and Isola are my favorites. And Amelia. And Susan. Never mind...I like most everyone.

2. The setting. Now, generally speaking, I greatly prefer not-sad stories. I'm just not that good at processing fake grief when there are too many real opportunities for grief in this life. That being said, I loved the ebb and flow of the happy and sad in this book. Guernsey is set in England/the British Channel Islands immediately after World War 2. You cannot have a story set anywhere near a war that does not have sad elements. You just can't. So, fair warning: there are some really heart-wrenching moments that made me cry. Hard, sad, appalling stories of how people treated their fellow humans during the war years. But, this book is so well-balanced with beautiful, kind, and funny story lines to offset the hard. I would be crying and laughing within minutes of each other. Bonus: I loved all of the snippets included about the resourcefulness of those who lived through World War 2. It's fascinating and empowering to think about how resilient and smart humans can be when they need to.

3. The cleverness. In writing a book completely in letter format, the authors have to be incredibly creative in tone, word choice, and flow. It's so well done in Guernsey. I love the witty banter and the varying lengths of the letters; some are looooong, containing stories and descriptions while others are short telegrams, comprised of concise, sassy retorts. Such good words!

It's such a beautiful story, guys. I've listened to it FOUR TIMES since January. Four times. I'll put it on while I'm doing laundry or cleaning the kitchen or doing whatever else needs to be done. It's like they're my friends who keep me company while I do chores.

Have you ever read it? Listened to it? What did you think?

Around here lately: February 2017 edition

And just like that, another month of quotables is in the books. Enjoy!

There's something tickling my throat with a crab.

I really like Lily. But I want her to take a nap. (Lily was supposed to be napping but was making lots of noise instead)

She still loves to do this at Home Depot.

I'm sorry, Mommy. I couldn't hear you because of Lily. (They get up to silly- and LOUD- shenanigans in their shared bedroom.)

We need to worship Jesus because he rose from the dead.

Lily can play with my purse. The beads are inside, and Lily is safe. (We've been teaching Claire to help monitor areas for unsafe/too small items. She had been playing with some small beads but had zipped them up inside her purse. Thus, Lily could safely play with the purse.)

That's the baby hand and that's the mommy hand. (The hour and minute hands on the clock.)

Mommy, I'll teach you how to skip fast when you grow up.

Our house is banging down. And tearing apart. There are spider webs outside my window. (Our house is in excellent shape. The one tiny cobweb outside her bedroom window is, apparently, very concerning to her.)

I ran out of sleep.

Erin: Where is your kitty cat?
Claire: (lowers voice to creepy whisper) It's a mystery.

Excuse me, Mommy Daddy, but Lily is doing the thing she's not 'posed to. (Lily can't get away with anything.)

Lily's doing a nice balance. (Said the day that Lily pulled up for the first time.)

Foreign cookie (she mis-heard the pronunciation of "fortune cookie")

I'm taking picture of y'all because you guys are so cute. (said to Brad and a professional photographer as they were talking)

This is what I deal with when trying to get pictures...

Twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, twenty-ten!

King Darius is going to make Elsa melt.

(while driving in rush hour traffic on the way to the airport)
Claire: What do you keep stopping?
Erin: So I won't hit the car in front of me.
Claire: And so you won't break the car?

I think Lily is nice, and I want to keep her because she's my friend.

(about her birthday party)
Claire: What kind of company will I have?
Erin: *lists little girls who are coming*
Claire: Um, what kind of husbands do they have?

(referring to a ballet dvd she likes to watch; she calls it "The Matching Girls")
I'm doing Matching Girls, Nana, but it's tricky to coupe while you walk.

Where's my fevver doctor fing? (She meant thermometer)

I have to get this chip out of my shoe.

My corralling system while I dry my hair.

These pants are strong for my toe to go through. (She was having trouble getting her legs into her leggings. BTW: we do not believe leggings are pants. She just doesn't know the word "leggings.")

I love you very much, guys.

Brad: Do you know what animal this is? (a porcupine)
Claire: Yes!
Brad: What is it?
Claire: Let's call him Dave!

(to the tune of "Humpty Dumpty")
Donkey, Donkey sat on a wall!
Donkey, Donkey had a great fall!
Then Rapunzel took him to the doctor.

(attempting to quote a character on Planes)
Claire: "Aw, my iPad, man!"
Brad: Claire, it's "sky-pad."
Claire: "Sky, my iPad, man!"

(eating her first Sweettart) It's spicy.

I like flowers in the world! (meaning: best in the whole world)

Claire, up to shenanigans
Erin:Toes, stop eating the puzzle or we'll have to put it away.

I just really like Lily my friend.

A birthday present

Erin: Persevere, Claire! It's like "just keep swimming!" (from Finding Nemo and Finding Dory)
Claire: I think Dory and God are telling me that!

Will you bring Lily back? (every night when I get Lily out of her crib for one last feeding before I go to bed)

The propeller is my best friend. (which was cute until followed by "give it back! You can't take it! I won't calm down!" *stomps foot*)

The "propeller"

Erin: Lily, you're so sneaky!
Claire: She's the SNEAKIEST kid.

George is a PROBLEM SOLVER!

Did you know coffee table are hard to hit your head?

Erin: It's bedtime soon.
Claire: But I'm grubby and need a bath!

The lips need some sun. (She is very confused about what to call tulips.)

Mmm. This is the best syrup ever. Oh, syrup on my shirt. I can get it. *licks shirt*

Ballet DVD: Think of somewhere you want to go.
Claire: I want to go to Minnesota to TAKIA'S house! (Takia is Tim, my brother-in-law.)

I'm the Queen. Don't touch my hair while I'm the Queen.

Erin: Can you always be my little bear?
Claire: No, because I have to grow up and get bigger.
Erin: Can I always call you my little bear?
Claire:Yes. That would be OK with me.

Barbara, explaining to Claire that Bill (my urologist father-in-law) was talking shop with Tim (my urologist brother-in-law).
Barbara: They are talking about urology. Can you say "urology?"
Claire: My-ology.
Barbara: No, URology.
Claire: MY-ology.

Fer-mom-of-ter (an evolved pronunciation of "thermometer")

Erin: Here, Claire, sit over here.
Claire: But I want to be tucked in.
(i.e. sandwiched between Brad and me on the couch)

Lily crying.
Erin: What happened?
Claire: I don't know. I fink she has a tooth.

Ash Wednesday 2017: Lent with Claire, year 2

Today was Ash Wednesday, which officially begins our observance of Lent. I've written about Lent for a few years now, so anyone who has been reading for a while is familiar with the Boswell participation. I added the tag for last year's Lenten posts at the end of this one, if you want to go back and read through some of them. 

We've been planning out activities and practices to do with Claire again this year as we work through this preparation period. My plan is to write about it again each week, so hopefully, you can follow along in this year's journey. We're trying to be really thoughtful and strategic with our activity choices so that it will be age-appropriate and meaningful. Our first Lenten activity was to make a (loooong) paper chain that lasts until Easter. She responds really well to visual markers of time, so I think it will aid our daily discussions.

She attended her first Ash Wednesday service tonight, including receiving ashes. We had some really good conversations with her about Easter and Lent and the reason that we receive ashes. Those are big topics for a little girl, but she is very thoughtful and asks good (and really hard!) questions. It's definitely challenging me to think hard about my answers and creative ways to express them to Claire.

I hope we have wonderful things to share about Claire's participation in Lent this year; she's so terribly interested in spiritual matters right now, so I'm hoping this increases her knowledge and understanding. Today, we began with this...

Genesis 3:18

By the sweat of your face, you shall eat bread,

til you return to the ground,

for out of it you were taken;

for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.

Birthday #4!

We've basically been celebrating Claire's birthday all month, y'all. Her party was on February 11 (her actual birthday is the 26th) and was a princess/dress-up party. She decided on that theme several months ago, so we pulled something together for her! I have a personal goal of spending very little but producing something very Claire-ish on her birthdays, so I worked out a plan...and I think Claire was pretty happy with it!

My parents- and sister!- came into town for the big event (my parents haven't missed a single birthday). They took Claire to the museum (and she got to ride the train!) and Chick-Fil-A, and Daddy even went with her to swimming lessons. Everybody watched Planes: Fire and Rescue (the current favorite), and a great time was had by all!

When I picked everyone up from the airport, we stopped for dinner at a favorite little middle eastern restaurant, and Lily refused to keep her socks on, even though it was quite cold. So, we stuck her legs down inside the arms of her coat. It totally worked for our purposes.

Riding the train at the museum. Such a treat!

It was pretty chilly.

Amiee and Lily always take great pictures together.

Mom, Dad, and Amiee were suuuuper helpful in the party process. We decorated (because Claire LOVES a decorated party), prepped breakfast-y/brunch-y food and cupcakes, got costumes together, and made a faux castle. We did nails, put on sparkly princess tattoos, played in the "castle," played with balloons, danced, and did a small "craft." I think everyone had a pretty good time! I had a sinus infection, so I was feeling pretty lousy and relied heavily on Amiee to entertain the princesses. Which she did. And they loved it! One of Claire's friend's mom told me she was certain that her daughter would be talking about "the princess at the party" for the rest of the day.

Amiee and Claire getting the party started (not pictured: my friend, Rachel, who jumped in and helped, as well. She doesn't have kids but is great with them!)

The princesses

Amiee looking all Duchess Kate

I love this one.

Birthday cupcakes! Mom even brought Publix icing (the BEST, and we can't get it here) on the plane with her from Alabama.

Waiting until she got the go-ahead to dig in.

Go time.

Our "castle." We have a myriad of pop-up play items, so we put them all together.

And, on the invitations, I said "no gifts, please"...to which everyone responded by bringing gifts. Claire has really kind friends. Mom and Dad gave Claire a super fun doctor kit that she (and Lily) have had a blast playing with! I hope it has been positive preparation for her upcoming 4-year-old check-up...

She decided to use/wear most of it at the same time. Seems efficient.

Claire and Nana

Poppy and the girls

Everyone looking at the camera!

For Claire's actual birthday, Bill and Barbara were able to come for a couple of days. Claire was so excited to get to see them! (so was Lily) We had Chick-Fil-A, ice cream, Mexican food, played outside, did puzzles, and watched a movie (Planes again, guys. It's realllly a favorite around here.) 

Post-church birthday pictures

Not our best family photo, but you work with what ya got, right?

My mom got this headband for Claire for her first birthday, and she's worn it every year since (her head was HUGE as a baby. Not even kidding.).

So many generous friends and family!

Brad's Aunt Sue sent this Sofia the First birthday card that had a punch-out crown. Perfect.

Lily was hungry. Thus her serious face.

Still hungry. She doesn't play games when it comes to getting her food.

Claire's puzzling interest and skill has grown a lot recently, so as part of her birthday gift, Bill and Barbara got her four 24-piece puzzles (2 are Planes themed and 2 are Finding Dory). She has been loving them! 

Thank you so much to everyone who made Claire's birthday month so wonderfully fun. We've all felt so loved, and Claire has felt so very celebrated. We're so grateful for our friends and family!