Devoted One

Two weeks ago Wednesday, we attended the parent commitment service where we dedicated Elizabeth to the Lord. We pray that our little Elizabeth, "Devoted One," will wholeheartedly devote herself to the Lord as she grows up. That she will want to please and serve HIM all her days. I loved the verse the church picked out for her:

Psalm 34:1 "I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth."

May this be the the lifesong of us as we raise her and Miss Elizabeth as she matures.

Our baby chimp

As I referred to in this post, we have a baby chimp living with us. Little Miss E is now 13 months old and I realized as I was going through the pictures for this post, I had a hard time finding a picture where she was not seated in her toy tub! (and I counted at least 4 different outfits--meaning this was not a single day occurence.) So here is our 13 month ode to our baby chimp...

Little Miss E got her fourth tooth this month--last week rounded out the second top front tooth.

I would like to say that teething is why she has been so challenging this month, but...I am not so sure. She definitely has a temper and is quite willful! We have had massive melt-downs when she does not get her way. Spankings often do not help, but I am resolved to win the battle. She is learning, little by little, that throwing a fit does not get her the food on my plate. She is learning to eat her own food before getting other food and will eventually learn that when she does not get the toy or whatever else she wants, throwing a fit will only result in discipline.

I have also decided that much of these discipline problems do result from having a VERY bright little girl who is very aware of everything that is going on around her and already the want to control it all. She is super observant and far more cognizant of what she wants and does not want than the average baby. She mimics us constantly and even told me several times this month, "Thank you" in response to me saying "Thank you" to her. She copies our actions too and (as previously mentioned) is quite aware of everything we are eating/drinking vs. what she is eating/drinking. E loves to clap and say "Yeah" (a thing she often sees us doing in an effort to encourage her good behavior!).

She is still in no hurry to walk, however. But she is getting steadier and steadier on her feet and now regularly taking 5-6 steps at a time before collapsing in giggles at our feet. She is so proud of herself.

Bedtime/naptime is still a challenge. While she will take one decent nap/day, she still fights going to nap/bed every time! (and is far from content in her crib as soon as she wakes up). Perhaps our little observant girl is afraid she is missing too much?

On the eating front, she does still love carbs best but will most often happily eat hotdogs and peanut butter and jelly. She is far more varied in her taste buds than her brother at the same age though and has enjoyed eggs, cheese, beans and rice, etc...and is willing to try almost anything once.

She is still petite but in all 12-18 month clothing. She finally wears shoes occasionally and while a bit big, they are fitting pretty well at size 4. Still in size 3 diapers during the day and size 4 at night.

Elizabeth is such a complex little girl full of emotion and drama but such affection too. I love this sweet little girl who eagerly stops to snuggle in the midst of play! She is such a gift from God!

Last days...

No, we are not talking about the end times, but rather "yesterday" a la David. This is a constant subject as he is still trying to get his head around time periods. At 44 months old, anything in the past is "last days" and anything in the future is "a minute." Oh, for the simplicity of childhood!

Potty training during the day is going well and we only have a few more nights of dryness before we declare him approved to wear underwear to bed at night!

David is still tottering between the desire to remain a baby (and mimic everything--including senseless and foolish things--that sister does) and the pursuit of manhood. He still sucks his thumb and loves his blankie (figured out this month, he likes the sound of it being scratched by his nails), but He often tells me that he is growing more every day (from eating his cheerios! :) Hah!) He regularly takes pride in helping me with lots of little (and big) things, until...he doesn't. I commented to my mom "last days" that he is definitely growing up. Even at four, he is far less spontaneously affectionate and more manly in his responses. Mostly, I have to grab him/ask him to hug or kiss me. This is as it should be in the future but still makes me a bit sad. Baby is growing up!

"It was the lions"

...when asked of David what his favorite animal was that he saw at the zoo. Hah! The lions were the only animals not on exhibit that day, and it becomes even more humorous when picturing what we did see in the exhibit: in the exhibit where the pair of lions are normally sunbathing, were two men sitting casually working. :)

We did see lots of fascinating animals-including the giraffes (it took us a while to find them, and D kept begging to see them), the elephants, and some aquatic animals (many of the larger animals were only glimpsed through the trees as they sensibly rested in the shade).

We did see a kissing cousin to Miss E; while we certainly did not evolve from monkeys, there are an awful lot of similarities...

The zoo has been redone since last I went, and we all enjoyed the makeover- especially D who loved the interactive playgrounds everywhere.

It was a gorgeous day and we and thousands of others enjoyed the perfect weather at the zoo...and the one mile hike from the parking spot God provided further off in Hermann Park.