Tomorrow morning, at 7:52, Lydia will turn three. We’ll probably spend most of the morning playing outside. I will probably make her take a nap even though it’s her birthday. Then we’ll pull together a birthday dinner that will definitely include tortilla chips. We’ll tell her birth story and celebrate that God has given us three whole years with our little Munchkin. Our Little Bunny. Our Big Girl. Our Gooselet. Our Lydia.
Can you believe this kid is going to be three next month?
We can’t. Our Lydia is so energetic and spunky. It makes her quite a handful, but it sure is a fun handful. She loves to…
Wear her pajama pants on her head to pretend like she has long hair.
Paint and create.
Attack her Abby with their stuffed bear.
and she is just. so. cool.
This past month was especially, well, special, when Lydia learned about Easter. It has been sweet for us as parents to talk to Lydia about Jesus and see her start to respond in an understanding way as we tell her the stories. We have had a lot of fun teaching her Bible verses to song and then letting her sing them for anyone who will listen.
Lydia still calls Qdoba, “Dobah-kah” and she still calls spaghetti, “swabahgee”, but maybe that’s because Dan and I do too. She reminds us of the simple pleasures in life, like wearing sunglasses every single time we get in the car regardless of the time of day (or night), or saying “Wheeeee!” whenever we drive around a long entrance ramp to the highway.
She loves to see her friends, “the peoples”, at church. And after an exciting event, she likes to tell the story of what happened over and over again giggling the whole time.
Despite her bundles and bundles of energy, she still likes to snuggle with Mommy, especially when she’s tired or gets hurt. One day I was trying to get Lydia to finish a carrot stick and I told her she was like a “little bunny”. So “Little Bunny” has become a new nickname for her. She frequently tells me she’s my Little Bunny. She calls me “Big Bunny” (Dan too), and Abigail “Baby Bunny”. But sometimes when I ask her “Are you my Little Bunny?” she tells me, “No. I’m Lydia!”.
She’s our munchkin, our little bunny, our big girl, our Lydia. And she’s almost three!
We had a wonderful Easter spending time together as a family and with friends, celebrating the resurrection of our Savior. There were new and pretty dresses. There was a potluck breakfast. There was a joyous Easter service. There were lots and lots of pictures. It was, indeed, a celebration. And on Monday, when all the festivities were over, Lydia agreed to share with you all what she has learned about Easter.
During lunch the other day Lydia and I were discussing Easter.
We learned that Good Friday is when we remember “Jesus died” (imagine an adorable two-year-old voice saying that part). Easter is when we remember “Jesus alive!”. I went on to inform Lydia that on Sunday a lot of people will be saying “He is risen” and the proper response would be “He is risen indeed!”. Suddenly Lydia beamed a smile and said, “Plam bracks!”.
“Plam bracks!”…
“Plum bracks!”…
“Plan tree?”…
She was so excited but I didn’t know what she was talking about. We puzzled together for a few moments before I figured it out: “Palm branches!”.
“Yes, we got to wave palm branches on Sunday because it was Palm Sunday.”
I have always enjoyed the week between Palm Sunday and Easter. I set aside my current Bible reading to slowly read through the last week of Jesus’ life in Luke, starting with Palm Sunday. It’s a time to remember, reflect, and be thankful.
I have always enjoyed the Good Friday service. When I lived in Arkansas for two years I was disappointed to learn that the churches in the area didn’t do anything for Good Friday. Here in Michigan I enjoy Good Friday: the hymns, the communion, the story of the cross, and the quiet way everyone leaves knowing that the next time we see each other will be in joyful celebration.
This year I’m remembering and celebrating Good Friday and Easter with a new joy: the joy of teaching the wonderful story to Lydia. We picked up The Very First Easter from the library on Saturday and each day I read a couple of pages to Lydia. There’s a lot of writing for a two-year-old, so we’re spreading the book out to last until Easter Sunday. After our two-pages, we look at the rest of the pictures in the book and I tell her the story.
We’re learning a new memory verse this week too:
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ lay down His life for us. And we ought to lay down out lives for our brothers. 1 John 3:16
I tried to put it to the tune of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” and it sort of evolved into it’s own song. The only problem is that Lydia sings, “And we got to lay down our lives…”
I don’t know how much she gets just yet. But she can remember that Good Friday is when “Jesus died”, she can remember waving the “plam tree” on Palm Sunday, and she can say with enthusiasm “Jesus alive!”. And she’s learning that “We got to love one another”. It does this Mommy’s heart good to teach my girl some truth and celebrate together.
Happy early Easter. He is risen indeed!
Our little Abby-girl is getting so big and chubby and strong.
and cute.
and smart.
Oh and, don’t forget about this little munchkin!
I recently promised her a tea party.
Abby, can I get a smile out of you?
Hey there!
I think you are a…
Pretty girl.
Aren’t we charming?
Abby too.
Lydia is still bigger.
Let’s hope she doesn’t take advantage of that.
Abby, smile! Lydia, smile for real!
Oh dear.
A little better but we had to leave one out.
Lydia sometimes asks to hold Abby.
Ok girls, lets wrap this up with a picture of you both. Smile.
Abby, you too.
Now both…
Close enough.
Sometimes when Lydia is sleepy, all curled up in my arms with her hair in one hand and her thumb in her mouth, and I’m just holding her as she absentmindedly plays with that hair and sucks that thumb, I think “I don’t ever want to let go”.
This kid is full of
fun.
energy.
sweetness.
spunk.
joy.
The other day Lydia disappeared into her bedroom. When she walked out again she had on a bracelet rattle, a talking toy purse, and a pair of pajama pants on her head. She said, “I’m Mary.” We still haven’t figured out if she is Mary from the Bible or someone we know named Mary.
Later Dan took Lydia to Meijer. We always stop to let her look at the fish, and the last time we visited them she said goodbye to every fish tank before leaving. When she got home from Meijer she promptly went back to her room and put the pajama pants back on her head.
Lydia has been mastering Bible memory verses little by little. We are currently working on John 3:16 (to the tune of Silent Night). I added hand motions this time and was extremely confused when we had a visitor one day and Lydia kept telling her she liked the “lotion”. We finally figured out that she wanted to sing the song with the motions.
Speaking of visitors, one of Lydia’s favorite things to do when we have a visitor is fetch them their shoes when they are getting ready to leave. We never told her to do it, she just figured out that when people leave they need shoes, and she decided to be helpful. Now she fetches their shoes, will give them their purse if they have one, and often insists on a hug before they leave.
Dan’s current favorite though, is at bedtime. After Dan spends a few minutes laying on “the green bed” with Lydia, he wishes her goodnight and gets up to leave. She stops him and insists, “No, no, stay for a while!”
We had apple pie for breakfast last week and I don’t even feel bad about it.
You see, we have been trying to help Lydia memorize Bible verses for a while now. She has a great memory, especially when things are put to music. I’m not great at making up my own tunes (I can never remember the tune once I’ve made it up), but I’m not too shabby at taking old tunes and giving them new words.
So our first Bible memory song was Acts 16:31 set to the tune of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”. It went like so:
Acts sixteen thirty one
They replied, “Believe
in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved,
you and your household.
The “you and your household” didn’t fit so we just sort of chant it quickly at the end and Lydia thought that was great.
Well, as awesome as that was, I couldn’t get Lydia to prove to me that she had learned it. I was sure she had because we had sung it so many times I found myself humming it frequently when no one else was even around. But, how to get her to recite for me?
Enter apple pie. I had the bright idea of offering Lydia dessert if she could sing her song for Daddy. Throughout the day, Lydia would ask me and I would remind her that I would make her an apple pie if she could sing the song all by herself in front of Daddy. No sooner did he walk in the door that afternoon and she burst into song.
That night happened to be terribly busy and I eventually had to apologize to Lydia and tell her the pie wouldn’t be done baking until too late. Instead, we would be having apple pie for breakfast. And the reason I could do so is that this pie wasn’t laden with sugary, buttery goodness. In fact, if you could see the recipe, you might realize that it wasn’t a whole lot different from sliced apples and toast as far as ingredients go.
And because I think everybody should get to have apple pie for breakfast, here is the recipe for you all to enjoy.
Breakfast Apple Pie
Ingredients:
2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup coconut oil
6 to 7 tablespoons cold water
6 granny smith apples, peeled and sliced
10 dates
cinnamon
1. In a small bowl, combine flour and salt; mix in coconut oil until mixture is crumbly. Gradually stir in water until a ball forms.
2. Divide dough in half so that one ball is slightly larger than the other. Roll out larger ball on a lightly floured surface to fit your pie plate. Transfer to plate.
3. Grind up dates in a food processor. You’ll end up with small sticky chunks of date mush.
4. Layer pie with half of your apples. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon. Evenly distribute date mush balls. Cover with the other half of your apples and sprinkle generously with more cinnamon.
5. Roll out second dough ball to fit top of pie. Place over filling. Cut slits in top, and shape extra dough into a pretty heart to put in the center.
6. Bake at 450 for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 and bake for another 55-60 minutes or until apples are tender. Cool on a wire rack. Store in the refrigerator.
The date mush balls are yummier than they sound. After enjoying pie for breakfast and more for dessert after dinner, Lydia was given a new Bible verse. She wasn’t too enthused about this one (1 Thessalonians 5:16) until we offered her chocolate banana “ice cream” as a reward. Then she learned it in about two days.
The bags are packed. The Christmas presents are finally wrapped. The snow has come, but we are going North to Grandma’s (and Grandpa’s and Nana’s and Papa’s)!
This is our 7th attempt to get together with my family to celebrate Christmas, and introduce everyone to Abby…outside an isolette. All week Lydia has woken up from every nap and bedtime yelling, “Grandpa Grandma’s House!” and we’ve had to remind her, “yep, in three days…two days…tomorrow”.
To prepare for the trip, Lydia dressed up in her “going North outfit”, my fancy schmancy raincoat (from the time I went to Africa), a small purse from a dear friend (containing her toy cell phone and a hair bow), and Mom’s high heels (which Mom never wears, but Lydia puts to good use).
There is a long car ride in store. Fun to be had. Pictures to come.
We are ready.
Lydia has been in school mode all month, probably because Mom is so busy researching homeschooling. She’ll often grab a book, some stickers, and a pen and say “I’m doing school!”. One of our recent learning activities was a finger game about a little mouse:
I have a little mouse. (the thumb is her mouse)
He’s hiding in a hole! (that’s the fist)
He will come out if we talk soft and slow.
Open a window (pinky finger) and another (ring finger) and another (middle finger)…
Look! There’s the mouse hiding in the covers!
She loves showing us her “little mouse”.
Lydia and I have also been enjoying Bible times together. We’ll read from the Bible, a Bible story book of Lydia’s, pray together, and sing some of the songs from the most recent church service. Last week she became hooked on “10,000 Reasons”. She’ll sing it every day as she dances and spins in the living room.
Bless the Lord oh my soul, oh my soul
Worship His holy name.
Sing like never before, oh my soul
I’ll worship Your holy name.
This month Lydia started flossing her teeth, sitting in a “big girl” chair during breakfast, and successfully jumping off the ground with both feet. She can count to 20 but sometimes says “eleventeen” instead of “seventeen”. She started calling pajamas jahmiahs (like Jeremiah without the “re” in the middle). We’re working on negatives as she likes to say “I no like it” instead of “I don’t like it”. And when she wants to do something after we tell her it’s time to be done she responds with an insistent “one more time”.
During the past few days I have been reminded of Proverbs 19:21, which says:
Many are the plans in the mind of a man,
but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.
I had been pretty excited to begin my 5K training on the treadmill at the gym of our apartment complex. Saturday was the final run in Week Two of my nine week training program. It was a wet, slushy, cold, and snowy evening as I headed out to the gym, sloshing through puddles and trudging through freshly fallen snow. This time I even stretched before I ran, but four minutes into my workout my knee started hurting. For about thirty seconds I tried to keep running before I decided it wasn’t worth the risk. So now I’m off my training schedule and on the elliptical to give my knee a rest and learn a little more about how to run, stretch, and not injure myself.
The very same night we gave up potty training…again…for now. After a week of accidents and messes, Lydia has successfully learned to go to the potty immediately after she wets her pants. She loves it. She hasn’t gone in the toilet once. I talked to some other moms, prayed about it, solicited Dan’s opinion, and made a mental list of pros and cons. Since we recently invested in some quality cloth diapers, the only thing we lose by waiting to potty train is the extra cost of washing those diapers, which I calculated to be about three cents a day.
I didn’t really want to write about that in a post. I didn’t really want to “give up” again. But it’s the best decision for our family right now.
After giving up the endless trips to the toilet and all the time spent reading to Lydia while she did nothing on the potty, I was excited to get some more done yesterday. Clean up the living room, wash that pile of leftover dishes from Sunday, tackle a project or two, play with the munchkins. Abby decided she wanted to be held all day instead and by eleven o’clock I had only tackled some of the dishes and Dan had thrown everything littering our living room into piles. So much for my plans to catch up.
Our list of plans goes on and on, but I have been reminded of that ever-true Proverb. The Lord’s purpose will prevail. And after a nice, quiet prayer time while the girls were sleeping, I surrendered my plans and came out feeling happy. God’s plans are much better than my own.