My friend, J, eagerly babysat our children for a few hours each week  this past year so that I could run errands.  She had a sweet eye on a godly guy, M, and was hoping to prepare for marriage, and wanted to practice managing children.  She eagerly sought godly advice for courtship and marriage, as she came from an unsaved family, and faithfully put it into practice.  M asked her to marry her some months ago, and Christopher was asked to be the ringbearer.  They thoughtfully had Christopher bring the rings down on a little steam engine (M also has a love of trains, also). 

I have some darling pictures of him and the flower girl, but I have to get permission first from her mom to post them. (:

He did great, and I'm really proud of him!

Dell suggested a few weeks back (see here)  that we try taking a picture of ourselves with our children, and it's taken a while to find a moment to remember to have someone take it, but here they are:

 Mama with Nani,

and:

Mama and Christopher. 

I'm so blessed!

I won't go into great detail, but we have been going to daily swim lessons for two weeks.  An hour away.  They are arguably the best swim lessons around, and they have an 85-90% success rate with 2 1/2 - 5yo kids during one two-week session.  Here is a brief synopsis:

Day 1:  CJ's okay with the idea, but nervous

Day 2:  Getting less okay.

Days 3-6  Kind of awful....worries incessantly about every aspect of the swim lesson...screams from entry to the pool area to the water's edge, things like, "You're making me cry, Mama" (repeat, repeat repeat--this is NOT like him).

Day 7:  Spends 15 minutes in the potty actually making deposits, Walks calmly to the poolside, Refuses to jump in.  Only likes it a tiny tiny tiny bit.

Day 8:  Spends 15 minutes in the potty again (Mama gets there early), and calmly goes to the poolside.  JUMPS IN!  He likes it a LOT and a LOT and a LOT.  Begins hailing strangers in an exuberant manner, "HI!"  He says that he would thank the teacher "for letting go!" 

Day 9:  Foregoes potty so he won't lose pooltime.  Loves it.

Day 10:  Has a blast.  Mama is exhaaaaaausted!

Here he is, swimming on his back:

CJ for fun

Kiddin' Around at Home Depot

Big Shoes to Fill

Nani at 13 mos old

Nani at 17mos old

Happy Highchair Moment (and it might only be a moment--
Just kidding--she is learning nice high chair manners)

Gorgeous Reflective Moment (And that might not last
too long, either)

Full of Wonder and Delight

Full of Nix Nux--What's Cookin' in that Li'L Mind of Yours?

Natalie is singing and trying to sing along with us.  She even tries to match pitch, and sometimes does when we're singing a familiar song.  It's so dear.  She has caught Christopher's love of the ABC song and fills in the ends of the phrases.  She loves to get between Christopher and me and take our hands and run with us.  She loves to climb and traverse from chair to chair (although Mama says "no" and she doesn't, I'm proud of her love of adventure).   I can't wait to take her to gymnastics lessons in the fall.  Natalie is so sweet and precious and spunky.

Christopher continues to looooooove counting, and invent all kinds of yummy junk foods that are "good for us".  He  has grown in confidence over this past week and  a half.  I read the book, Parenting with Dignity" by Mac Bledsoe.  I don't agree with much of the book, but it is impossible for me not to be inspired with the power of natural motivation and respect.  Christopher has responded very well to positive motivation, and a little freedom to figure out solutions on his own.

John and I decided after me reading the book that we still must have or pursue first time obedience, and that I would be more cheerful and encouraging, and that I would limit my commands to things that are necessary and important.   It is a breath of fresh air, and we are all enjoying the fruit.

I also desperately need to increase the regularity of our routines, even though during these next two weeks we are taking a daily swimming class quite a distance away. 

Lamby 1 (wind up Brahms' Lullaby): Nomay

Lamby 2 (Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep): Tuuli Puuli Toti

Lamby 3 (Sings Jesus Loves Me): No Planno (sounds like some days I've been through)

Little light brown bear: Ho Nay

Today we painted with our feet again, only with red.  I did use a different poster board because the other butcher paper was sorry looking by today.  The red poster doesn't look that great, either, but oh well--they had fun.  Christer wants to paint with feet in yellow tomorrow.

We chanted "Hop a Little, Jump a Little, 1, 2, 3; Hop a little, jump a little, tap one knee; Bend a little, stretch a little, wiggle your head; Hop a little, jump a little, go to bed" while acting it out.  Christopher wasn't too sure about it, but it did get him hopping, and by the third time he was smiling.

We read "The Way to My Best Friend's House", which features feet quite nicely. 

After story time, during Natalie's nap we put the monitor outside and scrubbed down some outdoor plastic playground equipment we inherited from Patti's friend.  The process was rinse, scrub, rinse and switch (or turn) the pieces.  He did really well for almost the entire session--there were six parts--the hardest part was each time I turned off the water hose to scrub each part down.  He only "lost" the water privilege once, though when he wailed about it and decided not to scrub for that round in spite of my factual warning.  Each time after that he scrubbed real nicely until he was too tired, so Mommy took over everything (scrubbing and rinsing) for the last section, which he handled pretty well.  I will need John's help to assemble it, and I can't wait!

We went to Please Touch Museum when Natalie woke up from her nap.  They are moving to Fairmount park, and I look forward to it--it takes a half hour travel each way, since they have no parking, although CJ loves the trolley, which is part of the experience.  We went to the theatre for the first time, and I think Christopher liked it.  It was a parody of "The Three Little Pigs". 

Christopher has made up a number of words, and they all have to do with "Going".  "Anon, Anon, Anon!" means "Go away" (he is not allowed to use this one, as he says it with a nasty tone).   "Beeyaah, Beeyah, Beeyah" means "Let's get in the car and go somewhere fun."  "Oshi, Oshi, Oshi" is also a favorite, although I forget what it means--it sounds kind of bossy--I think it means "Keep Going!" 

That's all for now.

Christopher's most creative word is "Knuckasauce" (sort of sounds like knuckle sauce without the 'L').   It took me several months to figure it out.  Can you?

I am remembering to treasure the little moments with Christopher also, since these years go so fast.  It's so easy to become impatient (how many times in a row can you sing "Down by the Station"?) with the constant testing and forget that each day is a gift, and when it's gone, only what's wisely invested will stay. 

This morning when we were walking downstairs, Christopher was saying, "It's heavy" (his way of saying it's hard and he would prefer to be carried).  I offered a hug to him at the bottom.  When we got to the bottom, his energy returned, and he began running to the kitchen, when I asked him about his hug.  He turned back and threw one arm around my neck, and one around Natalie's neck.  Such a yummy hug--I thought, "This is what it's all about."  I'm soooooo very blessed!

After Christopher finished his cereal this morning, I asked him if he was still hungry and wanted more food.  "Yah, candy, maybe!"  (:

It's really fun that Christopher can talk.  Sometimes it's really frustrating because I can't understand everything he says, but it is clear that most/all things he says have meaning.  He also talks constantly, and it takes all my concentration to understand (usually), so it's hard to know where to draw the line from sitting at his feet all day, and being faithful with all of my responsibilities. 

At suppertime, he took a square piece of cheese, out of which he had bitten a corner.  He put it in an "upright" position, and said "Sit in it!"  He was right, it looked just like a chair. 

This evening, John and I were cuddling with him, and he was looking up, where the yellow sodium lamp outside was casting a yellow lighted parallelogram on our ceiling.  He pointed out that the sunset was not all done, not finished yet.  I'm sure he's been noticing these things for a while, and I'm glad he can tell us about them now.

He loves the book Jessie Bear, What Will You Wear? that we got from Aunt Ruthie, and he points to the bear, and says, "Kissassah" (Christopher).  He just can't stand the last page where the baby bear goes to bed. "No!  Light on! Play with toys!" he announces. 

Tonight at the dinner table, Christopher figured out that if he puts the end of his fork to his ear and strums the prongs, that it sounds like music.  Neither Daddy nor Mama had ever figured that out before.

He also found that if he blinks his eyes while looking at the lights, it makes "stars".  (:

Christopher is interested in elephants.  We've, I mean, I've discussed the word "trunk" and even thrown in a "proboscis" here and there (hopeful, silly Mama!).  Tonight I was singing him the "Choo Choo Choo, Zoo Zoo Zoo" song, and he asked for the "elephant" verse.  We were conversing about animals, so I took the plunge...

Inwardly hoping the word "trunk" to flow from his lips, and outwardly hoping to appear nonchalant, I asked, "Christopher, what do we call the elephant's nose?"

Smiling with the air of the obvious, he answered, "BIG NOSE!  BIG NOSE!"

(:

In the same vein while reading the "Grow Up" book.

"Christopher, what do we call a baby dog?"

"A baby dog!"

I am a busy girl!  I love to kick and play, especially after my bath  Mama figured me out, that I am most ticklish after my bath, and she discovered my delicious belly laugh by kissing my chubbly, chubbly, double-y chin! 

I cut my first (lower front right) tooth on May 31, and another right after that.  I only fussed a little bit, mostly for my favorite babysitter, Jassamine Chen.  She was really worried and confused about why I was putting up a fuss.  She was relieved when Mama told her my tooth appeared right after she left. (: 

I haven't gotten to lay on the floor much because I'm so generous with chucking up my Mama's milk, and because I have a very busy and strong big brother who might step on me.  Silly Mama began to worry that I wouldn't ever roll over, and tried to put me on my tummy more often (under surveillance) so I'd have a chance to get strong.  I just solved the problem by escaping from my swaddle in my crib, and rolled from back to front and front to back in the same minute just to tell her to ease up a little! (:

A record, I believe:

Christopher leaned over the tub and held his dripping hand over a towel:
"Dwop da watta inneah to make the towwwwwwet." 

Translation: "Drop the water in there to make the towel wet." 

Christopher does not appreciate my chicken corn soup, but he helped to eat it each day, as the stockpile diminished.  On the last day of the soup, Grandma was visiting. 

Mama says, "Christopher, today you can have some chicken corn soup."

Christopher protests mildly, while Mama realizes that probably Grandma would really enjoy it. 

"Grandma, would you like some chicken corn soup?"

"I would enjoy that."

Mama murmurs doubtfully "I don't know, though, there might not be enough for Christopher..what to do......"

"I don't mind!" he interrupts cheerfully. (:

Christopher announced to me about a week ago (while hanging from the playground apparatus):

"There is a 'D' in red!"

"That's right, Christopher!  There is a 'D' in 'red'!" (Thinking, my son is  a genius!

"Christopher, is there a 'D' in 'Fred'?" 

(With an air of the obvious) "No, there is a 'D' in 'RED'"! (:

While rocking Christopher for his afternoon quiet/nap time, I usually sing "Trust and Obey", "Holy, Holy, Holy", and "I Love You, Lord", plus whatever other songs come to mind, if the mood is right.  This time, he pre-empted my singing by begging for Bye Bye Moon (Good Night, Moon), to which I generously obliged.  He then lobbied for Thomas, to which I responded, "No more books.  Mama's going to sing some songs." 

"NO SONGS!" he announced. 

"Okay, no songs, I said, but also still no Thomas." 

He did not like this development.  He demanded, "NO--- SONGS!!!!" 

I laughed and said, "Mama will pray!"  I began to pray about this, and thought maybe the hard line wasn't completely necessary, so after praying,  I said, "Okay, Mama will sing ONE song, and that song will be....'Trust and Obey'." 

This pleased him, and he sweetly and coyly added, "Hohwy, Hohwy (Holy, Holy)!" 

By now I knew I was being had, but he was irresistible.  "Okay", I said, "Mama will sing TWO songs," and I launched into "Trust and Obey" 

He interrupted, "NO!  One, two, three, four........ (songs)."  We both laughed so hard at that point, that it took a while to be able to get through....just TWO songs. (:

Here is the first attempt at recording our homeschool efforts and life in general in the blogosphere. 

I have been doing letteroftheweek.com with Christopher, loosely for several weeks--we are up to "D" and "3"--poised to do "4".  His favorite numbers are two and five.  Shapes were his first passion, then letters, and now he (Christopher) is into colors and some numbers.  His favorite animal to talk about is an elephant, but the best thing at the Philly Zoo is the balloon (like a hot air balloon without the hot air).  Thomas the Tank was his first book love, which is now edged out by Richard Scarry's Cars and Trucks and Things That Go.  Also a winner currently, is Goodnight Moon. 

Natalie has cut TWO teeth, is sleeping 9-11 hours per night, AND has learned to suck her "tall man" and "ring man" fingers, and can now soothe herself without mommy's help sometimes.

Some fun conversations I don't want to forget:

Mama is naming different animals with Christopher--"What animal says 'meow'?" What kind of animal says "Eee Aw'?" 

Mama: "Christopher, what kind of animal is Puff Puff?" (Puff Puff is a stuffed dog).

Christopher: "Yayo!"  (Yellow).

Mama is putting Christopher to bed, where one more song is a special treat.  One time, Mama thought Christopher was in need of an EXTRA special TLC, and said, "Christopher would you like TWO extra songs tonight?"  Christopher thought for a moment, and said, "FIVE!"

One day Mama was especially stressed out by dealing with sleep for two children (or dealing with the lack of it).  This produced some serious tears.  Christopher, who had the previous minute been incorrigible, looked at weeping Mama with concern in his eyes: "Mama okay?  Happy Mama!"  He patted Mama's arm with the air of a concerned uncle, and climbed up onto the chair to dispense a loving hug with lots of comforting pats.  Made Mama's day.