Family Reading Time
Yesterday morning I had the pleasure of reading Brown Bear, Brown Bear to Paige and Ella.
NOTE TO EMAIL READERS: Please click on the title of this post to visit the blog and see the picture.
It’s official. Beth and I are both ready to call last night’s sleep the best so far for Paige since we started “sleep training” her this past Saturday night. She only fed twice (one more hour of sleep would have dropped that to once), and she went down easy (i.e. no crying) for bedtime and after each feeding.
Fast Friends
This past weekend Beth met her two roommates from college for a “Girl’s Weekend”. Here’s a shot of Paige and Josiah during some pool-time.
Paige on the Playmat
Paige is the perfect centerpiece to this colorful photo.
New Baby, New Lives, New Year
Prior to the arrival of our second daughter, Beth and I tried to savor our final moments as a family of three. There were those last couple of dates where we enjoyed simple conversation and time to ourselves. We enjoyed doting on Ella, showering her with the attention she craves at two-and-a-half. We were peacefully resigned to the fact that this would all change with Paige’s arrival, so we simply tried to enjoy things as they were while we could. Read More…
Our Beach Trip: Seven Questions Asked and Answered
Yesterday was a wonderful day to get back in the flow of home life. We started the morning at church. I was blessed with the opportunity to teach in our community group and got to lead an active group conversation on God’s role as Creator. When we got home, Ella went down for a nap. I cooked lunch and had some great conversation with Beth (she said the distractions of my cooking made the pacing perfect for processing her thoughts). After Ella’s nap, the three of us headed outside for some yard work. Finally, we finished off the evening with a “dinner” of frozen yogurt at Froyoz and a little grocery shopping.
This past week was a wonderful week of discovery for our little family. Given Beth and my predilection for details and planning, several questions were on our mind as we planned our beach trip. Now we’d like to share our questions and the answers we discovered:
1) Will the pool and ocean be warm enough?
LONG ANSWER: We got serious about our beach trip in late April. We saw that the week of Memorial Day offered accommodations at substantial savings to the following peak summer weeks. The only major question about doing this in Beth’s mind was, “Will the pool and ocean be warm enough?” With thoughts of global warming in mind, I assured her that it would.
My prediction held true. Air temps were in the mid to upper-eighties, and I’d estimate the ocean temp was in the mid to upper seventies. As I’m writing this, I ask Beth if she concurs, and she says, “I don’t know temps, honey. It felt great. Not even a shiver from Ella all week.” In addition, the pool started out warm, and got warmer. By Tuesday, it was warmer than the evening air temperature.
SHORT ANSWER: Yes, they were perfect!
2) How will Ella do during the car ride?
Ella far exceeded our expectations. She was so patient, and she took naps “on command”. I swear I’m not making that up. For example, yesterday we ate lunch at Wendy’s. Afterwards, we started down the interstate, and mommy gave Ella her milk. She finished, and mommy said, “Ella, it’s time to take a nap.”
Ella asked, “Take a nap at home?” and mommy smiled and said, “No, in the car.”
Ella thought about that for a minute. “Paci in the car?” she asked pensively. Mommy nodded, handing back the treasured nap time talisman. Ella stuck it in her mouth and said, “Sing?” Mommy sang her nap time song, and Ella proceeded to take a two hour nap.
3) Will Ella sleep in her playpen?
Yes, Ella loved sleeping in her playpen. With all of her blankies and “pink puppy”, it seemed as though she liked it as much as her regular bed.
4) Will we eat good food?
Yes, we loved dining out at Roastfish and Cornbread, and our dinners in were scrumptious as well.
I was just discussing this one with Beth, and she said it was never a question in her mind. “You know why?” she asked.
“No, why?”
“Because you were going on the trip I knew we would eat yummy food,” she said.
Gee, thanks honey!
5) What will we read?
Beth read Take Four by Karen Kingsbury and I read Unbroken by Lauren Hillenbrand.
6) How will Ella do in the pool and the ocean?
Fantastic! Her progression throughout the week was fun to behold. Somewhat timid at first, by the end of the week, one of her favorite things to do was sit on the side of the pool, roll in with our help, and swim (with a helping hand) several feet underwater.
7) BONUS: What will we name our new baby?
Paige. We’ve got the middle name too, but we’re still working on the spelling.
Given that we’re getting back to our regular routine, my hunch is this will be the last extended post that I’ll write here for a while. In the meantime, I’ll continue to post pictures and shorter updates; however, I’ll save my longer writing for my personal/business blog.