Lucy's first prayer

I know I already posted today, but this can't wait 'till tomorrow! At dinner tonight, Lucy said her first prayer ever, and it was so adorable...

We had already prayed to begin our meal, and shortly after, Lucy said, "Pray, pretend pray." So, we said okay, let's pray, and she said, "Thank you God for juice!" (lots of emphasis on "juice"!) We asked her if there was anything else she wanted to thank God for and she repeated, "Thank you God for juice!"

So there you have it...lucy's first prayer, and she's thankful for juice. We tried to explain to her that you don't ever have to "pretend" prayer as she called it; that every prayer, big or small, is real and God hears it. :-)

Lord, I thank you for my blossoming Lucy and gentle Jack, and for the countless smiles they bring to my face and heart each and every day!

I love Lucy!

Oh my gosh, I just love my little girl! Just lately she seems to have lost that "toddler" look and is definitely more a "little girl." These pictures of her yesterday just crack me up:

She had just woken up from a very long nap...the hair!!! Love it!





We got it under control before heading over to the Lamy's for supper club, though :-)




And here's little Jack at Supper Club, just hanging out and being good as always :-)



But back to Lucy...some new things of hers...let's see...

*She loves singing and sometimes she wants you to sing along and sometimes NOT. She'll tell you, "No, no, mommy, no singing!"

*In the car, if we're riding with the windows down and she decides she doesn't like it, she says, "Turn the wind off."

*Loves her school class and talks about Mrs. Debby and Jesse B. all the time. (If I decide that something is off limits, all I need to say is, "It's Mrs. Debbie's rule!" and I get no more lip from little Lulu! :-)

*She's becoming very aware of her friends and social aspects...Every morning when we're getting her dressed, she asks what we're doing and then starts listing through her friends to see who will or won't be there. Audrey seems to be her best little girlfriend and I'd say Gavin and Cameron get the most shout outs for her boyfriends :-)

*I've saved the best for last...this story comes from our sitter, Carolyn, who watched the kids Friday night so Jason and I could go celebrate Dawn's 30th bday! Carolyn said she was feeding Jack his bottle on the couch, and Lucy climbed up to snuggle in with them. Toby (our dog) walked up to the couch and tried to nuzzle in his head too. Well, Lucy said to Toby, "No no Toby, this is MY brother. Jack is my brother. This is my brother..." over and over. Carolyn said all the while Lucy was saying this to Toby (surprisingly in a nice tone of voice), Lucy was tracing her pointer finger around the curve of his face, up and down, up and down. She ADORES Jack!

Consequently, Lucy and Jack are beginning to play BEAUTIFULLY together! This lovely cooperative play was something I kept hearing parents of closely-spaced children say was a huge positive, and boy is it! Of course there are a few arguments that come up between them, and Lucy loves to sit on Jack's back and pin him to the floor, but for the most part, they play and play and play together! It's WONDERFUL and heart-warming to see. I truly have the best kiddos around! Hearing Lucy talk is always a huge highlight of my day!

Tomorrow, we're off to The Eldredge's wedding in Lake George, NY. Lucy is super excited to be going on a plane, "Just like the Super Readers! (insert high-pitched SQUEALS!)

Baby Deals!

It's been a very fun weekend! Had a great time Friday night celebrating Dawn's 30th Bday at her party, and Saturday night we did it again celebrating April's 30th Bday with a fun college/sports themed party! (You had to drink what you drank in college...that brought back fun memories!)

Here's a picture...not quite from all the way back in college, but close...it was soon after graduation. I feel like we look twelve :-)



Quick update on Jason: he's doing much, much, MUCH better today! The steroids he's been plopping into his eye are really doing the trick (and boy is he watching the clock, counting down the minutes awaiting the first moment he can drop in a new dose :-) In his words, "there's no pain anymore, it's just blurry." Sucks that he can't see well in one eye, but I guess it's better than the pain he had been feeling. I suggested staying home from work tomorrow, but he's eager to get back to the office...

Quick blog today...I've got a mere twenty pages left in the book I've been trying to finish FOREVER...It's called The Ten-Year Nap, and I haven't really liked it all that much, but I've got to finish it because it's always a let down to start a book and not finish...even when I don't like the book. Anyways, I plan to finish that bad boy tonight so I can pick up a new book from the library for our trip to Lake George, NY this Thursday. (Not that I'll be reading on the plane or anything, what with Jack likely to be nursing the entire trip. See that's my plan for keeping him entertained: Jack-here's a boob, Lucy-here's a DVD player and movie, be good! :-) I'll let you know how it goes :-)

Well, it's that time of year again for the Fall kids/baby consignment sales, and it's what all the moms are chatting about at the juice-box cooler (bad joke, I know...what's the equivalent of the "watercooler" for SAHM's?)

Anyways, in the spirit of saving a few bucks, here are two cool websites my friend Tiffany showed me:

http://www.mamabargains.com//

http://www.babysteals.com/

As if you don't have enough websites to shop, blogs to keep up with, and whatever else you do on the computer, here are two more websites to bookmark :-) It's a cool premise: these sites feature one awesome deal a day, and apparently they sell out fast. Happy Shopping!

what can we learn from this?

It's been an interesting Saturday...a Saturday with events taking place that one would never expect to take place at the Martin Household on Gamedays:

1) early morning visit to the eye doctor

2) stop at the Pharmacy to get steroids for Jason's infected eyes

and most shockingly,

3) THE TV IS NOT ON, NOR ARE THERE ANY FOOTBALL RELATED SOUNDS COMING FROM THE COMPUTER, ADD'L TV'S SET UP IN THE DEN, OR RADIOS!

This can only mean I must take pity on my poor husband, for it MUST be serious if football is being sacrificed! :-)

Poor Jason. Here's what happened over the last two days that caused this mess: Jason wears his glasses most of the time, although he does have contacts. Well, it's been about two months since he last wore contacts, and they've been sitting in contact solution in a drawer. Because he was playing in a golf tournament yesterday, he put his contacts in so he could wear sunglasses (not sure why he was figuring sunglasses into the equation -it's been raining all week and rained yesterday, but whatever-). His eyes started bothering him while golfing, and by the end of the evening, I was convinced he had been drinking way more than he said he had, for his eyes were super bloodshot and red and awful looking.

Well, this morning, he was up out of bed super early looking for an optometrist that might be open Saturdays -he was in severe pain and unable to keep his eye open, although when they closed it was unbearable pain, he said. Turns out Schaffer Eye Center is the only place in Huntsville open on Saturdays (we asked why out of curiosity, and they said, "because everyone else is closed on Saturdays"...SMART business plan :-)

Anyhow, the doctor said there were two things wrong:

1) Jason's an AU fan (the ENTIRE staff was decked out in Bama gear :-) and

2) he has a severe infection in his eyes, which was treated with first, some morphine in his eyes (he really liked that!) and he's now on steroids and some sort of "goo" he gets to put in his eyes several times a day.

He's in bed right now, shades drawn, all lights and sounds off, wearing sunglasses (chuckle :-), looking pitiful. :-(

You may be wondering why contacts would cause this...Well, we learned today that if you store contacts in solution for an extended period of time, you still need to be cleaning them EVERY DAY. Taking them out, rubbing and rinsing them in solution and placing them back in storage, every day. Oooooohhhhhhhh... yes, you really do learn something every day...

Today we learned that some Bammers are even capable of becoming doctors...

Was that mean? :-) Just poking fun...WAR EAGLE!

Jack and Lucy at the same age

Let's have a little fun today with the post...here are some pictures of Jack and Lucy at corresponding ages:

9 MONTHS OLD

6 MONTHS OLD

NEWBORN (Jack pictured first)

How the time flies!

Jack in the Spotlight

People always quip, "You won't have nearly as many pictures of your second child as you do your first..." Well, when I had Jack, I made it a mission of mine to not allow that statement ring true for my family, and I'm happy to report Jack's scrapbook is fat and happy (and up-to-date) just as Lucy's was at this age.

We focused some attention on Jack this afternoon, and took him out in the front yard to snap a few pictures of him. Lately, pictures of Jack have been taken as we're out and about somewhere, and I don't have enough pictures of just him. And, as Jack is nearing 10 months old, it's a good time to catch what he looks like for the traditional "nine-month" benchmark.

Here are some favorite of my oh-so-sweet little guy, Jack.






Lucy was not happy about Jack getting the attention -- that face!

Since we're focusing on little Jack, some "Jack Facts" for you:

*At his nine-month well checkup, he weighed in at 20 lbs 4 oz

*He can pull up without difficulty and he cruises around the perimeter of coffee tables and ottomans with ease :-)

*He can balance standing up on his own for about 4 or 5 seconds. I think walking isn't too far away.

*He remains a very happy baby.

*Still eats and nurses very frequently :-)

*Eyes are still very blue and his hair is a reddish-blonde.

*He has 5 teeth.

The Way We Learned...

Today has been a great day! Both Jack and Lucy enjoyed Mom's Morning Out, and I began a new volunteer position as a tutor at New Hope Elementary. I was placed in a 4th grade class and so excited to get a chance to be back in the classroom. (I thoroughly enjoy tutoring from home, but it's even better being in an actual classroom, surrounded by colorful educational posters on the wall and seeing lots of kiddos leaning over their desks, trading pencils and sharing ideas.) I couldn't wait to find out what novel the kids might be reading, what mode of writing they'd be working on, or what period of history they were learning about.

A reading basal was placed in my hands. The teacher recommended using the pre-determined questions listed in the margin (in case you aren't familiar with these, they're generally the most boring, rote memorization type of questions possible). Finally, there was a worksheet the students needed help with at the end listing main ideas and supporting details. My heart sank a little...

Now, don't get me wrong, I understand the reading basal is the curriculum decided upon by the state government and the teachers have very little say in the public school system. Basals can certainly accomplish some objectives regarding teaching children how to read --it's likely the way most of us learned to read. However, the problem is, there are so many more EFFECTIVE ways to teach reading, so many more AUTHENTIC texts that will engage children in fun learning. And really, how often in our adult lives do our bosses ask us to organize a paragraph's main ideas and supporting details? :-)

Despite the lackluster reading text, I had a great time reading with the students, and it felt great to interact with them and help them, and I'm very excited to return next Thursday. Little kids are so great...one of the little girls got frustrated the teacher sent a certain boy to join our group...she leaned over and whispered to me, "He likes me and he's ALWAYS bothering me..." Love it!

So, today, I thought I would share a few children's books that I think fit the bill of being fun to read with your kids, engage them in texts filled with rich vocabulary, a purposeful plot, and authentic writing. Happy Reading!

Little Kids:

Dog Heaven, Cynthia Rylant (ANYTHING by her is wonderful!)
My Rotten Red Headed Older Brother, Patricia Polacco (You can't go wrong with any of her books!)
Where the Sidewalk Ends, Shel Silverstein
The Kissing Hand, Audrey Penn *Sequel, A Pocket Full of Kisses, is WONDERFUL to read to your child if you're about to add a new baby to the family!
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, Judith Viorst

Upper Elementary:
Out of the Dust, Karen Hesse
Island of the Blue Dolphins, Scott O'Dell
Pink and Say, Polacco *Great Civil War story
Sarah, Plain and Tall, Patricia MacLachlan
The Whipping Boy, Sid Fleischman
Stargirl, Jerry Spinelli *This is being made into a movie!