Laundry was the name of them game at our house today. We postponed an outing with my friends and former coworkers due to N's runny nose. I used the day at home to catch up on the wash, which had definitely begun to pile up! Here's my little laundry helper doing his part.
G returned safely from CA early Thursday morning. He had taken the "red-eye" flight, so he spent a few hours catching up on sleep before heading into work for part of the day. We are thankful that we have Dad home again!
Daily Strength for Daily Needs by Mary W. Tileston was recommended by my parents as an excellent devotional book. It has been a blessing to me over the past few weeks. Each morning after breakfast, N and I sit in the big leather chair and read the day's selection together. His favorite part is holding the bookmark and hiding it in the pages. Here is an excerpt from today's reading:
But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob,
and he that formed thee, O Israel,
Fear not: for I have redeemed thee,
I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.
~Isaiah 43:1
God beholds thee individually, whoever thou art. "He calls thee by thy name." He sees thee, and understands thee. He knows what is in thee, all thy own peculiar feelings and thoughts, thy dispositions and likings, thy strength and thy weakness. He views thee in thy day of rejoicing and thy day of sorrow. He sympathizes in thy hopes and in thy temptations; He interests himself in all thy anxieties and thy remembrances, in all the risings and fallings of thy spirit. He compasses thee round, and bears thee in His arms; He takes thee up and sets thee down. Thou dost not love thyself better than He loves thee. Thou canst not shrink from pain more than He dislikes thy bearing it, and if He puts it on thee, it is as thou wilt put it on thyself, if thou art wise, for a greater good afterwards.
~John Henry Newman
G is traveling this week and these words reminded me that the Lord is with all three of us while he is away.
We also love to read from the book of Bible promises that Auntie L and Uncle R sent for N's baptism. It is a favorite throughout the day. Here we are reading it a few weeks ago.
We are seeing N's personality come out a little more each day. Today his sense of humor was really evident. He loves hanging out with his wonderful Dad.
Last night, we went to a David Wilcox concert with our friends B & E. E secured great seats for us - front right section, about 3 rows back from the stage. Thank you, E! David gave an excellent performance - he is a true artist. We loved having an evening out with our friends!
Does he look like Tyler Hansbrough after a UNC win or what?! N says thanks to Auntie M for such a cool piece of Carolina apparel. He points to it each morning after getting dressed and grins when I place it on his head. Enjoy, Carolina fans!
Have you ever had the urge to press the buttons on one of those "musical sound effect" books? N and his Auntie K LOVE them! Here's N playing with one this morning. This time, we discovered that it makes a monkey sound (ooo-ooh, aaa-aahh) and a blaa-blaa-blaa sound!
Last night, our friends J and S invited us over for barbecue. Their neighbor makes and sells his own sauce, and we got to sample it last night. Yum! It was really nice to be with friends for dinner on a weeknight - a special treat for us.
It's time to get N dressed, teeth brushed, etc. for the day. Yes, he is still wearing his snowman pajamas from Christmas - as long as they still fit and it's cool enough to wear them, we're putting them to good use!
N and I took a trip to Cheraw, SC to visit Nanny and PopPop. Aside from a close encounter with Gloria, the hissing kitty cat, we had a very pleasant day together. Shame on you, Gloriac!
We took a walk around the block, and afterwards, N, PopPop and I played in the backyard. While N took an afternoon nap, Nanny and I cheered our UNC Tarheels to victory over Virginia Tech. We love you, Nanny and PopPop ~ thanks for a great day!
We are home from the library, and N is down for his nap right now. I am taking a break from my Friday afternoon housework! I have designated Fridays as my "work days" to clean all bathrooms, vacuum, dust, etc. So far, it works out pretty well. I don't get overwhelmed with cleaning, and the house looks pretty decent for the weekend!
We had a great time at ImaginOn, Charlotte's children's library. N and I chose some new books to borrow - one about shapes, one about babies, and another about cars. A storyteller read some fun books and we sang along with silly songs. N walked around the room and visited with some of the other babies and parents.
When story time was over, we explored some children's exhibits - his favorite was a drum machine with lots of levers to lift and lower, and lots of noise, of course. He also loved a "popping ball" machine, very similar to the toy his Gram and Gramp gave him for Christmas! He giggled while he watched those balls go up and down. We also tried on a silly straw hat together. I love this library! It's a nice break from my Matthews routine every now and then, and on Fridays when G is free we like to bring lunch and meet Dad in his big building after our library time.
Our little guy does love his books...loves to turn the pages, loves to put them on his bookshelves (one in den, one in living room, and a book area in his bedroom!), and loves to make the sounds in "Mr Brown Can Moo! Can You?". He will sit in my lap for as long as I'm wiling to read to him - no kidding. He just snuggles right up with me (and his Dad at bedtime) and loves every minute. Sharing a love of books is one of my favorite parts of parenting right now. I hope this is a life-long love for N.
It's a crisp, sunny morning here. N is toddling around, playing with his toys, and "reading" the newspaper as I type. He does love papers ~ one of his favorite activities is shredding newspaper into very tiny pieces, kind of like our cat Kiroli used to do when she lived inside! Makes for a harmless mess and very cheap fun, I say. We plan to visit the library later this morning for a special program for little ones. Tonight G and I will have an "at home date" complete with a steak dinner. I can't wait!
How cool ~ my very own blog! I just have a minute for this post because dinner is in the oven and G is on his way home. We're eating meatballs and cream sauce over pasta, sugar snap peas and mushrooms, and brownies a la mode for dessert. Oh, and spicy hummus with pita chips as an appetizer. My husband LOVES appetizers, so this is a special part of his Valentine's dinner. Signing off for now...
