The Weather Channel Says it (Feels) Like -2...

... and I went outside twice today- kudos to me!!!


The phrase "I need to blog about this" has been increasing in frequency lately so it's time to jot a few things down for all you folks checking in on us. I'm not really good at prose, but I really like categories (and lists, ahhhh lists) so we'll do it that way.

Eden:
Eden is picking up on language a lot more these days. She is saying less and less- well, ok, that's not entirely fair. She is jabbering a lot, and LOUDLY, but she has decreased the number of words she says that can be found in an English dictionary. Meh- she'll grow out of it. What she is doing is responding to our conversation. Like the other day when she was growling in the kitchen while I stirred dinner and I called her wild thing. She dissapeared around the corner for a few minutes, and I didn't pay much attention (having a small apartment is nice cause I can hear her wherever she goes!). Soon she had trotted back into the kitchen carrying her Wild Things book and adamantly asked that I read to her. How could I refuse!? Dinner just had to wait.
She is also noticing new things about her environment. For instance, she has discovered that some objects are very similar. Today she brought me The Poky Little Puppy from her Golden Books collection (she has 26 golden books!!). After handing it to me she ran back to her room, shuffled through her books for a bit, and then brought me a second copy of The Pocky Little Puppy (which I didn't know we had). She seemed delighted so we compared them for a while.
She is figuring out how everything works. She pushes her step from the couch to the chair and back so she can climb. She can take a dvd out of the box, put it in the dvd player, and turn on the tv (thank goodness she hasn't learned to hit play yet!). She will (sometimes) lay down when asked to use her inhaler. She sometimes brings us a new diaper to tell us she needs changed. AND she is learning her body parts.

Katie:
I have been fighting off a bad sinus infection, but thanks to some good medical advice (mother-in-law+PA=good stuff) I am feeling much better. Eden was thrilled that the first couple of days this week involved a LOT of television because I was too sick to get off the couch. Adjusting to all the changes has been easier than I expected. Thomas is gone a lot, but after 4 months of constant interaction, it's nice to have something new to talk about at the end of the day! The small home has been such a blessing for me. It takes about 10 minutes to straighten and 30 minutes to deep clean. I have easy access to everything that's necessary and no clutter to distract. Eden is always within earshot and almost always within eyesight and the whole place is very baby proofed. We are part of a great play group on Thursdays, will soon start a Music Together class on Tuesdays, and I will hopefully join a Trinity Wives' Bible study on Mondays. I feel like I'm on the cusp of getting into a creative groove. There are projects lined out (Eden's room makeover, a quilt I started cutting months ago, and gesso just arrived for priming canvases). I'll keep you posted on projects and hopefully offer up some pictures. Oh, and I called it, I don't behave well with lack of sunlight (plus our apartment doesn't have overhead lighting in the living room- seriously!?). It was sunny today, it was wonderful!

Thomas: (as written by Thomas)
I guess I'm still trying to find what a normal day is supposed to look like. Some days I get a lot done at home, some days I have to be at the library, other days my mind decides not to work. It is very frustrating to not know when I am going to have a fruitful day of labor. I miss Timber Framing. I could always predict what I would do on any given day, and I was good at it. In my program I am the newbie, and even though I talk more than anyone in my classes I know my "co-workers" are running mental circles around me. The upside is that the content of my classwork and my homework never ceases to interest me, and often it even stirs my soul. The spiritual climate of the campus is healthy. In my formation group, for instance, a pastor to be's daughter was healed of swine flu. She is living in Singapore while her father is being prepared for ministry. I wish I could say the spiritual climate at my church is healthy, but the truth is we haven't found "the right one." There's just no way to replace the sweet friends we made at the Mission.



That's all folks! Time to get some sleep. Tomorrow is blood work on Eden (don't worry, nothing is wrong) and family trip to the children's museum. Should be a good day!