Bits of Joy

I’m really not sure who is enjoying this more ;) (Taken...

Sat, 26 May 2012 13:18:28 -0500

I’m really not sure who is enjoying this more ;) (Taken with instagram)

How they entertain themselves while I shop at the mall (Taken...

Thu, 24 May 2012 20:15:15 -0500

How they entertain themselves while I shop at the mall (Taken with instagram)

Bryan and I sometimes just call Joy “the girl.” “Want me to go get the girl up...

Thu, 24 May 2012 07:56:42 -0500

Bryan and I sometimes just call Joy “the girl.”

“Want me to go get the girl up from her nap?”

“Would you mind getting the girl ready to go while I pack up the food, please?”

Now, I realize that this may sound very impersonal to the passerby. It could come across that we think of her as “just another kid” and we’re not using the name that we very carefully picked out for her.

But at least for me (and I’m quite certain it is the same for Bryan), calling her “the girl” means a lot of things.

She is “the girl”…

- who introduced us to the world of parenthood.

- who has changed our lives forever.

- who has taught me more about being selfless than anyone has in my life.

- that I asked God for…an answer to prayers and longings.

- that I was afraid to hope for (my mom didn’t get a girl until her 5th pregnancy and Bryan’s mom, her 3rd so I didn’t think my chances of having a girl were very high).

- who breaks my heart with her beauty (not because she has Bryan or my looks but because of God’s handiwork in his creation of her).

- as in, the sweetest, funniest and most beautiful little girl we’ve ever known.

- to whom I would give the world to, if I could, but yet simultaneously I pray that she would count all of it as worthless compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus as her Lord (Philippians 3:8).

And someday I hope that God gives us a boy to whom we will bestow a very meaningful name but yet still occasionally call him “the boy” with just as much love.

Some things Joy says (and in some cases “has been saying” for many months now): -...

Wed, 23 May 2012 20:58:52 -0500

Some things Joy says (and in some cases “has been saying” for many months now):

- “I love you”: sounds like “Ah-la-bbbluu” and her tongue kinda’ hangs out of her mouth in the process of her oh-so-precise pronunciation.

- “Goodnight”: sounds like “Nah-night” and is usually accompanied by a cute cocking of the head to one side while the eyebrows are deeply furrowed.

- “Where did it go?”: sounds like “Ah go?”, accompanied by hands extended, palms up, to her sides and once again, the deeply furrowed eyebrows.

- “All done”: sounds like “Ah gone!” said with much fervor and intensely furrowed eyebrows, as if she is trying to bore holes through me with them.

- “Play!”: sounds like “Pa-way!” with two very defined syllables (I never knew that the word “play” is a two-syllable word until my daughter enlightened me so) and repeated with excitement either as we are approaching church (or specifically the nursery at church) or when a playground is in sight.

- “Basketball!”: version 1 sounds like “Basketball!” and version 2 sounds like “Ba-ball!”

- “Outside”: sounds like “Ow-ssside” with a very slight lisp and some extra emphasis on the “s”…it’s pretty cute. Oh yeah, and her eyebrows are furrowed for this one, too.

- “Iris!!”: sounds like “Eye-yis” and let’s just leave it at…she LOVES this girl and we don’t dare mention her name unless we know that Joy will get to see her shortly thereafter.

- “Anna!!”: usually sounds like “An-nana!!” and is repeated unceasingly as long as our sweet little neighbor girl is in view…and often when she isn’t, too.

- “Goodbye, See ya!”: sounds like “Buh-bye, see ya!” and is followed by a long tirade of, well, monologue with much expression, hand motions and yes, of course, furrowed eyebrows.

Anyone noticing a theme here? This girl knows how to use her eyebrows!

Mother/daughter love (Taken with instagram)

Wed, 23 May 2012 18:05:56 -0500

Mother/daughter love (Taken with instagram)

It’s a comfy hoodie kind of day, today.

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 09:54:39 -0500

It’s a comfy hoodie kind of day, today.

Yep. Swim diaper on the leg. Only a toddler. :)

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 10:01:45 -0500

Yep. Swim diaper on the leg. Only a toddler. :)

I leave her in her room for a few minutes and this is what she...

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 10:00:53 -0500

I leave her in her room for a few minutes and this is what she does.

Joy’s way of saying “Peek-a-boo” is “Peet-do-weeee.”

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 10:07:00 -0500

Joy’s way of saying “Peek-a-boo” is “Peet-do-weeee.”

I actually had to work through some tangles when I combed Joy’s hair this morning. First time...

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 13:56:31 -0500

I actually had to work through some tangles when I combed Joy’s hair this morning. First time for everything!

Photo

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 17:00:14 -0500

Photo

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 16:59:38 -0500

Last Tuesday night, Joy was up multiple times and ran a fever. Wednesday we quarantined ourselves...

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 00:09:50 -0500

Last Tuesday night, Joy was up multiple times and ran a fever. Wednesday we quarantined ourselves (her and I…I had a cold) in the house to make sure we didn’t share our germs at storytime or Wednesday night connection. Wednesday night was the same, up multiple times and running a fever. Thursday night was better and Friday night even better. Saturday she started to develop a slight rash and became more moody/touchy. About the same today, though the rash is already going away. Overall diagnosis: 2 yr old molars are coming in. Yay!

Sometimes I play the “radio” (Pandora Toddler station online) for Joy. I love when she...

Sat, 24 Mar 2012 11:22:32 -0500

Sometimes I play the “radio” (Pandora Toddler station online) for Joy. I love when she hears a song that she loves, she’ll gasp and look at me, then run across the room to her drum full of “instruments”, get out the shakers and start dancing, shaking and singing along.

Joy prayed out loud for the first time today (with her Papa) by repeating each word after him.

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 19:25:06 -0500

Joy prayed out loud for the first time today (with her Papa) by repeating each word after him.

[AUDIO] Chatting while playing.

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 19:07:36 -0500

[AUDIO] Chatting while playing.

Joy has quickly learned what it means when I ask “Would you like to go play outside?”...

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 17:48:33 -0500

Joy has quickly learned what it means when I ask “Would you like to go play outside?” and quickly begins chanting “‘Side. ‘Side. ‘Side!” That means “yes.”

[VIDEO] Basketball with Papa.

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 19:03:45 -0500

[Flash 10 is required to watch video.]

[VIDEO] Basketball with Papa.

This morning when Joy got up she kept telling me “eat!” with growing intensity so I...

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 19:00:34 -0500

This morning when Joy got up she kept telling me “eat!” with growing intensity so I figured she must be pretty hungry. When I put her in her chair and locked her tray in place, she said “Amen” She really was hungry!

Two things that I’m noticing about Joy’s behavior, lately: - She is understanding more...

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 09:33:14 -0600

Two things that I’m noticing about Joy’s behavior, lately:

- She is understanding more what it is to have her own opinion and therefore not always doing what is being asked of her.

Example: since she’s been walking we don’t carry her around quite as much. Until lately she was pretty much always happy to just follow us everywhere. But she has grown more bold in wandering from us and when asked to come back is more hesitant/resistant.

- She gets very frustrated when things don’t go her way and throws a bit of a “hissy fit”. It’s not that she’s always been a saint and hasn’t done this before. But it is becoming more frequent for us to have to get down to her level, calm her down, talk through what is going on and explain what behavior is acceptable…or not acceptable, as the case usually is. Somewhat as a joke one day Bryan taught her a coping mechanism by saying “Take a deep breath in…and blow it out” (then blowing in her face which makes her laugh and distracts her from the hissy fit). It give us the opportunity to then talk to her instead of trying to talk over her fussing. It’s funny that we would be telling our one year old to stop and take a deep breath but the distraction is helping for now!

Oh, how we need the Lord’s help to shape the character of this beautiful little girl!