Thankful Thursday

David, Audrey, and I took a four-day whirlwind trip to Baltimore last Saturday-Tuesday with my Dad, brother, sister-in-law, and nephew.  We went up to see my maternal grandparents, my aunt, uncles, and cousins (my mom had gone up before us so she was there too.)  We also went to help pack up some things at my dad's parents' house.  After an emotional and memorable few days, I'm still trying to catch my breath (and do laundry, and clean house, and get caught up on Bible Study, and do the shopping, etc. etc. etc.  It's busy, but so are most of your own weeks, I'm sure!)  SO, this week, I'm mainly thankful that the trip went so well and hopeful that I get to blog about it very soon before I forget all of the details!

I'm also thankful for...

1.  My new Keurig coffee maker!  I have been wanting one of these for over a year now, and have diligently searched and shopped everywhere waiting to find one that was a deal we could afford.  I stumbled across one priced lower than any I'd seen and called David to ask what he thought.  He gave his blessing and I have been in a state of bliss since!  I can't begin to tell you the daydreams I've had about entertaining with the thing - people coming from miles around to brew their own special cup....my house being filled to the brim and everyone so cozy and comfy as they hold their specially flavored tea or coffee....yeah, I'm a dork.  But a dork with a really cool new coffee maker!  Bring your mug and c'mon over!

2.  COOLER TEMPERATURES.  THANK YOU, LORD!

3.  Redemption.  Check out this quote from my Beth Moore bible study this week: "You cannot amputate your history from your destiny." I'm learning that as much as we may want to do that sometimes, God uses the former to fulfill the latter.

Lastly, please say a prayer for AJ as she is having some stomach issues.  She doesn't have any other symptoms nor is she vomiting, thank goodness (the problem is farther south).  She's acting okay and we're keeping her really hydrated, but it's still no fun.  I'm going to give it until tomorrow mid-morning (which would be almost 2 days from the onset) and call the doctor if need be to see what they suggest.  We definitely don't want her to get worse over the weekend!  Pray for healing tonight and a better day tomorrow!

Thankful Thursday

Here is this week's list...

1.  That David is home safe and sound (and on time!) from yet another international business trip.  Thank you, Lord, for keeping us safe and me (mostly) sane while we were apart.

2.  Pedicures and long overdue catch-up conversations with a sweet godly woman, whose friendship I couldn't be more grateful for.

3.  Finding something you thought you'd lost for good!  This week it was my sunglasses.  Maybe next week it'll be my mind.

4.  Responding to God's gentle urging.  I had been putting something off and finally decided to step up and do what God was asking me to do.  The result was far better than I could have ever imagined and made me feel foolish for my delay in the first place.  But then, God usually does exceed my expectations when I do what I know is His will.

5.  A daughter.  There was a time in my life I wasn't sure I'd know what to do if I had a girl, but now I couldn't imagine my life without one.  Yesterday we went to the mall and even though she's only 15 months old, we had fun picking out clothes for her, eating in the food court, and walking through the big fountain outside.  She is so much fun and so amazed by everything.  I just want to freeze her at this adorable age!  I so cherished those moments and look forward to much more girl time in our future!

Lots going on this next week for us, so please be in prayer for our health and endurance!  Updates to come!

15 Months Old

Sorry about my lack of a Thankful Thursday post, but I just couldn't justify spending any more time on this blog last week than I already had.  Hopefully the Day in Pictures made up for it and gave you the fix you needed.  And, in even more of an attempt to placate you, I decided to write this post today in honor of Audrey's 15th month birthday.


Here, in no particular order, are 15 things our Sweet Girl is in to these days:

• Her vocabulary is astounding us.  Though her pronunciation may be difficult for the untrained ear to understand, she definitely knows and uses a ton of words.  In addition to baby, mommy, daddy, bye-bye, more, no-no, dog, and some facial features that she knew at 12-13 months, she has added hey/hi, sky, moon, plane, up, dink or gee (drink), bubbles, clock (this is hard to understand, but it's the same word every time she sees one), bow, leaf, flower, and go.  

• Her comprehension is even more amazing.  I would say she understands 60-70% of the nouns I use around the house (verbs aren't as high, but she pieces it together pretty quickly.)  Either that, or she's really good at faking the "yeah, I understand what you're saying" face like her Daddy does.  

• Her animal noise "vocabulary" has increased too.  She will now answer semi-coherently when you ask her what any of the following say: horse, dog, cat, rooster (dooo as in cock-a-doodle), cow, chicken (brock), snake (sss), fish (opens and closes her mouth), elephant (throws her arm up and says bbrr), sheep, lion, duck, and monkey (eee for ooo eee).  My favorite is camel, for which she makes a slight spitting noise.  She forgets bear a lot and pig holds her up because she can't say anything close to oink.

• She can recognize and point out and/or go get puzzle pieces of the capital letters A, B, C, D, E, F, G, M and Y.  The last two came about out of order because she sees them on some t-shirts I have.  She can pronounce A, B, D, E, & Y pretty well and F is "ffff."

• She still eats jarred baby food green vegetables a few times a week.  She'll eat spinach if it's in stuff or green beans with rice, but I must confess that sometimes it's easier to get them in her by popping open a jar.  As long as I'm not packing them in her lunchbox for school in a few years, I'm cool with it.

• She loves books.  She will constantly get one and come sit in my lap or squat down and flip through them herself.  I couldn't be happier about this!

• She has really begun to hate diaper changes.  I think it's because she can't stand to stop playing and lie down for that 60 seconds.  She's just so busy!

• Every time the air conditioning or washing machine cuts on, she says "Daddy?" because she thinks it's the garage door opening.  This is especially pitiful when he's traveling.  She misses him so much!

• At bath time, we "dance" her rubber ducky and little toys along the bathtub edge as we sing songs.  She loves it and tries so hard to sing along.  She also loves making her baby dolls and stuffed animals dance (imagine her holding the toy out and turning it like a steering wheel).

• The other day, I showed her a picture of a little boy in a wheelchair who broke his leg (the son of a friend of a friend). I told her we needed to pray for him & she looked at me & said "men" which translates "Amen."

• She has really developed a love of shoes.  I usually leave a pair or two in the car so I know where they are, but if they do make it into the house, she loves going to get them and trying to put them on.

• At a recent outing to Chick-fil-A, she not only wasn't scared of the giant cow mascot, but she was almost too distracted to eat because she couldn't stop waiting for him to come back.

• She loves dogs (She says "Do", as in, rhymes with "No") and is fearless around them, which worries me a little bit.  The other night we were outside talking to several neighbors and one of them had their little dog with them.  They said goodbye and continued on their walk, while I stood there talking to another neighbor.  I turned around and Audrey was already a house down toddling after the dog without hesitation.  As I went to get her and head home, she waved and said "Bye-Bye Do" over my shoulder the entire way back to our driveway.

• We have taught her how to tickle and she loves getting us.  And by tickle, I mean grab and jab at your flesh while you pretend to laugh instead of cry.  Still, it's so stinkin' cute.

And the #15 grand finale tidbit:  PICTURES ARE UP!!!  Check out the FOUR latest albums in the gallery and enjoy!

A Day in Pictures

So, here it is.  Finally.  What you've been waiting for.  What you've been refreshing the page for.  What you've lost sleep wondering about.

A Day in Pictures.  An unedited (literally, because I don't have the time to edit the pics!) look at our lives behind closed doors.  A snapshot of a nothing-special-going-on, "typical" day in the Sinyard household.

Ta-Da!

I've seen this done on several friends' blogs, and decided it sounded cool enough to try.  I only wish I'd done one sooner, as I'm already forgetting what those early days/weeks/months were like.  (Which is probably a good thing, if Audrey ever wants a sibling.  Those days were great, but they weren't easy!)

Hopefully I'll be able to do something like this a few times a year, because I know it'll be something I treasure down the road.  However, given the difficulty I had with this one, this may be a unique, once-in-a-lifetime read.  So soak it up, just in case.  Enjoy!

6:45am - David gets up and gets ready for work.  Sorry, no picture there.

7:15am - I get up and work out.  If I'm being good and if we're not going running that night, that is.  Insert sweaty goodbye kiss sometime around 7:30am.  Sorry I missed the photo op there, too.

7:55am - Write out the day's to-do list.

8:00am - Greet this precious girl.  Then I change her diaper as I review the day's agenda with her.  I figure if she's anything like me, she wants to know what's in store!

8:10am - Breakfast!  Today's menu was cottage cheese, applesauce, and a waffle.

Of course, I couldn't miss the opportunity to share one of the many tiny frustrations of the day, too.  I spilled her drink while trying to multi-task and empty the dishwasher.  I was also on the phone with the airline trying to get her added to my ticket for an upcoming flight.  What is it they say about being less productive the more you try to take on at once?  Yeah.

8:45am - I clean her up, do another diaper change, and then it's laundry time.  Here she is helping me unload the dryer.  She owns sock duty.

9:00am - Shower time for Mommy.  This is my view from inside the shower every day.  I get a baby doll slammed up against the glass or little fingers wriggling under the door.  As you can see, I encourage safe exploration by pulling out all the really dangerous stuff from under the cabinets and placing it on the counter.  She runs around and plays while I sing, talk, and try to keep an eye on her without getting shampoo in it.  Then, I get out and dry my hair (which usually involves drying baby doll's hair too) and brush my teeth (which usually means brushing baby doll's "teeth" with AJ's toy toothbrush.)

9:30am -  I get her dressed, then it's playtime!  We do puzzles...

Flashcards...

Sing songs (this was the "stomp your foot" verse of "If You're Happy and You Know It")...

And sometimes pitch fits.

10:15am - Another diaper change, then it's time to read a few books and settle down.

10:30am - 12:00pm - Naptime for Audrey.  It passes quickly as I finish getting ready...

Do some ironing...

Pay bills...

Pull a few weeds...

Make a grocery shopping list, and eat lunch.  (Yummy, right?  It's actually one of their better ones.)

Just as I'm finishing, she wakes up.  Such a happy, well-rested girl!

12:15pm - I feed Audrey a lunch of grilled cheese, grapes, and carrots.  What you can't see too well here are the tear stains because we had a battle of the wills about eating more grapes before more grilled cheese.  That's why we usually do meals in courses.

12:55pm - I change her diaper and we load up the car for a busy afternoon of errands.  We begin with a trip to the dry cleaners...

Then the bank...

Then a quick drop off at Goodwill...

Then the grocery store (she's very selective about her deli meat)...

And finally, the library...

I usually don't try to squeeze that much into one day, but it's just how this week worked out.  We often do 2-3 errands that include only some of the above.  Other frequent stops include the post office, Wolf Camera, Target, or the drug store.  Still, we were able to finish in an hour and a half and get back home.

2:30pm - More playtime!

Have to stop and hug Mommy (and drool on her a little, too.)  Love it!

3:00pm - Time to change her diaper again and then check out some of our new library books.

3:15pm - 4:30pm - Audrey's afternoon nap.  Again, it goes quickly as I fix myself a snack...

Check email/facebook...

Clean up some of her toys to put away for storage...

Return a phone call, and start dinner prep.

Sometimes, though, I do Bible Study or blog or - gasp - just watch TV.

4:30pm - I am beckoned upstairs by this less-than-happy face.

A little snack of pineapple and milk makes it all better.  Followed by a diaper change, of course.

5:00pm - She plays (read: pulls stuff out of every possible cabinet and basket and drops it everywhere) while I do some straightening up.  I'm pretty sure we're working against each other here.

5:30pm - We go outside for some fresh air and bubble blowing.  

6:00pm - Time to watch for Daddy!  She stations herself here or by the door to the garage and asks "Da-da?" a million times with her hands turned up, wondering where he is.  Then, when she hears the garage door open, she proclaims "Da-da!" and waits impatiently for her big hug.

Choosing just the right song to dance to with Daddy to while I finish dinner.

6:30pm - Dinner time!  Tonight's menu is salad, pork chops, applesauce, mashed potatoes, creamed corn, and rolls.  Don't be too impressed - the potatoes and creamed corn were premade and the rolls were from a can.  Healthy, I know.

7:15pm - Diaper change, then a little Wheel of Fortune (her first full sentence is going to be "I'd like to buy a vowel, Pat.") and some playtime.

Then, it's time to pick up toys...

And put dirty clothes in the hamper...

8:00pm - Bath time!

Drying off...

Brushing teeth (she loves this!)

Putting on pajamas...

8:30pm - Time for story, devotion, and prayers.

8:45pm - A little rocking and singing before I lay her down.

David usually cleans up the kitchen, while I do more laundry.

9:15pm - Time to clock out.  We veg, talk, or watch TV for a while.  Ahhh.  If a low-calorie snack is involved, it's even better.

Sometime between 10:30pm and 11:00pm - One last check on our sleeping angel, then it's lights out for us.

So there you have it.  Usually there are fewer errands, 2-3 nights a week we run at the park, and occasionally there are friends over or dinners out.  At least once or twice a week, we try to have a play date and/or one of her grandmothers comes over and gives me a break.  Most days, I try to get in the Word or do Bible Study homework.  There can certainly be less productivity (or more), more tears (or less), and shorter naps (or longer ones.)  But, you get the idea.  It's busy, it's fun, and it's our reality.  And while sometimes the days are long and difficult, I wouldn't dare think of trading it for a corner office downtown.  My current view is much better, don't you agree?