"Oh, no!" said the boy.

Isaiah has been talking in "book" language a lot lately.

Sometimes he narrates his own life: "'I'm hungry,' said Isaiah."

But he also enjoys narrating his play/imaginary world: "'Oh, no!' said the boy."

Sometimes I have to speak in book language to get him to hear me: "'It's time for your quiet time. Please go upstairs,' said the mama."

This boy of mine is getting to be so grown up, and I am loving him more every day. Lately, when I look at him I see a boy and not a baby or a toddler any more. Sometimes I feel sad about this, but sometimes I feel how our relationship is growing and it makes me so happy. We talk about things a lot--we really talk. I see his gentle spirit and compassionate heart. I laugh at his jokes. I hear him process his experiences at school (when I am not there) and I realize that he can and should grow without me there all the time. I am so proud of my boy and so grateful for him.

Oh, and just so you know, Ezra said "Read, please" for the first time today. So these two boys are taking after their book-obsessed parents. (Yes, when we moved, I think I estimated that we own between 400 and 500 books. That's a lot of books.)

Donuts with Dad

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Originally uploaded by corrie_merricks

Today was "donuts with dad" at Isaiah's school.

How cute is this picture?

Sorry about the quality of the photo--It is a picture of a picture!

Happy Birthday!

Happy, happy birthday to my mom, Isaiah and Ezra's Mema. We are so grateful for you and we are so glad you were born!

Seasons

Most of the time, Isaiah wants it to be his birthday TODAY. Or whenever we are going to someone else's birthday party.

In fact, on July Fourth, I told him that it was America's birthday. "NO. MY birthday," he said. "Well, tomorrow is your half birthday," I replied. So guess what we did on July the fifth? We baked cupcakes to celebrate a certain person's half birthday. Because if it's a birthday, obviously you have cake.

But lately, he has been able to tell people when they ask that his birthday is January 5th. (I know! He's brilliant, isn't he?) 


And lately we've been talking about the holidays. See, in September, it will be Daddy's birthday, then next comes Halloween. After that will be Thanksgiving, and then it will be Christmas. After Christmas comes Isaiah's birthday! (I'm sure there was a time in your life when you measured the passage of time in the same way, right?) Sometimes he gets them mixed up, but he's been practicing. And sometimes, when I look at him I realize that this little boy of mine will be four on his next birthday. FOUR. Someone please tell me how that is possible.

Just in case you're in need of some inspiration, this is what is inspiring me for Halloween planning. You can't wait, can you? Neither can Isaiah.

Toddler Backpack

Toddler Backpack
Originally uploaded by correna79
Since the boys were going to "school" this year, I had the idea that making them backpacks might help ease the transition a little bit. So I found this PDF pattern online and then I couldn't help but make it! I added front and side pockets to both backpacks, and I used elastic for the side pockets for sippy cups. The orange backpack is Isaiah's, and I made the pockets a little too short for a cup, but they do hold small toys. Click on the picture, and you can see Ezra's backpack as well.

I used a Japanese Cotton twill as the fabric. You can find it here. I am crazy about Japanese prints, and this is a little bit heavier than quilting weight cotton. It's not too heavy, though! I used fusible interfacing to strengthen the cotton. I do wish the backpacks were a little more sturdy, but overall, I love them and the boys do too!

This project was just the right mixture of fun and challenging for me. The hardest part was sewing the whole thing together and catching the piping, panels and pockets and making it all look good!

Facebook Break

So I have a problem. I am trying to write my dissertation, but I have a full-blown internet addiction. I sit and take notes on a book... then I wander over to facebook to see what my friends are doing. Then  I take a few more notes. Then I look at facebook again.

I have enjoyed my relationship with facebook. I have loved connecting with old and new friends. But I find myself in a new city trying to build new friendships, and I think facebook and I need to take a break.

As of today I have deactivated my account. Don't worry. I can reactivate when I'm ready. In the meantime, comment here. Or email me.

Read this article on this very topic by the amazing Miriam Slagle if you are so inclined.

First Day of School

First Day of School
Originally uploaded by correna79

This post is late, but first I lost the cord that connects my camera to my computer, and then I had some trouble with the photo uploader on blogger. I think I've got it all figured out now!

The boys started preschool and Mother's Morning Out two weeks ago. They are both having so.much.fun. Especially Isaiah. He comes home every day telling me all the things they learned and talked about. He is going from 9 am to noon, Monday through Friday. The first day he walked right in, the second and third day he cried, and now he asks "do I get to go to school today?" every day.

Ezra has a little bit of a harder time with MMO--he cries every day when I leave, but when I go to pick him up he seems to have had so much fun as well!

I am trying to use my time while they're in school to write my dissertation, but so far all I have is a short outline of Chapter 1. I must get to writing!

Wee Wonderfuls

Christmas is coming! And I am so excited about sewing up some presents from this amazing book. I've already got one started. It's girly and it's for my niece. Yeah, it's August and I'm sewing Christmas presents. I'm hoping it will work out better than last year, when I got bronchitis and my sweet mom sewed all the presents for me. Oh, man. I was sick. 


I am just hoping that I can hold onto the presents until Christmas, because that is how awesome they are going to be! I really do love sewing for the people I love. Somehow, the rhythms and the movements of sewing make me pray. I think about the person I'm sewing for and I pray for them. It is also really satisfying work for a person whose work involves either cleaning up after little people over and over again or writing an ominously huge document that could be revised and improved upon for the rest of my life. 


So I'll post pictures! Because my niece doesn't read my blog. She's only five. 

Isaiah's Name Tag

Last night we went to an ice cream party at a local church. This is Isaiah's name tag from the party. D. helped him a little with the S, but he did the rest! How amazing is this?

Ezra-Boy

This week Ezra has started emphatically saying "no" or nodding yes when asked a question! It is pretty hilarious. He used his first phrase yesterday: "Snack, please!" (Which sounded like "nack nees"). He also called himself by his own name for the first time this morning. 

I have a feeling we'll be having conversations by Christmas. 

Six Years

We took one night away a few weeks ago to celebrate our sixth wedding anniversary. All the pictures are of the Braves game (which they lost), but we also ate at Watershed in Decatur, went to Whipstitch, and of course, IKEA. We had a wonderful time--thanks to Nana and Poppa for keeping the boys!

Cousins

My brother, his wife, and their kids came for a visit. We love them so much--we wish we were next door neighbors. We had so much fun hanging out in spite of the craziness that is four kids in our house. We celebrated my brother's birthday early with a Spock cake. He is a total Sci Fi geek.

The Veggie Experiment

Today begins an adventure in our household. We are going to try to be vegetarians for one month. Why? 

Well, there was D.'s post about this on his birthday almost a year ago. 

But there is also the truth that over the last few years, I have been learning a lot about being healthier. I have IBS. I figured this out about 8 years ago; I went to the doctor, and he prescribed medication for me. I soon realized that the medication had side effects: mainly dizziness and headaches. I learned that if I changed my diet the symptoms diminished without the weird side effects. This was really the beginning of my journey. 

A few summers ago, I read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, and I started to think about some of the other impacts my food choices might have--on my community, on the environment, and on my health. Since then, I have had the joy of forcing approximately 120 college freshmen to read this book (or at least to pretend that they read it). 

I also watched Food, Inc. and I was challenged to think even more about the impact my choices have on the environment, but also on the people who produce this food. I'll confess to you that I never really felt bad about an animal being killed to fill my stomach, but when I saw the images of how many animals are crammed into very small spaces and the unhealthy working environment this creates for farmers and meat-packers, it had an impact on me. 

So we are not planning on becoming full-time, official vegetarians, but we want to be healthier, and to depend more on fruits and vegetables for our nutritional needs rather than meat. Hopefully, one month's worth of vegetarian dishes and experiments will help us on this journey. 

**Note: I'll be cooking vegetarian meals for D. and I, but we will not be super-strict on Isaiah's diet, and we will definitely be giving Ezra some meat. He is allergic to milk and eggs, and that eliminates a lot of sources of protein from his diet. I don't want to load him up too much on soy products, so we'll be buying a little bit of meat just for him. 

18 Months

And this little boy turned 18 months old on July 26th. He is really hilarious. It is so fun to see his personality develop and to learn how different he is from his brother. Let me tell you: this boy fights back! Isaiah can be rough sometimes, but Ezra is definitely going to survive! We do have to work on promoting harmony in the home sometimes, but the boys do love each other so much. In fact, Isaiah often asks, "Ezra, give me a hug!" and Ezra runs over and hugs his brother. So sweet.

Ezra loves to make us laugh. He especially loves to make his brother laugh. I think he might grow up to be a performer!

He is walking, running, and is quite independent. He is a little shy in new social situations, but he loves to explore when he feels comfortable. He is learning to use the potty. (Hallelujah!) He can follow directions that include several steps: "Ezra, go to your room and get your shoes." He feels so proud when he does it! He also loves to help clean up. We'll see how long that will last.

His language is exploding! His favorite word, by far is "dog." His second favorite word is "ball." But he is learning to use other words too.  Just this week he said "shoe," "bowl," and "backpack." He knows lots of other words, including body parts. He can point to his hair, feet, hands, etc. when asked, and he can say "Daddy," and "Mommy" but he's still working on "Isaiah."

We are so thankful for this boy and for the blessing it is to see him grow.

Three and a Half

This boy turned three and a half on July 5th. He is getting so grown up. He makes me laugh every day with his jokes and funny stories, and he also frustrates me every day. He has quite an independent spirit and a strong will--which I like to call leadership ability but D. calls "bossy."

Lately, he is really into trains. He loves to build train tracks all by himself. He pushes Thomas and his freight cars around on the tracks and uses his very active imagination to make all the cars talk to each other. We have been wishing Christmas would come sooner so he could ask for more Thomas cars and characters. He also asks for cars to be "coupled" as he plays train outside. He asks D. to tie different things to a little car we have in the back yard--for example, a car in front, a wagon tied behind it, and his little wiggle car behind that. He asked me to ride in the wagon behind him yesterday, but I told him I thought I might be a little too heavy for him to pull! Ezra rode instead, which worked out better.

He will be starting preschool five days a week in a few weeks, which is hard to believe. He is pretty excited and alternately a little nervous about it. He'll be going from 9 am to noon. He continues to be quite athletic, impressing us with his abilities. He likes to hit the ball off of the T, and he likes to wear his baseball glove.

Another new interest is Dora the Explorer--he is only allowed to watch a little TV each day (usually 30 minutes or less) so he has just been introduced to Dora. He likes it a lot, and he's been saying a few Spanish words, which makes me happy.

We are so thankful for this "big boy" as he calls himself.

Quote of the Day

"When I'm an acrobat, I feel nervous." --Isaiah

Quote of the Day

"You guys play with these train tracks, but be careful. I don't want to see the house destroyed." --Anna, 5 years old (my niece speaking to her little brother and little cousin)

Summer=Baseball

What? You didn't know?

Enjoying an Afternoon Thunderstorm

On Belovedness

"The greatest gift my friendship can give to you is the gift of your Belovedness. I can give that gift only insofar as I have claimed it for myself." --Henri Nouwen

One of my greatest desires for my boys is that they know that they are loved--deeply and fully--both by God and by D. and I. I tell them often that I love them no matter what, and I practice reminding them that they are loved by God daily. One of my favorite ways is by singing our "special song" as Isaiah calls it. Each night when I put them to bed I sing these words: 

You are beautiful my sweet, sweet song

You are beautiful my sweet, sweet song

You are my strong melody

You are my dancing rhythm

You are my perfect rhyme 

And I want to sing forever. 

Of course, you might recognize these lyrics by Waterdeep of Enter the Worship Circle. I know it's a worship song, written with Jesus in mind, but I think it fits perfectly for our purpose as well. And I think Jesus delights in sharing his belovedness with us.

So recently, sometimes Isaiah likes to "help" me put Ezra to bed when D. is not home. We read a little book, and Isaiah says that HE wants to sing Ezra his special song. He sings the same words for his brother. It makes me so, so happy. As we live in a world that tells us daily that we are only valued when we achieve or when we are attractive, I pray that I can learn to claim my belovedness every day so my boys can do the same.