...watch out, Luna Lovegood...
Showing posts with label Ella. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ella. Show all posts
Monday, May 23, 2011
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Kids are Sinners . . . and Parenting is Not about Me
You know those moments you have sometimes as a parent--when people compliment you on how cute or sweet or well-behaved your kids are? And you say "thank you," or "I know," and you feel so proud of your kids, and comfortable with your life, and you feel like you're starting to get the hang of being a parent?
Beware those moments.
I think I was starting to get a little slack in my parenting--not that I wasn't disciplining or training, but that I was only disciplining and training. I felt pleased with the results when Ella obeyed . . . and that was pretty much where I stopped.
Recently, this thing called sin has reared its ugly head in my home, and for some reason, it shocked me.
If you'd asked me, I would have said, Sure, my daughter is a sinner. So why was I so surprised when she started sinning?
I'm saddened and ashamed to say I hadn't been dealing with her heart, or preaching the gospel to her, or praying for her soul the way I should be.
Anyway, today was another one of those displays, in a very public setting. We were shopping, and I instructed Ella to do something, and she threw an unbelievable tantrum for someone so small. The kind where everyone in the store turns to stare and whispers things like "my kid would never do that," forgetting that their child did the very same thing just last week.
I could have distracted her, or pacified her, or given in to her demands. And everyone there would have viewed me as a better parent because she stopped screaming. But is that the goal? To make myself look like a good parent? Just to avoid the display of the anger and rebellion that is very clearly in her heart? I felt humiliated . . . but raising Ella is not about me.
Parents, let us persevere in prayer for our children, and continue to sow God's Word in their hearts, and be faithful to train and teach and discipline and nurture them! They need Christ!
Beware those moments.
I think I was starting to get a little slack in my parenting--not that I wasn't disciplining or training, but that I was only disciplining and training. I felt pleased with the results when Ella obeyed . . . and that was pretty much where I stopped.
Recently, this thing called sin has reared its ugly head in my home, and for some reason, it shocked me.
If you'd asked me, I would have said, Sure, my daughter is a sinner. So why was I so surprised when she started sinning?
I'm saddened and ashamed to say I hadn't been dealing with her heart, or preaching the gospel to her, or praying for her soul the way I should be.
Anyway, today was another one of those displays, in a very public setting. We were shopping, and I instructed Ella to do something, and she threw an unbelievable tantrum for someone so small. The kind where everyone in the store turns to stare and whispers things like "my kid would never do that," forgetting that their child did the very same thing just last week.
I could have distracted her, or pacified her, or given in to her demands. And everyone there would have viewed me as a better parent because she stopped screaming. But is that the goal? To make myself look like a good parent? Just to avoid the display of the anger and rebellion that is very clearly in her heart? I felt humiliated . . . but raising Ella is not about me.
Parents, let us persevere in prayer for our children, and continue to sow God's Word in their hearts, and be faithful to train and teach and discipline and nurture them! They need Christ!
Friday, August 13, 2010
Ella...from 1st birthday to 2nd birthday
Wow...I can't believe how much changes in a year. It's been over a year since I dropped the whole blogging thing, and in that time Ella has gone from a baby to a toddler, and my son was born, and a whole host of other things have happened.
I decided to start by posting pictures of Ella from her first birthday until now. She turns two on the 27th!!
Her first birthday.
Playing guitar with Daddy. (This was when we lived with his parents for a few months.)
December 2009...as you can tell, she's got a passion for her milk!!
January 2010...wearing Daddy's t-shirt. :) And watching the snow with Coda.
March and April:
June or July:
I'll post August pictures after we've had her birthday party.
I decided to start by posting pictures of Ella from her first birthday until now. She turns two on the 27th!!
Her first birthday.
Playing guitar with Daddy. (This was when we lived with his parents for a few months.)
December 2009...as you can tell, she's got a passion for her milk!!
January 2010...wearing Daddy's t-shirt. :) And watching the snow with Coda.March and April:
June or July:
I'll post August pictures after we've had her birthday party.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Long Time, No Blog
I realize it's been almost a month since I've written anything. The long absence is pretty easily explained: I've been too busy to write, and the things I've been busy doing have been too dull to write about. :) Not that they aren't important--I think every diaper change and load of laundry is significant--they just make for boring narrative.
Ella will be six months old on the 27th. Hard to believe! It's gone by so fast. We just started her on cereal on Monday, and she loves it. I've also been making and freezing all of her baby food. It's actually a LOT of fun. As far as savings, I haven't worked out an overall number yet, and it varies from item to item...but compared to $ 0.50 a serving for jarred baby food, the homemade food has been anywhere from $ 0.10 a serving to $ 0.40 a serving. So it is cheaper. Of course you have to put in a little time, but it hasn't been that hard. Once or twice I've strapped Ella into the carrier while I work on it...she's quite fascinated with the blender. Anyway, she's a lot of fun these days. I'm uploading some videos--one of her laughing at Coda (she LOVES her dog and laughs at everything he does), and another of her squealing--that I hope to share with you tonight or tomorrow.
Johnny and I had a low-key but fun Valentine's Day. My mom watched Ella, and we went out to eat at On the Border, where I succeeded in spilling a whole bowl of some sort of sauce all over myself, the seat, and the floor. Ha. Actually, I remember thinking how big of a deal that would have been to me on any Valentine's Day date before I married Johnny...being married sure does take the pressure out of dates. :) After dinner (which, by the way, included a very helpful and candid discussion about how each person could be a better spouse), Johnny took me to Borders to pick out some books. I bought Emma by Jane Austen (which, I'm ashamed to say, I've already finished, in spite of having many other things I could have been doing) and The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien. After that, we ended up just running some errands at Target and going to pick up our baby girl. We did watch part of a movie after she went to sleep for the night. Like I said, low-key, but very enjoyable.
A whole month without writing, and I've already run out of new things to say. :) I'll have those fun videos up soon...and before too long, I'll be posting her six-month pictures. Crazy!
Ella will be six months old on the 27th. Hard to believe! It's gone by so fast. We just started her on cereal on Monday, and she loves it. I've also been making and freezing all of her baby food. It's actually a LOT of fun. As far as savings, I haven't worked out an overall number yet, and it varies from item to item...but compared to $ 0.50 a serving for jarred baby food, the homemade food has been anywhere from $ 0.10 a serving to $ 0.40 a serving. So it is cheaper. Of course you have to put in a little time, but it hasn't been that hard. Once or twice I've strapped Ella into the carrier while I work on it...she's quite fascinated with the blender. Anyway, she's a lot of fun these days. I'm uploading some videos--one of her laughing at Coda (she LOVES her dog and laughs at everything he does), and another of her squealing--that I hope to share with you tonight or tomorrow.
Johnny and I had a low-key but fun Valentine's Day. My mom watched Ella, and we went out to eat at On the Border, where I succeeded in spilling a whole bowl of some sort of sauce all over myself, the seat, and the floor. Ha. Actually, I remember thinking how big of a deal that would have been to me on any Valentine's Day date before I married Johnny...being married sure does take the pressure out of dates. :) After dinner (which, by the way, included a very helpful and candid discussion about how each person could be a better spouse), Johnny took me to Borders to pick out some books. I bought Emma by Jane Austen (which, I'm ashamed to say, I've already finished, in spite of having many other things I could have been doing) and The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien. After that, we ended up just running some errands at Target and going to pick up our baby girl. We did watch part of a movie after she went to sleep for the night. Like I said, low-key, but very enjoyable.
A whole month without writing, and I've already run out of new things to say. :) I'll have those fun videos up soon...and before too long, I'll be posting her six-month pictures. Crazy!
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Update on Ella
After we went to the doctor last week, they put Ella on amoxicillin for a throat infection. She was on the medicine for 2 complete days, then on the third day, a bad rash broke out all over her. She was really red, splotchy, and itchy, and she fussed a lot and wouldn't sleep. We continued the medicine that day, not knowing for sure what was causing the rash, but then we called the doctor that night. He said that Tylenol would help her enough to let her sleep, and then to call in the morning. Well, the rash disappeared overnight. When we called back, they told us she'd probably had a skin reaction to the amoxicillin. That was on Friday; they told us to take her off the medicine and then bring her in Monday for them to check on her throat and see whether or not she needed another prescription. When the doctor looked at her yesterday, he said her throat looked fine, so no need for more medicine. Apparently three days was enough. And no other signs of the itchy rash, so I guess it really was the medicine. Made for kind of a crazy week, but she's fine now and we're glad. :)
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Ella's first real "bug"
Ella is sick.
She's not extra fussy or cranky, not running a real high temp. She's eating, she's sleeping, she's (mostly) cheerful and alert.
But she's sick.
A few days after her four month check-up, her right eye started watering a lot. I didn't think too much of it at first. It kept watering, so I watched it a little more closely. Just a few days ago, I began to notice some of the yellowish goo. So I called and talked to the nurse, and they said to bring her in.
When we went in, they asked me a lot of questions: is she rubbing her ears? No. Running a fever? No. Extra fussy? Not at all. Is she eating well? Plenty. Sleeping well? Better than ever.
Well, the PA comes in and starts looking her over. She asks some similar questions. Then she explains that anytime there appears to be any sort of problem or infection in the eye, they always check the ears and the throat for signs of infection. Ella did NOT want them to look in her ears, but eventually, with the nurse holding her down, the PA was able to see in her ears. Some wax build-up, she said, but no signs of infection. Then she looked at her throat, and her eyes got really big. "Wow," she said, and told me that Ella's throat looked terrible. She looked at me and said, "You told me she's still eating?" and then immediately asked the nurse to take her temp. Their thermometer broke and they never got an accurate temp, but the PA said, "it doesn't matter. I'm going to treat her anyway." Apparently, Ella has a throat infection--the tell-tale redness with white patches. The PA explained that it was probably the same bacteria that was affecting her eye as well. So, my little 4 1/2 month old girlie is on her first batch of Amoxicillin. :( So sad!
The PA told me to watch Ella closely in the future, since she seems to be one of those babies who doesn't make a big fuss about being sick. I mean, I never, ever would have known. In a way, I guess it's ok--it's not like I want a super-cranky baby right now--but it scared me a little that she could have something that bad without me even knowing about it!!
Not much else to tell, really, except that she's interacting a lot and she's cuter than ever! I'll try to post some pictures later this week.
She's not extra fussy or cranky, not running a real high temp. She's eating, she's sleeping, she's (mostly) cheerful and alert.
But she's sick.
A few days after her four month check-up, her right eye started watering a lot. I didn't think too much of it at first. It kept watering, so I watched it a little more closely. Just a few days ago, I began to notice some of the yellowish goo. So I called and talked to the nurse, and they said to bring her in.
When we went in, they asked me a lot of questions: is she rubbing her ears? No. Running a fever? No. Extra fussy? Not at all. Is she eating well? Plenty. Sleeping well? Better than ever.
Well, the PA comes in and starts looking her over. She asks some similar questions. Then she explains that anytime there appears to be any sort of problem or infection in the eye, they always check the ears and the throat for signs of infection. Ella did NOT want them to look in her ears, but eventually, with the nurse holding her down, the PA was able to see in her ears. Some wax build-up, she said, but no signs of infection. Then she looked at her throat, and her eyes got really big. "Wow," she said, and told me that Ella's throat looked terrible. She looked at me and said, "You told me she's still eating?" and then immediately asked the nurse to take her temp. Their thermometer broke and they never got an accurate temp, but the PA said, "it doesn't matter. I'm going to treat her anyway." Apparently, Ella has a throat infection--the tell-tale redness with white patches. The PA explained that it was probably the same bacteria that was affecting her eye as well. So, my little 4 1/2 month old girlie is on her first batch of Amoxicillin. :( So sad!
The PA told me to watch Ella closely in the future, since she seems to be one of those babies who doesn't make a big fuss about being sick. I mean, I never, ever would have known. In a way, I guess it's ok--it's not like I want a super-cranky baby right now--but it scared me a little that she could have something that bad without me even knowing about it!!
Not much else to tell, really, except that she's interacting a lot and she's cuter than ever! I'll try to post some pictures later this week.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Until you can eat buffalo...
So, Ella's appointment really went pretty well. She always cries when the doctor starts checking her, and she got pretty upset when they gave her the shots, but she didn't cry nearly as much as she did last time, and she's been alert and happy the rest of the day (last time she was really fussy and really sleepy).
She's four months old, she weighs 16 1/2 pounds, and she's 26 inches long. Little bit of a dry skin rash, but other than that, we didn't have much to talk to the doctor about.
I asked about starting solids. It seems like a lot of people have told me that their babies started cereal at around 4 months. But our doctor said that concerning solids, his underlying principle was to "remember our roots: which means, you get breastmilk until you can eat the buffalo Dad brings home."
I laughed about that one all the way home. Anyway, he strongly suggested holding off even cereal until 6 months. I'm sure we will, because we aren't in a big hurry, and she seems to be just fine with just nursing. She acts satisfied and she sleeps fine, so no big rush.
Developmentally, she seems to be on the verge of a lot of things, but not quite there yet: she wants to sit up, but can't quite manage it yet; she CAN roll over, but either doesn't want to or has forgotten that she can; she reaches and grabs for things and usually gets them, but sometimes she can't hang on to them; she tries to put her own pacifier in her mouth, but then she doesn't know how to let go, so when she moves her hand, the pacifier comes with it (that one makes her really mad). She's really alert and mostly cheerful, although a little wary of strangers still.
We really dropped the ball on getting Christmas pictures of her. During most of our family events, she wanted either mama or daddy to be holding her at all times (during one of them, she cried hysterically when anyone else tried to take her). Sooo, we didn't get a lot of photos. This monkey hat picture was taken when we were on our way to the Vogt family Christmas. The others were taken today. That inchworm is one of her new favorite toys. She hugs it, studies it, tries to put it in her mouth, etc.
She's four months old, she weighs 16 1/2 pounds, and she's 26 inches long. Little bit of a dry skin rash, but other than that, we didn't have much to talk to the doctor about.
I asked about starting solids. It seems like a lot of people have told me that their babies started cereal at around 4 months. But our doctor said that concerning solids, his underlying principle was to "remember our roots: which means, you get breastmilk until you can eat the buffalo Dad brings home."
I laughed about that one all the way home. Anyway, he strongly suggested holding off even cereal until 6 months. I'm sure we will, because we aren't in a big hurry, and she seems to be just fine with just nursing. She acts satisfied and she sleeps fine, so no big rush.
Developmentally, she seems to be on the verge of a lot of things, but not quite there yet: she wants to sit up, but can't quite manage it yet; she CAN roll over, but either doesn't want to or has forgotten that she can; she reaches and grabs for things and usually gets them, but sometimes she can't hang on to them; she tries to put her own pacifier in her mouth, but then she doesn't know how to let go, so when she moves her hand, the pacifier comes with it (that one makes her really mad). She's really alert and mostly cheerful, although a little wary of strangers still.
We really dropped the ball on getting Christmas pictures of her. During most of our family events, she wanted either mama or daddy to be holding her at all times (during one of them, she cried hysterically when anyone else tried to take her). Sooo, we didn't get a lot of photos. This monkey hat picture was taken when we were on our way to the Vogt family Christmas. The others were taken today. That inchworm is one of her new favorite toys. She hugs it, studies it, tries to put it in her mouth, etc.
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