{pretty, happy, funny, real} - Playground Edition

~ Capturing the context of everyday life ~

Every Thursday at Like Mother, Like Daughter!

I took the kids on a walk up to the school this morning. Abbie was due (OK, about a month overdue) for one of her immunizations, so we needed to make a trip to the clinic on campus. I figured we might as well make an event of it, so we packed a little lunch and headed up. We took care of the immunization business first, stopped at the computer lab to see Papa, got some new books from the library, ate our picnic lunch, played on the playground, and came home sweaty and ready for naps. On the way home, Toby kept saying, "My knees are very tired!" =)

{pretty}

I never get tired of the view from up on the school hill. This morning it was cloudy, bringing out the deep green of the trees. Pictures just don't do it justice...

{happy}

Abbie just started going down the big slide by herself. Today she managed to climb the little ladder, position herself correctly, and go down alone. She cackled with glee every time she got to the top and was ready to start down.

Flashback to a year ago...here's Toby trying out the same slide. I remember we thought he was so big and brave for attempting such a big slide. I would never have imagined that Abbie would be going down this same slide just one year later! =)

{funny}

I got such a kick out of watching her climb the ladder. It took every ounce of willpower and concentration to pull herself up. Just look at that face!

That's a big slide for a little girl!

No fear!

{real}

From earlier this week...Toby loves to play in the dirt and make dirt pies (we haven't graduated to mud pies yet). After playing for a long time outside, he came in saying proudly, "My dirty! My need a shower!"

Bread pudding and baking soda

Given that 1) I have 2 small kids and 2) we live in a third-world country, I spend most of my days just trying to keep up with the basics of food, laundry, and childcare. But lately I've had a little extra time to problem-solve, and it's been exciting!

First problem: what to do with the "heels" of our bread. We eat a LOT of bread, not because it's easy to come by here but because my kids love it. Toby begs for "pee-bee bubber and jejjy" sandwiches, and I oblige more often than I care to admit because...well, it's easy and he'll eat it without a fuss. So we go through a lot of bread, BUT no one wants to eat the heels. And since I can't bear to throw them away (it is homemade bread after all), I've been collecting them in a bag in my freezer and racking my brain for something to do with them. The only thing I could think of was making bread crumbs, which we probably wouldn't use. Then the light bulb: bread pudding!

I've eaten bread pudding maybe twice in my life, but Jonathan loves it. So I found a simple recipe, added a teaspoon of cinnamon (because almost everything is better with cinnamon), and popped it in the oven. Oh, my, was it ever good! Moist, just sweet enough--we didn't even miss the sauce, which I was too lazy to make. =) Granted, it wouldn't have been nearly as good without the craisins I've been hoarding for something special. (Thanks, Namestnik family!) Still, it's definitely something I will make again...maybe even next week since I still have a sizeable collection of bread heels.

My little helper

Problem #2: an exfoliant. I've been looking for some kind of skin exfoliant ever since we moved and just haven't been able to find anything. I'd done some searching online for homemade exfoliants, but they all seemed to require messy, expensive, or exotic ingredients. I looked again today and found this website. First recipe? 2 teaspoons of ground oatmeal (easily done in the blender), 1 teaspoon of baking soda, and enough water to make a nice paste. That's it! It worked great, didn't feel too abrasive on my skin, and took maybe 2 minutes to mix up. Fantastic!

Have you had time to problem-solve lately? Any tips to share for the rest of us?

{pretty, happy, funny, real}

~ Capturing the context of everyday life ~

Every Thursday at Like Mother, Like Daughter!

 
I've been enjoying this linky party for months, and this week I can finally join in. =)

{pretty}

We have a georgous mountain looming behind our house. This picture was taken from our backyard. Isn't the mist lovely?

{happy}

Toby and Abbie happily looking at books on part of our new sectional couch

We are the proud owners of a couch! Finally! We just bought this from some friends who are preparing to move into a village to start a language project. I'm happy that we've done without a couch this past year because we really couldn't afford one until now and because we've learned to be content with sitting on beds, wooden chairs, or the floor. I'm also happy because our house feels so cozy and comfortable with this new addition! :)

{funny}

Abbie loves hats, and Papa's bandanna is no exception. =)

{real}

Ah, the life of a mom of young kids! I was taking this empty (thank goodness!) bucket to the utility room when I got sidetracked for some reason. (You know how that goes, don't you?) I came back a few minutes later to find it filled with Toby's clean underwear. Abbie loves to play with Toby's clothes, and I'm sure she was the culprit. I just had to laugh and shake my head....

Spotlight on Abbie

Abbie is16 months old now. She adds so much to our life--sweetness, giggles, pink, messes, dollies, crumbs all over the floor.... She is a girly girl: loves pretty dresses, shoes, hats, hair things, necklaces, and sunglasses. It's fun to watch her get excited about her accessories. We've tried "hair pretties" a few times, but they don't usually last long before she pulls them out.

The hat is a "must" whenever we go out.

Showing off her sunglasses. She puts them on and runs around like a crazy woman, grinning from ear to ear and only stopping long enough to get a squeeze from me for her cuteness.

She loves books and always seems to be on the lookout for someone who is sitting down. Apparently, she thinks that is an open invitation to grab a book, climb in the lap, and be read to. She points out animals and makes some of the appropriate noises. Her favorite books are "Farmer Will," "Baby Looks," "Baby Listens," and the Llama Llama books. She gets really animated on certain pages, like the one where Mama Llama is drinking coffee just like Abbie's mama does and the one with dark clouds and rain coming down. She goes through a lot of trouble to show us the connections she's making. For example, she points to the llama's pajamas, then to her pajamas. Or she'll point to the teddy bear and hold up Toby's Pooh bear. It's fun to see her interact with the books.

Abbie is also an excellent mess-maker. She loves to strew things about the floor, get out all the plastic containers, dump the clothespins, etc. She has discovered the fun of climbing and often gets stuck in awkward places. Her independence is growing, and she wants to feed herself, which results in big messes after meals. She has recently spurned the high chair, so we are in the process of teaching her to stay seated in her chair during meals. Obedience has really become an issue now that she has her own ideas of what she wants to do. All part of being a toddler.... =)

Such fun!

 She has such an expressive face! Her sad faces are especially precious and funny. The 3 most tragic things in Abbie's life right now are being denied the camera, Mama's cell phone, or a trip outside. This is almost certainly her reaction to one of the three:

So far Abbie doesn't care a whole lot about talking. She likes to make animal noises and says "uh-uh" and "gah!" a lot. She can say "Mama" but rarely does. She calls our house helper "Bah." We're pretty sure she says "Baba" for Papa (usually in a distressed tone and accompanied by loud wailing because he isn't taking her along outside). Last week she learned the word "enak" (Indonesian for "yummy"), and she proudly uses that word now.

I think her language is coming along slower because of hearing 2 languages and because she's focusing more on physical skills. She's a fantastic little walker! I occasionally take the kids with me down to a little store to buy groceries. It's hard to estimate the distance, but it's at least half a mile round trip, maybe more like a mile. She usually walks almost the whole way there and back. She loves it! And she gets lots of attention from the locals, who just think it's the cutest thing to see this tiny little white girl walking on her own two legs. Abbie has also acquired the very important skill of bracing herself for her brother's tackles. She's pretty good at preparing herself for his rough play, and if she's in the mood, she quite enjoys it.

We really love our sweet girl.

Playing in the Yard

One thing I've learned about my kids over the past few months is that they are MUCH happier if they spend some time each day outside. I don't know if it's the fresh air, the change of scenery, the mosquito bites, or the exercise, but they are definitely more pleasant if we get out.

Some days it really annoys me. I don't especially enjoy following them around the yard, making sure that Toby doesn't knock Abbie down or that Abbie doesn't put gross things in her mouth. And usually I have lots of other things I'd rather be doing indoors. On days when I don't care if they get completely filthy, I put a couple inches of water in a little tub just outside my kitchen window. That way I can keep an eye on them while I do dishes or bake. They have a grand time, and I bring them inside just in time for baths, lunch, and naps.

We are so glad for our big, fenced-in yard! The only problem is that we share this yard with our landlords, and they have dogs who like to bark and scare our kids half to death. Our landlords are aware of this, and I think they're trying to keep the dogs penned up during the times our kids usually play outside. We are really glad for the protection it gives us to have dogs on the property, but we're thinking of putting up a fence between the yards to keep the dogs out during the day. Anyway, that's another reason I need to stay nearby when the kids are outside.

They love watching bugs crawl around on the ground. Yesterday we found a huge snail shell, and after we gave it some space, the snail came out and crawled around. They thought that was really cool!

Yes, this is posed. How else do you get two kids to sit still long enough for a picture? =)

This is the best "Toby at 3 years old" shot I could get. I love how you can see Abbie in the background, running to get in on the action. So typical. =)

Toby's 3rd Birthday

I had time to transfer pictures from my camera to my computer today, which prodded me to do some blogging. I'll be trying to play catch up over the next few days. Wish me luck!

Toby turned 3 on February 13. Craziness! We wanted to have a little party to celebrate him. I don't remember for certain, but I'm pretty sure he thought that was a "gate da-dee" (great idea). =) At Toby's request we invited his friend Emma and her family to join us for take-out from Mickey's (one of our favorite restaurants here).

The highlights of the day for Toby were balloons, his train cake, a hamburger (seriously, he talked about that hamburger for weeks afterward), and the bike he got. Small though it was, the party was a great success. Thanks to Emma's family for helping us make it a fun time! If we weren't such slackers, we would have gotten pictures of our guests. =(

The requested train cake. Um, no, cake decorating is NOT my specialty. Jonathan gets the credit for the artwork. =)

Toby's Grandy and Grammy went in with us on the bike. We were so pleased to find one in our price range! There's even a convenient handle there for us to hold when we're helping him learn to ride without training wheels. Toby was so excited about his bike, and he loves to ride it around our patio.

The birthday boy and his bike

It seems unreal that I've been a mama for 3 whole years. Making the adjustment to motherhood wasn't easy for me, but we have had so much fun with our little boy!

Such a cute newborn!

 

Toby at 1 year old

Our 3-year-old big boy

Some things I love about Toby at this age:
 - his love for books. It's so fun to read to him and see him learning and processing his experiences through books. Books are not a passive activity for him. He makes so many connections through looking at books and listening to them.
 - his interest in life, the outdoors, people, bugs, pretty much anything
 - his desire to learn to express himself through words. He challenges me to be careful what I say because he copies my words and intonations so well.
 - his love for music. He loves to listen to kids' music and often bursts into song. It's fun to hear him sing and watch as he gets better and better at carrying a tune.
 - his growing ability to communicate his affection. He's not real big on saying "I love you," but the bedtime kiss from all three of us is a ritual he never forgets. He likes to give hugs and is quick to say "I'm sorry" when the occasion arises.
 - his enthusiasm!!!
 - his growing imagination

Some things I find challenging about this age:
 - his energy. It's hard to help him channel his energy into positive things before it turns into aggression. Poor Abbie is often on the receiving end of said aggression.
 - discipline. Need I say more??
 - his clinginess to me and Jonathan. He's experienced so many changes over the last year and a half that he really isn't comfortable being left with other people. While I sympathize with his insecurity (and feel it's justified), J and I really miss being able to get away for a few hours.

We love you, Toby, and are SO glad you are part of our family!