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September 29, 2007

Never Thought She'd Be This Cool & Smart So Young

So tonight Natalie and I are in the rocker reading one of her favorite books..."Baby's Busy World." It's one of the cooler books we've received from our doctor's office. One of the pages is all different baby faces exhibiting different emotions. Lately she has learned the signs for "afraid" and "sad." I asked her to find the scared and sad babies...and after a little pondering, she pointed right to them, making the signs at the same time! I'm thinking, wow! I'm just so amazed at how much is going on in her brain at almost 18 months. You never realize how awesome these little developments are until you're a parent. Then you feel like a bit of a dork talking about them with your childless friends who can still get out of the house for their entertainment. :)
But, seriously, we are truly "fearfully and wonderfully made!"

Posted by Shannon at 09:13 PM | Comments (0)

September 28, 2007

My "Cinderella"

Like many men, I'm not particularly strong when it comes to being sick. I tend to whine and look for sympathy. Lately, though, I've discovered there's something much worse than being sick yourself, and that's watching your child deal with sickness.

Semi-uncharacteristic sap ahead.

Nothing wears you out faster, or frustrates you more, than the inability to help the kid (or sleep). This evening, despite the miserable hour, I'm looking at my daughter with affection rather than irritation.

And it's Steven Curtis Chapman's fault. A song from his new album, "Cinderella," reminds me of how relatively little time I have with my daughter, and how precious this time is.

Here are the lyrics:

She spins and she sways to
Whatever song plays, without
A care in the world; and I’m
Sitting here wearing the weight
Of the world on my shoulders,
It’s been a long day, and there’s
Still work to do, she’s pulling at
Me saying “dad I need you,” there’s
A ball at the castle and I’ve
Been invited, and I need to
Practice my dancin’,
Please, daddy, please

Chorus:
So I will dance with Cinderella,
While she’s here in my arms,
Cause I know, something the prince
Never knew;
And I will dance with
Cinderella and I don’t want to
Miss even one song, cause all
Too soon, the clock will strike
Midnight, and she’ll be gone.

Well she says he’s a nice
Guy and I’d be impressed, and
She wants to know if I approve
Of the dress, she says “dad the
Prom is just one week away, and
I need to practice my dancin”
Please, daddy please

Chorus

Well she came home today, with
A ring on her hand, just glowing
And telling us all they had
Planned, she says dad, the
Wedding’s still 6 months away, and
I need to practice my dancin’.
Please, daddy please…

Chorus

If the video link doesn't work, Chapman has made the song available on his Myspace page. Click "Cinderella" in the player. This is the album version, so it's more polished than the live performance linked above.

Yes, it's sappy as all get-out, but that's what fatherhood has reduced me to, I guess.

Still, I'm sure my sudden burst of sap will diminish the next time Natalie decides to throw a temper tantrum.

Posted by Peter at 02:44 AM | Comments (0)

September 22, 2007

Yuppies in Hippieville

The Cook family checked out the Common Ground Fair for the first time today. We've talked about wanting to go for a long time, but Peter was a little twitchy about being a rather yuppie conservative at an event known for its Petouli-wearing, dreadlock-sporting crowd. :) But as we've said to each other several times in recent years, things like organic farming, practicing good stewardship of the earth, and creating beauty by keeping old folk crafts alive certainly do not belong to Liberals only. In fact, one could easily argue that they fall right in line with what it means to be a Christian.

Having a fairly successful garden this year has warmed my city-boy husband up to the idea of fresh veggies and getting back to the earth. Words like compost have become a part of his vocabulary. These new interests combined with his desire to introduce Natalie to new things caused him to brave the left-wing throngs today.

We hit the animal pens first and took our time going through them, enjoying Natalie's response, which was mostly very serious study. We took in some sheep dog trials that made me want to read James Herriot again, and saw a "Donkey Jump" which was really quite comical. Most of them did more of a "step over," but they did so with heart.
Natalie's favorite were the draft horses, and she fussed when we turned to go, so we stayed a little longer. She got to hear her first real horse whinny, a loud one too. But she was not startled or phased one bit...that's my girl.

Peter hit the political tent hoping to stir up a debate while Nat and I sat on the grass outside snacking. He returned disappointed saying that everyone was "too nice". He'd given some money for Africa and got a little carved zebra for Natalie.

The craft tents were amazing, such a feast for the eyes. Didn't buy anything, but filled my head with ideas.

The children's area was great, and we look forward to bringing Nat in future years when she can appreciate it more. They had the simplest and best activities...pounding nails into boards, jumping from hay bales, threshing hay, painting on huge pieces of paper, making crafts, watching apple cidering.

On our way out we hit the farmers' market and bought some herbs and jalapenos to make salsa with our own tomatoes.

The drive home was beautiful up 202 with the fall colors emerging.
Now the girl is crashed out, and we are soon to follow. A good full day. And it turns out it's not all dreads and petouli after all :)

Posted by Shannon at 09:43 PM | Comments (1)

September 19, 2007

Talking to Dirt

Natalie and I both thrive on being outside. We had the opportunity today when we wanted to keep the house quiet for Peter to sleep. She "helped" me break ground in the back of our property for a shade garden come spring. She loved digging through the dirt, looking at bugs and worms, pulling up the weeds and throwing them in the pile. It was a perfect fall day, still warm enough to not be uncomfortable, but such a nice crispness and a breeze too. A day when you just feel content being alive, soaking it all in. It was just the healing balm I needed, having felt pretty agitated lately and having had little sleep with her the night before.

We had so much fun, working and playing side by side. I loved watching her, her hair blowing softly in the light wind, her curiousity and joy in being and discovering. I looked over the space and imagined what it could look like someday--a nice peaceful spot. There's something so thrilling and satisfying about building something beautiful a little bit at a time. Without thinking I found myself saying to the turned up earth, "Don't worry, you're dirt and weeds right now, but you'll be so pretty after I'm done with you." I immediately laughed at my dorky habit of talking to inanimate objects (possibly related to not seeing many adults during the day), but then a warmth filled me as I felt God say, "That's how I feel about you." It's not the first time I've thought about all the pictures of God in gardening. It's no wonder Jesus used seeds and such in His parables so often. I'm so glad He's patient with my slow growth but also loves me enough to yank the stubborn weeds out by their roots sometimes.

...and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. Ephesians 4:22

Posted by Shannon at 09:25 PM | Comments (1)

Never too Early to Start

Natalie and I playing guitar. She always likes it when I play, and has only tried to eat a pick once. We were trying to play "I Will" by The Beatles, one of the songs on her lullaby album.

Posted by Peter at 07:37 PM | Comments (0)

September 18, 2007

Thoughts from the Mama

So I've been sitting in front of the computer for nearly an hour now intending to blog but having writer's block and distracted by the movie we're watching, "Apocalypto," our latest Netflix pick. Really more of a boy movie so far--lot's of scary and sad things, but still interesting. Hard to believe sometimes the evil in human history. Peter's feeling a little sobered by the fact that Mayans are probably his ancestors. :)

Anyway, I realized lately that it's been since June that I actually posted. Peter's been doing all the work uploading pictures and videos and adding comments. So it's time for the Mama to contribute. I figure if my buddy Amy can do this so regularly with two little ones, I should be able to with one! (I eat it up, Amy--thank you!)

Ok, so since it took me so long to get this much out, that's all for now--more tomorrow :) Good night all!

Posted by Shannon at 08:41 PM | Comments (0)

September 07, 2007

Mmmm...Tomatoes!

Our garden has been producing a number of tomatoes. As you can see, Natalie doesn't mind that at all.

Posted by Peter at 09:40 PM | Comments (1)