An Update for Y'All

Well, nothing terribly exciting happened this week, but life did move on, as it always does. Here are a few of the highlights:

1. Ellie FINALLY got her big girl bed!

She had been waiting for this for a long time. And boy, is it ever big. We actually ended up getting a white metal frame bed that my SISTER slept in when she was a little girl (my cousins had been using it). I absolutely love old beds, so I was pretty pumped. It's so big that I usually find Ellie sleeping in it sideways in the morning. Plus we found some decent (though not quite what I had in mind) bedding at Liquidation world on sale for $25.99 that just so happens to match her room! A bed and ensemble for under $30! You all know by now how these sorts of deals stoke me. :) So today we Ellie-proofed Ellie's room so that she can play in there freely during quiet time...and this afternoon she lasted and hour and a half - quietly!

2. Joshua turned 10 months (and weighed in at 22lbs!)

This has been a month of ongoing colds and grumpiness, to be perfectly honest. I sure am growing in the patience department! On his really rough days I tell myself, "There's no one else on earth that loves this boy more than I do, so I better love him unconditionally! Grumpy or happy, he needs me to shower him with love!" And you know, I start to think the Lord has allowed this season on purpose, because I'm not great at unconditional love. I'm trying to learn fast so we can move on to another season! :) Anyhow, here's a couple of things to know about our 10 month old little monkey:

10 things Joshua LOVES:
1. Slapping "high fives"
2. Reading books...okay, turning the pages in books. Books are definitely his favourite toy at the moment, much to our delight, being nerdy readers and all.
And he seems to have a thing for cats, because he can point out the picture of a cat among other animals on demand every time.
3. Brushing his teeth - he giggles the whole time like it's a big joke.
4. Standing at the coffee table, especially when I turn on a baby Einstein video (apparently I've ended up with two video-loving children). He can stand there entertained for up to half and hour at a time, movie or no movie. He usually has this look on his face as though he's very cool and very grown up.5. ARMY CRAWLING! That's right folks, he learned to army crawl this week and often goes missing around the house now. He is so much happier because of this skill! It's wonderful.
6. FOOD. The guy is eating almost as much as his sister, who eats almost as much as me. We'll be needing to up our food budget soon!
7. SLEEP. You never see the guy quite as pumped as when you start getting him ready for bed. Another blessing!
8. CHURCH. Stick him on the floor and he dances (wiggling his torso) and sings.
9. Undoing the zipper on my hoodie. Over. And. Over.
10. GRANDPA. They truly have a special bond.

10 Things Joshua HATES:
1. Nose wiping.
2. Face wiping.
3. Ear cleaning.
4. Mama walking away.
5. Daddy walking away.
6. Anyone walking away.
7. Sitting him on his bum (can't pull up on furniture yet or get down on his belly)
8. Having the paper he's eating being taken out of his mouth.
9. Waiting for dinner.
10. Being sick. I hate that too.
Joshua discovered the joys of sticking out his tongue and spraying his food all over the place this month. We 'reward' this behaviour by wiping his face. (see number 2 on his HATE list) Our first real battle of the wills! Life could get interesting...

3. Sibling rivalry has begun!

Although I'm planning on doing my darndest to promote love between my kids, it is going to get a bit more difficult now that Joshua is moving. He likes to move in and steal Ellie's toys, which she's not used to at all! So although they still usually have oodles of fun together, we are now going to have to learn more conflict resolution skills!
4. My dad retired! (sorta...)
After 35 1/2 years of faithfully working at Co-op (many of those years as General Manager) my dad has thrown in the towel...part way, at least. He's stepped down from his position of General Manager, is taking the month of November off to hang out with my mom and repaint the inside of their house, and will go back in December with an accountant's position. This will free him up to move on to whatever God has for him in the future a lot easier than if he stayed on as manager. I'm excited to see what happens in this next chapter of his life!
I have many wonderful memories of hanging out with my dad at his office as a child. We went to visit him on his last day at work, and as usual, the kids were showered with attention from a bunch of lovely (wanna-be Grandma) ladies, and came home with a bunch of Halloween candy and Co-op paraphernalia.

When we left Ellie said, "I lub those ladies. They're my friends." It's already been nice having my dad around more.

5. Ellie keeps getting brighter...
This is true of all toddlers, I know. They often blow your minds with the amount of information that just...STICKS in their brains. There are some benefits to this:

1. They can assist you as your memory fails: Two days ago I brought home a baby book from work for my nephew Drew. Ellie glanced at it for a moment, asked what it was, and went on her way. I put it away in the closet to bring to my sister whenever I remembered. Today, two days later, we were about to leave for Regan's house when Ellie stopped short in her tracks and said, "WAIT!" And I said, "What is it?" And Ellie said, "We need the animal book for baby Drew!" I would have completely forgotten (probably several trips in a row) if she hadn't remembered.
2. They can teach you new languages: I was putting on Ellie's jacket to go out the other day when she started saying, "Abajo. Abajo." And I said, "What does Abajo mean?" And Ellie smiled at me and said, "Go down the stairs!" (I figured this was probably true, but thought to myself, "Okay, Smartie pants, let's really test you!") So I asked Ellie, "Well then, how do you say "Go up the stairs?" And she shouted, "ARRIBA!!!" (I had to check on the computer. It's true. Thank-you, Dora the Explorer. :)

Adios, Amigos! :)