Wild for Wildlights

 

These girls were wild for Wildlights. Megan's daddy asked "Do the girls always act this crazy when they're together." Yep, most of the time. :) Truly though, these girls were extra crazy with it being a Friday night and so close to bedtime. We danced to the light show but could hardly walk through the zoo because it was so crowded, so we went to a big empty lawn to let the girls run circles around lit trees. It worked out just fine. 

Zane wouldn't tolerate being held or confined to a stroller, so after winning his battle with Daddy, he joined the girls to "run" circles in the lawn.

And Megan's new little sister Katelyn joined us too. 

Welcome!

Uncle Andy and Aunt Jenni always write a birthday message to Vanessa in sand. While waiting for Tollie's arrival, we couldn't resist sending our own message while playing in our moon sand.

tongue-in-cheek

Exaggeration aside, nobody would know that this little guy's tongue was slightly tied when he was born. Nature took care of it as his bottom teeth came in and grew -- they cut the tie. Good thing because I get extremely excited when he flashes both tongue and cheek.

It Is Good

I'm thankful God set me free and that He loves me unconditionally and accepts me just as I am. Today is a good day to give extra thanks for all things tangible. But every day is a good day to give thanks to God. Although sometimes it is hard to give thanks for everything, I thank Him for always being in control. I am who I am by the grace of God. He is good.

And I also thank Him for surrounding these two with guardian angels . . . :)

Keep It Going

Open gym time is still a popular request. We don't always get to go, but when we do, we make the best of it. From making patterns with rubber shapes to shooting basketball, there are tons of options. It's interesting to see how the group of attendees has changed over time. Vanessa is now one of the older ones. Zane is close to the average age.

And how it warms a mother's heart to hear others praise her child for great manners. A younger child's mother did just that, pulling me aside to ask "Is she your daughter?"

Swagger

It didn't take long for Zane to master the skill of walking with confidence. He runs and dances with confidence too. (His dancing involves a sort of shuffling of his feet -- you've got to see it!)

We love his swagger!

Dude

*This picture is approximately one month old.

Zane deserves an update!!! It's long overdue.  He has some fun words: poop, A-da!, da-da, mama, hi, bye, nigh, mil, etc. He has one solid yell for Vanessa, with a slight inflection. :) He'll make and match some sounds to fun kids' songs. He's been doing his own variation of nodding yes to things -- he moves his shoulders up and his head slightly forward. He's pretty good with high fives, if he's comfortable. If not, he'll just stare at you.

He plays games and understands the uses for many things. Without being asked, if he wants something, he pounds his chest with one or two hands for please -- sort of like an ape. :) He will sit for a good amount of time trying to stack blocks and put them together to make things. He only gets slightly frustrated trying to learn new skills. He puts on dress up clothes and goes to the mirror to look at himself. (He's walking around with Vanessa's butterfly wings on right now. He's walking as if he feels extra proud -- chest out.) He likes to read but mostly likes to walk around with the book. 

He still loves playing in the play kitchen. (He's "cooking" and tearing it apart as I type -- yes, lots going on.:)  He still loves his cars and trucks -- his dozer is extra cool. He loves playing music and he loves to dance. He climbs and leaps off of just about anything. He's close to making it over the gates. His hair is growing. His nights are still rough, but our system for everyone getting some sleep seems to be working okay. (I think he's secretly a producer for that new sitcom Up All Night -- he likes to base things on personal experience, I'm sure.)

He's still throwing his body down, making you wonder if he's hurt himself. Just this morning he was walking over toward an end table when he went down on the floor, but I couldn't tell if he had hit his head on the table -- no sound to make me think he had. He then very slowly started to collapse completely down onto the floor. I asked him if he was okay. He didn't respond, which was definitely unusual. I asked one more time, and he still didn't respond. I went running over and as I grabbed him, he started laughing uncontrollably. What was that?! I told him it was NOT cool. He has a great personality, but seriously, that WAS NOT funny.

Food is yummy. He's practicing with utensils and loves to stab his fork quite aggressively.

He's a little guy who loves, gives and needs a lot of affection (a bit of reason for his need to be close in the night) -- I LOVE (parts of) IT!!!!

He is still a tiny guy. He remains in his infant seat. We anticipate a big growth spurt soon. In fact, I think he grew a tad over the weekend. :)

Okay, I'll stop my rambling . . . :)

Autumn's Beauty

      

A Long Way

Zane was great to walk for Cousin Celia. Although no picture to show, he even tried climbing the fence to tell others.

*Picture credit to Aunts Sally and Angie!

November

Growing up November was an extra exciting month for me (Vicky). It was the month of my grandparents' birthdays and anniversary and Thanksgiving. (They married November 14 -- during the three weeks they were the same age.) We were certain to see my grandparents in November, especially when we hadn't seen them in a really long time. The spread on the table that I associate with Thanksgiving was defined by my grandparents. It was always a big production, topped off by me and my siblings putting on a performance, complete with script and music. Being the month set aside to do so, I thank God for these uplifting memories and experiences, the light my grandparents were, and how they taught us to most importantly and sincerely give thanks where thanks is truly due. Perfectly, this November was escorted in with the prettiest blooms on my Evelyn rose . . .

Happy Birthday, Joel!

Sweetness

Sweetness on Sunday

 

Sweetness on Beggars Night

We saw this rainbow as we were pulling away from our house to beg for candy. It followed us for a while. "How did it do that?!"

 

Mondays are hard enough. Why not top it off by loading up these cuties with extra sugar?!

Sweetness of the First
This was Zane's first time walking up to ask for a treat. He stared at the givers, begging with his eyes. They handed him Smarties and he literally took off "running" in the opposite direction from everyone, as if we would take the candy away from him. :) It was like he planned it.

You mean I get to eat it?

.  

Let's go get more!

 I know there's more candy somewhere . . .