This morning was such a sweet gift. I find it encouraging to record and celebrate these moments, as most of the time things do not run so smoothly!
I had some housework to tend to before packing us all into the car to get groceries. I started vacuuming, and all three kids went into Mac and Corrie's room and shut the door to block out the noise.
I was surprised to find that I got everything I had hoped done without a single interruption! (No, crying, hitting, punching, pulling hair, screaming...the list goes on). Mac and Corrie have begun to really fight with each other, and it has led to almost non-stop training, disciplining, teaching and praying for each other.
In the midst of my tasks, I decided to take a peek in their room and saw that they were playing with the animal collection we inherited from their cousin Reed. They had found their "bug hunting" tweezers, and were using them to "collect" the little animals and set them on display. It is so nourishing to my soul to see my children enjoying each other. Even little Davey was having fun.
The finished product!
Happy little brother
Another cute note about little Dave. Now that he is mobile, I have noticed that he will find me anywhere I am and sit by me to play. He wants to be with us as much as he can. Yesterday I took a shower while Ellis ate breakfast and the kids played in the living room. I was surprised to hear a familiar squeaky laughing sound inside the bathroom with me. I peeked around the curtain to see that Davey had found me again!
He was happy playing with toys the whole time...until he decided to explore the rest of the bathroom. Nothing will get you out of the shower faster then looking around the curtain to see that your 9-month-old has found the toilet plunger!
Thank you God, for giving us times of rest and such sweet gifts.
Do you see that cute little face? Would you believe he just did about the grossest thing I have ever witnessed any of my kids ever do?
Yep. I was making dinner and I saw him crawling across the kitchen floor toward a place where our cabinets make a corner. I wish I could have stopped him, but in slow motion I saw him reach for a huge, dead, black bug. He put in right in his mouth and swallowed it before I could fish it out!
As gross as that was, I am wondering if perhaps he has stumbled onto a discovery: Are dead bugs the new superfood? Not long after, he was entertaining and amazing us by standing up and balancing all by himself!
Today was a dream day for Ellis: We finally played Ultimate Frisbee. He looked pretty happy warming up and showing us his game face.
The kids had a dream day too: We arrived to see several huge mounds of dirt on the side of the field. That is pretty much Christmas in their eyes.
It turns out that Davey loves dirt just as much as his older siblings. He kept trying to grab handfuls of dirt out of Corrie's bucket to eat. Here Corrie is assuming her role as his second mother. "Davey, you may not eat dirt."
Apparently, he did not obey Corrie very well. I came back from my turn playing (Ellis and take turns watching the kids) to discover that Davey had been moved from the dirt mounds to the stroller area. Ellis said these exact words: "I looked at him and mud was pouring out of his mouth." I don't know how much moving him helped, as he just tried to eat tons of grass next.
And, I will finally admit it (as much as I try to dislike ultimate frisbee): It was a dream day for me too.
A few weeks ago, we were just having one of those mornings...the ones where you look at the clock and think, "7:45am?!!! Seriously...it's only 7:45?"
Well, things are a little foggy by now, but I do remember looking at the clock, and then hearing a loud THUD come from Mac's room...and then I heard a loud cry. It was the type of tone that immediately sends any mom on high alert. A few seconds later Mac was in my arms and bawling.
I had sent Mac to his room for a "time out," and instead of sitting on his bed, he apparently got up on his play table and tried to "fly" off of it onto the floor. Yep. Totally face planted right into the rug. Do you know that he has actually said to me numerous times, "But Moooommmy! WHY won't you let me fly?!!" I don't think I'll be getting that question anymore.
I took a look at his face and saw blood coming from his nose and his mouth. Things were already getting pretty swollen, so I just held him for a few minutes and prayed with him while I waited for him to calm down. I knew I needed to get a good look in that mouth.
From all my years of sports and working at summer camps, I have seen my fair share of injuries. So when Mac came running into the kitchen that morning, I was already settling into "coach" mode. Once he calmed down, I set Mac up on the kitchen table so I could get a better look at his mouth. I saw bleeding from the upper and lower gums, but I needed to get a better look.
"Okay Macky, I just need to take a little look at your teeth again, buddy."
And then something crazy happened. Mac started whimpering and holding his jaw with both hands. I immediately had a flashback to when I was coaching college lacrosse and one of my players broke her jaw. I was the first one on the scene to help her, and Mac was acting so similar...
Images of Mac's mouth being wired shut for months flashed before my eyes...and that was right about when I lost it. My vision was suddenly full of black spots, and I was so nauseous I knew I was about join the toddlers by taking my turn to throw up on the kitchen floor.
Poor Mac! I had to leave him up there on that table crying as I lay down on the ground with my knees bent and my eyes closed. "Sorry Macky! Mommy will help you in just a minute! She just needs to lay down for a minute and help her tummy!"
As soon as I could stomach it, I called Ellis and told him I needed to get Mac's face and mouth looked at ASAP. Praise God! He provided everything we needed for Mac to be seen by a very experienced and great doctor. Thankfully, Mac's jaw and teeth were all still in-tact. His lips and nose were pretty swollen, and his top two front teeth were pretty loose, but the doctor said there was a good chance he'd heal up just fine without even needed to see a dentist. Whew!
Mac was so repentant for jumping off of that table! He told me several times, "Mommy, I will never jump off the table again." (He did it again about 2 hours later). He also asked several times, "Mommy, are my teeth gray? Are they still there in my mouth?" (He heard the doctor say that they might turn gray and fall out).
And Mac and Corrie did get one nice surprise out of the deal: Mommy was told to buy lots of popsicles...doctor's orders! Mac devours his popsicles in about four big bites, while Corrie takes forever licking them a thousand times...I would say they disappear faster by melting than by her actually eating them.
As I pondered this whole experience and the strong reaction that occurred inside me, I thought of something I read recently. It affected me so intensely seeing my son suffer. How much more did it hurt the Father to see His Son suffer for our sake? And not only that, but:
"The Father's love was so great for you that it even pleased Him to crush the Innocent One, His Beloved Son, for your transgressions." -Christ's Ultimate Sacrifice, CTO
"But the Lord was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief."
-Isaiah 53:10 NASB
The more I learn about and experience God's love, the more incomprehensible it becomes!
The sound from the video above is the soundtrack that I hear most of the day when Davey is awake. Sometimes I hear him squealing and laughing, and I go to check and see what he is doing. Often I see that he is just simply crawling down the hallway by himself...laughing.
Last night I cleared out the coat hooks in the kitchen, and this morning the kids were thrilled to redeem many long lost treasures...purses, hats, spiderman watches...very fun :)
What am I going to do with this little guy? I am constantly trying to tell Mac and Corrie to be GENTLE with Davey, but as you can see, his pure enjoyment of rough play only seems to drown out my admonishments...
Corrie is constantly swooping in behind him, always ready and waiting to give Davey "hugs." She half wrestles him to the ground and yells, "Look Mommy! I'm holding Davey!"
When Mac was 8months-old, he was still mastering how to "sit." Not Little D! He has surpassed regular crawling (too boring) and often "bear crawls" instead.
This morning I was getting ready for church and I came into our bedroom to see Davey standing up and smiling at me!!!
Later today I discovered that he can actually balance standing up on his own for a good five seconds or so. I tried to get a video of that, but he was too distracted by trying to look at Mac and laugh with him to let go of my hand.
And speaking of having our hands full around here, how about Corrie and her artwork? The other day I filled up our little watering can for her to water the flowers while I was finishing up in the kitchen. I came out to check on her and found her creating a masterpiece...
And then this afternoon I saw Davey crawling around with Corrie's trademark coloring on his diaper. I guess it must have been tempting when he crawled right past her...those diaper pictures do look like a coloring page. (I noticed that she tried to color the little bear on his bottom...and a pretty good job for a moving target!)
"Mister D," as Mac likes to call him, is such an endearing little guy. I've been trying for a long time to think of a good description of what it is like to hold and snuggle him, and this morning it finally hit me: he's a little bear cub!
He's heavy, strong, and really wiggly - almost wild...but he's also so happy and playful and snuggly at the same time. Come to think of it, he is also really growly, so I guess the little bear cub description fits even better than I first thought!
So here's a little video diary I have compiled...I think it represents him pretty well.
Davey @ 8months:
Eating:
Crawling/playing:
Laughing all time...
Entertaining his big brother and sister:
And a little side story: Yesterday I was surprised with an evening alone with my Davey Bear. "Okay. I better use this time without all the kids to clean up the kitchen, organize the toys in the basement...so many things need to get done!...But maybe I should eat some dinner first."
I heated up a bowl of soup and sat on the couch while Davey played on the floor next to me. I turned on the TV, and a show called "American Ninja Warrior" came on. Davey was mesmerized! I pulled him up on the couch with me and we watched the show and talked and played and relaxed together. It became so far past his bedtime, and all of those other things still needed to be done, but time like this with Little D is just so enjoyable...I couldn't let him go!
