Jack has learned to stick out his tongue when I ask him to and loves listening to the La La La Song. He's 2 1/2 months old here. And, I think, very very sweet. (February 24, 2010)
February 2010 Archives
I write lame little melodies to help me memorize scripture. I actually tried learning Matthew 5:13-16 without writing a melody and I couldn't get it down. Then I started singing it and I had it memorized in a few minutes. I have no idea why I work like that, I just do. Someday maybe I'll put on "The Entire Bible: The Musical." That'd be interesting. And long. And have lots of genealogies.
Anyway, these are the new songs from the past few weeks' Fighter Verses. These sound like I am singing in a cave, because that's where I had to go to record them this time. Also, please note that any sounds or tapping in the background is done by none other than my 2-year-old who clearly has no rhythm. Or emotional control. We're working on that.
Matthew 5:3-12 (The Beatitudes): Matthew5_3-12.mp3
Matthew 5:13-16: Matthew5_13-16.mp3
Two things running through my mind these days:
Thing 1: The Woman Who Fears the Lord
I've started reading Proverbs 31:10-31 on a daily basis. I actually typed it out (here it is if you'd like a copy) and have it posted upstairs and downstairs for me to read regularly. I think it's been essential to keeping my wits about me some days. It's easy to feel like I'm trudging through days not making a difference, but this helps me see that serving and loving others is one of the biggest differences I can make! I am so thankful that God continues to prune my branches and refine me. I hope to commit this section of Proverbs to memory so that God's truth will be able to emerge in my thoughts when I don't have my little printout with me.
On a similar note, Nancy Leigh DeMoss is doing a series on Proverbs 31 that I am looking forward to called The Counter-Cultural Woman. Enjoy it yourself if you're interested.
Thing 2: Project 52: Date Nights
Josh and I have decided to make a bold move and put our marriage first by jumping on the Project 52: Date Nights bandwagon. Basically, we've committed to doing a date once a week for the next year. Here are the terms of our agreement:
- Every Friday night from 9:30 -10:30 p.m. is our date night. We can change it to a different day in advance if we'd like.
- Majority of the time the dates will be at home so we don't need babysitters.
- We rotate being in charge of date nights every other week.
- Can't do the same thing twice in one month.
- Dates need to be free most of the time. If not free, then under a budget of $30. Cheaper than if we went out.
- No children allowed. (Except the occasional newborn if we both agree...)
- Must create a date-like atmosphere. No frumpy clothes or pajamas. Make it a special event. Mind the details. But most of all, keep it simple.
- Must commit to engaging with the other person and being positive in doing what his or her date night entails (like, if Josh wanted us to stare at a snow globe for our date night then I'd have to do the best snow globe staring I can do without complaining that it's lame...)
We've already had one date, Josh took me to see Avatar. I have some Valentine's plans for us this week. The beauty of it so far is that we are actually taking initiative to plan dates. Previous to this there was a whole lot of "What do you want to do?" "I dunno, what do you want to do?" "Ummm... let's watch T.V." "Ummm... OK." I know, hot, right?
So, here's to my marriage and my sweet geeky man. I love him and I'm so thankful that now we have some semblance of a plan to love and enjoy each other.
Jack had his 2 month checkup at the doctor today. It went very well and he is doing excellently. There were only two issues that we discussed. First, I had some concerns about Jack's digestive abilities. But, the doctor told me that his issues are common in little dudes and gave me some tips to improve them. Second, the doctor commented that Jack only seems to look to his right side, so I'm supposed to do things to encourage him to look left as well. (I'm thinking of doing my impersonation of Chevy Chase's character in Three Amigos, "Lookup 'ere! Lookup 'ere!") If I don't do this, Jack may end up with a lopsided head into adulthood! Yeah, you read that right. (How many adults have lopsided heads because their mothers were negligent at getting them to look both directions? It's okay, you can raise your hand, we're all friends here...) That's not exactly the kind of thing I want to be held responsible for years from now, so I'll do what I can.
Jack is growing well:
Weight: 11 pounds, 6.2 ounces (44th percentile)
Length: 23.4 inches (69th percentile)
Head: 15.4 inches (30th percentile)
It's fun to compare him to Caleb (in this post, a week older than Jack here). Caleb was a pound heavier, about 1/2" shorter, and head size was about the same. I'm pretty sure that Jack will be much taller than Caleb someday, but we'll see.
Today, Jack was also given the basic 2-month-old shots: DTAP/HBV/IPV, Pneumonia, HIB/PRP-T, and one oral vaccine (Rotavirus). I asked the doctor what Rotavirus is and he said it's basically "a lot of diarrhea." He also said, "I'm so glad we have the shot now, I treat fewer patients in the hospital with the diarrhea than I did before." Isn't the thought of a little baby with insane diarrhea very troubling? Praise God for the don't-get-diarrhea-shot. (This would be a good time for me to say that I personally think death by diarrhea would be a horrible way to go. But let me make it public that if I do indeed die of diarrhea, I want to be buried in this shirt. I'm not kidding.)
Jack has started cooing in the past few days. Making the traditional adorable "Oooo" and "Ahhhh" sounds that babies are known for. Caleb impersonates him and they lie next to each other, Caleb giggling, as they impersonate each other's simplified sounds. Heartwarming.
Caleb and Jack get along very well. Today I had Jack laying on my bed and Caleb flipped on the overhead fan and laid next to him singing the "Round and around and around and around!" song. He has introduced Jack to his favorite books (and recited Owl Moon
I really really like Jack. I tell Josh that several times a day. I like him. I love him. He is the sweetest little guy. When he sees me his eyes light up and he does this gurgle, grunt, breathing thing and his legs run. They don't kick, they literally run in the air. Sometimes when I am nursing him he will start to "run" and will catch on my body and go shooting up. So, when I say run, I mean run. So endearing. So sweet.
Thank you, God, for Jack. Wonderful are Your works, my soul knows it very well.
Love when I get similar pictures to compare. They definitely are different looking boys, but this picture is the most similar of pictures I have of both boys so it's easiest to compare here. You can tell they're brothers though!
Here's Caleb at 6 days old (September 11, 2007):
Here's Jack at 8 weeks old (February 4, 2010):
Jack at 8 weeks old (February 3, 2010).
Jack doesn't smile much. But when he does, it makes for a happy Mama!
