"School's" Out For Summer

Kate's last day of "school" was yesterday.  In reality, she just goes to a one-day-a-week Mother's Day Out program.  We call it "school" to her though because it's so much easier.  She's had a great year and we're looking forward to next year, when she'll go more than just once a week.  I took a picture of her on her first and last day and think it is so crazy to see how much she has grown.

I mean I know every mom thinks their child has grown a lot between the first and last days, but seriously, to me it looks like Kate is 3 years older instead of just 8 months older.  She started as a baby and now she is a little girl.  I'm kind of sad to think of what her "last day" picture will look like next year. For now we will just enjoy the summer!

Being Confident As Mom

For the very first time, I’m joining up with the “Build ‘Em Up” series hosted by Erin, Jennifer, Kelly and Courtney.  Today’s topic is about being confident in your choices in motherhood.  It seems like every where we turn, moms are debating about the “right” way to parent a child.  I’m sure lots of other blogs joining in on this link-up are going to mention the mommy wars in one way or another, and I have my own thoughts on that too, but I’m going to go in another direction with this. 

So what does it mean to be confident in motherhood?  To me it means knowing exactly who and what I want Kate to be when she grows up.   Especially to those with younger children (Kate is 21 months), I’m sure you are thinking “But there’s no WAY I know who my child will be when she grows up!”   While it may be true that I don’t know what kind of job Kate will have, and I don’t know where she will choose to live or if she will choose to get married and have a family, I do know exactly who I want her to be when she grows up.  More specifically, I know WHOSE I want her to be. 

I want her to be a child of God.

Now I know that we're all children of God in that He created each and every one of us.  But, I desperately want Kate to know Jesus Christ personally as her Savior and Lord, which is a completely personal decision that she will have to make as she gets older.  However, I can do everything in my power to make sure she knows the love of Christ and the power of the cross.  And when I sit at night and read a bible story to her about Daniel and the lion’s den, or David and Goliath, or Jesus feeding the 5,000, I can be confident in knowing that at least for the next 10 minutes, I am doing exactly what God created me to do as Kate’s mom.  I’m teaching her about Him.

So to me, being confident in motherhood means knowing what my role is as Kate’s mom.  Yes, I need to teach her manners, and how to work hard, and to love others, and a ton of other things, but my biggest role as a parent is to teach her about Jesus in everything that I do.  That’s a big job because it not only entails teaching her about Jesus, but living Jesus in front of her.  

And one day if she does choose to make the decision to trust Jesus with her life, I’ll be confident in knowing that all of the OTHER stuff in her life will work out.  She might not have the biggest house, or the nicest car, but she’ll know what true joy is.  And that’s more than I could ever hope for her.

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
Romans 8:28

Lazy Fridays at the Park

Friday evening was one of those rare evenings when we had no plans.  So after dinner at a local pizza place (which we visit pretty regularly for the cinnamon bites), we drove over to our City Park.

I'm embarrassed to say that this was the first time we've been with Kate.  She had so much fun on the playground and just running around.  We actually have a really great park, and should take advantage of it more often. 

The picture below is what Kevin and I witnessed about 95% of the time while we were there.  If I'm being honest, this is pretty much how Kate is 95% of her life.  We are constantly seeing her zip past us yelling "Ruunn! Fast! Run! Fast!"

Hopefully we'll remember our park more in the future.  Maybe we will even take advantage of the summer outdoor movies this year. :)  Anybody else have a great local park near you? 

Take Me Out To The Ball Game

We spent Mother's day afternoon at a Greenville Drive baseball game.  We got tickets through my work in a lottery system and we just happened to "win" tickets to the game on Mother's day Sunday.  We were excited to see Kate's reaction, but weren't really sure how the afternoon was going to go for a couple of reasons.  The biggest reason was that the game was at 4pm that afternoon and other than a 10 minute nap in the car, Kate hadn't slept all day.  She did great though. 

Our seats were right behind the dugout, which was perfect because there was nobody in front of us for Kate to bother.  And, the wall was high enough that she wasn't able to climb up onto the dugout, but it was short enough for her to see over.  Perfect. 

We ended up staying for 5 innings, which was plenty of time.  And the weather was great.  It was a bit warm when the game started, but then it cooled off a bit. 

Kate seemed to enjoy everything, except for the mascot (Reedy Rip'it the Frog). She was not a fan.  She loved him from a distance and would point and say "Elmo".  That in itself is confusing since she doesn't watch Sesame Street, but whatever. If he came close though, she would put her head on my shoulder and try to hide. And once he got on top of the dugout right in front of us, she was terrified. She climbed under the chairs to hide.  

Other than THAT, I think she had fun at the game (or maybe it was just the cotton candy).  It was a good end to my second Mother's day.

Mother's Day 2013

This past Sunday was my 2nd Mother's Day as a mom, and it was a pretty packed day.  After church on Sunday we went to a Japanese steak house for lunch.  It was good, and although I thought Kate would LOVE it, she did not. She was terrified. She did like watching people from across the room, but once our guy got to the table and started doing his thing, she was not a fan. Not of the fire, not of him throwing things, not of the noise- nothing.  She pretty much scrambled out of her high chair and into my lap, saying "Hold you! Hold you!".   I was really surprised because she was having so much fun watching the other tables, and so far she has not been scared of anything. She's usually pretty fearless.

After lunch we came home to rest for a (very) brief amount of time.  We did take some time to snap a few pictures in our church clothes though...

Here is little miss bossy with her two dogs. 

And of course since it was Mother's Day, I had to get a picture with my little one.  It was quite an ordeal though.  Here are the progression of pictures. They make me laugh.

#1 - So not in the mood.

#2 - Look at Max and Cooper!

#3 - You asked for a smile.  You didn't say a REAL smile! So, CHEESE!

#4 - Are we through yet?

#5 - I'll just give you sassy!

We spent the other half of the day at a local baseball game. I have plenty of pictures of that too, so I'll wait and share them tomorrow. :) 

A Family Lake Day

My cousin graduated from college this past Friday and a lot of our family gathered at a lake house near the college to celebrate his graduation.  Kevin, Kate, and I got up Saturday morning and headed over there to join in on the fun.  They rented a big pontoon boat and we had fun hanging out with family all day.  Although there was a 60-70% chance of rain, we got lucky.  The rain held off most of the day.  As we were pulling out of the driveway to go home, it finally started raining. 

Kate's favorite part of the entire day was playing with her little cousin, Collins.  Collins is 1 year younger than Kate.  Actually, she was born one day before Kate's first birthday. As soon as we walked in the door and Kate saw Collins, she started saying "Baby! Baby!"  She is SUCH a little momma. Always wanting to help, comfort, pat, rock, etc. I'm sure Collins was ready for Kate to go by the end of the day!

And now since we've been home, every time Kate sees a baby she yells out "Collins! Collins!"

After a big family breakfast, we decided to try a boat ride.  We didn't go too far away because the clouds were threatening.  

We have had some crazy May weather, and it was pretty cool on the boat, so Kate put on my mom's coat over her life jacket. Doesn't she look like a little football player? 

We spent the rest of the afternoon watching golf, throwing a football, playing ladder ball, and just spending time with family. 

This was our first attempt of a Grandma/Mommy/Baby picture. I had to laugh when I saw it. Not too bad of me and my mom. Kate's face cracks me up though.

Take 2 was much better!

And one of my cousin, Miranda, and our two girls!

What a Wonderful Day!

Just a short post for today.  I have lots to catch up on, and will do it soon, but first- happy Mother's Day to my sweet mom.  I love you!

And also, how much has Kate changed in a year?  Craziness. I'm so lucky to be her Mommy.