Prunes

Half a teaspoon or so of prunes.  I think that the majority of it went down your chin but you were really excited about the flavor and by far your favorite part was licking the spoon clean.

Important

Sometimes I get a little lost in the unimportant.  I end up worrying about the everyday and turning moll hills into mountains.  I've said it before and I'll say it again but worry runs in the family.  I worry about what you eat, did you get enough, when should you start solids, I worry about when you sleep, too much... too little, I worry about your poopy diapers when you have not had one or when the color is funny.  But the truth is I really should not waste my time worrying about these things, why, while first God has it under-control, so I should trust his love and pray instead of worry and second none of these thing matter in the long run.  

"So do not worry about tomorrow; 

for tomorrow will care for itself. 

Each day has enough trouble of its own."
Matthew 6:34

When you get a little bigger no one including you will care weather you are breastfed or bottlefed as an infant, noone will care when you started solids or where you took your nap or what color you poo was. What will  really matters is that you were always taken care of and always loved.  You see really what matters can be boiled down to 2 things God and Family. 

"Cast your cares on the LORD
and he will sustain you;
he will never let the righteous fall."

Psalm 55:22 

The bible says it plain and clear God has worry, cares, sorrows and troubles under control.  As long as God is with you these things are taken care of.  That dose not mean that life will be perfect but it will always be according to God's will and plan. Instead of worrying about what the trivial, I want you to learn that God takes care of your worries if you love him and pray. God will take your burdens, you can not carry the weight of the world on your shoulders and neither can I but God can dose.  Let him take your troubles.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, 

and I will give you rest. 

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, 

for I am gentle and humble in heart, 

and you will find rest for your souls. 

For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Matthew 11:28-30

God dose not want us to have hearts fill with worry he wants us to pray hand our worries to him and be joyful.

"Be joyful always;

pray continually;
give thanks in all circumstances,
for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
1 Thessalonians 5:16-17

I hope that I am teaching you to Love God.  Devotions in the morning, Papa's Prayer before bed, I hope your early memories are that you have a family who loves you and a God who loves you.   I hope I can break this family tradition of worry.  I know in my heart God is in control, sometimes I just can not help but worry but for your sake I will try to do better.  I will try to trust more in Gods love and worry less about the little things.  Try to focus on making sure you know you have a God who loves you, and a family who loves you.  That is Important.  That is what matters.

 

Big accomplishment!

I am sure somewhere in the world there are people working to cure cancer, or build schools, or save lives but my big accomplishment. You took nap time in your own crib!  YEAH!  I am sure it may not sound like much to some people but it is awesome.  You have been a great sleeper for awhile now... at night you do a great job, you go to bed easy and then sleep a good 6-7 hours before you wake up to eat and back to bed again till morning.  But naps can be a whole different story.  During the day you just don't want to sleep, it typically takes either a car ride or time in your swing to get you to sleep, but not today.  This is the second time you have taken a nap in your crib.  But the first time it only lasted 20mins.  This has been a really good nap.  I am so proud of you.

Growing

You are growing so fast, it is hard to keep up with all the new things you can do every day.  First you are getting so much stronger.  You hold your head up for longer and longer times during tummy time and can sit in the bumbo so well. 

 

You are growing so big that you have started to gain control of your limbs, you little arms reach for toys, and your little legs kick and splash so well that it is hard to give you a bath on the kitchen counter anymore, so tub time has moved to the deck.

You have something growing or moving in your mouth.  Causing you to feel the need to stick your finger on your lower left gum all the time so out with the teething rings and Sophie the Giraffe.

 

Your Jackie Flower has been growing to and it is now in bloom.  Maybe we can get Aunt Sharon to drop by and see it some time

Just remember no matter how much you grow or how big or strong or old you get you will always be my peanut.

A cool breeze

I am always cold, so is your grandma Carol and your Aunt Kelly.  But you take after your daddy.  You are a little heat box, and so you love a cool breeze.  Aunt Kelly has made a game of fanning you with your lovey blankets and your burp clothes and every-time she dose it you smile. 

We had a few tough nights in a row where you were not sleeping or eating well, (Thank goodness for Aunt Kate and Grandma Carol coming over last night to give me a break,) but hopefully that is through and we are back on track.  So one more happy pic of you from this morning.

3 Month Photos

There are more yet on Shutterfly, I just could not pick one as my favorite this time.

4th of July

Yesterday was the fourth of July, and it has always been a time of family,  I could tell you about Grandma Jackie's Flag cookies or her illegal fire works but the fourth always makes me think of the Cottage and your Great Grandma and Grandpa Stouten. As a kid we always spent at least part of the holiday weekend at the cottage on Stoney Lake.  The cottage itself was a little patriotic with it's Red upstairs and white basement and it was a beautiful place to be.  I would wake up in the morning to the smell of Grandpa Ed's bacon and buckwheat pancakes and after breakfast, I would play in the sand in front of the cottage while the adults sat in the sun and read.  Grandma Audrey made sure there were plenty of toys to play in the sand, and she would often bring me a can of real coke, (as a kid my parents only bought diet and we were not often allowed to have it so a can of Coke all to myself was a real treat.  The flavor of Regular Coke always brings Grandma Audrey's smiling face to mind.  She had a way of knowing the little things like that, that would make you feel special or at home, she was a wonderful hostess, and she loved having the whole family up to the cottage.)  Normally by the afternoon Kate would have talked Dad and Grandpa into a trip to Craigs Crusiers and we would ride go carts (yes if you ask Aunt Kate I would cheat and bump, but being the youngest I needed some advantage), and we would play ski-ball and end up at the batting cages.  Grandpa Ed could hit a baseball like no-one else I knew, they came at him so fast and the crack of his bat was so hard it would make me flinch.  By the time we would make it back to the cottage Aunt Sharon would be baking cake, she always let me help (I was really good at licking the whisk clean), we would decorate it with thick white icing and use strawberries and blueberries to make a flag on top.  Grandpa would skin bluegills and fry them up for dinner with fresh corn on the cob, (Grandpa Ed makes the best fried bluegills, light and crispy, I could eat a mountain of them, but I would get funny looks from Tom and Steve for putting Ketchup on them (Catsup as Grandma Audrey would say), and then when the night got chilly they would start up a fire in the big field-stone fire place and we would be sent to bed.  My dad would come tell us a bed time story about Katrina, Kelsinda and Taratana.  Somewhere in the mist of his deep soothing voice and the sweet smell of a real fire I would drift to sleep.  Happy fourth of July. 

Talking (Movie)

So Daddy tends to play a game of pushing on your nose, and every time he did it today you started talking, too cute not to take video and post it.  Right now your Daddy is trying to get you to take a nap and I think for the second time this weekend your Daddy will be asleep but today you are wide awake, yesterday you did take a good nap with Dad. 

Chloe and Clifford

When I was kid Clifford was my best friend, he went everywhere with me and I did not sleep if he was not in my arms.  I had big Clifford, Baby and Medium size, I have passed my big Clifford on to you.  I lost medium Clifford in Florida when I was in elementary school, (I cried over losing him and really did not understand why we could not fly back to get him, apparently my Mom and Dad did not think of him as a member of the family the same way I did).  I loved all the Clifford books, I have passed those on to you too.  So I was thrilled to see that the Kohls Care Books this month were Clifford.  We bought the books I did not already own, and got you Clifford's pal Chloe.  Why Chloe,  truthfully T-Bone is my favorite of Clifford's friends but Chloe is the fuzziest and that is what matters to you.  You have already been pulling out her hair and eating her nose.  I hope that more then just passing on these stuffed animals to you it will help you build a love of reading.