Daddy's Little Girl

So much goes on in the family. Sometimes, it seems like nothing is new; nothing is going on. If we don't take a nice trip, or see fascinating places, it seems as if nothing is happening. But there's so many things that DO happen. No, it's not a trip to Disney World, or anything grand like that, but there are so many little things that we get to do that, I think, mean the world to my kids.

Zoe is so appreciative of things. She really has learned to say "thank you" without being prompted to do so. And she shows her appreciation for gifts by immediately dancing, squealing, and the very best hugs.  

One little moment was when I brought home a set of gifts for her a while back.  I saw the cutest little "Frozen" pajama set, along with a "Frozen" housecoat and "Frozen" house shoes. I knew she'd just love them.  And she did! I got the best reaction in the world . . . from her eyes. I truly felt the appreciation and excitement in her.  I didn't know it, but she had been telling Mommy for quite some time that she wanted a housecoat and slippers so that she could be like Mommy. And now she could. 

And in our household UK Season is a big deal. So you have to dress for the season!

It's funny, too, to see how your child thinks. Zoe and I were having a pretty good conversation. At the end, I looked at her very seriously, and told her, "Zoe, I love you, to the moon and back." Without thinking about it, she quickly replied, "Well, Daddy, I love you, to the sun and back." Ha! Not only was she smart enough to think of that, she's had to ONE UP ME! Haha. Love her to pieces. 

And our little girl LOVES her toys.  And we love that! There's nothing more we want right now for our kids to be kids. HAPPY kids. Her favorite toys: blocks, her Minnie Mouse, and Olaf. 

We also try our best to teach responsibility and accountability to Zoe, as we will to Julian, also. She's 3 years old, but I can proudly say, she almost always has a very clean room. She knows she has to put her toys away when she's done with them. She has to put her dirty clothes in the hamper. There's no discussion. It's just the way it is. And her job everyday after she gets home from daycare is to feed the dogs. If she doesn't do it, they don't get fed. It's HER job. And she loves it. She loves both her pups, and wants to take care of them. 

She also loves to go to the meetings. She loves seeing her friends there. And for the most part, she does very well during the meetings. There aren't a lot of disturbances, which we're very thankful for. Zoe doesn't always like to comment, but we don't force that. There are times when I don't want to, either. 

Zoe is becoming more and more social, too. She LOVES and prays for her friends. And last week, two of her buddies came over. She had lots of fun with Donny & Becky. 

And we got to go see Mawmaw and Nana yesterday. Zoe always gets excited when we go.

But most of all, Zoe loves her Mommy, Daddy, and brother.  She absolutely ADORES Jules. ADORES. She wants to talk with and play with him all the time. She's a great daughter and already a great big sister.

Journey of Zoe's 2's

Lots of tears as I was putting this video together. My little girl, our little girl, is growing up. And I really don't like it. At all. I'm just not a fan of her growing up.  

It's kinda funny. Before Zoe was born, I had all these plans for her: who she would/could be. But now, three years later, the only thing I wish is that she'd just stay little. I want her to stay a toddler forever. I know that's really selfish of me, but it's true. 

As I look through these pics of the past year, it makes me very happy to see how happy Zoe is. She does enjoy her childhood. She carries her Mommy's happiness on her face. She definitely loves life. And she makes me love life that much more. It's so amazing to see life through her eyes. I'm rediscovering so much that life offers. It seems like EVERYTHING is exciting and new. 

And that smile. She has the most genuine smile that melts my heart. Her eyes are honest and lively. 

There's been so much growth in her personality this year. She is opening up more often, letting her guard down. She is becoming more and more a big time teaser like her Daddy. But a big time snuggler with her Mommy. 

This year, Zoe had several cool firsts and milestones: 

• First Prayer
• First Comment at the meeting
• First time Participating in the ministry
• First movie @ the theater (Mr. Peabody)
• Memorized book: The Foot Book, by Dr. Suess
• Climbing rock wall @ the park
• No more crib: graduated to a toddler bed.
• Potty trained!
• Full conversations!
• Learned ABC's, colors, counting
• Became a big sister!
• Grew 3 inches, and gained 4 pounds
• Funny: has an imagination doggie and also has a red house up in the sky

She has LOTS of favorites, too:

• Book: The Foot Book
• Animal: Dogs and lions
• Colors: Pink and red
• Movie: Frozen and Happy Feet
• Toy: Minnie Mouse
• Play time: building castles with her blocks, or ANYTHING outside
• Song: Life Without End-At Last! and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
• Food: pancakes

Here's a little video of her journey last year: 

Prayers of a 3 Year Old

Our little girl loves Jehovah. She takes pride in her prayers. Sometimes, when she's really tired before bed, though, she asks for help in saying them. But for the most part, she talks to Him on her own, in her own words, expressing herself to Him. He is real to her, and that's beautiful.

It's really cute what she prays about. He always thanks Jehovah for all her activities of the day: breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks; for her toys, for anywhere she's been during the day; she thanks Jehovah for Mommy, Daddy, Julian, and herself. Yep, she says, 'Thank you, Jehovah, for me.' 

Last night, as she was praying, she was very, very tired. And at the end of her prayer, she told Jehovah she was tired, and it was time for her to go to sleep.  Then she told Jehovah, he needs to go to sleep, too.  Haha! I love it. It just shows that he IS real in her eyes. And that is wonderful.

You never know what your child understands, or to what level. So it's nice when you kinda get a glimpse into their minds and hearts.

LOVE.

Can You See?

So Zoe's favorite song right now is Life Without End-At Last! Mommy has been singing that to her just about every night since birth. In the last few months, she will spontaneously start singing it on her own. 

It's a proud moment to see your child take to heart the songs she loves. And Zoe really does love it. She pretty much has the first stanza down with the chorus. And she starts the 2nd, but intertwines into the first again. But she'll get it.

My favorite part is how she sings, "Sing out with Jehovah's heart" instead of "Sing out with joy of heart." I kinda like her version!

She turned 3 two weeks ago.

Trying so hard

I'm so proud of my little Zoe. She's been sucking her thumb since she's had one to suck. And over the last several months, she's really concentrated on giving up on the habit. She does really good throughout the day, but at night time, it's her go-to thing that calms and soothes her.
So last night as I was putting her to bed, I could tell she wanted to start with the thumb. But she was going to wait until I left her bedroom.
So I asked her if she wanted some help to stop sucking her thumb. I told her that she could wear socks on her hands. "That's crazy, Daddy, " she announced correctly. But I assured her that's what others so to help themselves. She accepted my offer without complaint. I checked on her an hour later and she was passed out, still wearing those socks on her hands. She wants so badly to be obedient. And she tries so hard to do the right thing. We couldn't be more proud of our little Zo-Zo.

Big Sister

Well Julian is here. And with all the questions that come with that, there's one thing for certain: Zoe is going to be a great big sister.  She loves giving Julian kisses, and she proudly announces to anyone that will listen, "That's my brother!"

We feel so blessed to have her in our lives.  Sometimes there just are no words.  Watching her brings happy tears to my eyes.

Telling on Daddy!

You little stinker!

You told on Daddy at Daycare.  And you're so proud of it, too.  Just love your personality, little girl!

Even if you do rat me out!

Prayer

Well, we got such a surprise just a couple of weeks ago. Over the last several weeks, we've been helping you try to say your own prayers. Mostly before you go to bed. Sometimes before we eat.  You are slowly becoming more certain about it. :)

We've also been encouraging you to say your own prayer before lunch while you're at daycare. No pressure, just warming you up to the idea. 

And then, you told us you did it!!!  ALL BY YOURSELF!!!

Mommy and I are so PROUD of you!  

Tricycle Ride

Sorry, Zoe. I'm really bad about updating this blog, aren't I???

I started writing this blog almost like a diary. But I think I'd like it better (and one day maybe you will, too, if I write it TO you.) Since that's the whole purpose of this thing, anyway.

With that being said . . .

So you finally got the confidence to start pedaling your tricycle on your own.  You always wanted/needed me to guide you and push you when you rode it.  You had the strength to do so in the past, but never the confidence. You won't remember this moment, probably. But I always will.

It's so exciting watching you believe in yourself.  It SO MUCH MORE than just riding a tricycle. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE you!

Does She Know??

We talk to Zoe all the time about Julian.  Trying to help her understand what his arrival will mean for all of us. Does she understand at two years old? She seems to grasp it. But how could she fully understand how he will change her world?

I really am looking forward to seeing her in her new role. She's very emotional at two.  She has the ability to sympathize with others. We see that in a number of ways. I think she will have her moments, like any child does when presented with such a big change.  But I think she will embrace her role very well.  I just can't wait to see her grasp it in ways that I know will surprise us.

She definitely loves the thought of Julian in Mommy's belly.

Spiritual Milestones

As a Christian parent, you have two hopes as you look at your children. That you can do right by their Creator, and raise them to know and love Jehovah. And that they will respond to that direction.

Zoe is only two, but we're so proud of the steps she is taking.  Sure, she's taking them to please us right now.  But we hope that she will continue to grow in her understanding of why we ask her to do certain things. 

But right now, she is very happy and very proud knowing that she makes us very proud.

This past weekend, our little girl had her first active share in a tract campaign. She cheerfully (though nervously) handed invitations to people that we met.  She did wonderfully.

Then, she surprised us on Sunday.  She didn't chicken out of giving a comment during the WT study.  We practiced at home. And in the car.  Just like we have done on other occasions. When we went to practice with a microphone at the KH, my poor little girl freaked out. It was too much.  But then, she had a change of heart.  Courage enveloped her.  She would do it!

And that she did! She had to wait until paragraph 4. Wow! What a wait! Why was I nervous??? As the paragraph was read, I invited her to stand up in the chair.  Now the question is asked. I see her hand raising . . . with confidence, no less! Holy smokes, she's gonna do this!  I held the mic to her, and a beautiful whisper filled the auditorium: "No match." I encouraged her to say it aloud. "No match," she said again, this time clear and audible. 

What a perfect first comment, huh? Because there simply is no match to the love I have for my girl! Beaming! Just beaming with pride!

New Bed

Zoe is so excited to get her new bed. Just so excited. Mommy and I got rid of her crib, and instead, Zoe now has a "grown up" bed.  With that came a new Minnie Mouse themed room.  And it was so exciting to watch her eyes light up when she walked in, seeing her Minnie Mouse bedding and wall stickers all over her room.  

She just loves it!

Spring 2014

Life is too stinking busy. I need to get better about updating this crazy blog when things actually happen. We had a photo session with Lynette today at Ashland Estates.  We were able to get some really good family pics. So happy.