dandelions and a singing turtle

A couple Mondays ago, I took Lyndon to the park . . . the bigger one down the road that he's only visited a few times. We went right after breakfast, so we were the only ones there. He had a blast! It's amazing how a few simple pieces of plastic and wood can provide so much entertainment and discovery.

It was a sweet time for the two of us to do something fun together; I've been trying to soak up all of the special "firstborn" moments I get to have with him, since I know I won't get another chance.

Once he got tired of the equipment, we walked over to a nearby field and picked some dandelions. This has since become Lyndon's favorite pastime. He squeals and points anytime he sees dandelions, straining to reach them, and he'll hold them in his chubby little fist for hours if I let him.

Near the end of our adventure, I realized that our library was scheduled to have storytime soon, so we headed over there. I expected something dinky and cute, since this wasn't the swanky storytime you had to pre-register for. Turns out I have amazing timing. A two-person children's theatre troupe was visiting all the way from NC to do an original show. They were fantastic! Their story was about an owl . . .

and a turtle . . .

who became friends even though they were different. They almost let their species' prejudices get in the way of their friendship, but in the end, they decided to play together anyway. The turtle sang a lovely original song, asking "Why is it wrong to get along?" Good question, turtle.

It was a lovely morning.

affected on Easter

We sang this on Easter Sunday, and it really affected me. I realized I hadn't thought about the resurrrection in a long time. It's just not something that I regularly consider. The cross, maybe. But I often stop there, which is silly. That's like stopping a movie 20 minutes before the end and trying to get excited about what a great story it was. The story of Jesus did not end with the cross. Was the cross important? Absolutely. Does it have a breathtaking beauty in its own right? You bet. Was it God's final word on the matter? Nope. The empty grave was. Praise be to God!

	When we were dead in our transgressions Jesus, You came to bring us back to God You canceled the debt that stood against us Set it aside, nailing it to the cross Now with joy we can proclaim Chorus:
	You’ve overcome the grave You took our curse away There is no other name by which we’re saved For in Your death we died In You we have new life Jesus, Your name alone can save
	Now death has lost its sting forever Because You arose we do not hope in vain You defeated every evil power Disarming them all bearing our guilt and shame And forever we’ll proclaim (to chorus)

a conversation with Lyndon

(If you're not familiar with baby sign language, I've provided some helpful links.)

Hey buddy, are those some good Cheerios you're eating?

More? You want more? Oh, ok. Can you say "please"?

Very good. You may have some more.

Hey buddy, you're eating Cheerios. Can you say "eat"?

(He really did just stick his fingers in his mouth. There were no Cheerios in his hand.)

Speaking of your hand, where is it?

Nicely done. Now, where's your head?

How about your belly? Where's your belly?

Great job! Now give me a smile! Show the nice readers your teeth.

(See the molar coming in waaay back there?)

Ok, now I'll let you get back to your Cheerios.

like father, like son

Lyndon loves anything with a screen . . . or buttons. (For those of you who know my husband, this should come as no surprise.) He has an old (battery-less) cell phone and remote control that are officially part of his toys now, and he loves to pretend to use them. Just like Daddy.

Deathly Hallows Part 1 released today!

Adrian pre-ordered the Blu-ray of HP Deathly Hallows Part 1 as part of my Valentine's Day present (and I know I just pegged myself as the biggest nerd on the face of the earth by admitting that, but I don't care). I'm so super excited to see this movie again!

Now if only we could convince our care group to have a "Support Harry Potter" Viewing Party tonight instead of a discussion . . .

Yeah. Didn't think so.

When we get sick, we do it up right!

Please excuse the blog silence. In the last two weeks, we have had three cases of the flu and a double ear infection around here. Yes friends, at 14 months old, Lyndon finally got his first (and I guess second) ear infection! Our dr. was mostly just surprised that it took him this long to have one. And I of course went home and called the grandparents. It's almost like a milestone . . . first tooth . . . first word . . . first ear infection.

Anyway, we seem to be climbing out from under all the sickness now, and I'm hoping that maybe, just maybe, the "winter of plagues" is over.

In other news, Lyndon is definitely turning into a toddler. He rarely crawls anymore and actually tried running the other day. Of course, he immediately fell down on his cute little bum, but he picked himself up and tried again. I find myself marveling at the persistence of a one year-old. He is willing to fall down literally hundreds of times a day and just patiently pick himself up and start over. It's rather inspiring.

He also has a whole bunch of teeth now. I applaud my friend for managing to get a decent picture of the inside of her daughter's mouth as proof of incoming teeth, but it's just not gonna happen over here. Dude freaks out anytime we try to do anything to the inside of his mouth. However, perhaps I can catch him laughing at some point and show you. Because the kid's getting some crazy molars.

He's also mastered some sign language. I, of course, was worried about his language skills, since he isn't a fan of babbling and really doesn't say any words consistently. (Yes, we did hear a few a while ago, but the only one we've heard since is "Daddy," and he's only said it two or three times.) But, clearly, he's ready to communicate, having learned the signs for "more", "please", "eat", "milk", "all done" and "help" in only two days. He has picked up on the babbling a bit since learning these signs; we're hoping they're helping him grasp the concept of conversation.

I made chocolate chip cookies the other day, and he was a big fan. Can you tell?