Thursday, April 5, 2012

Cousins

Over the weekend, Gordon Lee and I had the opportunity to meet his 2nd cousin, T.  Gordon Lee and T. are my grandmother's only great-grandchildren.  They are roughly 2 months apart in age.  T. is an absolute cutie!  He is very expressive and I love to hear him babble. Gordon Lee has only had a few experiences with other babies, so it was interesting to see how he would interact with his cousin.  


They shared a few toys.
It was cute when they would both babble at the same time or one after another.  Gordon Lee has a thing with the table pictured where he makes laps around it counter-clockwise until he is tired of playing with it.  Well, he didn't seem to mind that T. was standing right there and would try to plow through him to continue his laps around the table.  T. stuck up for himself and expressed his displeasure with this behavior.  I also tried to show Gordon Lee that pushing past another baby is not appropriate behavior (I doubt he understands yet).

There was a little minor competition over toys.  Sometimes one of them would want what the other was playing with.
In this picture, G. Lee had discovered a travel-sized unopened bottle of mouthwash that was suddenly the coolest "toy" in the room! Oh the things babies enjoy playing with!

There was one instance when the two boys were playing outside on a blanket in the lawn that I thought was sweet.  T. was getting a little upset and started fussing some.  G. Lee became a little concerned about him and went over to him to see what was going on.  

The next day after the two boys met, we took them to see their great-grandmother.  This was especially important for T. because he had not met her yet.  When we arrived, the nurses at the home thought they were twins.  And I thought to myself, "How in the world would you think these boys are twins? They look nothing alike and G. Lee is quite a bit bigger than T."  But after my mother sent me a couple of pictures of everyone together, I discovered why they may have thought the babies were twins.
We had not planned it out at all; however, we had dressed both boys in horizontal-striped tops with blue and black.  And they were both wearing jeans.  For some reason, G. Lee decided to put his hand on T.'s shoulder for one of our group pictures! I think with the babies and grandma, it was impossible to get everyone looking at the camera.  But we tried!

As for little T.? He was thrilled to meet his great-grandmother!
That sweet little smile is just irresistible! What a cutie!

I was definitely happy to see my cousin again and meet her sweet little boy! And I am glad Gordon Lee got to meet his cousin!


Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Reflections

As Lent draws to a close, I am finding myself in a completely different place than I was in when I started.  At the beginning, I felt tense, frustrated, etc.  And now, I feel very free so to speak.  I just feel good!


Stepping away from Facebook just gave me the time to focus on other things.  I really needed that! I am taking Gordon Lee outside every day, and I am sure the fresh air and sunshine are helping to enhance my overall mood.


I love watching my little boy grow and develop! I'm not fretting about what to do or not do with him.  I am happy with the way we are doing things, and I received a huge compliment on him this weekend.  It was much appreciated! We all want what is best for our children no matter how we approach parenting.  And it is nice to see that all different parenting styles can lead to beautiful, happy children.


Getting away from Facebook, helped me step away from drama.  I for one was spending WAY too much time caring about what other people posted on there.  It's their life and their freedom to post what they want.  Some people are constantly sharing the same thing and that is perfectly fine.  


It's so easy for our mood and perspective to change depending upon what we fill our day with.  I've found that getting out more and getting active more helps me keep things in perspective.  When I am on the computer a lot, silly and petty things become magnified.  And I suppose they would because those things are filling up too much of my time.


So, as Lent closes and I am ready to return to that social-networking site, I am going to make it my goal to use it as a source of encouragement.  I will probably try to limit my time on there and hopefully pause and rethink things if I find my mind wandering in the "they said WHAT?" direction.  It is so easy to start behaving more immature than a child!


It is so easy to judge and pick apart other people, and it is so destructive to ourselves and others.  So, hopefully love will guide me more as each day passes.


And I have really been enjoying on reflecting on what love is...

  • patient
  • kind
  • does not envy (doesn't despise another person in their happiness)
  • does not boast
  • is not proud
  • is not rude
  • is not self-seeking
  • is not easily angered
  • keeps no record of wrongs
Love uplifts, repairs, encourages, and covers all! 

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

And the Green Grass Grew all Around all Around

Gordon Lee loves to be outside.  Who wouldn't with this fabulous weather we have had recently? This weekend, I was up at my parents' house, and they just so happen to have a glass door that attracted one pint-sized explorer immediately.

He walked his hands up the door until he was standing to peer outside.  Thankfully, my mother said she did not mind since she could just wash off slobber and finger prints with glass cleaner.

He not only enjoyed watching people and animals outside, but he liked being out there too.  So, making sure we stayed away from wherever the dog chose to eliminate, we let him play in a portion of the yard.  He loved it! His favorite pastime is pulling up grass and throwing it (thankfully, he didn't try eating it).  But what was even more amusing was what he did on one particular day that I took him out there!

He was getting a little restless indoors.  And since the weather was so pleasant outside, I took him out in the grass.  Immediately, he struck a pose! I couldn't believe it and I thought it was so funny I had to get pictures.  So, I dashed in the house to grab a camera.  

When I got back out there (which was just a matter of seconds), he was still holding the pose.  And I think OshKosh should look for a new baby model.  He clearly possesses confidence and poise. ;)