Learning to walk techniques

Enoch has been all about practicing walking lately.  I thought I'd share two videos of his most common training techniques.  ;)

He loves pulling up on the couch and walking from one end to the other and back and forth.. sometimes it seems like he does this to infinity, but in reality he eventually gets bored with it.

One cute thing that recently happened with his couch walking was one evening after Hugh got home, I was sitting at one end of the couch and Hugh was on the floor at the other end, and Enoch got the biggest kick out of walking between us.  He would go to Hugh, engage him, and then turn around and walk to me, engage me, and then turn around and go to Hugh... it was pretty cute!


This video is of Enoch walking while holding onto Hugh's shorts.  Usually we hold his hands and let him walk with us, but last week he pulled up and just grabbed Hugh's shorts and began walking.  Unfortunately, what this video doesn't show {because I edited it out} is that Enoch got distracted by my commentary and let go after a few more steps... leading to a big tumble.  But don't worry, he was just fine after a few tears, and now we guard him with our hands much more carefully, knowing that his balance isn't quite there yet to be able to successfully let go.  :)

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FFF: reading, waving, & vrooming

I feel like Enoch has really been learning so much the past few weeks!  If you remember from last week's FFF post, he is doing pretty good at clapping.  Well, this week he's been honing a few other skills...

Enoch had fun swinging at the park earlier this week

And he loves playing with his shoes!

Reading has always been something Enoch has enjoyed, but these days, he is getting much more independent at reading.  He loves sitting and flipping through pages in all of his books.  It can easily entertain him for at least 30 minutes.  He's pretty confident with board books, but he really wants to master page books now too (the ones with just paper pages).  He has a much harder time getting the pages apart on those though, so he's more prone to getting frustrated when he isn't able to do it like he wants.  :)  Here's an example of him reading in the kitchen.

He has also learned to wave this week!  I'm so glad too, because anytime we go somewhere, people always want to tell him "bye", and I always fell so bad when he doesn't respond... just because he hasn't known how until now!  haha!  It seems that he hasn't quite settled on what kind of wave he will do yet, but for now he prefers full-arm waving and sometimes he will wave by opening and closing his hand.  :)

And lastly, he's beginning to figure out the joy of cars.  He has started making this "bbrrr..." sound when playing with them, and I think he's trying to say "vroom".  I though it was cute enough to mandate a video, so here you go.  (you may need your volume up pretty loud to hear this one well.)

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The Tent

This tent is the newest addition to our house.  We've had it for a while now, but just recently got it out since Enoch is getting so much more active these days.  He loves crawling in and out and just playing with his toys in it.  :)  When we first got it out, he was pretty hesitant to climb in.  Hugh had the good idea though to just put it over his head (since there's no flooring in it), and he loved it!  Now he thinks it's funny if you put it over him.  :)

I actually got this little tent at a yard sale a few months ago.  It came with one other small tent, a larger one, and a tunnel, all for less than $10!!  

As you can see, it is huge when it's all put together!! 

The larger tent has a basketball hoop and some fun holes in the side.  

Hugh of course had to try out the tunnel when we first got it home...

He just barely squeezed through, but Enoch thought it was hilarious!! 

This is Enoch exploring the tunnel earlier today.  He's not quite sure about it yet since it's so long (maybe 5 feet?), but he'll stick his head in to retrieve a toy when he needs to.  ;)

These were my other yard sale finds that same weekend I bought the tents/tunnel.  I'd say it was a jackpot kind of a yard sale weekend!

Sandra Boynton board books, $0.25 each!! 

We love most of her stuff because they are silly and have good rhymes & illustrations.  

other books for the same price

Enoch loves the "slide and find" book (the large one on the left)... It's almost like a baby's version of a "lift the flap" book.  so entertaining for him!

Two Melissa & Doug toys.  

Enoch doesn't get to play with the flat puzzle yet since it has some small pieces, but I'm sure he'll love it when it comes out from his closet.  :)

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FFF: Clapping

Well, after putting more than 3,000 miles on our car in the past 2 weeks, we're finally getting settled again.  I hope to post a bit about our travels soon, but I'm still working on getting life back to "normal" around here, so the long posts w/ lots of pictures will have to wait.  :)

For now, I thought I'd post a video of Enoch's newest skill: clapping.  {I feel like he's constantly learning so many things!!}   He learned how to clap just this week {right after all of our traveling}, and now he does it on command pretty consistently.  ;)  In the beginning of the video, you can also see his newest obsession... trying to stand.  He's real good at pulling up these days, but now he wants to be able to stand up anywhere, anytime.  He is constantly trying to stand using the fridge, and sometimes he tries without any supports (i.e. hands and feet on the ground, butt in the air).  He's just not quite there with his balance and strength yet.  As much as he practices though, I know he'll be standing and walking before too much longer.  :)


Happy Friday!

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FFF: One Year with Enoch John

It is definitely an understatement to say that Hugh and I are so thankful for the past year that the Lord has given us with our Little Man!  Yes, there have been hills and valleys, but we are so grateful for each day and all that life with Enoch brings.

To celebrate a full year of life, I thought I'd post up a few pictures from each stage in his life (aka: monthly).  I really enjoyed sorting through all of my photos, but picking only a few at each stage was so tough!  I tried to pick photos that were either way too cute to leave out or that represented that specific stage very well.  I hope you enjoy looking back on the past year of our lives!


NEWBORN

the day he was born

snoozing in his yellow rocker

1 MONTH

bath time

sweet smiles

 2 MONTHS

Christmas photo

playing with daddy

3 MONTHS

out for a walk with his best buddy

after a long day of jumping in the pony

 4 MONTHS

first snow

becoming an active baby!

5 MONTHS

playing with Daddy

checking out the "other" baby in the mirror

 6 MONTHS

enjoying Spring weather

 

smiling boy

7 MONTHS

another bath time shot (because naked babies are just too cute..)

Hugh's graduation - with all the grandparents

8 MONTHS

"man time"

discovering how to play with boxes

9 MONTHS

eating Cheerios

Cow Appreciation Day

10 MONTHS

playing in the rain

swimming on vacation

11 MONTHS

exercising with Mama

pulling up

12 MONTHS

travel break with Daddy

smiling at a stranger

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The Power of the Gospel {R2g: What is the Gospel?}

I absolutely love the way Greg Gilbert closes out his book What is the Gospel? with this chapter on the power of the gospel!  How appropriate.  And I feel like the suggestions he gives about what to do now are super practical (I like to call this the the "so what" part: "So now that I know _____, what am I going to do about/with it?")  I'll go ahead and list them out for you with a few bullets each in case those of you who haven't been able to read the whole book with us are curious.




1) Repent and Believe

• This is Gilbert's application for anyone who has read his book and is not yet a follower of Jesus.
• "What the gospel calls you to do is to turn your heart away from sin [repenting] and toward Jesus in faith -- that is, trust and reliance." (p. 116)

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.  For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”  For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.  For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”  (Romans 10:9-13)

2) Rest and Rejoice

• Believers in Christ can rest and rejoice in knowing that their salvation has been eternally secured by Christ's work on the cross.  They don't have to worry about completing daily check lists of spiritually good things. 
• Resting and rejoicing in Christ's completed work glorifies God. 

As John Piper over at Desiring God always says, "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him."

3) Love Christ's People

• Realizing that Jesus' blood was shed just the same for other Christians as it was for you ought to humble you and deepen your love for your brothers/sisters in Christ.
• This ought to cause us to seek deep relationships with all other Christians {even those we are not drawn toward}, actively befriending them, forgiving them, and seeking to build them up in their relationship with the Lord.

Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.  (2 Corinthians 13:11)

4) Speak the Gospel to the World

• "It is through our proclaiming the gospel -- whether through preaching or teaching or conversations over meals with friends, family members, and coworkers -- that God has determined to save sinners."  (p. 119)
• I'm convinced that this is one of the most important things which we can devote ourselves to (aside from seeking to know the Lord more intimately).  And as Gilbert adeptly points out in this chapter:  "There are many good things that we can do as Christians, but the fact is that most of those things will happily be done also by people who are not Christians.  But if we Christians fail to proclaim the gospel of Jesus, who else is going to do that?  No one."  (p. 120)

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  (Matthew 28:18-20)

5) Long for Him

• Truly believing the gospel should cause us to long for Christ's presence and glory, which will be fully revealed when He returns.  
• Having this mindset {which I like to call an "eternal mindset"} helps us persevere through hard days.

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands,  and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”  And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,  saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”  (Revelation 7:9-12)

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I hope you've enjoyed reading through this great book as much as I have!  I'll have a post up soon with more details on our next one.    :)

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Sniffing Sounds

Enoch just learned how to scrunch his nose and sniff last week, and it is the cutest thing!  I can't help but crack up when he really starts getting into it.  haha!  I thought it'd be fun to try and record a video of it to share with you guys.  If you want to watch all of it, just be patient with him starting... it takes quite a few Mama sniffs before he will begin mimicking them.  :)  If you just want to skip ahead to the funny part, try starting the video around the 0:40 mark.



And yes, it is a GOOD thing that I wasn't caught on camera while sniffing, because I'm sure my faces are much funnier than his!  :-)

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FFF: Going to the Park

So although I have met lots of nice people in our new town, I would have to say that I haven't "clicked" with too many of them in the sense of us BOTH being in truly similar stages of life.  Don't get me wrong, I've met lots of nice people, and I DO consider many of them sweet friends!  But, I am loving one of my newest friends!!  Her name is Dina, and she has a little boy who is practically the same age as Enoch!  (which makes it SO easy for us to "click" and get along well together because we're both mothers to one year old boys who are full of energy and boy-ness!)

meet Dina & Adam!!

Last week, we ventured out to a small park with the boys, and it was very fun!  The boys did really well playing on the blankets, aside from the fact that my Little Man couldn't get enough of trying to eat the small rocks right beside us... yuck!!  It was cute to watch the boys play together, though we did have to referee some because they don't have great playing manners yet (if there is such a thing for soon-to-be one year olds...)  

Anyway, we had a great time talking and comparing current baby issues and developments.  :)  Here are a few more pics from our park trip:

just playing (and trying to obey Mama by not eating the rocks)

playing together

(isn't it cute how they're in the same sitting/reaching position?!?)

smiles

trying to help Mama with the camera..  haha!

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Keeping the Cross at the Center {R2g: What is the Gospel?}

Indeed I believe one of the greatest dangers the body of Christ faces today is the temptation to rethink and re-articulate the gospel in a way that makes its center something other than the death of Jesus on the cross in the place of sinners.  (p. 102)

The above paragraph, from Gilbert's What is the Gospel? pretty much summarizes chapter 7: Keeping the Cross at the Center.   A large bulk of the chapter is spent walking readers through three examples of false (or substitute) gospels.  While Gilbert points out that each of these "gospels" may have some truth to it and may sound Biblical, in reality they are all essentially empty of the true gospel of Christ.  In each example, he walks through what is good/true and then points out the shortfall of where the "bigger gospel" misses the target.  I love what Gilbert is getting at in this section -- when you remove the cross of Christ from the center of the gospel (in both proclamation and in action), the "gospel" you come up with is basically fluff... nothing truly salvific.   

Near the end of this chapter, I appreciated the way Gilbert turned to the Word.  He looked at Paul's example of keeping the cross at the center of the gospel as he ministered to the Corinthian church:

But even the face of sure rejection he said, "We preach Christ crucified" (1 Cor. 1:23).  In fact, he resolved to "know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified" (1 Cor. 2:2).  That's because, as he put it at the end of the book, the fact that "Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures" was not just important, and not even just very important.  It was of "first importance" (1 Cor. 15:3).  (p. 110)

May we all do likewise.  

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For those of you reading along, we'll tackle the last chapter of this book next week!!  :)  For now, here are a few questions from this chapter to chew on:

• Which of the three false gospels did you find most interesting?  Which one hit closest to home and why?  
• How can we work toward keeping the cross of Christ truly at the center of our gospel (in both proclamation and action)?
• Are there any other verses from the Bible that come to your mind when you think about keeping the cross at the center?

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