Visiting the Doc (6 mos)

We went to visit the doctor last week for Enoch's 6 month check up (he was actually closer to 6.5 mos, but that's because we had to space his vaccinations and appointments at our clinic are hard to come by).  We saw a new doctor this time, Dr. Rasmussen, and we really liked him.  He did a great job interacting with Enoch, and was able to thoroughly answer all of my questions.  He also seemed to lean away from antibiotics, which I can really appreciate.  :)   {Random fact: he graduated with his undergrad degree from Louisiana Tech, just like a few of our very close friends.  :)}

Enoch gained around 1" in height, but went down a bit in weight.  27.2" and 18.25 lbs were his actual stats.

The doctor said that most breastfed babies do slightly drop in weight between 6 and 8 mos and that then they hit their actual growth curve (Enoch has always been off the charts with weight, and this time he was down around the 50th percentile.)  He wasn't too concerned about the slight dip in weight (especially because Enoch is certainly not lacking any rolls yet), but he did give me some helpful tips like feeding on both sides with each nursing session (instead of block feeding) and trying to add one or two nursing sessions back in.

Dr. Rasmussen also suggested adding prunes to Enoch's regular diet since he's been having some trouble pooping.  He recommended 1/2 container each morning, and so far that has been helping.  (I was only giving him prunes after he had exhibited symptoms of constipation, so this is a more proactive technique.)

Little Man also got a few more vaccinations this time, but he handled them like a champ.  We didn't even need to give him any tylenol!! (he only received 2 this time, whereas last time he received 3  (The next time we see the doctor should be in Mississippi for a 9 month (ish) check up (and another vaccine).

Overall, the appointment went well, and Little Man seems to be doing good.  :)

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Grass

On the "man walk" today Hugh let Enoch sit in the grass and play.  It was the first time Enoch had ever really been able to experience grass, and I'm told that it was a hit!  This is probably a good thing since summers are long in Mississippi and our little man needs to learn to enjoy all of the benefits that come along with summertime (like green grass for playing in).  :)

picture from Daddy's phone  (:

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FFF: A day in our lives

Here's a quick For the Fam Friday post that chronicles an "average" day in our lives via photos (...if there is such a thing as an average day.  :)

waking up in the morning

 diaper change 

(we do this about 5 times a day  :)

Hugh runs almost every morning while Enoch nurses

getting ready for family worship

this is Enoch after his first nap 

(he usually has 2-3 naps per day)

Enoch loves to bite my finger after nursing 

(... to celebrate that he didn't bite something else while nursing  ;)

      

helping Momma in the kitchen         taking a morning trip to the grocery store

(this happens quite often!!)                  (we usually take 1-2 trips per day)

squash for lunch

Hugh taking a break from work & catching up with me

checking out the mirror. 

(we do this a few times a day because Enoch loves the "other" baby)

afternoon trip... to the doctor's office

(this is Enoch waiting for his vaccinations)

playing on a quilt

(again, this happens several times a day)

   

peas for dinner

(see him grabbing his foot?  feet are the new coolest toy ever!!)

evening "man" walk with Daddy 

(girls not allowed)

bath time with the duckie

toweling off on the bed... and examining those feet again :)

clean diaper + pajamas

rocking and reading before bed

and last of all: our pile of dirty laundry  :)

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Singing Hymns to Children

I think I may have mentioned in an earlier post that I sing hymns to Enoch while I rock him (before bed/nap time).  Well, I just wanted to post a quick picture of how I do this.  You see, I do not have too many full hymns memorized.. Don't get me wrong, I can sing quite a few different choruses, but full hymns are not my forte.

So, to help me with learning them, I have started taping hymn lyrics to the bookshelf beside our rocking chair.  Right now, we are learning "What a friend we have in Jesus," and up next may be "Crown Him with many crowns."  :)

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.  And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.  (Colossians 3:16-17, emphasis mine)

Here are a few reasons that I was spurred on to singing hymns (as opposed to traditional nursery rhymes):

• Most hymns (the ones I choose anyway) have edifying, truthful lyrics and some even contain scripture and solid doctrines.
• Hymns are useful as they can be sung in worship to our great God- so I am becoming better learning the words, allowing me to worship through singing hymns when they come to mind, and I hope our children grow up knowing the words as well.
• I find myself singing constantly throughout the day, and I prefer to sing hymns to the Lord rather than annoying nursery rhymes that get stuck in my head and have ridiculous meanings and no edification (surely I'm not the only one who gets annoying kids songs in her head...) 
• My husband (and children) is getting to listen to encouraging, God-centered praise, which also sometimes gets stuck in his head.

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.   (Ephesians 5:15-21, emphasis mine)

To be frank, I just feel that this is one easy thing for me to change that will result in more glory to God in my everyday life.  As far as I see it, nursery rhymes usually lack truth and depth.  Hymns are rich in both.  Why not make the simple replacement?

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Spanish Review (with video)

Okay, so I realize (because I was recently reminded) that pronouncing/speaking other languages is sometimes the hardest part of learning a language, so I'm hoping to begin including some audio or video with these posts to help those of you who've never learned and/or heard much Spanish.

I thought this might be a good time to stop, take a review (for those of you who are actually trying to learn along with us), and add in a video for the first two weeks of Spanish.

Here is a review of the vocabulary we've already learned:

• the duck   ->   el pato
• the ball    ->   la pelota
• Are you playing?   ->   ¿Estás jugando?
• Are you talking?   ->   ¿Estás hablando?
• the shirt   ->   la camisa
• the shorts   ->    los pantalones cortos
• the socks   ->    los calcetines
• the cap   ->    la tapa
• squash (the vegetable)   ->   la calabaza 

Here is a video to help you pronounce the words:

One other learning point that I didn't address in the video is that the "stressed" syllable is always the next to last syllable in the word UNLESS there is an accent mark.  If the word has an accent mark, allow the accented syllable to be the stressed one.  For example, the capital letter represents the stressed syllable:  "jugAndo"  "camIsa"   "pAto"   "pantalOnes cOrtos"   "estÁs"  (in estás, the A is stressed because of the accent mark)

A few things I pointed out in the video regarding other pronunciation tricks:

• the "j" in "jugando" is silent (and sounds slightly like an "h" sound)
• the "h" in "hablando" is silent
• the "z" in "calabaza" sounds more like an "s"

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Crystal Bridges Art Museum

This weekend, Enoch and I took a trip up to Crystal Bridges with part of my family.  My Uncle Doug & Aunt Suzi (from out of state) met us there and so did my Dad and Susie.  We had a great time checking out the art, and Enoch was such a sweet, well-behaved boy.  We played quite a bit of pass the baby (partly because he's so heavy now) and pushed an empty stroller loaded with purses and cameras through the art museum.  :)

Baby passing.  

This is one part of the museum from the outside.  I loved the way they took advantage of the outdoor scenes through so many large windows!!  

Pretty water that flowing through the property and under the museum.

One critical review I would say about the museum is that it wasn't the most stroller/handicap friendly for a few reasons.  1) There were so many different levels, and although we almost always found an elevator (or the guys carried the stroller up the steps), that just detracted from the enjoyability in my opinion.  2) Some of the art galleries/halls were about 2'-3' too narrow to allow for comfortable traffic flow with strollers/wheel chairs.  Other than that, the museum was quite enjoyable, and I would highly recommend it!  (They also had some nice landscaping to go along with the inside art, and some trails that I didn't have time to check out.)


Here's some of the art I enjoyed:

This was one of the more humorous pieces for me.  The monkey is holding one of Darwin's books and pondering evolution; the painting is titled something like "Isn't it queer?"  ha!

I would definitely put something like this in my dining room... against a dark blue wall, I think... umm.. yes!

I was also surprised by how many famous and HUGE paintings there were in the museum- check out this one of Alexander Hamilton compared to Uncle Doug...

And a fun trip couldn't be complete without a group shot, right?  

(Uncle Doug, Enoch, Aunt Suzi, Susie, Dad)

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Parental Responsibility - Deuteronomy

Ok, I have to admit up front that I've really been seeking knowledge and understanding into how the Lord desires parents to raise godly offspring.  (I'll definitely be writing more about that in days to come because the Lord has been so faithful in teaching me so much!)  Anyway, it's quite likely that this quest has shaped my view about Deuteronomy's theme...  It is possible that the next time I read this book I may see a totally different theme emerge, but maybe that's true with each of the books I've read and written about so far.  I mean, the word of God IS living and active and DOES cut into our lives in amazing ways that teach, reprove, correct, and train us.  So I am convinced that reading through Deuteronomy has indeed taught me one of the major ways that the Lord desires to use parents in raising their children to know Him.

All that said, I feel like the recurring theme throughout Deuteronomy is Moses impressing upon the Israelites the importance of them obeying the law (out of their fear of the Lord) and teaching their children to obey it (out of their (the children's) fear of the Lord).  

Yes, there are certainly many other important things that happen in Deuteronomy:

• Leadership is transferred from Moses to Joshua (Deut. 3:28)
• Ten Commandments are recounted to the Israelites (Deut. 5:6-21)
• Details of the law are expounded upon
• A new covenant is established (Deut. 29:1)
• Moses dies (Deut. 34)

But I just want to spend some time camping out on this recurring theme of parental responsibility to teach children to know the Lord.  It was quite encouraging/convicting/challenging for me, especially in reviewing for this blog post.  So, here we go...

The parental responsibility of teaching children to fear and obey the Lord

Here are a sampling of the verses related to this theme (I believe they speak for themselves):

“Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children's children—"   (Deut. 4:9)

 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise."   (Deut 6:4-7 and similar in Deut 11:18-21)

  

"Assemble the people, men, women, and little ones, and the sojourner within your towns, that they may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, and be careful to do all the words of this law,  and that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as you live in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.”  (Deut. 31:12-13)

One other issue that goes along with this theme is the fact that parents have to make their hearts right before God before they can teach their children to do the same.  Moses continued to drive this point home because the people of Israel had been rebellious before, and obedience is a heart issue.  He knew it was important for them to understand, and, oh, how important it is for us to understand as well.  

 “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul,  and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good? Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it. Yet the Lord set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day. Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn.  (Deut 10:12-16, emphasis mine)

Our hearts are just as rebellious as theirs were.  I think this is why it is so important to be storing the word of God up in our hearts. 

“For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off… But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it."   (Deut. 30:11,14)

Also, see Psalm 119:9-16 for more about memorizing the Word.  

Well, that's it.  Reading Deuteronomy has been huge for me, and I'm so thankful for the edification:

• to fear and obey the Lord by
• treasuring His word in my heart so that I can
• teach my child(ren) to fear and obey the Lord

I'm definitely not there yet, but that's okay because I'm still finishing the race.  :)  Want to race along with me??

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