Wednesday, July 25, 2012

32 Months

this post is long overdue...i started it 3 weeks ago.

i've clearly slacked on charis' monthly updates.  life has been full and crazy and messy and fun and hard.  charis is a full on toddler.  sometimes she's a teenage toddler as i like to call her.  you know, the uncontrollable crying, the manic emotions, the rebellion, and the constant "no."  no slamming doors yet so we are doing okay.  i think.  and for every one of these moments there are other amazingly sweet and tender moments.  this little girl is pretty special.  of course, we all think our kids are special.  but she really is.

loves to sit on the counter and "help"

let's see what this little lady has been up to!

she is a talker.  when we were in Disney i overheard her tell one of the ladies that "i'm a good talker."  there are times that she blows me away with what she says and the words she knows.  it really is like her brain is a sponge soaking it all up and then using them when she's ready.  and surprisingly in the correct context most of the time.  she's constantly making us laugh.  the other day i asked her about church, i asked something like, "what did y'all do?" to which she replied, "i'm not really sure."  it took me years to use the word sure in the correct context.  i just about laughed.
me and my little lady...mmmm  mmmm!

she loves swimming!  and thankfully has been able to spend lots of time at the pool.  she is super brave.  she uses a Puddle Jumper, which is the best float ever invented.  she loves the beach and talks about going back constantly.  we are hopefully going back in August, which is what we've told her.  so now she says, "i'm going to the beach in August."  as if she has any idea when that is.  i can't wait to go back with her b/c she's so fun to play with at the beach.
diggin at the beach

she is an imaginative little girl.  i feel like her pretend play started a while ago.  i was pretty thrown by her ability to pretend and imagine.  i see it a lot with her daddy.  and with her friend, Camden.  She likes to play "going to the beach", "doctor", and "going to a meeting".  I feel like she plays more doctor and hospital themed play since she's become more aware of how much time i spend at the doctor.  it's so fun to watch her play and be in her own little world.  adam is so good at playing pretend with her, especially fake phone calls.  it's a true gift.
her first kool-aid stache at my aunt's house

charis loves to read.   i love that she loves to read.  she will sit and read for up to 30 minutes.  it's insane.  she likes to pretend read too.  sometimes she kinda gets it right, but mostly she just repeats the same thing for every page.

she comes up with funny words for things that seem to make sense.  for instance, she calls convertibles "broken cars."  hmmm, makes sense.  one time we saw a dog with a harness/muzzle thing around it's face and she called it a "doggy horse."  you know, because horses have harnesses.  we were driving and she saw a car with a trailer on it and called it a "chugga chugga car."  i guess to her it looked like a train.   we just really enjoy how she comes up with her own words for things. 

here are some other fun dialogues we've tried to keep track of:

- for mother's day Adam took us to the Ritz for an afternoon Tea.  they had a special kids menu with tea sandwiches and desserts.  when her dessert tray arrived there was a decadent chocolate cupcake.  she picked it up and said, "look at this cupcake! is it my birthday?"  she was just so cute and excited about it.

- one time when Adam took her swimming and he was having a hard time putting on her suit (cause you know those straps can be difficult), she asked, "are you struggling?"  seriously?!  she really does pick up everything we say.  scary.
playing at the splash park

- she is still a great eater.  like most of us she has her days.  but for the most part she chows down! some favorites these days are egg in a hole, peaches, yogurt, tomatoes, pizza, watermelon, stewed okra, and salmon to name a few.  last night she had almost 4 pieces of a Brixx pizza.  i know that's easy to do with those thin crust pizzas, but she's only 2 1/2!!
loving her DQ

- recently we saw this huge and beautiful rainbow.  we were taking lots of pictures and just being in awe of the rainbow when Charis said, "we can get some wings and fly up to it and touch it."  of course we can!

- i shared this on my CB but have to share it again.  after one of my recent Duke visits i went to our friends' house where Charis had been all day.  our friends were graciously letting us stay for dinner and before dinner she needed to go potty.  as she sat on the potty and i on the edge of the tub she asked to see my boo-boo (which is just my port b/c there is usually a band aid on it.)  i peeled back part of the band aid then asked her if she wanted me to take it off. she said, "no. uh take it all the way off."  she was hesitant but interested.  then she asked, "can i kiss it?"  "sure!" i said as i leaned in to let her kiss my "boo boo."  then, without hesitation, she asked "can i pray for you?"  we bowed our heads and she prayed "dear jesus, thank you for my mommy. amen."  i was humbled by this sweet child's prayer.  MY child's prayer for her mama.  thank you Jesus for our sweet Charis.

so thankful to be her mama and daddy
there are so many fun and sweet and good and easy moments.  and there are plenty of hard and tiring moments.  i love being her mama.  i love watching adam be her daddy.  i love watching her explore and learn and soak up everything around her.  i don't really love her new tantrums.  i don't really love her waking up at 6am.  i don't really love her ability to disobey and defy us.  but it's all part of the package of parenthood, right?  and that one sweet moment seems to erase my memory of all the "bad" ones.   i am thankful for every moment i get with her.  and having cancer helps me soak it all up.  i have to.  God could heal me and give me more time with charis and adam, or He could take me home soon.  living in this tension helps me appreciate things a little more than i might have without this experience.  i'm incredibly thankful for God's story for my life and for Charis' life.  she's going to have a pretty incredible story and i pray that she will never know a day that she didn't know Jesus.  He is clearly pursuing her and i hope she knows this pursuit and His love.  and i pray for more months with her so i can share stories with y'all. 

*i had more pics to share but they seem to have not uploaded...maybe i'll do an all picture post soon.  those are always fun.