growing & learning with him
Our local emergency food center decided to use a piece of land in front of it to help others grow fresh vegetables. Anyone can come to help with the planting and care of the vegetables. If you help with the garden, you get to share in the harvest.
JDaniel (He is holding a toy car from the garage): Bring in a car.
Me: Yes, but put it in the sink. I have to wash it.
JDaniel: Pollen! (Sigh)
My mom: Your sister’s sent beautiful flowers for Mother’s Day.
JDaniel: Dad brings roses. (He implied dad brought them for mom.)
JDaniel(Looking out the master bedroom window on the first floor): Mushrooms! Mushrooms!
Me: I can see them.
JDaniel: In basket Mom!
Me: We can’t gather them in a basket until we see the allergist.
JDaniel: Pollen! (Sigh)
Me: What are all your toys doing in a huge pile?
JDaniel: Mess! Mess!
Me: Are you going to help clean up the mess?
JDaniel (Lounging on couch cushions that are also in the pile): No!
Me: I think we will be having one bin of toys out at a time for a while.
JDaniel: Oh! No!
Me: (Guiding him to a bin and back to the toys): Let’s clean up now!
JDaniel: Sorry, mom.
I had three bins and a basket of toys out in the living room. Now we take a bin out each day.
JDaniel (Pointing to the baby monitor in my bedroom): Listen to babies.
Me: Yes, I can hear upstairs.
JDaniel:Listen to JDaniel.
I can’t believe he knows how baby monitors work.
The theme for Muffin Tin Monday is nests and birds. JDaniel’s first nest has a nest of cottage cheese surrounded by peaches. The second nest in raisins in a nest of quinoa salad (see recipe on last Thursday’s post). The third nest is vegetables in a nest of ham. The third nest is ranch dressing in a nest of cucumbers. Only one bird was in the meal. He was toast with shredded Mozzarella cheese.
The first thing JDaniel noticed was that there was an empty cup. He really wanted it filled to start the meal. I suggested he eat the meal and he would get to pick what we filled it with. He agreed with a little sigh.
Oh! If you get a chance, please check out my guest post on Quirky Mama’s blog. It is called Learning at the Grocery Store: Have a Color Hunt.
This week we have been reading books on flower gardens. I thought I knew which book JDaniel would like best and I was wrong. He really loves the book with the most detailed drawings and just a few words.
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We read:
Mortimer’s First Garden by Karma Wilson is about a mouse that decides to plant his last sunflower seed instead of eating it when he hears the people in his house say that planting seeds makes more seeds.
Zinna’s Flower Garden by Monica Wellington follows Zinna’s garden as it grows. She documents its growth in journal entries.
JDaniel made his own flowers by gluing circles onto paper plates. They made their way very quickly to the refrigerator.
When I was reading this month’s issue of Family Fun magazine, I came across this recipe. I have modified to include ingredients I already had at home. Quinoa is a grain-like crop grown for its seeds.
2 cups of water
2 tablespoons of honey (My friend Kathleen says honey is supposed to help with JDaniel’s allergies.)
Raising JDaniel right now is going almost parallel with the growing process of flowers. He is given enlightenment on areas of his life that need to change via timeouts and reading books about characters that display behaviors we want him to exhibit. We try to provide him with nourishment and steep him with praise in the areas of his behavior where little sprouts of goodness have started to grow. This is a slow process. My little one constantly wants to know if we will be persistent in our expectations and how patient we will be with him as he learns and grows.
Right now it is a challenge to tend to this little one. We are trying to help him develop deep roots and leaves that will reach for the Son. He is only two and we have a long way to go, but we hope that someday his life displays beautiful flowers.
Thursday night was Mom’s Night Out! I was sent a $25 gift card from Pizza Hut to enjoy pizza and get together with some of my mom friends. It was a great idea in theory until JDaniel had an allergy flare-up and two of my friends’ children ran fevers. I decided to postpone the event until Saturday.
So, I invited some of my friends, their children, and one of their husbands over for pizza today. JDaniel had to be sequestered in the house due to allergies and my husband went to an air show for the day. This was a great opportunity to have people over to play and share a fun lunch. The Pizza Hut pizzas along with a garden salad were the perfect thing for the children and their parents.
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Disclaimer: I was sent a $25 Pizza Hunt Gift card to use for this event.
Lord,
Today help me to be the mother you want me to be.
Please watch over all the things I say and do as I go through my day.
Help me to guard the words a say.
There is a little one who will hear them.
He will think that they are fitting because I say them.
He will repeat them because I have voiced them to him.
He will listen to the tone of my voice as I say them.
Help me to show him what it looks like to be a follower of you.
Those little eyes take in everything I do. He will try to imitate my actions.
I will need patience with him and others even when I feel rushed.
I will need persistence to not give up when challenges arise.
I will need to show him how to ask for help when it is needed.
Help me to take the time to listen to what he is telling me and showing me today. This little one has so much to share.
He will share with me when he needs me.
Help me to put things aside when he says, “Come play with me” or calls for “Help!”
He will ask me questions and seek understanding from me when I am near. Place me where I need to be to hear him.
He will show me what he is learning. Help me to see them through his eyes.
Once the day gets started I will need gentle reminders of these requests.
If you find yourself agreeing with these thoughts and concerns, I hope you will say this mother’s prayer too. I have written a number of posts on motherhood. If you like this mother’s prayer, I hope you will read them too.
Opening My Heart to Motherhood
This post is linked to Time Traveler Tuesday.
Here are some pictures of our painting adventure. I have also placed a list of the books we read below.
He painted this by rolling golf balls through paint.
Two of these were made by dropping water on the paper and spraying the paper with colored water. The dots on the upper right were made using paint stamps and salt.Here are the books we read:
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This great book called My Mom by Anthony Browne is about how a mom can do anything. This mom can sing, make anything grow, and make her child happy when she is sad. The floral design in the mom’s shirt appears in every illustration.
