Abi’s Reward Chart

Houston, we have a problem.  Our champion of a sleeper, little Miss Abi, is having some issues with Mr. Sandman.  I can feel the eyes rolling in my direction – for most of the wonderful 2 1/2 years of our lovey’s existence – she has been such a great sleeper.  Long nights, full naps - “sleep life” was good, very good.  But, then we introduced that silly toddler bed.  I war between daily regretting that decision and then having to remind myself that it had to come sooner than later.  Sooner in our case, because that crib is going to have a new resident in 2-ish months!  That delightful sleep I was talking about?  It’s not been so good. 

Wonderful Donald gets up with her most nights (the multiple times we hear that little door open and the pitter patter of little feet down the hall into our room) so that preggo here doesn’t have to lift and then struggle to go back to sleep.  What a man!  But, he’s tired too!  And we know that sleepless nights aren't that far away.

So, we started a reward system.  A sticker for every time that she stayed in her bed until 3 for her naps, and a sticker for every time that she did not come out of her bed in the night – and that meant right after putting her down or in the middle of the night.  Abi picked her treat – a “really big, special” sucker (you should hear her say that, it’s so darn cute), decided on the colors of the chart, and off we went!

 

Taking ownership of that chart down to the placement on the door!

I guess I forgot to take a picture of the completed chart, it is safely stored away in a memory box…that’ll probably be one that gets nominated to be recycled, but it seems so precious now!

Notice the half stickers – this was a change to keep her motivated during the night.  If she stayed in bed during the “falling asleep” time, but awoke during the night – she still got a 1/2 sticker :)

The wonder of gummy ‘ABC’s’ ousted that really big, special sucker!  Here she is after her last nap to complete her chart…love that bed head!

We’re now on reward chart #2.  No credit for naps this time around.  Only staying through the night earns you a sticker.  Momma & Daddy are laying down the law!  Her motivation this time is to go see a movie – she’s pretty stoked!  We’ve sat at 4 stickers for about 1 weeks now…oh goodness.

I’m thankful for…

Sweet Friends with Creative Mommies!

The Happiest of Birthdays…

Two of Abi’s most favorite people celebrated their 3rd birthdays today!

We are thankful for:

Our dear cousin Joshua.  He and Abi have such a beautiful little relationship.  They truly love each other and are so excited by any time that they get to spend together.  We love Joshua’s spirit and delight to see him grow into such a wonderful little boy!

Sweet Emory.  Thankful to be neighbors once again, Abi has the special privilege of living just down the street from one of her dearest friends.  We love Em’s darling laugh and are thankful for the friend that she is to our abi.

Happy Birthday, Josh & Emmy!!

A little lesson on Jericho

When we are reading our bibles, we try our best to get Abi to read hers too (haha, doesn’t this sound so serene, I wish it was always this perfect of a scene!)  The other morning she had stopped on the battle of Jericho.  So donald spear-headed the effort of doing what any Dad would do…we made props and acted it out.  So much fun.

The city of Jericho and its citizens…

Abi & Doons marching around the city 7 times…

And the big moment!!!

(and baby too)

And then we rebuilt…straying a bit from the story!

In search of the last green acorn…

Abi loves acorns.  It is a real bummer that among the small forest that we have growing in our yard, not a single tree is an Oak.  But, this lends for great motivation during walks.  We look for oak trees, we try to spot where the squirrels are running, it’s great!  For whatever reason though, Abi is quite particular with her acorn hunting.  She does NOT like the brown ones (unless they are nearly black, then they are worth holding on to) and will gather them only to throw them into the street.  Curious one, that abi.  We do not like acorns to “wear hats” – this warrants a street destination too.  BUT, Abi lives for the green acorns.  We will hunt and hunt until we find them.  And then in the last few weeks we’ve declared that surely this must “be the last green acorn” and get all excited about the find.  I mean, wouldn’t you?!

Just a snippet into the daily chronicles of our abi.

A peak at the peacock…

More to come, but isn’t she darling?!

Sanctification Through Motherhood

These posts are often the hardest for me to write, and the most fulfilling.  They require reflection, usually a decent dose of humility, thankfulness, JOY, frustration, and at times sadness.

Recently, Abi has been in a mega daddy phase.  It is very different from the daddy phases of earlier times.  If she is in the “daddy zone” there is absolutely no room for her momma.  Oh goodness, here it goes…I get my feelings hurt!  Can you believe it?!  The thoughts of “Precious child, I choose (insert humility…I am so thankful I’m given that choice) to stay un-showered for longer than is desired, eat at strange times, sacrifice sleep, put (or try to put!) my needs on a back burner, and at times have great angst over “trying to do it right” (ahhh, yep another dose of humility) – and you’re actively choosing to snub me?!”   constantly flood my mind when she is in this zone.  But why?!  (Yes, I do understand that she is only 2, but these feelings are unfortunately very real at times!)  But, I’ve lately been convicted of how I will 1) love this child with everything in me for as long as I shall live.  She is a beautiful treasure that I’ve been given the greatest honor of steering and shaping and 2)In a strange (very ridiculous and silly) way I want some sort of appreciation…I want to feel loved in return.  Perhaps my motivations are not what they should be. 

How many other relationships do I (on some level) do this in?  Do I think of my input and expect some level of that returned to me?  Why am I not joyfully giving simply because of the grace that I have been given.