Yes I Am Going to Post About Blast Ball Again

Because...

Minus the car seat she looks like she's about 13 with her pony tail and head band.

And because they learned how to field a ball last week.  One batter hits the ball to one fielder.  Batter must run to first base before fielder grabs ball and yells Blast Ball. 

Those were her mad fielding skills.  She definitely wasn't the loudest Blast Ball yeller, but I don't mind that so much.

And there's these, too.

 

 

I really do love watching her get into these sports!

Kernels Night

One of the many perks of being a middle school sponsor is the annual night at the Kernels game in a suite!  Last weekend we had the opportunity to do this for the third year in a row!  It is a fun way to hang out with the other sponsors and their family and enjoy the local baseball.  Of course that is right up our alley.  And, we get to do it from a suite, which I think is the best way to go.  It was fa-ree-zing that night, so even better that we could watch the game indoors.  Another perk of getting to be inside the suite was the fireworks after the game.  Aria is a huge fan of the colorful lights and NOT a huge fan of the loud noise.  Indoor views of fireworks is the perfect balance for her.  But of course, Aria's favorite part was...

Girl loves her mascots!  It was also Star Wars night, which absolutely cracks me up in general.  It was even more hilarious that Storm Troopers were roaming around for pictures with fans, too.

And I had to get one with good ol' Darth myself.

And just in case you were wondering, we still have issues with public restrooms and a reward is usually important for success.

Thankfully rewards can be pretty cheap.  She didn't even want to turn them on.  Thanks, Mark for a fun night!  I enjoy being a part of your team (and not just for the free baseball)!  :)

Frog Wars

Aria has a Veggie Tales Treasury book with eight different stories in it.  Aria is very much the kind of kid who likes to read the same story over and over and over and over and over and over.  And over.  So I don't think we've actually read all eight of the stories in the book, yet.  Yesterday she finally picked a new one, Frog Wars.  I can't even tell you how many times I laughed out loud. 

Now, if you don't know much about Veggie Tales, they are walking, talking vegetables that tell Bible stories and give character trait lessons.  They are very humorous in their parodies.  We have a few of the movies and they are good for a chuckle, even for moms and dads.  The main characters are Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber.  There is also Junior Asparagus, who happens to be the main veggie in all eight of the stories in Aria's Treasury book.

Back to Frog Wars.  As you might have guessed, Frog Wars is a parody of Star Wars and also of Moses and the Exodus from Egypt.  For starters, let me just list the characters:

Dark Visor
Cuke Sandwalker
Princess Hair-Spraya (who has cinnamon buns on her ears)
Sweet-Pea-3-Oh
Achoo Bless-U (Aria's favorite and mine, too, I think)
Mo

Every time a new character was introduced, I laughed out loud.  I mean, Achoo Bless-U, that is hilarious!  Not only are the character names funny, but the "plagues" God places on Dark Visor are:

days and days of doing the Hokey Pokey
swarms of dust bunnies
a drought of pizza and ice cream
and the invasion of frogs

Oh my.  There is also some more humor in the story that I know is related to Star Wars, but I'm not a big enough fan to know the connection for sure.  On a side note, my favorite Star Wars-type memory is when my laid back, quiet dad had to act out Darth Vader in a game we were playing with another family.  He ran into the kitchen, put a cooking pot on his head and breathed rather loudly like Darth.  One of the funniest things I've ever seen.

Besides Frog Wars being a hilarious read for Aria, Justin and me, Aria was also able to connect the Veggie Tales version to the real Bible story.  Today, I stopped reading when we got to the point where Mo was introduced and asked Aria if she knew which Bible story this was like.  She thought for a minute and said the mean king and Moses.  Spot on!  I was thrilled she could make the connection.  Immediately after reading the Veggie Tales version, I grabbed a book off our shelf that tells the story of Moses and the mean king and we compared the stories.  It was a great, unexpected lesson!  It feels great to know all our morning Bible reading is really helping Aria become very familiar with Bible stories.  And it is sure fun to laugh together as a family!

Melts My Heart

There are many things I enjoy about the relationship between father and daughter.  One of them is the giggles and screams of Aria and Justin playing in the other room while I am preparing supper.  Another is the look of pure joy on Aria's face every time we hear the garage door open and know that Daddy is home. 

But this melts my heart.

A little girl all snuggled in to her Daddy's lap for a story.  And it is in the middle of the kitchen floor.  She asked for a story and he stopped right where he was and read one, on his lunch break I might add.  Can it possibly be any more precious?  It just melted my heart to mush. 

This parenting thing.  Every day is more amazing.

Noah's Ark

I've been trying to be more intentional about doing some preschooly lessons with Aria.  I've found that I succeed the most when we base our lessons on Bible stories.  The method I have come up with is to study the same story for a week and do some activities with it.  Back in April we focused on Noah's Ark for a week.  My big idea for the story was to keep track of our weather for 40 days since it rained for 40 days while Noah and his family were on the ark.  At first, I thought it was going to rain for 40 days here, too.  I think it rained the first 8 days we were keeping track.  For our records I simply wrote the numbers 1-40 on separate sheets of paper.  Each day I asked Aria what the weather was like.  Sometimes she drew pictures of the weather and sometimes she just told me and I wrote it down.  And sometimes we forgot a day or two and had to make it up the next day.  Then we hung them up consecutively on an empty wall in our kitchen.  The small lessons I liked from this activity were: reading numbers up to 40, paying attention to the weather, coloring and writing, and a couple months focus on Noah's Ark.  We only read the story every day the first week.  After that I just periodically asked Aria why we were keeping track of the weather for 40 days.  She knew every time.

Our forty days were up last Sunday.  To tie the lesson back together, we read the Noah's Ark story again, only I focused on the end and what happened after the flood.  We talked about the rainbow and God's promise to never flood the earth again.  Then we put rainbow streamers in front of our weather pages to symbolize how God's promise brings new life after the flood.  Here is what our wall looks like:

I used the lesson about God's promise to Noah as a spring board to a theme on God's promises this week.  So far we revisited Noah, did some activities with Abraham, and have just read through Joshua and Jericho.  I plan to do this theme for about two weeks and hit the big promises, like eternal life, from the New Testament.  I really enjoy doing these activities with Aria and seeing her learn and understand.  Just tonight I asked her a few questions about God's promises right before bedtime and she could answer every one.  I hope this will lead her to understand more about God, who loves her so much!

Some Random Pictures I Love

Aria is an outside kind of girl.  She loves to hang out on our deck when I am doing things inside the house.  Here is her spot for a snack the other day.

She was making macaroni and cheese bird seed for the birds.  It is kind of hard to see, but she has a dirt moustache.

This is a smoothie moustache.

This is Aria attempting to "catch Augie's tongue" as she feeds her peanut butter.

Sesame Street Live

Last night we took Aria to Sesame Street Live at a local theater.  It was fantastic!  She absolutely loved it!  Not only was it her favorite characters, but the storyline was about making music--another of her most favorite things.  When we asked what her favorite part was, she said, "when they sang."  They sang pretty much through the whole show, so I guess she liked all of it.  And her favorite character...no surprise...Elmo.  It was really well done and we had good seats.  Before it started, Aria was excited about getting popcorn, but as soon as it started, she was mesmerized and didn't even eat the popcorn.  We saw several people we knew, including one of Aria's best friends!  It was a wonderful night!  I really love the stage we are in as a family and all the fun things we get to do together!  We are so incredibly blessed!

Papa's Birthday

Apparently it has become a tradition to go to the beach to celebrate Papa's birthday.  We did it last year...

And made a return visit this year...

It was a little cooler this year than last, so I decided not to put Aria in her swimsuit.  After splashing her feet in the water for about 5 minutes, Aria decided to plop down and sit in it.  At least her shorts were dri-fit.  We didn't bring a change of clothes, either.  She had a blast and dried off pretty quickly. 

Besides splashing at the beach, we donned explore hats and hiked the trails.  We found a great place to throw rocks into the water.

 

And of course we ate some cake!

Aria chose the blue frosting for Papa's favorite color and told me what to write.  She then added a few decorations and her favorite sprinkles to complete the cake.  And she also made him this awesome guitar.

It was a great day celebrating a really great Papa (and Dad)!

Ten Years

So, yesterday was the ten year anniversary of my college graduation.  TEN. YEARS.  What?  I feel so old!

 It is actually quite weird.  Usually I have this surreal "it seems like yesterday, yet it seems like forever ago" moment with these types of things.  But it doesn't feel like yesterday.  It feels like a lifetime ago.  Yet when I say I've been in the real world for ten years, that seems too long.  I think the main reason I've been reflecting on this so much is that I am a totally different person these days.  That girl in the picture up there, she recently got engaged, recently got a teaching job, and had a whole life planned out.  If you would have asked her where she would be in ten years, I guarantee she would have said still teaching at Linn-Mar with two or three kids.  I know I didn't picture myself as a stay at home mom then and I thought I would eventually be one of those crazy people getting a 30 year service award.  I loved my job and I loved the district.  I couldn't imagine doing anything else.

Now I can't imagine doing anything else, either.  I know it doesn't work for some and it is just personal choice for others, but I cannot fathom how I could possibly leave Aria in a day care and go to work all day. Could not do it.  So glad I don't have to.  Not only has it been the best for Aria, but it is the best for me, too.  God knew I needed a pride and selfishness check.  He knew I needed to see the world from a different viewpoint.  He knew I needed to give up control. 

While I still struggle with relinquishing control, I have come a long way.  There is a totally different person sitting at this keyboard than the one staring back at me in that picture.  Some say I look pretty much the same, but the inside is totally different.  The biggest change?  My faith.  Thankfully we were pointed to our amazing church family and have been growing ever since.  I never knew how much I needed God in my life.  I never realized how valuable an Adult Bible Fellowship group could be.  I didn't know what true, amazing friendship really meant until I joined a small group.  But God had that all planned out for me.  He knew that girl in the picture would struggle to have just one child.  He knew she would give up her teaching and coaching and love for all those students to love the one precious child He gave her.  He knew.  And He knows where I'm going in the next ten years, too.  I look at myself and laugh at how different I am from that picture.  Maybe I should take a picture of myself today so I can look at it and laugh in ten more years. 

Ha!  No need to wait ten years to laugh at that!  I do wonder what the future holds.  Aria will be 13 in ten years.  Holy cow I'll have a teenager!  I will have a student the same age as the ones I loved so dearly when I was teaching.  Maybe I will be teaching again.  Maybe I won't.  Maybe we will still live here and be a part of a lot of the same things we do now.  Maybe we won't.  Whatever is in store, I know I will trust God a lot more than I did ten years ago.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.  Proverbs 3:5-6

Little Praises

When Aria turned three she became eligible for our church's littlest children's choir, Little Praises.  It is for kids age three to five.  We knew Aria loved to sing and would love being a part of the choir.  We also knew it would take some getting used to going to the practices on Wednesday evenings without mom and dad.  We eased into it by standing in the back of the room for the practices for the first few weeks.  It only took about three or four times and she absolutely loved it!  They finally had their first performance on the big stage in big church a couple of weeks ago.  Aria was so psyched for it!  They sang in all three services; Jesus Loves Me each time.  It was beyond adorable, as you can see in the video below.  After the first service they had breakfast for the kids and a Veggie Tales movie to kill the time until the next service.  Aria thought that was pretty awesome, too.  I didn't think she liked Kool-Aid until I saw this:

Pretty much guzzled without coming up for air.  Sprinkle donuts added to the sugar high, so I was glad they offered to take my kid for a movie so I could enjoy the church service.  It was a really fun day and Aria was already asking when she got to sing on the big stage again.  She was definitely disappointed Little Praises doesn't meet in the summer.  I absolutely love to hear her sing and I am so thankful for a church that takes advantage of that love to help little ones learn more about Jesus!

For some reason it wouldn't upload, so here is a link to the video of the performance: http://youtu.be/4lOwawJTMfA

The angle isn't the best, but the cuteness is still spectacular!

Quote of the Day

I already put this on Facebook, but it must be documented here, too.

8:30 am

Breakfast is finished.

Story reading is still going on.

Aria says, "Mom, something keeps tickling my bottom." 

Because we've seen several ticks this spring, I'm immediately a little nervous about what could be tickling her bottom.  She has on a nightgown, which she refers to as her jammie dress.  I ask her to lift it up so I can look.  And what do I discover, but a bare bottom.

"Aria, what happened to your undies?"

"Somebody took them.  Daddy took them to work."

I am still laughing now as I type this.  Absolutely hysterical!  Where does she come up with this stuff?!?

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Not nearly as funny, but adorable nonetheless, the other day Aria sneezed as we were driving along in the car.  Then she said, "Mom, sneeze is a funny name, isn't it?!?"

Why yes it is.  Have you ever just said sneeze sneeze sneeze sneeze?  It is pretty funny!


Oh and in case you were wondering, the undies were on the bathroom floor.

Summer on May 14

Today we did this:

Changed her mind.  Actually, she did this:

And it is May 14.  It was 93 degrees!  Apparently, according to KCRG, the average first 93 degree high is June 29.  Average.  For weather in Iowa, is there such a thing?  Anyway, Aria has been asking and asking to get her pool out.  Like as soon as we didn't need a coat outside.  So I promised we could get it out as soon as it was 90.  Today I fulfilled my promise.  Originally I told her she could swim after her nap.  We went outside to water the plants around 10 and it was warmer than I expected, so we she dove in.  The water was ice cold, but she didn't much care.

See, you can go under the waterfall!

I decided my favorite thing is experiencing something from the new season for the first time.  Last year when we had this pool out, she hated the sprinkler.  We couldn't turn it on very high or she cried.

Besides sticking her face in it, she sat on it and let it spray up her swim suit top.  She also discovered her hair is a lot longer than last summer and it is fun to stick it in the water.

She didn't even sit down in her pool last summer, let alone lay down.

She also got pretty adventurous on the slide.

She was on a loop all afternoon using the kick board to go down the slide.  She was having a blast.  I loved that she was much more independent in her playing.  I practically had to get in with her in the past and today I could just sit and watch and take a lot of pictures and video.  We also played with squirt guns, which she couldn't physically use last summer.  Believe me, she knows how to use them now! 

If today was any indicator, our summer is going to be a huge splash!

Blast Ball 2

Okay, this may get a bit redundant.  Blast ball is scheduled for six weeks.  I might have to post pictures all six weeks.  Yes, I know that is a lot of blast ball pictures.  Yes, I know I look like the crazy camera mom out there snapping pictures the whole time.  But is there anything cuter than this?

By the way, I saved myself $12 with this picture.  Today was get your t-shirt and hat and picture day.  I forgot.  I forgot the form at home.  I forgot to prep the child.  When we attempted to have the professional take her picture, she plain didn't want to.  There was no smiling and almost no hat wearing.  We were going to order the smallest package of 8 wallet photos for $12.  We didn't bother and I was able to get this shot later.  I'll make my own wallets, thank you very much.  And, yes I ordered the t-shirt way too big, but she is in that goofy in between sizes stage and I just didn't want it to be too small.  Oh well.  There is something pretty cute about a t-shirt dress wearing t-ball player.

It's been a difficult season for blast ball.  We've had two practices and been weathered out of three.  It has been a blast both times we've gone, but I feel bad for the lack of consistency, not that we can control it.  Tonight's lesson was hitting the ball and then running to the base.  My girl is a pro at that!  Just close your eyes and swing, right?

We've been practicing that exact skill in our yard and I'm not sure when I've had more fun.  She whacks it, drops the bat and runs like crazy to the base.  Oh my, I can't believe we're there.  The only problem with blast ball is waiting in the long line for your turn to do it again.

And that is only half of them.  Here is the whole group:

It was rather humorous trying to get that group organized and all looking at the camera and keeping their hands by their sides and smiling (yeah right).

Okay, one more and that is all.  Just look at that form!

Movin' Up

It was just a week or two ago that I posted about Aria mastering the ability to pedal.  I've learned Aria is the type to not really try very hard at all at something until she knows can do it perfectly.  Hmmm, don't know where she got that, but the initials are JP.  Ha!  Anyway, now that I could be confident she is an expert pedaler, I began looking for a bike to replace the tricycle.  She was rather scrunched on it.  I decided to hope for a garage sale purchase because I know this bike won't last much more than a year.  And on our first garage sale adventures of the year, we found the perfect bike!

Why is it perfect?  There are many reasons.  Reason #1 and by far more important to me than anything else is: IT IS NOT PINK!!  OR PRINCESS!!!  Every bike I saw in the store was pink princess, Barbie, girly, gross.  Okay, I know everyone doesn't share my dislike of pink, princess, girly stuff.  Even my daughter has been known to do girly things.  But I just wanted options in the bike department.  Actually, other than the fact that the bike is not pink, it was a great buy.  It was in excellent condition and it was $10.  I couldn't pass it up.  Aria was actually not very excited about it at first.  See perfectionist syndrome above.  But she has ridden it every day and become quite good in a short time.  I know she loves it now.  It is still sinking in that my child is old enough and big enough to be riding a bike.

In other garage sale news, we also purchased an Ariel sleeping bag that was a lot more exciting, at first, than the bike.

And, she is still quite good at the scooter, too.

Love

I bet the percentage of wedding ceremonies that include 1 Corinthians 13 is very high.  It was in mine.  There is a paraphrase of the verses hanging on my wall.  Verses 4 through 8 are committed to my memory.  So, when 1 Corinthians 13 was listed as my daily reading for the E100 Bible Reading plan my church is following, I almost just skimmed over it.  I've read it numerous times.  I know what it says.  But I decided to be diligent and read it carefully.  I'm reading from my new Bible, which is the NLT.  I don't know if it is this translation or just that I don't normally focus on verses 1-3, but I was blown away and challenged, yet again by this chapter.

"If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn't love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.  If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God's secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn't love others, I would be nothing.  If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn't love others, I would have gained nothing."  1 Corinthians 13:1-3

Wow.  Love is pretty important.  But what is love?  The note in my Bible explained even further:

"Love is more important than all the spiritual gifts exercised in the church body.  Great faith, acts of dedication or sacrifice, and miracle-working power have little effect without love.  Love makes our actions and gifts useful.  Although people have different gifts, love is available to everyone.

Our society confuses love and lust.  Unlike lust, God's kind of love is directed outward toward others, not inward toward ourselves.  It is utterly unselfish.  This kind of love goes against our natural inclinations.  It is impossible to have this love unless God helps us set aside our own natural desires so that we can love and not expect anything in return.  Thus, the more we become like Christ, the more love we will show to others."

That hit me right between the eyes and bounced all down my body.  I am a people pleaser.  I love doing things for people and seeing them smile.  I love a good thank you note from someone.  I'd like to say I don't do things in anticipation of their response, but that would be untrue.  "God helps us set aside our own natural desires so that we can love and not expect anything in return."  That means I have to not expect even a thank you.  That means I have to love people even if I know I won't be any gain for me.  Unfortunately that is a hard concept for me.  I really do want to love others as a reflection of God's love for them.  I want people to see who God is through my actions, but a lot of times my selfish pride gets in the way. 

Verse 13 says, "Three things will last forever--faith, hope, and love--and the greatest of these is love."  Love is the greatest commandment I have been given.  It is above all other spiritual and worldly gifts.  But love doesn't mean what the world says it means.  Love is defined by God.  Love comes from God.  It is His love that I am supposed to share, the way He meant for it to be shared. 

This is why it always pays to read the Bible carefully.  What a powerful lesson I got from a passage I had previously read hundreds of times.

Shorts

There are many things to enjoy about warmer weather converging on us.  I love having windows open.  I love spending time outside.  I love parks, picnics, bike rides, t-ball in the yard, and throwing a Frisbee for my dog.  I love the smell of freshly mowed grass.  But I have decided my most favorite thing about warmer weather is shorts.  And not even my own shorts.  Shorts for the three-year-old living in my house.  I've talked before about her long torso and short legs and the pants problem.  She is a bit backwards from a lot of kids I know in that she grows out of the waist before the length.  Well guess what?  With shorts that is not a problem! 

In our short weather so far Aria has worn two different pairs of size 24 month shorts!  One of the shorts she got for her FIRST birthday.  We are wearing them in summer number 3!  Not having a bulky diaper is allowing all of her shorts from last summer to still fit.  Since there really isn't a length issue with shorts (unless they are made way too short), we're set!  I do have to chuckle to myself when she has on 24 month shorts and a girls size 5 shirt, but who really cares.  I'm just thrilled we don't have much of a wardrobe to purchase this summer!  Although there is now the possibility of actually wearing out clothes.  I've noticed the amount of grass stain and dirt has increased exponentially with the abilities of a three-year-old.  The number of baths this summer will have to increase, too.  Watching my girl ride a bike, hit a softball, pick up worms, do somersaults off swings, ride a glider, and proclaim, "Mommy I want to stay out here forever," makes it all worth it!

When I Grow Up

One of my new favorite children's books is The Three Trees by Elena Pasquali.  There are actually many different versions, but the link is the one we have checked out from the library.  I heard about it from a friend and I sort of copied her idea.  A little.  In the book, each tree has a dream of what it wants to become someday.  A very natural question to ask your child while reading is, "what do you want to be when you grow up?"  I thought I might have to explain the question a bit more to Aria, but she had an answer right away.

"I want to be a teacher."  A girl after her mom's heart!

"What would you like to teach?"

"I want to teach about songs and how to dance and be silly."

"So, kind of like a music teacher?"

"Yeah!!" (with enthusiasm)

Honestly, knowing my daughter and her character and personality at three, I couldn't think of a better occupation for her.  I imagine she was describing her music class teacher from our Music Together classes.  We learn songs, fun hand motions, and silly dances.  She loves the class and really admires her teacher.  I could totally see her doing that someday!  Of course, we've got a few years and I'm sure many mind changes ahead of us.  But I love seeing how Aria pictures herself in the future.  It gave me even more insight into the music-loving child I already knew.

Also, back to the book, it is incredible!  The three trees are chopped down.  One becomes the manger for Jesus, one becomes the ship Jesus was on when he told the storm to "Be still," and the last becomes the cross.  It is a fabulous book!  Check it out and read it to your kids!!!!!!!!!