Who do you want to pray for tonight?

eloise: "I want to pray for kiera (friend at church), slide, yellow, blue, balloon"

new nighttime routine

Lily has been going to sleep around 6:45. Not my favorite, but when you have a kid who doesn't sleep all day, this is about the time she needs to end the day. It's good because it gives me a chance to sit and hang out with eloise.

Our new routine is this:
Watch Mickey Mouse and Little Einstein's Halloween (sometimes we eat popcorn)
-her new phrase for movie is "let's watch dvdvd.com" (????)
Into the bathroom for "pasty" (brushing teeth)
Then into mama's bed for books. She brings 10 books (1 at a time, of course)
We head into her room, pray and turn on her noise maker and music.

She now wants to have her door open while she is falling asleep.
The other night, I walked out and heard, "kate. kate. Are you out there by the door?"

new hair

So in an effort to reinvent Kate, I thought I would start with the hair. I haven't had bangs since the 7th grade, but I've heard they are in so I'll trust everyone. We'll see how this style progresses. No more pulled back buns for me.

it's not the best pic of the new hair, but it will do. (dave isn't the best when taking pictures)

the joys of motherhood

I am not one of those women who gave birth and instantly fell in love. (I hear this is normal, but few women talk about it b/c of guilt). Moments after I gave birth, the only thing I cared about was the fact that I had just GIVEN BIRTH! The following week was consumed with figuring out nursing, walking without passing out, and wondering when I was going to be able to walk down the stairs or get to the couch. My bonding came much later at around 6 months.

Tonight my bonding reached a new level. We had our first all girls bath. Lily needed a bath, Eloise wanted a bath and I knew there was no way they were going be do it together. Lily can't sit up and she moves like crazy. So I knew I had to jump in with the fun. I was with my girls. I loved it. I realized that this was the rest of my life - enjoying these two women to the fullest. Laughing with them, helping them love one another, teaching them about the Lord, and helping them to find value in who they are as women. I love that I have 2 girls.

poo poo pants

me: Eloise, do you have poo poo in your pants?
e(2): No, I don't have poo poo. I'm crazy.

tonight after eloise had gone to bed, she called for me.

e: mama, change my diaper. I have poo poo.
me: eloise you don't have poo poo's
e: no, I'm wet
me: well once you go pee pee on the potty you won't have to wear a wet diaper
e: I go pee in the potty and get 5 special treats

the joys of fall

I was thinking last week I needed to blog about how much I love fall. My friend, Jodi, beat me to it. I say ditto to everything on her list.

I LOVE FALL! It is the time of year when I am most joyous. I dislike the summer so much. Most people get SAD in the winter, not me, I get it in the summer. I love putting away all things summer. Shorts especially. I do not like shorts. Capri's I'll do, but shorts, no way. Fall clothes, I love. When I was young, we used to wait for the Nordstrom sale in July. We would get the catalog and figure out all the things we liked. My best friend, Michelle and I would get up early the first day of the sale to have one of our moms take us. My mom is a shopper too, so it wasn't that hard to get her out of bed. My parents never went crazy spending money on fall clothes, but it was still fun to get a small chunk to spend on all things long-sleeved and cozy.

This year, I wish I had that small chunk of money to spend on fall clothes. Having 2 babies in 2 years has left my waredrobe a little dry of creativity and style. Losing 35 lbs doesn't help either. I'm an avid What Not to Wear fan. They are always telling you to spend a little more money to get those quality pieces of clothing that will last. Well, my closet is filled with $5.99 t-shirts from Old Navy and sale jeans from any place that had them on sale. This leaves me with about 2 options. I'm ready for more.

So I'm on a mission. I know those few pieces I want to buy. Problem - it takes alot longer to save the money to buy them. But I did make my first major purchase...JEANS.

I found my way to Nordstrom and asked a sweet girl to help me. She asked me how much I wanted to spend. Uh...$20. really I was thinking around $50 because that's how much jeans at the Gap used to cost. We settled on nothing over $100. On What not to Wear, they also say that most things will have to be tailored and Nordstrom does this for free.

I found a pair! Kut from the Kloth. They are great. $79. Not a bad price. They aren't 7's, which is good. Although, I'm thinking I may have to try a pair on to see what all the fuss is about.

So the jeans are my joy of this new fall season. Now I'm off to find new long sleeved shirts, 2 sweaters, one pair of shoes for the year and a puff vest. And I'm going to be finding all of these items on windy days where the leaves are turning yellow and orange while sipping on a caramel apple cider from starbucks. Then I'm going to come home and cozy up with the girls and have soup and some pumpkin delights. Halloween will be fun as well. Eloise will be a Ladybug and Lily...not quite sure, but it will be something simple and warm.

We have a 2 yr old in the house!

Over a week without posting....where have I been.

Eloise turned 2! I can't believe she is 2. She can count to 20, knows her ABC's, knows shapes and colors and has meltdowns exactly like a 2 yr old should. She is singing "Jesus Loves Me" and "Jesus Loves the Little Children". We have become Kate and Dave to her quite regularly. She is attending the toddler class at church and bible study and this has brought about separation anxiety for the first time ever. This has been weird to navigate through, but we are figuring it out as we go.

We spent her birthday with Nana in town. We searched high and low for the perfect play kitchen. We finally settled on one and she calls it "chicken" (code for kitchen). This has suddenly brought about two new words in her vocab, "no, that's mine". She really is 2! On Saturday, we celebrated with friends and family. It was a beautiful afternoon with lots of laughs, food, and fun.

I can't believe she is 2. Just 2 years ago I endured a 9 hr INTENSE labor to bring about this little baby girl. I am falling more in love with her everyday.

2 yrs ago

At 2

She LOVES her cupcakes.

The party was also a little bittersweet. Our wonderful friends, Daniel and Laura, left to move back to Arkansas the day after eloise's party. What amazing friends. Laura has been such a wonderful woman to spend time with. She has helped me while sick when pregnant with lily, attempted to clean puke out of our carseat, and allowed us those much needed date nights. They took eloise the day I gave birth to Lily and I couldn't have asked for a better couple to invest in her on that day. And Laura helped to bring a little fashion back into my life after a long hiatus. Eloise will miss her "La La & D" and we look forward to the day when we get to spend time with them again.

my new favorite pic

I love this one.

bodily fluids

If you were to take a poll of mother's and ask them if they have come in contact with bodily fluids, I'm venturing to say that 100% of them have touched urine, poop, or vomit at least once a month, if not, once a week.

Before having children, touching or feeling pee was not appealing. The thought of holding a baby with a leaky diaper and the remote chance of it seeping through onto your pants made you squirm. Someone's baby peeing on your leg (Audrey Davis) made you want to sanitize your leg with bleach.

Poop, well this one grossed you out the most. You used 15 wipes to make sure that your hand never came in contact with the fumes of poop. Most of the time you made a bigger mess. As a mom you can clean up poop with two wipes and no contact at all.

Vomit. That was something someone did at a party. The mere thought, sound, or sight of someone puking made you want to start vomiting yourself. There would be NO WAY you were going to deal with your child's puke. That would be a husband's job. Now as a mother, you are lucky if the puke makes onto something other than you. And you instantly know that for the next 24-48 hours, any other plans you had are now on hold.

Vomit was the fluid of the day in the Ahl household. Lily this time. She was cuddling with dave at 5:45 looking ready for bed. I really didn't want to put her to bed that early, but she had been pretty tired all day and not really eating. I was thinking growth spurt. She was thinking flu. I swooped her up and headed into the kitchen for a few last minutes chores and there it started. She was retching everything from the day up. All over the floor and most of it, all over me.

This would be the worst experience with bodily fluids. I have never been that drenched in puke before in my life. And that wasn't the worst part. It was feeling her body heave when she threw up. I started crying immediately. There is nothing worse than a baby throwing up. A toddler I can handle (besides not making it into a designated puke area). This was painful to feel.

I know that you aren't supposed to give a toddler liquid, but what about a baby? They depend on milk to grow and don't really have any other source. So I nursed and laid with her for a while. I'm hoping for no more puking. But I'll be up most of the night checking.

Ministry again?

First, Lily got her first tooth! A possible reason for sleepless nights? I doubt it, but we're happy to be welcoming teeth into the family.

This week Dave and I have become more aware of how all consuming raising children can be. With the frustration of a non-sleeping baby and non-sleeping parents (eloise is getting a good 13 hrs of sleep a day) we are frazzeled to say the least. So it takes very little for us to become aggitated with one another.

We came up with a plan. We need us time and individual alone time. We need to have those moments of renewal or we will continue to head down a path that isn't edifying.

Today a new item to add to the plate. Dave meets with our head pastor, Dwight Steele. They have been meeting weekly since Dave started his process out of the youth pastor position. Today he asked Dave to teach one of the new elective courses they are planning at Montavilla.

First, some background. Montavilla is a slow to change church. The sunday school class structure isn't necessarily conducive to jumping in as a newbie. It's demographically designed. Very funky. So having them offer elective classes at the end of this month is huge. All the young people in our church have been moving about and praying for change. This is one small step in that direction.

I'm so excited that Dwight would think of Dave for this job. However, I am very hesitant to walk back into this territory for a few reasons.

1. This makes us (dave) very vulnerable to criticism. Having been a pastor's wife, there is nothing more heartbreaking and infuriating than people putting down your husband or asking of them beyond what they are able to give. I don't think I could watch Dave be criticized again. It almost makes me want to cry right now remembering things from before.

2. It means that we need to take more time out for Dave to study. I have no problem taking on more time with the kids. It means I need to be even more intentional about taking time out for myself.

3. the spiritual warfare. When God's people are working and succeeding in ministry, Satan takes his opportunity to de-rail. It's happened before and I feel even more vulnerable as a mom who is pulled in many different directions.

4. the cheerleader. When/If dave steps into this role. I need to be an encourager like never before. I need to help build his confidence again, pray for him, give him feedback, support him, listen to him, do any administrative for him, etc.

I never imagined how emotional I would feel about this. I really want him to do it because I believe the Lord is asking us to be more involved. But I don't want what will go with it. And maybe I'll be surprised. Maybe this time it will be different. But it will take going through this experience to prove that. I need to pray and seek Gods heart and mind.

the great repeater

lunchtime
e: "mommy, I'd like an iced decaf"
(I think I've made a few too many trips lately)

daddy mowing the lawn by the garden
e: "daddy, get out of the garden"

mommy stepping on the brakes too hard
e: "geesh, kate" (quoted directly from dave)

bedtime
e: "okay, pick out 5 books. How bout this one?"

on the way home from church
e: "me so tired. me very hungry. me sad" (this wasn't gathered from us)