All By Myself

You knew the day was coming folks. CJ is beginning to realize that she is a big girl. She is becoming more and more independent and she is exploring her surroundings even more than she normally does. She is trying to say new words and she is learning to play. Now some of you may think that one just starts to play but one must learn how to operate the different toys and objects that they find themselves around. Daddy made a statement a few days ago that he was not pleased with how she was interacting with herself. Daddy felt that she spent too much time being around Mommy and Daddy. Her being around us helps her to advance but she needed to learn how to function alone. So this week we have watched her interaction with the things she has, her doughnut tower, her farm, her laptop, and her books. It was great to see her operate her soccer ball too! I will say that she is doing quite well with things too.

Today when we arrived to pick her up from the babysitter I guess we took too long. Within a matter of seconds CJ had made her way to and out of the door. She even said, "Bye, Bye!" So I asked if she had the keys to her own car? She gave no response. It is fun watching her begin to do more and more all by herself. This shows that she has been watching and internalizing different things she has seen while growing.

So I am pleased with CJ's progress and I pray she continues to apply all she has learned. Please continue to pray that she always seeks to be independent but that she never forgets the comforts and lessons from home. Daddy knows that prayer changes things, people,and situations.

Linguistic Development

CJ is beginning to relate words to objects. We were in the car today and she began repeating her favorite letter "E". Something different happened today though, she said something else. Today CJ began to say the word ball. Now Daddy was ecstatic because he would want a child of his to like the word ball. She can put any root in front of it, foot, base, basket, soccer, or any other type of ball for all I care. Mommy did not believe that she was making a relation but Daddy always believes in his Princess. So when we arrived home Daddy parked the car and then went to the back. You all remember the ball from Old Navy right, well it has been in the car for the past few days and today was the time for it to come out. Daddy then grabbed the ball, showed it to CJ, then asked her what it was. CJ uttered the word "ball" once again and Daddy said to Mommy, "See I told you!" She is now beginning to develop her vocabulary and it should be full of very complex words since we read to her a bit. I have to challenge myself to read to her more. You can never have too much reading time so I will read to her as soon as we walk in the door. She likes books too, I snuck a picture of her reading a few weeks ago and she was looking through her Mommy's book today. So it seems as if she has a desire for reading which is great in Daddy's book.

So tonight as your lay your head to your pillow, say a prayer for CJ...that she continues to have a love for reading and that her Daddy makes the time necessary to nurture the skill. Prayer changes things, people, and situations. I want to add this, prayer makes things right. So no matter what gets in the way or creates "busy-ness" God will make what needs to happen, happen.

NOTE TO CJ: Baby, read all you want and can read. What you can not read get someone to read it to you. Books are the pathways to everything you dream of. Books allow you to visit all parts of the world. Books are the key that opens up your mental vault and fills it with knowledge, which leads to power! You will always have a book as long as your Daddy is around, even when you do not want one or have not finished the last one, I will add another to your library. I want to be your tour guide and pilot. I love you a whole bunch and want nothing but the best for you but you MUST want that for yourself.

Green Beans, Please!

Dinner was a little late for Daddy and Mommy today so CJ was only privy to part of the meal. She was offered mashed potatoes and green beans, two items she generally eats. Today was a little bit different. I think CJ is beginning to develop her preferred palette. Yesterday morning Mommy cooked up some oatmeal and mixed peaches in for CJ. She ate the oatmeal but whenever a peach entered the mix, she took it out her mouth to see what it was and then proceeded to eat it separately. Then during dinner I tried to feed her some country style dressing. I will admit it was a different texture, very coarse but damn good. She let it touch her tongue twice but it went no further. She did not care for it at all, which leads to tonight. Mashed potatoes are something CJ loves and eats regularly. Tonight she wanted nothing to do with them, and let Mommy know by spitting them out. Instead she chose to eat a pot of green beans. Maybe she was going with the more healthy side dish. The girl is bright in her own right, you know. Maybe she was saying Mommy and Daddy, from this point on, I will only eat healthy dishes. I mean we have tried to introduce her to a variety of dishes and styles of food with the hopes she will embrace a variety of things. I guess she is now beginning to make her own decisions on what she eats. Hey hopefully next she will begin to lay out her menu so we do not waste our time, lol!

Keep praying folks...things, people, and situations will change.

Sunday - Let's Get Loud

CJ hears it all the time, "enter into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise!" Or Psalm 150 which reads,

1Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power.

2Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.

3Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp.

4Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.

5Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.

6Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.

So I guess she asks herself, "What is the big deal about my noise in church?" If praise is suppose to be loud then I have that covered she figures. Daddy is still trying to get better in his dealing with CJ's noise. I mean it really is not all that bad but the noise comes when the sanctuary is quiet. Sometimes you can hear CJ over the choir, she sings with them too. I guess that comes from Daddy and Mommy blasting music around the house. The noise seems to only bother Daddy and Mommy or at least no one has said anything to us in our face. In church you see, the elders always turn around when they hear the slightest sound and they shake their heads. I have watched them closely for the last 30 years (You all figure that out). It always upsets me when they do that because they seem to think they are special or something. So if CJ is making apparent noise I can only guess what hey are thinking. However, you know what. Daddy needs to just let CJ be because she shows that she enjoys herself at church. Mommy and I have agreed that we would never bring toys are anything to divert her attention. We want her focused on the cross, hearing the word and responding as the Spirit leads her too. SO if she gets loud we apologize fore her being filled with the spirit but you might want to get close to her so you can feel the way she does. Then you can say it LOUD, like she does.

So CJ, you keep doing what you do. Daddy will have to learn to live with it and keep it moving. I pray you never let anyone steal your joy from you, not even your Daddy. As always he will pray about it and that will fix his situation all because prayer changes things, people, and situations. Maybe the noise would not be so apparent if others around CJ would been engaged in their own praise party. Just a little food for thought.

I Made It In!

I usually arrive home the next day after going to homecoming. Today I made it back before twelve midnight. No glass slippers here. When I left this morning CJ was asleep. When I returned she was asleep. I did hear her when I called to check in on her.

So tomorrow we will have fun! You all make sure your pray. Prayer changes things, people, and situations.

Playing In The Store

Tonight once we all arrived home Daddy needed to go back out to pick a few things up. On the way out the door he informed CJ that she would not be getting anything during this trip. From the beginning it seemed that Mommy had other plans. So we wen to the mall and Daddy purchased the things he set out to purchase. While in Foot Locker mommy comes up to Daddy waving a pair of Chuck Taylor's at him and asked him to purchase them. Daddy swiftly informed her that CJ already knows that she will not be getting anything on this trip. So Mommy, with a little attitude, lol put the sneakers back. The crazy thing is that she ended up with the sneakers anyway because Daddy felt he needed to help the sales associate out with some commission.

So after Daddy was all squared away it was time for Mommy to unleash her spending fury. CJ needs a few fall items so Mommy had already made allotment to make that happen. She wen through every corner of one store then wanted to stop in another. It was in that store that Daddy at first saw a football but refrained from letting CJ play with it. He then saw this glow in the dark soccer ball that he picked up but then something better caught his eye. he saw a pink and purple soccer ball. Now everyone knows that Daddy really does not care for pink but this ball was cute. So Daddy picked it up and handed it to CJ. She grabbed it then threw it down on the ground. Daddy repeated his action and CJ repeated hers. Some customers saw that CJ was really enjoying the ball which made Daddy say she was going to get the ball. I know it was impulsive but even Daddy the master planner has a bad day. So once we purchased the ball Daddy and Cj continued to play all the way out the mall. CJ even mad e Daddy have to hustle a bit to get the ball because she threw it a bit hard and the momentum took it ways down the aisle. I decided to keep the ball in the car with me tomorrow so Mommy would not have to hurt CJ while I am away from the house.

CJ fell asleep during the ride home so I brought her in the house and put her directly to bed. She woke up a little bit so Mommy stayed in the room until she drifted back to sleep which was pretty quick tonight. So now that CJ is walking we can go outside and toss the ball a little bit. Next week will be tough so I may have to wait until a Sunday to really get down with her.

Well folks today was a great day. I was able to spend the evening with my girls so I am pleased. You all continue to pray that I get more and more time home, for one I need the rest. Secondly, CJ needs her Daddy around her as she develops. Finally it is the way it is suppose to be all work and no play would make Daddy a dull being. So I want to play with CJ every chance I get! Keep praying, prayer changes things, people, and situations.

"E"

Ok, I forgot to tell you yesterday about CJ's alphabet lesson. So Daddy wants to begin the educational process with his Princess, so he purchased some beginner level flashcards. For all of you who think I am nuts to think this will sink in, do some research. Toddlers are impressionable so what ever they see they begin to remember. So Daddy wants his baby to see letters, number, colors, and anything else that will help in her cognitive development. So yesterday we began the sessions and they went well. Daddy would say the letter and the word that was associated with the letter on the card. CJ paid attention up until about the letter "K". She would point and look so Daddy was satisfied. She had particular success with the letter "E". She kept saying it for the rest of the evening. Tonight we did not get a chance to follow up but I do not want to put to much on her.

So I need you to pray as we enter into this endeavor. Prayer changes things, people, and situations! Have a great night.