Zoe & Colby Update

Zoë Faith will be four(4!) in August.  I have several moments throughout the day when I just stare at her face, hair, or legs and find myself amazed at how she's growing. She is beautiful.  Kind.  Highly intuitive to people's needs. She insists on drinking out of cups that are dry on the outside.  She is willing to try any kind of food.  She says most words correctly but still says stuff like "crockoach" for cockroach and "chicken-layf" for Chick-fil-A.  

Her favorite things right now are dinosaurs.  She saw some kind of show at my parents' house(Dinosapian?) and we promptly visited the library and checked out a stack of books.  She reads them in bed every night and asks questions like "Do dinosaurs yawn?" and "Do dinosaurs go potty?"  She is brilliant!

We entered the "why?" phase about a month ago.  I was literally thinking to myself one afternoon Maybe we'll just bypass that "why?" phase parents always talk about.  God knew my patience, selflessness, and intelligence would all need some improvement.  It started about five days later.  

At a recent seminar we learned about delaying children's formal education and focusing on work ethic and things like gardening, sewing, baking, cleaning, and cooking.  While we had been preparing to teach Zoë to read, we have changed our focus to more important things - being a girl of character, learning how to love & take care of others, and discovering the greatness of Christ.  

She serves her family by making beds, emptying the silverware basket, and helping mom wipe the counters. She's involved in anything that results in cupcakes!

Now on to Colby Man!  What a little bundle of mischief and love!  He turns 17 months today which means 1.5 years is just a few weeks away!  I think time must warp more and more with each kid.  It goes by so quickly!  

Colby learned to walk pretty early so he's the resident expert when it comes to speed and agility.  He moves fast around corners and especially to escape from big sister.  We bought him size 6.5 WIDE tennis shoes a few weeks ago and he is putting them to good use.  He gets all kind of compliments and attention from strangers when we run errands - they just love his big blue eyes!

His love language is touch so he will regularly just come over and put his head on my lap, pat Zoë's shoulder, or succumb to sleep by snuggling & cuddling.  Brad and I appreciate his spontaneous affection.

He waves hello and goodbye to everyone, blows kisses, and has mastered shaking his head "no" as we try to guess what he wants.  He wants to talk so desperately when words like "dada," "mama," "dat," and "row" (roll) don't communicate very much.  

I just finished up a book called "Boys and Girls Learn Differently" and was so relieved to have someone explain the differences.  While Zoë had dozens of words by this age, Colby has a small list.  Did you know that a girl's vocabulary is 99% comprehensible by the age of 3 while a boy's vocabulary doesn't reach that level of comprehension until 4-4.5?!  More than a year difference!!  (If you have a firstborn girl, you need to know this if you have a boy come along...)

Zoë and Colby are each others' best friend.  I like to believe this will last forever - they'll always be our first two kids, they will watch us learn how to parent boys and girls, and laugh at our struggles in raising more than one.  I love seeing them advocate for one another, carry amazing levels of sympathy - Colby cries if he accidently witnesses Zoë's spankings, and learn the "one another" at early ages.  Sharing is most of the time difficult, hitting happens, and they usually think yelling or tattle-telling is the best way to resolve conflict.  They will each serve a purpose in our family, community, and the Kingdom - where no one else would find success.  

They are created in the image of God.  They have eternity in their hearts.  They are vessels of the Good News.  They have beautiful feet and they are seated at the right hand of God.  They will follow Jesus when it's easy & say "yes" to Him even when it's hard.  They are my iron: sharpening, challenging, and pushing me to refinement.  And I love them with a depth that only Christ can carve.