I’ve been trying to document Silvie’s shoe fascination. Here are a few photos and there are more on Flickr.
18 Months
Dear Silvie,
September was a tough month. You shifted from taking two naps a day to one at the same time as the school year began. You were also pushing your two-year molars. That means that most evenings by the time we all made it home for dinner, you were already exhausted and sad and teary. It wasn’t very much fun. We let you watch a lot more Caillou and “Foo-Foo” (Choo-Choo– Thomas) than I ever thought I’d let a toddler watch , so that you could sit quietly and relax while we made dinner.
On the other hand, there have been fun moments too. It’s fun to watch you continue to develop your own personality. You LOVE shoes. You change shoes at least three times a day. Your red, rubber rainboots are the ones you can put on most easily so you can often be found clunking around the house in them. Your father brought back some cowboy boots from a business trip to Colorado for you so we’ve been having fun dressing you up in them. You also have other shoes in frequent rotation: little Keen sandals, black and white Converse all-stars, and some shiny hot pink high-tops to name a few.
This month you learned to kiss for real…not the open mouthed, slobbery baby kiss, but the pursed lip smacking sound kind of kiss. Probably because you’ve felt so dreadful, you were really snuggly this month. There was lots of hugging and kissing.
Well, I’d better get this post published because by the time I get it posted you’ll actually be 19 months old.
Love,
Your Mama (who can not keep up with you)
17 Months
Dear Silvie–
You are so busy these days. One minute you’re a little girl with ponytails and a mischievous grin, the next minute you’re a toddler throwing a fit that you didn’t get your way, and the third minute you are snuggled up next to me like a baby, albeit a long-legged baby.
You are working hard to establish your independence. You are so proud that you can use a spoon to feed yourself yogurt and I let you do it even though about 25% of the yogurt ends up covering your clothes and skin. You are perfecting the yogurt facial. Lately you’ve started pulling up a chair to “help” do the dishes, and you ARE actually helpful when feeding Abraham and Keegan.
I have thoroughly enjoyed being home with you more this summer. You charm me by singing wordless, tuneless songs as you ride in the Chariot during our long runs and bicycle rides. Sometimes you even shoot encouragingly “Go, Go, Go”. You crawl all over Abraham and Keegan who are surprisingly patient with you. Probably because you slip them all sorts of savory treats whenever I’m not looking. Today I caught you feeding Abe a spoonful of peanut butter from your high chair. He’s NOT supposed to eat from the table and YOU are NOT supposed to feed him but neither of you seemed to feel appropriately guilty when I caught you.
You have certain favorite people–Auntie Stacey, Cara, Mae, Tait, ‘Ta’Ta (Renatah), Addy–whose pictures you want to see pictures on my phone or on Facebook and you tell Papa in the evenings who you played with that day. You’ve also gotten good at saying “hi” and “bye bye” to people on the phone and last week you Skyped with Grandma Mary and you actually had a bit of a conversation and brought toys over to show her through the computer camera.
You are loved and chosen,
Your Mama
Mt. Hood from South Fork
Posted in Uncategorized
Memaloose Lake & South Fork Look-out
East of Estacada hiking up through old growth forest. The “lake” was a bit of disappointment but 2.6 miles and 1400 feet of elevation gets you to the South Fork, an old forest service look-out with a great view of Hood, Jefferson and assorted other snow caps.
Silvie, you have my heart. And now my calves and thighs too.
(Flickr and WordPress seem to be at odds so photos in separate posts).
Posted in Family, Great Outdoors, Sprout
July
It’s hard to believe it’s July already. School didn’t let out until June 18 this year and summer weather didn’t come until about then either. After school let out I had one week to wrap a few things up and pack for our trip to Indiana. We had planned this trip for quite a while so we would be there at the same time as Nate’s brother Jim and his family who live in Arizona. We knew it would be a busy week with both of our immediate families converging on Goshen at the same time. It became even more busy when Nate’s grandfather unexpectedly passed away and we added on time for the viewing and funeral.
Silvie traveled reasonably well and seemed to really enjoy her grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. We took a lot of pictures and I’m working to get some of them up on Flickr but it might take a couple of days.
Here’s one of my favorites of her snuggling with her Miller cousin, Sharayah. Sweet things.
A Tribute to Daudy
Originally Written: 28 June 2010
A Tribute to Daudy
Nate’s grandpa, “Daudy” Alvin Beachy passed away last Thursday. Today would have been his 87th birthday. Instead, his family and friends gathered at the funeral home for his viewing. He would have said we didn’t need to make such a fuss about him, I’m sure.
I don’t feel I knew him well. He had significant hearing loss so at family gatherings he often sat off to one side and read or slept since it was difficult for him to participate in the conversations. I do know that he was always kind to his grandchildren, their partners, and to his great-grandchildren. He liked to make funny noises with his mouth to amuse the babies. In my head he is always wearing a hat, sporting a goatee, and there is toothpick in his mouth and a twinkle in his eye.
Most of his life he was a dairy farmer. Sometime in his sixties he retired from farming and passed the farm on to his son, Will. He and Grandma built a house in the woods on property that I assume was part of the original farm. He worked some at “the shop” making plows for Amish farmers into his seventies. Later on, he had a small woodshop on his property and he crafted practical and handsome pieces for his family. Each of his grandchildren have a sturdy, twisting hall tree from him. And each family also has a little wooden stool with a tall handle that makes it very handy for toting around the house. If you visit the home of one of his family members you are likely to see one or both of these items in daily use. I know that our hall tree is right inside our front door covered in coats and our wooden stool is currently in the bathroom because Silvie lugs it over to the sink to “wash” her hands.
He liked to travel and he and Grandma went on several trips “out west” and did an Alaskan cruise as well. He admired Jimmy Carter and made it point of scheduling trips to and from Florida so that he could stop at the Warm Springs Baptist Church and sit in on Jimmy’s Sunday school class. I wonder what Jimmy Carter thought to see this Amish-looking couple attend his Sunday school class.
He had the uncanny ability to take a nap in the most unlikely places. Someone with a camera caught him once taking a nap on his lawnmower in the middle of the lawn. Guess he got tired mowing so he just stopped the mower, put his head down and took a power nap.
He was still pretty spry in his older years and didn’t want his independence limited. However, Grandma got progressively less able to care for herself so they could not travel or get about like the once had. When Grandma was moved to the nursing home about a year ago, Daudy drove to visit her faithfully everyday. I don’t think they had a story-book marriage. They were two opinionated people and they did not always see eye-to-eye but they made their marriage work for 66 years and they were more open about their loyalty and affection for each other toward the end. Grandma will miss his daily visits most of all.
Some say a person’s wealth is really in the family they build. If that is the case, Daudy was truly wealthy. He and Grandma both came from large Amish/Mennonite families. Many, many sisters, brothers, cousins, nieces, nephews, grand-nieces and grand-nephews came to the viewing. Although Daudy only had three children of his own, they in turn had 11 grandchildren and now there are 22 great-grandchildren. I can attest to the fact that all of these people are kind, smart and curious. And in that regard, Daudy has left behind great wealth.
barkdust 