gospel light

This little "light" of mine....

(Oh yeah, by the way...Micah has RSV, which means that he has spent most of this week at home, with Dan and I alternating taking care of him.  We made the decision pretty late in the day yesterday that he needed one more day at home and it would be my turn, so this morning he and I set off to school to make sure everything was in place for my sub.)

We got there around 8, which gave me about 30 minutes before the kiddos arrived to talk to my sub and make sure my makeshift plans made sense.  The time went by pretty quickly, and Micah busied himself with carrying my birthday pencils around the room and trying to take apart the solar system models that the 3rd graders had worked on all week.  Several students arrived early to drop off their science projects and were SO excited to see him there at school.  There were about 8 of them standing in a circle around him, oohing and aahing over "how cute" he was.  (It's not like I talk about him.....all the time......)

What was Micah doing?  Well, of course he was in the middle of the circle, blowing kisses to the kids and saying "hiya!" to each one.

At 845 the bell rang, signaling the start of the school day.  The first order of business is the pledge of allegiance, followed by the morning announcements.  I reminded my students to stand for the pledge.

Micah looked around the room.....saw all the kids standing with their hands over their hearts.....and bless his little heart, he knew he was supposed to be doing SOMETHING but wasn't quite sure what. 

He turned to me, and with a smile on his face....

he folded his little hands in prayer while we said the Pledge of Allegiance.  

In that one instant, my heart just about burst I loved him so much.  My pride and joy.

This may be "publican school", but -


I'm gonna let him shine. 

sweet sixteen

Happy sweet sixteen (months), baby boy!

What's going on today?

Oh!  Happy birthday to me!

true worth

praise baby CD's on Amazon.com = $33.96

new haircut to fix all the broken-off hairs that I have because Micah loves to sit and twist my hair when he's tired = $42.00 (plus tip)

five minutes at bedtime, listening to sleepytime lullabies of worship songs while Micah snuggles on my lap, twisting my hair and planting wet baby kisses all over my face = WORTH MORE THAN ANY AMOUNT OF MONEY IN THE WORLD

church behavior

There should really be time-outs at church.

Last Sunday, we were sitting in our seats listening to the sermon and Micah, true to form, was getting hungry.  It happens right about the same time every week.  So, we pulled out our trusty supply of Cheerios and goldfish and his sippy with water in it.  He was sitting on my lap, alternating feeding me ONE Cheerio at a time and frantically stuffing HANDFULS in his mouth (seems we're a little stingy with the Cheerios, hmmmm???).  All of a sudden, he turned to me and pursed his lips, and blew me an air kiss.  I air-kissed him back.  With a huge grin on his face, he leaned forward......opened his Cheerio-filled mouth......and LICKED my face, followed by an open-mouth kiss on the cheek, leaving me with a trail of freshly-chewed Cheerios on my face. 

I know, I know........I loved the IDEA behind the kiss.  But the delivery method?  Not so much. 

After that, it became a game - he trying to leave more pureed Cheerios on my face and me trying to dodge him. 

Like I said, maybe there should be time-outs in church.....

little fishie

Micah started swimming lessons again this past Thursday (he says "thank you!" to his Nana and Papa for the lessons)!  He has been enrolled in Swim Baby class at Swimtastic since he was six months old.  The classes are small - only 6 babies and their mommy/daddy - to every teacher.  Our teacher this session is Miss Danielle, and she is FABULOUS! 

I'm not biased or anything, but Micah is a fabulous swimmer!  Okay, well as fabulous as you can be when you're only 15 months old.  At the end of last session, Miss Danielle said that he would be ready to move to the Swim Toddler class at the end of this current session, when he turned 18 months old - 6 months earlier than most babies move up.  Unfortunately, when the babies move up to Swim Toddler, they no longer take a mommy or daddy into the pool with them.  They go, with 2 other babies, by themselves, while the clingy mommies and daddies sit outside the pool in the chairs where all the OTHER parents sit and watch.  Or knit.  Or text.  Or do anything besides watch their little one swim.  

Now, I'm not a rocket science scientist or anything.  I mean, I only teach third grade.  But if the Swim Toddler class has 3 babies and 1 teacher.....and none of the babies can really swim.......and the teacher only has two arms.......are you getting where I'm going with this? 

But that's a decision we will make at the end of this current swim session, in another 10 weeks or so.

Back to my point - which was....?

Just simply, Micah loves swimming.  Really, he loves the water in general.  He has gotten very good at kicking his feet while he is "swimming" around picking up plastic colored balls and dropping them in the buckets on the side.  Part of his motivation is probably the fact that Miss Danielle is standing behind him tickling his feet, which naturally promotes kicking!  He now stands on the side of the pool and holds my fingers to jump in, where as he used to sit and I would pretty much plop him in.  He is getting better with making his "chipmunk cheeks" before he goes underwater and going higher up on the slide before sliding down to me.  Everybody in the pool - as well as most of the people outside of the glass walls in the waiting area - are subject to his shrieks of delight, deep belly laughs and LOUD LOUD LOUD squeals of excitement.  He is not a quiet child.  Good thing he's cute.

However, he has a hate-hate relationship with something new we tried at Swim Baby on Thursday: goggles.  Let me go on record as saying, NEVER GONNA HAPPEN.  Just as soon as I can get them on, he rips them off his head and chucks them to the bottom of the pool.  And the faces I got?  Wow.  Oh yeah, and floating on his back - not his favorite either.  While he could be resting and relaxing while I hold him up and sing to him... (meanwhile, he is supposed to be looking at all the froggies and the fishies and the colorful kites placed strategically on the ceiling and learning to love the feeling of floating on his back while water fills his ears)...instead he throws his left arm across my throat and tries to do this toddler wrestling/choke hold thing that is probably designed to make me sit him up but only results in my voice getting drastically higher.  Little stinker!

He did learn this past week that when one opens his/her mouth under the water, one gets a mouthful of pool water.  Gasp,  choke, gag. 

I'm proud of my little fishie and how far he has come in 9 short months.  It's one of the highlights of my week, that half hour with my little man in the water.  The time passes so fast.  Kinda like the last 15 months of my entire life? 

what a guy

You know, it's NOT all about Micah!

Okay......well really, most of the time it is.

However, there is, living in my house, another "boy" that has captured my heart from the beginning, and I thought it only fair to do a little bragging - er, blogging - about him, too.  He is an amazing guy: doting father to our little boy, loving husband, patient teacher, loyal athlete, and follower of God - the last certainly NOT being the least.

It's not often (enough) that I toot his horn, so I thought it was about darn time.  Dan, here's to you (HONK! HONK!)...

Did you know that Dan.....

makes AND packs my lunch and then packs AND takes my computer bag and Micah's daycare diapers and puts them all in my car every single morning before he leaves?

snowblows the entire driveway and sidewalk without so much as asking me to lift a finger to help?  And when I offer to help, he refuses it?  Same goes with mowing the lawn. 

fixes dinner when I don't move fast enough to get it started?

cleans up the kitchen after dinner and starts the dishwasher?  Oh yeah, he unloads it too if I forget to do that.     

does all of our laundry?  Every week!  I mean washes, dries, hangs it or folds it in some form, and puts it away. 

grocery shops when he can get his hands on the list and the grocery money?

started going to church with me when we first started dating after being absent from the church scene for 15 years and now makes sure that his son is in church every opportunity we get?

reminds Micah to fold his hands so we can pray before meals?

takes care of me when I'm sick?

DOESN'T drive me nuts when HE'S sick?

roots for the same sports teams all the time no matter how awesome or terrible they are because he is one of the most loyal people I know?

follows my lead when it comes to decisions of the heart, such as the timing of adding little ones to our family?

jumped on board last February when we took on the biggest financial pursuit of our young lives and enrolled in Financial Peace University, and is TO THIS DAY an active participant, even though the way we handle our God's money is drastically different than he's used to?

goes to social functions that he would rather not go to just because I ask him to?

works a part-time job 20 hours a week with adults who have special needs and continues to do this so we can keep paying off our debt?  Even though he would much rather be home with his own little guy.

And last, but MOST IMPORTANT:
turns on my electric blanket - that he thought of on his own and bought me for Christmas - every single night an hour before I go to bed so I don't have to climb into cold sheets???  Our temps have been in the negatives.  'Nuff said. 

That totally makes my day. 

Okay, guess that's enough for now.  I sure don't want him to get a big head.  There are a million more things I could write about, but I think you get my point. 

What a guy - yep, I am one lucky girl!

And I will forever treasure him and be glad he's mine. 

He said it best when he said, "Love since cotton candy!"  But THAT'S a story for another time.....

wrapped around his little finger

Tonight, we were sitting in the living room watching a football game, and Micah was playing on his own.  Quietly. Neither of those things are normal - which is why one of us should've had our guard up.  At one point, I looked at Dan and said, "Where'd he go?" 

(See, he has a new game that he enjoys.  He toddles down the hallway and finds whatever room we didn't close the door to, and he goes inside and shuts it and waits.  For us to come find him.  As long as we come quickly enough, he doesn't scream.  If we don't come chase him, he makes enough noise that we know what room he's in.  Once we open the door, he grins a huge grin and squeals with excitement - then promptly closes it in our face again.)

Thinking he was playing this super fun game, we pushed the mute button on the remote and listened to see which room he had gone into. 

I was sitting on the couch and Dan was on the floor.  All of a sudden, I heard a rustle behind me.  Our couch sits about 8 inches way from the wall so it doesn't block the heater vents.  A very large mouse.....or a tiny toddler.....was scurrying back and forth behind it.  I heard him go from one end of the couch to the other, and then he tiptoed around the end table at the end of the couch and stopped dead in his tracks - when he saw his daddy looking right at him (trying not to laugh, by the way).  Blue eyes met dark brown ones.  Micah knew he shouldn't be back behind the couch.  I swear he was deciding what to do next.  Then, in a moment that melted my heart completely, he toddled over to Dan, looked right at him and planted a big wet kiss right on his daddy's mouth.  He turned to look at me, walked over, and rewarded me likewise.  Then he turned and walked away.  It was all Dan and I could do to keep a straight face. 

That fleeting, silent moment was the highlight of my day. 

I love that kid more than I can explain. 

See, in Micah's World, all troubles are solved with a baby kiss.  I'm more than okay with that. 

calling all editors

Okay, so I said in my first post that in the SECOND post, I would spill the beans about how we chose the name for Micah's blog.  And, I didn't.  And now that two people in my world whom I love dearly have pointed that out, I guess it would be time to rectify my mistake.  Rectify...that's an impressive word for a snow day!

I digress...

It's not that I LIED exactly....it's more that I got caught up in the excitement of blogging about our fantastic trip to the museum and I was so eager to stay on top of things and blog on a regular basis that I, well, forgot.

I am 31 now, you know.

If you've spent any time with a child under the age of.....oh, let's say.....3, you might have had the distinct pleasure of hearing the theme song for Elmo's world - we often hear it during our daily viewing of Sesame Street.  Check out these lyrics:

This is the song,
la la la la,
Elmo's song,
La la la la,
La la la la,
Elmo's song
He wrote the music,
He wrote the words....
That's Elmo's song!

If you feel so inclined, you can even insert your own name and write your OWN song!  Big Bird and Snuffy did...

Elmo's Song

But wait, it gets even better!  Elmo has his own segment on Sesame Street called "Elmo's World" (along with a whole slew of DVD's in case you need even MORE of Elmo to fill your day), and the words to his theme song for the show go a little something like this:

La la la la,
La la la la,
Elmo's World,
La la la la,
La la la la,
Elmo's World.
Elmo loves his goldfish,
His crayon too,
That's Elmo's World!

The first time I heard that song, I was at my parents' house for Christmas.  It was the Christmas of 2007, and my sister and BIL had a brand-new baby, only 2 months old.  We had been trying to get pregnant for several months, so I was getting my baby fix holding Gavin.  All of a sudden, I heard one of Gavin's toys start singing this completely OBNOXIOUS song, and I distinctly remember telling Dan, "Oh my gosh, when we have kids, we are SO not listening to that over and over again.  How annoying!"

And God has a sense of humor....because not only did we get pregnant that very same Christmas, but the bundle of joy He blessed us with has developed a deep and lasting love for Elmo.

Now I would be lying if I said that it was love at first sight.  One night this summer, when he was about 8 or 9 months old, I found a video on youtube of the Elmo Song and I showed it to Micah.  Truth be told, I have never seen the kid move so fast as he tried to crawl up, over, around, however he could to get away from the scary, red, furry thing on the screen.  His little arms were wrapped around my neck and little whimpers would escape amidst looks of terror, from me back to the screen, back to me again.  Hmm..maybe this Elmo guy won't be a problem after all.

Fast forward to this (past) fall...I remember the first time I showed Micah an Elmo doll.  We were in Target and I took him down the Elmo aisle.  On purpose.  Hey, it's not as mean as it sounds.  I was "birthday shopping" and I thought it would be only fair to expose him to Elmo in small doses.  Like, before I intended to buy him.  I set the Elmo doll (who was just a doll, by the way - he didn't DO anything cool like talk or shake) down in the cart next to Micah, and he just about climbed out of the cart, swinging at the box and looking at it like there was a live snake inside.  We took that as a sign he wasn't quite.....ready?

However, as he's gotten older, he has grown to love Elmo.  He LOVES Elmo on TV.  He LOVES Elmo on books.  He LOVES Elmo on a plate or a sippy cup.  He doesn't LOVE Elmo the doll, but he is getting much more friendly toward him.  Oh yeah - we figured at 15 months, it was safe to bring Elmo the doll home.  Ahem, I mean Santa delivered him on Christmas morning. 

My point?  Elmo has become a huge part of "Micah's world".  And Micah is what OUR world revolves around.  So there you have it!  We feel blessed to be a part of "Micah's World" every day, and hope that you will be part of his world too! 

 Now - for your listening pleasure.....

Elmo's World

a new world of discovery

Uh...what's up with this ball thing?

Thank you very much, Daddy!

Yes, it's my piano Daddy, but you can play with me....

Mommy thought I was too small for this - what does she know?

Uh, Mommy? This water is cold. And I'm wearing PURPLE.

How do I get from down here.....to up there?

Ladies, get off the road....just got my license.

Daddy, give me your face!

Hmmm....what am I missing over there?

There Daddy is! I found him!

I can't think of anything better to do on a cold (read -4 temps) January day than to play at the Children's Museum with my favorite boys! Neither Micah nor Dan had ever been there. They played together while I took pictures, trying to capture Micah's looks of wonderment (is that a word?) and awe. He "ran" from activity to activity, toy to toy, exhibit to exhibit, with that little herman muenster walk we've come to know and love. His daddy trailed behind, protecting him from all the big kids that kept running past and their breezes threatened to knock him over.

He started in the Wiggle Room, where there are soft foam blocks and toys that are appropriate for children birth to age 3. Then he ventured on over to the fire truck climbing structure thingie (that's what the sign said, I swear...) and thought he was big enough to climb the net up to the top. About halfway up, as I was admiring his monkey skills, he remembered that in real life, he was both scared and not ready for this level of excitement. Then his glance happened upon....drum roll please....the water table!


Now, for those of you who know Micah like we do, you'll smile at the thought of him at a water table. This is the child who tries to flood our bathroom on a daily basis. He lets out SQUEALS of excitement when he hears the bath water running, no matter who is getting in. He loves brushing his teeth (because it involves water). So I, stupid mom, thought he would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the water table! First, I insisted that he wear the little purple raincoat to keep him dry. No, there were no other colors that would remotely fit him. "Yes, Dan, I really think he should wear the raincoat! I know it's purple. He'll be okay. He won't think he's a girl." But then Micah discovered that the sleeves of the raincoat were wet...probably because some smart mommy insisted that their child wear it too....and he didn't appreciate having the raincoat on anymore. But that's why we have dry outfits in the diaper bag. So I took the raincoat off him and led him over to the table. Next problem? The water was too cold. Really? We're that picky at 15 months?

Moving on....

The ball room? Wasn't so much his thing. His nomadic tendencies were evident as he just toddled from one spot to the next. When the siren went off indicating that the big bucket over head was going to dump a bunch of colored balls on his head (soft balls - tell me that doesn't sound fun!) I ran him over to stand with the big kids. Hoping to catch his excitement, I had the camera ready. Best poker face I've seen all day. Sigh....

The grocery store didn't impress him. The larger-than-life animals scared him. The elevator? Now THAT was the highlight of his day. Oh yeah, and he loved the big light up piano on the wall. But he didn't love sharing it....seeing as he shoved some little (read bigger than him) girl aside who tried to play while he was. So glad our daycare money is paying off and he is learning to share! :)

And there you have it - our first trip to the museum! A frigid January day offered a chance for us to discover the world on his level - and to think like he does. What fun! The blessings continue...

closing time....

every NEW beginning comes from some other beginning's end. With a NEW year upon us, it's time for a NEW beginning in our world. (And no, for those of you reading between the lines, there is NOT a new baby in our future! But nice try...) Looking around, we find ourselves at a fairly NEW stage in the parenting world - the end of babyhood and the beginning of toddlerhood. What a mix of emotions and a whirlwind of experiences!

So, in the spirit of NEW things, we are starting this blog to keep you up to date on the happenings of the Allans, with the spotlight of course being on the comings and goings of our pride and joy, Micah David. One of our promises to ourselves is to try and keep this more up to date than we have done with Micah's babysite.....so if you're looking for news and pictures, this will be the place to come!

We will brag - I mean, post - about his physical, cognitive, social, emotional, and most importantly spiritual growth as often as we can. Or, we might just share stories and pictures with you that capture the essence of who Micah is. In our next post, we will explain how we came up with the title for the blog. But for now, a Happy New Year to all, CHEERS on this NEW beginning, and welcome to Micah's World!