My Monkey

Andrew wasn't a climber. And he still isn't much of a climber except where he is supposed to like at the park on the play sets. Grace on the other hand IS most definitely a climber. She has always carried her little pink chair around the house (thanks, Grannylou) to be able to reach things that are up high but recently she used it to climb up on the kitchen counter. Then the other day she realized that she could just scale the cabinet from the floor and almost get up on the cabinet. These things (among many others) definitely keep me on my toes. The newest climbing is out of her crib. What??? My child climbs out of her crib? I can't believe it....I saw it with my own eyes today and almost laughed! Andrew would never have done such a thing. In fact, he had a crib until he was 3. Of course he only slept in it from 1 year old to 3 years old off and on so maybe he just never figured it out. No, that's not it, he just wouldn't do that. He even slept with one side down (gasp!) and never climbed out. So, because of this climbing issue I just spent the last 20 minutes sitting on the floor by Grace's door so she wouldn't climb out. She tried once while I was sitting there but I quickly and using a very stern voice said No! She immediately got down and then spent the rest of the time fighting sleep. It was actually kind of fun to watch b/c she never stays in one place for long and here she was....trapped.

Today my devotion was to find joy and laughter in the daily things. This was an awesome opportunity. Here I was guarding the door in my 2 year old's bedroom. Thankfully Andrew was in his room watching a movie during all of this. I just sat and talked (in my head) to God and found the joy in this situation that would usually cause me to want to pull my hair out b/c I can't stand just sitting there in silence waiting....but see, that's what I need. To just sit in silence and listen. I'm sure I've been missing a lot b/c I am always just "too busy" to spend time reading my Bible and just listening. I've been reading my devotions every morning and evening and praying for these opportunities to happen.

Of course I don't pray for Grace to climb out of her crib. Putting her in a toddler bed is scary. She just wants to play, play. play. I will definitely have to put a gate at her door...yesterday I was telling my mom that but the only problem is that she will probably just climb over the gate. That's easier than getting out of the crib. My mom's reply was to put up a screen door....hahaha! That's a great idea...one with bars at the bottom so she can't bust out of it!

I love that she is independent and carefree and so in love with life that she never wants to stop. She is not one to stop and rest when needed. She just wants to plow through (literally) the day. She doesn't want to miss a thing. She is such a joy and so hard to deal with at the same time.

Thank you God for these children and the opportunity to teach them and mold them. I am so thankful that their personalities are so different and that I am able to learn from them each day!