The Little Family

Friday, May 4, 2012

ImaginOn

I work at an amazing place. This video was on the news not too long ago and it is a great depiction of what ImaginOn is really about.

Here's another great video made by students at Studio i

Such a fun place!

Introverts

Since my man and my boy are both introverts I thought the list below would be a helpful tool for me to keep on hand.
My sister and mom agree with this list and since they're both introverts, I figure they're a good resource. :)

Where do I come from??

Come on, Amelia Jayne, help me balance this family out!!

I found an article (extremely credible - it's from wikipedia. Ha!) that describe my man and my boy to a T. (Highlights are mine and perfectly describe those two).

Introversion is "the state of or tendency toward being wholly or predominantly concerned with and interested in one's own mental life".^[3] Some popular writers have characterized introverts as people whose energy tends to expand through reflection and dwindle during interaction.^[4] This is similar to Jung's view, although he focused on psychic energy rather than physical energy. Few modern conceptions make this distinction.

The common modern perception is that introverts tend to be more reserved and less outspoken in groups. They often take pleasure in solitary activities such as reading, writing, using computers, hiking and fishing. The archetypal artist, writer, sculptor, engineer, composer, and inventor are all highly introverted. An introvert is likely to enjoy time spent alone and find less reward in time spent with large groups of people, though he or she may enjoy interactions with close friends. Trust is usually an issue of significance: a virtue of utmost importance to an introvert choosing a worthy companion. They prefer to concentrate on a single activity at a time and like to observe situations before they participate, especially observed in developing children and adolescents.^[5] They are more analytical before speaking.^[6] Introverts are easily overwhelmed by too much stimulation from social gatherings and engagement, introversion having even been defined by some in terms of a preference for a quiet, more minimally stimulating environment.^[7]

Maybe this will be helpful for you, too, if you have introverts in your life. And if you are an introvert, maybe you can share this with those extroverts out there - we need all the help we can get!

Books I've read: Jan - April, 2012

Here's the list of books I've read so far this year. Not too shabby, considering I have quite a bit less time to read than I did last year at this time.
I would rather watch my littles smile and coo and play than read books anyway. Most of the time. :)

1. Real Marriage: The Truth about Sex, Friendship and Life Together by Mark and Grace Driscoll
Interesting. Good information for those marrieds who are always looking to improve their marriage. I agree with much of what they say, not all. There's a great chapter at the end of the book about "reverse engineering" your marriage. It includes a questionnaire that I plan on looking at with David. There are some great questions about the future, where we are and where we'd like to be, making changes, that kind of thing. Overall I enjoyed it.

2. The Hunger Games
3. Catching Fire
4. Mockingjay all by Suzanne Collins
I did not plan on reading the Hunger Games trilogy at this time. I'd been wanting to read it, but never got around to it. Then David said he really wanted to see the movie, so I figured I'd go ahead and read it. I always prefer reading books before watching their movie. I didn't anticipate reading all three of them before we went to the movie, though! I had to. Each story bled into the next and was riveting enough that I wanted to sit down and read the next one. I read all three of them in about 2 weeks. I love a good series and this one was great!

About AJ - Six months

Tuesday, April 24th, marked Amelia Jayne's half birthday! She's six months old now. It's so hard to imagine that she's not a newborn. Not even close to being a newborn really. I consider up to three months a newborn and she's twice that now...wow. Sigh.

Amelia Jayne visited the doctor for her 6-month well visit. She got three shots and one oral vaccine. :(
She was very sad this time. I mean, really sad. But I nursed her directly after the shots and that helped her feel better.

Here are her six-month stats:

Weight: 16 pounds, 5 ounces (59%)
Length: 26.5 inches (78%)
Head Circumference: 16.5 inches (36%)

As compared to Xander's at six months:

Weight: 15 pounds, 12 ounces (20%)
Length: 26.25 inches (45%)
Head Circumference: 17.5 inches (70%)

Her second tooth popped through about 3 weeks ago. I can't feel any other noticeably large bumps in her mouth right now, but those other teeth must be chomping at the bit (pun intended) to make an appearance because she's quite the drooler and chewer. :)

She's still getting cereal twice a day and we'll be adding in some fruits and vegetables over the next few weeks. We let her gnaw on an apple the other day which she seemed to enjoy. Then we put applesauce in her cereal this morning and she refused to eat it. I guess apples may take some getting used to. Weird since that's one of the only fruits her brother loves. I mentioned to her doctor that the cereals seem to be constipating her and he recommended we give her the "P" fruits (peaches, pears and plums). Apparently those help that issue. I hope so! However, with the experience I had with Xander and prunes, I'll be very careful about how much of those she gets. :)

I know I say it every time, but she absolutely LOVES her brother!! Her face lights up anytime he's near and she giggles when he gets in her face. She especially loves for him to run up to her, get right in her face and then run away again. She thinks that's the most hilarious thing she's ever seen. And it's downright adorable to see the love she has for him.

Her favorite toy is a stuffed soccer ball that actually belongs to Xander. She loves when you throw it to her and it hits her in the face or stomach. She'll grab it and pull it to her while burying her face in it. She giggles and smiles so big when she sees it. Maybe she'll be a soccer player?

She's sitting extremely well. In fact, the doctor was shocked to hear how long she's been sitting (for over a month now) and noticed on her 6-month questionnaire that she's quite advanced, especially physically. But how could she not be? She wants so badly to do everything her brother does! He's great incentive for her to get moving.

She's found her voice recently. She shrieks and squeals a lot of the time now. Depending on Xander's mood, he'll either join in and they'll have screaming conversations, or he gets really upset and tells her not to yell in the house and to use her inside voice. Ha! I guess he's heard that before!

She's still just the sweetest thing and I'm so very blessed to have such a beautiful, curious and fun little girl!

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Sibling sweetness

Blurry, but so sweet :)

Haha! Her face is priceless!

Bobcats

One of Xander's favorite things to do (especially because it's with Daddy) is go to a Charlotte Bobcats game. So, they may be the worst team in the NBA, but Xander doesn't care. He has so much fun! Last week David and Xander went to Xander's second-ever basketball game. And he loved it just as much as the first time. :)

Before the game

His new jersey

Friday, April 27, 2012

Family visits

The weekend before Easter, my family and I made a trip to Johnson City, TN, to see David's extended family. It was Amelia Jayne's first car trip longer than an hour. It should typically take about 3.5 hours, but due to a nursing baby and a mostly-potty-trained little boy, it took us about 5 hours. No worries. We made some nice stops and were fairly chill about the timing. We got to see David's grandmother (GG), his Uncle Richard and Aunt Janell, aunt Karen and uncle Mark, cousins KJ, Ame, JT and Shelby. Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt B (as Xander would call them) were there, too. :)

It was great! We don't get to see the Johnson City crew too often, so this was a nice trip. It was Amelia Jayne's debut trip to JC and her first time meeting most of the folks there. The weather was beautiful and Xander got to play at GG's park (it's funny to say that, but it really is her park as it was donated by her children in honor of her - so sweet, huh?). Xander played with JT and Shelby (they're 16 and 15 years old) a lot and they really had a good time. Fun!

GG loves her great-granddaughter

Aunt Janell

Aunt Janell and Uncle Richard

Playing ball in the house. Oh, Uncle Richard!

Last weekend my Dad and stepmom came to Mocksville from Nashville, TN, along with my Aunt Karen and Aunt Cheryl from Roanoke, VA. We headed up to Mocksville for the day and got to hang with them. It was great! We stopped and got some sandwiches and then headed to the park for a gorgeous day of eating, playing and visiting. That afternoon the guys went back to the house while the girls (Aunt Karen, Aunt Cheryl, Nana, Erin, Kaitlyn and I) minus Amelia Jayne, piled into the Prius (yes, you read that right!) and went shopping in downtown Mocksville. It was so nice to be with the girls, visit with the aunts whom I rarely get to see and enjoy a beautiful day of play, laughter and love. I can't wait for us to visit my aunts in Roanoke soon - I so enjoy their company and their sweet, loving and kind spirits. And I'm not just writing that because my Aunt Karen is my one and only avid blog reader. :) I really mean it! Love you, KTG!