A Lesson Learned

This rather long entry is copied from Daddy’s personal journal.

First of all, a moment of silence for my beloved grandfather, “Cort” Drake, who passed away twelve years ago today.

Now… you’re probably wondering what the heck I’m doing up at 2:30 in the morning, writing in my journal. Well, my daughter just taught me a very important lesson, and I wanted to record it for always:

A little while ago, Leah woke up and was calling for me, as she generally does when she wakes up: Daaaa-ddy! Daaaa-ddy! Daaaa-ddy! (She’s so freaking cute!) Anyway, I went into her room to find her standing there (as usual). What I usually do, in such a situation, is part the curtains, part the blinds, and show her that it’s dark outside, encouraging her by saying something to the effect of “See? It’s dark outside. Sleepy time.” This time, however, it didn’t work: “Drink,” she told me (although it’s actually just “kə,” but we know what it means. We have started trying to get her to say the full word, though, and she is learning).

Now, everybody knows that when a child wants to stay up a little later, they stereotypically ask for a drink, so I picked her up, kissed her, rocked her a little, and tucked her back into bed. As per usual, I told her, “I love you. Get some sleep. See you in the morning” on my way out, but as I closed the door, she was immediately standing up and crying. It occurred to me that I, myself, had been very thirsty before bed—Mommy, Leah, and I had shared a black cherry shake at Steak ’n’ Shake, the sugar content of which may account for this—but I dismissed the thought, went back into her room, repeated the routine, and all seemed well. Still, I couldn’t shake the thought that maybe, just maybe, Leah really was just thirsty, just as I had been before downing a couple of glasses of water, right before bed. I went downstairs, washed a sippy cup, filled it about halfway with fresh water, and brought it back up with me, placing it on the ledge for easy access. After a quick trip to the bathroom, I was about to get back into bed when I heard her crying again.

Now, at this point, I had set myself up for what I obviously needed to do. I picked up the sippy, opened her door, and walked around to the side of her crib. I handed her the drink, which she immediately grabbed and started sucking it down. I leaned over, both forearms on the side of the crib, and apologized to her: “I’m so sorry, Sweetie. I’m sorry I didn’t bring you a drink, the first time.”

The look on her face was not to be forgotten. It’s amazing to see a look of shocked comprehension and compassion on the face of a 19-month-old, but that’s exactly what it was. It’s not like I’ve never apologized to Leah before—I do, whenever the situation warrants—but this time, there was an understanding in her eyes that I’ve never seen before. She lowered her sippy, walked across the crib to where I was leaning, and planted a kiss right on my lips. With the pure innocence only a little child can muster, my daughter had immediately and completely forgiven me.

So wherein lies the lesson? Well, we hear the words of Christ many, many times: “[Y]e must … become as a little child, or ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God” (3 Nephi 11:38). While most people have at least a logical understanding of what that means, it takes on a new intensity of understanding when you see a little child, in all her innocence, express pure love and forgiveness toward an errant, imperfect parent. My sweet, little Leah is growing up, and she’s teaching me, every step of the way.

Room to Move

Okay, never mind the weeds in the front yard; that happens when a home’s been empty for a couple of months. What you’re seeing here is one of the first shots of our new home in Lafayette! To be frank, we were actually planning on getting a different house—a new build, one block over from this one. However, Heavenly Father has different plans for us, and even though we’d already put down our earnest money and signed a contract to hold that one, He made Himself very clear that this—a two-year-old, nearly identical floor plan that’s missing a few of the nicer upgrades but has extra storage, a fifth bedroom, and a $20,000 lower price tag(!)—is definitely the one we should buy. Our offer has been accepted, we expect to close in the next couple of weeks, and we plan to make the big move back to Lafayette, on July 28th.

(more pics)

Playtime with Daddy

Mommy sure is lucky: she gets to stay home all day, every day, and play with the kids. I mean, okay, sure, she also has to take care of the kids and the house and whatever, but Daddy really misses his babies when he’s at work (even though he’s usually just up the stairs—or even just in the next room—from them). So when the workday is done and he can do as he pleases, it’s Daddy’s time to shine… and it looks like his babies appreciate it.

Overkill

You ever see those guys that shove like 150 cigarettes into their respective mouths, all at once? This is David’s version of that trick. ☺

New Cousins

For those of you that haven’t been paying attention, Mawmaw and Pawpaw have gained six new grandchildren since last August: Becca’s stepson, Jamie; Aubrey’s son Jacob; Anna’s son, David; Liz’s stepdaughter, Alicia; Eddie’s daughter, Heidi; and Ben’s son, Benjamin. This past Sunday, we got the four newborns together for a few photos. They are (clockwise from top): Benny, age 2½ weeks; David, age 3½ months; Jacob, age 7 months; and Heidi, age 5 weeks.

(more photos)

A New Kind of Sandwich

Two of Daddy’s favorite treats are ice cream sandwiches and banana splits, so when he discovered a box of banana split–flavored ice cream sandwiches in the Wal-Mart freezer, there was no question that a box would be coming home.

After a couple weeks, all but one of the sandwiches had been consumed. It was a pretty warm day, so after Daddy and Leah finished their lunch, Daddy decided it might be nice to share a treat with his little girl. As you can see, Leah thought that was a pretty good idea, as well.

(more pics; video to come)

Buddies

Leah’s become quite enamored with David—especially with helping Mommy and Daddy take care of him. Whether giving him his pacifier, bringing Mommy a clean diaper (or throwing away a dirty one), or just plain talking to and kissing her little brother, she’s really become quite the little helper, and David is responding in kind. Granted, he’s a very smiley baby anyway, but Leah definitely reaps the benefits.

Like the shots on today’s welcome page, this photo was not staged; Leah just walked over to David, laid down beside him, and put her arm around him: always the loving big sister.

Mommy and Daddy sure love having two kids!

The Hand-Me-Down

Now, before we begin, it must be emphasized that David is in no way old enough for the Intellitainer. He can’t sit up by himself, he can’t reach for things with any degree of intent, he can’t do a lot of things. But the one thing he can do is look around in awe and amazement of the world around him.

This evening, while Daddy was dressing Leah for bed, Mommy place David in the Intellitainer and drove the little school bus back and forth while the music was playing. David sat transfixed, focused intently on the fascinating display of control and dexterity before him (not to mention the music, sounds, and lights).

He may not technically be old enough yet, but he’s so darned cute in there!