Baby Signs

Selah Grace will be 18months old in a few days. While her spoken vocabulary is growing to include roughly 20 words, she still prefers to communicate through baby signs. She has a whole assortment of signs for the various categories of her life, mainly including food, animals, and activities. Some of these I taught her. Some of these she made up. I thought I'd record a few of them before she trades them all in for "real words".



(She added the crunchy sound effects for apple all by her smart little self.)






I missed a good shot of "elephant" while we were taping. It is holding one finger up to the nose to represent a trunk. That's what Selah is doing in this picture. I asked her to "say" elephant for the picture. It does look highly suspicious of nose picking, but she really is just trying to show us that we're at the elephant exhibit.



If this all looks like a bunch of nonsense to you and like the kid keeps making the same fists, don't worry. It did to us too when we were first reading about it in parenting books. Now we can see little nuances when we do it with our daughter. It has been so helpful for Selah to have words she can show us and so much fun for us to interact in conversation with her!

How I Know I Live in Southern California

San Diego is definitely the place I consider home these days, but even after all this time and all this familiarity, there are still moments when I am hit full blast with the reality that this is indeed California! Not just California, b/c really California is two different states with an invisible line where native northerners and southerners do not claim the other side.

Some of you may be thinking shocking, Jenny, really...but after growing up mainly in Oklahoma then spending most of my married life in Malawi, life in California is definitely a culture unto itself.

Here are some ways I know that we are definitely NOT in Kansas (er..Oklahoma) anymore:

*All parking spaces are intended for trendy little mini-coopers. Since I do not own a smart car, nor am I a Keebler elf, I often have to pass up empty spots in search of a place my Brontosaur of a 93 Camry will not too conspicuously jut out into the flow of traffic.

* The blaring lack of mall-sized gas stations every 1/2 mile.

* Sing it with me: "Where have all the cowboys (I mean Republicans) gone?"

* If I walk up to a door at the same time as a man expecting him to open it, and appropriately step aside to allow for the opportunity, I am usually left standing there.
-I would like to insert here that if we get to have boys we will raise them to be little gentlemen even if they are from southern california.

* Not every couple want 5 kids.

* When in doubt, wear jeans, a tank top, and some flip-flops. Most likely you will be perfectly matched for the weather and any social occasion.

* The beach is right there waiting for you to enjoy it.

* I mention a trip to Oklahoma to my husband, the native San Diegan. He replies that he has to check his passport is still valid.

* Church is chill. Our pastor preaches in cargo shorts and flip-flops, but dresses it up with a short-sleeved button up shirt. We have a pancake ministry team that makes pancakes on the boardwalk for surfers and homeless people alike. We have a surf ministry team.

Here are some ways I know that we are definitely NOT in Malawi anymore:

* When giving directions I never find myself saying, "Turn left at the banana vendor."

* The spiders in my home are tiny and not scary. They are not the size of a crab. They do not scream at you and attack when threatened.

* I went to one grocery store and got everything we need. Including milk that goes in the fridge, not the pantry. Including Oreos.

* Did I mention the beach is RIGHT THERE, waiting to be enjoyed?

These are the realizations that sweep over me about living in southern California. I'm interested in hearing about how the rest of you so calis know you live here and no where else on earth!

Music Time!

A Family Jam Session.

Calm and Quiet

There were no traumatic scenes. No fits of crying as Selah pulled on my shirt. No desperate eyes searching my face. I was expecting torrents of snot and fist pounding. As it turned out, weaning was such a gradual process that neither of us noticed we had already accomplished it. Please don't think I accidentally stopped breast-feeding my child. The end-goal was definitely planned, but the flow of execution was just so slow and natural we weren't aware of the current taking us there.

And now bedtime is scrumptious. There's nothing quite as wonderful as a small child sitting in your lap in footy pajamas with their sweet post bathtime head against your chest. Now that Selah is weaned she knows that bedtime routine is a time to calm down, read books, and cuddle in the lap of one you love. She isn't desperate to be fed, but is perfectly content to sit in my lap or in her dad's lap, enjoy the snuggle time, and rest.

Lesson #48 learned about God through being a parent:
It is good to rest in the proverbial "lap" of God at the end of the day. Sit down, snuggle in, and get cozy. Let the quiet and the calm overtake you.

I read a Psalm the other day that illustrates this point perfectly. Before being a mom and before weaning my daughter I wouldn't have understood it as well. Now I do.

Psalm 131:2
"I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; my soul is like the weaned child that is with me."

Eating Habits

"She's going to turn into a carbohydrate!"

This was my lament to Nate as yet more vegetables were being stealthily hidden under folds of baby fat legs and my very sweet, VERY stubborn toddler had me fully engaged in a staring contest, her little hands urgently making the baby sign for bread. I blame myself for teaching her baby signs. I can't pretend like I don't understand what she's asking for. It is very clear. "No sweet potato, thank you. Don't even think of peas. Sure, I'll eat those bites of strawberry and apple with pleasure. But what I could really use right now are carbs. Pasta, rolls, biscuits, bread...it's all manna from heaven! Load me up, Mama!"

A friend from church told me that the trick to parenting is being more stubborn than your kids. Sounds simple enough. Bossy and stubborn seem to be my spiritual gifts. It appears, however, that they are also Selah Grace's. To this, my darling husband just laughs because he knows what goes around comes around.

I had such dreams of control over my child's eating habits. Now, 17 months in, I'm doing a circus act in my kitchen to give veggies some appeal and finding myself in fervent negotiations with a 24lb bundle of baby who can't really talk yet. What happened here?

Even as I type this, my beautiful daughter has just climbed into my lap. She's spotted the fresh loaf of homemade bread cooling on the counter and is very adamantly asking for some. Truthfully, that's sounds like a wonderful idea...

Parents out there who ever feared your child might become a walking dinner roll: got any tips?

The Lion King

Nate and I experienced The Lion King Broadway last night. It truly is an experience! I've been to a lot of musicals before, but I've never seen something that is such a production. The costumes and the set design are unreal and create the environment for an incredible show. The crazy thing is that a number of the principal actors didn't even have the out-of-this-world voices we're used to hearing on Broadway. The South African woman playing Rafiki by far outshone everyone with her voice talent. I felt like the Lion King played heavy Christian undertones, or maybe it just did because that was the perspective from which I was viewing it. The inspired costume and choreography had everything from animals, to grass, to termite mounds praising creation. It reminded me of Psalm 148 and the last verse in Pslams. "Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!" If you ever have the opportunity to see the Lion King on Broadway, do it!

Some Weird/Cute/Funny Selah Pics

This is what we affectionately call "grump face". Maybe she's giving us the stink eye b/c her Daddy made her wear a pink puppy backpack-leash through the airport.

Yeah, we aren't sure what this face is either, but we think it's funny.

I'm hip. I'm cool. I'm totally ready to rock the 80's!

The Leboffe Family Update

Look closely...

How many Leboffes can you find in this picture? The answer is four! Yep, that's right. Littlest Leboffe is due to make an entrance into our family May 3rd. Selah Grace doesn't quite understand she'll be sharing her parents with a baby yet, but we have time to develop that thought.

Accountability

The truth is that I've been meaning to post something for weeks now, but haven't done it. Many of you have probably given up on me. The problem is that I have a specific idea, but I can't get something I need for it yet. Instead of posting in a different way, I'm being stubborn and hoping to get what I need to post. I'm going to give myself a deadline of Saturday, midnight. Now I am accountable to you all and I will light a fire under myself. See you all here Saturday!