Black and White

I can be a pretty black and white person sometimes. Actually, usually. It's taken me a while to come to terms with this. To know that it doesn't mean I am a bad person, I just have a harder time seeing the gray than others do. I am learning. Learning to be more gray, or at least to see the gray once in a while. But there are some things that are just black and white. Or at least they should be.
Like 'yes' and 'no'. I'm not a fan of 'maybe'. Most of the time, 'maybe' means 'no'. It means I don't have a good reason to say no right now, but I don't want to say yes, so I will say maybe, give some hope, and then come up with a good way to say no. Maybe is for people who can't commit. Sometimes it's good to just say no and be okay with that answer.
I digress...
Back to yes and no. And black and white. I like these to match up. Black is black, and white is white. That's just the way it is. And I wish this were true about yes and no. It should be, but it's not always this way. At least not with everyone. I try really hard to make my yes YES and my no NO. Without exception. This is important to me. I want people to know that my word can be trusted. And I want to trust the word of others.
I have encountered a few situations like this recently, but don't want to rant too much. But I think the worst is with kids. If I tell Micah yes to something, then I need to follow through. And the same goes with my no. I can't say no, or tell him he can't do something or can't have something, and then not follow through. This doesn't teach him anything.
And when your kid is at the pool squirting a water gun directly in my kid's face (after you have repeatedly told him not to, but he continues without blinking an eye) I am going to step in and tell your kid what to do. Do you want that squirted right in your eyes? From 10 feet away?! Doesn't feel too good anymore, does it?
At what point do you take the water gun away? Never? After the third time that he doesn't listen to you? After the 30th time that he doesn't listen to you? If you say 'don't do that' but never do anything about it when he does, what makes him want to not do that? Probably nothing.
It's hard to punish out in public (especially when you don't spank). I'm learning this as my toddler is getting to the stage where he is testing the boundaries. But I have to set boundaries, and I have to keep these boundaries, or else...
I digress...
All I'm saying (in a really long and ranting way) is let your yes truly mean YES and let your no truly mean NO. In all areas of your life. 

Summer Fun

Micah is taking swim lessons this week! Don't have pictures since I am in the water with him. Really, they say it is more swim lessons for the parents. HAHA. Well, lessons in teaching your own kid how to swim. Equipping me to continue equipping him. I like the idea!
We were trying to warm him up to the idea of what was to start this past Monday, so last Saturday we had him out in his baby pool.

I don't see anything wrong with this picture, but Matt thought it was funny, so he took it! It is a little uneven in spots, but I promise I didn't leave it like this just to see what crazy pattern we could make on his face. Promise!
He did good in the pool, but even better the next day in the lake! His first time in the lake! Sad face here as I recall that I forgot my camera for this momentous occasion. But it was great. He splashed and laughed (except when daddy played peek-a-boo in the water, Micah didn't like not knowing where he was!) and had a great time before falling asleep on the dock under a tent. So cute!
Swim lessons are going great. It just plum wears him out! He falls asleep on the way home (or sooner, like today when he fell asleep on my shoulder as I was exiting the water) and then sleeps for hooouuuurrrss. I mean, 3-4 at a time, maybe even twice in a day! Poor guy, that 30 minutes in the water is almost too much for him. If he didn't love it when he was in there I might begin to think I was torturing him. Good thing I'm not!

A whole new world...

Sing it with me. A whole new world...

OK, you can stop. I think Micah is starting to be so much more aware of the world around him. I think his first two teeth are through and he seems to be doing SO much better now! Lots of things are new in this world of his now:

We used to be able to put Micah in his car seat once in a while while he would watch Baby Einstein (and poop). Recently, though, I looked up and saw the car seat leaning forward. I walked around and found this


We realized he would arch his back and slide down the front. Very quietly and sneaky. I guess he wanted a better view of the video.

He realizes Matt is watching and gives him a look that says "what? what are you looking at?"



He used to only like to be facing out when he was held, now he is OK with be carried facing us. And I really love it now when he puts his head down on my shoulder. LOVE this!

He used to go crazy, I mean crazy, whenever I walked into the middle school room with him at church. Now, he is totally OK. Matt even held him on stage today while leading a game, and then I stayed in there with him for a long time! This is very comforting to us since we work in there!

He went through a stage where he would NOT fall asleep on us, no matter what. Did not like to be held, but would get angry that he could not sleep. Within the past few weeks he has really turned around on this one, being much, much more cuddly and even falling asleep while being held.

Micah has always had a voice. He has a good set of lungs and he knows how to use them. But it is just recently that he is really learning how to use his voice to "talk" to us. And it is very cute. Here he is starting to learn how to express himself with his voice.



For about the past 3-4 weeks, Micah has been very attached to me, gradually getting worse. He was not doing well with other people, even ones he had once been comfortable with. But not today. Today he was reaching out for every other person he saw, graciously giving them a hug. He still gets really excited when he sees me after he has not for a while, giving me a big squeeze and sloppy kiss! And this I am thankful for!

We've tried to put him in the water before, but unless it is bath-water-warm he wanted nothing to do with it. Again, not today! He went in the pool with Matt. In the almost ice-cold water, and for the most part, was very ok with it. We put him in two separate times and he seemed to really enjoy it (in his ever so serious way of showing that he is enjoying himself!).