What's new?

If you are interested, here is the news from the Craines these days.

I can't believe how much the children are growing.

Isaiah is walking! And talking! How sweet he sounds when he makes himself known, and heard (quite loudly. Oh my, he really is a voice crying out in the wilderness!)

My favourite word of his right now? "Happy happy!" He declares it while running circles around the living room and grinning. It sums him up, I'd say.

He has his mommy's sweet tooth (uh oh), but gobbles up happily every thing I serve him, including beans! Beets! Mashed cauliflower! It's heartening to try out my veggie dishes with such an appreciative eater to feed (his older brother and vegetables, mind you, a different story). I adore how he offers me bites of his food and says "min-ya min-ya" (also known as "yummy yummy").

Also, wow, this kid doesn't stand still. Ever. He doesn't like being read to (much to my attempts to make it fun and cosy) but just wants to be Making Messes. I call him my Elemental Baby, because he is at his best with his hands in the sand, the water, or anywhere else outdoorsy and messy. I like that.

He has several board books with pictures of babies on them, and enjoys looking at them, so I started saying "get mommy your baby book and we'll read!" and so now he calls every book a "Baby!". How adorable.

He did his first finger painting a month or so ago, and now I can go buy a frame for it. Yes, I have Noah's first finger painting framed in our house hanging in the living room, and I have already chosen the perfect spot in the same room for his baby brother's painting.



He's just days shy of being 16 months old but is still breastfeeding. Noah was weaned at this point and I was already expecting Isaiah, but this little man? He is very very attached to nursing. In all honesty, I would like to phase to end soon, because although I love the bonding experience nursing establishes between me and my babies, it tends to be emotionally draining somewhat. Anyone have advice on how to gently wean their child? One who doesn't let you sit down without wanting you to nurse? And is upset when you don't?

Then there's Noah.

As his personality unfolds, I realize he is more like me than I had initially thought. Imaginative, shy, introspective, thrives on praise, prone to moodswings (cough...), can get lost in painting or baking for long periods of time, wants to be around people he knows well but really - REALLY - needs to be alone to think. It's quite amazing but humbling seeing myself in someone so young. I pray that some of the crosses particular to my temperament don't trip him up.

He's really digging into the books Patrick and I got him for 'preschool'. He has an amazing ability to recall details from stories and it fuels his imagination so much. He's also getting more artistic, beginning to draw 'things' that he proudly identifies instead of random squiggles.

It was so sweet to see both boys a few weeks back enjoying playing in our neighbour's yard, feeding her chickens and adoring the hens. Noah wants us to keep chickens now. Sigh.

(Patrick and I made a pact that when we settle down into our *next* home, we will take the chicken-plunge. I have had visions of homesteading since I first met some families who actually do stuff like that, and when my neighbour informed me that she never touches the chickens because she's afraid of them, I thought, well maybe I could too.)

And as for Patrick?


He's making me so proud these days, working full days for Lifesite then very full nights to complete his MA. It looks like he'll be finished, God-willing, this spring. We take deep breaths and trust in God for the next phase of his education; our dream is still for him to go on to get his PhD but only God knows when and where.

Meanwhile he's just an all-around good daddy. I love hearing him read Beatrix Potter to the children while I'm washing dishes and thank God that despite the amount of time he spends working and studying, he does it from home. I grieve that if and when Patrick does goes into full-time studies, the boys won't see him as much as they currently do.

Did I mention he is a really good husband? He's so very helpful around the house, which I appreciate, tells me multiple times a day how much he loves me and that I am beautiful  (again, an advantage of having him at home all day!), and always thanks me for my (meagre attempts at) cooking. It's so nice being appreciated.

And me.

Well I think I am growing up lately. Because Patrick is so busy these days, I'm actually... get this... getting on top of the housework! I'll never have a *spotless* home, and certainly if you come by unexpectedly during the day, you'll see the counter with food in various stages of preparation, or toys on the floor, but that's how we roll.  It's a sign we're actually living in this house. I'm okay with that. But I made a chore schedule, and I am mostly sticking to it, so I know the fridge gets cleaned every week, the mopping and bathroom cleaning gets done weekly, and well... my oven could use a cleaning. Not my dream chore. Oh well.

As well, having more time to myself, I'm reading more, and not just blogs :P   I am putting myself on a quest to read the books I really ought to have read years and years ago, right now beginning with "The Hobbit." A lovely novel? Wonderful. But reading it while drinking tea out of a china cup and saucer? Delightful!

My inspiration for using my tea cup was watching this film. Putting beauty, small as though it may be, into my days is the most basic and crucial form of self-care besides prayer. In fact, beauty is an aid to prayer.

I am happy in this life of ours. I am relishing these days  with my two sweet boys.
















 Oh, one more series of pictures, because it's so amusing to me:

Mommy's Pious Little Altar Boy 

Or not.