Catechism 101

We are about to get hit with a major storm here tomorrow, and we've been preparing the kids for the fact that the hurricane might be exciting and maybe a bit scary.  We were discussing hurricanes in the car tonight, and Ethan asked me why hurricanes are exciting.  I told him that with big weather like hurricanes we could see the power of God.  He very seriously informed me, "No, Mom, you canNOT see God."

If you have ever catechized your children, perhaps using this little book, you might see where Ethan found my error:

11.Q. Can you see God?
A. No; I cannot see God, but he always sees me.

 I love that the gears are turning in his little brain and starting to make connections between what he's memorized and how it fits in to his life.  Even if he doesn't quite have it down pat yet.

After that, he informed Steve and I that he likes Jesus because Jesus is not scary.

32 Questions

Just to show you a contrast from the last post, we aren't always silly and indoctrination is happening in full force over here, this is Ethan reciting his catechism:





And if you don't speak Ethan's dialect of toddler, you can follow along with his answers here.

ETA: This is actually 33 questions. I forgot to count the question that Ethan adds in on his own "Who is God's son?"

Now I'm Not So Curious

Sometimes I'm really curious about what goes on in the minds of my kids. Then I have a conversation like this with my toddler:

Ethan: Don't pee-pee in my underpants.

Me: That's right, don't pee-pee in your underpants, that's a no-no.

Ethan: Eat pee-pees? (with a big grin on his face)

Me: No, we don't eat pee-pee, that's gross.

Ethan: Mama eat poop? (followed by copious amounts of giggling)

Me: No, Mama does not eat poop.

Ethan: Only eat beef.

Me: Yes, sometimes we eat beef. (???)

Ethan: Eat beef.

Me: ...

So there you have it: eat beef.

Easter Egg Hunt

Well, after putting Steve on a plane to The Desert this morning, Ethan, Matthew and I went to the base's Easter egg hunt. It was Ethan's first, and here he is showing off his loot (Yes, this was all of it. He didn't want to put any in his basket so he just picked up two things and carried them around triumphantly):



And, in a totally different sense of "showing off," here is Matthew sporting his baby acne. I'm hoping it clears up soon, before I break down and get out the Clearasil.

Couch Potatoes

This looks so serene. In reality, Ethan was vigorously giving me five before saying, "Down! Down! Down!" and squirming his way off the couch. Then I discovered the wet spot that Matthew left on my shirt from I'm not sure what bodily fluid.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I have two kids, but looking at this picture makes me feel so blessed.

One Week Old!

Here are some picture from the last week. As the mom of a newborn and a toddler, I feel that I am allowed the cop-out of a picture post!

Ethan has learned to say cheese and give a cheesy smile for the camera.

Looking at Grandpa

Tired Mama

Brothers!

Let it Snow!

Let's celebrate my 100th (!!) post with a video (I apologize in advance for my high-pitched whooping):



What is it about kids that are so puffed up in snow gear that they can barely move that makes them so darn cute?

Supplies

Supplies
Originally uploaded by Steve Bremer

Well, it's that time of year and I'm going to bake some (maybe a lot) of cookies in the upcoming days. When I went to the commissary I needed sugar (we were almost completely out) and they had their 10lb bags on sale, plus there were coupons sitting out right there for an additional 50 cents off. Same with the 10lb bags of flour. So I come home with 20 pounds of sugar and flour, plus various other baking supplies and they were sitting on the counter after dinner. Steve said, "I should take a picture of that." I affirmed that he should and I would blog about it. So here I am. Steve got a chance to set up his fancy off-camera lighting system (and pulled out all the rest of my baking supplies from the cabinets) to do this still life and I got a nifty little picture for my blog.

Here is a recent portrait of Ethan. He is so much fun these days. Still not walking, but mobile enough for his own purposes. I am sure that one day he's just going to take off running and I'll only see a blur of him after that. He is totally resistant to any attempts to persuade him to walk, however, so I'm just leaving it up to him. He has about 5 teeth coming in at once right now (wheee!), and jabbers up a storm. He pulls up my shirt to look at my belly and say "bah-buh" and he also says "doh" (dog), "da do" (all done), "bai-puh" (diaper), and his very favorite word ever "nanuh" (banana). I am pretty sure he would eat bananas until he threw up if I let him. I can't even say the word out loud anymore unless I'm actually going to give him one because it causes so much strife. And I now have to cringe when we go by them in the produce section of the grocery store. "Nanuh, nanuh, NANUH!" It is somewhat cute, in that don't-make-eye-contact-with-anyone-who-might-be-watching-your-child-beg-for-bananas sort of way.

Pregnancy Numero Dos is moving right along. Bubs is very active and wiggly, and I can't wait to meet him, although I still have a little over three months until that happens. Actually three months is good, since I feel like I still have so much to do before he comes. The biggest task is sorting through all of Ethan's old clothes and deciding what goes and what stays. Maybe I should have done that a long time ago instead of just stuffing everything into a box to deal with later?

Birthday Boy!

One
Originally uploaded by jodisue

I am a week late crafting this post, but we have been busy with family in town to celebrate this milestone, so here it is today!

I cannot believe Ethan is one year old. I can remember so vividly the day I met him. It was a day of hard work, but oh so worth it. We waited two years for God to bless us with a baby, and then all of a sudden, 9 months later he was in my arms. It was unbelievable. I still marvel at how God

My Sweet Bud, my long-awaited babe, I pray for you every day, that you will grow to love the Lord with all your heart. I cannot wait for you to meet your little brother or sister and become fast friends. You are so silly and funny already; I can't wait to see more and more of your personality.

I can't wait until you are old enough to sing with me, the song we have heard together every Sunday since you were one week old:

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow; Praise Him, all creatures here below; Praise Him above, ye Heavenly Host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

Here is the year in (a few) photos:

Just born:

First smile on camera:

The famous Flat Smile:

Eating birthday cake on Saturday:

More birthday photos are here!

Long Overdue

It seems I haven't posted in quite awhile, so there are many updates to be made.

First and foremost, I'd like everyone to offer up a praise with me that Ethan's skin, which has for the past 7 months been the bane of his (and my) existence, is finally clearing up. I am still holding my breath and waiting for the red scratchy dryness to return with a vengeance, but even after tempting fate with a milkshake on Monday night (I had sworn off dairy when that seemed to make things worse for him) he seems to be baby soft. I'm sure those of you with babies who've had problems that made them chronically fussy or uncomfortable can take joy in my relief with me.

Secondly, I am addicted to cloth diapering. Yes, it's true. No, I have not gone off the crunchy granola deep end. The idea of cloth diapering first appealed to me when I was pregnant and someone sent me a link to this website. Aren't they just the cutest little pants you've ever seen? Anyway, I was promptly discouraged from trying to cloth diaper, hearing it would just be too much work. Then, last March, I just started looking around again because I had heard of these diapers, and since we are living in base housing all of our utilities are paid so it would definitely be economical for us. I bought a couple of them to try out, and the rest is history. Ethan is now in cloth full time and I am addicted to buying him cute diapers. Steve says that cloth diapers don't save us money unless I stop buying them. I suppose he might be right. However, all of the diapers I buy are one-sized, and therefore will be used on any future children that we are blessed with. The laundry isn't even that much of a problem, and wouldn't you know I just love seeing all of Ethan's diapers folded up and clean in their baskets! So, if you ever want to know about the difference between an all-in-one, prefold, or fitted, I'm your girl!


Number three on my list of updates concerns my hubby's addiction. He is still doing quite a bit of photography these days, and some friends of ours were kind enough to tromp out to the beach and let my husband snap some family photos of them. This was his first session for someone other than his own family. I think they turned out quite well!

Ethan gets the last but not least update. He is almost 9 months old and still has no teeth! No matter, he can gum up some cereal puffs with the best of 'em. He can get around pretty well, even though he doesn't really crawl. His current modes of self-transportation include rolling, lurching, and diving from the sitting position. Some of these methods are more successful than others, and some are downright painful (or so I hear). I called my father tonight to inform him that Ethan had his first taste of meat -- some turkey mixed with some vegetables. My father has been aching to get some Kansas City barbeque into my son since the day he was born, so the addition of meat to his diet is a welcome change. Next week he'll be gnawing (gumming?) ribs right off the bone, right Dad?

Just tonight Steve and I were discussing how painfully cute our son is becoming. Sometimes I just can't stop staring at him because each expression he makes is cuter than the last. His babbling (to include Daaadaaa, maaamaaa, bwaah, bobobob, and aaaaaaahhhhhh) is out-and-out endearing. I'm starting to worry that if his cuteness continues increasing I may never be able to discipline him properly. Just to prove my point, I'd like you to look at these photos and try not to melt. Just try. (that second picture is how he looked while his father was trying to teach him to clap)

Busy Mama

I have been wanting to blog about a lot of things for awhile, but haven't had any time! Hmm, I wonder what could be occupying me? I have some idea and I think it is the little Bubba in these photos. He will be 7 months old tomorrow!

Ethan and I have been taking the Mommy & Me swim class down at the Oak Harbor Pool. We love it! He doesn't know enough to be afraid of splashing and going under, and I'd like to keep it that way. He isn't actually learning how to swim of course, but he will be comfortable with the water when it comes time for lessons. I could get on my soapbox about how teaching young kids to swim and be around water is super important for their safety, but I won't. :)


Then, last weekend Ethan had a visit from his Grandma and Grandpa Bremer. We had a great relaxing time even if Daddy wasn't around to enjoy it with us.

The Saturday that they were leaving, we all woke up to snow! Snow! It all melted off by early afternoon, but Sunday this is what I woke up to:

Even more snow! Yikes. It was so pretty, but so strange to be seeing it this time of year (or at all, really, since I lived in Texas for 6 years). Once again it all melted, probably before noon. Monday and today have been nice enough that I have been outside in short sleeves. I have been working on starting all my veggie seeds for this year's garden. This year's garden will actually be a first veggie garden for me. I feel really blessed to have the space to plant one, and I hope that will be the case whenever we move to a new town.


Hopefully in the upcoming weeks and months I will actually get these starts into the ground and we will have fresh lettuce, carrots, green onions, peas, brussel sprouts, potatoes, onions, squash, mint, and fennel. And there will probably be more as I get comfortable sowing all my little seedlings.

So that is my life in a nutshell these past two weeks. Hopefully hubby will be home this weekend to share in our full, fun days!

Aftermath

This face brought to you by: peas, carrots and snot.

Hey, Ethan, you have a little something right there on your face...no you didn't get it...it's on your chin around the nose area...nope still there...no you didn't get it.

Stats

Here are Ethan's six-months facts and figures:

Weight: 17lb 12oz
Length: 26.3in
Head Circumference: 17.6in

He's just starting to sit up unassisted. Well, mostly unassisted. He sees nothing wrong with leaning over onto his face in order to get to a toy, that is, until he is actually on his face, then he sees everything wrong with it.

Half Birthday

Today Ethan is 6 months old. I don't have his height/weight stats yet because his checkup isn't until the 2nd of April, but I think these pictures say it all. I'm pretty sure there is nothing cuter on this earth than this little boy's smile.


Don't you just want to squeeze him? I do, so I'm going to get off the computer and do just that!

and, He is risen! Happy Easter everyone!

Just Use Vaseline!

Little Ethan has quite sensitive skin. Around the middle of January I took my red, itchy boy into the doctor to see if I could give him (and myself) some relief. The doctor looked him over and gave us a treatment plan which included a couple of different steroidal creams for flare ups. The other part of the treatment was to coat Ethan in Vaseline (petroleum jelly) 2-4 times per day. I was a bit skeptical to say the least. You see, I had bought and tried expensive baby lotions, baby eczema creams, and gentle bath soaps. The products I bought said things like "colloidal" and "hypoallergenic" and "natural oat extract". If the expensive stuff wasn't working, what was a $3 jar of Vaseline going to do for him?

Let me tell you, since being on the Vaseline plan my baby actually has baby soft skin! Every morning, afternoon, and evening I grease him up and since I have started doing that his skin is wonderful! He still has flare ups, but they don't spread or get weepy and crusty (ew, I know). I stopped using my expensive diaper rash cream too and now I just keep Vaseline on his bum. It works wonders! It is greasy and messy to apply, but luckily it is winter so his arms and legs are covered and not getting petroleum jelly on anything but his clothes.

Anyway, many of you more experienced parents may already know about the wonderful substance that is Vaseline, but I thought I'd share for those of you who don't.

Bumbo!

Ethan just got his Bumbo chair in the mail today (yay for eBay!). These pictures are not very good (either blurry or Ethan's not all the way in the frame), but he seemed to like sitting up. And he looks so darn cute.

Keeping the Homefires Burning

Well, here is my first post for 2008! I know you all are super excited.

I have to say that this year is not starting out on a particularly great note as Steve has just left for a 3-month deployment. However, I am thankful that it is only 3 months as opposed to some of the year-long tours that the Army and Marines have to endure. The other neat thing about Steve's deployment is that he is in the same place that I was deployed to in 2004. In fact, one of the first things he did upon his arrival was to go check out where I used to work. So now he knows where I was for those 4 months.

For Christmas, Steve and I got each other a digital camcorder, so I'm going to try uploading some of our Christmas footage in the upcoming days (preview: one of my nephews exclaims, "I'm a thepard!" and proceeds to chase my dog around as one of his "theep").

Ethan's doing really well these days. My favorite new skill that he has mastered is head control. It is still a little wobbly, but for the most part he can keep it steady to look around while I'm carrying him (which makes carrying him so much easier). He isn't rolling over yet, but puts a lot of effort into tummy time. The thing is that he has never really been bothered by being on his tummy, so he doesn't have much incentive to try and get to his other side. Here he is trying to figure out how to work one of his Christmas presents. It is a sweet little rocking chair:

"I can't believe they want me to fly this thing. I can't even sit up for more than half a second!"

"Alright, I suppose I will give it a shot."

I got him a Bumbo chair from eBay and I'm excited for it to get here so he can try it out. The rocking chair is a bit advanced for him yet, even if he does look cute in it. My father-in-law has uploaded some other pictures from our Christmastime here.

Ethan's Getting Baptized! Part III

Let us look at it like this: To be a Christian means that we have had an experience of the grace of God. That is essential Christianity. There are many definitions that one could give. One I have often quoted because it seems to me to be such an excellent one is that old definition of Henry Scougal, the Scotsman who lived nearly 300 years ago. He said that Christianity is ‘the life of God in the souls of men.’ In other words, what makes us Christians is not primarily what we do, but what God does to us. That is essential Christianity. This rebirth, this being born again, is all God’s action. It is not man’s, it is God’s. It is being born from above. It is the work of the Holy Spirit of God. Therefore, the essential thing about being a Christian is that one has thus been dealt with by God.”

Martyn Lloyd-Jones, My Soul Magnifies the Lord

Well, we had quite the busy weekend here in the Bremer household, which is probably why I've not been able to blog about it until Wednesday. It was so much fun though, and pretty much everything went off without a hitch! Ethan was baptized on Sunday of course, but the fun started on Thursday when Nana and Papa showed up. Papa read Ethan some stories, but he didn't like this one:

Ethan soon forgave him though:

Friday was spent shopping for party food and supplies. Then Steve came home from his business trip to a family that was very happy to see him. Saturday, the men worked in the garage (and put some shelving in my utility room so it is so much more organized now!). Steve's sister Jill and brother-in-law Tim showed up Saturday afternoon and Jill helped me cut veggies and cheese and get ready for Sunday. I made a new recipe called Apache Bread Dip that a friend gave to me...so yummy! That night we played my favorite board game ever, "Beyond Balderdash." Unfortunately it is not Jill's favorite board game ever, but she humored me and played anyway (and came in 2nd!).

Sunday morning we all got up and got ready for church. Ethan and his dad sang some hymns for us all before we left:
After the baptism, Steve and I had an open house for the church. Almost everyone came out to celebrate with us, and I was nervous if we would have enough food and space, but the Lord really worked everything out. No one went away hungry (some gracious friends even brought some food with them), and the house seemed to expand to fit all the people.As the youngest member of the church, Ethan got plenty of attention from the girls.
Over all, it was a fantastic time of fellowship and celebration for our newest little member of the Covenant.

Ethan's Birth Announcement

As promised, here is a scan of Ethan's birth announcement. This was my first ever stamping project that I designed completely on my own and it was so much fun. And hey, it only took me 2.5 months to get these out to people!

The colors didn't scan so well, but all the blues sort of complimented each other when you see them in person.

Ethan's Getting Baptized! Part II

Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. --Psalm 139:16

I ended my last post with these questions:

So then what? Why does an issue of apparent semantics -- me choosing Christ or Christ choosing me -- mean that babies should be baptized? They haven't chosen or been chosen at all yet, right? How does their baptism mean anything if they don't even remember it?

I want to focus most of all on that last question. My experience with my own baptism was very important to me. It was built up to be important to me; it was to be a public confession of my faith in Christ. My thoughts have changed on that, however, and now I view baptism as a sign of God's covenant with his people. In the Bible, God promises that our children are a part of that covenant, which is why, when someone professed their faith in New Testament times, their household was also promised to be saved (and everyone in the household was promptly baptized). We see this happening in Acts 16 (specifically verses 15 and 31). The way I read these scriptures indicates to me that children were baptized as part of the covenant of grace.

Even when I understood all of those things in my head, my heart still had a problem with baptizing infants that didn't even know what was happening to them. How was that at all meaningful? During a theology class at church, another mom told this anecdote and it really hit home with me; I think I almost changed my mind about infant baptism right there on the spot! She told us about how above each of her children's beds, there was a photograph of their baptism. At bedtime, it was common for the children to occasionally ask their parents about the photo -- they wanted to hear the story of their baptism. The parents would then tell them about how helpless and tiny they were as babies; how they depended on mom or dad for their every need. They then talked about how, to God, we are all like helpless little babies; that we don't even know that we need him, but he still cares for us and nurtures us. They talk about how God chose us to be part of his family before we even knew it, when we were too weak to choose Him (she mentioned reading Psalm 139 to them)! And so, they were baptized as small helpless babies into God's family, and Mommy and Daddy had to promise to teach their baby about God and Jesus.

That story from that mom is what really hit me about baptism -- it isn't about the experience one has, it is about pointing the child to Christ their whole life. God promises that our children are a part of his covenant and their baptism is a sign to us, their parents, of that promise. Does this mean that every infant that is baptized professes faith later in life? No. But many people that are baptized as believers go on to abandon their faith later in life as well. We don't know why this happens, but I believe Paul tries to explain much of it in Romans 9.

Part III of these postings will come on Monday, with pictures of Ethan's baptism. Hopefully I haven't bored everyone to death