These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

I was looking through one(*) of Abigail's scrapbooks the other day and marveling at just how much she's changed and grown over the past couple of years.

*Is it sad that Abby has several volumes and Isabel hasn't yet been born in scrapbook world?

There are all sorts of cute little Abby-isms that I don't ever want to forget...especially now that she's getting older and seeming less and less like my baby with each passing day.


With that in mind, I'm doing a little tribute to a few of my favorite things about our munchkins.

Abby first...


As you read yesterday in this post, Abby loves to do things that makes others happy. She really does have the heart of a servant! And I adore the way she takes such gentle care (usually) of littler ones.



This isn't something that she's growing out of...but growing into. Abigail loves learning about God's Word. I'm pretty sure she would forgo hitting the zoo to have me read her Bible to her.

And she doesn't just listen. She asks questions. She relates what she hears to her own life. She really loves knowing more about God!

And you never know when you might find her sitting in a bath chair reading the Bible.

Now those are the things that really matter. That's who she is. But there's another thing I've loved about Abby since the day she was born.

I love her eyes.


And now for our little guy, Jack.


Jack is becoming quite the paradox as he's growing up. On the one hand, he's in a seemingly constant state of "wide-open"...rarely slowing down, hardly stopping. I think this picture sums it up perfectly. Notice the contrast between the three people on the left, and the tornado on the right.


But on the other hand, he's one of the most tender-hearted, caring children I think I've ever met. Maybe it's because he's already faced a few tough challenges in his two years of life (health problems or difficulties with speech), but he really seems to have a heart for the hurting. If a child falls at the playground, most children dash past him, hardly noticing his cries. Jack, though, will stop what he's doing and go to him to check on him, to help him up. And the second he hears Isabel crying, he'll search the house over for her blankie and bring it to her to make her feel better.

I love that about him.

Jack's got one of the best smiles and laughs I've ever heard, too. His whole face lights up, and his laughter can make me smile despite almost any circumstance (which isn't always a good thing!)


And because he's leaving baby-world more by the second, I have to comment on one of my favorite physical aspects of this little guy. (Jack, I'm apologizing 10 years in advance for this...it's just so cute I can't stand not to share it.)

I love chunky babies. And I love fat rolls (need I specify on babies...not on myself?) So I love that Jack still has little chunky ankles. Especially on his left leg. When he bends it just the right way, I can still pinch a little chubbiness!


Only Jack can do this one minute (and yes, I'm pretty sure he led the troops here)...


...and then spend the next ten minutes perfectly still, enjoying moments like this:


That's why I love Jack's eyes so much as well. They can't be labeled. It's impossible to categorize them in just one way. They're as complex and intricate as he is.


And now for our little Tooter.


It's hard for me to talk a lot about Isabel's personality, because she's just now starting to come into her own. At only 16 months, I haven't learned who she is nearly as much as I know what she does.

What I do know is that she loves animals more than any child I've ever met. Now just about every little one loves the occasional fluffy kitten or puppy, but Izzy goes nuts over anything on four legs.

Cows? Loves them. Lizards? Thinks they're fantastic. Squirrels? Cover your ears, because the squeal's going to be long and loud.

Actually, the animals don't even have to be real for her to be interested. She'll happily take the stiff, abstract kind you find in a book.


But there's one thing she loves above all else. It's her blankie. I don't really know how she ended up with two blue blankets in this house full of hand-me-down pink, but she loves them regardless. I could do an entire post just on the unique relationship between this girl and her blankie, but I'll let a few pictures do the talking.




I don't think she'd sleep a wink if it weren't for having her blanket right there with her.


And just like with Jack, I'm a sucker for chubby legs, and Isabel's are super-squishy...


...even down to those sweet toes!


Considering Izzy's apparent love of blue, I guess it's fitting that she has some killer baby blues to match!! I love looking into these precious eyes.


I know there are several Mommy readers out there...I'd love to read A Few of Your Favorite Things, too.

Consider it a "scrapbooking" assignment. :-)