babies – Nancy Tart: Writing for Life

Baby on the Events

March 21, 2024

Baby on the Events

(Throwback story from December 21, 2023)

Jillian called, “Mom, I’m taking some pictures of Laud!” Lucas jumped along to help out. He loves taking pictures of his little brother.

Somewhere in their cute little thoughts, they decided our four-month-old should take a picture on each gymnastics event.

First there’s Jillian and Laud. He looks happy enough.

What does she have for me to play with today? Wow, that looks interesting

Then there’s the first event – Tumble Track! Jillian is very careful as he is only four months old and not yet ready for bouncing.

Big brother, what exactly is going on here, this doesn’t feel right…

Up comes the next thing… ooh, Vault! Laud has some spotting help to stand on the vault table – although that is definitely not a parent-and-tot piece of equipment.

Mom! Can you see me, mom! I’m taller than Jillian on this thing that isn’t squishy!

Unfortunately, or maybe for the pictures, fortunately, mom is busy with the computer work and although she hears her baby yelling with happiness, it doesn’t occur to her that his big sister and brother are up to something.

Floor! Sissy, I might need to tell you I can’t walk yet… um, why is this floor moving?

At least on floor there was a tumbling mat to stand on. Laud appears to begin wondering if his brother won’t save him from his sister’s silliness, maybe he should yell for mom.

Bars! Pull-up! Lucas, why aren’t you saving me?

Jillian lets him pull up on the quad bars. Once he’s up, he doesn’t seem too sure about it.

Pommel Horse! Lucas, this is really cool dude, what can you do on this sturdy thing?

Pommel Horse is probably his favorite since he can do it with only a little side spot. Lucas zoomed straight in on his face.

Parallel bars! Wait! More Bars? What happened to the horsy thing?

Beam? Um, wait, boys don’t do this… Lucas, why don’t boys compete beam? This event has Jillian smiling!

I hope you enjoyed this series of pictures and commentary!

Jillian provided the inspiration! Lucas did the photography! Laud was the subject.

How quickly they all grow! Smile and enjoy the show!

Type at you later,

~Nancy Tart

Picture Of A Baby

I do not know why this one picture makes me so happy. Christina took it. I’ve never done months or even year pictures – I tend to choose the favorites sent to me by my kiddos since Christina was 10 & other family who are better at picture taking.

Picture of a Baby

September 19, 2023

I do not know why this one picture makes me so happy. Christina took it. A friend gave us a blanket with months on it for Laud. I’ve never done months or even year pictures – I tend to choose the favorites sent to me by my kiddos since Christina was 10 & other family who are better at picture taking. It is not my forte. (Also, I always forget)

Once Louis gave Becky the “picture phone” (in 2012 that’s all it really did was take pictures) and she discovered her love of photography. I also heard my father say, “I was never really there, I have the pictures and videos for your mom so I can relive it” a few times. I know he loves that he left us a legacy of thousands of hours of family videos and so many pictures it literally takes weeks to watch them all – all digitized too. But I wanted to be there. I wanted to be in the moment. I guess I’ve grown some, now I understand the “need” for having time stamped pictures. I still don’t take them much.

Christina fell in love with her baby brother – I knew they all would once he was born. They tote him around and play with him, change him and burp him, and argue over who gets him. Christina was more excited than I was over the blanket. She said, “and we put Pooka (Laud’s stuffy) here. Mom you have to keep that stuffy for all twelve pictures, it’s the marker.”

Yes, I will keep Laud’s special stuffy from Grandma so that you can mark the months – but Laud likes his giraffe from Mrs. Heather better. (My kiddos call the giraffe “Bestie” – well, one of the team sisters who rides the afterschool van I drive calls him “Bestie-Billy-Bob-Jo.”)

When I look at this picture I’m overloaded with emotion. Laud is still (barely, but still) wearing the girls’ favorite of his preemie outfits from Mrs. Hannah. He’s my smallest miracle! He was just over seven pounds at the time of the picture. He’s only just in newborn and 0-3 month clothes at 6 weeks! All of them are such little miracles! I’ve been so blessed to enjoy 8 of them! I have amazing friends who have blessed us with clothes, diapers, food, love, conversation, and so many things! My baby looking so peaceful and tiny on his blanket reminds me of all the blessings we have in our life. I’m so thankful for everything God has given us – especially for friends!

Type at you later,

~Nancy Tart

Two Cadet Homecoming

January 7, 2020

Two Cadet Homecoming!

On January 4^th, a beautiful day with misty rainshowers threatening the gorgeous parade ground at Camp Blanding, I watched both of my cadets march in their pass and review (ceremony parade at the end of the 2019-2020 winter encampment). I almost cried two years ago when it was just Christina. As I watched this day, I was overwhelmed with pride and a bit of anxiety.

Kimberly, short blondie (about middle in each picture); in her barracks, AF Blues, ABUs

Kimberly is twelve. My spunky little fireball has taken her future by the horns the last two semesters and spent her twelfth birthday, as she’d planned it for almost two years, attending her first Civil Air Patrol meeting as a cadet. I’m not sure Mom (me!) is ready for her to take on so much independence just yet. I’m missing my snuggly, grinning, dog-wrestling toddler who used Sheba as a pillow-pet before we knew those toys existed.

Christina was OIC of food services. (In English, your know, civie-speak, please?) That means she was the basically the kitchen manager for encampment. I’m sure it was far more detailed and with at least some oversight, but that’s the break-down bare-bones version of her staff role this time. I’m sure, based on these pictures, that she is fairly comfortable giving orders.

Christina is far left in both pictures. Winter Encampment 2019/2020

Moments like this both amaze me and, honestly, almost scare me.

How can my babies be so mature already?

How did 16 and 12 years flash by?

Life goes by so quickly. I’ve learned to just release and enjoy. Watch them grow and smile as they fly. I love learning the young women they are becoming! Thank you, Jesus, for the opportunity to be a mom. Thank you for Christina and Kimberly and for the time I’ve had with them. I pray for them daily.

I pray as they soar. I pray they keep their eyes on you, Jesus, reach for the stars, determine to achieve what appears impossible, and reach down to help others on their climb.

I’m sure that’s just the misty rain in my face… or are those bits of joyful tears?

Parade is done, rain begins to fall, and we wait in the van for the cadets to change into civies for the trip home.

“Freedom!” yelps the stranger with a bag; “Mom, no pictures,” but she smiles anyway.

Now I get to hear their challenges, thrills, new experiences, friends, and new goals they’ve faced and discovered on the long ride home. Homecomings. I am beginning to understand my parents’ tears on our Christmas surprise (when almost all of us showed up together!)…

Type at you next time,

~Nancy Tart

Becky’s New Semester

September 2, 2019

Becky’s New Semester

Who knew my thirteen year old would be bouncing all over the county (okay, not literally) this semester in her activities?

Becky decided on two courses this semester. Her online class turned out to be a half-semester starting after her birthday. Her Macroeconomics started last week. She has Tuesday and Thursday classes for an hour and a half, getting off just in time for Grandma to pick her up from college on her way to work. This is nice because it gets Becky to her 4:30 gym class which I would be late for! (Logistics is getting to be a Tetris maze because we have four young ladies involved in four different activities at varying times plus normal household stuff and four jobs between the three of us! – This may ease up when Christina becomes an independent driver!)

Becky has Tuesday & Thursday college, Thursday gymnastics, Wednesday youth group, and periodic meetings with people adopting her little piggies. She’s doing an online coding class, doing regular schoolwork, assistant teaching, babysitting, and just decided to start her own website to show people her little farm critters.

Becky wants to be an orthodontic surgeon at the moment; although that has fluctuated from brain surgeon, midwife, obstetrician, dentist, orthodontist, her direction will likely be medical. She studies all kinds of fun things along the way: conjoined twins (brain operations to keep their brains intact successfully), whole body health, nutrition, how nutrition affects the teeth, how a healthy smile affects a person’s confidence, brain development and chemicals, the effects of stress on the body… you name it, we’ve likely heard Becky popping up from some research with, “hey! You know what?” and relaying all this new knowledge. She likes to read opposing views, research, and experiment to see what result she gets.

She’s anxiously waiting for braces; hopefully that happens soon – as she wants a “smile I am proud of.” (But I don’t know how we’ll squeeze another item in our family schedule!)

I’m thoroughly enjoying this discovery stage Becky has been traveling through. I smile when I think of her being almost 2-years-old using my phone charger as a Doppler to “hear” Kimberly’s heartbeat and later handing my midwife the instruments as she named them during the first part of Kimberly’s birth. That started Becky’s love of health, the human body, and eventually medicine. My little scientist. Animal lover. Comedian. I pray she finds her path as God leads her and enjoys her journey along the way!

Type at you next time,

~Nancy Tart

Valentines Silliness

From my teenager’s claim of the “real holiday” to Becky’s video silliness… a fun post with links.

February 14, 2019

Valentines Silliness

It’s Valentine’s Day.

My girls are busy playing and giggling in the playroom (well, we could technically call it “studying videography,” “creating scripts,” and “video editing,” but that’s homeschool thoughts lol).

What would they be making a video about?

Becky comes out as I finish an amazing lunch (Louis made baby back ribs, corn on the cob, and French fries… and his food is so good! We did save the busy girls a few ribs… maybe) wearing a huge grin and holding the “play phone” (it has the best video editing software but is one of Louis’ old phones from his work).

They have spent an hour, maybe more, creating a 24 second video with dolls and candy hearts… and the “surprise ending” – which, if you know Becky’s sense of humor, it is not really a surprise. It is funny. See it here… (They are “Toy Acts” on YouTube).

“Mom, it took us like 30 minutes to figure out how to work the hearts!”

“Engineering,” Kimberly laughed.

At this, Louis and I laughed too… they are just as crazy as we are. “Not exactly,” I take a breath, “did you do paperwork as well?”

“Oh yeah,” Becky grins, “we did real school on this holiday.”

“This holiday is only for married people so kids should do school period,” voices Christina (the teenager… go figure).

“All schools, everywhere?” Jaquline sighs, “I did math and language but I thought I could take a break from history.”

So Louis decides we are going to learn about the American adoption of Valentine’s Day as a holiday… (typical home school decision)

Christina, who is going to babysit, hitches a ride with me to work (my gym is closer to her client than our house). We have Kimberly (she’s going to spend the night with a cousin) with us and the car conversation circles around the baby Guinea Pigs and how Valentine’s Day is seriously only for married couples. (Christina is still debating this to no one else, as no one else is arguing otherwise.)

“Seriously,” Christina says, “the real holiday is February 15^th, when all the candy is half-off.”

Okay, that one I will totally agree with!

Thanks for reading!

Type at you next time…

~Nancy Tart

Meet Swan, Tiger, and Grizzly

Here are Becky and Christina’s newest triplets – Swan, Tiger, and Grizzly! Cuddly balls of fur and cuteness!

January 24, 2019

Meet Swan, Tiger, and Grizzly!

Becky and Christina’s guinea pigs had three little piglets! (Taylor, mom, is Christina’s whom we adopted, and Becky’s TobyMac was purchased with the store employee promising he was really a she… read here for that story!)

So about every six months or so, our little piggies pop out a couple of new piglets. First was our Sweet Potato, who went to a lovely home near ours. The last was another trio. The girls take finding a home for their sweet babies a big responsibility!

Becky finds a “theme” for their names. The first one was vegetable, the second one was desserts, and this one is animals.

This is Swan.

Tiger (so named for the white stripe)

And Grizzly (coloring played a role in this one’s name)

We don’t know the sex of these little piglets just yet because Becky thinks they are “too comfy” snuggling with Mommy and Daddy to “invade” and examine them. Toby is such a devoted Daddy to the piglets. He will even make a growling fussy noise if one of the girls opens the nursery roof when he’s bringing grass up to Taylor while she’s nursing the piglets. (They like fresh Spanish Needles better than even Timothy Hay!)

But when the adults come down to take a baby break, the girls get to peek at the babies! When it is cool, as it has been lately, we don’t take them out of their protection until they are better able to regulate their body temperature. Baby Guinea Pigs are born fully furry, eyes open, scampering about, and almost independent. (They will nurse from mom for 3 to 6 weeks, but start eating fresh grass brought up by Daddy almost immediately!)

In the cycle of our little farm the younglings get to see birth, life, and death as it plays out in seasons on a smaller scale than in our own lives. We are honored to see births and become responsible for the small life gifted to us (yes, even the frog egg cluster they saved from the drying pool and hatched them to “save them” from drying up). We will keep one or two of these little angels as they become permanent members of our little tribe. I love how tenderly the girls take care of their animal responsibilities – Lucas calls them “my animal friends.”

Thanks for reading!

Type at you next time…

~Nancy Tart

Three Little Pig(let)s

Three big pigs and three little piglets! Raising our babies for joy!

October 12, 2018

Three Little Pigs

Today’s post is for complete cuteness! (pictures and a video)

We have three Guinea Pigs who are adults; Taylor, Toby, and Avery.

We are raising the three little piglets; Rocky Road, Cheesecake, and Custard.

Cheesecake is very unique (to us) because he looks like two different animals depending on what side you see! Notice:

Yes! Those pictures are both of the same little Guinea Piglet, Cheesecake!

Cheesecake and Custard go to their new mommy on Tuesday! The girls are very excited and have been talking to these two little piglets about their new home.

Ready for a cute laugh?

This is how Guinea Pigs eat…

So adorable!

Soon our three little piglets will be in their new homes – we love raising baby animals to bring joy to others!

Thanks for reading!

Type at you next time…

~Nancy Tart

Tag: babies

Baby on the Events

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Picture Of A Baby

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Two Cadet Homecoming

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Becky’s New Semester

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Valentines Silliness

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Meet Swan, Tiger, and Grizzly

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Three Little Pig(let)s

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