Tag: tiny

Building Buddies

December 28, 2020

Building Buddies

When we think of toddler, stuffing every unknown object into their mouth is standard, right?

I had two where the answer was shockingly “NO!”

They both loved all things small – squinkies, legos, and polly pockets.

The thing I like about small items is that they are easily portable! A small pencil box could hold an army of squinkies, a city of legos, or a family of polly pockets.

You can’t exactly take giant mega blocks everywhere! Well, maybe one or two blocks, but really… tiny is better for portable applications. I love tiny toys to keep littles entertained when on the go. For most of the kids though, tiny toys were not an option until the everything-in-the-mouth stage was finished. I love starting off with tiny toys!

We have been building large mega block forts with the same blocks for over 16 years! From Christina under 1 to Thea now at almost 2… I shake my head at that – yikes! That’s too many years of building forts and garages and houses with mega blocks! (Maybe that’s because mom doesn’t want to admit to that many years of kid toys!)

The building buddies right now are Lucas and Thea. Lucas gets very creative with the big blocks and super detailed with the tiny legos. He’s made Becky even get interested in coming back in because he occasionally gets a sorting bug and sorts their collection! When sorting happens, Becky is like, “yippee!” or comes to show Lucas how to best sort them. She had taught him well.

Thea is not so big on sorting small things into smaller groups – but one type of toy always must go in its correct bin. Grandma gave her a collection of squinkies for Christmas. Those stay in one bin along with their little eggs. Her gravity propelled horses that walk down tracks are in another bin, teething toys (sadly, very few of those left) in one bin, socks take up one of the toy bins (Thea’s idea, not Mom’s), and other small collections in the small bins. Thea keeps a baggie of legos and a few assorted squinkies in her back-pack. (This was another gift from Grandma this year and she carries it literally everywhere now.)

What I love to see is the building buddies when two or more of them are sitting in the little ones’ room surrounded by legos and building their respective creations on boards or the tops of the containers, in a “giant land” as Lucas calls it. (I guess city isn’t big enough.) Becky, Lucas, and Thea, or Kimberly, Jillian, and Thea, or Jaquline, Jillian, and Lucas… all with their own bits in their tiny toy world.

And, yes, Mom ends up in there often too, building some castle-hidden-in-rocks or house-hidden-in-trees on request. I load mine with secret tunnels or passageways, treasure, tiny details, and stories! I love building models of some story land my characters are in and acting scenes out with Lucas and Thea. They always come up with neat ideas that I’m forgetting.

Building buddies are the best! Taking time to encourage the creativity and imagination of little ones is a wonderful thing to be a part of.

This Christmas as I was building some huge lego tree with robin hood and castle pieces (who can remember those cool sets?) with Thea and Lucas, I remembered being about three and building the gray castle in the basement/garage in Cherry Hill with my Daddy. The black castle followed when I was four along with Robin Hood’s hideout (Daddy called it that, not sure what the name is that goes along with the set, but I know the number!) – classic sets I can actually print out instructions for from the lego website now! He took the time to build with me (and boost my ego… I was very proud of building a set that had an age on it higher than my current age.) and full circle, I’m taking time to build with mine.

Maybe I haven’t ben fishing with my kids as often as my brothers and I went fishing, but I’ve been building with them! So maybe we are “Building Buddies” instead of “Fishing Buddies” – and in my crazy brain I see five Golden Retriever pups building forts with mega blocks!

Type at you later!

~Nancy Tart

(P.S.: for those wondering… my computer has been down since just before Thanksgiving so I’m a little behind on by release of Devonians #6, but thanks to an awesome gift from a friend – old laptop too old for games but perfect for writing! – it is now just waiting on a cover!)

Sixteen Sweet Years

October 3, 2019

Sixteen Sweet Years

The one who first called me mother is sixteen years old.  Thank you, Jesus.  I am so grateful for being blessed with Christina!  I can’t imagine life without her. 

I truly understand that God entrusts us with raising his children.  There is such a wonderful humbling feeling in being able to watch my little baby grow into a young woman of God. 

For nine months I felt this tiny life growing inside of me.  We prayed over her (not knowing who she would be yet) and loved her from the time we imagined she would come.  She was born the eldest grandchild to both sets of grandparents – imagine such a crazy double blessing! 

Fast forward to today: she’s driving and we’re on the way to her job and Kimberly’s classes with Thea and I riding along (so I can take the car back home and Thea was just up with us so got to serenade us – she sings to music now).

I thank God daily for each of my children.  I know we aren’t promised tomorrow.  I treasure every day.  Every time I get to hear Thea sing notes (no words yet, just “aaaahh-ooooh-aaah”) to music, every time Lucas builds a train track that snakes all over the front room, every time Jillian is jumping like a pogo stick because she learned a new skill or mastered a math concept, every time Jaquline makes something new, every time I get to see Kimberly march (in Civil Air Patrol) or practice some new flip (gymnastics), every time I see Becky snuggle with Lucas, Thea, and Jillian on my bed reading “Angel and the Ring” (Lucas’ favorite), every time Christina ranks up or encourages someone else… every time I get to spend life with my children. 

They don’t have to come to me when they need to talk about something or ask personal of difficult questions – I thank God that they do.  They could bury themselves in isolation from “the parents” but I’m super thankful that they choose to be around us when we are home.  In this precious time while they are close, I want to talk, snuggle, read, play games, cook together, watch them build, invent and grow, and see them climb closer to Jesus.  I am so thankful for the time we’ve been given together.

I became a mom on December 24, 2002.  My little life began inside me and I excitedly whispered it to my mother on Christmas Day because I knew she wouldn’t think it odd that I “felt” my angel start inside me. My first pregnancy journey ended with my beautiful young woman who is driving beside me now.  There is something humbling and awe-inspiring when you hold that first tiny human and realize that God has gifted you with one of His children to raise up.  Once through that, I felt the same huge responsibility and humbling gratitude each time I felt the little life start. 

Life is a vapor; you look at your tiny child in your arms and when you open your eyes again, she’s been flying a plane and driving a vehicle, doing college classes and working a job.  Though she is nearing the time she can choose to leave your home you carefully built for her, you continue to enjoy each day, each opportunity to be around her.  You pray thankful for the time you’ve had and for her safety and future. 

Those years speed by.  The love you carry never leaves.  No matter if your youngling is plucked early to fill heaven with joy, your love remains as strong as the day you discovered them growing inside you – a mother’s love never stops.

Type at you next time,

~Nancy Tart

First Sweet Potato & Fit!

July 30, 2019

First Sweet Potato (and Fit!)

Thea is five months old.

She is fascinated with everything.  If it moves, she giggles at it and wants to chase it.  If it makes a sound, she wants to chase it.  If it is in the possession of an older sibling, she wants to touch it.  If it looks fluffy or new (as in she wasn’t looking at it ten seconds ago), she wants to chase it.

For her, “chase” means raise her arms and legs like in a superman hold and shove her body forward, sideways, or backward on her tummy.  I’ve seen my other six babies, remember several siblings as babies, and have had numerous little nieces and nephews over – she is the first to do this type of scoot. (But then, each one has their own unique movement method!)

Theadora in my office

Maybe she has figured out that on hard floors (her entire environment) this type of movement makes the blanket travel with her.

She has learned to roll – has been doing both of these movements since about 3 months (but she rarely wants to go anywhere, so it’s like “surprise! I want to move at this second!” she loves to do the unexpected). 

Lucas will get on one side of her, giggle, and roll away.  She will giggle and follow.  Monkey see, monkey do!  He calls this game “rolling the ball” – I’m literally making her bassinet when I hear, “Mom!  Look!  I’m rolling a ball!” accompanied with a river of giggles from both Lucas and Thea.  He’s rolling in front of Thea and she’s following him all the way across the bed.  He rolls off the end of the bed (a fall of about 9 inches) and I’m about to jump into protect-baby-from-floor-barrier when he puts both hands on Thea’s tummy to keep her from rolling the last flip and says, “can’t go that way, I can fall off but you can’t yet ‘cause your head isn’t done yet.”

Lucas is her protector, her shield from danger, her loving big brother – and the one who leads her into most new (scary for us!) adventures, like rolling non-stop or eating something new – “Look, Mom!  She likes ice cream!”  (*facepalm in my brain* but at least it’s Daddy’s homemade vanilla soft serve) next line is “No, Baby Thea, only big boys can eat cones, you can just taste the ice cream.”  He’s letting her “taste” like we do, tapping one finger on the food and putting it on her tongue.

That backfired with the sweet potatoes. 

Oh, yes, nice story:

A cute 3-month-old goes with her family to Grandma’s favorite restaurant for a celebration.  She’s the epitome of baby cuteness in her Sunday best.  Everyone is being so well-behaved. Mom is having sweet potato (all the others have had sweet potato as a first food) and lets baby taste it.

BABY TURNS INTO VELOCIRAPTOR!

She starts jumping forward, grabbing at the table, mom’s fork, mom’s hair, anything to get back to the sweet potato!  Mom thinks she’s had enough after a few tastes, but NO!  Sweet little cuteness erupts into a full blown literal tantrum!  She flings herself back in frustration and screams! Daddy thinks this is funny. (Everyone else is bug-eyed, is she really throwing a fit?) Daddy says, “watch this” and gives her a small taste on the end of a spoon.  Thea sees the spoon coming, instantly stops fussing, alligator tears evaporate, and she grabs the spoon with both hands and shoves it into her mouth.  Once she sucked it dry, she looks up at Daddy with pleading eyes and babbles in what-adults-can’t-understand to mean “more please?”  He fed her a little more to keep the peace.

 Lucas was even spellbound watching Thea, his sweet, tiny, fragile-looking baby sister toss her baby fit.  Mommy took this excellent opportunity to mention quietly that wasn’t very nice.  He says, “I don’t like that screaming.” To which I answer, “we feel just like you do now when you drop yourself on the floor and start kicking.” (Doesn’t happen often, but it’s been a thing since I started working.) “Oh.” I think gears are turning in his brain.

And this:

is what everyone else in the world sees…

Type at you later,

~Nancy Tart

Baby Guinea Pig Names

Rebeccah’s creative naming scheme for the cute little Guinea Pig triplets!

September 22, 2018

Baby Guinea Pig Names!

Today we get to introduce our baby Guinea Pigs by name!

Rebeccah decided to use dessert names this time.  Since we won’t have them forever, she gives them “temporary” names that match their color or personalities.  We’re raising them to sell once they are at least six weeks old.  (They will be six weeks old and ready for their forever homes after October 20th.)

So this beauty is “Rocky Road.”  She is the one who looked like a squirrel at birth.  She is a gorgeous mottled brown color.

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This solid tan one is “Custard,” and she follows the dad, TobyMac, all over the run!  She is super cuddly.

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The third one is currently called “Cheesecake.”  He is the only male in the triplets.  He’s a half-and-half mix of Custard and Rocky Road as far as color goes.  He is Jillian’s new baby!

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The girls love being the Guinea Pigs’ caretakers.  They spend a lot of time cuddling and loving on them to make sure they will be just as cuddly and friendly as their parents.  So far, they are thirteen days old and super friendly.

Here is Daddy (TobyMac, big tan blob), and all three triplets!

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Mama (Taylor, big tan/brown/white) takes good care of them!

Near the end of October, we’ll be saying “goodbye” to Rocky Road and Custard as they find loving homes.  One thing I know, these cuddly, snuggly critters will forever leave their tiny pawprints on all of our hearts!

Thanks for reading!

Type at you later…

~Nancy Tart

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