Scary

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Today's PhotoHunt theme is "scary," and Mommy was wishing she had a photo of me "shaving" myself with Daddy's razor using toilet water. I don't know what's so scary about that. I watch Daddy do it and I know exactly what I'm doing. Though Daddy says to make sure people know he uses sink water and not toilet water.

Since we don't have a photo of that, here is a photo of our stairs. They don't look so scary to me, but Mommy says it could be very dangerous if I fell off the top. So we always have to make sure the stair gates are closed, and I have to hold someone's hand whenever I go up or down the stairs.

The Twilight Zone

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Esmé's Mommy hijacking the blog again...

You know that feeling you get when you’ve taken the diagnostic tests for a serious illness and are waiting for the results from the doctor’s office? Or when a relationship is falling apart at the seams and you are holding on for dear life to preserve it? Or when you know there are going to be layoffs at work and you’re waiting to see if you’re one of the ones with a pink slip? Or when a loved one is in surgery and you’re praying he makes it through? Or you've taken the entrance exam and are waiting to see if your score is high enough to get in?

That’s the feeling I’ve been having.

Blessed be Your name
When the sun’s shining down on me
When the world’s all as it should be
Blessed be Your name…

…when the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say
Blessed be the name of the Lord

I sing this song, and it makes sense to me. I am reconciled to the outcome of my situation, good or bad. I know God will get me through it, either way, and I choose to bless His name.

What I’m having a hard time with, though, is the twilight zone. That period where I’m not sure if the outcome will be bright or dark, and I just want to know. That period of hopes born and dashed again and again. I just want to be able to get on with my life. While I’m in the twilight zone, I have a hard time blessing His name and enjoying the moment.

Back at the end of September, Genny at My Cup 2 Yours challenged us to contemplate what we would do if we had only one month to live. I kept waiting for the end of my twilight zone so I could focus on that idea. After all, if you have only one month to live, you want to be able to take charge of that month, plan it, make a list of things to do and people to build relationships with, live the month according to plan, and know at the end of the month that you’ve met your goals and achieved the desired outcome. Right?

Wrong. I just realized that yesterday. That is exactly the point. If you are forever waiting and praying for things to come together and make sense and fall under your control, you will miss all your opportunities to enjoy each moment and live in a way that makes it count.

So how can I survive this twilight zone? Does the answer lie in surrendering my personal goals and objectives, as lofty and high and perfect as they seem to be? And then not sitting around waiting for answers, but acting, only with His goals in mind instead of mine? Realizing that they may be far different than mine, and may have their purpose in the journey rather than in the destination?

And so I choose joy, even in the twilight zone. And I choose to enjoy the moments, even though I’m not sure of the goals or the destination.

And I feel peace. Finally. Even with the twilight zone music playing loudly in my ears.

Thankful Thursday 13

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For today’s Thursday 13, here is a list of my favorite things – things I am thankful for.

1. Frosted Puffed Wheat. Shhh. Grandpa and Grandma bought this, and Mommy never eats it, so she doesn’t realize it’s frosted yet. She’s been wondering why I am so into puffed wheat these days.
2. Popcorn. I mentioned yesterday that I’m hesitant to say I like a food, because then Mommy will feed it to me so much that I get sick of it. But I don’t think I can get sick of popcorn. I LOVE popcorn.
3. Button. That belly button is the coolest thing. I just put my finger into it, and all my worries go away. Just like magic!
4. Watches. And bracelets, and hair bands, and rubber bands, and anything else that fits around a wrist. Boy, those things are so much fun to put on and jingle around and look at and take off and put back on again!
5. People Who Play With Me. I started to name them all off, but the list is way too long to remember them all.
6. Dolls. I LOVE my dolls! All of them! It is so nice to have things littler than me to put to sleep, and feed, and undress, and sing to.
7. DVDs. I like to pull a DVD out of its case and take it to Mommy or Daddy. They put the DVD in the computer (I’ve tried doing that by myself, but for some reason they don’t like me to) and then I get to watch Barney or Really Woolley or dogs or cats or all kinds of cool stuff. Then after about 5 minutes, I go get another DVD and have them put the new DVD in.
8. Mangos. Even if we can’t eat them yet, I love finding little green mangos in the yard and carrying them around to show everybody.
9. Singing. I love singing! I sing with music videos and CDs. I sing to myself when I’m in bed.
10. Noses. I love to point out people’s noses and say “nose!”
11. Laundry Basket. It is so much fun to lip up the lid, put clothes and other objects inside, and then slam down the lid carefully.
12. Balls. Have you ever seen the way those things roll around? It’s amazing! I like to throw them and kick them. And bounce up and down on the HUGE yellow ball.
13. Spinning in Circles. That “Ring Around the Rosies” song is the most awesome song ever!

Thirteen is WAY TOO SHORT! There are SO many other things I want to put on here. Like bunnies and airplanes and raisins and markers and balloons and monkeys and tomatoes and toilet paper and stickers and juice and shoes and soap suds and handprints on the wall. Oh, wait - that was just another 13! So you got a double dose today...

Hope you all are having a thankful Thursday, too! Now I must be on my way to spin a few more circles!

WFMW - "O" Crafts

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Hey everybody, remember me? It’s me, Esmé! This is my blog! Mommy’s been hijacking it a lot, but I’m taking it back over again. I’ll let her borrow it once in a while when I’ve got nothing to say, but that might not be very often…

So anyway, we’ve been studying “O” this week, and that is my absolute favorite letter in the world! Just give me a book, and I’ll point out all the O’s on the title pages for you. (Mommy says sometimes they are G’s and Q’s, but that’s okay – she’s just a mommy and doesn’t know any better.)

Now let me tell you all about the “O” crafts and ideas that worked for this 18-month-old bebe this October week…

Oranges and O Foods. I DON'T like oranges! Here, you can have mine!

We ate lots of other "O" foods this week, though. I REALLY like olives. Though I'm always scared to say I really like something because then Mommy tries to feed it to me over and over again until I'm sick of it!

Here I am eating a plate of "O" shaped foods. A circle of bread, tomatoes, veggie polony slices, banana slices, and those oranges I DON'T like.

Another food I tried was onion rings. Mommy baked these because she didn't want to use a gallon of oil, even if oil is an "O" word. They weren't bad, but two were more than enough. (Did you know that it's not the smell of onions that makes you cry, but rather the gas emitted?)

Toilet Paper O's. I finally know what empty toilet paper rolls are for! You dip them into paint and make "O"s with them! And this results in fabulous frameable art!

I liked this so much that the next time Mommy brought out a toilet paper roll, I immediately started dipping it into paint, even though that wasn't the project! And now I call those empty toilet paper rolls "O's"!

Orange Octopus. I am always game for anything involving handprints! So this orange octopus was the perfect thing for me to make! (Oh, and thank you to my cousins for the google eyes!)

Orange Prints. Mommy tried to get me to make orange prints with an end of an orange and some blue paint. I tried it, but it was really hard to get the orange off the paper neatly.

So I quickly turned this into a fun project unrelated to "O". Handprints on the wall - MUCH better!

Ocean. Mommy worked with me on making an ocean in a jar with sand, grass for seaweed, and shells. Oh, and macaroni shells needed to go into there, too - my personal contribution. This murky blue jar is what we came up with. Looks dirty just like at the Maputo beach!

The jar was a little small to put all my shells in, though, and I REALLY wanted to put all my shells into it. So Mommy gave me another jar with clear water, and I got lots more shells into that one.

O Stickers. I still like stickers. Here are two sticker projects I did - one with orange flowers and the other with ocean animals.

Ostrich. In addition to watching a bunch of ostrich and octopus videos on totlol.com, Mommy and I played being an ostrich by "sticking our heads in the sand." But I kept wanting to do somersaults instead, so it wasn't exactly my cup of tea.

Olympics. Here I am with the Olympic torch - though that toilet paper roll looks a lot more like an "O" for paint stamping the Olympic logo to me! Mommy tried to get me to run with the torch, but I was very careful not to extinguish the flame so walked very carefully.

And then she tried to get me to do some Olympic sports, but after she told me that spinning in circles wasn't one of the events, I wasn't very interested. Somebody really needs to talk to those Olympics officials!

We played with some other "O" words, too, like on and off, over, obnoxious, that sort of thing.

So those are the "O" things that worked for us this week. We are now working hard on "P" week. And if you'll excuse me, I need to go. Mommy says blogging and frying perfect pancakes are mutually exclusive tasks.

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If you have a post or link related to "O" Activities for toddlers, link up here!

Wordful Wednesday

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Esmé's Mommy here.

Today's posts are long. I won't apologize for that.

I promised the story behind the story today - it was supposed to be a story of an AIDS orphan center that we visited last Friday. I'll get there.

But first I have to share yesterday's story.

Last year we loaned $40 to a Maranatha worker who needed to pay for his little one's coffin. Yesterday my husband found out this same worker had a baby who was dying. Determined to do something, he took the baby to Sommerschield Clinic, one of the best medical facilities in Maputo.

The baby is 14 months old, but only weighs 13 pounds. Developmentally normal, just small and sickly. He started out healthy, but at about 3 months of age his growth slowed down. Lately he has been throwing up whatever he manages to eat.

Diagnosis? Probably HIV/AIDS. We're running a test to confirm, but because of the baby's age, it has to be done in South Africa. His mother is HIV positive, so the doctor's suspicion is that he was born HIV negative, but contracted HIV during the first two months when he was breastfeeding.

If that's the case, this sweet baby boy is dying. Because of his age, we're told the available AIDS medications are of no use to him. We're crying here. The statistics are no longer just statistics.

Backtrack to Friday. In late August, Maranatha was approached by a Mozambican gentleman, Mr. Macamo, about drilling a well for his organization, AACOSIDA (the direct translation is "Association of Friends of Children Orphaned by AIDS," or something like that). That well has now been drilled at their orphan center, and on Friday several of us went there to deliver used clothing for the children there. You can see many of the photos from this trip in our Wordless Wednesday post, and it also inspired Monday's story.

Mr. Macamo and his wife decided to foster some children from their church who had been orphaned by AIDS. Many church members pitched in to help. This got the couple thinking. There are so many others who could use help, and the government and expat charities can't do it all. How about organizing local villagers and getting local businesses to donate to assisting these orphans?

The organization now has 50 volunteer members. They've acquired 10 hectares of land - 9 being used for growing maize, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, and cabbages for distribution. And they've built a center on the remaining hectare, which is still very much unfinished but already in use as a distribution and feeding center.

Their statistics indicate that they are helping 2,059 orphans. Most live with older brothers and sisters, cousins or extended relatives, and 624 have been placed with "substitute" families. These families are providing housing and care, but most are unable to provide much in the way of food and other material goods.

Mr. Macamo has not asked us for money. As he puts it, "Money just complicates things." At one stage the organization attempted to assist the families fostering the orphans with cash, but quickly realized that the cash wasn't always used as intended. But he does approach organizations and people to help with goods.

When we arrived on Friday during school hours, there were over 60 children getting lunch. A few of them were obviously sick and not feeling well, but for the most part they looked healthy and well-fed.

Here are a couple of photos of Esmé making friends and teaching them how to high-five!

Wordless Wednesday

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The faces of AIDS orphans - the photos behind the story...

Tiny Talk Tuesday

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Esmé (18 months) is adding lots of two-word phrases to her vocabulary. Her all-time favorite “button” sometimes now comes out as “belly button.” And “thank you” has finally made it on the list, though always said in a whisper.

Word order is always fun to figure out. Instead of “doll eat” when she wanted her doll to help eat her food, it came out “eat doll.”

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Speaking of dolls, with the advent of Grandma, there are dolls all over the place. And Esmé needs to have every one of them with her all the time. At least if she realizes they are missing. The trick is to get her away from one spot before she sees the dolls she’s leaving behind. Otherwise you will hear “I doll” accompanied with cries . . .

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It is so fun to watch her comprehend the natural order of things and anticipate the next steps. When Daddy washes his hands, Esmé comes running with a towel for him to dry off. When Mommy puts on her socks, Esmé brings a pair of shoes. Not always the right ones, of course. In her mind, the bigger the better, so Daddy’s shoes at size 13 are the BEST!

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We were sneaking to bed at 12:30 a.m. with Esmé long sound asleep, we thought. As we were brushing our teeth in the bathroom, though, who should come in, toothbrush in hand, rubbing her eyes but ready to join the party?

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Esmé LOVES to count. The numbers are all over the board, from 8 to 9 to 7 and back to 10.

She also continues to be super-orderly. After her bath one day, we asked Esmé to help clean up by taking her toys out of the bath, specifying each one. She identified them all and carefully stacked them in the corner of the bath. If one of the toys was larger than what she had already placed down, she picked up the previous toy, put the bigger one down, and then put the smaller one on top. All out of her own initiative!

She cleans up after her meals by wiping down her tray and carefully picking all the food off her tray and dumping it (in her lap most times . . .)

And she loves tasting certain foods, but doesn’t like the textures. So we get a lot of food spitting going on – eggs, cabbage, lettuce, green pepper, etc. The more fun to clean afterwards, of course!


Here's a photo of Esmé counting the stairs - all 18 of them!

Ghosts of Mozambique

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I glance through the doorway of the dimly lit hut, observing her shallow breathing as she sleeps on her floor mat. Her head is covered with crusted sores, hair falling out in patches. A ghost of who she once was.

Turning back to the courtyard, my eyes adjust to the bright sunlight. Our brothers toddle in the dust among the chickens and goats, giggling and discovering stones. I half-smile at the sight and then check the position of the sun. Soon a group of neighbor kids will be rushing by, squealing and chattering and gossiping and playing pranks, as usual. And I'll try to wake Anna so we can join them.

Normally I would be in school right now, but Anna was feeling too weak to go this morning, and I decided to stay with her. Anna is my best friend.

We learned to walk and talk together while our mothers carried water and cooked over charcoal fires and scrubbed clothes together. When our baby brothers were born, we quickly mastered the art of carrying them on our backs as we played.

Then Anna's mother and father both got sick and died. She and her brother moved in with us. We learned how to cook and clean for ourselves when my mother got sick, too. Soon my mother was gone, and my father died not long after.

Some neighbors from church offered us a spot on the floor of their hut to sleep. The lady was happy for our help with the housework, but she soon made it clear that there was barely enough food for her own family to eat. Anna and I snuck portions from the cooking pots for our brothers. We climbed mango trees for green mangos, checked out trash heaps, and begged food wherever we could.

Then a man came by and told us about a center opening up for AIDS orphans, where they would provide food every day for lunch! We ran to the site and found men working on an unfinished cement block building. Some of the village ladies there who knew us signed us up on their roster and told us to come back the next day after school for a meal.

So we've been going there every day. We sing songs and pray. They serve soup and bread and fortified pap. Some days they give away used clothing or school supplies. And so we survive, unless AIDS takes us away.

I think Anna will die, just like our parents have. Many of our friends at the AIDS orphan center are sick, and some have died already. I've been watching both of our brothers by myself, and I think my brother is getting sick, too.

I'm one of the lucky ones. I don't have any symptoms. Since the orphan center has opened, I've been feeling stronger and more energetic.

And I wonder why. Why me? Why not Anna? Why not my mother? What am I supposed to contribute to this world?

The group of chattering orphans comes by our hut. They call for Anna and me. I quickly rouse her, helping her up and staying close by to support her. If she can get some food today, she will feel better. For a little while. Our brothers toddle behind, some of the other kids prodding them in the right direction when they get distracted.

At the center, we sit in orderly rows as the village ladies start the songs. I look solemnly at the cold, unfinished walls surrounding us, at the other orphans. This room is haunted, filled with memories of lost fathers and mothers, broken homes and wounded hearts.

Filled with the ghosts of Mozambique.

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This post has been submitted to Scribbit's Write Away contest. The characters are fictitious, but based on reality. Come back on Wednesday for the story behind the story in our Wordless and Wordful Wednesday posts.

BFF Gold Card Award

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A belated big thanks to Dana at Just Talk for the BFF Gold Card award! Dana's a teacher with lots of good girl chatter going on at her blog.

The rules for this award are to pass it on to people who have been following you for a long time and then a new follower from another country.

There are quite a few of you who just provide such encouraging comments on a regular basis, so this is really hard. What I've decided to do is bend the rules a little and focus on a few newer commenters who I really appreciate.

So the awards this time go to:

1. Kori at See Kori Rant. She's got a lot of drama going on in her life and kids keeping her plenty busy, yet she still regularly finds time to stop by and chat about my posts. Thank you!
2. Sarah at Tales from Oakbriar Farm. Her little girl E is just a little older than my E, so it's fun to compare stories as we watch them grow up.
3. DysFUNctional Mom at Putting the FUN in DysFUNctional. Another great commenter and fellow mommy blogger of sorts.
4. Donna at Cottage Days and Journeys. She's got a blog full of great photos of traveling adventures, and she joins the Mozambique journey via my blog, too!
5. And the other country award goes to ZJ at The Sreisaat Adventures in Cambodia. She's a fellow PhotoHunt participant, and if you want a list of international blogs, check out her blogroll! (The fact that my sister lives in Cambodia has nothing to do with the honoring of this award...)

We're saving up some awards for next Sunday - see you then!

Family

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Here is a photo of me with my Grandpa & Grandma, representing "family" for today's PhotoHunt topic.

And a bonus photo: A Mozambican family on the road of a village we visited on Friday.

Hot Chocolate

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If you've been reading my blog, you may have noticed that hot chocolate has been playing a prominent role in my search for contentment and happiness! So I was quite tantilized with a beautiful email from my friend over at The Spices of Life about that very subject. Oh - I'm dreaming of a steaming cup of it right now!

Anyway, "The Wisdom in Hot Chocolate" essay in that email has a lot to say about contentment, and since it is listed as "Author Unknown," I thought I'd take the liberty of sharing it with you right here on my blog:

A group of graduates, well established in their careers, were talking at a reunion and decided to go visit their old university professor, now retired.

During their visit, the conversation turned to complaints about stress in their work and lives.
Offering his guests hot chocolate, the professor went into the kitchen and returned with a large pot of hot chocolate and an assortment of cups — porcelain, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite. He then told them all to help themselves to the hot chocolate.
When they each had a cup of hot chocolate in hand, the professor said:"Notice that all the nice looking, expensive cups were taken, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones.

"While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.
"The cup that you're drinking from adds nothing to the quality of the hot chocolate. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink.
"What all of you really wanted was hot chocolate, not the cup... but you consciously went for the BEST cups.
"And then you began eyeing each other's cups.
"Now consider this: Life is the hot chocolate; your job, money and position in society are the cups.They are just tools to hold and contain life.

"The cup you have does not define, nor change the quality of life you have. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the hot chocolate."

The happiest people don't need the best of everything.They just make the best of everything that they have.

Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.

And enjoy your hot chocolate!!

Thursday 13 - Bucket List

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Esmé’s Mommy here.

If you would like to help the woman I wrote about yesterday whose daughter died last month, Michelle over at …Seeking Serenity has PayPal and Moneybookers buttons on her site through which you can donate. We’ll use all donated funds to assist the woman in some sort of business venture that will help her support her family. Thanks, Michelle!

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We had a pleasant surprise yesterday in the form of a visit from Rutendo and her baby! Rutendo worked as our empregada from June of last year through January, and then disappeared without us getting a chance to say goodbye. We heard through the grapevine that she was pregnant and didn’t want to tell us.

Well, she and baby Wilma, five months, are both looking good! Here they are with Esmé.

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Thanks to some other bloggers, I have a couple of serious posts swirling through my head on topics such as:

• What would be on my bucket list?
• What would I do differently if I knew I had one month to live?
• If I had six months of free time, with no financial limitations, what would I do?

For today's Thursday 13, though, we'll take a less serious look at what is on my bucket list where my daughter is concerned.
I realize that I can't live my life vicariously through her (though as a mom it sure it tempting sometimes), and that she may not be interested in all of these things. But if she's game, here are thirteen things I'd love to do with my little girl.

1. Read the Bible together. When she is old enough to understand and discuss what we're reading, I'd like to read the Bible together in a year. I'd love to see spiritual things through her eyes.


2. Publish a recipe book. I'd like to cook together and create favorites together. Nothing complicated, but it would be nice to have something useful - and full of heritage - that can be passed on to future generations.


3. Run a marathon. Not right away, of course - she needs to grow a little before we start training. Maybe by the time she's old enough to train, I'll be fit enough to do this!


4. Learn to swim. I desperately need to do this, and it would be fun to do it together!


5. Create a library. I want her to have a collection of books she owns and knows intimately. As a kid, I tagged all of my parents' books (and there with a lot) with "Due Date" tags in the back. I wanted to summarize and organize them all, but I ran out of life/time. She may not be like me, but I do want her to have a love for good books. (I am not the librarian type. No. NO. NO! Just in case you were wondering.)


6. Develop a sense of art and artistry. I am very unconfident in my artistic abilities and am petrified that I will pass that on to my girl. But I do well in class, so I'd love to take some classes with her, or pass on what I learn. Things like photography, and cake decorating, and flower arranging, and interior design.


7. Create a joint blog. I can't wait until she is old enough to dictate her own posts! Though she seems to be doing that already . . . Blogging is such a great outlet for the art of writing, and I'd like to introduce that to her.


8. Learn to play the oboe. Actually, I'd let her pick whatever instrument she wants. But it would be fun to learn to play something at the same time and do duets, etc. And the oboe has been on my personal list of instruments to learn for a long time.


9. Master the game of golf. Not that it can ever really be mastered, but we can at least attempt it together. I can't wait until she is old enough to be allowed on those overly-liability-conscious US golf courses. Considering how little I've played, a 64 on a 9-hole isn't so bad, but it can certainly use some improvement.


10. Go on a looong backpacking trip. Nothing like carrying all your goods on your back in solitary wilderness to create closeness between mother and daughter, wouldn't you think?


11. Learn Afrikaans together. This is Daddy's first language, and I've struggled with it for 17 years now. I'd love to pick it up as she's picking it up.


12. Sew a quilt. I still haven't used my sewing machine, purchased about 5 years ago. But she just might provide me with incentive. It would be wonderful to work on a joint project like a quilt together.


13. Enjoy the moments. More than anything else, I just want to hold on to and treasure each moment with my baby, who is fast growing up to be a big girl. I want to create memories that we can both cherish for a lifetime.

And here's Miss Esmé, helping her Mommy sort through a box of books.

WFMW - "N" Crafts

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With Mommy's blogging break, we got to spend 3 weeks on "N"! (We wouldn't want to get ahead of the blogging, you know.)

So here are some of the crafts and ideas that worked for this barely-18-month-old:

Notes. I wrote some thank you notes to people on pretty note cards.

Notes. But there are two kinds of notes! Mommy also showed me what musical notes look like. She printed some out and put double-sided tape on them, and I got to create my own music by sticking the notes to musical staff paper. And then I played my composition on the flute! At least I tried to.

Noodles on Newspaper. We put some spaghetti noodles in a bowl with paint, and then draped and rolled and slid the noodles around on newspaper. Very cool newspaper art!

Some parents might be a little concerned that this reinforces playing with food or encourages kids to eat paint, but I already do both those things all the time, so why not channel it into something creative?

Needle. Mommy cut a needle out of cardboard and gave it to me to paint. Then we practiced threading it with ribbon.

Nicodemus. Mommy read me the Bible story about Nicodemus at bibleforchildren.org. Then we played a variation of peekaboo - I was trying to hide from all the other temple leaders as I snuck over to see Jesus.

Night. I love nighttime! "Moon" and "star" are some of my favorite words, and I can show them to you outside or in any picture book.

Here I am taking a nighttime beach walk!

Nature Walk. Speaking of walks, Mommy and I took a nature walk throughout the yard, checking out lots of nature things, like bugs and dirt and rocks and plants. Here I am checking out the bouganvillea.

Nest. We made a nest with Easter basket grass. Then we rolled up some eggs from play dough(rather, Mommy rolled them and I squeezed them into funny shapes) and put them in the nest.

It would have been fun to make a nest out of real grass, but Antonio keeps our grass so short that there wasn't enough grass to be found to make one.

Nails. We traced my hands and feet lots of times. I REALLY like the tracing part! Then we drew nails on the hands and feet.

By the way, Mommy cut my nails last week, and for the very first time I didn't fuss at all! Usually she has to pin me down kicking and screaming and it takes forever. This time went quick and easy!

Number Nine. We spent lots of time on numbers, seeing as we had so much time on "N." Nine was the best, since that starts with "N" too! Here I am putting nine candles (backed with double-sided tape) on a cake that Mommy traced for me.

Nurse. I got to play being a nurse! We made two nurse hats - I got to color and paint them. The other one looked more authentic, but I didn't want to wear it, so here's the easy one.

Nose. One of my absolutely favorite words! Mommy drew a face on paper (minus the nose) and cut a nose out of pink paper. She put double-sided tape on it, and then I had to put the nose on the face.

I DID not want to put the nose where it was supposed to go. I put it on the mouth several times, and then I just stuck it next to the face. Mommy thinks maybe it didn't look like a nose to me?

Neighbor, Nursery Rhyme, Noah's Ark, Noisy, No, Nuts, Necklaces, Napkins, Never... There are oh so many great "N" words that we got to play around with!

So that's what worked for us! Check in next week for "O" crafts!
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