So many changes happen around the one year mark. Averi Kate is exploding in the areas of language, cognition, communication, physical milestones...She is starting to say many words in her own one-year-old way (ball, cracker, banana, or my favorite - "stuck") One of her favorite activities these days is to sit at the drawer where I keep the kids' cups, bowls, etc., and match the lids to the correct container. She is actually pretty accurate most of the time...
This week Claire and I are doing some activities to prepare for Easter. I so enjoy talking with Claire about spiritual things. Sometimes (especially when tucking her in at night) she just has the most profound thoughts. Anyway, today we sang "Nothing but the Blood of Jesus." We talked about how sin makes a stain on our hearts that keeps us from being God's friend, but when Jesus died He took that stain from our hearts and put it on His. We talked about how His blood is the only thing that can wash away the stain of sin, and we made our own soap to remind us of His cleansing power!
Claire hesitated to put her hands in it at first, but she got brave and used the Christmas cookie cutters to make different shapes out of our soap.
Averi Kate helped by eating snacks.
Another thing that is emerging more and more in AK is her affectionate personality. She has always been a pretty cuddly baby, and now she is enjoying giving hugs. Here she is "loving her baby"...
She is also showing signs of being very sensitive. Today we were in the car and let's just say that it felt like we had already lived a day and a half before 10:00. Averi Kate started yelling pretty obnoxiously and I, on my last thread, spoke more harshly than I should have - "AVERI KATE! THAT IS ENOUGH!!" AK's face crumbled and she bowed her head (I'm sure she would have folded completely in half if she hadn't been buckled in her carseat) and started crying. Oh gracious. She has the most pitiful puppy dog face when her feelings get hurt. She is so precious!
