First Snow

The winter weather has finally reached the triangle.  As enchanting as the winter-scapes we have out our windows are, it has moved out infant care clinic appointment back until March.  So we won't find out how Ellie's weight gain is going until she gets her next Synergis shot at the end of next week.  

Ellie loved being scooped up by her daddy to experience her first snow fall.  She smiled at the flakes and looked a little confused when she felt their cold sting on her face.

I am reading this amazing book right now called The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch.  The life experiences and lessons he shares are inspiring and this book makes me want to put achieving my childhood dreams towards the top of my priority list.  It is also made me reflect on how to help Ellie develop her creativity and aspire to really live her dreams.  Randy's parents taught him that things are just things, that people are far more important.  They let him paint his dreams on his bedroom walls (maybe we will do canvases that she can hang up in her room instead) and those paintings that his sister helped him paint continued to inspire him, even when he would come back and visit after leaving for college.  

At eight months, we are already seeing her independent and strong willed spirit.  I have a feeling the biggest hurdle for me to get over is to let her do things in her own way and in her own time (hence the sweet potatoes on my kitchen wall after dinner every night).  Creativity can flourish if we give it space and let the person explore it by themselves.  Structure is wonderful, and children thrive by it.  But flexibility can be our greatest asset in parenting.