These are some pretty busy days around the Pittman household. Here's a little update about each one of us....
SCOTT is getting ready for an Indy District mission trip to Pascagoula, Mississippi. He, along with 9 students and 3 adults from our church, will be traveling with others from the Indianapolis area to help recovering victims of Hurricane Katrina rebuild. He's a little nervous about the tasks he'll be assigned, because he'll be the first to tell you, he's not naturally handy. He is, however, excellent at relating to others and lifting them up, so I'm sure they will enjoy having him!
He has been pretty busy this past month. Scott started the month by welcoming his new intern, Jon Kundrat, to town. Jon is a youth ministry major at
Olivet Nazarene University. He is Scott's sidekick this summer. Scott also directed summer youth camp at Camp Camby, where they had approximately 220 students. June also included a "Get Soaked" night at church, a midnight viewing of Indiana Jones, and numerous graduation parties.
BIANCA is busy growing and eating! She is now 8 months old, and learning to crawl. This is not to say that she has been immobile up to this point. She has been doing a combination of
army crawl, the backwards slide, and rolling around to get herself where she wants to be. But she is beginning to get the hang of being on her hands and knees. Bianca is also trying to sit herself up from laying down. She is oh so close, but that last little heave tends to knock her too far, and she rolls to the other side. Bianca also loves the water! We have taken numerous trips to our neighborhood pool, and everyone just makes over the way she loves the water and never complains. She loves her floaty, and has figured out that if she leans over just right, she can get a drink of cold water whenever she wants!
Bianca is already defining herself as a different child from that of her older sister. She refused to eat baby food, and insisted instead on having finger foods. She loves green beans and bread, but isn't afraid to try anything! And she loves to eat! If you are eating and not sharing, watch out!
ISABELLA is learning the art of friendship. She has had a few playdates recently, and is enjoying her friends. She tends to
stand back and observe before jumping in full force. She prefers to follow a few girls around who are just about 2 years older than her. And always, when its time to leave, Bella must give her friends a hug! Bella loves to swim and swing. She could swim for hours as long as she has arm floaties!
Bella is preparing for preschool this fall. As much as mommy would like to keep her home, Bella wants to go! We are currently deciding on a co-op preschool, where the parents are majorly active in everything except the role of main teacher. Mommy enjoys being able to know the children she is befriending, and there is always the added bonus of mommy-friends! Bella is very excited, and has already had one playdate with some of the students who will be in her class this fall.
AMANDA is busy cleaning up and cleaning out! It seems as though the few months of recovering, recouping and adjusting to 2 babies took away the clean house and routines I had figured out prior to Bianca's birth! I am also trying to learn how to balance what I feel needs to be done, and those requests from babies to 'come and play with me, mommy.' I love that!
I am also making some changes in our household. It started with cloth diapers in January. It has now made its way into some of the household cleaners I am using/making. And I am still learning. I buck the idea that I am following some sort of trend in 'going green.' I feel that I am just learning some things that will provide a better life for my children, just as my parents and previous generations made changes in their lives to provide a better life for me. I have been tinkering in various ideas of this for about 3 years, but have really just started making the changes. Currently, I'm searching for a laundry detergent recipe so that I can save some money by making my own:) Also, I am reading a book called, "Green Babies, Sage Moms" by Lynda Fassa. I have not gotten too far into it, but I think its a lot of the info I've been looking for! I'll let you know. **OKAY, believe it or not, out of 5 rolls of recent pictures, I cannot find one that I am in!**
LUCY (our kitty) is looking for a new home. She has decided that she just cannot adjust to living with two little girls who absolutely adore her, but sometimes want to be a little more playful than her old age of 5 can handle. She has also become very territorial, much to the chagrin of the neighborhood kitties who would like to come visit her in the late evenings. Lucy has a fit, and I get the water bottle out to spray both cats with. I'm hoping they will get the idea eventually!
So if you, or anyone you know, may be interested in a cat who likes to lay on your lap while you watch tv, and occasionally play catch and retrieve with a ball or string, please let me know!
Playing with the dogs... Uncle Reed just got a new puppy this morning(Left picture). Ty Carter is a mini Australian Shepherd. Bianca is the perfect size to ride Sierra, the eldest dog. She is about 12 or 13 years old. And then theres "Puppy Blaize" who got a bad haircut about a month ago, and is still recovering. Poor dog!
