Pumpkin Patch 2011

This weekend we participated in a new Souza family tradition of visiting the pumpkin patch and apple orchard.  Tony had not been apple picking before and was a little confused by the concept.  His explanation, "At one point the farmers thought to themselves, 'How am I going to get the apples off of the trees? I know, I'll have my customers travel to me, pick them, charge them and tell them it is fun!' Brilliant!"  He said he had fun watching us pick them. :o) 

We met our friends Breanna and Chris there with their son, Ethan, and took tons of pictures, which is the purpose of pumpkin patches for adults ~ getting cute pics of their kids.  A friend passed down a costume to use which Tony kept apologizing to Monica for making her wear.  She is usually super smiley for the camera, but I think she was overwhelmed by the whole thing and didn't grace us with a smile until after she got out of the costume.  You would be overwhelmed too if you looked like Pepto Bismol and were sitting on something pokey surrounded by orange orbs larger than you are.  My mom is visiting right now which added to the adventure.  The day ended with a large purchase of yummy apple treats in addition to the apples that will be turned into pies soon.  The outing was a great success!!

Boyz II Men

A couple weeks ago, Tony and I threw caution to the wind, hired a babysitter and went to see Boyz II Men!  Oh the memories: cassette tapes, preteen crushes, first CDs, the original boy band.  You may laugh, but let me educate you about their awesomeness.  They are the highest selling R&B group of all time amongst other impressive stats.  They are the third artists (after the Beatles and Elvis) to replace themselves at the number one rating of the Billboard Hot 100.  As of 2010, "One Sweet Day" (with Mariah Carey) still holds the all-time record with 16 weeks at the top of the Hot 100.  Because of this, Boyz II Men are the only artists that have stayed at the number one spot cumulatively 50 times, just fourth behind Elvis Presley, The Beatles, and Mariah Carey. They also hold the numbers one, three and four spots for 3 of the longest running singles in music history with "One Sweet Day," "I'll Make Love to You" and "End of the Road."  End music teacher/ fan brain spew.

It was the first time we have had a dress up date since Monica was born.  The Boyz (now men) put on a fantastic show with all of their hits and some new music that comes out at the end of this month.  Only three of the original members perform now, but it was high energy and fun.  The venue was a club so it encouraged standing, cheering, and dancing.  They handed out roses during one of their songs and Tony snagged one for me.  :o)  We were able to meet them at the end of the show (picture proof below).  It was a wonderful evening out and as a bonus Monica survived.  :o)  We might have to repeat fancy date night sooner than later.

7 months!

Monica turned 7 months today!  This has been a big month of firsts.

As highlighted in a previous post, we have started her on mush.  She isn't super interested or consistent with her eating.  It's and on and off venture at this point.

She has been teething super hard and finally cut her first tooth (you can see it if you look real close,  bottom left when looking at the picture).  After a couple days break, I think she's cutting the next one.  Thank the Lord for a couple days break.

After a few too many backwards tumbles and face plants for our liking, she can sit up on her own.
She will sit and play by herself and not just chew on things.  She really like this helicopter that my mom bought in honor of her Uncle Dan.  Don't know how the red headed girl pilot character is suppose to remind us of Dan? :o)

She had her first ride in a swing.

She wore shoes for the first time today (mom is lazy when it comes to dressing her, sleepers are easiest and I think shoes are kind of silly if you can't walk).

But I discovered why she should wear shoes more often . . . they are great teethers.

First time sitting in a stroller without her car seat.

Oh, and she can play the piano.  Brag brag brag

My Daughter is Beautiful

There is so much out there about the overemphasis/ pressure on girls and their appearance. Parenting articles and research warn of the dangers of telling a girl she is beautiful.  Even the secular world can observe our celebrity obsessed, over botoxed and liposucked, eating disordered culture and know something is not right.  I have read several articles on this topic and they all seem to offer a similar answer:  reject completely the notion of femine beauty.  Don't tell girls they are beautiful.  Or, as I have read, take it a step further and reject the gender differences altogether.  In fact, according to one article I read in a parenting magazine, don't even use the words girl or boy because it tells children too much already of how they should act.  I've even heard of a family who is not telling the world (people out of the home) if the child is a boy or a girl because of how they'll be treated.  It's much better for that child to discover who they are without the pressures of gender labeling. Umm . . . yea . . . much better to be treated as an IT.  That kid won't need therapy.


Thank heavens, much of what I have read offers other options.  When you compliment girls, make sure to compliment their mind and physical strengths or, even better, their virtues.  "An excellent wife (other translations say a virtuous woman), who can find? For her worth is far above jewels." ~ Proverbs 31:10.  I won't pretend I have the answer to this challenge parents face.  This is a problem that originated when Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and realized they were naked and felt shame.  I would challenge any woman living in the US today to say that they have not felt the pressure to be like the models they observe on TV, movies, magazines, etc.  I know that so many parents out there want to spare their daughters (and sons, but that's a topic for a different post) about the pressures of the perfect physical appearance.  Even if you intend (as we do) to limit TV, movies and other influences, unless you live under a rock (you all just thought of that Geico commercial didn't you) it will be impossible to spare your children of all the visual imagery there is to be had.

One way I can help my daughter in the trouble over physical appearance is to never speak negatively about my or another's body.  This is so much easier said than done.  But it is something that will help both of us to recognize our value aside from appearance.  We can speak about needing to be healthy, but I'm going to try my darnedest to not tear myself down.  Stretch marks, scars or signs of age just mean that you've lived, right?


The Church also offers a different answer than the world: redeem the notion of feminine beauty.  Women are beautiful!  Don't you think there is a reason, beyond our culture, that when we see a baby or young girl our first response is, "Oh, how beautiful!"  It is that deepest part of us recognizing the beauty of God's creation.  Babies are beautiful because they are created by God through a beautiful act of love.  According to some wonderful wisdom from Blessed Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body, the woman's body is an image of the soul's receptivity to God's love.  God gives the gift of faith, yet we must be open to receive it.  This is why the Church is called the bride of Christ and is referred to with feminine pronouns.  A woman's receptivity to her husband leads to new life, just as our receptivity to God leads to life in the spirit.  St. Paul writes in his letter to the Ephesians "'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh.' This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the church." (Ephesians 5:31-32)  Wow!  I guess that highly annoying song by Beyonce is true, "Girls, who run the world, girls!"

To redeem the twisted, fallen view of womanly beauty we can read what St. Peter wrote to women in his first letter, "Your adornment should not be an external one: braiding the hair, wearing gold jewelry, or dressing in fine clothes, but rather the hidden character of the heart, expressed in the imperishable beauty of a gentle and calm disposition, which is precious in the sight of God." (1 Peter 3:3-4)  In saying this, he is not arguing that external beauty is bad, but that it is second to the beauty of a pure soul, the beauty that lasts.  I plan to tell my daughter she is beautiful because she was created to be outwardly and inwardly beautiful!