Couldn't resist...

posting these pics.

Random late night thoughts

Okay, so the kids and hubs are in bed (have been for awhile); it is 11 p.m. here. I just enjoyed a glass of riesling and decided that even though I need to get up early tomorrow for an adventure with my SIL, I wanted to get down some thoughts. I have missed blogging lately. It's my online journal and my current way of scrapbooking memories that keep zooming by. So here are some thoughts about the kiddos before I forget them. Why don't I just write them down elsewhere? Well, some are fun and I thought you might want to know what they have been up to. Here are some random thoughts in no particular order. 

Tonight, I started the girls' bath water then walked back into the kitchen to do something not noticing I'd left the baby bath gel on the side of the tub (Emma was already in the bathroom). When will I ever learn? I came back in and saw she had emptied the bottle (it was full) into the bathtub. Needless to say, the girls had a blast in the bubble bath tonight! 

Jayten is a drooling, slobbering, hand chewing and sucking, smiling all the time, laughing, chubby little baby! Oh, I could just squeeze him all the time. He loves to smile at the girls. And I catch him smiling at strangers too. He will just look at you all serious then burst into the biggest grin. I can't believe he's almost 4 months old. His feet are really small compared to how big the rest of him is getting. I love that. Baby feet are so cute! He moved to his crib to sleep last Saturday. That was hard. His bassinet is still in our room, but I realized it's time he's in his own bed. My sister sent me this great book for Mother's Day called Let Me Hold You Longer. It is awesome. My sis is a such a sweety. In the inside she wrote a little note and included a kleenex, saying I was going to need it and to be prepared to answer the question, "Mommy, why are you crying?" when reading it to the girls. Anyway, the book reminds us that as we're remembering all the "firsts" our kids reach to not forget about the "lasts." That really got me thinking-especially not wanting it to be J's last night in his bassinet in our room (oh, sappy self, I'm crying as I write this already!). I think I will try harder now to remember the lasts as much as I remember the firsts. Thanks again Lace. 

Love summer weather-do not like mice, snakes, gophers, spiders and flies-all creepy crawly creatures we've seen this week. See I told you-random thoughts tonight. 

Trying to figure some summer activities for the girls. Will post more about this later. 

E is just talking so much all the time. It really seems she's hit her groove. Every day it's something new. Lately she's starting calling Mackenzie "Peanut." That's been MJ's nickname from Josh and I since she was a born. E can't say Mackenzie and doesn't even attempt it much. But, now she's picked up on the nickname. She runs around, "Peanut! Peanut?" She says it with the same upward inflection Josh does and it's really cute.

The girls have a love/dislike relationship. They have been playing really well together lately and I've been "catching them being good" and trying to point out how nice it is when they play well together. But, then a few short minutes later, they seem to be tormenting each other. E wants to do everything MJ does. She's her little shadow. It is really interesting to step back and watch your kids when they don't know you're really watching them. To see how they interact with siblings, other kids, other adults; it gives you a different perspective. I know God created my children different (we're all unique in our own special ways). As a mom, I have always wanted to make sure I learned my kids' different personalities and parented them accordingly. I don't think I have it all figured out yet, but hopefully my desire to and awareness of it will help me pick up on things that will help us have good parent/child relationships throughout all our years together.

Even when the girls fight, they still love each other so much. MJ was pointing out an ouchy today and Emma said, "Let me check it." Then she gave it a kiss. It's funny how kids can be so tender one second, then pushing each other around the next. I know deep down the love for each other is there. 

Well, enough randomness for now. It's off to bed. Hopefully my next late night blogging gig will include photos. :) 

Visit to the dairy

Petting one of the baby calves. 

Enjoying ice cream after the tour.

The kids liked the babies the best. 

Emma wasn't too sure about them, but I assured her they were behind the fence and couldn't reach her. 

On MJ's last day of school, we visited a local dairy for a tour. It was really neat to see how the cows were milked. I had never been to a dairy either. All the cows came in and got up onto a big turntable, were milked, then the gates opened and they left again. All the equipment is high-tech, state-of-the-art. Three employees could milk 250 cows in an hour! They were milked three times a day. Love that all the kids were learning more about agriculture and where their food comes from! 

After the dairy, we went to the park for a picnic. It was a great way to end MJ's school year. She had such a great time this year and her teachers were really good. 

Emma's preschool program

Showing off her certificate she got.

Showing off the pizza certificate she received.

J Man at the program.

Waiting to start singing. 

On May 19, the preschool had their end-0f-the-year program. Even though E only went four days, she participated. They sang all the songs they had learned. She did really well, for just learning them. They made the t-shirts with the handprints on the last day of school. Afterwards we went to the park, played and had snacks. I think she had a lot of fun and will enjoy attending again this fall. After MJ's graduation (pics on other camera-to come soon), we went to Primo's Pizza to celebrate. 

more grad party

J was awake when we arrived, but slept for about 2 1/2 hours through the party. He was all smiles when he woke up though. 

Jayten with Aunt Michelle-the graduate

After water balloons, MJ and Isabella snuggled up in warm towels.

Carla carrying Mich's cake outside. 

J and his Great Grandpa Tom. 

Water balloons!

The girls with cousin Isabella and their baby water balloons. 

Emma checks out Joel filling up the balloons

I don't get to frilly with the girls' hair, but I think a ponytail and ribbon is just adorable on E. 

Showing off her baby balloon. 

The girls enjoyed playing with little baby water balloons at Mich's party. I 

Man, it seems like forever...

since I blogged. Whew! Last week was crazy busy, but lots of fun too. Last night I uploaded almost 200 photos and that was just from Josh's little camera I've been carrying around. It included Mich's grad/bday party (over half the photos), graduation, tball, planting flowers, eating popsicles (our sign it's officially summer!), Little J, E's preschool program and more. There is so much to post. This week we've been trying to do more in the yard, setting up sprinklers, finishing planting some more new perennials and getting my drip system on the baby trees. We actually found some green on them so they are still alive! The girls have enjoyed many warm days playing in the water. J has rolled over a few more times. He has also started to laugh which is such a joyful sound. Here's a little video of J for now...he wasn't the happiest, but it shows how active he's getting. 

Quick recap-or not so quick-

MJ's Mommy/Me Tea for preschool

J and Little J making faces at each other

Our little man is getting so big!

The girls helping me plant our baby trees.

We've had a couple busy weeks, but all is good. Trying to jot down some things so I don't forget. 

Emma had a great last day of preschool: she walked right in, hung up her coat and bag, moved her name over and headed over to pick out some paint. I asked for a kiss goodbye and she said came over, gave me love, said goodbye and went on her way. Her speech therapist from the school called and said she'd had a great session and explained  where she saw her strengths and things we can work on. She will be participating in the preschool program tomorrow morning at school. 

We planted our baby trees from the Arbor Day Foundation and worked in the yard all Saturday before last. The girls played in the sprinklers. So glad to have nice weather. Today it's supposed to be 95 degrees though! That's too hot; give me 70s, please. :)

For Mother's Day, we made it to church then headed to Nana's for a BBQ. It was a casual evening with Josh's family. 

On Thursday, MJ had her last day at the gym and library and they had a Mommy/Me Tea. I went and had lemonade and brownies with her. The kids sang songs and then she gave me my Mother's Day gift they had made: a painted frame with her photo, and her handprint with a poem. I started reading it and got through only the second line before I got all choked up and had to stop reading. You know the one... 

"Sometimes you get discouraged
Because I am so small,
And always leave my fingerprints
On furniture and walls.
But everyday I'm growing,
I'll be grown up someday,
And all these tiny handprints
Will simply fade away.
So here's a final handprint
Just so you can recall,
Exactly how my fingers looked
When I was very small."

She has her preschool graduation tomorrow night and a gymnastics performance afterwards. Last Friday she went to her last Honey Bears and they got to ride the bus. She was so excited. First, the parents went with them, then we got off and the kids went by themselves. She's just getting so big. 

On Saturday, I planted more flowers in the front flowerbeds. I filled in some spots with perennials and the girls planted some petunias in pots. That evening we celebrated Mich's 18th birthday and high school graduation. It was a fun night with family and friends. It's hard to believe she's graduating. When Josh and I started dating, she was just a little girl in glasses. She's like another little sister to me so I do get a little sappy thinking about it. 

This week will also be busy, but we're looking forward to it. We have high school graduation tonight, preschool tomorrow night and Matt's 8th grade graduation Wednesday. I love all this stuff though. Even though we'll be going a lot, we have a lot to celebrate and we'll be spending time together and with family. You can't beat that! 

Well, here's my little Not Me Monday confession for today, 

I did not put off writing my story because there were so many more fun things to do last week, so I do not have to finish writing it right now! 

Guess who rolled over?

Yes, my baby boy, who's only 3 months old! Of course there is no evidence yet because once I got the camera out he didn't do it again. I was in the office and MJ was with him in the living room. She came running in all excited and said "Mom, Jayten rolled over!" I looked in there and sure enough he was on his tummy just looking around like it was no big deal. He's arching his back and kicking his feet all the time. He coos and smiles anytime you make eye contact with him and is starting to laugh a little. Oh I'm so not ready for this; it's going too fast! 

My Gift of Motherhood

Happy Mother's Day

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Being a mother is the GREATEST and the HARDEST job I've ever done/will do. And I wouldn't change it for anything.

On this Mother's Day...

For all mothers: I wish you all a peaceful day and time with those you love. 

For all the women who have shared their love and support with me, whether you are family or a friend: thank you. I would not be where I am without you.

For mothers-to-be: May your baby continue to grow and arrive safely.

For those who long to be a mom: May God bless you in more ways than you ever imagined.

For my children's grandmothers: Thank you for loving them so much.

For my Mom and Grandma: I love and miss you so much! Wish we could be together, but we will be seeing you soon!

Emma's First Day of Preschool

Emma had her first day of preschool on Wednesday. I gave her my old backpack to use because you can't really find backpacks at the end of the school year. It is almost as big as she is! We had to be to school at 8:10, meaning we needed to leave by 7:30. Mind you this is what time the girls are usually waking up, so this was going to be interesting. We did make it out of the house by then and I realized we were probably going to be quite early. Then I almost got all the way down our rode and realized I had forgotten her paperwork. Oops! So, back we go. By then I'm thinking okay now we're going to be late. Good thing I only have to do this twice a week right now! So, we did make it on time and thank goodness the preschool is pretty relaxed anyway. Her teacher helped her find a place for her jacket and bag, then she got to move her name on the board that showed she was in school. She started to get a little upset so her teacher said I could stay and finish the paperwork. MJ and E did puzzles. By the time I was finished E was ready to move onto the reading center and didn't even notice me. It didn't really bother me to leave her. I knew she'd be taken care of. But picking her up-that was a different story. I pulled up in front of the school and the teachers walk the preschoolers and kindergarteners out to the front every day. I saw her coming out, bright yellow jacket, backpack on, holding her little green paper that said she'd had a great day. She looked so little. That's when I teared up! But, she did have a great day and she told me they painted and sang songs. 

The next day she showed me her picture she had painted. It was a grey whale. She got really upset when I was leaving and I had to leave her crying in the classroom. That was hard. I remember MJ being at this stage (not wanting me to leave her anywhere) and it happened after E was born. I had mixed emotions. I felt bad leaving her for the teacher to deal with plus sad that I was leaving her. She is just barely three years old. But, I know she is in capable hands at the school. And I also know she stops crying right after I leave and has a good day. The teacher said she did do great on Thursday as well. When we got home, she was excited to open her backpack and showed me her green paper and and a book she had made. She glued a wagon on the front and picked out different pictures to glue in it. Then she colored inside. They traced her hand on the back. 

The one thing that has been a little hard is trying to figure out what all she does during the day. Since expressive communication is still a struggle (the whole reason for school right now in the first place), it's kind of a guessing game about what she did. The teacher tells me she had a great day, but we don't really go through everything in detail. I'm going to have to figure out a way to find out more from the teachers, maybe when I drop her off or something. 

We are happy about her being in school though. It will be good for her in many ways. She had her 3-year well child check this morning. She weighs 28.5 lbs. and is 34 inches tall. Her pediatrician said everything looks great. He tells me I have boring kids-medically speaking-no real sicknesses or problems. I take it as a compliment and that's how he means it. We are so thankful for that. I literally thank God every day for my healthy children. The dr. thought our plan for preschool this summer was a great idea too and he could tell she was making a lot of progress. He said that looking back when we were first discussing if she had a problem or not, he was really glad we decided to pursue early intervention. Not that she wouldn't have maybe gotten it eventually, but this early help has made such a difference. 

Show Us Where You Live

So I thought it might be fun to participate in Kelly's blog carnival "Show Us Where You Live" this Friday. This is the living room addition. I am really happy with our living room, but thought it might be fun to see other houses and get ideas/suggestions. So, come along with us and join in if you want. Also be sure and go check out Kelly's cute house. MJ and I started praying for her little Harper back in January when she was very sick in the hospital. She's now a perfectly healthy little girl at home with her folks. And she is adorable!! Maybe she and J could meet some day. :) Anyway...here goes! Just so you get the full effect, this is the room before we remodeled and moved in last summer.

We were able to replace the carpet, remove wallpaper border and repaint the walls.

Here's an after shot of the entry. I just found the bench and it matches the mirror perfectly. Now I just need to order my baskets to go underneath to corral the shoes! 

Click for living room photos

 

The first photo is the view from our entryway. We had the rug in our old house and I just

love it. It has all the colors I love: sage green, crimson red and dark purple. I don't know what the "rules" are for putting a rug over carpet, but I like how it looks. Plus, I don't want to have all of our new carpet exposed. I like the color, but it's still pretty light. And I have small children: enough said.

This is the hub's corner. It has his recliner and his basket (and table) with 

all his cattle magazines. The girls love the rocker too. I usually sit in it when I'm feeding J. I would like to hang a long horizontal shelf along the left wall and a short one behind the chair to display photos. After patching so many holes, I'm a little hammer shy. That's why there is only one frame hanging up right now. The framed art is a little high, but that was the one nail I left in the wall. I know it's in a stud and that picture is heavy. Didn't want to take any chances. The chair is an extra from the dining room. It's been good seating too. I was going to put a ladder shelf there for some vertical shelving, but now with a new baby who will eventually be crawling, I think I'll take up more horizontal space with a floating shelf. Probably a safer option.

I love my red wall. I painted a couple walls red in our old house and just loved it. It was in the dining room and it more of an apple color. This is a darker though--Chianti from Behr at Home Depot. The rest of the walls are Hillsborough Beige from Benjamin Moore. It's the color my aunt has in her entry way. She gave me the paint chip when I was still in college and I held onto it ever since. I just knew I wanted to use that color in my house someday. We used in the living room, entry and down the hall. I went one shade lighter in the dining room, then one more lighter in the kitchen. It's a subtle difference and I love how it turned out. One of the first things we purchased was the flat screen. We already had all the furniture. I had hoped for a nice armoire to house the tv, but we started using the coffee table and it worked out just fine. Plus I like having all the open floor space. 

This was my parent's piano and I learned to play on it. M is already looking forward to taking lessons. I still play some, but it's hard when you have two little helpers who also want to play at the same time. We usually pull out the Christmas books during the holidays and they will let me play while the three of us sing.

My mom redid this wardrobe for me when I went to college. I had it in my first apartment. I just love it. I never liked dark wood until I had this piece and now I love dark wood the best. This piece means a lot to me. (This picture wound up blurry somehow). The saying above it reads: Life isn't about the breaths we take, its about the moments that take our breath away. The other one is from AtHome America. It's called Words of Endearment, Life's Rules. The six panels say Love your family, Love one another, Keep your faith, Always have hope, Follow your dreams and Cherish your home. 

Hope you enjoyed the tour of our living room. It was kind of fun describing it. Made me think about what things mean to me and why this space is important to us. Our family spends a lot of time in here. Fortunately we have a playroom, so we don't have to have any toys housed here like in the old house. It feels like an "adult" space, but is kid friendly. Lots of room for the girls to practice ballet moves, dance or do gymnastic stretchs. E loves to run around in circles too. Another reason we don't have a coffee table. :) We feel very blessed to have been able to move into this house, make changes to it and turn it into our home. 

Happy 3rd Birthday Emma!

5/5/06

5/5/09

This morning we celebrated your birthday with a donut breakfast courtesy of Daddy. Then, we took MJ to school and then ran to Walmart to pick up some birthday and thank you gifts. Today was your last session with Laura. We will all miss seeing her each week. This afternoon you rode your new scooter on the patio. About 5 p.m. you fell asleep in my arms on the couch. I had to put you down to finish fixing your birthday dinner. You woke up pretty cranky, which I suspected would happen. But, we were able to make it through dinner. I fixed Teriyaki Chicken and Veggies with Rice. After dinner, you opened cards and presents. You received this fun purple robe with a monkey on it from G'ma Jo and G'dad Brock. You and MJ enjoyed a bowl of ice cream for dessert while Daddy put together your new workbench. You girls then played with it for about half an hour before bedtime. You were still so tired, you went right to sleep. You have a big day tomorrow too-your first day of preschool! 

You came into this world three years ago today, unexpectedly two weeks early, but you have been a blessing ever since. You are such a joyful child, Emma. Full of spunk and spark with a beautiful grin that melts our hearts. You're our munchkin, our muffin, our Emmi. We love you so much, always and forever!

Love you,

Mom, Dad, Mackenzie and Jayten

Marathon blogger

Okay, so that was a marathon blogging session. And it's only the 4th of May! Granted most of the pics were from April that I hadn't posted yet. Plus, this really is my online scrapbook for the moment until I can get back to the real thing. 

It's been raining for three days now, off and on. Great for the crops, not so much fun for running around in or working in for Josh. The girls woke up with runny noses on Friday, and Josh and I have sore throats. I'm hoping it's allergies. And that J doesn't come down with anything. I finished a work project today and will have another one soon. We're all looking forward to a couple slow weeks before it gets busy again. 

I hope once the rain stops the girls and I can get outside again and back to the yard and planting flowers. That's always an activity we enjoy doing together each spring.

Well, enough for now. Hope it wasn't too overwhelming! 

3 months old

Our little guy turned 3 months old on Sunday! Where has the time gone? 

-he has slept through the night two nights in a row, including waking up in the middle of one, fussy for a little while then going back to sleep by himself. Yeah! He has slept through before, but not two in a row. We'll see what tonight brings. 

-he is very smiley, usually in the morning when he wakes up and has eaten, during diaper changes or anytime we put him on the floor and look at him

-he is still in size 2 diapers

-he has found his hands and is starting to suck on them a lot. I just hope he doesn't forget he likes his pacifier.

-he is surviving his daily maulings of kisses and hugs by big sister Emma

-the only time he is still is while he sleeps. Most of the time he is kicking his legs and flailing his arms around with a gleeful look

-he is starting to coo and gurgle a lot more

-I still don't quite know what his eat/nap schedule is, but whatever it is it seems to be working for all of us (maybe I should write that down?! Or just continue going with the flow)

-I found myself just wanting to sit and do nothing but hold him and look into those big blue eyes and talk to him while he smiles adoringly back at me. :)

-he's holding his head up better, but still does the bobble head

-he doesn't really like tummy time, and I need to be better at putting him there a little bit each day

-he has outgrown some of his 0-3 month clothes and is wearing a few 3-6 month things

-Josh calls him "Little J"

-some days he prefers to sleep in his bouncy seat where we all are. He won't stay asleep in the bassinet, but when I bring him out to the noise he sleeps right through it. Other days he takes a good nap in his bassinet. See I don't have it figured out so we just go with whatever. He also sleeps a lot in the car and during our running around. Can't beat that. 

-he still sleeps in his bassinet in our room. I am having a hard time thinking about moving him to his crib. We'll see if we get some more nights of not waking up. The girls were sleeping through by now, so it was easier with them. Plus there is something else holding me back I think.

-I've said this before, but it is so true. He is such a great baby and we are all so blessed to have him in our family.

We love you J Man! Happy 3 months!