Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Basketball!
Jack’s sports class has been a lot of fun! Today they played basketball and Jack had a great time! These pictures are all courtesy of Heidi. Have you ever seen a mom watch over three children all the while snapping such great pictures? It’s a skill, I tell ya! I’m so glad she’s gifted in this way because the pictures sure are fun to have! Thanks, Heidi! =)
Shelbi and Jack
Making a basket!
So what does Abby do while Jack takes his class? Some days she stays home with Daddy, and other days she plays at the little park right above the practice field. She had a fun time there today climbing, sliding and swinging with her friend, Maggie.
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Update
Thankfully, Jack’s bite was not as bad as we originally thought. He definitely bit clean through a good chunk of the side of the tongue, but after the surgeon looked at it he decided it could probably heal up on its own. He told Tim that tongues heal fairly well, and don’t even leave a scar. (Would anyone really care if they had a scar on their tongue?) We knew that, but honestly, it looked really bad to us. There was a lot of blood, of course, but that wasn’t what concerned us. It was the nice flap he had going on on the side - yeesh! I’m still glad we took him in, just to be sure. I am curious to see how it looks when he gets home.
So what injury has your child had that freaked you out? Did it wind up being valid or was it just one for the parental learning curve?
Tongue Trouble
Tim is on his way to Urgent Care right now with Jack, who fell off a chair at dinner tonight and bit his tongue pretty badly. We think he’ll need stitches. My stomach is in knots for him. I know how badly he hates shots, and wonder how the recovery will be. Ugh.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Make a Silly Face, Kids!
Baseball!
Jack is taking a sports class through the city and yesterday they started baseball! Jack had a GREAT time!
Here he is with his friend, Shelbi
You can see how much fun he’s having and how proud he is!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Happy 5th Birthday, Jack!
Dear Jack,
Happy Birthday, son! We can hardly believe five years have passed since you were born. Was it really that long ago that we first held you in our arms? Heard your first cry? Examined all your little fingers and toes? You have changed us completely, all for the better. It was your life that made us parents and what a privilege it is to be your mother and father. Watching you grow from a baby to a toddler, from a preschooler to this little man standing before us has been an amazing gift, one that we are thankful for every single day! You are so curious, smart, funny and loving. A wonderful big brother and son, we are proud of who you are, and look forward to seeing how God shapes you and what plans He has for you. We thank God for trusting you to us, and we want more than anything for you to grow up to know, fear and love the wonderful Father who gave you life. We love you, Jack!
Love,
Mom and Dad
One More Day…
5 years ago today my water had already broken and labor had begun!
One supportive Husband-Coach, one cup of ice chips…
Soon this little guy would be in our arms to cuddle, rock and snuggle. Let the tired begin!
Monday, April 14, 2008
Countdown To Jack’s 5th Birthday
two more days, so…
...two eyes with THOSE EYELASHES!! They’re usually one of the first things people notice about Jack, the handsome devil! =)
Around 6 months
Four and a half years old
And here here are TWO pictures of him on his 2nd birthday, enjoying some frosting with Uncle Ron (Tim’s uncle)!
3 More Days…
Three Tigers!!
Yes, we started with one tiger, but after tiring of the “Tiger Search” each night, we finally broke down and bought a couple extras. He loves having all his tigers together, but is okay if only one is available. He used to take a Tiger everywhere, but now is okay to keep him at home or in the car. When Jack was much younger, he actually attatched to a soft puppy dog, but after it got lost (the agony!!) we bought him a tiger made by the same company with the same soft fabric. He does have a favorite which he calls his “Flat-Eared Tiger.” We can’t tell who’s who, but Jack totally can. I know this little lovey’s days are numbered and Tiger will always hold a special place in my heart!
Here he is with the original puppy
And here he is with Tiger on the day Abby was born. He’s 2 years and 2 months old here. It seems like yesterday!
4 More Days…
Only 4 more days until Jack turns 5!! I’m copying my friend Heidi’s idea of counting down to a child’s birthday, so here are 4 things that I love about Jack!
1. Sense of humor. Jack loves to laugh, make goofy faces and sounds, and just be silly in general. I love when he laughs so hard that he cries. That’s the best! Yesterday he told us a joke. “Mom, what kind of bed does a fish sleep in? A waterbed!” A sense of humor will get him a long way in life, especially when he learns to laugh at himself!
2. An inquisitive spirit. He want to know the answer to everything. I know every mom gets tired of hearing the age-old question “why?”, but I like knowing that he’s interested in the world and wants to reason things out. It is so much fun watching that reason develop and mature.
3. He’s a snuggler! Oooh, this might be my favorite! =) He loves to be near people, to sit in laps, hold hands, give kisses and hugs, have his back scratched or have someone cuddle with him at bedtime. He has been known to literally chase down his cousins to give them a hug and a kiss before they leave our house, much to their chagrin! I love that he’s such a physically affectionate little guy!
4. Strong-willed. Am I crazy, you ask? Maybe. But while this character trait can be a source of conflict in our house right now, I also like knowing that down the road he will be strong in his convictions and not pushed around by every whim of his friends or culture. Tim and I have the job of guiding that strong will, so that’s humbling - but that’s another post!
Sunday, April 06, 2008
White Mountains Getaway!
We took a trip to Arizona a couple weeks ago to visit my brother and his family. They are such fun people! Brian was on his spring break, so it was super nice of them to let us crash his vacation. (We didn’t stay the whole week. We did give them a few days to themselves!) They live in the White Mountains of AZ so we spent a lot of time outdoors in several of their wooded parks. We don’t get out into nature like that very often, so it was really a treat for us. We were there over Easter so it was special to spend that holiday with them!
Here are Emily, Katy and Jack on the bikes with Ali looking on
I wish I was as photogenic as this cutie-pie. I don’t think it’s possible to get a bad picture of Alison!
Getting ready for the Easter egg hunt. Brian lined them all up inside, then marched them out to the backyard like a bunch of little ducklings to snap this photo before they were allowed to begin searching. This is their backyard - I love it, all foresty.
Happy
Laura’s Dad came over on Easter and the kids swarmed him, ready for some reading!
“Oh yeah. Check out the loot.” He was super excited about these sea creatures.
Brian and Laura - thanks for the GREAT visit!
Weekend
We had a nice, relaxing weekend!
Most of the day on Saturday was spent replacing some plants in our front yard that just haven’t been recovering well from the cold a couple winters back. After breakfast we went to the local nursery and picked out some new boxwood, lilies, Indian hawthorne and geraniums. I have never really been that into plants. In all honesty, I must confess that I have a black thumb. It’s just a simple fact about me - I kill plants. Even the hardiest ones. Even the ones that are supposed to be “easy”. (Kristen, do you remember Pete? And Repeat?) But for some reason I really enjoyed our trip and was loving looking at everything there. Maybe I’m maturing, or maybe it was because everything was blooming and looking so darn pretty! The kids loved being outside, seeing all the plants and trees, but by the time I remembered to snap a couple pictures, we had been there an hour and a half and Abby was done.
The one little smile I coaxed out of her.
Yup. She’s had it. Is that not the saddest face?
We came home and spent most of the afternoon planting our new purchases. I made some cookies, and then we tried out a new (to us) church in our area. Had a really good experience - nice people, good preaching, organized Sunday School classes for the kids.
Oatmeal cookies, a family favorite
We had a nice, leisurely morning today. Tim made waffles and then we just hung around the house until lunch when we went to Grandma’s house to eat with the whole family. I spent a good portion of my time there admiring her beautiful flowers and taking note of the ones I particularly liked. Aren’t they beautiful??
Aren’t these sweet little flowers beautiful too? =) Abby and Maddie have such a good time together!
Tim and his Mom
Aaron, Annette and Cami
My funny nephew, Zach
I just love weekends like this - lots of family time, an outdoor project that was fun but not too overwhelming, good worship at church, a little baking…it makes a huge difference going into this next week!
Friday, March 28, 2008
Roasted Cauliflower with Paprika
Here’s a really simple recipe for roasted cauliflower that I tried tonight. The whole family gave it a thumbs up, so I’ll definitely make it again. I got it out of my Everyday Food magazine (thanks, Melissa!).
1 head cauliflower, cored and broken into small florets
2 T. olive oil
1 1/2 t. paprika
coarse salt and ground pepper
Preheat oven to 450. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Spread cauliflower on foil. Sprinkle with oil and paprika; toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Roast until tender and lightly browned, 20-25 minutes, tossing once.
Easy, no?
Monday, March 17, 2008
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!
We celebrated this morning by making green eggs. Tomorrow Jack wants to make purple eggs. =)
The kids ate in shifts, since Abby was up around 7 and Jack didn’t stumble downstairs until close to 8:30! I used to wish Abby slept in later like her brother, but I’ve really grown to love this one-on-one time with her. Anyway, notice the sprinkles in Jack’s hand. He thought those made the eggs taste “extra yummy.”
Enjoying those eggs!
My Mom sent them several fun projects to work on this month for Saint Patrick’s Day and Easter. So gearing up for today’s green festivities, they spent the past week making Leprechaun Books (and Jack is learning to read his), coloring shamrocks, and graphing M&M’s on a rainbow. My Mom has worked in Kindergarten, 1st grade, and now with her school’s Reading Recovery program, for the past 30+ years so she loves putting these things together for the kids. We love reaping the benefits of her experience and creativity! She thinks of so many fun and educational things for them to do and makes life more exciting around here! =)
After breakfast, I dropped the kids off at Annette’s house for the day. Yes, THE DAY! Several months ago we started trading off whole days of babysitting for one another. Annette often takes sub days, and I like to just get a day to myself! The kids enjoy playing with their cousins all day, so they’re quite happy with the arrangement too. I get the whole gang on Thursday and thanks to my Mom, we may just graph some jellybeans or something…!
On a final note, this weekend we got a playset for the kids. Here they are enjoying it. There’s a slide on the far end, too - it just wasn’t on quite yet when this picture was snapped. I feel a lot of fun summer playing comin’ on!
Thursday, March 13, 2008
The Beginnings of Bachelorhood
One of the most rewarding aspects of motherhood to me is watching my kids learn something new. Last month Jack learned a new skill - he can make his own PB & J. When I got out all the fixings to make his lunch one afternoon he asked, “Mom, can I do it?” My heart kind of sighed as I thought about the mess it would be, how frustrated he would get, and then how I’d have to clean it up and also still make the sandwich. Shoving my personal feelings aside, I bit my tongue and choked out, “Sure. Give it a try.” He needed a little bit of help here and there, but he surprised me at what a good job he did! There was a ton of peanut butter on it, and the jelly squished out the sides, but he enjoyed every bite. I am so glad I gave him the opportunity to do it because he not only got a yummy sandwich, but a big confidence boost too! It was a nice reminder to me that I need to be careful to let him enjoy being a kid, and not keep him from experiences because I selfishly don’t want to clean up a mess or deal with a problem.
Getting nice and sticky!
Mission completion!
