I had lunch with Jonas and Xander at preschool today in honor of Mother’s Day. They gave me the sweetest gifts, hugs, and smiles. (We ended up leaving a little bit early as Xander had a meltdown about the Oreos I brought him just in case the treats they provided were not peanut-free which they weren’t…some meltdowns will forever be a mystery to me…oh well…I just keep trying to take a deep breath and try again.) Anyway…Happy Mother’s Day!
Roman had fun washing cars his own way while his big brothers were at school today…
Jonas has been sick all week, so we’ve been taking it super easy. This morning, the boys did some painting with watercolor and fingerpaints. (I couldn’t find the paint brushes in our overflowing craft bins, so I found some q-tips in our bathroom closet for the boys to paint with while I did a little bit of craft supply organizing.) In my mini downsizing project of our slightly out of control collection of coloring, activity, and skills books…I was so excited to find a Paint with Water book that I think Aunt Sherri gave the boys a while back!!! I have the fondest memories of spending countless summer minutes on these with my sisters and cousin at my Granny and Grandpa’s house, and I loved watching Jonas and Xander have just as much fun with them.
In his twenty-sixth month, Roman is: delighting in his newfound abilities to close doors, put on his shoes, buckle himself into his booster seat at the table, and pedal a tricycle; overjoying his Mommy and Daddy by finally getting the poop side of potty training after a loooooooong two and a half months; really getting into screeching; and cracking his brothers up at the table and in the car.
He’s got some major lungs that he uses all the time to talk and sing and make his needs and wants known. Here are a few of the funny things he’s been saying:
Mommy: “That’s a no no.”
Roman: “That’s a yes yes.”
Mommy (when Roman wakes up in the morning): “Pacis are for sleeping.”
Roman: “Pacis are for waking up.”
Xander is such an individual…he is an observer (a true noticer of life) and loves just doing his own thing. Here are a few of the things he’s said recently that just lit up my heart:
(While playing with bubble wrap, he said…)
“I think God made this for boys to play with.”
Mommy: “Xander, what do you want to be when you grow up?”
Xander: “I want to be myself…I want to be Xander.”
Jonas got the coolest gift for his birthday last year…a crystal mining kit. He has totally loved digging through the rock with his special tools to unearth crystals. So, when Tom found a few dinosaur bone digging kits on clearance, he brought them home for the boys. It was the perfect thing to bring out this week, as Jonas has been sick and we’ve been taking it easy at home. It definitely made a mess (next time we’ll take it outside), but they had so much fun with it which is what matters most.
Uncle Kerry came out to Jonas’ baseball game tonight…here he is hanging out with Jonas on the bleachers after the game while Jonas digs into his post game snack.
Jonas and I have been enjoying an ongoing conversation about all of the first bloomers of spring (inspired by Pops, we’ve been talking about how it’s like a symphony of nature that God orchestrates). Jonas has an eye now for daffodils, tulips, Bradford Pear trees, redbuds, dogwoods, and forsythia and likes to point them out on our drives to and from preschool.
This morning we got to school early (I was feeling ready to have them all strapped in and going somewhere). Jonas is always going 100 mph, Xander is always going 0 mph, and Roman is always screeching because he doesn’t like being confined to the stroller (but managing three different speeds of independent mobility is not my idea of fun at preschool drop off and pick up with the busy parking lot and chaotic narrow hallways packed with teachers, parents, preschoolers, and siblings so Roman has to roll with it in that moment for Mommy’s sanity). Anyway, Xander is a true observer…constantly bringing up the rear to investigate a worm or pick a dandelion or lick the snow off of the sidewalk…who often (admittedly and sadly) gets hurried up. But, in my heart of hearts (outside of the busy pace of life that I let so often take over and consume me), I know he’s got the right idea. So, this morning, I just had to spend our extra time on our way into school, joining with him in enjoying the beauty of the flowering trees that have covered the flower beds in a pool of pink. Thank you, God, for life and for children who teach us how to live it.
At the end of every baseball game, the coaches give the game ball to the most deserving player. Tonight that player was Jonas!!! He was so excited when they called his name…he looked like he was about to cry. Bless his sweet heart. Here he is…looking proud with Daddy.
The boys and I were SO excited to see our dear friends, the Bowens, who were in town this week. They moved to Texas over a year ago, and we have missed them so very much. I love these pictures of all of our little ones playing in the sandbox together. Lizza was pregnant with Bennett (in the red checked shirt) when I was pregnant with Xander…and they were born a month apart. She was also pregnant with Isabelle (in the green and white shirt) when I was pregnant with Roman…and they were born a few days apart. It’s just amazing to see them all together…what miracles of life. Her newest little one is named Roseberry, and this was our first time meeting her…so that was really special too. I praise God for the dearest of friends for whom distance on the map is no distance at all.
The boys loved having an Easter egg hunt at the park this morning with several sweet moms and kids from our moms’ group. They had fun rotating around to the playground, the snack table, and the arts and crafts table before and after the hunt. At first, Jonas and Xander hunted on the “big kid” side and Roman hunted on the “little kid” side. But Roman very quickly put the breaks on that and absolutely would not pick anything up, so we just walked over to the “big kid” side and he went right to work.
I, for some reason, had a panic/anxiety attack soon after we got there and almost bolted with all the boys. But I am so thankful for the caliber and community of moms in our group who know and see what’s going on and who pass no judgement, step right up when you have to step back, and encourage you with love and understanding no matter what kind of mommy moment you’re having.
The boys and I love hanging out in our front yard. We had an impromptu Easter egg hunt when Jonas got home from school this afternoon.
We loaded up and went to the Buttercup Festival this morning. The boys had so much fun in the bounce houses and at the petting zoo. Here they are loving on the sheep and goats.
The boys were so excited that it was warm enough this afternoon to bust out the water table!
While Jonas and Xander were at preschool this morning, Roman and I got to take a tour of the Hatcher Family Dairy with our moms’ group. He was all about drinking the little sample cups of chocolate milk and milking the pretend cow. He was also totally fascinated with the port-a-potties, the farm cat, and the hand washing station so we made repeated visits after short interludes checking out the chickens, the cows, the creamery, and the milking parlor. It was fun for me just having one little boy to chase around, and he had a blast exploring the farm.
Jonas and I went to his cousin Val’s soccer game this afternoon while Daddy held down the fort with his napping brothers. We enjoyed hanging out with Aunt Heather on the sidelines, cheering Val on. I was happy to see Jonas be brave and go play with a group of kids behind us during the latter part of the game…his cousin, Annabella, was there with them so I know that helped give him courage. For as confident as he is (like his Daddy), he can be a little shy in big groups or in new situations (like his Mommy)…so I just love seeing him develop that social skill of making friends in a group of kids he doesn’t know for the most part. Here he is climbing a goal (or something like that) with Val after the game.
Jonas is enjoying putting some more practice in with baseball at home (especially hitting and catching grounders), playing baseball games, and being the Star of the Week at preschool (he got to do an interview with his teacher, take home and fill up the Estimation Jar, and share his talent…he chose reading).
Jonas had his first (coach pitch) baseball game of the season this afternoon. The game started about an hour late, but we enjoyed our time hanging out with Pops and Maw beforehand.
Roman pulled a nice one while we were there…I was talking to a friend I hadn’t seen in a while with Roman right beside me. The next thing I know this lady comes up to me and says discreetly, “I thought you ought to know his pants are down.” Goodness gracious… I have no idea if he had already peed, was about to pee, or had lost the battle of elastic with his pants…but either way…we all had a good laugh over it…and hopefully it gave some young mother hope in realizing she’s not alone. Ha! Atleast he’s two and looks like he’s one, so it’s somewhat excusable if not almost adorable…but still.
Next time, I’ll bring snacks and drinks (we had a snack before we left and I just didn’t think we’d need another one…but we did) and some sand toys for the little boys to play with in the dirt (they borrowed some from another little boy and it kept them happy and busy for a little while).
Jonas was so cute in his uniform. I love this picture of him with Coach Ed (who coaches his team along with Coach Josh), who has such a heart for Jonas…he was giving him a quick batting tutorial/pep talk here…and he hit the ball…he was so excited he almost forgot to run. Love it.
We are FINALLY starting our garden and are so excited!!! I don’t think I’ve been more ready for spring in all of my life.
The boys and I picked up a big bag of really good garden soil to work in (I have no clue what I’m doing…I just thought it might be nice to give back to our hard working garden) and some vegetable and herb plants (tomatoes, bell peppers, rosemary, and lavender) that we saw on sale this morning.
They were all big helpers to Mommy…transporting the plants and soil from the car to the garden, spreading the rich soil out, and planting our vegetables and herbs (and even a few perennial flowers we decided to add this year…echinacea and hollyhocks).
Big surprises this year are a three year old rosemary that didn’t make it through the cold winter, a few blackberry bushes that have come up voluntarily, and a handful of bulbs that we had to rescue and plant in pots because the waterlogged soil where they were planted was pushing them up and out of the ground (we’ll be moving those in the fall).
We’re also looking forward to planting our carrots, onions, and cucumbers that we’re starting indoors.
You know…it’s funny…when I was out planting a few of the tomatoes during nap time…just the smell immediately brought me back to childhood summer memories of working with my Grandpa in his garden. It was enough to bring up all of that missing him and made me want to cry. But how blessed is it sometimes to have our memories so attached to our senses that, from the simple action of putting a tomato plant in the ground in early spring, we can be instantly taken back to walking the rows of our Grandpa’s garden in the heat of summer with a stainless steel bucket, enjoying our quality time and watching carefully as he points out the ones that are just right for picking. A beautiful forever memory…hopefully we’re making some too.
Xander and Roman took a long nap this rainy afternoon, so Jonas and I got to spend some quality time together during quiet time. He’s been asking me to do some more “lessons” with him (I go in and out of being motivated and with it enough energy wise, but I’m going to try to resurrect them for all three boys three days a week this spring and summer…sounds ambitious but we can try).
So, we started with him practicing writing his first and last name with the first letters uppercase and the others lowercase…a skill the kindergarten team mentioned as important for rising kindergarteners to have (at the registration meeting Tom and I attended earlier this week). His preschool and preschool teachers are AWESOME, so he writes in his journal every morning, alternating with his name, his address, and his phone number.
Then, I thought he might enjoy talking about coins again…so we sorted them by color and size and talked about their names and how much they’re worth. I love having no agenda and one on one time with each of my boys because it always morphs into something really fun. We came up with a game of Candy Store, taking turns being the buyer and the seller. It was interesting coming up with different combinations with him for paying and giving change and to hear him talk through his thought process. It ended up being such a great real world practice activity…with identifying coins, using addition and subtraction, counting by fives and tens, etc. He even went all businessman on me and inflated the price of a sucker from 45 cents to 98 cents…ha!!!
