The boys and I had so much fun today using the pot press MeMe gave us last year to roll newspaper into little compostable pots to start our carrot, cucumber, and onion seeds.
Author: Jodi
Twenty-Five Months…
In his twenty-fifth month, Roman is: saying things like “Move over you…okay Jonas?” and “Mommy, guess what?” and “No problem, Xander…don’t worry…wash them!”; loving his music class; showing concern and love for his friends and his brothers when they get hurt by comforting them; and turning into a total two year old.
Xander…
Xander is loving his gymnastics class and is SUPER into making his bed (he’s the best bed maker in the house). He is starting to get along much better with Roman (and Jonas) than he used to and has really been showing more and more of his servant’s heart lately. He’s been interested in reading too, so we’ve started working on recognizing a few beginning sight words and have been checking out rebus books from the library.
Grandma and Grandpa ‘s Visit…
Grandma and Grandpa came over for a visit with us this past week!!! We loved just being able to do life with them while they were here…preschool, gymnastics, music class, meal times, nap times, bed times, play times, fussy times, etc. Tom and I were so grateful to them for watching the boys for us for the weekend so we could go on a much-needed marriage retreat as well. Here are a few pictures of Grandma and Grandpa and the boys hanging out.
Roman’s First Music Class…
Roman is LOVING his very first music class. He gets to explore and play with all kinds of different instruments, sing and move and dance to fun songs while learning about pitch and tempo, and practice sharing by trading instruments during a jam session and taking turns playing the xylophone with his teacher and singing into the play microphone. Here he is enjoying himself with his super sweet music teacher.
Patting the Bulbs…
The boys and I have been babying two containers of bulbs (tulips and daffodils) that we forced indoors earlier this winter, and they’re finally coming up!!! It has been a long, cold winter, and we are all SO more than ready for the spring to be here at last. Here’s Roman coaxing them up with a little pat.
You know, I listened to a sermon recently about seasons…specifically the challenging season of winter…how it can be a time of preparation and pruning in our lives. A few things stood out to me…one just the picture of things being under the soil, hidden and dark and invisible, but still there and alive (just dormant) even though you don’t see them..two the idea of trusting the sower more than the seed…and three the thought of remaining…even in the hidden, dark, and invisible times…through the process of pruning to the new and better life that comes afterwards. Dear Lord, help me to trust You, the Sower, and to remain. And thank You for the different seasons of earth and life that You give…without which I could never fully appreciate the beauty of each.
Dinner with Dad…
Jonas and Xander were VERY excited to have a special dinner with Daddy at preschool tonight.
Jonas…
Jonas is excited about moving from a twin size bed to a full size bed and about starting his first season of coach pitch baseball!
Here are a few of his most recent quotes:
“Have you ever had a day when the earth turned upside down? Would you fall into the sky? But it would be fun…”
“Do you know who my favorite person is? God.”
For the First Time in Six Years…
I’ve just been thinking about this lately and am totally amazed and loving it (as any mom who has been either pregnant or nursing for five years in a row and is starting to come back to herself can attest)…
For the first time in six years:
1. Our youngest child is two, and I’m not pregnant.
2. We have only one kind of milk in our refrigerator (instead of breast milk, whole milk or 2%, and skim).
3. We have no infant’s medicine (only children’s) in our medicine cabinets.
4. There are no diapers whatsoever in the house.
5. All of our boys are sleeping in big boy beds.
6. We have only one booster seat (and no high chairs) at the table.
These may be small things, but they represent so much more to me. I saw a blog post of one of my favorite and most inspiring moms on the day she dropped her youngest child off at kindergarten this fall. She took a picture of herself to share with the world, and she wasn’t crying…she was jumping up and down with a big smile on her face. That is me right now in celebration of these small things.
What Did I Just Say?!?…
It’s time for another installment of “What Did I Just Say?!?”. I know they’re all commands, but really when you find yourself in that situation…there’s no sweet way to say it…words just come rushing out with no filter whatsoever while you’re marveling at the ridiculousness of what you just said. Oh how much has motherhood changed me. Maybe it’s the multiple boys close in age thing or maybe it’s the frightening and sobering thought that it’s something I’m doing (or not doing)…but hopefully it’s just because they’re energetic and curious boys, being active participants in their own lives (and in the lives of others…ha!).
“I don’t want you using that saw.”
“Don’t lick the door.”
“Get off the windowsill.”
“Get out of the dryer.”
“Don’t spit on your brother.”
“Get off the trash can.”
I mean…really? Yes…really. (Half of these were directed towards my five year old.) God help me!
Twenty-Four Months…
At twenty-four months, Roman is: saying things like “Yummy in my tummy”, “No eat my carrot, Petra”, “Don’t worry, Mommy”, “Love you, Mommy”, “Miss you, Mommy”, and more; cutting a few more teeth; and going from telling me he needed a diaper change to telling me he needed to go potty in just a few short weeks (I was fully intentioning to wait until this summer to potty train him but decided to shelve that and just go with his current awareness/desire and jump right in with him…we’re all losing sleep and are more than a little energy drained, but he’s doing really well with it and hasn’t looked back since he wore his last diaper last week…go Ro!).
Xan-Man…
Here are several of Xander’s most recent one-liners:
“Mom can I play with you for one million minutes?”
“Guinea pigs don’t need tails…they just need bottoms.”
Xander: “Mom, this is a shooter tooter.”
Mom: “What’s a shooter tooter?”
Xander: “They toot on stuff.”
“Mom, I made a bunch of creations for the trash because he needed some food…he said he was hungry.”
“When I grow up, I want to be a kisser.”
Pajama Day…
Today was pajama day at preschool… Jonas was super excited.
Changing Wheels…
Tom surprised Xander yesterday with a bicycle (thank you, Freecycle!). This morning, he put the training wheels from Jonas’ bicycle on it, and Xander had a big time trying it out. Roman has been flirting with Xander’s tricycle for a while now (which will pass to him, even though he’s not quite big enough to ride it yet…although I’m sure Xander will still ride it some), and he loved just sitting on it with his feet on the pedals, ringing the bell. And Jonas enjoyed the adventure of trying to ride his bicycle without the training wheels. (You know…watching that process was as thrilling, if not more so, for me as watching him learn how to walk. He’s not there yet, but I’m so excited for the freedom that will come for that wild little boy when he gets there.)
Climbing Wall…
Tom is working on building a climbing wall in our garage this weekend. I love these pictures of each boy taking a turn, scaling the wall, with Daddy close behind.
Picnic Time…
The boys just love having picnics with their stuffed animal friends. I guess it’s the boy version of tea parties. Here Xander and Roman are with their morning setups (and yes…I had to convince Xander to put some underwear on for the picture…ha):
Marshmellow…
We brought home Xander’s class pet this morning for the weekend…Marshmellow the guinea pig. The boys just love her…they scoot their chairs over to peek into her cage to check and see how she’s doing, they wave at her and say hello from across the room, they’re absolutely delighted to hold her, and they enjoy helping me with her daily care. Yay for class pets, and yay for super sweet boys to love them!
Jonas…
Jonas is really into non-fiction books lately…we’ve been going to the library and checking out books on all sorts of subjects that interest him like plants and trees, submarines, fire trucks, and the solar system. He is soaking it up like a sponge. He’s also been having a blast pretending anything and everything with Xander and cracking up at the things Roman says and does. Here are a few of his most recent one liners:
“Just like all snowflakes are different…all people are different.”
“I don’t want to be Xander’s friend until all snowflakes are alike.”
Building a Race Car…
Tom took Jonas to Home Depot this morning to the Build a Race Car Workshop. Jonas loved having special time with daddy and is super proud of his new creation.
Twenty-Three Months…
In his twenty-third month, Roman is: coming up with all sorts of things to say like “Ro Ro turn”, “Petra eat it”, “Sku me burp”, “heard airplane too…listen…coming”, “Petra good girl”, “logurt” for yogurt, “did it”, “find it”, “reach it…need chair”, “mommy I need you”, “wait mommy…red light”, “Doing?”, “Going?”, “naked boy”, “Jonas”, “Xander”, “Why?”, “mean”, “AhAh best friend”, “fist bump Petra”, and more; still winning the messiest and whiny-est boy at mealtimes award; sleeping a little longer in the morning FINALLY (thanks to daddy for his ninja process of elimination in figuring that one out); and continuing to bless our hearts with his happy, into everything, passionate, talkative, snuggly self.
