Author: Jodi

Happy 1st Birthday, Roman!!!

Jodi Leave a comment

It’s so hard to believe that Roman is already a year old!!!
He’s such a great little guy…laid back and spirited at the same time, always ready to smile, very loving (physical touch is definitely one of his love languages), a big (and messy) eater, and an explorer through and through.
We ended up taking a trip to the pediatrician’s office on his birthday and having a quiet day at home because Jonas was sick (he had strep), but we still had a fun day together.
He had a blast at his birthday party this afternoon, playing with Pops and Maw, Aunt Julie, Mommy and Daddy, and Jonas and Xander. (The proof is in the cupcake on his face…ha!)

Monkey…

Jodi Leave a comment

I’ve been waiting to see who Roman would choose to be his special stuffed animal friend. When he was a baby, it was definitely his green elephant lovey that our dear friends, The Reamers, gave him when he was born. Now that he’s a toddler (it’s crazy to think about how fast he’s growing), he’s been walking around carrying the gray monkey Pops and Maw gave him for Christmas. When I lay him down in his bed to sleep, he crooks his little arm around him and makes the sweetest little contented noises. And whenever he sees him, he says, “Ah ah ah!” (I think because we say, “Roman, what does a monkey say? Ooo ooo ooo ah ah ah!”). It’s so funny how the stuffed animal friends the boys have chosen reflect their personalities…Jonas has Pooh bear (maybe Tigger is truer to his personality but still…haha!), Xander has Wolfie and his Little Lambies, and Roman has Monkey. So sweet!!!

20130310-081324.jpg

The Color of Snow…

Jodi Leave a comment

Xander was so cute this morning with the snow falling outside of our kitchen window. I asked him what color it was (we’ve been working on our colors), and he said, “I gon’ show dou!”. He ran into the living room to pick up a dinosaur book of colors we had just checked out from the library, ran back into the kitchen, opened it up to this page, and pointed to white! Yay, Xander!!!

20130309-144259.jpg

Thirty-Two Months…

Jodi Leave a comment

At thirty-two months, Xander is: making his little (or should I say big) voice be heard around the house; learning how to go potty without Mommy’s help (we’ve been working on this one…I think he’s getting there…I think I’m just more moral support right now); starting to sing his ABCs, counting to 10 (after 10 he skips around a bit but it’s so cute to hear him), and learning to identify his colors and shapes; showing equal amounts aggression and kindness towards his brothers; and enjoying leading prayer at the table (he is so precious and suprisingly loud with it).

He amazed me with this quote of the month, as he was investigating the side of the cereal box:
“I gon look and see if dis has peanuts in it.”

Fifty-Two Weeks…

Jodi Leave a comment

At fifty-two weeks, Roman is: speeding up the walking (and getting more bumps and bruises along the way); laying down in his bed drowsy but awake more often than not and drifting off to sleep peacefully; taking two naps a day and wanting to go to bed a little earlier than he used to because he dropped his late afternoon nap; carrying around things when he’s walking…like his sleep sack and stuffed animal friend Monkey; and cutting two teeth on the top (it’s totally changing his look).

20130310-082331.jpg

Sorting Opposites…

Jodi Leave a comment

While Roman was taking his morning nap, I thought Jonas and Xander would enjoy sorting opposites (a fun activity I saw on Pinterest). I gathered up things from around the house and gave them each their own bucket of things to sort. They had a BLAST and did a great job sorting…hard and soft, heavy and light, and floats and sinks. (The floats and sinks things trumped them…but putting them in water, testing them out, and having a visual really helped.) So fun!!!

5th Wedding Anniversary…

Jodi Leave a comment

Tom and I celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary this weekend!!!

Our sweet friend, Shana, set aside her life for a day to come and stay with the boys…she has such a servant’s heart and is SO good with the buddies (they have loved her from day one as we have…she was the only person besides Mommy and Daddy that Xander would rest his head on when he was a baby which just speaks volumes). It was fun texting back and forth with pictures of what we were doing…the boys looked so happy.

Tom and I went for a hike at Henry Horton State Park, enjoyed happy hour at the hotel, shared a delicious dinner at Macaroni Grill, had our first full night’s sleep in a long while (my first full night’s sleep since before Roman was born), ate a huge breakfast at the hotel, and headed home to love on the boys.

Here are a few pictures of our fabulous hike and dinner, and here’s one of Jonas having fun playing with Shana.

Fifty-One Weeks…

Jodi Leave a comment

At fifty-one weeks, Roman is: shoveling in the food (he definitely wins the messiest eater award…holy cow…even with a bib…he has to have a full wardrobe change after every meal); dancing to his favorite music; and wait for it…walking (he looks like a cross between a T. Rex and George Jefferson when he’s walking…cracks me up).

Visit to the Dentist…

Jodi Leave a comment

So, Xander went for his first visit to the dentist today!!! He got to sit in the cookie monster chair and watch Jonas get his teeth counted, cleaned, polished, and flouridated first, so he was totally cool when it was his turn to do the same…with one condition…that he get to sit in mommy’s lap. He did GREAT, and I was so proud of him and so proud of Jonas too…they were really such little men. Here’s a picture of them with our sweet hygienist (Mrs. Connie) and dentist (Dr. Robertson).

Fifty Weeks…

Jodi Leave a comment

In his fiftieth week, Roman is: saying “cracker”; taking a few unassisted steps here and there; and burning it up on the slide in the bonus room (he crawls up the slide, scoots down the slide, and stands at the top bouncing up and down, playing peek-a-boo and shrieking with delight at his brothers as they play).

Valentine’s Day…

Jodi Leave a comment

We had a super sweet Valentine’s Day at our house…

I saw a great idea on Pinterest where you “heart attack” your child’s door from February 1 through February 14 with paper hearts and reasons why you love your children, ending with a special gift for them on Valentine’s Day. So, I did it for all of my guys (including Tom). One afternoon, after a particularly challenging day, Jonas noticed that there were paper hearts addressed to everybody but me and said, “Mommy, I want you to have hearts too!” (It just floored me that he would think outside of himself like that.) One of my love languages is encouraging words, so I said, “Okay, buddy, what’s something that you love about mommy?” He said, “I love the noise of you reading books to me.” Aw!!! So precious to my heart…one of my sweetest ever mommy moments.

I also did another fun Pinterest thing from the Toddler Approved Acts of Kindness Project with the boys…we read a book called “Heartprints” by P.K. Halliman, and I started passing out paper hearts for the boys to put on our kitchen wall with their names on it along with the kind things they do…it has been so good for all of us to think about (so much so that I’m totally going to keep doing it past February).

Happy Valentine’s Day to you and yours!!!

Wild Man…

Jodi Leave a comment

Lately, Jonas (and Xander) are learning to restrain themselves from using “potty talk” at the table. We’ve been whittling it down to maybe one incidence a meal time (MUCH better than it was) after a visit to the Time Out Step for every infraction. Oh my goodness…the things that become the center of your energy and attention as a parent sometimes are so laughable. Anyway…Jonas has been the ring leader for pushing the boundaries with words like “Pooh Bear”, “Pookie” (like the little pig character in the Sandra Boynton books), and “P the Letter”. Little stinker.
In other news, he is totally into sight words and word families and LOVES and can read, with minimal assistance, the books in the Dick and Jane series. I’m so excited for him as he enters this next phase in his love of books!!!
Here are a few of his latest one-liners:
“I bet I will grow even taller than a skeletal system.”
“Mommy, the sun is close to Venus.”
“Mommy, I wonder how our Christmas tree decorations are doing under the house.”

Shoe Detectives…

Jodi Leave a comment

After Jonas got home from school and Xander and Roman woke up from their naps, Roman hung out with Daddy while I took Jonas and Roman on an “expedition” to find Xander’s shoe in the woods. Xander and Spencer were blazing trails in the woods left and right on our morning walk, and on their last trail blazing adventure lost Xander’s shoe. We didn’t have time to look for it at the time, as Roman was in desperate need of a nap. Anyway, Joans and Xander were SUPER excited to go exploring. (They especially liked the pumpkins, that for some reason, someone had left several of sitting out in the woods). After two run-throughs, we finally found it. Yay!!! And yay for the hint of spring in the weather and for an adventure in the woods with my little boys!!!

Walking with Friends…

Jodi Leave a comment

After we dropped Jonas off at preschool and made a quick grocery store run, I loaded Xander and Roman up in the stroller and we went for a walk with our dear neighborhood friends…The Bates. It’s amazing how much we’ve hung out over the past few years and how few pictures I’ve taken. So, I was excited to start to remedy that today with this snapshot of Xander and Spencer on the walking trail.

Another Snow Day…

Jodi Leave a comment

The snow was REALLY coming down this morning when the boys and I woke up…it was so sweet to see them all rush to the window and stand there looking out in fascination. It truly is just as mesmerizing and soul-quieting for me to watch the snow fall now as it was for me when I was a little child. I pointed out the birds flying to Jonas, and he asked me where they were going. I said probably some place warmer. He said he thought they were flying up to space where the sun is. Ha! I also enjoyed this conversation…
Xander: Where’s the snow coming from?
Jonas: God…He says let there be snow…and it just falls.
We waited until Roman went down for his morning nap and Daddy got home to bundle up and head out to play. The boys made snow angels and tasted the snow, we all threw snowballs, and (as our snowman building attempts failed) Tom made a snow volcano…complete with baking soda and red vinegar. Yay for weekend snow days!!!

Thirty-One Months…

Jodi Leave a comment

At thirty-one months, Xander is: starting to explore his feelings more by doing faces at the dinner table with Daddy for sad, mad, happy, suprised, and excited; saying things like “I’m mad” with a scrunched up face; continuing to have the most natural good manners (like holding the door open for Mommy at the library and saying things like “May I have…”); taking his plate to the sink after asking to be excused from the table after meals; having moments of frustration and aggression towards his brothers but also having moments of great sweetness and servant-heartedness; learning how to really take the reins with going potty, washing his hands, and getting undressed and dressed; and loving (like the wanting to play it every day multiple times kind of loving) the new game that the Paccassis got the boys for Christmas…Zingo!

Here are a few of his most recent sayings that have caused my ears to perk up and my heart to smile:

“Mommy said a potty word at the table…she said ‘toot'”.

“There’s nothing to be afraid of, Mommy, you just can’t see the trees out the window.”

“Did you be so proud of me, Mommy?”

“I am mad, Dad, because of that sun…I want to turn off it.”

“I am a great yeller.”

“This book is really cool.”

“I love your pretty socks.”

Xander: “Am I your best Xan-Man?”
Mommy: “You are my best Xan-Man.”
Xander: “You’re my best Mommy.”