Author: Jodi

My dear friend, Marcie Kindred, took our family pictures today. She is such a laid back, fun, and positive spirit and has such a gift for capturing the moment. Thank you so much, Marcie!!!

Xander is TOTALLY into puzzles right now. These are two of his very favorites (he works them pretty much every day).

Jonas joined the band of sick brothers today, so we had another low-key day at home. We stayed in our pajamas, cozied up on the couch and watched a few episodes of Caillou, and made some homemade play-doh.

At twenty-seven weeks, Roman is: trying butternut squash (his favorite so far) and carrots; getting up on his knees and off of his tummy, rocking back and forth, and launching forward (he’s figured out the legs motion…now he’s working on the arms); army crawling his way to a gate at the top of the stairs; and muddling through his first fall cold.

Xander and Roman were home sick with me today while Jonas was at school. We had a really laid back morning. Xander and I did puzzles, read books, made banana walnut muffins, played in the sandbox, and worked in the garden while Roman took a THREE HOUR nap (after which we rushed to the pediatrician because he woke up with a 103 fever…it ended up being just an upper respiratory virus but still…ugh).

Jonas is loving being back at preschool two days a week. He’s also been enjoying stepping into his brotherly role (he’s exploring the sweeter side of it a bit lately, thankfully)…helping Xander down from the dinner table, wiping Roman’s runny nose, etc.

What would an update-on-Jonas post be without a few of his shining verbal moments?
“Marvelous means there’s a lot of cupcakes.”
“I’m making a steep, steep popsicle mountain for the flies.”
“Never fear…super big brother is here.”

Jonas has been working on his school project this week/weekend. It’s a quilt square decorated with things that tell a story about who he is.

He painted it with watercolor. I printed off some pictures for him (Jonas riding his tricycle, digging in the sandbox, hanging out in the garden, planting a blueberry bush with Xander, reading books with Roman, playing in the treehouse with Daddy and his brothers, going strawberry picking with Mommy and his brothers, etc.). We looked through magazines together, and he picked out things he liked. (At first, I cut them out, and then I remembered that it was his project and that he could totally do it by himself so I ditched those and let him do the rest). He cut some of his favorite things out like books (one about gardening and a Mo Willems book about Piggie…he LOVES those), gardening tools, Thomas the Tank Engine, a sight words DVD (he’s been learning some of those this summer), an orange (orange juice is his favorite), and a puppet family. He also cut out the pictures of his family and his favorite things to do. He put glue on the back of each piece, handed them to me, and pointed to where he wanted them to go. It looks great!!! He’s so proud and can’t wait to show it to his teacher and his classmates.

In his twenty-sixth week, Roman is: trying his first homemade vegetable puree (sweet potatoes); dropping his late afternoon nap (it seems way too early to me but he is serious about it); emerging as our first blond-headed hazel-eyed baby boy; and enjoying games of peekaboo in his crib before his bath and with his towel after his bath (he started this one much to my amazement).

Jonas had his first day of school today. He was so excited and, much to my delight and surprise, had no tears on his first day this year…he was an old pro. Go, Jonas!

(Last year, Xander rode in the stroller on our way in to drop Jonas off…I asked him what he wanted to do this year and he said, “Ont walk”. So, he’s walking and loving it and Roman’s riding in the stroller instead of in the Bjorn…they’re both getting so big.)

I read this post on one of my favorite blogs and was very moved by the letter she wrote to her son before his first day of school (http://momastery.com/blog/2012/08/23/the-talk/). So, I tried to think of how I could apply that to Jonas as a preschooler. Before he left for school, I said, “Jonas, there might be a little boy or girl in your class today who is crying because they miss their mommy and daddy…do you know what you could do to help? You could give them a pat on the back and say, ‘It’s going to be okay'”. When he got home from school, I asked if any of his classmates had a hard time…he said one little girl was crying on the playground because she missed her mommy…I asked him what he did…he said, “I told her it was going to be okay…I didn’t give her a pat on the back though.” I’m so proud of my little man…so sweet…yay!!!

This morning, Tom and I went with Jonas to his preschool for Get Acquainted Day to meet his new teachers and classmates and to see his new classroom. (Thanks be to our dear friend, Honora, for keeping Xander and Roman for us at home, so we could spend this special time with Jonas.) He was so excited and had fun checking everything out (all the different centers look super fun…arts and crafts, music, sand and water, books, puppets, blocks, dress up, puzzles, home living, etc.). Here he is enjoying the arts and crafts center and some circle story time with his new teacher, Mrs. Patti, and his new classmates. He’s very much looking forward to his first day next Tuesday. Yay!!!

At twenty-five weeks, Roman is: giving sweet baby bear hugs, starting solid foods with rice and oatmeal cereal (he LOVES it and is already going for a second helping), tripod sitting with assistance, trying to roll away from the diaper change (wait a minute…I thought this happened a little later in babyhood…oh well, at least he responds well to the “Here, hold this” trick), and glory of glories…going his longest stretch between feedings at night since he was born (7 pm to 2 am).

We had a bunch of stale bread (heels that, despite the best of intentions, didn’t get eaten) in the pantry, so I took the boys this morning to feed the ducks. They were delighted (boys and ducks alike).

I finally got around to planting our blueberry bush. (I was kind of waiting on Tom to plant it for me but realized that that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon…haha.) So, I muscled up with a shovel, picked out a spot along our fence line, and started digging. The boys were so excited…they each ran and got a shovel of their own and, with Jonas spearheading the project, ran dirt back and forth to a wheelbarrow. They were so cute while they were working, saying, “I love you, my best friend, Xander” and “You’re my best friend, JoJo”. At one point during the digging, I said, “Jonas, I don’t know if I’m strong enough to do this, buddy.” He said, “Maybe you should ask God.” I said, “You’re right”, being reminded of the verse “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” and prayed out loud. Then Jonas said, “Is he coming?” I said, “Yes, buddy. He’s already here.” What a very vivid lesson to learn from my son…it’s one that I’ll always remember every time I look at that blueberry bush.

Xander is such a good little friend.

A few days ago, I started trying to get back into an exercise routine. I was on the elliptical, struggling towards the end of my workout; and Xander sat down right beside me with his snack and said, “I gon sit iff du, Mommy.” It was so precious and timely…I really needed the encouragement.

This morning, I was finishing up breakfast (and pumping…one of my least favorite but necessary activities…I’m trying to build up a freezer stash for Roman right now), and I asked Xander if he wanted to stay and talk with me. I know laying on the table is not having the best table manners (and he was probably taking advantage of my incapacitated state) but still…it was so sweet and gave me just the moral support I needed.

I think Xander has the gift of encouragement…

Roman had his first taste of solid food tonight…rice cereal…he, of course, loved it and was alternately trying to eat and grab the spoon. HaHa!!! The boys each took a turn feeding him…so precious.

The boys and I took Maw to Cracker Barrel this morning to celebrate her birthday…I snapped this sweet picture of Maw and Roman sitting on the front porch afterwards.

In his twenty-fourth week, Roman is: starting to narrow his night time feedings down to two (most nights…some nights…a few nights), trying out the sippy cup (he loves it and has already figured out how to get water out of it), ARMY CRAWLING (crazy…I know…he went from perfecting the mini push up to lifting his chest all the way off the floor and pivoting to getting up on his knees and pushing forward to putting it all together in one week), and bucking like a bronco when you try to put him in his car seat and when he’s been in the Bjorn facing out (his favorite position right now) for longer than he wants to be.

Xander is such a funny little boy…he loves to be right in the middle of anything and everything…literally. He and Jonas were having a rip roaring time this morning running the pieces to this foam letter puzzle back and forth from the living room to the kitchen. Afterwards, I tried to make a game of putting the puzzle pieces back in the container (a game Xander loves right now), and he ended up thinking it would be more fun to just dive in and have the puzzle pieces put in on top of him. He was right…it was. Thanks to my little guy for making everyday life fun…

Grandma and Grandpa came in town for a visit this weekend, which we all greatly enjoyed.

Here are a few pictures from our trip to the zoo with Grandma. The boys loved riding on the carousel (Jonas chose a snake and Xander chose a monkey to ride on). Everybody’s favorite was the snow leopard exhibit with the cubs…we could have stayed there for hours just watching them play…adorable.