Author: Jodi

Jonas had a wonderful last day of school and is enjoying his summer break so far…taking swim lessons, starting to learn how to read (he asked me one night, “Mommy, will you teach me how to read?” so we’ve been talking about sight words), enjoying singing songs at the top of his lungs (especially ones he’s made up the words to), continuing to be curious about EVERYTHING (why boys and girls have separate bathrooms, what the yellow and white lines on the road are for, etc.), starting to change his attitude towards Xander (thank you, God…he’s having more moments of playing with him, showing him how to do things, etc.), and saying the darnedest things:

“That’s quite all right, Mommy. I’ve done this a million times.”

“Mommy, I want to grow up so I’ll already know how to swim and ride in the front of the car.”

“How do I become a bird instead of a little kid?”

So, we did a little bit of pouring practice at the kitchen table this morning…the boys had so much fun.  I took these pictures and thought they were hysterical…totally shows their personalities.

Jonas started another round of swim lessons this month…he is so excited to have the same sweet teacher that he had last month, Mrs. Melanie, and to be in class with two of his best neighborhood friends, Kenzie and Spencer. He’s having a blast and learning so much!!!

In his thirteenth weeks, Roman is: talking, squealing, and delighting in familiar faces (he loves having conversations); starting to drool; noticing his hands (he likes to bring them together in front of his face and stare at them); and batting at toys on his activity mat.

Xan-Man is quite the water dog…he is ALL IN when it comes to being in the water. This morning, after soaking himself head to toe in the baby pool, he discovered one of my childhood summer fun favorites…the sprinkler.

When he saw it, he said, “Look, Mommy…Daddy made!” He jumped through it, ran back to me laughing and saying, “LaLa ticka (water tickle)!”, and went back for more.

At twelve weeks, Roman is: recovering from his cold; continuing to be super aware and alert during his awake time (Jonas calls him “wide-eyed baby”); and lighting our world up with his smiles.

We transitioned Xander into his big boy bed two weeks ago. He loves it so much and, as you can see, is very proud…so proud that whenever anybody sees him and comments on what a big boy he is…he immediately says “big boy bed”. What a precious little friend…

The boys are starting to have a few more moments having fun playing together (instead of beating up on each other). Here’s to more where that came from…

In honor of Jonas’ first official week of summer, I’ve decided to resurrect the lesson planning I did the year before he started preschool for him and Xander this summer.

We tried out a new table time activity today…Magic Mud (5 tablespoons of corn starch, 3 tablespoons of water, and food coloring)…and the boys and I had so much fun with it.

So, we took Xander for his very first class today…a Parent and Child gymnastics class…he was so adorable, running on the tumble track, wanting to hold Mommy’s hand at the same time and sitting beside Daddy on the gym floor, observing everyone so closely that he forgot to join in the floor exercises. I can’t wait to see how much fun he was when he warms up to it.

At eleven weeks, Roman is: learning how to sleep on his own (sometimes) and valiantly battling his very first cold.

Today was Jonas’ last day of school, and I cried probably more than I did on his first day of school. It was so sweet to spend some time with him in his classroom this morning…marveling at how he’s (and how we’ve all) changed and grown this year. I tearfully thanked his dear teachers, Ms. Cathy and Ms. Shelley, for the magnificent way they’ve been a part of his life this year (they were that perfect fit I’ve been praying for since the day he was born). I was moved to tears by the picture book they put together of his first year of preschool…a way for us to share in all of those special moments…what a treasure.

Here’s a picture of Jonas on his first day of school and on his last day of school…

The boys and I went strawberry picking this morning with our neighborhood mom’s group and had a BLAST!!! Valley Home Farms is about an hour away from where we live, but it was well worth the drive…they had bee hives, chickens, goats, and blueberries…as well as rows and rows of beautiful strawberries (and delicious strawberry/honey popsicles)…and were very welcoming of the children. I couldn’t wait to get home to make Granny’s strawberry pie, and I can’t wait to go back again next year and pick more strawberries with the boys.

In his tenth week, Roman is: hitting a growth spurt with his eating (phew…that little boy can chow down); outgrowing the infant insert in his car seat; starting to figure out his nighttime sleep; and grinning from ear to ear every time Daddy sings “You Are My Sunshine”.

Jonas had his first swim lesson (one of nine he’ll have in the month of May before our neighboring neighborhood pool opens) today at the rec center. He had a fleeting moment of anxiety in the car when he realized that I wasn’t going to be swimming with him and that his teacher was not going to be Ms. Cathy or Ms. Shelley (his preschool teachers). But it passed, and he was a big champ and took to his swim teacher, Ms. Melanie, right away. He even put on a wet suit to keep warm (the indoor pool is used for swim competitions so it’s pretty cold) and was totally cool with trying on a pair of goggles for her. It ended up being a private lesson this time around (as the other three students never showed up), which was a total blessing for Jonas who tends to be a little cautious with firsts. Ms. Melanie was great with him and worked with him on putting his face in the water and blowing bubbles, kicking with straight legs, waving under the water (he puckered up when he got water in his nose the first time but recovered very quickly and tried it again), making swim hands and rocket arms, and floating on his back like a starfish. It’s so fun to watch him learn and be a little man in the water. I’m looking forward to watching his progress…

Jonas and I were playing in the bonus room today after he woke up from his nap, when we heard the music from the ice cream man’s truck. We both immediately stopped what we were doing and went running down the stairs. He jumped up and down on the sidewalk and said, “That’s a yummy sound!” We waved the ice cream man down…Jonas picked out an ice cream sandwich, I chose a red/white/blue bomb pop (the kind I used to get when the ice cream man came to our neighborhood when I was little), and we put an ice cream sandwich for Xander (he was still sleeping) and a fudgesicle for Tom (he was still at firefighter training) in the freezer. We sat down to enjoy our treats on the front porch, while Roman was chilling out in his bouncy seat, and I agreed wholeheartedly when, in between bites, Jonas said, “I love the ice cream man, Mommy.”

So, I took the boys to Centennial Park this morning to feed the ducks (something I remember loving doing when I was a little girl). And they had a BLAST!!! It’s amazing the things you don’t think about having to teach, like how to tear off small pieces of bread instead of hucking the whole thing (or even half the thing in the water)…the ducks didn’t seem to mind, though. Jonas even had a momma duck rare up at him when he went running after her and her babies…it was one of those too-quick-to-school-him-on-it-before-it-happens moments…oh well, he learned pretty quickly what not to do…haha (and afterwards we talked about how mommies are protective of their babies).

On the way in, we passed a really cool old train on display from the Nashville/Chattanooga/St. Louis Railroad.  So, we stopped back by to take a look at it before we left…the boys loved tromping around, checking that thing out…it was awesome.

Jonas is all about his tricycle these days…he can totally ride it all along the mile long path we take when we go for a walk (we just give him a little boost from behind up the hills with the stroller or the wagon). It’s good for getting out all of that boyish energy.

His feel for vocabulary continues to floor me…especially when he outs with words like attached, additional, focus, and ingredients.

Here are a few one liners for you…

“I wish we could plant popcorn seeds so we could have popcorn in our garden.”

“He has to turn his mouth off and turn his listening ears on.”

“Baby Roman, did you know Xander and I used to be in Mommy’s tummy with you?”

“Look, Mommy, Roman’s awake so I can yell.”

“Yeah, but we don’t have a safe home right now because he hit me on the head and that hurt really bad.”

The boys and I went to the mall this weekend to make a few exchanges and decided to check out the indoor play area while we were there. (Jonas found one of those quarter-for-a-ride cars that he and Xander got to take a ride in, and I discovered one of those fun photo booths that we all piled into to have some goofy pictures taken together.)