I had a burst of nesting energy today and pruned our monkey grass, crepe myrtle, and rose bush, while the boys checked out the bulbs we planted in the fall that are starting to bloom…
Author: Jodi
Jonas Update…
Jonas is reading quite a few three letter words, learning how to write his name and a lot of his letters, continuing to assert his independence (his newest thing is being very particular about his clothes…he likes to wear “double shirts”), showing his sweet servant’s heart (like sharing his favorite blanket with me when I’m cold and bringing Xander’s favorite bear to him when he’s crying), and giving us more one liners every day…
“Xander has a peanut allergy.”
“I must say ‘poop’ four times and perhaps that will help me think where it is.”
“Well, that’s just how God made us, with legs to walk on floors.”
“Mommy, why were we up in his grill?”
“Mommy, is the moon following us to our house?”
Nineteen Months…
In his nineteenth month, Xander is: having a bit of a language explosion…saying “gai” for “again”, “bass” for “bath”, and “hod” for “hold” and outing all of a sudden with a battery of clearly spoken words (help, mess, sorry, hi, top, home, house, piece/peace, and too); loving the ever-popular-with-the-Seyfried-boys smoothie (“sooey”); pushing (and trying to carry) chairs around to climb on them to get to what he’s wanting; becoming a fan of taking his plate to the sink (“si”) just like his big brother; delighting in helping out with household chores (unloading the dishwasher, putting trash in the trashcan, and transferring laundry to the dryer); starting to tell on Jonas (“hit head”, “push”, etc.); and remaining the eye contact king.
(He also TOTALLY amazed me by saying “Huss”, our pediatrician’s name, as soon as we pulled into the parking lot of our pediatrician’s office last week. Crazy smart.)
Growing Up…
Jonas is growing up so quickly…he’s getting really good at riding his tricycle, rocking out with the potty training day and night, loving hearing stories from his two favorite story collections right now (Frog and Toad and Harold and the Purple Crayon), and saying the darnedest things (I’ve been writing them down because they’re so great)…
“Also, you need to tell me the truth, Mommy.”
“I can bend over because I don’t have a baby inside my tummy, Mommy. I can go up and down the stairs, but you can’t because you have a baby inside your tummy, Mommy.”
“It’s okay, Xander. I’m your friend. Don’t you know I’m your friend, Xander?”
“Mommy, I wish I had claws so I could climb a tree.”
“Are you excited about having a newborn baby?”
“Xander’s bigger than a really fat bumblebee.”
“You smell like flowers, Mommy.”
Eighteen Months…
At eighteen months, Xander is: doing the sign for “change” when he needs a diaper change; saying “deh” for “there”, “lala” for water, “uh oh” when he drops something, and “go go” while he points to his plate and his tummy to let us know where he wants the food to go; diving into two word combinations with “DaDa nih nih”, “JoJo potty”, “see DaDa”, “PePa bye bye”, “DaDa boo”, and “MaMa moh”; doing the bouncy dance for things he gets excited about (climbing up on the couch, watching Winnie-the-Pooh with his big brother, getting a fresh sippy of ice water from the refrigerator, and eating); and taking a shine to building Lego towers.
Thanksgiving…
We spent a wonderful week in Virginia with Tom’s family for Thanksgiving, enjoying: going to mass, decorating the Christmas tree, sharing good food and conversation, playing outside in the woods; going for a ride in the boat on the lake, hiking, and participating in the Seyfried Family Turkey Games (swim fin races, quidditch tournament, pie eating contest, marshmallow/toothpick tower building, etc.).
For more pictures, click on the “Thanksgiving 2011” picture page to the right…
Seventeen Months…
In his seventeenth month, Xander is: saying “bih boh” for “big boy”, “pepa” for “Petra”, “shack” for “snack”, “ton ton” for “crouton”, “caw caw” for “car car”, “shi” for “outside”, “tay too” for “thank you”, and “Jo Jo” for “Jonas”; doing the sign for “thank you” and “change”; getting pretty good at going down the stairs (just today he started doing the full body slide); champing out on his daytime and nighttime sleep; cutting four molars; echoing everything big brother does; delighting in rousing games of hide and seek with DaDa and Jonas; and brightening our days with his happy spirit.
Happy 3rd Birthday, Jonas!!!
Jonas had a blast on his birthday weekend…making cupcakes, spending time with family, opening presents, and eating cupcakes.
(I always get so wrapped up in the birthday moment that I forget to take pictures, but here are a few of our precious little man on his big day.)
Thirty-Six Months…
In his thirty-sixth month, Jonas is: still saying the darnedest things (“It’s okay, Mommy…be brave…it’s time to be brave” and “Mommy, what would be a good way for me to keep you in my room?”); taking a break from potty training; skipping out on his afternoon nap more often than not (although most of the time, when Mommy builds him a good “nest” on the floor with all of his pillows, blankets, and stuffed animal friends, he can’t resist a good long snooze); starting to spend a little more time enjoying playing with Xander instead of trying, in so many not so nice and at times downright mean big brother ways, to keep Xander from getting into all of “his” toys; getting really good at riding his tricycle downhill AND uphill; and delighting in Dr. Seuss books.
Sixteen Months…
In his sixteenth month, Xander is: saying “boo” for “spoon” and “book”, “ta” for “trash”, “moh” for “more”, “sih” for “sit”, “sh” for “share”, and “tu” for “turn”; doing the signs for “please” and “change”; continuing to love doing anything “big boy” (using a toddler fork/spoon, washing his hands, sitting at the table in a booster seat, etc.); identifying body parts; really getting into lift the flap books; making passionate choices of favorite books to read for nap time, bed time, and any time; outgrowing his dairy intolerance (yay!!!) and testing positive at the allergist’s for a peanut allergy (ugh!!!); cracking us up with his headlong into the world attitude and endearing us with his sweet, sensitive spirit.
Halloween…
Halloween night in our neighborhood is so much fun…it’s a big costume street party. Jonas dressed up as Batman, Tom as Robin, Xander as Superman, and I as Lois Lane.
The boys were so excited to be outside as the sun was going down and as the moon was coming up…especially Xander. He kept running down the sidewalk towards the moon, cape flaring behind him, pointing his finger, and excitedly saying, “Moo, moo!”.
Jonas was an old pro with the trick or treating, saying “Trick or treat” and “Thank you”. And Xander picked it up really quickly…muscling his way up to the door, holding out his pumpkin bucket, and saying “Ticka, Ticka”.
As the night turned colder and darker, Xander went back to the house with Daddy to help pass out candy before tucking into bed, and Jonas stayed out with Mommy to trick or treat the houses of a few more friends before coming home to cozy up in warm pajamas and covers for a good night’s sleep.
Fall Morning with MeMe and Papa…
Here are a few pictures taken on the beautiful fall morning we spent with MeMe and Papa at their new home, sharing a delicious breakfast and going for a leisurely walk together along the creek.
Pumpkinfest…
We all enjoyed spending a cool fall morning, walking around downtown Franklin, for Pumpkinfest…the boys loved trick or treating the arts and crafts vendors, jumping in the inflatables, and petting the animals at the petting zoo.
Halloween Party…
The boys and I had so much fun at our neighborhood mom’s club Halloween Party today. This picture makes my heart smile and well up with thankfulness for the community that we are privileged to be a part of here. What precious children (and mommies)!!!
Preschool Festivities…
Jonas had a really fun week this week at preschool…
On Tuesday, at PumpkinFest…he got to go outside and rotate to different stations (face painting/tatoos, arts and crafts, storytime, pumpkin painting, snacks, and games) with his classmates and teachers. He had a blast (and I did too…I volunteered at the snack station and enjoyed watching my little man in his preschool element).
On Thursday, at the Halloween Parade…he got to wear his costume, walk through the parish hall hand in hand with his precious classmates (much to the delight of all of the picture-taking parents), and go trick or treating in the administrative offices. Here he is as Batman and with his sweet little class.
Harriet…
Here are a few pictures of Jonas and Xander with Harriet the Hamster (Jonas’ class pet that we had fun taking care of over Fall Break).
Baby Seyfried Update…
Here’s a picture of our sweet growing baby at 19 weeks…
Apple Picking…
The boys and I drove out to Pratt’s Orchard this morning for an apple picking adventure…
Farmer Pratt was kindly welcoming and instructed us to walk to the tenth row of fruit trees (past the peaches and most of the other varieties of apples that had already been picked) to the Arkansas Reds. It was so sweet to walk up and down the rows of apple trees with the boys, enjoying the peaceful quiet, the soft morning light, the warmth of the sun, and the coolness of the breeze. They absolutely loved picking apples, delighted to find that most were right within reach, and piling them into the basket. (I ended up only picking a handful because they were having so much fun doing it themselves.) We all enjoyed the taste of a farm fresh apple on the way home and look forward to making MeMe’s apple crisp this afternoon. Yay for pick your own farms, yay for little people to enjoy the adventure with, and yay for fall!!!
Pumpkin Farm…
Tom and I took the boys to the pumpkin farm this week, and they LOVED it…riding the train, saying hello to the farm animals (Xander puckered up and cried when the baby cows mooed at him…bless his heart), picking out pumpkins, sitting on the tractor, checking out the well, inspecting the sunflower and cotton blooms, etc.
