Category: Jonas

Jonas Lately…

Jodi Leave a comment

I’m several months behind on monthly updates, so I’ll try to catch you up on what’s been going on with Jonas. He loved gymnastics camp, swim lessons, the beach, special time with Audrey and Lily (and the rest of his Paccassi cousins), and VBS this summer. He’s always wanting to learn more…asking questions about everything from the trinity to the difference between the trachea and the esophagus to puns, synonyms, and homonyms. He’s definitely our super active little leader so I know he’s got lots of charactering coming his way to be able to bear the weight of his gift (it’s hard to watch and be apart of that sometimes but I know it’s life and that we all go through our own set of growing pains that make us who we are and in the end it will all be worth it). As far as kindergarten goes, he took to it right away and is loving his new adventure.

Nursery Rhyme Parade…

Jodi Leave a comment

Xander, Roman, and I went to Jonas’ school this morning to watch the kindergarten Nursery Rhyme Parade. It was pretty sweet seeing all of those little people in their costumes. Jonas seemed to speed up every time he walked past me, so it was hard for me to get a good shot…that and the fact that Roman chose that entire time period to meltdown. We got to see Jonas’ shoebox shop in the hallway “village” and check out all of his friends’ creations as well. As I was trying to snap a few pictures in Jonas’ classroom, Roman was trying to sneak candy off of Jonas’ Jelly Beans store. Ah life with kids…what can you do?

Franklin Classic 5K…

Jodi Leave a comment

Jackie and Phil surprised me by coming in town to cheer me on in the Franklin Classic 5K!!! It was such a grand gesture that meant the world to me…what special people who teach by example how to love in action and not just in word.

It was a hot morning for a run, and I went too fast out of the gate and ended up almost getting sick and having to walk for a little while about halfway into the second mile which killed my time…oh well, what can you do but live and learn not to give in to the adrenaline. Next time, I’ll try to stick to my best training pace…atleast I beat my time from the last race and hit my goal time on my last training run before the race.

“A real fighter fights whether or not the bell rings…I know why the caged bird sings…” – Matthew Ryan

On the Lake…

Jodi Leave a comment

The boys and I loved going on a boat adventure on the lake with MeMe, PaPa, Aunt Jean, Aunt Julie, Cousins Jordan and Dylan, and Aunt Jeanne. Jonas, Xander, and I went out on the tube (Xander and I fell in, which if I’m to be honest was more a little scary for me). It was fun just hanging out on the boat together and eating lunch with everybody on the dock.

IMG_2304.JPG

IMG_2299.JPG

IMG_2303.JPG

IMG_2316.JPG

IMG_2319.JPG

IMG_2318.JPG

Jonas’ First Kindergarten Project…

Jodi Leave a comment

Jonas worked REALLY hard on his first project for kindergarten…a shoebox shop in a nursery rhyme town that he named “Jonas’ Jelly Beans”. Xander, Roman, and I had fun picking up some fun crafting supplies for him to work with (foam stickers, glitter glue, and rick rack), and Jonas picked out bags of jelly beans and rainbow striped peppermints to really give it that candy store feel. He was very specific in what color construction paper he wanted to use and where, how he wanted the front door and counter top to work, and the patterning of stickers and candies. It was so cute to see him doing that excited walk run into school with his special creation in hand.

First Day of Kindergarten…

Jodi Leave a comment

Jonas had his first (half) day of kindergarten today!!!

He asked me yesterday, “Mommy, were you scared when you went to kindergarten? I’m not.” I told him that I was nervous because I didn’t know what to expect but that he’s good to go because he’s been in and out of that school since he was a baby, played on the playground, met all of the kindergarten teachers on screening day, and knows a lot of the kids from his preschool and our neighborhood and moms’ group. I’m so excited for him!

(I have been a bit of a nervous wreck this week, but I’ve found myself feeling WAY more happy than sad about this new adventure for Jonas. Having worked at this precious school, I’m thankful for the parent-teacher-staff partnerships and know that he’ll be welcomed into the arms of family and that feels really good.)

He was all smiles this morning and just be bopped right into his classroom. Tom and I got to go in with him and show him his cubby and his desk (a special first half-day perk) and give him a hug and a kiss goodbye…we enjoyed our special morning with just him. Tomorrow, I know his little brothers will be excited to…in the words of Roman “go for school”…and drop him off at his classroom door (a special second half-day perk) with more hugs and kisses. Yay for Jonas!!! What a huge day.

Blackberry Picking…

Jodi Leave a comment

The boys and I went blackberry picking this morning. We tried out a different blackberry farm close to home. It’s their first season open for picking, and they were super laid back. The farmer was really sweet with the boys and had them all fascinated by and taking turns holding a shiny green bug before they even set foot on the blackberry fields. It was just us out there which was so peaceful. The blackberries were wild, so it took some getting used to the thorns. Roman was the least into it, wanting to be carried and saying, “Don’t prick me, blackberries! Them pricking me, Mommy!” We brought our own containers at the request of the farmer, and we left with two sand buckets and one Easter basket…each filled about a quarter of the way full…not bad for a morning’s work of picking.

Lily’s Visit…

Jodi Leave a comment

Lily came to stay with us for a few weeks to help out with the boys, followed by a weekend visit from The Paccassis!!! It ended up being a SUPER busy time with VBS, swim lessons, park and pool play dates, a marionette show, a zoo visit, a fire department tour, a Centennial Park/Parthenon hang, and a van tour (Seyfried style) of downtown Nashville. Phew…it makes me tired just thinking about it…ha…but we had fun! Lily and the boys ran in the sprinkler and went down the water slide, made crayons, finger painted, and did lots of creative play. And she and I even got some good girl time in (we painted nails, worked on a sewing project, and went for a thrift store/ice cream run). Here are a few pictures from our time together…

For more pictures from Lily’s visit, click on the “Lily’s Visit 2014” page to the right.

Swim Lessons…

Jodi Leave a comment

Jonas and Xander have had SUCH a good run at swim lessons this summer!!! They did three two-week sessions. Although they about gave me a heart attack doing anything and everything but staying on the platform during their lessons (even when it wasn’t their turn), Coach Betsy went right with the flow and took Xander from crying to smiling and from hugging her tight in fear to fearlessly diving in the water and swimming to her AND took Jonas from wild man to wild man with a purpose in the water. What special people teachers are…especially teachers of children.

VBS…

Jodi Leave a comment

We missed VBS at our church this summer as we ended up going on vacation the same week (next year I’ll double check that before we book anything), so the boys ended up going this week to a little church down the road. It was much smaller and less overwhelming, and there were lots of familiar faces from our neighborhood. They learned about the twelve tribes of Israel and had a blast doing it. (I was so excited that Xander actually went…when the sweet girl who babysits for us saw him when we were picking up Jonas on Monday, she asked him if he wanted to be in her tribe for the rest of the week and he said yes!) Here my big boys are with their precious tribe leaders (both of whom I taught in the library years ago).

Painter’s Tape Roads…

Jodi Leave a comment

While Jonas and Xander were playing with the Lego table (we bought a few Lego plates and Tom used them to convert the top of a car/train table into a Lego table for the boys), Roman and I had fun making some painter’s tape roads on the kitchen floor for his cars. We used a big salad bowl as a hill and small popcorn bowls as car garages. Xander and I enjoyed adding a few more twists and turns to the roads, and even Jonas couldn’t resist tweaking the road design a little bit.

A Baby Pool Full of…Mud Soup…

Jodi Leave a comment

In the time that it took me to run back inside with Roman after weeding in the garden to find my phone and call Tom to thank him for adding on to our garden space soon and grab a few Gogurts for snacks, Jonas and Xander had turned our baby pool into this…

What, might you ask, is it? Well…a baby pool full of mud soup, of course.

Playing Train…

Jodi Leave a comment

The boys and I had fun playing train this morning…we took turns conducting and taking tickets…we stopped at Ah-Ah Land, Friend Land, and Candy Land…and we picked up friends and pretend sweet treats along the way…fun times just hanging out at home.

NVFD…

Jodi Leave a comment

The boys had a BLAST at the NVFD this afternoon with a load of other kids from our moms’ group…checking out the fire trucks and playing in the water from the fire hose. It was so fun (and hot) in fact that several of the moms and dads joined in as well (including Tom and I). Here’s a picture of the boys with Daddy on the fire truck.

Fourth of July…

Jodi Leave a comment

We had a super laid back Fourth of July which is just what the doctor ordered…an impromptu backyard water play date and a picnic lunch with our precious next door neighbors and a restful afternoon of naps and indoor play. Then, Jonas and Xander and I hung out with neighborhood friends and watched the fireworks from our across the street neighbor’s yard while Roman slept cozily and peacefully in his bed all the while on the monitor. (We missed Daddy a lot…he was on firefighter duty at the 4th of July celebration at the park.) The boys really had so much more fun staying up super late and playing with their friends than they did watching the fireworks but it was still fun and festive.

Blueberry Picking…

Jodi Leave a comment

The boys and I went blueberry picking this morning with our moms’ group. Most of the ripe ones were up a little high, so I took turns lifting each of the boys up so they could pick their own blueberries and picking handfuls myself and dropping them into their buckets. Either way, a lot of blueberry picking (and eating) was done…the best parts were that it was just down the road from our house and that we shared it with friends.

Audrey’s Visit…

Jodi Leave a comment

We were SO blessed this summer to have Tom’s niece, Audrey, fly down from Connecticut to stay with us a few days in Tennessee before and after our road trip together to a beach house in Florida for a week!!!

Before we left and amidst the packing (and my shaky mental and emotional state…poor Audrey and the boys), we went to Centennial Park in Nashville to feed the ducks and to the Smyrna Splash Pad.

We really loved our time in Florida…playing in the ocean, splashing in the pool, and kayaking and snorkeling in the bay…and there is NO way we could have done it or enjoyed it without Audrey. Her sweet and calm spirit was SUCH a welcome addition to the loud and wild chaos of our family life.

For more pictures from Audrey’s visit, click on the “Audrey’s Visit 2014” picture page to the right.

Brothers…

Jodi Leave a comment

It was so hot this morning that I filled up the baby pools in our backyard early… I thought the boys might enjoy cooling off while working out some of their boundless energy.
As we struggled with our dynamic like we have been this summer, I was having a moment of despair about the boys…how incessantly loud they are, how they don’t listen and follow directions, how much they use mean words and sassy words and potty words (the bane of my existence), how often they hit and push and kick and bite each other, and how quickly they can unclean a house and how destructive they can be…and more than anything…thinking what kind of a mother am I that they’re like this and I can’t seem to do anything about it…then I looked over and saw this sweetness happening and had to capture the moment to remind myself to stop and be thankful for what I have…wildness and all.