Uncle Kerry came out to Jonas’ baseball game tonight…here he is hanging out with Jonas on the bleachers after the game while Jonas digs into his post game snack.
Category: Jonas
Flowering Trees…
Jonas and I have been enjoying an ongoing conversation about all of the first bloomers of spring (inspired by Pops, we’ve been talking about how it’s like a symphony of nature that God orchestrates). Jonas has an eye now for daffodils, tulips, Bradford Pear trees, redbuds, dogwoods, and forsythia and likes to point them out on our drives to and from preschool.
This morning we got to school early (I was feeling ready to have them all strapped in and going somewhere). Jonas is always going 100 mph, Xander is always going 0 mph, and Roman is always screeching because he doesn’t like being confined to the stroller (but managing three different speeds of independent mobility is not my idea of fun at preschool drop off and pick up with the busy parking lot and chaotic narrow hallways packed with teachers, parents, preschoolers, and siblings so Roman has to roll with it in that moment for Mommy’s sanity). Anyway, Xander is a true observer…constantly bringing up the rear to investigate a worm or pick a dandelion or lick the snow off of the sidewalk…who often (admittedly and sadly) gets hurried up. But, in my heart of hearts (outside of the busy pace of life that I let so often take over and consume me), I know he’s got the right idea. So, this morning, I just had to spend our extra time on our way into school, joining with him in enjoying the beauty of the flowering trees that have covered the flower beds in a pool of pink. Thank you, God, for life and for children who teach us how to live it.
Game Ball…
At the end of every baseball game, the coaches give the game ball to the most deserving player. Tonight that player was Jonas!!! He was so excited when they called his name…he looked like he was about to cry. Bless his sweet heart. Here he is…looking proud with Daddy.
Playing with the Bowens…
The boys and I were SO excited to see our dear friends, the Bowens, who were in town this week. They moved to Texas over a year ago, and we have missed them so very much. I love these pictures of all of our little ones playing in the sandbox together. Lizza was pregnant with Bennett (in the red checked shirt) when I was pregnant with Xander…and they were born a month apart. She was also pregnant with Isabelle (in the green and white shirt) when I was pregnant with Roman…and they were born a few days apart. It’s just amazing to see them all together…what miracles of life. Her newest little one is named Roseberry, and this was our first time meeting her…so that was really special too. I praise God for the dearest of friends for whom distance on the map is no distance at all.
Front Yard Easter Egg Hunt…
The boys and I love hanging out in our front yard. We had an impromptu Easter egg hunt when Jonas got home from school this afternoon.
Buttercup Festival…
We loaded up and went to the Buttercup Festival this morning. The boys had so much fun in the bounce houses and at the petting zoo. Here they are loving on the sheep and goats.
Val’s Soccer Game…
Jonas and I went to his cousin Val’s soccer game this afternoon while Daddy held down the fort with his napping brothers. We enjoyed hanging out with Aunt Heather on the sidelines, cheering Val on. I was happy to see Jonas be brave and go play with a group of kids behind us during the latter part of the game…his cousin, Annabella, was there with them so I know that helped give him courage. For as confident as he is (like his Daddy), he can be a little shy in big groups or in new situations (like his Mommy)…so I just love seeing him develop that social skill of making friends in a group of kids he doesn’t know for the most part. Here he is climbing a goal (or something like that) with Val after the game.
Jonas…
Jonas is enjoying putting some more practice in with baseball at home (especially hitting and catching grounders), playing baseball games, and being the Star of the Week at preschool (he got to do an interview with his teacher, take home and fill up the Estimation Jar, and share his talent…he chose reading).
Baseball…
Jonas had his first (coach pitch) baseball game of the season this afternoon. The game started about an hour late, but we enjoyed our time hanging out with Pops and Maw beforehand.
Roman pulled a nice one while we were there…I was talking to a friend I hadn’t seen in a while with Roman right beside me. The next thing I know this lady comes up to me and says discreetly, “I thought you ought to know his pants are down.” Goodness gracious… I have no idea if he had already peed, was about to pee, or had lost the battle of elastic with his pants…but either way…we all had a good laugh over it…and hopefully it gave some young mother hope in realizing she’s not alone. Ha! Atleast he’s two and looks like he’s one, so it’s somewhat excusable if not almost adorable…but still.
Next time, I’ll bring snacks and drinks (we had a snack before we left and I just didn’t think we’d need another one…but we did) and some sand toys for the little boys to play with in the dirt (they borrowed some from another little boy and it kept them happy and busy for a little while).
Jonas was so cute in his uniform. I love this picture of him with Coach Ed (who coaches his team along with Coach Josh), who has such a heart for Jonas…he was giving him a quick batting tutorial/pep talk here…and he hit the ball…he was so excited he almost forgot to run. Love it.
Gardening…
We are FINALLY starting our garden and are so excited!!! I don’t think I’ve been more ready for spring in all of my life.
The boys and I picked up a big bag of really good garden soil to work in (I have no clue what I’m doing…I just thought it might be nice to give back to our hard working garden) and some vegetable and herb plants (tomatoes, bell peppers, rosemary, and lavender) that we saw on sale this morning.
They were all big helpers to Mommy…transporting the plants and soil from the car to the garden, spreading the rich soil out, and planting our vegetables and herbs (and even a few perennial flowers we decided to add this year…echinacea and hollyhocks).
Big surprises this year are a three year old rosemary that didn’t make it through the cold winter, a few blackberry bushes that have come up voluntarily, and a handful of bulbs that we had to rescue and plant in pots because the waterlogged soil where they were planted was pushing them up and out of the ground (we’ll be moving those in the fall).
We’re also looking forward to planting our carrots, onions, and cucumbers that we’re starting indoors.
You know…it’s funny…when I was out planting a few of the tomatoes during nap time…just the smell immediately brought me back to childhood summer memories of working with my Grandpa in his garden. It was enough to bring up all of that missing him and made me want to cry. But how blessed is it sometimes to have our memories so attached to our senses that, from the simple action of putting a tomato plant in the ground in early spring, we can be instantly taken back to walking the rows of our Grandpa’s garden in the heat of summer with a stainless steel bucket, enjoying our quality time and watching carefully as he points out the ones that are just right for picking. A beautiful forever memory…hopefully we’re making some too.
Playing Candy Store…
Xander and Roman took a long nap this rainy afternoon, so Jonas and I got to spend some quality time together during quiet time. He’s been asking me to do some more “lessons” with him (I go in and out of being motivated and with it enough energy wise, but I’m going to try to resurrect them for all three boys three days a week this spring and summer…sounds ambitious but we can try).
So, we started with him practicing writing his first and last name with the first letters uppercase and the others lowercase…a skill the kindergarten team mentioned as important for rising kindergarteners to have (at the registration meeting Tom and I attended earlier this week). His preschool and preschool teachers are AWESOME, so he writes in his journal every morning, alternating with his name, his address, and his phone number.
Then, I thought he might enjoy talking about coins again…so we sorted them by color and size and talked about their names and how much they’re worth. I love having no agenda and one on one time with each of my boys because it always morphs into something really fun. We came up with a game of Candy Store, taking turns being the buyer and the seller. It was interesting coming up with different combinations with him for paying and giving change and to hear him talk through his thought process. It ended up being such a great real world practice activity…with identifying coins, using addition and subtraction, counting by fives and tens, etc. He even went all businessman on me and inflated the price of a sucker from 45 cents to 98 cents…ha!!!
Seed Starting…
The boys and I had so much fun today using the pot press MeMe gave us last year to roll newspaper into little compostable pots to start our carrot, cucumber, and onion seeds.
Grandma and Grandpa ‘s Visit…
Grandma and Grandpa came over for a visit with us this past week!!! We loved just being able to do life with them while they were here…preschool, gymnastics, music class, meal times, nap times, bed times, play times, fussy times, etc. Tom and I were so grateful to them for watching the boys for us for the weekend so we could go on a much-needed marriage retreat as well. Here are a few pictures of Grandma and Grandpa and the boys hanging out.
Dinner with Dad…
Jonas and Xander were VERY excited to have a special dinner with Daddy at preschool tonight.
Jonas…
Jonas is excited about moving from a twin size bed to a full size bed and about starting his first season of coach pitch baseball!
Here are a few of his most recent quotes:
“Have you ever had a day when the earth turned upside down? Would you fall into the sky? But it would be fun…”
“Do you know who my favorite person is? God.”
Pajama Day…
Today was pajama day at preschool… Jonas was super excited.
Climbing Wall…
Tom is working on building a climbing wall in our garage this weekend. I love these pictures of each boy taking a turn, scaling the wall, with Daddy close behind.
Marshmellow…
We brought home Xander’s class pet this morning for the weekend…Marshmellow the guinea pig. The boys just love her…they scoot their chairs over to peek into her cage to check and see how she’s doing, they wave at her and say hello from across the room, they’re absolutely delighted to hold her, and they enjoy helping me with her daily care. Yay for class pets, and yay for super sweet boys to love them!
Jonas…
Jonas is really into non-fiction books lately…we’ve been going to the library and checking out books on all sorts of subjects that interest him like plants and trees, submarines, fire trucks, and the solar system. He is soaking it up like a sponge. He’s also been having a blast pretending anything and everything with Xander and cracking up at the things Roman says and does. Here are a few of his most recent one liners:
“Just like all snowflakes are different…all people are different.”
“I don’t want to be Xander’s friend until all snowflakes are alike.”
Building a Race Car…
Tom took Jonas to Home Depot this morning to the Build a Race Car Workshop. Jonas loved having special time with daddy and is super proud of his new creation.
