So, I’m not going to lie. I’m more than a little daunted by the reality of having all three of my little guys home for the summer (those two days of preschool really help us all out). But I’m going to try to make every day count…even if it’s with something seemingly small that might be big for them. Cue bubbles…haha…I thought it would be a fun way to ring in the summer.
Today was Jonas’ last day of preschool (this year…it’s hard to believe he’ll be in the 4/5’s in just a few short months).
It was a special morning, as Tom and I and Xander and Roman joined him in his classroom, along with the parents and siblings of his classmates. His teachers gave each child a little photo book, chronicling their school year in pictures. It is SO priceless being able to look through Jonas’ and to not only see how much he’s changed and grown from the beginning of the school year to the end but to have a window into his preschool world.
Xander and Roman enjoyed kicking around the classroom. Here’s a picture of them checking things out and of Jonas with his fun teachers, Mrs. Patti and Mrs. Angela.
Aunt Beans came over for a visit this weekend which just delighted our hearts!!!
I was so excited to join Jonas this afternoon at his preschool for the Mother’s Day luncheon. He was so cute and said the sweetest things. The pictures he drew and the crafts he made for me made me feel so special. How precious and what a treat to get to spend some quality one on one time with my little man.
Here are a few of Jonas’ most recent one-liners:
“Mom, do our teeth grind up food just like the blender and the sink?”
“Dad, is your dog missing you at heaven?”
“I love the smell of you…those clothes smell like girls, Mom.”
“Daddy, would you stop Xander from making noise? I didn’t even have a piece of quiet yet.”
We’re all looking for our “piece of quiet”, Jonas. HaHa!!!
The boys and I went strawberry picking this morning with our mom’s group…something we’ve all been looking forward to since last year…with an added bonus…Daddy surprised us and walked in the door just before we were about to leave to let us know that he took the afternoon off from work to go with us!!! We had a big time picking strawberries, ate a picnic lunch afterwards, and enjoyed some homemade strawberry-honey popsicles for dessert.
Here’s a picture of Jonas and Xander hanging out on the glider I (finally) finished painting.
Jonas and Xander and I went for a walk this morning and enjoyed splashing in the puddles and checking out all the things that wash up after a rainy night (worms, slugs, caterpillars, and snails). We had fun playing in the garage this afternoon too…Jonas was all about the rocket ship Tom made for him out of a cardboard box, Xander loved riding his tricycle around and around in circles, and Roman liked toting around his plastic shovel.
This morning, while Tom was working in the garage and Roman was taking his morning nap, the boys and I headed out to the backyard to play. We played soccer and tried to replace the batteries in the cheering goal, and then we ended up moving the pavers from around the blueberry and raspberry to dig up the grass and weeds and add a little bit more soil. Then, I remembered a fun Pinterest idea of having kids paint bricks for garden pathways and decided that we TOTALLY needed to do that today. We busted out the drop cloth, smocks, wipes, paint-filled egg cartons, brushes, and pavers and the boys had a giant go of it. Yay for backyard sunny day fun and for the little boys who bring color to my life!!!
Tom and Jonas skipped out for an impromptu father/son dinner tonight with father/son buddies, Nahshon and Grayson. It was so cute and warmed my heart…I had to snap a picture before they left. How blessed and thankful are we to have a daddy like Tom!!!
We’re trying to resurrect our evening walks now that it’s warmed up a bit. Roman loves to get out of the stroller and blaze a trail. Here he is with a dandelion that caught his eye and made him break out into a big smile…so precious. And here are Jonas and Xander, fascinated with a dead snake that Daddy picked up with a stick for them (don’t you love Jonas’ head-to-toe camo, backwards shirt, and swim shoes?).
The boys and I LOVE going to storytime every week at the library. It’s always interesting with my three little wild men…they all pretty much act their age (haha). Jonas has gotten to where he sits quietly, pays attention, and responds to Mrs. Karen’s questions. Xander usually goes and gets a book and sits in my lap and then gets frustrated with Roman for trying to get into his space. And Roman likes to toodle around, giving moms and kids alike pats, looking in diaper bags, and pulling books off the shelf. We’re so thankful for our sweet and understanding librarian, Mrs. Karen. I snapped this picture of her with the boys today after story, craft, and snack time and after the boys had picked out their books. She’s been reading to them since Jonas was younger than Xander and Xander was in the Bjorn!!! Yay for our community and yay for the library!!!
It felt like summer today, so I busted out the water table and the baby pool for the boys this afternoon. They had a blast…especially when Daddy came home and created a sprinkler effect with the garden hose for them to run in (I was so happy to see that Xander was still just as much of a water dog as he was last year.)
Jonas had his first t-ball game today!!! He’s had several practices since the beginning of March, but there was just something about seeing him in his little (or big, in his case) uniform and baseball cap and helping him tie up his cleats this morning that really got me emotional. Our little guy is growing up!!! It was a big morning at the park with team pictures and playground time before the game, so the whole team was asking if the game was almost over before it really even got started. They all did great, though, playing on a much bigger field than they were used to (they’ve been practicing in a grass field, so several of them were so intrigued by the dirt field that they were literally rolling in it). I don’t even know if our team won…it was enough just trying to watch Jonas play and trying to keep an eye on Xander and Roman at the same time. HaHa!!! We were super excited to see our dear neighborhood buddies, Casey and Shana, who came out to watch Jonas play too. What a great moment to share with friends! We all had a lot of fun and look forward to Jonas’ next game.
So, Jonas has been asking ALL sorts of questions lately…he’s always been a super curious little fellow but recently he’s starting to ask some hard ones…about death, about the differences between boys and girls, and about how babies are born…oh my goodness gracious.
He’s continuing to have many more moments of sweetness with his brothers, loving doing things by himself (he’s even taken an interest in washing the dishes…yes!), and enjoying his first foray into team sports with t-ball.
Here are a few of the funny things he’s been saying and asking:
“I am lying mom…I did not wash my hands.”
“Mom, how does your body make poop?”
“Mom, when you were a baby did you pop out of Maw’s tummy because she’s your mom?”
“I can carry heavy things because I’m almost a dad.”
“Why does MeMe know more about planting seeds than Xander and I do?”
The boys and I (to the exception of Roman) are feeling a little bit under the weather today, so we decided to just take it easy at home. While Roman was taking his morning nap, I loaded up my arms with snacks, drinks, paint, and paintbrushes and headed out into the front yard with Jonas and Xander to soak up a little sun. I saw a cute idea in passing on Pinterest the other day of painting rocks to look like Easter eggs instead of dyeing them. So, desperate for something to engage the boys in this morning, I grabbed some bark mulch and rocks from our flower bed and tossed them onto a cookie sheet with paint, a paintbrush, a sponge, and a wet wipe. They had a blast…I love how the differences in their personalities and in their ages come out in their artwork (check out their cookie sheet palettes…ha!). After the big boys went down for their afternoon nap, I took Roman out into the front yard so he could have some fun in the sun too…his favorite thing is the tricycle.
The boys and I went to Lucky Ladd this morning with our mom’s group and had SO much fun!!! (I’m not going to lie…the logistics of managing three little boys under the age of four…running and toddling in three different, spirited, I-can’t-hear-you directions…for four hours added up to be a bit much for me at the end of the day…the boys were fried too because they wore themselves out but still didn’t nap on the way home…even still we had a BLAST.) We ate a picnic lunch, petted and fed the farm animals, rode the tractor train, played in the corn box, went down the big slides, scooped sand in the sand box, pumped water into the egg run, played on the tires and with the balls, wrote on the chalkboard, and even hunted Easter eggs. It was a HUGE blessing to meet up with several of the moms and children from our mom’s group (I never would have braved it by myself)…it totally made it doable and so much more fun for all of us in the sharing. Jonas was all about pumping water into the egg run and figuring out how to work the sand scoopers. Xander could not get enough of running up the hill and going down the slides…I was amazed by his tirelessness with it…he did it over and over again. Roman loved checking out the animals…feeling the soft sheep and putting his finger in the pig’s mouth…and really just visibly delighted in exploring everything. It was equally fun and exhausting, and we’re looking forward to going back again.
The boys and I had fun getting a jump start on our garden this morning by starting some seeds to sprout indoors (in toilet paper rolls, no less…I thought that was a great idea when I saw it, as they decompose after you plant them in your garden). A few of our good neighborhood buddies from our mom’s group joined us; and even though it was a little brisk out, we all enjoyed playing in a little spot of sun.
Pops and Maw came out for a visit this morning. Pops read books to the boys and showed them how to measure with the measuring tape. Maw gave out lots of hugs and kisses. We had lunch together, complete with Jonas talking a lot and loudly…Xander climbing up on Pops’ lap to finish his lunch…and Roman passing out messy waves and sweet “hi”s. We all laughed at the boys and had fun watching them do their most recent favorite thing…an indoor Easter egg hunt.
We enjoyed getting to spend the week hanging out with Grandpa and Grandma!!! Highlights of our time together included: going to a pizza making play date with our mom’s group; taking a walk around the neighborhood; going to story time and hunting Easter eggs afterwards; eating lots of snacks and meals together (including one delicious dinner out); enjoying a little quiet time (one morning Grandpa and Grandma gave me a big treat and took Jonas to school and then Xander to the mall for a long walk…I REALLY enjoyed my quiet time at home while Roman took his morning nap and forgot, as a mother of three boys under the age of four, how much of a healer silence is for the introverted soul); and heading to the ball field to watch Jonas’ t-ball practice. We said goodbye this morning after breakfast and are very much looking forward to our summer adventure together at the lake!!!
