Triumph!

Ok, so I failed my blogging goal for April.  But not so for May! :)  However, now I have so many stories rattling around in my brain that this will be yet another list of happenings.  But, I'll limit this to a list of triumphs!!

How about newest to oldest:
1. THIS MORNING- I came out of my room to see Noah (2.5) feeding Jordan (17 mo) yogurt.  He acquired and opened the blueberry yogurt himself, and was feeding it to her in the middle of the living room.  He had even had a Kleenex to wipe up messes!  Thankfully he was only a couple bites in when I entered and took over :) #winning

2.  YESTERDAY- Jordan officially took on the title "Walker"!!  She walks!  #WHOOHOO!

3.  ALSO YESTERDAY- During lunch, we were watching two birds that were hopping around in the grass.  It had just finished raining so food was plentiful.  I explained that birds eat worms, and Jack started this play-by-play:  "That bird is going to eat the big Mommy worm...then all the kids...and then all the littlest baby worms..." creepy, lost my appetite, #whatanimagination! :/

4.  ALSO YESTERDAY- Josh and I's 9-year Anniversary!  :)  #hopingfordecadesmore

5.  TUESDAY- Our last MOPS meeting, the kids made me this awesome Mother's Day card! #blessed

6.  Mother's Day- the Renae and Jack's classes sang in church.  They both sang, and did actions. Best part= 1/2 thru the song Renae got really shy, Jack in his usual never-hold-still-self, moved into her line of vision and they exchanged thumbs up and then she was fine! #besties

 7.  And then this...the best pic we could get.  Our moment of Mother's Day triumph. #uhhhtriumph?

UPDATE:  Lest you think all we have is Triumph....while I was typing this post, I heard Noah wake up from his nap.  No big deal, he was just talking in his crib...I bet you can see where this is going. Finish post...turn off computer....Enter Mama to Noah's room....there it is--an open diaper and lovely brown "art" all over the crib. #winning #nowsupperisanhourlater

More Visitors!

Grandpa and Grandma came to visit!  It was quick one, but for the 24ish hours they were hear we played hard!  We dug holes,

ate a lot of food,

read a lot of stories,

went to Forsyth park to play,

more playing,

and lots of hugs and smiles!

The kids have enjoyed lots of new things lately!  Renae can read, and ride a bike without training wheels.  Some friends gave us a balance bike, and Jack is a professional on it!  He loves it.  Noah is still singing and learning new words.  He can almost pedal a bike and potty training is just around the corner.  Jordan is getting closer and closer to walking--we aren't even letting her 'practice' much!  I saw her take a tentative step yesterday, completely on her own, no one around...but then she thought better of it and sat down to crawl.  I think that might be the story of her life.  She learns things alone, without help, and then show us her perfected skills when we least expect it!  We've gotten some new guidance with feeding her, so we might actually get this girl over 20 pounds soon!  We've hit 18 so far, which is up a little over a pound in the last three months!

If You Can't Laugh at Yourself, Who Will?

We recently had a very wonderful surprise house guest!  A friend we hadn't seen in years was passing by and need a place to stay overnight!  YES!! YES!! YES!!  And then I looked at the house. hahahaha.  While the kids were helping me straighten up a bit (I didn't do a whole lot, she's a good friend!), this advertising voice enters my head, hitting the high points of our luxurious overnight experience.  I was was laughing so hard to myself that I had to write it down to share.  And so now here it is, recorded for posterity.  :)

Welcome to the Barricklow Inn & Suites! Where the beds are lumpy, the floors, recently sloshed with orange juice, have been paper toweled clean. Most rooms have been cleaned solely by preschoolers. There are wipes in every room, and peace and quiet in none. Zero rugs in any bathroom and only 2 clean towels. Most surfaces are some level of sticky, and those that aren't are piled with laundry, but the sheets- those HOT PINK sheets, those are clean! wink emoticon We are also proud to feature a strict No Rats policy. Once you enter, due to the exorbitant amount of baby-proofing doorknobs, YOU CAN NEVER LEAVE!  **ominous music** You'll love it here! smile emoticon smile emoticon

The Photo Blog

How about a photographic update :)

This is Jack since Christmas. ANY DAY since Christmas.  But, now that I think of it, if you scroll back through these posts I'm sure you'll find him doing this same thing 2 years ago.

Renae lays down for quiet time in her room everyday.  Some days she sleeps, some days she just plays with whatever stuffed animal 'friend' she took with her.  This particular picture was taken during Sunday afternoon naps.  :)  She came out from her nap, found us all sleeping, and joined in :)

Here's what she looks like when she sleeps in her bed.  Her poor 'friends'.  I have often found her asleep on their face. HA!  So cute ;)  Also, Renae's room gets a little chilly, thus the 2 blankets, comforter, long sleeve and hoodie.  Mickey is clearly under dressed.

Jack's hair looks super, super awful after a stocking hat.  Seriously, so bad.  Here's some proof: 

He got a hair cut last weekend because it was getting out of control!  He calls it snowy owl hair. Hahaha! 

Renae's 'short' hair :)  Check out the "W" sitting in the background. (if you're confused, read the post previous to this one).

The fangs!

Here's a fuzzy all  3 1/2 teeth shot with more "W" sitting :)  And her one long clump of hair over her ear.

Here's a picture of Jack and Renae's earrings.  They think it's hilarious.  They rest them on the tops of their ears and wear them for hours.  So funny.  The 'earrings' swing around when they move just like giant hoops.

And this picture is hilarious for multiple reasons.  Noah got Pluto for Christmas.  He has called him Pluto probably 1 time.  Josh and I couldn't figure out what he was calling him for the longest time, it sounded like "Pow".  I finally got it.  When Mickey talks to Pluto he usually calls him his PAL.  "Who's my Pal, Who's my pal!?"  So cute.  Noah says, "Where's my Pow?"  "Don't see him anywhere!"  "Oh! There's my Pow!"  GIANT HUG.  Repeat.  So here's a picture of that.  Also pictured, the yogurt from lunch on his forehead that I DIDN'T EVEN NOTICE until I looked at the picture.

"Oh!  There's my Pow!"

The kids were so proud of this tower.  They dumped out all the baskets of toys, put them on top of each other, and the kicker: every container has a toy in it 'sleeping'.  They would look through the handles and make sure the toy was behaving!  HAHA.  Can there ever be a fun game that doesn't involve dumping every single thing out?  After 5 years of parenting experience I'm starting to think NO.  Yes, Renae is wearing a pasta necklace.

And I'll leave you with these two January beauts:  Here are our trees :)

Even closer :)  Sigh. Love winter in GA. Spring is here!

You should probably come visit.

Resolutions?

I, personally, think resolutions are silly.  There are upsides to resolutions, that's for sure: identifying areas to grow, making a plan, planning a remarkable overhaul of personal habits, believing the best of intentions will surely happen this year...  But, I think when resolutions actually work, it's more likely that you are goal setting,   But all that's neither here nor there. I am going to blog more.  I am.  I just am.  (---resolution).  I'm realizing a need for a creative outlet, and I like to blog!  It needs to be quick, mess free, and fun, and I like to write.  I'm aiming for twice a month.  (---goal setting).  On that note :)

Since I last wrote, here are some happenings...off the top of my head.

1.  Noah can talk.  Very well.  He is learning new words left and right. So cute and so funny!   He has a bunch of favorite songs at Christmas time:  Wrosty the No-man, Jingle Bells, anything from the Veggie Tales Christmas album, and the Snowflake song from Mickey Mouse.

2.  Jordan has fangs.  Two top incisors and one lower middle tooth so far.  She looks hilarious.

3.  I have finally realized that some how I have completely morphed into someone very different than I was 10 years ago.  The foods I like...I wear PINK now...I do my hair regularly :)...I like crafts (?!!?) Ok, so it's not a vast transformation but still.  Can't even believe it.  Also, I took a spiritual gifts test and all my tops were lower-middles and my now four highest were brand new!  My outlook on life and the ways God is using me have changed for sure.

4.  I won a chili cook-off.  Yep.  Won it.  BOOM.

5.  Jordan is a "W" sitter.  Whenever she is sitting her legs make a W shape. (knees bent, feet off to the sides) Apparently, this is a physical therapist's nightmare.  So we are now following her around to help her sit correctly.  Disclaimer: this advice did come from a medical professional  :)  Jordan still gets a visit from a NICU nurse periodically to ensure she is growing just right!  And, also apparently, she IS  :) --with one large exception--"W" sitting.  Sadly, it is very cute, and very unique to her so I'm sad to see it go.  We are, however, parents of 4, so I can neither confirm nor deny that we are making any progress.

6.  Jack is completely diaper free.  Well, he has been since late September but here's the funny part.  Well, 'funny' part.  We told Jack that if he could keep his undies dry all night long, 10 nights in a row he could get a big giant cookie.  He was soooo on board with this.  Nothing like a little incentive for learning a new skill!  (----goal setting) Every morning he and his bed were dry, he'd put a sticker on the calendar to keep track.  Well, the 'funny' part was that right off the bat he made it 5 or 6 nights consistently with an oops here or there.  Then he began consistently getting 9.  I'm talking get 9 stickers on the calendar in a row then night #10...in order to get his big giant cookie...wet. FOR TWO MONTHS!  9 nights then oops.  9 nights then oops. Repeat.  Poor guy.  But, he made it!  Right before Christmas he got his big giant cookie :)  And honestly, I don't think he's had an accident since.  

7.  Both Renae and I got a hair cut.  Mine=really short.  Renae's=6 inches off, a few inches below her shoulders.  She is proud of her 'short' hair!  HA!  And, I get home and Josh asks me when I'm going to grow my hair out again. C'mon man!

8.  Renae learned to read.  She's still a little timid, but she likes to figure out what everything says.  She's pretty good!

9.  Josh and I are on day 19 of a 21-day No Junk Food Challenge.  WOOP!  It was good Christmas detox, and now we are set up to make healthier choices until the holiday season rolls around again! (---resolution)

10.  There is a lot of laughing in our house.  Like the time Josh hit Noah in the face with a ball, or the time I stubbed my toe on the kitchen table and my foot made a "red lake", and then the time three days later that I did THE EXACT SAME THING...!!, or when Renae is practicing her reading and butchers a bunch of words and I can't hold it in, or when the kids are playing and the most common repeated phrase is "You suuure have your hands full!" (because it is impossible for me to take the kids anywhere and not have someone say that to me), or the time when Josh fell asleep playing with the kids on the floor in the most flattering way possible--so so funny!  Or then the time we told Noah (fresh out of the bath) to go find something (probably his blankie) and come right back only to find out his rear end had recently #2'd.  Middle of the living room floor (that was on Christmas).  Basically what I'm saying is that our house in a wreck...I mean just flat chaos...and thankfully we more often than not end up laughing really really hard!  Just last night we made a "people stack" after our bedtime story.  Noah had to climb all the way to the top and let's just say it took many tries, and the falls would have won AFV  :)  So funny!

So here's to twice a month (or more!)  :)

Let's Get Real

Somehow, we ended up with THAT baby.  You know which one I'm talking about, THAT one.  The one who can't be set down.  Ever. Without a meltdown of historic proportions. 4th kid...go figure.  There's a spectrum for this, on one end the "ignoring the needs of your child who's hysterically screaming" as opposed to the "maybe it's the Mommy that has the attachment problems" end.  The difficulty is balancing the needs of the child with what's best for the child, especially when they don't align.  I'm not saying that holding a child too much is the end of the world...but right now, it kind of feels like it!

I've figured it out though.  Logically of course.  The answer, as usual, I've only done this to myself.  See for yourself!

Here's the "what did you think would happen?!" column:

-We leave the house most mornings, so when we are out, she's either in the nursery with women who can't wait to spoil babies, or in her car seat, or in my arms.  If we're not somewhere with childcare we're usually at the park...no way she's getting set down since I have to chase 3 others, or at the store...carrier or car seat again.  So since her morning nap is usually on the go (I have followed a VERY liberal translation of Baby Wise this time around--but she's been sleeping thru the night since March so I still call it 4 for 4 with Baby Wise!) she's miserably exhausted when we get home.  Who's going to put that girl down!?

-When we are home and she's awake, and not eating--she's on the floor (with no shortage of entertainment I might add) she's crying. And following me around crying. And honestly, I can only handle so much noise.

-I CAN ONLY HANDLE SO MUCH NOISE.  Crying I can tune out, hysterics- whole different story.

Here's the "cut my self some slack" column:

-She'll grow out of it.

-We just got back from vacation-that always exacerbates bad behavior.  Entertainment detox and catching up on lack of sleep takes time.

-I haven't set her up for success on this one, it's not miserable (most of the time), and I'm pretty good at doing things one-handed...HA!
-Even Renae will pick Jordan up and bring her to me saying "Mommy, she's crying for you".  "She just wants you a lot."  A 4 year old can pick up her needs. :)

Here's the "this is true but not helpful" column:

-She's the last baby- you'll never have this baby stage again.

-Time goes so quickly, in a few years you'll wish you had more time to hold your baby.

-She's at the right age for separation anxiety.  

-Be flattered!  She loves her Mama!

There are two things about parenting that I know without a doubt are true.  I've said them hundreds of times:

1.  I'm convinced the point of parenting it to cause you to say "I don't know what to do" at least once a day.  This is a MAIN POINT in parenting...to turn us to the Lord who MADE our child, and asking Him to guide us and give us insight into His creation. ;)

2.  Our children are much better students of us, than we will ever be of them.  (read that again.)  We spend every day trying to figure them out...and you KNOW they have us pegged.  Which button to push, how much whining will do it, what embarrasses us, which parent to ask, what we love to hear, what we think is funny, when we mean business, when we don't...they KNOW IT ALL.

So as we embark on the walking the fine line of it's good for you to play, and you're ok without Mommy sometimes...this weekend and all future days, pray for us :)  we need it.  HA!

(and yes, that's my cold pizza...because my child would not wait.  I'm only mostly ok with that)

Summer Musings (<-not my favorite word)

Since it is August 1st and fall schedules begin...here are a few fun moments from our summer (well, thus far...because as you all know, in Savannah, summer lasts thru October).

We have not been to the beach!  Not even once!  We went several times in April, but have not been back since then.  We have, however, been in our back yard pools A LOT.  We are all tan.  VERY.  And our hair is blond. ER.  It amazes me how the kids' skin is all different.  Baby skin like Jordan's gets red after about .4 minutes of sun exposure.  Noah, Jack, and Renae get the same lathering (*another not favorite word) of sunscreen and the boys are MUCH more tan than Renae and I.  I usually tan really well, though I’m noticing that the older I get as the summers go passed, I tan less and less.

 

Renae is getting more comfortable in the water.  She can swim short distances, though it takes some coaxing (*another one…sheesh!  Post Rename: Using words I don’t like).  Jack would much rather stay OUT of the water and dump water out of a bucket instead.  Noah would love to independently swim except that he can’t quite grasp how to stay upright with his arm floaties on. Hahaha!  He just ends up rolling around and coughing quite a bit.  But he does like to jump off the side.  Over and over. Well, when you least expect it (I guess he’s not that dependable, I mean he is 1), he will stand there ready to jump, then slowly back away….juuuuuust out of reach when you lunge towards the wall, then BOLT some direction leaving you frantically pleading for him to not drown  not run  not eat whatever snack he just picked up  come back.

Jack's 3rd birthday in June brought on a whole slew (*that one is iffy) of funny conversations.  My favorite one goes something like this:

R:  I can't wait til I'm 6!

J:  I'm 3.  But I'm 4 next!

R:  Jack, when you're done being 4, you'll be 6 after 5!

J:  Mommy!!!  I'm almost 6!!!

This loses a lot without hearing the cute teeny excited voices that have their own special way of saying words.  I wish I could record their conversations (please someone invent something that can instantly record the last 30 seconds of sound around you) because it's hilarious.

Noah loves to sing.  LOVES it.  He will try any song he hears. And then it's on repeat.  This feat has made for some very cute car trips.

Speaking of...we just journeyed 20 hours to Nebraska and 20 hours back.  Josh and I feel privileged to have entered the "Are we there yet?" part of parenting. In southern Missouri we were driving on a one-lane country road and Renae was introduced to hills and dips in the road that make your stomach drop.  She called them 'tummy bumps'.  It was a fun and beautiful part of our drive!

We had such a great time throwing a surprise 60th birthday party for my Dad.  It wasn't too hard to surprise him since his birthday was 2 months earlier.  HA!  It really was a great party.  And a fabulous trip!

We also went to Orlando for a week in June.  The highlight of that trip was swimming 5-7 hours a day and getting rained out at SeaWorld.  Renae still talks about seeing Shamu....she totally didn't. Every animal was hidden away in thunderstorm safety. We went to Columbia, SC to go to the Riverbanks Zoo with some friends which was a great day trip.  We went to Atlanta for Josh to run the PeachTree Road Race and spend time with some great friends.

All of those events have been really great for Josh and I in a long season (*yet another one, I’m weird I know) of Army-induced unknown and stress.  This whole situation is another story for another blog, but our trips have served to be God ordained for several reasons.  We have been able to break up the monotony of waiting for more answers.  We have found ourselves in the presence of great friends when we’ve heard the worst news. And most importantly God has used these trips as an encouragement to us.  We have received great advice, guidance, prayer, and encouragement from incredible people.  Friends and family who have pointed us to Jesus and helped us process discouragement and disappointment.  We’ve been prayed for, encouraged, and motivated to continue on this really fun journey of Army Downsizing!

Overall, this summer went really quickly!  It's been wonderfully hot.  It's been full of friends, new and old. Family new, and old.  [HAHAHA.  Love you guys :)].  It's been hard, tiring, and that part is not close to over, but it's still been good.

Ways you can pray for us:

1.  Applying for jobs!!

2.  Josh finishing up his Masters (Army schooling results in nearly half the required credits!) starting in just a few weeks. Full time job, four kids, a frazzled wife, and masters classes…

3.  Figuring out which kids to move in together so that Jordan can get into an actual crib.  **She has to this point been sleeping in a pack and play in our closet.  :)  Smashed between a hanging shoe rack and Dress Blues.  If you know how Jack sleeps you understand why this is a complicated decision.  He likes to throw a wrench in things.  Right now it's looking like Renae and Noah will be roomies :)

 4.  Our fall schedule is filling up!  Pray for discernment for how many weekly activities to sign up for, and that I adjust well to having 2 students in Miss Mommy's Pre-K :)

I’ll leave you with this gem:

Noah plays with these headbands all day.  And about 30 jelly bracelets.  He tries to put the headbands on anyone who will sit still long enough.  This picture was ALL him.  He put them on people and looked at me and said "cheeeese?"  hahaha He's so excited!!