Last year I did 28 reasons...I thought it would be a fun way to remember the birthday! Here we go again!
They are in no particular order.
1. A new little bundle to love on.
2. Two other healthy boys to spend my day with me.
3. A husband who is amazing. He has been so supportive and helpful through these late pregnancy and early post-partum days where I haven't been much of a help around the house (I think helpful is a bad way to describe it. Really, he's holding down he fort and doing everything!)
4. David's day off on my birthday, and the kids at preschool for us to spend a little time together.
5. A surprise trip to the outlet malls - fresh air and a trip out of the house.
6. All the birthday deals David signed me up for online (not all consumed on my actual birthday): a piece of cake from Smoky Bones - wow delicious.
7. A free sandwich, chips, cookie, and drink from Jersey Mikes.
8. Free sundae from Graeters.
9. Free cookie from Brueggers
10. buy one get one free pretzel from Auntie Anne's
11. Various other coupons I can't remember to celebrate my birthday
12. A mom who has sacrificed and helped so much this fall to support our family.
13. A delicious dinner with family - my mom made my favorite: prime rib, and cheesecake!
14. Another dinner with David's family - I love time with family and my family is pretty awesome.
15. two boys who bought my birthday present 10 days before my birthday and didn't tell me. They actually kept the surprise!
16. 93 Facebook "happy birthday" messages - wow
17. Several phone messages and texts to tell me happy birthday
18. A good visit with dear friends the day after my birthday (although always too short)
19. A baby who has been amazingly healthy and arrived so safely - God is good.
20. So many people who have offered to help us as we get used to our new family member
21. Naps
22. A newborn who for 3 of the last 4 nights has gone six hours at night between feedings.
23. A wonderful doctor and fabulous nurses to helped in the safe arrival of Jonathan - God bless them for working so hard, even in the middle of the night!
24. Christmas music on the radio - Yep, I'm one of the crazy ones who likes it.
25. A three-year-old who is incessantly asking Daddy to get the Christmas tree out, without any incentive from Mommy.
26. Post-feeding snuggles with Jonathan.
27. Preschool - for great connections with people for both me and my kids, and for some downtime with Jonathan during these early, tired days.
28. All the meals that people are providing for us - wow what a blessing.
29. A date night that someone reading this is going to offer so David and I can actually have a conversation ;)
I could keep going, but I'm only 29 :)
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Friday, October 7, 2011
Jacob Turns 3!
Our little Jacob turned 3 on September 19th. I just wanted to take a few minutes to remember what he is like at this age, since time goes quickly, and I will too soon forget this stage. The biggest thing that stands out to me about Jacob is that he is a helper. He is so in tuned with what needs to be done (at a three year old level...) The other day, he made a mess on the kitchen floor. I sighed and said, "Oh, Jacob. Look at this mess. Now we need to sweep the floor." It was morning, and I was tired, so I kind of gave him a guilt trip. He very quickly replied, "I'll vacuum it up!" He ran to the closet, got out his little hand vacuum, and vacuumed it up. All while I sat at the table and watched! He's so enthusiastic about helping. His little "please", "Thank you", and "you're welcome" comments just make me giggle all the time. He'll ask to eat outside for dinner, and then offer to wipe off the table to we can do so. He'll get out the spray and paper towels and go to work (I realize this makes me sound lazy and like a bad mom for letting my kid play with chemicals...he's supervised, don't worry). He's always asking to help with what I'm doing - from folding laundry (again, he's 3...not perfect!), taking out the garbage, bringing in the garbage cans, sweeping, mopping, spraying and wiping, making a bed, etc). You'd think our house would be clean...haha, no. He can make messes, too!
Another thing that stands out about Jacob is he love for "scuggling", or snuggling. He really needs time to be loved on. He will say, "Mommy, scuggle me." That usually involved curling up and watching TV. I remember when he was younger, we'd turn on the TV and he'd get mad and turn it off. Now, he's an addict, unfortunately. And at this very pregnant stage of life, I just can't make myself care! At night, he has a hard time going to sleep. He still wants to be near us, and preferable, touching someone. He'll still sometimes fall asleep in the hallway, while we sit and wait for him to do so.
Jacob loves to go to the museum and the zoo. He asks all the time to go. He'll say, "Let's go to the Museum. It's open." And if I tell him it's not, he'll tell me the zoo is open. He also loves Parky's Farm (I think I was asked to go to that at least a dozen times this morning) and Glenwood Gardens.
He has a hard time being left at school. He cries when I leave. But it's all a show. I hear he stops before I get out of the parking lot. Actually, I think today may have been the first time he didn't cry. He always asks if I am staying. He loves when it's our "helper day" and I stay to co-op. I think next week when Matthew is down the hall, it might help. When I pick him up, he always has had a lot of fun and loves it. He just likes me and wants to be with me :)
Other loves of Jacob right now are Mickey Mouse, Word World, Curious George, he's starting to enjoy reading, and I'm sure I'll think of some others...But Mickey ranks pretty high. And of course he loves anything his brother loves - Wild Kratts is pretty big on our house. It's a PBS show, that I must admit, is pretty good.
His cake is a funny story. He told me he wanted a mickey mouse cake. I thought, oh that's easy....three round cakes, two for the ears, one for the face, right? Oh no! As I looked online for ideas, he points to a picture and says, "I want that one". It's the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. If you don't know what that is, google it. So, instead of telling him no, I sought out how to make it. And I did. It's on the pictures in the next post - the ones from Facebook. I had the cake almost complete one day during naptime. He comes out, and I expect him to glow with excitement. He takes one look at it and says, "It needs a door." Man he was picky! And the day of his party, he told me, "Put the balloon on it, and take a picture." Again, pictures on the next post. Who knew a three year old could be so particular. But in the end, I think he was pleased!
Well, I'm out of time...I need to do a post about this for Matthew. And I don't have time to edit...sorry for typos :) I have to go get Matthew :)
Another thing that stands out about Jacob is he love for "scuggling", or snuggling. He really needs time to be loved on. He will say, "Mommy, scuggle me." That usually involved curling up and watching TV. I remember when he was younger, we'd turn on the TV and he'd get mad and turn it off. Now, he's an addict, unfortunately. And at this very pregnant stage of life, I just can't make myself care! At night, he has a hard time going to sleep. He still wants to be near us, and preferable, touching someone. He'll still sometimes fall asleep in the hallway, while we sit and wait for him to do so.
Jacob loves to go to the museum and the zoo. He asks all the time to go. He'll say, "Let's go to the Museum. It's open." And if I tell him it's not, he'll tell me the zoo is open. He also loves Parky's Farm (I think I was asked to go to that at least a dozen times this morning) and Glenwood Gardens.
He has a hard time being left at school. He cries when I leave. But it's all a show. I hear he stops before I get out of the parking lot. Actually, I think today may have been the first time he didn't cry. He always asks if I am staying. He loves when it's our "helper day" and I stay to co-op. I think next week when Matthew is down the hall, it might help. When I pick him up, he always has had a lot of fun and loves it. He just likes me and wants to be with me :)
Other loves of Jacob right now are Mickey Mouse, Word World, Curious George, he's starting to enjoy reading, and I'm sure I'll think of some others...But Mickey ranks pretty high. And of course he loves anything his brother loves - Wild Kratts is pretty big on our house. It's a PBS show, that I must admit, is pretty good.
His cake is a funny story. He told me he wanted a mickey mouse cake. I thought, oh that's easy....three round cakes, two for the ears, one for the face, right? Oh no! As I looked online for ideas, he points to a picture and says, "I want that one". It's the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. If you don't know what that is, google it. So, instead of telling him no, I sought out how to make it. And I did. It's on the pictures in the next post - the ones from Facebook. I had the cake almost complete one day during naptime. He comes out, and I expect him to glow with excitement. He takes one look at it and says, "It needs a door." Man he was picky! And the day of his party, he told me, "Put the balloon on it, and take a picture." Again, pictures on the next post. Who knew a three year old could be so particular. But in the end, I think he was pleased!
Well, I'm out of time...I need to do a post about this for Matthew. And I don't have time to edit...sorry for typos :) I have to go get Matthew :)
Recent Pics
This is a post for those of you not on facebook. Here are some recent pictures that describe what has gone on in our lives recently:
Pics of a tour of Rumpke, Jacob's Birthday, and other stuff
Pics of a tour of Rumpke, Jacob's Birthday, and other stuff
Nathan and Sarah get married
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2269461289450.128738.1036134076&l=36d58e739c&type=1
School Changes
So I fell behind again on blogging... ;) (not that anyone actually reads it anymore!) With sick kids and doctor appointments, my Friday morning time to myself went away for a couple weeks. But that is to change soon!
In the last week or two, I've been starting to wonder if we made the right decision on what to do with Matthew for the year. He's had three years of pre-school at Northminster. We still stand by our decision to wait to send him to Kindergarten. Since he has the late summer birthday, we decided to wait until next year to send him. While I feel that he would have been totally fine this year academically and socially to go, so many people say the differences show up years down the road. We figured we might as well give him an up on life, and maybe things would be easier for him. He can be the first to do things instead of the last (to drive, etc). Maybe it'll get a little extra college scholarship.... ;) So, we had to decide what to do for the year. The preschool he has been going to does not have a 5 year old class. So our initial decision was to unofficially do some homeschooling stuff with him (things he won't necessarily do in Kindergarten, just to spend some good time together) on Monday and Wednesday while Jacob is in preschool. Then we enrolled him in a pre-K Friday program at another school, Forest Chapel, which is around the corner from our house. He was just going on Fridays. I thought that would give him the social interaction he would need. But, in the last couple weeks, we've noticed that our little social guy needs more social time. Last year I was really good about getting out and spending time with friends on Tuesdays and Thursdays when the boys weren't in school. This year, between being pregnant and tired, Jacob needing some downtime in between school, and just being generally over committed all around, we tend to stay home on those days a little more. So, Matthew just isn't getting out to see people. In watching him, I'm afraid that after a year of this, he may start to struggle socially by the time he goes to Kindergarten in the fall. So we were faced with a decision....there is an opening at Northminster in the class that he was in last year. He could do that again, and just be on the older side instead of the younger side. There is an opening at Forest Chapel where he could go (every day,if we wanted). Part of me wants to keep him at Forest Chapel, since it would be something different. We could do Mon/Wed/Fri with them as well. But, I can't imagine every M/W/F doing drop off and pick up at two different schools. It wouldn't even give me enough time to get to the grocery. I would drop Matthew off at 9, Jacob at 930, pick up Matthew at 1130 and then Jacob at 1. It's just too much driving. It would be so much simpler to have them at the same school. And with a baby coming, simple is what we need. So while I feel sad (and guilty) pulling out of Forest Chapel, I think we're making the right decision for the family. I feel a little bit like a failure for not doing well with the homeschooling I was trying to do. But I think if I get the little bit of time with both of them at school to catch up on life (my schoolwork, preparing for dance, treasurer work for the preschool, and just general mom/wife things), I will be a better mom and can do that at other times. And I think Matthew will be more a joy to be around if he gets to spend time with friends. So, for now, that's the plan...
In the last week or two, I've been starting to wonder if we made the right decision on what to do with Matthew for the year. He's had three years of pre-school at Northminster. We still stand by our decision to wait to send him to Kindergarten. Since he has the late summer birthday, we decided to wait until next year to send him. While I feel that he would have been totally fine this year academically and socially to go, so many people say the differences show up years down the road. We figured we might as well give him an up on life, and maybe things would be easier for him. He can be the first to do things instead of the last (to drive, etc). Maybe it'll get a little extra college scholarship.... ;) So, we had to decide what to do for the year. The preschool he has been going to does not have a 5 year old class. So our initial decision was to unofficially do some homeschooling stuff with him (things he won't necessarily do in Kindergarten, just to spend some good time together) on Monday and Wednesday while Jacob is in preschool. Then we enrolled him in a pre-K Friday program at another school, Forest Chapel, which is around the corner from our house. He was just going on Fridays. I thought that would give him the social interaction he would need. But, in the last couple weeks, we've noticed that our little social guy needs more social time. Last year I was really good about getting out and spending time with friends on Tuesdays and Thursdays when the boys weren't in school. This year, between being pregnant and tired, Jacob needing some downtime in between school, and just being generally over committed all around, we tend to stay home on those days a little more. So, Matthew just isn't getting out to see people. In watching him, I'm afraid that after a year of this, he may start to struggle socially by the time he goes to Kindergarten in the fall. So we were faced with a decision....there is an opening at Northminster in the class that he was in last year. He could do that again, and just be on the older side instead of the younger side. There is an opening at Forest Chapel where he could go (every day,if we wanted). Part of me wants to keep him at Forest Chapel, since it would be something different. We could do Mon/Wed/Fri with them as well. But, I can't imagine every M/W/F doing drop off and pick up at two different schools. It wouldn't even give me enough time to get to the grocery. I would drop Matthew off at 9, Jacob at 930, pick up Matthew at 1130 and then Jacob at 1. It's just too much driving. It would be so much simpler to have them at the same school. And with a baby coming, simple is what we need. So while I feel sad (and guilty) pulling out of Forest Chapel, I think we're making the right decision for the family. I feel a little bit like a failure for not doing well with the homeschooling I was trying to do. But I think if I get the little bit of time with both of them at school to catch up on life (my schoolwork, preparing for dance, treasurer work for the preschool, and just general mom/wife things), I will be a better mom and can do that at other times. And I think Matthew will be more a joy to be around if he gets to spend time with friends. So, for now, that's the plan...
Friday, September 16, 2011
Big Brothers
Week 2, and I'm keeping up with my goal - so proud of myself! Last weekend the boys had a "big sibling" class at Christ Hospital. They got to go and learn all about what it will be like to have a baby in the house.They got a tour of the hospital, too. Matthew seemed to really take on the idea of having a baby. He was really tring to be responsible and take to heart what they said. All week he has been processing things like how big of a toy and what kinds of toys the baby can have. I think he's going to be a great big brother. Jacob, well, let's just remember he's not quite three.... ;) He was paying attention a lot of the time, but also consistently dropped his doll on it's head :) We'll have to keep an eye on him. My guess is that he might have the hardest time with the transition. And if Matthew's having a hard time, he will have no problem telling us!
Here is a picture of them leaving their class
Here is a picture of them leaving their class
Friday, September 9, 2011
Baby Update
This week I had my glucose test (don't have results yet) and another ultrasound. At 20 weeks, one of the baby's kidneys wasn't measuring right. So they checked again now and everything looks great. Praise God! It's been fun to watch how the baby has changed throughout various ultrasounds. At 20 weeks, we thought he looked a little more like Matthew. At this one, he had filled out. The technician thought he had Jacob's cheeks and nose and Matthew's forehead ;) I'll have to post some pictures. I don't have them with me now. But, he weighs 3 lbs 8 oz and is in the 38th percentile.
First Day of School
So another two months have passed since I've upated. I'm a slacker at a lot of things right now! With blogger, I feel like I already spend too much time at the computer, so adding one more thing is a lot. But at the same time, it's the only way I usually keep track of what my kids are up to. Now that school has started, I have about 1.5 hours on Friday mornings to myself. My goal is to do an update each Friday. So here is today. The first day of school. Matthew started at a new school. Because he is 5, he could have gone to Kindergarten. But since he has such a late birthday, we decided to wait a year. We just didn't want him to be the last to do anything. I'm sure he would have been fine to go, but there just seemed like more risks in sending him than waiting a year. And selfishly, I'm thankful I get to keep him one more year before he goes to school for the rest of his life! We are going to do some unofficial homeschooling two days a week while Jacob is at preschool. Then on Fridays he is doing Pre-K Friday at Forest Chapel, right around the corner from our house. It gives him a place to go, some structure, some extroversion, etc. So I drop him off at 9, then take Jacob to Northminster at 9:30. Matthew has been so great with this transition. He told me he was nervous to meet new people (which I kind of find hard to believe ;) He's a kid who will make friends with someone on a playground.) But he went right in. I can't wait to hear how it went!
Jacob on the other hand, has been protesting going to school for weeks now. Everytime we ask him about it, he says "No, I stay home with you." or "I go with Matthew." This morning he had every excuse in the book to not do what he was supposed to do (get dressed!). I heard everything from, "I'm too tired." to "I'm comfy." When I tried to get a first day of school picture, he threw his backback into the yard. He was a goober in every sense. I was sure he was going to throw a fit when we got to school. But, he surprised me. He went in, washed his hands, and sat down to play playdough. He didn't make a peep when I said goodbye. I set both boys up with a little rock with a heart on it that they put in their pocket so they could get it out when they missed me. We'll see if either one of them even remembered it was there. Here are a few pics of our morning:
Jacob on the other hand, has been protesting going to school for weeks now. Everytime we ask him about it, he says "No, I stay home with you." or "I go with Matthew." This morning he had every excuse in the book to not do what he was supposed to do (get dressed!). I heard everything from, "I'm too tired." to "I'm comfy." When I tried to get a first day of school picture, he threw his backback into the yard. He was a goober in every sense. I was sure he was going to throw a fit when we got to school. But, he surprised me. He went in, washed his hands, and sat down to play playdough. He didn't make a peep when I said goodbye. I set both boys up with a little rock with a heart on it that they put in their pocket so they could get it out when they missed me. We'll see if either one of them even remembered it was there. Here are a few pics of our morning:
Matthew at home
Jacob throwing one of many fits.
Matthew in front of his school.
Jacob in front of his school.
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