josie's big personality

I won't pretend that I haven't posted in almost exactly a year. It's sad and somewhat shameful. But it really has been such a busy time in life that I have purposely avoided sitting in front of my computer unless I absolutely have to. I'm sad to not have recorded all the wonderful (and not so wonderful) things over the last year, but realize that I am a limited human being who just can't accomplish everything I wish I could.

Instead of throwing in the towel in complete defeat, I decided tonight just to do what I can. So I am keeping my expectations low!

Josie is approaching three and a half and she is so entertaining. Out of our three kids she is the most outgoing and knows no stranger. She says hello to people in public and acts silly no matter who is watching. I marvel at her really. I don't recall ever being so relaxed in my own skin!

She is always ready to go somewhere and any time one of us gets shoes on to leave, she asks, "Is ME going?" If she's not included there is sure to be tears. She always wants to be out and about!

Josie loves her friends and she is so blessed to have many good girlfriends in our circle. Being our youngest, she is well supplied with friendships from the families that are slightly younger than us (or not so slightly these days) who started having kids right as we were wrapping up. 

Simon had a friend over yesterday and after he left, she asked me, "Where are my kids?" I was confused. "Josie, you don't have kids. What do you mean?" "Where are my little friends?" was her sweet reply. She loves her little buddies and they play so well together. I am so thankful for that bright spot in her life.

Here is a goofy little video of Josie imitating a character from the movie, "The Lorax" which I blogged about once before here. She is reenacting the scene where a duck on the shelf lays an egg. It's somewhat lowbrow humor, but I love it. Enjoy!

gone gluten free

A bit ago I gave you the back story on some of Josie's health issues which included symptoms of arthritis. I mentioned in that post that I had plans to meet with a homeopathic practice to investigate if diet could be part of her problem, a possibility that the rheumatologists didn't seem interested in checking out and pretty much told me that diet has nothing to do with arthritis. Just so you know...I'm not bitter about this but I felt very strongly that I needed to at least investigate a possible dietary issue before committing to medicating Josie for an unforeseen amount of time or to label her with a very heavy diagnosis.

I saw a homeopathic nurse practitioner at Webster Family Physicians just after Josie had received a steroid shot for the continued swelling in her ankle. (The shot was the next step recommended by the rheumatologists since medication alone wasn't totally fixing the problem.) The homeopathic nurse and I discussed doing some blood tests to see if diet was a player in the arthritis. After drawing blood that day, it took nearly a month to get the test results back. Her bloodwork indicated that she had no "allergies" but several low grade offenders which cause inflammation in her immune system. One of the offenders was apple which I had been giving her pretty much non stop through juice and applesauce which were the only foods she consistently had interest in. I had no idea that it was causing inflammation to build up in her little body! :(

The nurse explained that it was good news that Josie's tests showed no severe reactions to food but that we needed to get the inflammation under control so that her fragile immune system could recover, mature and strengthen. She assured me that if we got things under control now, she would almost certainly outgrow these sensitivities!

The plan of action was to completely remove wheat and gluten for a year or two and also cycle through the other inflammatory foods every four days, giving her system a complete digestive cycle before reintroducing them into her digestion.

I have to say, since being on this diet since March, (about two months) Josie is like a different child! She is sleeping through the night (HALLELUJAH!) which happened almost immediately. She is no longer emotionally reactive. Before, she would scream in frustration constantly, needed holding all the time and just didn't act like the carefree, easy-tempered girl I once knew. Now she's back to her old self! She sings and runs around, and laughs and plays with her siblings. And she's finally eating food! She's become a GREAT little eater! In fact, this morning I noticed that the onesie she wore to bed was way too snug. I thought to myself, "I need to take these old onesies out of her drawer because they are pulling on her neck." Then I stumbled across this photo of her from only four weeks ago wearing the exact same onesie:

Here it is baggy and loose. She has gained 4-1/2 pounds in about six weeks. It's incredible!

I so appreciate medicine and love our doctors. But I can't tell you what a relief it is to speak to a medical professional who sees the validity of diet and who is not in a rush to over medicate. I thank God for this amazing turn of events!

As of now, the swelling in her ankle has not completely disappeared. But it is well under control and is not causing her any stiffness or changing her gait. The difference between her two ankles is very subtle. But the idea is that once the inflammation has worked it's way out of her system over time, she should return completely to normal. I'll keep you updated as things progress! I'm one relieved Mama, I have to say! xx

For your viewing pleasure, here are some recent photos we had taken last week. The happy changes are visible!

Check out that healthy little toddler body!

To close, here is an image of her sleeping, sweet sleep, on the couch. She just laid down after lunch and fell right to sleep:

So happy to have my girl back.

sippy cups and silk

Remember the scripture in the Bible where Jesus tells us we can't serve both God and money? Well the same goes for loving children and loving fancy vintage furniture. I know that's what Jesus really meant, right?

I've been on a whirlwind vintage kick lately and in the midst of finding some amazing deals on gorgeous unique things, I've sold much of our old furniture which always seemed too big for this city dwelling. Finally, after living here for five years, it's starting to feel like the furnishings suit the house and fit within the nooks and crannies.

In the midst of my thrifting, I stumbled upon this GORGEOUS mid century olive green tufted sofa with wood detailing. My heart was all aflutter. I go nuts over nearly anything tufted! So I swiped it up even though the realist in the back of my mind said, "Don't get too attached. Silk and sippy cups cannot coexist." Or something like that. But the price was right, the style was insane, and so I promised myself I would hold it lightly.

Within the first couple of days, there was an oily residue left on one of the cushions by somebody's little grubby fingers and I contemplated selling the sofa before it got ruined. But then, I reminded myself that I paid next to nothing for it and if it got ruined, it wouldn't be a huge loss, as long as my heart was not attached.

Shortly after, I bought two cans of scotch guard and doused the thing from head to toe. I tested the stain resistance with some water and it beaded up and rolled off and my mind was at ease that maybe sippy cups and silk CAN coexist. Folly? You may be right.

This morning I should have known better than to be productive first thing out of bed because, as I was downstairs putting in a load of laundry, I heard cries from upstairs that Josie had thrown up...On. The. Couch. And it wasn't just regular old throw up, it was a belly full of grape juice. It might as well have been sulfuric acid, or blood, or a flaming kebob of oily cheese. By the time I was able to get to it, it was still beading up, but had soaked in enough to leave a very noticeable stain. I cleaned and blotted and wiped for a half hour or so, fighting off frustration and irritation. But all in all, I'm not that upset. Surprisingly. I love my kids more than I love fancy vintage furniture, and I don't even mind if God wants to keep checking me on this one. I say, if I ever get close to loving stuff more than people, I'll be looking for a boatload of grape juice vomit to come my way.

Matthew 6:24
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

the baby whisperer I am not

I've always struggled to sleep train our kids, though, I feel like I sort of figured out what works in a decent amount of time with the first two kids. Both of them seemed to get their major issues settled by about 14 months and were in their own beds, sleeping through the night and not really getting up or making too much fuss at bedtime or during the night. Back then, I felt like I wasn't a very good mom that it took me so long to get it sorted out when many moms I talked to had their babies sleeping all night by six weeks! But now my perspective has changed and I think I was doing pretty well! Josie has really given me a run for my money and just when I think this sort of thing should be old hat, she has me scrambling for sanity!

We've had various issues with Josie that have made it hard to follow the "rules." She's been smaller in stature all along and, in the first year, I felt I should feed her whenever she was interested. Early on, she just slept for longer periods if she was near me and I couldn't bear to be sleep deprived when trying to keep up with all three kids during the day. So we were in survival mode for awhile. It worked just fine.

But then I hit the threshold after about 16 months where I was ready to have our own room back and felt it was time for her to fly the coop. At that point, she was in her crib for all her naps and a good portion of the night so we moved her crib into Ella's room and started the transition. But she didn't like those plans. She cried and carried on and it wasn't the kind of "crying it out" we were able to do with the other two at this point in their lives. Her crying was sustained, desperate and unrelenting and was very stressful on Ella which felt unfair. So for awhile, everyone got shuffled around in the short term so that Josie could work out her self-soothing and sleep issues. But then that got EVERYONE out of routine and added more chaos than resolution.

During that time, she began climbing out of the crib in desperation. Like I said, her version of "crying it out" really didn't work. So we gave up on that and went back to rocking her to sleep which often took long periods of time. Then we hit that time period with the arthritis where her whole demeanor was off and she was a much crankier version of herself. She also slept horribly in general and was up several times a night again.

After her second birthday, we took the crib down and transitioned her to the bed. That was ok, though a big commitment as we never felt we had achieved sleep training with her like we did the other two by this time...certainly before we ever moved them to a bed. She doesn't seem to realize there are rules about staying put at bedtime. She still needs quite a bit of soothing to fall asleep although rocking has gotten pretty tiring. We're back into a stage where she takes about an hour to settle down at night.

It's a strange thing to behold now, watching her try to fall asleep. I will rock her for a few minutes to give her the message it's time to quiet down and then I lay her down on her pillow. She hates being covered up but she likes to snuggle so I put her blanket beside her. Sometimes I'll lay on the floor next to the bed just to give her the comfort of knowing I'm there but that I'm not going to hold her. I really want her to learn to soothe herself. But it's so tiring to watch her for the next hour. She flips, then she flops. She turns horizontally, then sits up. She grabs her blanket and tries to thoroughly cover herself. Once covered, she kicks frantically to get uncovered. Then she snuggles the blanket. Then she pulls at her pant legs. She finds a different pillow and moves it in order to lay on it. Then she flips and flops again and it starts all over. She kicks her legs and I wonder if she is actually trying to keep herself awake or if she is just restless and doesn't know how to settle down! It's maddening for me, I don't know how it isn't for her!

Sometimes I get so frustrated, I have to leave the room. I think, "I'm just going to have to be firm and keep directing her back to bed." But I've tried that several times and she will literally get out of bed 50 times one after the other. I'm at my wits end!

But.....there is good news. Once she finally falls asleep, she sleeps all night now. Sometimes till 7:30. That is a very big victory.

Are there any other moms out there with these issues??

dressing herself

Josie is very independent. She much prefers doing things on her own, I suppose that's part of being two now. It's so funny to see the clothes she puts on. We have to keep the folded laundry out of reach because she pulls things out, one by one, strips herself down, and tries to wear all the new stuff one on top of the other. Here's the progression the other day:

Rocking the outfit

Ok, there's something wrong here...

Must. Get. Out!

Enough with the camera, already! HELP!

The funniest thing about this outfit is that the bottom half is actually another shirt. She's wearing three shirts folks. She much prefers that particular shirt on the bottom half of her body.

And shoes...oh how she loves shoes. She's always wearing somebody else's shoes around the house, and even with a 50-50 shot, she always puts her own boots on the wrong feet.

Josie is such an entertainer at this stage!

josie turned 2

January 12 was a momentous day! Josie turned two, can you believe it? She's growing up and leaving behind the baby stage. It's always sad to say goodbye to the baby stage, but oh so fun to explore what lies ahead as kids develop into their own little people.

Her birthday started out with a magical dusting of snow! It was very pretty, though it seemed to throw all of St. Louis to a halt. We didn't mind one bit.

Because Josie had an outpatient procedure scheduled, she wasn't able to eat anything but she could have clear fluids till 9:30 am. So she had all the apple juice she could possibly handle! Fortunately, she tends to be a light eater in general, so she really didn't complain much. I just kept her distracted and her crazy sagging diapers changed.

After all the hospital stuff I mentioned in the previous post, which was an unfortunate part of the birthday extravaganza, we were pretty pooped out. Josie had a mega nap (she had partial anesthesia and pain meds that made her sleepy.)

At dinnertime, we celebrated with Grandma and Grandpa as well as Dillon Neely (who is living with us until he and Rebekah get married in March...Josie is nuts about Dillon and actually says his name which, in my opinion, gives him rockstar status) and ate some of Josie's favorite foods (and when I say favorite, I mean, stuff that she'll actually ingest. It had to involve ketchup.) We had mac and cheese, hot dogs, and salad, the ultimate kid meal. I couldn't stand to feed this meal to the grown ups, so we had a slightly "higher brow" version...browned apple chicken sausage with kraut to dress it up. (I don't know why, but I just love sauerkraut and took this as an opportunity to inflict it upon others.) Topping it all off were chocolate cupcakes with chocolate butter cream frosting and ice cream. (I can hardly bear to think of how many calories were in these little suckers, but I'm glad they're finally out of my fridge!) This year, she loved the cake. Last year, she didn't bother. So that was definitely a step in the right direction!

 

We sang the birthday song to her and she surprised me by getting a bit quivery in the lip. Not sure if it was because the lights were turned way down or if she got overwhelmed and confused. But she's not usually very shy about being the star of the show. Regardless, she totally knew what to do about the candles!

Then she opened presents which, again, she knew exactly what was expected of her coming directly off of Christmas just weeks ago. She got some cute clothes and shoes from us and a great kitty cat piano with a microphone and the most wonderful meowing sound effects! Of course, we all know that anything musical will thrill Josie.

All in all, it was a wonderful day, a real success I think. I just can't believe she's two. But I think two will be a very good year for her. I'm looking forward to getting to know more about her as she reveals more of who she is!

Not much else to say, but just feast your eyes on this sweet little girl who thinks she's so big, she should wear lipstick now!

the back story

January 12 was Josie's big birthday. And that's what I really want to post about. But there's a lot of behind the scenes information that you need to know. It was full of happy moments, and also, not-your-normal kind-of-birthday moments. I haven't posted anything about some of the health stuff that's been going on with Josie over the last several months because, I guess I just didn't feel up to rehashing all the details. It's a long story and frankly, I'm at a time right now where I just don't like sitting in this computer chair for very long! So, as a back story before we get to the birthday fun, I'll fill you in on the details of what we've been dealing with.

But to start, here's a fun picture of Josie just before her birthday. The angel hair is in full fluff mode!

It's hard to get a crisp image of this little mover and shaker!

Sometime around mid August, I noticed some swelling around Josie's left ankle. She didn't act like it hurt, she walked normally and so I thought I must have missed her twisting it or something. But three weeks later, the swelling persisted. Over the next several months, we went through multiple pediatrician appointments, several rounds of xrays, and a trip to a pediatric orthopedist who ordered further xrays and an ultrasound. No one seemed too alarmed, though a bit puzzled and we left the ortho with no real answers and plans for an MRI in order to see more detail around the ankle. This was the week just after Thanksgiving.

Two days later, Josie woke up in the night with pain, further swelling in the ankle and a mild fever. She couldn't get comfortable to sleep and was unable to stand or walk. It was a quick and alarming turn. Honestly, seeing her try to stand only to crumple to the floor was a heartbreaking scene.

The following day was spent in the ER doing more xrays, bloodwork and she had to fast from all liquid and food in case they ordered the MRI. It was a sad and difficult day for her, and for us, but I was hopeful that at least by the end of the day, we'd have an answer to what was causing the trouble.

But that didn't exactly happen. They ruled out all the really scary things like cancer, lupus and a "septic joint" and said that they suspected arthritis (this was one of our earliest questions we'd had since Bryan's youngest brother had juvenile rheumetoid arthritis. Doctors kept dismissing that idea since it's somewhat rare to see it in kids this young as well as without any other symptoms.)

We've met with arthritis specialists and the Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis diagnosis is nearly certain with them, though I haven't quite "embraced" it yet...I am interested in investigating any dietary sensitivities that might cause arthritis symptoms and meet with a homeopathic practice in a couple of weeks...more info to come later, I'm sure.

So.....anyhow....all the backstory to say that, on her birthday, Josie was scheduled to receive a cortisone (steroid) shot in her ankle to decrease the swelling so that we could relieve any pain for her and also get her off medication. The doctors said that half of their patients who are only affected in one joint will receive this shot and never have any further issues. So that's what we are praying for!

The people at Children's Hospital are so great and had birthday balloons for Josie as well as two wrapped gifts and birthday cake. It was really helpful because she played with the toys non stop until it was time for the laughing gas. They gave her a baby doll and a tea set. I loved watching her feed her little baby with a spoon!

She never shed a tear the whole time, even with the anesthetic mask on and doctors in her face. She was incredible. It's been three days since the shot and her swelling is probably about 80% gone. I'm praying for a total recovery...

...now that you're informed, feel free to jump to the next post for all the happy birthday fun!!

life in general: a top ten

There is so much to update since Thanksgiving that I feel overwhelmed. This has been an eventful time. With lots of friends and family visits, Christmas excitement and thrills, health issues (another post needed here) and just general cuteness, there doesn't seem time to sit down and recount it all. So, in the interest of capturing a glimpse, I'll settle for a quick top ten of this particular season with the kids. Here are a few of my favorite things:

1. Josie's choice to whisper most everything since she's constantly corrected for screaming when she's unhappy.

2. Josie's quick sign language blown kiss when she screams "NOOOO!" and is quickly encouraged to say "No, thank you." It's a gesture that softens the piercing, shrill rejection she started with.

3. Simon's increased openness and communication...instead of just mysteriously rejecting something, he has started to explain why he doesn't like it or doesn't want to do something...for example, tonight he told me he didn't want to wear a certain pajama shirt because it "tickles." (There was a long tag that needed to be cut away.)

4. Ella's smarty pants-ness. She is just dang smart. And so easy to teach! I love that she loves learning. She really does impress me and I feel blessed just knowing her!

5. Ella's perceptiveness and awareness of others. And honesty. Honesty like I've never, ever seen before. It's very personally challenging and inspiring.

6. Simon's smile and laughter. It melts a mother's heart. He has the sweetest little teeth too and likes to make a game out of brushing his teeth. He likes to play hard to get!

7. Josie's "angel hair." A lot of people like to make fun of her "mullet" but I couldn't cut it for anything! It's thin on top for sure, but it's beautifully blonde, so soft, and it almost sparkles like it's gold spun! It's so pretty just after a bath when there are soft ringlets around the nape of her neck.

8. Independence. It's really cool to see the kids doing things for themselves. Ella has become the designated bathroom cleaner. She likes doing it and is fairly thorough. She also likes peeling her own kiwi and carrots. Simon always dresses himself in the best outfits. Every morning he asks if it's cold outside in order to decide which sleeve length is appropriate. This morning he wore three shirts! Josie is so great about throwing her own trash away and is a great picker upper! She also loves brushing her own teeth and trying to flush the toilet for us.

9. Cozy homeness. As the kids were all snuggled in our bed to read books at bedtime tonight, I was struck by how deeply satisfying it is to create a space that is comfortable, warm, inviting and secure. They were snuggly under the blankets, with their books and their pillows and I pondered at how innate this desire is—as a mom and as a woman—to create a nest for her family. It's something I have struggled to balance...wanting to create something lovely while avoiding finding my worth in possessions. But I think the desire is a pure one that God puts in our hearts, in order to create a place where peace, security and predictability can be found.

10. Favorites. I love that Simon finally has a favorite meal...fried rice jumbalaya or chickpea sausage stew. He has been hard to peg on that one. Josie has a favorite blankie now that she must nuzzle up against when trying to bridge the gap between awake and asleep just after a nap. Ella has lots of favorites and is an open book....one of her new favorite movies is "It's a Wonderful Life" with Jimmy Stewart. We went to see it late one evening just before Christmas at The Hi-Pointe theater. What it treat it was and she's still talking about the story!

It's a bit sad that I haven't chronicled more of this really sweet, but sometimes very challenging, time in our lives. There have been some really great moments and all is very well as far has the happiness curve in the day in and day out. However, we are facing some stuff we've not faced before and are doing our best to keep our heads about us. The kids are so great and I am aware, now more often than ever, at what a gift my life is. Being their mom, and Bryan's wife, is more rewarding than anything I've ever done. Remind me of this post when my attitude stinks!

reading, studying, bathing and celebrating

As usual, I have fallen behind in keeping track of all the little milestones and sweet sayings around here. But I don't feel too bad as I've been busy "living life" with these guys. Sometimes getting on my computer feels like more of a drain than productive and helpful. But there are a few notables so I thought I'd pause a moment to scratch them down.

I think I can make the statement that Simon is really reading now. He has been sounding out words here and there and chiming in when I read with him when he recognizes a word or when I push for him to figure it out. He has always liked letters, loves writing words and drawing pictures, but he does get frustrated if he feels like he's not succeeding. So I thought it might be helpful to get him some super early readers that seem less daunting than some of the "I Can Read Books" we have in our library. I purchased the "Bob Books" from one of his school's book orders and he officially began reading them on his own yesterday. He was so thrilled that he stayed up with the light on to read after I'd tucked him in. I am so proud of him and very excited for where this takes him!!

Ella's homeschooling is going well. We have our moments of difficulty, which I notice happen more if we aren't prompt in getting on the ball early in the morning. The more she gets in play mode, the more difficult it is to focus and the day takes longer. But we feel very productive and really get things done efficiently if we start right after breakfast. She is excelling and I have seen so much growth in her confidence as a person and her self expression. Some of that may just be in maturing as she ages, but I have to believe that meeting her needs as she has expressed them has contributed to some of her growth. She loves all the reading and we've finished quite a few books already. She is writing in cursive now and is really quite proficient at it. She likes science and our world history is fascinating. We're learning about Ancient Egypt now and had a field trip to the art museum to see the mummies and Egyptian art. I dare say, I am seriously loving homeschool and the enjoyment, closeness and quality time it fosters!

Josie's vocabulary is expanding and she's successfully repeating words back to us quite a bit now. She's "sugar and spice" as we've always said...the sweetest, most affectionate child I've ever known, but very expressive when she's irritated. She screams to show she's mad and sometimes she screams to show she's thrilled! She's growing so much and is starting to grow out of some of the things that can be so difficult with little ones, like requiring being held for an hour before finally falling asleep at night. We're getting past some of those more "intensive" things with her and she is capable of doing lots of things, but she's still our baby!

Last night during bath time, I was finishing up with Josie when Simon decided to jump in the tub as well. Josie was all washed and rinsed and playing in the water and Simon and I commenced in talking about his fifth birthday plans. I was engrossed in our conversation and hadn't noticed that Josie had gotten quiet and was looking down at something next to her in the water. At the angle I was sitting at, I couldn't see what she was looking at and continued talking until I finally got curious about what she was studying. I sat up and looked next to her to see a small turd floating in the water. She seemed confused at what it was and had been studying it trying to decide if it was friend or foe. As soon as I jumped up with alarm and said, "Oh my GOSH!" she decided it must be foe! She began crying in desperation and panic. I pulled her out and wrapped her up (Simon had already made his exit) and she shivered with nervousness and fear. After the inconvenient impromptu scrubbing of the bathtub while my two youngest waited to be re-bathed, I really couldn't get annoyed or frustrated. It was all too hilariously entertaining. Simon was a champ. I couldn't believe he didn't freak out about sitting in Josie's poo water. But he laughed right along with me. Once I ran the clean bath and Simon got back in, Josie was still afraid. She shook her head emphatically saying, "nuh-uh" multiple times. But I stuck to my guns and she got her second bath. She came around eventually with no more tears shed.

Oh my. Such an event.

Tomorrow is our eleventh anniversary. Tucking Ella in tonight, I told her how excited I was to go out to dinner to celebrate at a fun restaurant (we're doing a family date for this one...Bryan and I had a big Mexican vacation all last week to celebrate year 10-11). Ella said, "Oh no! I'm such a ding dong! I forgot to make you a present!" to which I replied, "YOU are my present, and Josie and Simon too." She added, "And Dad. He's absolutely your BEST present."

She is so right. I couldn't be more satisfied with a life if I had written it myself.

promised photos of Josie

I wish I could find words to describe the angel that is Josie. I know she's my kid, but seriously, there is no denying there is something SPECIAL about this one. I've never seen a kid so affectionate and so quick to connect with others. She is not shy about sharing her smiles with people and warms up to new friends quickly.

This may be my favorite picture of her...it really captures the silly smile she doles out on us daily. And her expressive eyes...always raising her eyebrows to let you know she's ready for fun!

This photo is just a bonus. Enjoy!

Love my girl!

tidbits

I've been out of the habit of updating some of the bigger happenings as of late. So, to try to get back in the swing of things, this post will consist of some small tidbits of recent happenings.

We went out of town last weekend. The plan had been to stay with our close friends in Joplin but the recent tornado that devastated the town derailed our plan. We drove through though and had a look at things and it was beyond the worst my imagination could have conjured. All this talk of tornadoes has had an impact on the kids and Ella was really saddened by what she saw. I could hear her gasping in the back seat as she said over and over how SAD it was. And then I could hear her praying under her breath. That Sunday we visited Frontline church in Oklahoma City where Bryan was speaking as a guest and the kids talked about things they were afraid of as well as things they were thankful for. Ella's depiction of this was a drawing of a large blue tornado and a picture of Bryan and me. For clarification, she's thankful for us and scared of tornadoes.

On the same subject, Ella told me she wanted to move. Her exact words were, "Mom, I like our house a lot but I think I want to move somewhere else." I responded: "Why? Where do you want to move?" Ella: "I want to go somewhere where there aren't tornadoes." This spring has been kind of scary weather-wise.

Some hail at our house this month. It had begun to melt by the time the photo was snapped, but was originally around 2.5" diameter.

On a happy note, Ella finally learned how to blow a bubble! She also got her ears pierced and didn't even shed a tear!

Time with Simon has been fun and challenging at the same time. He is so sweet and kind and always the gentleman. But also, he's been pushing some discipline boundaries and picking silly fights with me about not wanting to comply with simple requests at random times throughout the day. Today was a bit challenging and, even though it was mainly a good day with lots of smiles and fun together, there were a couple of trying moments, mainly due to tiredness I think. As I prayed for him tonight, he made his requests known and instructed me to pray for the things he asks for every night: Good dreams, no bad dreams and no nightmares. But during the prayer, he tagged on, "And to OBEY." Sweet boy. I know sometimes it feels so hard to respond right in the moment, especially when you're physically out of whack and tired. I know he wants to. We have got to get this whole to nap or not to nap thing figured out.

Along with the prayer time, Simon pulled me close and asked if he could tell me a secret. I leaned in and he whispered, "When I grow up, I want to become a pilot." Dramatic pause...."or a PIRATE."

In Josie news, she's pretty much sleeping through the night and is close to being fully weaned. WOWZERS. She's growing UP! She's soooooo sweet. Such a hugger. Always cuddling and scrunching up her nose to give a sweet smile. Totally need to post some pictures soon. She's a doozy. Here's a quick lookie-loo:

Lovin' the swing!

Alrighty, that's all for now. Life is busy and changing...summer's almost here (Simon's school is over now and Ella's kindergarten graduation is tomorrow morning!! UGH. So ready to close this chapter of kindergarten stuff.) Onward and upward! Hoping to be better with the blog during the summer months!

Simon's last day of school.

checking in

I've become embarrassingly bad about keeping this blog updated. Truth is, I've been doing my best (well, not my best, but "better") to not spend any "free" time on my computer while the kids are awake. I find it sucks me in and I end up an hour (or more) shorter of time to connect with them. Also, I've been doing a bit more freelance than normal so my time on the computer has been spoken for. 

Right now, we're on spring break. We are using the time to get away from the house and all it's demands and are staying in a hotel in Kansas City. We've been relaxing a lot, watching cartoons and March Madness basketball, swimming a TON, snuggling, tickling, doing color wonder, eating snack food instead of meals, and taking lots of baths (due to the overload of chlorine.) We visited a park yesterday and relished in the spring sunshine, played with Ella's new jump rope and Simon's new tee ball set and ball glove. Ella has gotten to be pretty proficient at jumping rope and swimming! Simon is still rather cautious about swimming, but he at least will swim with a floatation device which beats last year when he wouldn't even get in the water until he'd watched everyone else for two hours. I'm not even kidding.

Some brief updates of late:

1. I've been mulling over and praying about doing home school next year. It's something I never thought I'd consider, but after observing my kids more closely over this last year and learning more about their strengths and weaknesses, I think it could be a real help to them. It is something we're in prayer about and a decision I don't take lightly.
2. Simon is becoming increasingly proficient at writing his letters, drawing and coloring. I've heard him sight read and sound out a few words here and there too. At a recent Parent/Teacher conference, his teacher described him as "cautious" in general, but excelling. He is quiet in his temperament and she said sometimes he seems like it's not worth the effort to get in the middle of boyish squabbles over trains and things. But he has made friends and enjoys school a lot.
3. Ella got the birds and the bees talk on the playground. Wow. Wasn't exactly prepared for that yet! Fortunately, she is quick to share with me anything that doesn't sit right with her, so it was an opportunity for some clear and helpful direction and clarification from me.
4. Josie seems to love music a great deal and requests "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" all day long. The other morning, after she woke up early and was still cuddled in bed with me, she spent a good ten minute humming and making her own music. It was so sweet! She has said a few words which Ella is keeping track of in her journal. Just this morning, we were cuddled in the hotel bed and Simon's head was resting on my lap. She patted him on the hair and said, "Nye Nye." (Night night). She's growing quickly and is so charming!

That's all I have for now. Josie is up and our friends from Joplin (the Clevenger family) have just arrived to finish out our vacation together! There is more fun to be had!! 

josie's first birthday

My Josie and her baby blues

Our little baby is officially a toddler. Her first year went by so quickly!

For her first birthday, we kept it simple and had her grandparents over for dinner and a quiet evening of celebration together. We ate some veggie soup which she is known to devour and introduced her to the joys of chocolate cupcakes with chocolate cream cheese frosting.

Surprisingly, she didn't lay into the cake like we expected (or like her siblings did on their first birthdays.) When we gave her the cupcake, she promptly squished it in her fist and then proceeded to pick it apart with her fingers, exploring the feel of it rather than the taste of it. I gave her a few small bites, which she accepted willingly, but she wasn't all that impressed. So what you see in this photo pretty much ended up in the trash can.

I had a lovely video of us singing her the happy birthday song and blowing out the candle, but somehow in my transfer of images from camera to computer, I deleted it *boo hoo*.

After dinner and cleanup, we opened presents. We got her a pair of soft soled shoes to help her in her new walking efforts and a fun sippy cup with a straw which she prefers over the handled sucking kind. Memaw and Papa got her a foam book which she has taken a real liking to and has been flipping through today.

A new development on her birthday was this special "photo face:"

She has officially learned how to strike a pose.
Happy birthday, my sweet love! You light up our lives!

one small step for josie

Just shy of her first birthday, Josie officially began walking. She didn't want to perform for the camera when I actually took the time to GRAB the camera, but this gives you a general idea. And by the way, today is her birthday!

where I left off

A lot happens in the span of three months. That's how long it's been since I recorded anything on this blog! It's so hard to find the time and I've avoided spending extra time on the computer since it steals time away from the kids. So, I've got a lot of material to cover in this post...And since it seems crazy to try to catch up, I'll just give you some "best of" material.

In October, Ella had a school trip to a pumpkin farm. The photo below is of her and her closest school buddy, Makenzie. They are a super cute pair but sometimes I'm flabbergasted at the drama that occurs with girls in KINDERGARTEN! Seriously, sometimes it seems like seventh grade stuff.

Makenzie and Ella

Later in the month, around my birthday, we visited Mimi in Edina. We had a great hike at Thousand Hills State Park and enjoyed visiting the petroglyphs. Simon loved being out in the wide open space and he mentioned the hike again to me just this past week. We'll be visiting this spot again for sure in the spring when it's warmer.

Simon on the run amidst the trees

I finally got him to sit still long enough to snap this shot! This boy is known for his boots!

In that same trip, we spent lots of time at various parks. Mom's apartment is pretty small so we're always looking for ways to get the wiggles out. The above shot is Simon playing guitar with a stick at the old Rutledge school playground I mentioned in a post long ago. And below is Ella looking sweet at the same park.

For Halloween, we kept things simple. We trick or treated just along our street for a couple of blocks and then went to a party at some friends' place. Ella was Elastigirl from The Incredibles, Simon was Spiderman, and Josie was a daisy. There were so many stinkin' cute photos, but I just don't have the room to share them all!

This costume was amazingly cute but didn't stay on very long. Babies and head gear don't mix.

Spidey and Elastigirl

In November, I (and a handful of amazing girlfriends) painted the cherry red kitchen a more subdued bluish gray. (Enter *sigh of relief* here.) The paint job also included a chalkboard wall by the fridge that I use for my menu planning as well as for keeping track of tasks and weekly events. It has also come in handy for the kids art fix. Simon has drawn me some interesting works. The below images come from his "Garden of Eden" depiction. Simon is particularly interested in this Bible story, in fact, when we read it last time, I asked him why Adam and Eve had to leave the garden. His answer was, "Cause there was a SNAKE in there!!!"

This Garden features three snakes that say. "P P P" instead of hissing.

Detail of snake's face

And we'll end this "best of" with a shot of Josie. Man has she grown. But I'll give the low down on that in a post all her own. Hopefully. If I can find a free moment.

toofer

The last couple of weeks have had some tooth excitement! First, Josie has had some seriously rough nights of sleep which means I've had very little to speak of. Turns out, she was sprouting a tooth! I have yet to catch a glimpse of it with the camera since she is weird about opening her mouth for me unless I'm filling it with a big spoonful of food. But I certainly feel the rough little sprout when she chews on my finger!

And then tonight, Ella lost her first tooth! We had gone over to Memaw's to visit since Daddy and Papa are away. After carving pumpkins, we sat down to dinner. Ella accidentally bit down on her fork and it was enough force to seriously nudge her already loose tooth out of joint. I was so relieved to be at Memaw's because she is very well accustomed to the removal of teeth. Having had six children all go through the process, she knew the correct procedure and stepped right in to assist. Ella sat very bravely as Memaw gripped the tooth with a paper towel and gave it a firm pull. Out it came and Ella was thrilled! All night she kept saying dreamily, "I can't believe I lost my first tooth!" We went out for ice cream to celebrate and skyped with Daddy so he could get a good look for himself. Now, we need to decide if we are going to promote the tooth fairy around here...

apples, bikes and a couple of gorgeous girls

We made our annual trip to Eckert's Farm last week to pick apples. I look forward to this event every year for multiple reasons: 1) the kids have a blast, 2) it's one of the first signs of autumn for us, 3) the apples are AMAZING and 4) I always make it an opportunity to take lots of photos of the kids.

Simon and Ella in the tunnel

Looking Back: The tunnel photo from two years ago. They change so fast!

The new rocket ships were a big hit

Looking Back: No rockets last year. Last season was all about the airplanes.

 

More news: Ella still loves wearing all her bike gear. But it's not motivation enough to learn to ride without training wheels. She's still too jittery about it and won't let Bryan let her go. It didn't seem to make it any more tempting when I told her how my dad taught me how to ride a bike by taking me to the top of a hill and letting go without warning. I learned quickly. Maybe we're just too warm and fuzzy?

The gear: all looks and no action!

And here is one extra sweet little squish. Man is she adorable. Her personality is so enjoyable, her smile is warm and friendly and she's started sprouting a silly little tooth! Now if she'd only start sleeping a little more at night I might officially change her name to "Angel Baby".

Gorgeous Girl #1

 

 

The original Gorgeous Girl. She just gets prettier every day I think.

And this one is just for good measure. She is such a little lady. She's getting prettier all the time and it's a little scary. What happens when those little boys she tells me she chases on the playground (I shudder at these stories) decide she doesn't have cooties? I'm praying she thinks they're dumb dumbs by then. :)

And that's a wrap for now...

not so golden slumbers

Arrrghh! Josie is so darn bent on MOVING ALL THE TIME she will not calm down and just sleep. What used to be easy...she acted tired and fell right to sleep, has become a fight. Now, she buries her face in my arm and rubs her eyes and then her little head pops up again. And I can no longer leave her in her crib to fall asleep because she stands up and then doesn't know how to get down safely. Or she finds a way to hang a limb through the slats and gets mad. I'm ready for her to settle down a little bit now, thank you very much.

in a hurry

I told you so! Josie started cruising today. She's been pulling up and standing for about a month or so now and she is so determined! She's blowing my mind. While Ella was at school today, it was just Josie and me since Bryan took Simon on an overnight camping adventure. Various times throughout the day I would hear Josie snicker to herself, so pleased that she is barreling ahead and accomplishing new feats. It's a funny laugh, a quiet little hissing sound with a scrunched up face. She is just so thrilled to be up moving!

The crazy thing about her mobility is that she is still so little, she gets herself in positions that she isn't quite mature enough to maneuver out of so she panics a bit. I hear her whine or fuss in the other room and come to find her perched against the stairs, holding the banister, getting tired and not knowing how to get down. Silly girl. Baby gates will have to be dusted off soon!

going on 8 months + high chair makeover

Josie is changing so rapidly! Not only did she start crawling before she turned seven months, she hasn't reached eight months yet and she's decided it's fun to pull up on the furniture. *Gasp!* Her little body doesn't look like it's supposed to do that yet, but, dang is she strong! We had to move her crib mattress to the low position because she keeps standing up in there and hanging out like a little jail bird. She hasn't started cruising yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if she got that one on under her belt before her eight month birthday!

Here she is hanging at a the coffee table:

Sorry it's blurry! I rushed to snap the shot before she sat back down.

We've also noticed that she likes to watch tv. The other two kids didn't really seem interested in tv until they were around two. But she's definitely taking notice. Not good. Here she is losing interest in me and watching baseball or something:

Gotta love those luscious thighs!

See the owl onesie she's wearing? I adore it! It was a handmade gift by my good friend Betsy who had a little boy (Shepherd) a few weeks after Josie was born. I was so touched she made time to stitch me up a one of a kind beauty when she has her own kids to look after. That's just like her though.

Here is the other little project Betsy came through on:

What was supposed to be her helping me recover our old high chair turned into her completely doing the project for me! What a friend, right!? This high chair isn't very impressive, but it's functional and I didn't want to shell out any money for a new one. The old vinyl was so ugly, ragged, and dated (not in a good way.) I got some vintage oil cloth on Etsy for much less than I could get a new chair, even used. And now it has more life than your run-of-the-mill high chair. Thanks Betsy!!