Power

Every night we read a children's devotion book with Jadon. Tonights devotion was about the holy spirit giving us power to obey and be a witness. At the end of each devotion, it asks a simple question based on the devotion. So the question tonight was "What power does the holy spirit give us?" Jadon's answer: "electricity" ;)

Listening ears

Jadon may not be a very good listener at home, but we must be doing something right because he seems to be a great listener everywhere else.

Last week at swimming, it was halfway through the spring session, and at that point they do parent teacher conferences. So his swim teacher told me what I figured i'd be hearing- he's still tentative about sticking his face in the water, and he panics a little when he's floating on his back and the teacher lets go of him. But, she emphasized several times that he is a really good listener, and always tries to do everything. :)

Today at soccer, I stayed home with Avery as I had a large list of things that I needed to do, but when Derek and Jadon got home, I got some great news. Jadon's soccer class this term is a bit unruly. There are a couple of boys in the class that are just out of control, and completely disrupt the class. Drives me crazy as the parents really dont do much. Its not fair to the kids that are behaving, its not fair to the coach who has to deal with the little farts, and its not fair to the parents of the well-behaved kids either, since we ARE paying for the class that is constantly being interrupted by them!
So anyways, Derek told me that at the end of class today, the teacher said to the whole class Thank you to Jadon, who listened very well today and followed directions, everyone give Jadon a round of applause... something like that, i cant remember the exact words Derek told me. :)

So, even though he sometimes is a monster with me and Derek, i'm glad to know that he is still being respectful to his coaches and teachers! That makes me proud! Its important to me that he respect his superiors, and since he does so well at that, it gives me hope that one day, my sweet little guy will emerge from this monster costume that he sometimes wears at home! ;)

The last couple days have been beeeeeautiful! We are LOVING this weather! The kids have been outside digging in the dirt almost nonstop... making a complete mess of our backyard in the process. Dirt EVERYwhere. Rocks all over the place. Jadon put dirt in the dryer vent. Avery put dirt in the heat pump. Wait, what? Did I just say heat pump? Yes!!!! We got our heatpump installed yesterday, so this summer will be the first summer that we are not going to be miserable when the heat comes! Yay!!!

Anyways, i'll leave you with a couple pictures.

Avery first thing in the morning with her bedhead.
The last 2 were just taken about 15 minutes ago. The kids are outside enjoying the sunshine and some watermelon. And yes, Jadon has no pants on once again. That kid just hates to wear pants.

Headstrong

My daughter is wearing me out. She is CONSTANTLY on the move, screams about EVERYTHING, and is extremely headstrong (as the pediatrician put it.)

I was just telling Derek about a lady at swimming who's daughter is in Jadons class... she has a son who is around Avery's age. Her son sits quietly, never making a peep, rarely moves from his seat, and I have to envy the girl a little. Jadon was super good like that too when he was a toddler... content to just sit and take in the world around him.

Avery.... very much the opposite. Cant stand sitting still, can't stand being in her carseat since she is strapped down and cant move, and fights being put in her carseat like no other! Has to explore everything and most of the time she explores with her mouth, including food that has been dropped on the floor. (I found her eating a cheeto that was under the bleachers at swimming on tuesday. She was also going for a piece of candy that had been stepped on and squished into the ground, but luckily i caught her before she got to that one.)

Diaper changes have been an extreme challenge lately, she screams and fights them, and many of the times lately, she's ended up with poop in places other than on her bottom (socks, pants, shirt, my hands....) And when I try to distract her with a toy, she takes the toy and chucks it and continues to scream and fight even harder. We just change her diaper on the floor on a changing pad... just easier for us that way.... so, it usually comes down to my leg being placed across her chest and arms to hold her down, and I mentioned already how she hates being strapped down, so this leg on her chest thing does not go over well with her. (I actually read to do that in a book... afterall, she HAS to have her diaper changed, its not optional until she starts potty training.)

And she screams. Oh man does she scream! We've all heard those little girls that scream in such a loud, high pitch that it literally feels like your eardrums are being pierced.... Avery has a scream like that. And she's not afraid to use her scream.... for anything.... for everything.

Its a good thing she is so stinkin' cute, and loves to cuddle with me... because otherwise i'd probably ask if I could trade her in! ;)

Progress!

I'm convinced that seeing progress is the most motivating thing in weight loss/exersize.
A few weeks ago, I mentioned how I wanted to lose 5-10 more pounds in the next month or so.... and I figured 5 was the most realistic goal. Sometime around that same time, I had finally graduated down to an old belt that I used to wear in my skinnier days. I was on the last hole on it, but still! I was excited about it!

Since then, i've lost 4 more pounds! Of course, 2 of those pounds are from when I was sick, so I guess I cant take the credit for those 2 pounds. However, with my consistent 5 days a week of doing pilates/yoga, i'm starting to feel differences. I'm close to going down another hole on my belt... i'm right in between holes. I also tried on a pair of my "goal" capri's last night... a pair that I wore in Hawaii. And they fit great now!

To date, i've lost 32 pounds so far! I'd like to lose about 8 more, and then i'll be satisfied. Its taken me WELL over a year to lose this weight. So I encourage anyone else who is trying to lose weight to keep with it! Its not going to come off quickly if you're doing it the right way with diet and exersize, but it WILL come off!

Really, i've just made small changes. I'm the kind of person who will not stick with something if i'm not happy doing it. So, if I were to go on an intense diet/exersize routine, i'd probably fail within a week. I prefer baby steps. Here are a few baby steps that i've taken.

- healthier eating choices. bye bye potato chips, doritos, cheetos, etc. we've started buying veggie straws from Costco which are a healthier alternative to potato chips. More fresh fruits and veggies, or even dried fruits.
- we avoid eating out. I always tend to overeat when we eat out. By avoiding eating out, we are not only saving money, but my waistline as well! ;) The last time we had fastfood was on Jadon's birthday (march 13th), when he picked Arby's for his restaurant of choice.
- portion control. This has been key for me. I love food, and its sooooooo easy for me to overeat! Food just tastes soooooo GOOD to me! I try to tell myself at meals that when i'm feeling satisfied, but tempted to go for seconds, that the food is not going to grow legs and run away, it will be there tomorrow to eat as leftovers. Or, if there will be no leftovers, I tell myself that there will be another day when I can eat this yummy dish again, its not the last time i'll ever eat it!
- get moving. I dont have much problem with this area lately, since the kids keep me quite busy and rarely do I sit down during the day, except for meals. We've always parked far out in parking lots so we have to walk farther to get to the buildings, we take the stairs when possible as opposed to elevators, we go for evening walks when the weather permits. I try to avoid being lazy... for instance, when there's something I need upstairs, even if its just something little, I try to go get it, instead of being lazy and waiting until I have to go up there for something else.
- exersize... this has been a hard one for me, always has been. I've never been much of an exersize person, hate going to the gym, i'm clumsy and uncoordinated, and I hate hate hate feeling sweaty, unless I am able to take a nice shower afterwards. On top of that, something always seems to hurt.... joints, for example. So doing things like jogging and aerobics usually lead to my knees, or ankles or something hurting. I've found that water aerobics is extremely gentle on the joints, and it keeps me from feeling sweaty since i'm already all wet. I havent done water aerobics for some time now, especially since i've been at the pool 4 days a week as it is, and in the pool already on 2 of those days. I need to start it again, as its a super easy 300 calories burned in an hour!
I started doing yoga to try to help my stress levels. But then a few weeks ago, I fell down on my knee really hard on the cement, got a horrible painful bruise on my knee, and was unable to do yoga since many of the moves require kneeling on a knee. I decided to try pilates again during that time, as I dont need my knees as much for pilates. I used to do pilates before Derek and I got married, but I am actually enjoying it now! I've got 3 different DVD's, so I alternate between them, and the yoga, so I dont get tired of the same video over and over.
- and the most recent step i've taken to a healthier me is- something i never thought i'd be able to do..... dun duh duh dun............. cut out soda! WHAT?!?! Most of you know how much i love soda! There's just something about a carbonated beverage that quenches my taste buds! I only drink a can a day anyways.
When I was sick, i didnt drink a soda for several days. It was then that I decided that i'd try to go all week long without a soda, then allow myself to have a can on saturday and sunday. To my shock, I made it!! I almost gave in several times, but i held strong! In doing this, i've increased my water intake, which has made me feel alot better internally, and by cutting out soda for 5 days a week, i've cut out 850 calories a week! This is my 2nd week of doing this, and i surprisingly have not thought about soda much. Have not really had much craving. I think the reason this works for me, is knowing that i get that reward on the weekends.

Hopefully next time I blog about weight loss, i'll be 8 pounds skinnier! :)

Discipline

Jadon was the sweetest little baby. He was even an irresistably sweet toddler. But he is a monster of a preschooler!

Monday morning after swimming, he turned into a monster. I didn't know who the child was! It was horrible! He's been acting out like this for several weeks now, and we are at a loss. What do you do when timeouts dont work? He's never really been affected by timeouts, but now its getting ridiculous. Sorry Supernanny, regardless of what you think, timeouts DO NOT work for all kids! Unfortunately, my child is one of those kids.

So, I tried to research all other options of discipline before trying something else, its funny to read all these "experts" thoughts on discipline. One expert says to do this, the other expert says dont do it. One says to do such and such, the other expert says not to do such and such because it will damage his self esteem. I should have known thats what i'd find. When we had trouble with Jadon sleeping, I got several different books, did lots of research online, and again, all the experts have different opinions. Funny thing is, they all think that they are the right ones. Well, in the end, none of the books or experts worked for Jadon's sleeping. Time was all that worked, and he eventually figured it out. Now he sleeps very well!

So, I think with disciplining him, it will be alot of trial and error, and eventually we will find what works for us and for him. Also, once again, time will come into play. I know he's just going through a phase right now, and that this will eventually end. I just have to find some extra patience lying around in the meantime!

It was beautiful for a day last week, hovering right under 70 degrees! So of course, we spent lots of time outside!

Jadon did some "trimming" of my bushes with my kitchen tongs. He loves pretending he's the "lawn mower man" (the guy that does the landscape maintentance for our neighbor every monday.)

Avery enjoyed doing...well, pretty much anything. This kid LOVES the outdoors!

Jadon had made a "book" earlier in the day, and he brought it outside to "read" to me.

Of course, Avery loves to do everything her big brother does, so she brought a book outside too.

This made big brother very upset. Afterall, it WAS HIS idea! So it led to an all out hissy fit, and he ended up in his room screaming at the top of his lungs and lost his opportunity to go play at the park that evening after dinner... so it was quite unfortunate that such a lovely day turned sour so quickly.

Since we've had such a busy schedule lately, I often forget to slow down and enjoy the kids. In doing so, I've also been forgetting to let Jadon do more big boy things around the house... like get things for himself that he couldnt before, or help me out with things in the kitchen. He is growing up, and I forget that he can do things like this for himself now. So, the other day I thought it would be a good idea to let him try using my Swiffer Sweeper Vac (LOVE this product by the way!) on the entryway floor. Well, he was obviously proud, and he did a good job and had alot of fun doing it, so he has been asking us after every meal if he can vacuum. For the most part, he gets the bulk of the crumbs on the floor, so I can live with the remaining few left on the floor. Besides, this really does help me out!! And i'm glad to give him the opportunity to feel like a big boy and a big helper.

Jadon came home from preschool on thursday with a wrapped mother's day gift for me, and strict orders not to open it until mothers day. Well, the other day he told me "you cant touch the glass, but you can touch the wood."
This morning, first thing, he said "its mothers day, and you can open your present now!" Well, it turned out to be a picture frame with a picture of him in it. It was the cutest thing i've ever seen! Best mothers day gift a mom could get from her kids is the ones that they make! Then he said "I love you mommy." To which I almost started balling, but held it together. ;)

Happy Mothers Day Alicia

Hey Babe, Happy Mothers Day!!! Surpise, SHMILY! :)

I want to take this tell you what a wonderful wife, and mother to my children you are. God has blessed me so many ways, but one of the best blessings I have EVER been given, is the blessing of being married to you. You are simply put amazing. You have so much love to give and you never seem to run out. You are always there whenever the kids or I need you, even when the kids are running around screaming, bickering, getting into things, all the while you try to prepare dinner and clean at the same time.

You go through things daily that I can't even begin to imagine having to do with the kids, and yet you always have something good to say about the day, you keep our house clean and tidy, you always have dinner ready when I get home, and the kids are taken care of, you are like Super Woman, only better. I don't know how you do it, but you have a strength that few people I know can muster, I certainly can't!

In addition to 24/7/365 super mom, you are also a entrepreneur with your Tutu business. I am so proud of the work you have put into that, and I think you make a wonderful product. You dedicate a lot of time to your tutu's, and I think you will continue to be successful.

I love your support of me. Sometimes I work late, nights, weekends, etc., and while I know you don't necessarily like it, you still don't hold it against me, instead you are there for me. You are filling in with the kids when I can't be there to give you a break. You love me and support me in-spite of the fact that what I do for a living, calls for working some extra hours or off hours. :)

One of the things that I love most about you, is that you are God fearing. You love God, and I can see Him blessing all that you do, and being with you, carrying you through the tough times, especially those times when I'm at work and can't help with a bad day with the kids. I know that God has planned from the beginning for you and I to be together and I know we will be forever.

Alicia, you are the love of my life, you make me the happiest man on earth every day, over and over again. I am so thankful for all that you do for me, even if I don't always say or show it. I wish you a great Mother's day.

I love you!

Forever yours,

Derek

Frustrations

Jadon has really really REALLY been pushing our every buttons lately. He has been very easily angered and frustrated in the last month or so, and the way he expresses his frustration is by screaming or hitting. Its not a tantrum, this is obvious frustration.
It seems as though everything sets him off.... something as silly as me changing Avery's poopy diaper, and then going to the kitchen to wash my hands, will set him off and before I know what is happening, he's exploding into a fit of rage, yelling at the top of his lungs... not words typically, just noise.

Its to the point where I am mentally and emotionally drained, and I think Derek probably is too. Something has to change, for both mine and Derek's sake, and for the kids' sake.

I know that 4 is a difficult age. And I know that nothing we do will "cure" this... I know he'll just grow out of it eventually. But in the meantime, we can hopefully do something to minimize these "episodes."

We ordered him a responsibility chart, and we are going to have a little chat with him. I talked to him a little today, asking him what he was feeling, and he said he was frustrated. And I asked what he was frustrated about, and he said Avery. So I dug a little deeper, and asked what it was about Avery that frustrated him. And basically I got that he is frustrated that she doesnt get in trouble for things that he gets in trouble for. This is something we suspected bothered him to begin with, and it is completely understandable for him to feel that way. We've explained to him before that Avery is still too young to understand the consequences that bad behavior result in, but when she gets a little bigger, she will have the same consequences that he has and will get in trouble for the same things he does. Its hard for him to understand that she doesnt understand yet. Obviously there's not much we can do about this situation.

One thing we have found that diffuses his freakouts faster, is when we remain calm and understanding.

I hope that time and a few little changes will help us to better deal with this drama that he's presenting.... Lord knows theres plenty of other drama with ADULTS that we have to deal with, we dont need such drama from Jadon too!

Boring

I'm pretty sure I have the most boring blog EVER. I have nothing important or deep to talk about... the best I can come up with is detailed stories of our illnesses! Sorry! If anyone actually reads it, then thank you! ;)

I cancelled Avery from soccer. Why? Well, because we have to get a heat pump so that we can survive the summer in the house. If we dont have a/c, then the house has gotten up to 84 degrees before, and that was on the bottom floor, so imagine the top floor where our beds are! In the last few years, we've had a window unit in our office that has kept the house at a reasonable temperature, however freezing in the office. Now that we no longer have an "office" (remember, Avery moved to the office), we have no where to keep the window a/c unit. Therefore, we are investing in a heatpump! So, in an effort to save some money for that, I cancelled Avery's soccer. It was really chaotic anyways, and she's so young. She'll be fine if we start her out when she's older like we did with Jadon. Besides, she is really excelling in swimming!

And speaking of swimming, Avery started a new session of swimming. But, instead of being in Waterbabies, she is now in Waterkids, which is for ages 18-36 months. I'm so glad she's moved up now! We had our first class on tuesday, and its more fast paced than Waterbabies, and the parents really get into it alot more, and she gets to learn some more things, rather than just continuing with the same things she's already learned. She did really well on her first day! She seems to really love swimming, and I mean this seriously. She seems to love going underwater and swimming, which is so strange to me!

Jadon started his level 2 swimming lessons on monday. Hasn't gone so well. He still isnt fond of dunking his head under water, and so now he has been only doing half dunks, which isnt going to cut it in level 2. In order to get to level 2, he had to do 10 FULL dunks (head completely under water), and he did such a great job, I was so proud of him! But now he has a new teacher, (who he keeps saying he's nervous about.) She doesnt push him quite as much as the last teacher. In other words, she doesnt correct his dunks when he only does them up to his eyes, instead she tells him good job, or whatever. This is great! Encouragement is ALWAYS important, especially with Jadon, however, if he's not being corrected, he will totally take advantage of that. So, i'm frustrated, and not sure exactly what to tell him. I told him that even though he is in level 2 now, he still has to do his dunks all the way.

Anyways, time to put the kids to bed!

Back to the grind

On saturday, I was wondering how in the world I was going to have enough energy to care for the family and continue with our daily schedules. I was still thinking that on Sunday as well. This cold has really wiped us out! I kept thinking that it was just me, and since i've had a week off from exersizing.... but, Jadon's been taking naps, which is rare, so I feel like this cold has taken its toll on he and I and Avery. Derek has managed to stay clear of this cold so far... knock on wood!!

Anyways, monday came and went, and I survived. I was going to take a nap in the afternoon when the kids were, but got tied down with working on other things, and the nap just didnt happen. Today, tuesday, much of the same, except that instead of nap, I attempted some yoga. Its difficult to do when you cant breathe well through your nose, since alot of yoga is focused on nose breathing! So I struggled with not only the breathing, but the poses as well, which was really frustrating considering I was doing so well until a week ago when the cold settled into our family. I just feel like this cold has left me feeling really weak. So now I feel like i'm starting at the bottom again. How is it that just a week off can "hurt" you so much??

On the other hand, I stopped drinking my daily can of soda when I had that stomach thing going on, and i'd like to continue with that! So, i'm going to try to make it through each week without a soda, then reward myself with a little on the weekends. This way, i'm not completely depraiving myself, which i've tried before and never works! Wish me luck!!

In conclusion, i'd like to thank my wonderful husband for holding down the fort while I was ill thursday night-sunday! He did such a great job caring for 3 sickies, and keeping the kitchen clean and the house picked up!
Thank you sweetie!! I love you! :)

Lazy Saturday

As I mentioned yesterday, today was meant to be a restful, recooperating day. And it was for the most part.

Both kids woke up much more chipper and energetic than the previous days this week, but they still havent had much appetite. Although they both just ate a pretty good dinner for the first time in a week.

I woke up feeling just as bad as the day before. I'm a few days behind the kids in their colds, so I expect a few more days of feeling like garbage.

Today was a nicer day outside, so after lunch I took the kids out back to play while Derek went upstairs to do the bills/budget. Avery stepped in cat poop and tracked it all over the porch. Then she was dumping mud and muddy water all over herself. And then she was trying to drink water out of a rag that was sitting outside from over a week ago, that was used to clean the kids water toy table thing. So gross!

Regardless, i'm glad they got a little Vitamin D!

So, these pictures start back from a couple weeks ago.

Avery has my hair. We looked back at pictures of me when I was her age, and my hair was identical... a little lighter in color, but we both had/have curls. I told her someday she will hate her hair. ;)
This picture doesnt show off her curls much, but it was too cute not to post ;)

I'm not sure what this little monkey was doing... i'm guessing he was trying to keep his eyes from closing while the camera flash went off... he always blinks.

These next few pictures are of Avery's E.R. trip.

The pictures really dont show her massive blue lump very well at all. It was tough getting the angle right too, and trying to get the kid to hold still was the hardest.

The boys were goofing around with the camera while Avery and I were off getting her x-rays.

You can kindof see the lump on her right hand in this picture...

This was after Avery's swimming lesson one day... she was pooped.

Look at that sweet little face.... DONT BE FOOLED!!! She's a stinker! The adorable face is just a disguise!

This was the start of our sick week.

I feel bad for him because that's how i've felt the last 2 days.

This year I bought one of those topsy turvy strawberry planters... I didnt buy enough strawberry plants to fill it though. We'll see how our strawberries turn out!

Today. The kids feeling better, playing outside.

This picture makes me smile.... you could make alot of quotes for this picture. :)

And, here I am. I wanted to see if I looked as bad as I felt, so I took the camera and snapped myself real quick. Yup. I looked as bad as I felt.

Tomorrow, the weather is actually supposed to break 70!!!

Under the weather

This entire week has been spent with one or more of us sick.... and you know how much I LOVE illnesses.
Sunday evening, Avery didnt have much appetite, had a low grade fever, and was a little more tired/cranky than normal. This has continued all week.... the lowgrade fever ended after just two days. She's got a cold of some sort that is apparently affecting appetite and mood.

Monday evening, Jadon "threw up" a little, which we assumed was because earlier that evening at dinner, Avery had choked on an olive, and was gagging and coughing to get it up to the point she almost threw up. Jadon witnessed the whole thing, and since he is much like me and does not like vomit, he lost his appetite after that. So, when he "threw up" later on, we thought it was because he'd just got himself all worked up over Avery's dinnertime incident. I say "threw up" in quotes because it was more like he coughed/burped stuff up a few times. Not much actually came out of him. I thought maybe he just had indigestion.

Anyways, the next day, tuesday, he did nothing but lay around, and ended up with a fever of 103. To which I thought was from his MMR shot that he had had 8 days earlier. (one side effect of the MMR shot is a fever 7-12 days after the injection.) So whether the vomiting and the fever were related, we dont know.

Tuesday or wednesday night, Avery was in her crib coughing and crying so hard that she made herself throw up at almost midnight.

Wednesday was the best day of the week, in that the fevers were dwindling, and Jadon seemed to be more like himself.

Thursday, Jadon was fine so I sent him to preschool. However, Avery's cold continued to worsen, and she was in a foul mood, and I woke up feeling under the weather... scratchy throat, and just generally icky feeling, so Avery and I didnt go to swimming. Thursday after lunch, Avery and I fell alseep on the couch for a few minutes, and I woke up feeling sick to my stomach, so I put her in bed and went to lay back on the couch. The feeling worsened, and by the time Derek came home from work, I could hardly leave the bathroom. Lets just say, I had the trots.... bad. My stomach was soooo upset, and I did nothing but lay in bed all evening and all night long (when i wasnt in the bathroom.) Finally by friday morning the trots eased up and my upset stomach improved. I laid around most of the day today, eating very little.

Jadon woke up fine today, then saw me laying on the couch and immediately started worrying that he was sick. We convinced him he wasnt sick. However, he has not been himself all day today, and when he went to quiet time, he crawled in bed to take a nap...which is odd. I took his temp a bit ago, and it was 101.3. And he doesnt have an appetite. He's also got a dry cough, so I think he's got Avery's cold now. *sigh*

So, as you can see, its been nothing but sickness all week. F.U.N.

We will be skipping soccer for both kids tomorrow and trying to recover from all these bugs instead.

Feeling good

My kids love love LOVE the outdoors! They will entertain themselves outside for a long time, its great! No whining, no complaining, no pestering. Avery barely makes a peep when she's outside because she's so focused on her playing.

The weather is very slowly improving, but it has improved enough over the last week that we have been able to go outside alot. Its wonderful! I feel like it gives me a little break, and its good for all of us to get outdoors, have a change of scenery, and get some fresh air! Its amazing what a little sunshine can do for the soul! I think I have come to the conclusion that not only does the sunshine do wonders for my mood, but also the longer days really improve my mood as well! The sunshine is very motivating!

I've also found that exersizing in the middle of the day, when i'm feeling very sluggish is also very uplifting! As I mentioned before, i've been doing yoga to try to destress myself during the days a little. I've also started doing pilates too. I used to do pilates before the kids were born, but I find that I have more drive now than I did before. I'm pushing myself a little more than I used to. Last week, I did yoga and/or pilates 5 days- monday-friday-, and by friday I felt great! Saturday and sunday I got quite a workout as well. I painted our entryway. I had to do ALOT of climbing up and down the really tall ladder, and my hips and triceps were feeling it!

Another thing that makes me feel good is having new clothes. I hate buying myself new clothes, or at least, I used to. Back when I was super skinny, I LOVED clothes shopping. Then I gained weight, and had kids, and lost my self-confidence and with it, all interest in clothing shopping. My main objective when shopping for clothes now is comfort. I deal with enough stresses from the kids on a daily basis, the last thing I want is to be wearing something that is uncomfortable, or i'm constantly having to adjust....so, my clothes arent the most fashionable, but thats ok! I also do not like to spend the money on clothing.

But, I broke down and bought myself a few new clothing items in the last month. Fashionbug in Corvallis went out of business, but before they did, I managed to score 3 comfy shirts for $5! Woohoo for me! I also ordered a few more things that i'm waiting for delivery of. Hope they fit!

So, between the improving weather, a few new clothes, and exersizing, I feel like a much better me. My goal is to lose 5-10 more pounds in the next month so that I can fit comfortably in my old capris that I wore when we went to Hawaii (almost 7 years ago!) Then I wont have to buy new ones :). As it is right now, I can get in them and button them up, but they're a little on the tight side and ride up my rear.

4 years and 18 month checkups

We had both kids well-child checkups this morning. They both passed with flying colors. Jadon did an incredible job!!!! He even had 2 shots, and though he was really worried and started tearing up immediately when he found out he'd be having shots, when he actually got the shots, he didnt move, didnt cry, didnt wimper. He did SO GOOD! Avery cried for her shot.... that was expected though. So Avery is in the 90th percentile for height, and between the 25th and 50th percentiles for weight.... probably closer to 35th. Jadon is about the 98th percentile for height, and just under the 50th percentile in weight... so, they are both really tall, and pretty slim. Is anyone surprised by that????......... So, they are both doing really well, growing like normal kids right on track! The sun is supposed to shine this week, and even though its only supposed to be in the 50's, we'll be spending lots of time outside! :) :) :)

The first of many, I predict...

Avery had her first trip to the E.R. tonight. I'm predicting it will be the first of many trips to the E.R. we will make with her. After dinner, I was cleaning kitchen, and Derek left the room for a minute to go to the garage. The kids were playing in the living room, making noise like normally. I had the water running and pots and pans banging around as I was rinsing everything off. I heard a little bit Avery start crying, which I didnt think anything of because her and Jadon are always fighting over something, and these days I just ignore it most of the time and let them figure it out (unless of course someone is hurting the other, or I catch them in the act.) About that time, Derek came out of the garage, and I hear him saying that the chair fell on Avery, and he was asking Jadon what had happened. We aren't sure exactly, but it sounded like Avery somehow pulled the kitchen chair down on herself. When Derek asked what hurts, she showed us her hand. And on the back of her hand was an ENORMOUS goose egg.... i'd say it was close to half the size of a real egg. And on a little hand like hers, it looked BAD. So, we decided to take her to the E.R. to make sure everything inside was ok. After a few x-rays, it was determined that when the chair hit her hand, it sheared a vein, which caused the immediate egg to form. No broken bones or anything though (phew!) and we were sent home with instructions to ice her hand, and watch it to make sure it didnt get red or she didnt get a fever, and to expect it to be there for a few days. She did really good, she only wimpered a little during the x-rays, but other than that she was her normal self.... wanting to wander around, trying to get into things, trying to slide down the hospital bed, etc. Jadon on the other hand, my little worrywart, was worrying the second we mentioned going to the E.R. He was afraid he would have to get looked at I guess. Once we got there, he was white as a sheet, and looked very nervous and uneasy, and wouldnt crack a smile for anything, and was asking nervously what everything was (the light above the hospital bed, the temporary cast things.. not sure what those are called.) He was scared. Poor guy... i'm so sorry that I passed that worriesome gene on to him. :( I try to make him as comfortable as possible in situations that scare him... try to make light of things, and try to reassure him that its fine... but since I know how he feels, I know that it really doesnt help him much.

Oh Spring.... where are you????

Spring is veeeery slooooowly springing again this year. Last year, we had a very wet, cold, gray spring, (and a really really short summer)and this spring has been much of the same. I'm so tired of it! Even the kids are just desperate to get outside! Jadon told me today on the way home from preschool "I dont like the rain." So, we've been trying to go for walks after dinner in the evenings when its not raining, and anytime its sunny I throw the kids outside.... Ok, I dont really have to throw them out there... they pretty much rip down the door trying to get out! ;) On days where we've been lucky enough to have a dry, sunny day, its still been pretty cold out (still requiring a jacket.) But just feeling the sun on us does wonders for our moods and energy levels! Today is one of those rare sunny days! We are going to be going outside in just a bit, and I CANT WAIT to feel the sun on me again! After today, the forecast is rain for the rest of the week. Bleh!

See, the plants and trees are starting to show signs of life

This was a couple days ago, a chilly, windy, overcast day... the kids were still thrilled to be outside, they didnt seem to notice the chilliness. My little tomboy

My big guy

At Home Depot a week or so ago... there was a forklift in the aisle next to us, and the kids were fascinated.

He's so photogenic... and he's been letting me take his picture again (yay!!) in fact, he's actually been asking for me to take his picture! Can you believe my little 5lb 6oz baby boy is 4 years old already????

The kids have their well-child checkups next week. Im eager to see how much they've grown! I think they are both just coming out of a growth spurt. I had to buy them both some new PJ's a couple weeks ago because they both outgrew theirs. I got Avery size 24 months, and she fits just fine it in. And I had to buy her some shirts because suddenly her shirts were all short.

And Jadon doesnt fit in 3T shirts anymore... they are like belly shirts on him. So I had to buy him some more 4T shirts, and I even bought him 5T PJ's!!!! After 5T, he'll be in the boys section, and that almost makes me cry.

We were healthy for a whole 2 weeks, possibly even 3 weeks, (It was wooooonderful!!!) but now Jadon and Avery both came down with colds. So, here we go again. :(

The sun is shining today... yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Although, i'm such a pessimist, i'm already thinking about the rain that we are supposed to get in the next few days. That's how I am all summer long... LOVING the sunshine, but constantly thinking about the rapidly approaching fall/winter/spring seasons.

I've been keeping the kids and I busy lately, trying to get through the spring rains without going crazy! Its been great, but now i'm getting behind on my house chores and have a large list of things to do. Fridays are now referred to as our (the kids and I) day off. Although its not much of a day off when theres still errands to run and house to clean.

This week, I have been focused on painting our entry way. Its the last area in our home to be painted... and its been put off for awhile. If you've never seen the entry way.... its a looong ways up. Its a two story entryway, with winding stairs in it, so its not the easiest to manuever with a ladder, for one thing. We dont have a big ladder anyways, but Derek's coworker brought his over so we could borrow it. Its a little unnerving being up at the top of a tall, wobbly ladder. I'm not afraid of the height, but the fact that I dont trust ladders... i'm afraid its going to colapse on me, or fall over, or something.

The good news is, Derek washed the high window in the entryway that has never been washed since the house was built and we moved in 7 years ago! It was FILTHY! And now its so clean, it looks like theres no window there, and we do a double take everytime we see it. Its amazing what a difference it makes!

I finally took my wedding ring in to get it resized. After Jadon was born (and when i was pregnant with him), my fingers got fat, so I had to get it sized up. Now that i've lost a bunch of weight, its too big, so I had to get it sized back down. Unfortunately, its costing an arm and a leg for something you'd think would not cost much. $145!!!!!!! Apparently the price of gold has gone up, thus the price of sizing it goes up. The part I dont understand though, if i'm having gold taken OFF, then why is it still costing so much???? Here's why: Its 2 rings, soldered together. First, they have to unsolder them. That costs $30. Then, to size both the rings down, its $20 each (so $40 total). Then they have to resolder them together, which will cost $75. For a grand total of $145.

So, you could all do me a HUGE favor if you'd spread the word about my businesses: FHTM and Lovely Little Tutus. Also, remember YOU can purchase services through my FHTM page. DONT FORGET THIS!

I finally got Avery's underwater picture from waterbabies last session the other day... here it is:

I was cleaning off my computer desktop and realized i had never posted the video of Jadon's birthday party when we sang happy birthday to him. Soo funny, makes us laugh whenever we watch it. Also, a couple weeks ago, I got a video of Avery after she'd emptied out a kleenex box, and i'd asked her to put them back in the box. Oddly, I have a video of Jadon at roughly the same age, give or take a month or two, after he'd emptied a kleenex box, and he was asked to put them back in. So, now i have a video of both of the kids putting away kleenex that they'd emptied out as little ones. So, here's the video of the happy birthday song, and putting kleenex away. And here's the video of Jadon when he was putting the kleenex back in the box:

http://lovelessfamilyblog.blogspot.com/2008/08/curious-george.html

Swimming

I've been spending alot of time at the aquatic center lately, since both kids are enrolled in swimming right now. Monday/wed its Jadon's lessons, and tues/thurs its Avery's lessons. Both kids are doing SO well, and i'm so proud of both of them! Avery seems to be a natural. Since day 1 of her lessons, she's been improving each time. Back floats have always been her biggest weakness, but today she did back floats like a champ! And her dunks.... well, she's doing REALLY well in that area! She now glides a little underwater, and we also do "double dips", which is when she swims under water, then we let her up on her side, let her take a breath, then she does another swim underwater (glides.) And she very rarely swallows water or gets water up her nose, she really impresses me! Jadon, is doing good too! If you can remember, I did waterbabies with him until he was around 16 months old. I would have continued with him in it, but then the miscarriages started and things swirled out of control, so we never went back again. I'm SO glad we decided to put him back in now. He's had a little fear of the water in the last couple years... HATES water on his face, freaked out in the bath/shower when water would touch his face, even just a drop. I knew we needed to end his fear of this, and quickly! So, this is his second week in swimming, and he is now able to dunk his head ALL THE WAY UNDER THE WATER! The first time he did it yesterday, I saw an instant confidence on his face, and he easily did it several more times. I'm SOO proud of him. It brought tears to my eyes to see him do it because I know its a fear for him, but he did it anyways! So hopefully this water fear will be broken soon! He is already doing 100% better in the tub/shower when water gets on his face, and he even taught Avery to blow bubbles.

Spring is springing!!

Hip hip horray!!! Its April! The sun will start shining more around these parts (although still not nearly enough.) The ground will start drying out. The landscape will soon be green and beautiful once again, rather than brown and sopping wet. And there's a light at the end of the loooong winter tunnel! Friday we had beeeeautiful weather! Sunny and 67, the nicest day of the year so far, and the first day the lawn got mowed all year. The kids and I got up friday morning, went to home depot to get some flowers. I'm always itching to get my hands in the dirt when the sun first starts coming out again. After lunch, the kids and I went in the backyard, and they just played non stop for an hour. It was wonderful! No entertaining for me, and they were playing together and getting along. The worst part was having to come back inside for Averys nap. Poor Avery was just not real happy with that arrangment. So after she went down for nap, and Jadon went in quiet time, i went out front to plant my flowers. Ahhhhhh, felt so good! Then Jadon "helped" me trim some bushes with his safety scissors, although I didnt finish all of them. After the long winter weather, the yard just feels like a mess, and theres so much outside that needs to be done. I'm SOOOO excited for more days like friday!! I'm going to guess the kids are probably excited too.

The House

Well, the 2 schools I talked about previously are closing and combining with the other 2 schools in N. Albany. So, we dont really have anything holding us here anymore. And the housing market is not looking good, and there's no end in sight, and the value of our house just keeps dropping... dropping... dropping. Its gone down in value almost $50,000 in the last few years! So, we are very seriously considering putting our house on the market. We want to be able to make a little profit off of our house to use as a down payment for another house, and with the rate things are going... well, lets just say, we might not make much of a profit, if any, if we stick around much longer. So, we want to sell our house first before we buy another one, we dont want to end up with two mortages! The thought of having our house on the market really overwhelms me.. having to keep the house spick and span constantly with 2 tornados in the house... So i'll keep you posted on that. On a better note, when I picked Jadon up from school today, his teacher told me that when she asked the class what month it was, Jadon yelled "March Madness!" That one is going in his baby book! ;)

swimming

Jadon started swimming lessons today! He did good. He was a good listener, even though one kid was completely out of control... i felt bad for the teacher. He's just in the first level, which means he was just doing the basic stuff, they never left the stairs. But he did dunk his head in the water! He seemed like he was having fun, but he really wanted to go outside and swim where all the fun summer toys and slides are. So when I asked if he wanted to go back again, he said no, he wanted to go outside and do it. Sorry kiddo, you dont get lessons out there!

Where have I been in the last week?

Well Princess didnt last long... I havent heard about her at all this week. I knew he'd get bored of her fast since he seems to get bored with EVERYthing really quickly.

Its spring break, which means we have nothing going on... no preschool, no soccer, no swimming.... and I thought it would be a nice quiet week, but who was I kidding? I've got 2 young children who seem to have needs that need to be met every 5 minutes at least! I'm not complaining, I like being kept busy, and I wouldnt trade being a stay-at-home mom for anything. BUT, I am a planner, and I like to have events planned well in advance so I can plan my days accordingly. If theres anything i've learned from being a parent, is that you always have to be prepared for unexpected events.

So its only wednesday, and i'm exhausted. I got several errands ran this morning, which always wears me out. Going anywhere where i'm lugging around the kids it tiring... i'm outnumbered, and they are much faster than I am! I had a sudden surge of tutu orders (yay!!!!) so i've been busily working on those too. And in the afternoons when i'm stuck at home due to Avery's nap, i've been sending Jadon up to his room for quiet time again, and i've been spending an hour doing yoga. Why yoga??? Well, I am a generally stressed out person. Everything stresses me out. So yoga is a fantastic way for me to calm myself, relax for an hour, and in the process i'm strengthening and lengthening my muscles. Its been tough though, since i've constantly got a list of things on my to-do list lumming over my head. Its hard for me to put aside EVERYthing in order to focus on myself and my body. So, that is where I have been for the last week. Yogaing, making tutus, tending to my kids.

On top of that, my friend Tiffany, who I told you about a few weeks ago that was a surrogate mom, had the twins for a couple, and ended up having to get an emergency hysterectomy.... well, last week she ended up having a pulmonary embolism, which caused her heart to stop. Long story short, she ended up doing very well by the end of the week, and earlier this week they were going to move her out of ICC. They were removing her central iv line, and when they did this, negative pressure formed in the vein and air was pulled into her blood supply. She developed an air embolism which caused her to have a stroke. They had to life flight her to Portland where she is undergoing treatments in a hyperbaric chamber. They took an MRI and found brain damage, she can follow commands with the left side of her body, but not the right. SO, her and her family have been on my mind A LOT in the last week, and i've been in constant prayer for them. I ask that the rest of you pray for them as well.

Saturday we are going to a train show at the library with our new friends and their son, and then in the evening we are going to their house for dinner. Jadon is quite excited! ;)

Imaginary Friend

I was wondering if it would happen, and now it has. Jadon has been talking the last 2 days about his little friend. It couldnt be a masculine friend though, and of all the things, his friend is named Princess, and is apparently a princess but lives as a normal person. A PRINCESS!
I know its normal for kids to have imaginary friends, I had one growing up and I still remember her name: Leaka (dont ask, i have no idea where that name came from.)
I also know its normal for little boys to play with girly toys, which Jadon does once in awhile. Its still hard to digest that though.... and having an imaginary friend thats a princess.... I dont know what to say. I have to play along with it though.

So Princess is sitting here eating lunch with us. She has a truck that she parks in Daddy's spot when he's at work during the day, and she also has a baby sister named Avery. How in the world am I going to keep from laughing out loud through this phase?????

He's 4

My baby boy is 4! At 8:53pm tonight, he turned "officially" 4. Cant believe time has gone so fast! I love that little boy to pieces!

His birthday has been celebrated over several days. We took him to the Children's Museum in Portland on friday, and he really enjoyed that. Then today we had his small family party at our place. He thought it was great when we sang Happy Birthday to him... i'll post the video, it cracks me up!

Then we went out for dinner. We have a family tradition where we go out for dinner as a family on birthdays, and Jadon picked Arby's as his restaurant of choice... big surprise! ;)

Then on tuesday he gets to celebrate his birthday at school by taking cupcakes, and being the snack person for the day, which he's been so excited for.

Here are a few pictures: they're all backwards, other than the first one.

Jadon and Curious George at the childrens museum

Just blew out the candles
Getting ready to eat his cake

The cake... yes, i know it looks like a 5 year old wrote the happy birthday part...

Opening gifts in the morning

The silly sister wearing the boxes

3 days

Three days to go until Jadon's 4th birthday!
Four years ago on this day, it was my first morning in the hospital on bedrest. I was 34 weeks and 3 days gestation. Late the night before, my water had broken but I wasnt contracting or in labor, so they wanted me to stay on bedrest in the hospital until Jadon would be 35 weeks gestation and then they'd induce me. He decided to come a day earlier than that, but he was perfect anyways!
I remember how scrawny he was... all the extra skin on his legs made little rolls that would have been filled out with fat had he stayed put until his due date. He finally plumped up after a few months, but today he is quite scrawny again. And we love him to pieces!

Birthday party

For our families- we are planning something for Jadon's birthday on Sunday afternoon, but not sure what yet... possibly bowling... so if you'd like to celebrate with us you can, and i'll send out details when we figure out exactly what we decide to do! I know, I know... a little last minute. Not at all how i prefer things, but somehow his birthday just snuck up on us, and Derek and I havent had a chance to sit down together and talk about what to do.

Jadon's requested a train cake, so i am going to be undertaking a major train cake project. Luckily there's a tutuorial that I can follow!

I dont know what to name this post....

So its been almost a week since i posted last? really?? well, i've tried sitting down several times to blog in the last week, but get pulled away or distracted each time.

Well not a whole lot to talk about. The pool where i do swimming with the kids is going to be closing in July due to budget cuts. This is the same pool that I grew up swimming in, and has the funnest outdoor pool, slide and play area... needless to say, i'm extremely sad. And Jadon has been looking forward to going to the outdoor area again for a long time. We went once last year, and he loved it. I hope we are able to go once more before they close.

On saturday we had company over for dinner. Can you believe it??? We dont have company over very often, but Derek has befriended his newest coworker, who also has a 4 year old son, and has been wanting to have the family over for dinner for awhile. It was really hard for me... I had never met or seen any of the family, so i felt like I was going into it blind. Not to mention, socializing doesnt come easy to me, so that was stressful in itself!
We had a very nice time though! Jadon and Joshua (the 4 year old son of the coworker) hit it off instantly, and played with trains and toys in Jadon's room for 2 hours straight! I was so happy they had a son that was Jadon's age. Whenever people come over, its either adults, older kids, or girls, so Jadon has never had anyone of his age and gender to our house to play with. He loved it!
I served baked spaghetti, which is what I serve almost anytime we have guests over. Its easy, it can be made ahead of time, and i've never met anyone else that has heard of it or eaten it. And its always a crowd pleasing dish! Thank you, Grandmother for sharing the recipe with me!:)
We played a quick game of something that I cant remember the name of, before dinner, and then after dinner the boys played Zingo, which is a little kids version of Bingo.
And, as Derek says to me after they left, I had nothing to worry about. :)
I can see us doing family activities together.... it would be nice if they feel the same way. Guess time will tell if they do! We've been looking for a nice, family oriented couple to do things with for a long time.

More poop

I know you cant get enough stories about my childrens poo, so i've got another one for you! ;)

Jadon is doing really well pooping, and everytime he poops, he wants to look at it in the toilet. And often he likes to tell us what it looks like. Here are a few examples of what he's said... sorry if this is too gross for you... its pretty gross work having young children! ;)

- A seal with a jetpack
- A spaceship
- A snowman
- A space helmet

How can you not laugh at that??

On a different note, my little boy is going to be 4 in just 12 days..... where has the time gone??? Today I picked up his snack calendar at preschool, and on the 15th is Jadon's birthday snack day, which basically means we get to take cupcakes or something to celebrate. He's been so excited for his birthday snack day, and each day he's been asking if its his snack day yet. So when I saw his name "Jadon's birthday snack" on the calendar on the 15th, I almost teared up. I know he's going to be so excited. Its hard to believe its here already.

Prayers

I'm asking everyone to please pray for my friend Tiffany. She was a surrogate for a couple that couldnt have kids, and today she gave birth to the twins at 34 weeks. Babies are fine, but they couldnt stop the bleeding and in the end my friend had to have a hysterectomy to save her life. She's my age, 30. In fact, we share the same birthday, year and all.
She did a beautiful thing by carrying those twins for that couple, and God will bless her for it. I am so blessed to have such a great friend in Tiffany.

It Snowed!!!!

It really snowed!! Still cant believe it! Wasnt a whole heck of a lot of snow, we got just over 2 inches, but i'm happy with anything over an inch!!! :) Considering we only get about that much snow once every few years, i'll take what I can get!

Jadon was so excited when he got up to snow that he tripped on the stairs. I was laying in bed and I heard him get up, and then I heard a loud stomp sound, so I got up to check on him and he was sitting on the stairs looking out the window excitedly and said "mommy it snowed!!" Then he said "I tripped on the stairs." Just as I thought.

Amazingly, Albany didnt close schools for the snow... every other school in the valley was closed, but not the Albany schools, so Jadon had to go to preschool. He did manage to get to play in the snow for just a bit before going to preschool. And only 3 kids including Jadon showed up for school today.

And, as is usual for snowdays here, the snow was almost all melted by the time we were done eating lunch. It snowed on and off the rest of the day, but nothing was sticking until around 4pm-ish it started snowing and sticking again, so we've got another dusting of snow on the ground. Supposed to snow a bit more again tonight, we'll see though.

Swimming lessons for Avery were cancelled today, so Avery and I took a nice long walk in the snow. Ok, I walked and pulled her on the sled. She was happy as a clam though! She took a few spills and ended up with her face in the snow, and was not happy with that.

I didnt get any great pictures of either of the kids today, which is a bummer considering the next time we get a decent snow, they will probably be 3 years older. But, here's what I did get.

Snow????

There's a chance for some snow in the near forecast... i'm keeping my fingers crossed! I just want one good snow day, thats all. Then the kids and I can go outside and play without getting all muddy. Plus, I just love when everything is blanketed in snow.

We were told that we were going to have a cold, wild winter this year, but so far, its been pretty normal. Seems like we've had alot more sunny days than normal, and temps have not been abnormal for this time of year... so, it almost feels like we were jipped on the snow. So, since theres the potential over the next couple of days, my fingers are crossed!!!! After that, bring on the spring and summer, i'm ready for nice weather!!

I've got the cutest video of Avery saying "banana". That girl, I tell you, she can repeat ANY word... doesnt always come out very understandable, but she says everything nonetheless. The video cracks me up... she's so charming when she's happy. And the look on her face when Jadon asks if she can say "paint" is so funny!
Then I've got a second video of Jadon helping me vacuum the couches. Both my kids love the vacuum cleaner for whatever reason. So its a cute video... he's growing up so fast. :(

Tonight I had one of those "hoooooly crap!" moments.

I was working on the kids baby/scrap books, and I was looking back at pictures of when they were younger, and it just hit me how fast they have grown up already! Jadon's 4th birthday is in less than a month now.... 4!!!! 4 years old!!!! When did this happen???? And Avery is approaching 1.5!

Life has been so incredible (and exhausting) with these 2 beautiful children in it! And they've grown and changed so much this year! 6 months ago, Jadon was still wearing diapers fulltime. 6 months ago, Avery was still crawling. But now, Jadon is fully potty trained, and Avery is running, jumping, spinning, climbing, etc! Life just keeps charging ahead so quickly, that I dont feel like I have time to treasure every second of their growing lives! My babies are no longer babies. :(


Since the last couple months we've been stuck in the house alot due to illnesses, the kids seem a little restless. Jadon longs for the sunshine, and anytime we have a nice day, you can bet that he will be outside playing!
Anyways, since they've been restless, I signed Jadon up again for soccer, and Avery for waterbabies. Gives us all a chance to get out of the house, and gives the kids a chance to do something that will release some energy!
Jadon enjoys soccer, and since his little friend Elijah isnt in his class this time, he is much more focused! Phew!
Avery is doing extremely well in swimming! She's only been to 3 classes (30 minutes each), and already the teacher said she's progressing really quickly, and we will be able to move at a faster pace with her than with the other kids! Already she knows how to put her face down into the water when she gets dunked and holds her breath well! Right now she does 2 dunks a day, but we will work up to 6 dunks and some free floating. She blows bubbles in the water, and has no problem sticking her face in the water! She really just wants to GO when she's in the water... by the end of class, she seems like she wants me to stop holding on to her so she can be free to move on her own... however, that wont be happening until she's older and much more advanced!
I'm planning on putting Jadon in swimming lessons also in the spring.... that could be interesting, because now he's old enough to do swimming lessons without mommy or daddy.

We're still sick... well, Jadon and I are still getting over this naggy, annoying cough. Seems like its hanging on FOREVER! Poor Jadon has been up the last 2 nights for a couple hours coughing.... and then the following days he woke up early, so he is lacking in good, quality sleep. Poor guy! :(
Actually, none of us has gotten good, quality sleep since we've been constantly sick... of course, it doesnt help that its 11pm, and i'm still up blogging when I should have gone to bed already! ;)

Random pictures

Thought i'd post some recent pictures of my beautiful kids for Valentines day.

The first 4 were taken last night. Avery figured out how to climb onto the couches and chair now, so thats what was going on here... she had climbed up on the chair, and Jadon got in the chair with her, and they were rocking the chair together. Trying to get them both to look at the camera and smile at the same time is next to impossible.

I can finally put Avery's hair in piggies! I've been waiting for a very long time for this moment! The only problem is, she looks so much older with pigtails. :( She loves getting into the cupboards, pulling everything out, and sitting in the things that are big enough for her tush. I dont think this mixing bowl is quite big enough for her, but that didnt stop her. Notice the top shelf, i've got my glass casserole dishes..... well, 2 weeks ago, those had been on the bottom shelf and she never messed with them, but my cupboard was getting full, so i had to do some rearranging of the dishes, so the casserole dishes fit better up top. Well, one particularly bad day when Jadon was being extremely 3, and was in timeout, not staying in timeout... Avery kept going over to him, so in an effort to keep her away, i told her to come get into the cupboard to play with the dishes, forgetting that i'd moved the glass dishes up top. Well, she'd only been there for a second, and pulled all the glass casserole dishes down onto the floor, the bottom dish shatter into thousands of pieces all around her, and all over the kitchen. I'm lucky she didnt get a cut on her foot, or even just smash her toe! So, now she's not allowed into the cupboard unsupervised.

See the little dishes she's got??? The first thing she does every day is get out those little play dishes, and she just carries those things around ALL DAY LONG. Its so cute and funny that she has taken such a liking to those dishes!

Not sure if I posted this one a little while ago or not... I dont think I did. But here they were sitting on the heater together.... it doesnt get much cuter than that! :)

Opposites

Derek and I marvel all the time about how different our kids are from each other. When it comes to food, they can both be really picky. However, Jadon loves his veggies. He blows us away with the veggies that seem to be his favorites- carrots (both raw and cooked), broccolli, lima beans, and the other day he had brussel sprouts for the first time, which he ate just fine, although I dont think they would be qualified as one of his favorites. He also eats peas really well. Corn and green beans he eats also, although sometimes it takes a little encouragement on his parents part. He loves lettuce, and will eat it plain too. Potatoes he likes...actually, he reeeeeally likes mashed potatoes. For dinner a few nights ago, we had mashed potatoes, and he had 2nds, and then 3rds, and then wanted 4ths but we cut him off after 3rds.

Avery, on the other hand, will only eat a very select few vegetables.... and even with those, its hit or miss. She will eat corn, peas, mashed potatoes and lima beans. (Yes, lima beans for her too! Weird kids!) But, like I said, one day she'll eat those veggies, then the next day she wants nothing to do with them.

Strangely, Avery loves pancakes, but wont touch waffles. Jadon is the opposite, he loves waffles, but does not care for pancakes.

As far as fruit goes, Avery will eat any fruit, any time. Jadon used to love all fruits too, but is starting to become selective with the ones he'll eat.

A couple foods they both really love- pickles, and blueberries.

The one with the ninnies

Jadon is so cute! He was drawing on the doodlepro today, and so i asked him to draw a picture of him and Avery. So he first drew Avery's head (in the middle), then off of her head he drew her arms with hands and her legs. She sortof resembles a spider. He drew himself on the right. Then he decided to draw mommy too. So, when he finished and showed me, I noticed he had put 2 dots on me, so I asked him what the dots were, and he said "those are your ninnies, for feeding Avery." Its funny because I have not nursed Avery in 2 months.

I also noticed that i'm pretty skinny! :) ... except I have no arms or legs!

I love that kid!

Kindergarten

It seems so unreal that in just a year and a half, Jadon will be a kindergartener! Even though its still a year and a half way, we are starting to think about what to do for kindergarten- public school, private school, homeschool... you get the point.

One of the reasons why we wanted to buy a house in North Albany was because the schools are good. The North Albany schools have high ratings. But the other day I read an article in the local newspaper about the possibility of closing 3 elementary schools in Albany. 2 of which are in North Albany. This would mean all the students from those 2 schools would be moved to the remaining 2 North Albany elementary schools. On top of that, the article says "Classroom populations likely will increase across the district by an average of two or three students, Delapoer said; not because of the closures but because she has proposed cutting 17 teaching positions." So not only is it a possibility that the schools will close making larger classes to begin with, but since they are cutting teacher positions, the classes are going to grow by 2-3 students as well. And, of course, this happens just a year and a half before Jadon goes to school.

Now, I grew up with smaller classes all my life, but i've heard that larger class sizes are getting out of hand. We want our children to have a good education.
So, we've been thinking about alternatives.
Homeschooling is an option, but I really dont think its for us. Jadon needs that time away from home and around other children. Not to mention, I just dont know if I could do the whole homeschooling thing every day.
Private school, is not really an option. Much too expensive to fit our budget. Thats fine, we can teach him about Jesus and biblical principles at home and at church, and kids at private schools have their issues just as much as public schools. Remember, I went to school for 9 years at a christian school, and learned all about snobs.

So, we've been toying with the idea of moving to Corvallis. Obviously thats just talk right now and nothing more. We do most of our activities in Corvallis anyhow, because we strongly dislike Albany. And we always talked about moving to Corvallis... maybe that time is now!

Anyways, whatever we decide is going to be based on thoroughly examining all our options, and lots and lots of prayer!!

Tough

It was a mentally draining week in our house this week. Jadon decided to be particularly 3 all week, and was nothing but trouble. We fought him on everything. For example, we've been giving Jadon little chores to start doing around the house. Right now, he has to take his plate to the sink after meals, and feed the cats every day. At first, he really loved feeding the cats, and I think it made him feel like he was important and a big boy. But, the excitement has worn off, and usually he throws a fit about feeding the cats and does anything he can to get out of it. Usually all it takes is a warning that if he doesn't do as he is asked he will go in timeout, and he usually does as told then... once in awhile he'll end up in timeout. And then there's weeks like this week, when he gets a warning for everything, and ends up in timeout for everything, and fights it like crazy- kicking, screaming- and wont stay in timeout.
So, my example is, yesterday I asked him to feed the cats, and he refused. He got his warning and still refused. So he went in timeout. And it just went downhill from there. All because he didnt want to feed the cats.

We dont have weeks like this very often with him, but when we do, Derek and I constantly wonder if its something we did/didnt do to set him off... like he didnt get as much play time with us and so he was taking it out on us or something. But, when I think back over the days, I cant think of a thing to set him off, so it reminds me that its just his age. He will grow out of it eventually (and i cant wait!!!!)
This week however, I cant help but wonder if he's trying to "regain control" after the week of potty training and he felt like it was all out of his control. Kids his age like to be in control... which is why its always good to offer choices when possible, because then they still feel like they are "in control" (even though they arent ;) )

On top of that, the drama was on again at our weird neighbors house on thursday. The man living there was not home at the time of the incident, but his "girlfriend" or whatever she is who lives a block away, went to his house, and was up on his garbage cans trying to climb over his fence into his backyard. I dont know if you remember me mentioning it, but he's got big spikes on the top of his fence, obviously to keep people from going back there, as well as nails sticking out the front of the fence. Weird. I know. So, the girlfriend is frail, i'm sure she weighs no more than 90 pounds, and she looks like she's on drugs all the time, or drunk. So here she is trying to climb over the fence. She couldnt get her leg up high enough though, but tried and tried and tried.... i even saw her looking over the side of his fence into the other neighbors yard to see if she could climb in from there! She wanted in that back yard in a bad way! So, eventually she got her leg up high enough, and managed to get herself on top of the fence, and then put her other leg over so she was sitting on the top of the fence, then over she went- backwards. Yes, I watched her fall backwards off the fence. Now, his fence has another fence in front of it to hide the garbage cans, so I couldnt see much after that. So all I could see really was the arm of her jacket stuck on one of the spikes on the fence. And she never moved. And I waited for a bit, and never saw her move... so then I went to look upstairs out the window to see if I could see better. I noticed her hand sticking out of the coat hanging limply, she was facing the fence, and her head was down and she was not moving. So, i was worried that maybe she had slit her wrist on the spikes or nails and was bleeding out or something! So, I called 911. And the dispatcher told me that the girlfriend was on the phone with them now, she was somehow caught up on the fence. The dispatcher asked if I thought the cops should come along with the paramedics, and I said maybe. Shortly after I hung up the phone, the guy came home, but he didnt pull into his driveway, he just honked loudly and at there in the street for a minute, then sped off and didnt come back until 5pm. A few minutes later, the ambulance came, and shortly after that the cops showed up as well. Now, I am speculating that when the guy came home and saw her there, she motioned for him somehow to get the heck out of dodge because the cops were coming, and thats why he sped off. Just my guess, since some weird stuff goes on there.
She walked away with no apparent injuries, other than a little scratch i'm guessing. So after awhile, the cops left and she walked home. And about 30 minutes later, she came back to his house to get her car.
I'm telling you, there's something in his backyard that people want. That is not the first time people have tried hard to get into his backyard. Plus, with the cops coming over all the time, and people spray painting things on his house, and the fact that he has a surveilance camera on the front of his house... I dunno. I'm just sick of this garbage though, and I hate living next door to it.

More poop

I'm happy to announce that Jadon is mostly poop trained now! Its only been a week and a half since we used his last diaper for pooping in, and he's gone from holding it for 3 days, to actually liking going on the potty. It really only took about 3 days of pooping in the potty for him to get it. But once he overcame that fear, it was nothin'. The only thing that he needs help with is wiping, although we let him do it first, and then just clean up what he missed.

It seems that pooping on the potty gave him a little boost of confidence, and you can tell that he's proud of himself. I just cant believe that it happened so fast, and that it happened at all!! I was really starting to worry that he would never be poop trained! I was reeeeally hoping he'd be fully trained before his 4th birthday, I just didnt think it would actually happen! :)

Great Job Jadon!!! We are sooooo proud of you!!

Sick..... again.

I'm stuck home again with sick children. Its ok, i dont mind being at home, i'm a homebody, but I do feel bad for the kids... they've been sick constantly, and so we have not left the house much in the last month. I hate to be one of those moms who takes their kids everywhere when they are at the peak of their bugs, hacking and snotting all over the place.

Once again, they are sick with colds... and last night the vaporizers once again came out of their boxes to sleep in the house with the kids. Each kid has one, thank goodness! However, Jadon's has been used so much in the last year, that we discovered mold growing on his windowsill. So, in the effort of trying to be proactive against any more mold, I've been spraying vinegar around all the windows in the house every friday afternoon. And, in an effort to try to control the spread of more germs, which is pretty impossible when you have young kids i've found, especially when one of them goes to preschool, and the other one sticks everything in her mouth.... i've been wiping down all door handles, locks, light switches, fridge door handle, remote controls, faucet handles, computer keyboards and mouses, stairway railing, and my cellphone, with bleach every friday afternoon. And, in an effort to revive my poor houseplants, i've been tending to them each friday afternoon as well.

Well, to try to make this post less depressing.... i have a document on my computer where I type out any adorable things that the kids say... or, just Jadon at this point since Avery really cant say much. And I was reading them this morning... so funny! Here's a few more... I know i've posted some before, but I cant remember what ones so you might have to read them again:


• If God wants me and you to go outside while avery’s napping, then that’s what we should do.
• “Dear Daddy i love you so much and this world is made out of computers”
• I’m going to clap my hands really fast- like catching a fruit fly
• When I get 40 10 (age) I can be a conductor
• When I turn 7 I’ll be a mom
And, one that he says quite often "cleanup on aisle 64!" This is said while playing grocery store.... its a really really really big store..... ;)

The boys

I know you're all wondering how we're doing in the poo potty training process. I'm happy to report, that on the evening of my last post, he FINALLY pooped in the potty. It had been a good 3 days since his last movement, and he was miserable. It didnt happen without a fight though. Over the whole weekend, we probably spent more than 3 hours sitting in the bathroom with Jadon, trying to convince him to go, and he WOULD. NOT. GO.
So, as horrible as it sounds, we basically had to scare the poop out of him to get him to go. We told him that he was going to have to have a suppository if he didnt go....... You didnt think that would get him to go, did you??? Of course not!!! But, when I told him I was leaving right that second to go to the store to get some suppositories, out came the poo! Two times! I know its not the best way to handle potty training, at least according to all the books and doctors, but every kid is different, and so far its the only thing that we could do to get him to go.

So, the next day, he was fine most of the day, then afternoon Jadon started getting lethargic again, I kept asking if he wanted to go in and go poo, and of course I got a "no." After dinner, Derek was going to sit down and play with Jadon, but Jadon was dancing around again like he had to poop, so Derek asked him if he wanted to go sit on the potty and try pooping before they played, and he said "yeah" and practically ran to the bathroom, and immediately pooped!

And basically the same thing happened last night as well. He will not initiate going, but if we make him go in and do it, then he's going... at least thats how its been the last 2 nights. So, I hope that if we can just keep him doing this, he'll eventually get used to it and will be comfortable going alone and doing it on his will. Please keep praying for him! We are SOOO proud of him for the progress he's made so far!

Well, Derek doesn't have whooping cough, but his cough has not gotten any better, and now he's having pains in his chest and abdomen everytime he coughs. Today he was a little short of breath than normal, and since he has asthma, he decided to go to urgent care. They took an xray, and saw that it looked like fluid was beginning to accumulate in his lungs... and it was looking like he could possibly get phneumonia, and its pretty certain he has bronchitis.... so, he's been given antibiotics, and was told to take 4 ibuprofin and 2 tylenol together to help with the pain. So, hopefully the antibiotics will do the trick!
I'm looking forward to getting some sleep again! ;) of course, that also depends on Avery. Last night she woke up at midnight and didnt go back to sleep until 2am... and then started crying again after 20 minutes, but went back to sleep a short time later. I'm exhausted. The lack of sleep over the last month is starting to get to me, and i've had a migraine and/or headache off an on for the last 2 weeks. Its amazing how not sleeping well affects so much of your life.

Why?????

In case anyone's wondering, the poop training is not going well. In fact, its going pretty much exactly like the last time. Jadon has a really normal schedule with his bowel movements, once a day. It has now been 2 days, and we are beginning the 3rd day of him not going. Derek sat with him in the bathroom for at least 2 hours total yesterday trying to convince him to go, but he won't do it. And he's starting to get lethargic and just wants to lay around... obviously! Who wants to be up and running around when you've got to go so bad but are trying so hard to keep it in!
At this point, we really have no idea what to do! It doesnt matter what we say to him... we tell him all the people in his life poop in the potty- gramma's, grampa's, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends from preschool, his teachers, etc. He doesn't care. We tell him that we would be soooooooooo proud if he went. We tell him that his grandparents would be soooooooooo proud if he went. We tell him that his teachers would be sooooooooo proud if he went. But, he does not care. We've tried ultimatums, like Jadon, if you poop in the potty then we can go and do this or that. He doesn't care. He's aware that if nothing else works he may end up with a suppository. He doesn't care. He says he wants to go, but he's scared. We are struggling to understand why he is SO scared! During the summer, he had those 3 days where he went poop all by himself just fine on the potty, then on day 4 he was suddenly afraid again. Nothing changed on day 3 to make him worry again on day 4!!!
The only advice we got from the pediatrician was to give him miralax, so then he'll pretty much have no choice but to go. We tried that last time, but he's stubborn, and that did not make him go. So we really are at a complete loss and have no idea what to do.
This is so emotionally draining.

Oh dear

We are down to 1 diaper for Jadon.... so if "things", *ahem*, progress like they do on a normal daily basis, we will be starting our poopy potty training tomorrow. He knows this, we've been counting down the diapers since we had 10 diapers left. He doesnt seem worried at all, and he knows whats going to happen after he uses the last diaper. So, keep us in your prayers in the coming days!!!

Derek went to the doctor yesterday.... he's had this awful cough for the last week+. I've been telling him to go get looked at for several days, and finally he decided he'd had enough. So yesterday he went, and he was less than impressed with his overall visit... waiting for an hour and then seeing the disconnected doctor for just 5 minutes. Whats with doctors? They make you feel like you're wasting their time.
Anyways, from the sounds of it, the doctor thought it was either bronchitis or whooping cough, and they tested him for whooping cough, but the results wont be in for a few days. Gave him an Rx for cough suppressant (that only works a little) and that was it.
Between Avery waking up so much at night lately, and Derek's middle of the night coughing fits... I was ready to pack up and go to a hotel at 3am last night. On top of that, the kids and I have colds again... ok, i cant complain too much, its really not much of a "cold"... more like just a constant runny nose, and the kids have been coughing a little at night. If I wasnt dreaming of summertime already, I certainly am now!

The good news, I got a drink at Starbucks this morning!!!!! :) I never go there, I refuse to waste my money on a $5 coffee. So, the only time I go is when I have a gift card... Derek got one at a christmas party we went to last month, and since he doesnt drink coffee, he gave it to me. :) I got what I always get when I go there- a carmel frappachino. 16 ounces of heaven topped with a load of whipped topping and drizzled with carmel syrup. It literally made my morning! Silly, I know, but i was literally smiling as I was walking into a store after buying it (and drinking 3/4 of it in 10 minutes.) I look forward to my next one... in a year or two.... ;)

Its that time of year....

...When the holiday season is over, and there's nothing to look forward to for awhile (other than Jadon's birthday), and I start getting really sick of the gray, wet Oregon weather. I'm sick of hearing about the rest of the U.S. getting dumped on with snow, while we sit in 50-60 degree weather getting poured down rain on. It seems impossible for us to get snow around here... when the weather finally gets cold enough, the precipitation is not there... then it warms up, and the rain pours on us. Frustrating! Very Very frustrating!

Anyways, its that time of year when I start dreaming about the spring and summer months, longing for warmer and longer days, and being able to take the kids outside. Today while Avery was napping, and Derek was working on the budget, Jadon and I took a nice little walk around the neighborhood in the rain and our rainboots, stomping in puddles, and just enjoying being together and outside. The other day, we were in the car and it was of course raining, and Jadon says "its never going to be sunny again." I know how he feels....both my kids LOVE the outdoors, and its apparent that Jadon loves the sunshine just as much as his parents do.

So, this time of year, I always start brainstorming how I want our spring/summer to be... and getting ideas of what kinds of things I would like to do as a family- for example, go to the zoo, have picnics, etc. I also start to get antsy with the house, and want to start doing home improvement inside and out. I've already got a list going in my head of the things that I would like to get done with regards to home improvement in the warmer months. Of course, the indoor stuff can happen at any time. :)

To switch the topic, Avery is feeling much better, and its totally obvious!!! Thank goodness for Amoxocylin (sp?) She is a much happier kid, and doesnt spend all day wanting me to hold her and crying when i cant hold her. In fact, she spends most of her day NOT hanging on me again. Its nice to see her back to her happy self (mostly happy....) ;) She has been sleeping HORRIBLY though. I think I may have mentioned it in a recent previous post. For most of this week, she was waking up at 11:30pm (just about the time when my head hits my pillow...and before I have time to fall asleep.) Then, she wont go back to sleep until 2am. Then, we're up again for the day between 6:15am and 7:30am. Thankfully last night she slept for most of the night though...woke up at 9pm-ish, and again at 1:30am, but luckily after going in to comfort her and help her find her binky again, she went back to sleep. It was the best nights sleep i've had in a few weeks! Although i'm so behind on sleep now that it will take a little time to catch up again.

She goes back in a week to have her ear looked at again. The doctor mentioned that she could hardly see inside Avery's ear because it was really waxy, and suggested we try dewaxing her ears with Debrox so she would be able to see in there better. She apparently inherited her daddy's waxy ears. ew.

Jadon's back in preschool again after the break, and he is SO happy to be back! He asks me every morning if he gets to go to preschool. He talks about his little friend Elijah all the time, and said that he likes him because "he laughs at me all the time." Jadon must think he's just little mr. funny pants... he just LOVES for people to laugh at him, and it just eggs him on. (he gets that from his daddy also.) This is the reason I quit laughing at Derek when he cracks a joke... it just eggs him on. Now I just roll my eyes at him. ;)

In the world of horticulture, I'm having a heck of a time with my house plants this winter! I'm not sure what the deal is.... I'm not sure if I am over watering them, or underwatering them... I feel like I water them alot, and when I start to think that i am overwatering them, and feel the soil, its bone dry. Derek says i'm just overthinking it too much now. I used to have the greenest thumb, and everything would grow beautifully for me. I'm getting frustrated now and i'm not sure what to do. Any tips??????

Yet, on the other hand, I noticed today that my outdoor hydrangea's are already starting to get new leaves on them....??? what in the world is going on???

I'll leave you with this picture- We had a cold snap a couple weeks ago (of course, no snow), and I noticed the cats water dish. Very very strange.... i'm not sure how in the world it froze like this, there was nothing dripping down on it, to my knowledge. I dont know if you can enlarge the picture or not, but its really neat looking inside.

Need your prayers!!!

I'll start this post off with 2 recent pictures of the kids.

Jadon- he doesnt want his picture even taken, but at the same time, he doesnt like it when Avery gets her picture taken (cuz then she is getting attention), so this is one of those instances. I was taking Avery's picture, and he wanted the attention, so he asked me to take his picture, but then he wouldnt cooperate, and this is the best I got of him.... little stinker!

The victim in an episode of CSI: Albany

We're going to be working with Jadon again on pooping in the toilet. We've been telling him for the last couple months that when the last box of diapers we got for him ran out, we weren't buying anymore and that he was going to start pooping in the potty. Its taken forever for him to get through the box, since he only uses it for his #2's. But, alas, we are almost done with them.... there's only like 7 diapers left...so approximately 1 week's worth of diapers! Yikes!!! I'm scared! Remembering the last time we were potty training... of course at that point he wasnt pee trained or night time trained yet either.

He is doing extremely well with day time pottying and hasnt had any accidents in a really long time, and incredibly good with nightime pottying too! He hasnt had wet sheets for a couple weeks now!

You'd think that he'd be wanting to poop in the potty too, but he is still scared. You'd think that after seeing all his friends in preschool using the potty, he'd also want to ditch the diapers and poop in the potty. But, no. When he announces that he has to poop, we always offer for him to use the potty, but he insists on a diaper. He pretty much does it all by himself... puts the diaper on himself (its a pullup), goes in the bathroom and does his business... the only thing missing is sitting on the toilet. So, i'm still really worried about how things are going to go after the diapers are gone.

Avery's no where near ready to potty train. Although it would be nice if she was! She gets a rash on her tushie so easily if we dont change her poopy diapers right away. A few weeks ago, she had an ugly rash on her bottom, thanks to the mandarin oranges that she consumed, so one evening after changing her poopy diaper, I let her go bottomless for a little bit. She had only had the diaper off for a few minutes, and she already peed on the floor. Then she pooped on the floor right after that. Then peed again, and pooped again... all within a very short period of time (like 15 minutes.) It felt like we had a puppy or something! Pretty gross!!!

In case anyones wondering, we're going to be cleaning our carpets in the near future! ;)

Avery's 15 month appt.

Was today, and it couldnt have come at a better time. She has been seriously cranky and really out of sorts the last couple days.... understandable since she's still recovering from the nasty cold, and she's getting her molars.... on top of that, she's got an ear infection. Her first one... and the first one between both my kids. Jadon's never had one.

So, its been a rough road with her lately!

In 3 months, she barely gained anything.... not even a pound. Today she weighed 19lbs 15.5oz ALMOST 20 pounds, but just not quite. So, she's now in the 10th percentile for weight. She started out life in the 50th, then jumped to the 75th, and from there on its slowed some, and really alot this time! But, her height is incredible in the 90th percentile, so, big surprise, she's tall and skinny, although she doesnt look that skinny. The doc said that her weight just couldnt keep up with her dramatic height increase. Not to mention, she only eats like 5 foods.

Food.... well, theres not much we can do at this point, but keep offering her what we are eating, but also include something that we know she will like. She's too young to say "if you dont eat what is served to you, then you dont get anything else"... so we'll just keep on doing what we're doing. Milk on the other hand, is something we really need to try to get her to drink. We've tried everything, so i dont know what else to do for that! Could get interesting!

So, lucky girl, got out of shots today since she's got an ear infection, but we go back in a couple weeks to get rechecked, and she'll have her vaccinations done then.

Art

Well aren't you lucky! My second post of the day!!

So, Jadon comes home from preschool almost every day with art projects that he did in school, and as his mommy, I LOVE all of them! Of course, and unfortunately, I cant keep all his projects, but I do select a few of my favorites to save. The others I have taken pictures of, and thought i'd auction them off to family (read Gramma's). Not sure if anyone wants them, but I am having a really hard time throwing them away.... like, they are sitting upstairs on the desk just waiting to be thrown out, but I cant bring myself to do it. So, i've taken pictures of them all, and thought i'd see if anyone wants any of them.

Auction item #1- Picasso Thanksgiving Turkey

Auction Item #2 and #3- Glitter Bell or Rudolph

Auction item #4- Picasso Fence Pumpkin

Sorry, this next one isnt up for grabs.... I tied a bow to the top and turned it into a christmas ornament, but thought id share it with you anyways.

This one may have been turned into an ornament also, but I cant remember for certain?Apple with shiny paint... this one mightbe in my "keep" pile, but i cant remember

Item #5- button corn- i dont think this one is in my "keep" pile, but i'd have to double check that.

Popcorn corn... this one actually DID make it to the garbage can, but very reluctantly. :(
And here's the one he brought home this past thursday. We noticed that he made a female snowman..... of course, when I asked him what the circles were on the snowman's torso, he said they were buttons. Hmm, i've never had a sweater button that way....but then again, i've never seen such lopsided boobs either! oh, and its not up for grabs either... at least not yet. I keep all his projects hung up for our viewing pleasure for at least a couple months.

And finally.... Jadon has never had a whole lot of interest in drawing objects.... he's always just scribbled for a minute, then decided he was done drawing. He NEVER wants our help with drawing things, or trying to help him write his name. He's never even had interest in writing any letters. So, the other day I was cleaning the kitchen, and he was drawing with Avery's doodle pro (remember, I said we were going to get her it for christmas...) and he says to me that he was drawing a picture of Avery. Then after a few seconds he said "Look mommy, I drew Avery." With my hands wet and soapy, and he being all the way across the room, I asked him to hold it up so I could see it. I just about fell over when I saw this picture that actually resembles a bit of a human form! It (Avery) has a head, eyes, mouth, body and legs! He actually drew something! I cant tell you how proud we were of his drawing! Funny how even just the smallest things that your kids do can make you feel so much pride for them!
And here he is- my budding little artist ;)
He's been quite testy lately.... really pushing buttons, pushing limits, showing his frustrations... He got a timeout this morning because he, Avery and I were playing a game, and he was doing a really good job taking turns with Avery, but then after a bit Avery decided to plop down in my lap instead of take her turn to play... Jadon got mad, and threw the toy at me. Luckily if we follow through with our discipline, he seems to catch on pretty quickly and starts obeying. Consistency and following through with our punishments is crucial!
I've also noticed a bit of some jealousy going on with the kids. Avery's had alot of cuddles this week since she's been sick, and has been wanting to be held and cuddled more than normal lately... Of course, whenever she's in my lap, Jadon wants to be in my lap too. And vice versa... if he is in my lap, she starts having a cow. So, its quite frustrating.
Its really fun to see how they've evolved into their brother/sister roles though.... Jadon treats her... well, like a little sister- picking on her, tormenting her, pushing her and taking her toys. And she follows him around, imitating his every move, trying to do everything he does. Its funny because for the first 6 months after Avery was born, he pretty much kept his distance from her. I'm glad that he has finally and fully adjusted to having a little sister.
And, because I dont want to end this post on a negative note, because Jadon really does have good, sweet moments, but being that he's 3.5 almost 4, they are just few and far between... someday my sweet little man will return to us........
On one of his particularly good days, a couple weeks ago, I had to go to the pharmacy and pick up some Rx's. I never go get our Rx's, because the kids want to touch everything, and I dont dare let Avery down because she'd have the place torn apart in seconds! So I make Derek go after he gets off of work. (Too bad we dont get our Rx's filled at Walmart or somewhere that has shopping carts... i'd just throw the kids in that, it would be so much easier!) So the other day, it was right before the holiday weekend, and the pharmacy would be closed, and we needed our prescriptions, so I had no choice but to go. I made it clear to Jadon that he was not to touch anything. I dont make this request of him very often, because I know its tough and boring for him to be somewhere and not be able to touch things that look interesting. So on this day at the pharmacy, one of the prescriptions was not ready, so we ended up waiting for 15 minutes or so. Jadon was SO good, he did not leave my side, he did not touch one thing, he did not whine or complain once! I was SOOO proud of him!!
And earlier this week when I went to the grocery store by myself, he told me the next day "Mommy, the next time you go to the grocery store, you need to take me and avery with you, because I missed you." And from what Derek says, it sounds like he really did miss me... and Avery did too. The kids were already in bed when I got home, but Jadon was sitting up in bed waiting for me, and Avery started throwing a FIT when I went in to kiss her goodnight. She was thoroughly distraught, so eventually I went in to hold her for a couple minutes.... that did the trick, she just wanted a mommy cuddle before bed. That was one of those nights when the struggles and strife of motherhood are so totally worth it!