Jon-Happy Birthday...

Today is Jon's birthday...28 years old! We make jokes about how I married a younger guy...you see I was 28 in December...so I am a whole 3 months older! It gives us something to joke about...


Jon is not one for pictures...I normally have to sneak a picture or two...then try to crop out a particular finger or something! He does an excellent "not amused" look! The picture below is my favorite...and yes, he posed that way on purpose...

Jon likes to stay out of pictures as much as possible...so it always amazes me that enjoys taking pictures...and he is good! He sends up a picture a day from his phone...and he takes pictures regularly with his little Nikon. He is even to the point of opening his own account on Photobucket! His new thing is taking videos of building cell towers with his phone and uploading them to his facebook...

I have finally talked Jon into growing out his goatee...so he can get it dreaded...Johnny Depp style! It will match his rough personality!

About Jon:

* a great daddy and husband

* a bit wild and crazy at times- especially his driving!

* one of kind who doesn't care what others think

* his favorite statement "We'll get something figured out"

*loves the element of surprise

* a good cook- even if I think he love to fry things too much!

* loves to watch the T.V. far to loud

*perfect guy for me~we were meant to be together

love you...

***

Embrace the Camera...Swimming

last weekend we had to make a trip to the pool again...and imagine it was summer! Elsie had been patiently waiting all week long for Daddy to come home so we could go swimming...every day she would ask..."is it Saturday, yet?"

James loves swimming also...but soon his little arms would be full of goose bumps...so we would take him out and wrap in a towel...it never lasted long though...he just kept lunging forward to get back in that pool! I think we are going to have our hands full this summer!

Daddy and James...enjoying some boy time! Lately every time Jon and James are together Elsie will get all excited and tell me "girl time!"...Elsie has a great need for her Mommy/daughter girl time...and she normally chooses to go shopping...so a typical girl!

Jon decided to spoil Elsie a little and told her he would pack some oatmeal cookies for a little snack...and she responded with a no...carrots sounded better! What kind of a kid turns down cookies for carrots!? And just for the record she did eat a long carrot while sitting on the edge of the hot tub...and we brough home all the un-touched cookies...such a goofy girl!

This is what happens lately when I try to take pictures of Elsie...so if you read my blog and think James has been the favored child lately...it isn't so...I just don't want to post pictures of a hand!

I love this picture of James...however I am pretty sure Jon is giving me the "no more pictures" look...I really can't help it...I love pictures and if one is good 10 would be even better!

A little girl who really does not want her picture taken...

Even in the hot tub...no picture! The hot tub is Elsie's favorite place to be...she sits on the top step and just enjoys the warm water! We played catch with a little rubber duck across the hot tub for a while...then after getting good and hot I talked Elsie into jumping into the big pool with me...brrr...talk about cold yet super refreshing!

Jon and I have decided that we need to invest in another floaty before we go swimming again...James wanted in the floaty so badly!

Last picture...She smiles!! At the very end of the afternoon at the pool Elsie asked me to take a picture of her...made my day...so maybe I snapped a couple or maybe even several!

Good afternoon of swimming, tired out kids, good family time, fun...what more could you ask for...

Busy Boy...

This little man is so busy...I think it has become impossible to keep up with him! As soon as I leave the room he sneaks somewhere where he should not be...His sister's room is still his favorite place to be...if we leave the door open he crawls as fast as those little arms and legs can carry him to the bedroom...
He loves to stand up by the dolly cradle...Elsie is certain it is because he wants to play house with her. I think it just because he loves to stand...but I let Elsie think what she wants!

This evening James got a hold of the playdoh basket and knocked it on the floor...and the top came off the moon doh...before I realized what was going on James had managed to eat a couple fistfuls of the doh...Hope it is non-toxic!

James is never at a loss for something to do...I fear his imagination when he gets older...I have a feeling he is going to just keep getting busier and a bit more wild! Oddly enough 2 crazy things make him sit still...clipping his nails and when I brush my teeth! When I tell James we are going to clip his nails he sits perfectly still on my lap...most kids hate having their nails clipped! I have an electric tooth brush and as soon as I turn it on he sits at my feet and watches with a big smile on his face...He gets very excited when I kneel down so he can put his hand on my tooth brush as it is going. I think I have some crazy kids!

Little Man Paints...

In this house it is never too young to be creative...James is 7 mo. old so we figured it was about time he discover the joy of painting...
There is nothing better than having your fingers messy and feeling that fun texture squish between your fingers...I would like to say he was deep in concentration with his tongue sticking out...but that is simply his new look...he always has that little tongue out!

I love those little baby fingers...

James may have eaten a brush full of paint...we swiped it out of his mouth right away and gave him a drink...but I think he rather enjoyed it and wouldn't mind a lunch a paint!

So happy to be sitting at the table and paining with his sister...In the end he only painted for a short time because he felt that eating the paint and the paper would be far more fun...being that his mother did not agree his paint time was cut short!

Little Scrapper...

As of last week Elsie officially a scrapbooker! She has now started her very own little scrap book...all by herself! I had been telling her a while now that she could start a scrap book...so she was so excited when we finally got everything together for her to start.
Elsie happily dug through my piles of special papers, stickers and embellishments to find just the right things for her little book. I then gave her a little pink scrapbook and a stack of her own pictures to use...

I simply told Elsie to glue whatever she wanted to the page...and she did an amazing job by herself! I was quite amazed at what a good job she did...

Crafting away in the dining room...there is never a day that goes by that does not find us at the table doing one project or another...There is no doubt in my mind that my children won't grow up to enjoy a good craft...crafting and creating is good for the soul! Everyone needs a creative outlet...

Thoughts on Parenting...

I have thinking a lot about our parenting style lately...So I thought I would share my thoughts. I am very passionate about parenting and children. Ever since I was quite young I knew I wanted to have my own big family...you can't come from a big family and not love kids! Before Jon and I were even married we agreed that I would be a stay at home mom. Our thoughts on that is that we didn't want to have children only to let them be raised primarily by a caregiver. We are very comfortable with our parenting style. The best parenting advice I have is to throw away all parenting books and magazines...do what you are comfortable with. What works for one family may not work with another. I firmly believe that when you are sure of your parenting your children know it...just as a child knows when you are a being wishy-washy.

Some people think we are a "free for all"...and the truth is sometimes we are...other times we have a good schedule we stick to. That is just how it works for us...we have a flexible schedule. You see we don't want our kids to flip out and not handle it when things change a bit...yet we also know that having a routine is very important. We have a bedtime around 8:00 for both the kids...however if we feel like eating ice-cream and popcorn for dinner in front of a movie until 10:00 it is okay. Everyone, even kids, need to "shake things up a bit" and enjoy life. I want my children to know limits yet to know how to have a great time.

Sometimes Parenting is tough...it is far from a piece of cake. Just as I thing we have something figured out...everything changes again! For now we are dealing with the simple things like a sassy comment or biting...as difficult as some days might be I know these are our easy days...things will only get harder as they get older! Parenting doesn't mean you get to call grandma when things get tough or the kids get sick...you work your way through it. I want my children to always know they are my number one...nothing is more important than they are. When they need an extra hug or a story read I want them to know I will always be there. My children are my responsibility...I am in charge. It would be easier if I could just drop them off at the sitters and enjoy a day at the spa...instead I embrace my spa days as finally being able to take a shower after not having one for 4 days! I think Parenting has a lot to do with contentment and attitude. Sometimes you have to roll with the punches. There is never a day that goes by that I don't thank the Lord for my children...I know of many families that cannot have children...so it is humbling and an honor that God has blessed us with 2 perfect children to care for. We are blessed and I want my Children to feel like blessings...

When my children are grown up I want them to have fond memories of their childhood...I want them to have compassion and respect for others, a deep happiness and love of live. Mostly I want them to have contentment...without contentment you have nothing...with it you have everything...and no one can take it away from you!

* I have so many more thought and opinions on parenting...it is something I am super passionate about and could on and on about...these are some just some of the random thought running through my mind right now...

Embrace the Camera...Old Pictures

For the last several weeks I have been working on uploading all our old pictures to Photobucket so everything is all organized in one place...And I found these old pictures of Elsie and I cooking dinner together! (Plus we have a teething little guy and didn't have any new pictures to share this week...oops!) I think these are my favorite series of pictures of Elsie and I...Elsie was almost 1 year old...now she is three! Where has the time gone!?
Jon and I have a very attached and hands-on parenting style...so it is very natural for us to include our Children in on everything we do...as a result Elsie has always my little shadow! We still enjoy cooking together...now she is older and can be trusted to really help cut things up and measure...And James is one that gets to be carried along and watch everything we do.

One this day we were making Black Bean Soup for dinner...and my mom had happened to stop over on her way through town and snapped these pictures.

These pictures make me think how fast children grow up...When we are having a bad day...like teething...I remind myself to treasure it despite the bad...all too soon they will be all grown up! Sometimes a bad day is simply a reminder to slow down and take the time for extra cuddles...I don't want to miss a minute of these simple and crazy days...

Discovery...

Seems like we keep putting more and more things away...just to keep this little guy safe! We keep the kitchen stools on the counter when we are not using them, we keep the little chairs on the big table or tipped over, everything on the end table in the living room is gone...what can I say...this is one super busy and curious little guy!
When Elsie was a baby she never got into anything...I never had to put anything away. I remember telling Elsie, "No" and that was that! I think she spoiled me...

A cloth diaper bum...what is not to love!? Diaper changes are a tough thing to do around here...to James the very idea of laying on still on his back for 2 minutes is pure torture! Normally Elsie takes pity on him and comes running when she hears his screams of terror...she soothingly talked to him and gives him toys as I change him. She really is an amazing and compassionate big sister!

Busy, busy boy...I love watching this little guy discover new things everyday...To me one of the best parts of being a mother is watching the innocent discovery and wonder of children...

New Teeth...

This week James has been working on cutting more teeth...so he is not a very little guy! He already has 6 teeth...hopefully he will soon have 8 teeth! He is a good little teether...he just gets rather unhappy the day or two before they pop through. It just means I get to spend a little more time than usual cuddling with this sweet little guy! Because everyone knows mommy cuddles make everything better...
All smiles...even cutting teeth can't keep this guy from smiling!

Doily Project...

A couple weeks ago I read about this simple doily project on the Whatever blog and we simply had to give it a try. Elsie loves to paint and I love to decorate with art projects...so this project was perfect for us!
Jon and Elsie went to the dollar store and picked up some paper doilies...the next day Elsie and I spread all the doilies out on the table, got the paints out and went to town...

Elsie takes her art work very seriously...she is quite the artist! We painted off and on all day...we just left everything out on the table all day...

We started the project using water colour paint...I love water colour! Even as a teenager Watercolour was always my medium of choice...I love the gentle soothing tones, it is simple...lovely in my opinion...

Elsie is a very creative artist...and soon that simple watercolour project evolved to her regular paint, sequins and glue...apparently she prefers more of "mixed medium" type of project!

In the end I wound up with a beautiful paper doily chain to decorate with! I love decorating with art projects...I think every wall in our house has paintings and drawings handing off it...and it makes my heart happy! When Jon and I were first married I had some framed art work from my little sister hanging on the wall in my dining room...Some people gave flack about using children's artwork...but those people just didn't "get it"! I am so thrilled that I can now use my own Children's artwork to decorate our home! To me there is nothing more inviting than Children's artwork filling the walls of any house...so inviting, cozy, innocent...perfect. Love, love, love it!

Fun Times...

These two have become the best of buddies...James will scream until he has his sisters attention...James loves to rough house with his big sister! Elsie loves it also...sometimes I am a bit afraid they will get too wild and hurt each other...but it seems the wilder they get the happier James is! He is such a boy already!
A couple weeks ago we put up the little Play Hut tent and tube...this has been the best toy ever for them! I find them both sitting in the tent quietly looking at books...or, like this day, jumping and rough housing with the tent! The nice thing about this tent is that it is very flexible...perfect for some wild kids!

James loves crawling in and out of the tunnel piece...

Wild kids...I think cabin fever just may have set in...