Silly

This isn't Grace's most complex sentence, but it cracked me up.  (And yes, Jen, she usually does speak with exclamation points, doesn't she?)  This is what she said, while poking her tummy through a onesie:

"Belly button hiding!"

Two Months Old

Our sweet baby was two months old on the 17th. So, I'm behind on posting, but at least he's not three months old yet! Life is keeping me very busy. I'm still in way over my head, but so thankful to have that problem. :)

The Sweeties...They Keep Me Busy!!!

Cheryl Is Here!

First time meeting Benjamin.

What She's Saying

Grace is in that really fun, learning-to-talk stage. She makes us laugh all the time with the things she says. (Although sometimes it's not funny, like when she repeated, "Want a raisin!" for the entire car ride this morning.)  She's stringing a few words together now. I can't believe she's almost two!

Need it right now! (Where did she hear this??)

She no longer says "nono" for banana, but says "denama."

Denama, hold it, mommy!

To her stuffed monkey:

hi monkey! How doin'?

My favorite of the day:

What dat sound?  Dat sound bird!  Tweet!

And, last but not least,

Sing song! B Bubble!

Here's the song she's requesting I sing to her:

Does anyone else remember this from their childhood?

Valentine's Day

I just looked back at Valentine's Day post from last year, when I received flowers and diamonds from Jonathan and took the kids to the zoo.  I was wondering whether I'd receive any jewels this year from him.  I didn't, but I thought I'd post about how we (the kids, anyway) spent Valentine's day.  (And, let me say that I am thankful that Jeff was not out of the country this year, but safely at home!)

Jonathan made a "Valentine's Advent Calendar" for me.  He used the box from his Advent calendar (from Christmas, of course) and put surprises behind each door.  I was supposed to open one and build it each day leading up to the 14th.  Yes, friends, I was privileged to get a Lego surprise each day.  What mom wouldn't love that?


Jonathan's Valentine art from school.  Notice how it's all about the grid.  Even art has to do with building something around here.


After Jonathan came home from his class party, he used some of his surprises to make this for me.

Also, he made a "scavenger hunt" for Jeff and me.  I put that in quotes because he put little candies in plastic bags and spread them around the house.  We were supposed to look for them.  They were pretty easy to find!

And, Jeff and I each got one of these.  As you can see, our little guy is pretty into this holiday.


I did the same scavenger hunt for the kids that I've been doing for the past couple of years.  Jonathan requested it, so I think it has become a tradition.  It was really fun to see him lead Grace to each spot this year.


Instead of little treats at each location, I just had one gift for them at the final destination.  (A new shirt for each kid.)


We made heart-shaped muffins (yes, from a mix.  It was a big accomplishment for us to bake at all, and we squeezed it in during Benjamin's naptime.)


Mixing!

Here's my littlest Valentine. Look at those cheeks.  He is filling out much earlier than either of the older kids did.  I'm still having to help him a bit with the nursing, but it's much easier with him than it was with Grace.  I'm thankful!


He is a major back archer like Grace was.  Aunt Connie, do you recognize the romper?


I tried to get a picture of him smiling, but I couldn't time it right.  Take my word for it, though, he did smile.

Hope you all had a Valentine's Day that was as sweet as ours!

Making Plans

I think the need to make plans is just part Jonathan's personality. The poor kid was the firstborn of two firstborns, after all. Note the date at the top. He composed this note for this coming fourth of July!

Benjamin

Sometimes this is the only way to get him to sleep. He hasn't yet completed Amy's Sleep Boot Camp. :)

Recognize the quilt, Jo? We still love it!

I think this is my favorite pic of the bunch.

Quotes

Jeff:  I have an idea for tomorrow.
Jonathan:  What, go cave mining or somethin'?

About a color on a wrapper...
Jeff:  It's kind of yellowish-brownish.
Jonathan:  I think it's burnt sienna.

And, from Gracie...

Stepping up on her chair to look out the window and find a garbage truck:
Look, see!  Nope!  Step down!

Playing with a stuffed dog from Grandpa while Daddy makes pancakes:
Doggie!  Eat pancakes!

Sibling Stuff

My Mom and Benjamin

Cousins

She Fell Asleep Before She Could Finish

Catching Up on Pictures

Jonathan with his "winter bakery." The roof is on hinges, so he opens the roof and calls it a "summer bakery."

The kids with my mom and Don

Just a silly one of Benjamin

Snack time. She loves putting on Jonathan's vest.

Bundled up!

All these pics are from the second half of January. More recent pics to come!

Quote

I realize that I am really sporadic in my blogging these days, and that I used to post a lot more funny things that Jonathan said.  Grace is talking now, too, so I'm going to try to at least post some of the things they say.  Hopefully I'll post pictures more often once we get into a good groove here.  Tonight's quote is just from Jonathan, who still has a good imagination...

"I need a prosthetic arm!  A dinosaur bit my arm off, so I need a prosthetic arm!"

Valentine's Craft, Sort Of

Well, I'm not going to be very ambitious for Valentine's Day this year, but I found something really simple that I'm going to do with the kids that I thought I'd share.  We're going to make this garland to decorate a bit.  We're going to use construction paper instead of cardstock, but I think the kids will love it.  Short, sweet, and cute.  Maybe you'll enjoy it, too!

Her Favorite

Grace's favorite activity right now is reading. Anyone who sits still for long enough will find Grace approaching them and saying, "Read book!" Here she is with my mom reading one of the books she's working on wearing out.

Sweet

Playing

Reading

Dressed-up Baby

What's Cookin'

I moved some toys to different places in the house, including this play kitchen that Jonathan's grandparents gave to him the Christmas that he turned three. As you can see, the move was a big hit. Also, Grace got a play-cookie set for Christmas that she plays with every single day. It's been really fun. But, I find wooden cookies all over the house, as you can imagine!

Apparently, her shirt was built for carrying things...check out the belly!

Bigs and Little

And, don't let that sweet, angelic look fool you. He's been hungry every 2 hours since 2 a.m., and continuing...