Prayers, Improv and other stuff

I guess VBS is sinking in for Joshua. Today we were making cookies and Joshua was VERY excited to get to eat one. So when the cookies were FINALLY out of the oven AND cool, he picked one out to eat. He sat down in his chair with the cookie in front of him and said, 'We need to say prayers,' then continued with, 'God is Great. God is good and we thank him for the...' he paused and thought for a moment then finished with, '... COOKIES! Amen.' Then he ate. I just cracked up. In the last week, something has clicked. He is being creative with the things he says and is showing an understanding of the words and their meanings. He is also impersonating as I like to call it lots of objects. He has shown me how a lady bug flies with his hand, how a helicopter flies, with his piece of cheese, how the fire alarm sounds and other noises. He is almost whistling. It is as thought his brain has had a cognitive explosion.

Jason on the other hand seems to be having problems. Yesterday, he was running in the morning with Jack (a first) and going full speed down a steep hill on our community when Jack ran in front of Jason tripping him. Jason hit the ground hard and has road rash and bruises on his arm, hip and leg plus a very bad cut on his finger. He screwed up his iphone in the crash as well. Then tonight while working on his RC car for our trip. He sliced his thumb deeply with the exacto knife. I think I need to put him in a padded room for his protection.

Mira is just being plain cute. She is holding on now when I carry her and likes to talk by moving her mouth and lips as if trying to simulate what we are doing. It is very cute.

Vacation Bible School

We had our first day of vacation bible school today. It is a morning program from 9-12 for a week. I am teaching the 10-12 year olds and have Mira with me while Joshua plays with the other 'too young' kids. It was a lot of fun. Joshua both behaved AND had fun. He and Mira are napping now. I asked him what he learned and he said, 'I had candy.' Well, we'll work on it :-)

Mira is rolling ALL the time! She does it at night and then gets frustrated that she is on her tummy. She is either going to have to learn to sleep on her tummy or learn to roll back over or I am not going to get any sleep!

more rolly polly

After Joshua rolled the first time he rolled again once in a matter of weeks. Mira has rolled over several more times including a time when Jason saw it happen. She is laying on her tummy now as I type having rolled over next to me.

Rolling Over

She did it! She made her way ALL the way over. She has been close to rolling over for a few weeks now and could make it 3/4 of the way or more but just didn't go that final cm. Yesterday though she was frustrated at me with laying her down to tend to Joshua and so in her little screaming frenzy she finally made it all the way. Mira stopped screaming once she made it over since Joshua and I cheered her on. She looked around like, 'How'd I get here?'. It seems that she is either teething or really upset from the shots that she got on Tuesday because she has been in a very bad mood over the last two days. I can see that a tooth is trying to come through and she is shoving her hands in her mouth a lot but it is hard to tell if that is actually what is bothering her.

Today is an errand day, never fun for the little guys but has to be done. We are also planning for our big family vacation. Can't wait to go!

Mira's Four Month Check Up

Mira now weighs 15.2 pounds and is 24.5" long. She is in the 75th percentile for weight and 50th for height. The checkup went fine and she is right on track for developmental milestones. The Dr. asked if we were going to start feeding her solid foods and I said we hadn't yet. I don't feel much motivation to take this step yet. She is doing well on breast milk and we can wait until 6 months or whenever she starts to show an interest in our food.

We ran lots of errands afterwards and Joshua was a good boy in the car, Mira slept. Now we are home and enjoying the cool weather.

Happy Father's Day!

We had a nice relaxing father's day. Joshua had colored a card for Jason and we let him sleep in. After breakfast we were outside playing and saw a little snake on the deck. That was a fun surprise! We had a family nap and then went for a walk along the water. On our walk we saw turtles, geese, ducklings, squirrels and a ground hog. After our walk we check out a new Mexican resturant a couple of towns over.

Last night was Joshua's first night in just underpants (no diaper) and he did it! He was dry! Good Job, Joshua!!

Happy Birthday, Noella!

Today we enjoyed Noella's 2nd Birthday party. We had a nice lunch with presents, swimming and cake. Mira napped while the bigger kids swam. Joshie gets better and better in the water with every dip!

While we were eating dinner, back at home, Mira started just giggling at Joshua. It was so funny! I am really not sure what exactly she was laughing at, most of the time Joshie wasn't even looking at her. But, she does love her big brother tremendously. Joshua is great with Mira, too. He asks us to read stories to her and has even shared his beloved, 'Little Blankie' with her for a few moments.

Mira has taken a very big interest in books and likes to touch and help turn the pages. Looks like we have another book worm in our midst!

I posted pictures from today. I still have lots to post from the party weekend and this past week.

Braving the Heat

We've been trying to make an effort to take a hike every weekend. There are quite a few trails within just a couple of miles of us so it is pretty easy. Joshua 'hikes' for part of the time and then rides in the backpack carrier the rest. I love that he can pretty much run and explore without me trying to hold his hand or correct him all the time. So today we tried to get out of the house as early as possible with the weather being so unbearable. The temp was already in the 80's, humidity was in the 90% range and there was very little breeze. But, the hike was almost entirely in the woods with a lot of foliage. Still, we were just dripping sweat when we finished and pretty grumpy,too. The afternoon called for cool showers and family nap time.

This evening we enjoyed the company of Jason's coworker Richard and his girlfriend Lacey. They also brought her little dog, Otis, along. Jack and Otis were best friends right from the start. Josh loved Otis as well. He was happy to show off for Lacey but did make it through dinner.

Mira's First Swim

Our neighbors, Stephanie & Harry, opened their pool up recently and since the temperatures soared into the 90's with about 100% humidity yesterday (and supposedly again today) we headed over to their house to take a dip in the pool. Joshua, when we last took him, was almost swimming on his own but since it has been a few months I figured there would be a bit of remembering to do. He did great and by the end of the evening we had him reluctently swimming to the pool ladder by himself. Mira we plopped into the water and she was just so relaxed about the whole thing. We have a little floating seat for her and I think she floated around close to an hour. Joshua had a fantastic time as the bigger kids took turns tooling him around the pool. He even went down the slide (and under the water!)... once.





Since moving Mira into the crib we have also begun a little bedtime routine with her of nursing, two stories and then placing her in the crib. She just drifts off to sleep which is like magic to us. She enjoys reading and reaches for the pictures on the pages. She is grabbing at specific objects now and not letting go: the computer power cord, her toes, hair, toys, etc. Her sitting is getting better every day and she is starting to correct her body as it begins to tip one way or another.

Jason let Joshie play with his regular legos and he is having fun with those. He can't always get the little pieces apart but other than that he is building like a pro!

Scary

What a day. It really hasn't been a bad day. Very muggy. We've had thunderstorms this evening. We met Jason for lunch with his coworkers Chuck and Erik but before we made it to lunch that is when the fun started. I was walking with Joshua and Mira up to Kimberly's house to drop off two letters for church. Mira was in the stroller and Joshua was walking and running in front of us. He was doing a good job of staying close so I just let him go. Then in a flash he was running, wasn't looking where he was going and turned his head around just in time to run smack face first into a parked car. He rebounded backwards and hit the back of his head on the side walk. It took him a moment to start crying because he was so startled but I knew it was bad because he did cry. I was expecting broken teeth and a bloody nose but he managed to escape those to things. I carried him and pushed Mira two more houses up to a neighbor that we knew and who was already outside and hollered for ice. Mr. Charlie ran in and got it and by the time he came back out Joshie was fine, no more crying anyway. He has a bruise on his forehead and one on the back of his head. We didn't make to to Kim's. We just went home, I gave Josh tylenol and we headed out to lunch. He seemed fine today, I kept a close eye on him. I am used to Joshua's injuries so most of them do not upset me. Even the ones that are rather bloody but this incident really shook me. He is one tough kid! And... I think he ought to wear a helmet from now on!!

Under the Big Top

Memaw and Grandad took Stephanie, Dylan, Joshua and Mira to the circus yesterday. There were tigers, acrobats, clowns, horses, elephants, and trained dogs among other things. It was fun to watch the kids watching the show. I think even Mira enjoyed all the excitement. Joshua did not like the clown that was standing at the entrance of the tent but once we got around him all was well.

Mira can now move herself 360 degrees just by rolling on her side and back. She hasn't made it all the way over yet but it is fun to watch her wiggle. She is doing alright in the crib. She sleeps about 4 hours and then is up every 2 to eat after that. I've been putting her down for naps in the crib, too. It seems essential to swaddle her to get her to sleep.

I am on a 'green' kick these days and we are looking at ways that we can reduce our waste, gas use and water use. It has been interesting. This week we only had one white bags worth of trash. We'll see if we can keep it up. With raising gas prices the gas usage is going to be critical. Now when Joshua is washing his hands and I turn off the water he says, 'Save the water!'. :-)

Cute and Funny things the kids have done

So, Mira's experiment in sleeping in her crib didn't go too badly last night. She made it 'til around midnight before nursing and moving into her carseat in our room. Then around 4ish she came into bed with me. Tonight, I put her down in her crib around 9pm then swaddled her and shooshed her to sleep.

Mira has been pulling her feet up when rolling on her side. She likes to lay on her back, roll around and talk. She sticks her tongue out of the left side of her mouth and it is really silly looking. Tonight she grabbed her toes for the first time. Maybe they'll make it into her mouth soon!

While on an evening walk with the kids, Jason picked Joshua up because he was having trouble walking on his own two feet. He was holding Joshie cradled like a baby when Josh said, 'Don't squeeze me daddy, you'll make the milk come out of my belly button!'. We both just stopped in our tracks to laugh it was so unexpected.

The weather is cooler today than yesterday after a nice spring thunderstorm last night. I went with Christine, Yana and Val out strawberry picking. Josh picked about 10 berries and did a good job of it before wondering around the rows. I had Mira in a backpack on my back. The berries are great this year and prolific so it didn't take anytime at all to fill our baskets. I made freezer jam tonight and we'll have berries for pies and such, too.

Mira is Baptized

A whirlwind of events and festivities took place these last several days. Let's start with last Thursday, we recovered from being out late the night before for the graduation and Trina and I went shopping sans kids for a few hours. Then Jason and Josh went out to see Indiana Jones. It was nice to have a bit of adult time! Friday, I did a bit of food prep for Saturday and Sunday. Trina, the kids and I went to storytime in the morning and we ordered in pizza for dinner then Jill and Tara arrived. Saturday I put everyone to work on food for Sunday and then we all got ready to go to the big grad party. The party was held at Ron and Christine's as a joint venture. It started at 2 and we had a fantastic day for it. Ron had picked up a keg for the event and we had over 80 people there. They were able to get the keg to float by the end of the evening but there was a lot of beer left.

I think that everyone had a great time. We were so happy to have so many people come to celebrate! Jill, Tara and Trina, brave souls that they are, took the three kids home while I stayed back to help clean up and drive Jason and Josh home around 9:30. I am so thankful that they were here to help!!

Sunday was Mira's baptism day and we had everyone back up this way again for church. Mira did well. She fell asleep during the service and woke up when Pastor Jane place the water on her head. She wasn't happy about waking up that way but fell back to sleep quickly. My mom made the beautiful gown that Mira wore. She looked like a little angel and I cried to see her looking so beautiful. My daughter.

After the service, we had everyone back over to the house for lunch. It was another lovely day and we thoroughly enjoyed the company. After the festivities died down we enjoyed a walk with the JT's, the 'ira's, Jason and Joshua.

Monday, Jill & Tara headed home and we went on a nice long walk along an old rail road trail that has been made accessible for walking, running and biking. We stopped on the way home at my favorite farm resturant for lunch and ice cream then home. After we all took a nice nap we kicked Josh and Trina out of the house so that we could enjoy Kirra on our own. They only stayed away an hour, next time we will lock the door so they can't come back so soon :-)

It was so fun to see the girls together, Kirra and Mira, and to see Joshua playing with both of them. I loved having the house full of family. I wish that we could always be so close and that the kids could grow up together. Maybe it will be possible someday.

For now, I am having empty nest syndrome and just picking at cleaning up the house. We took it easy today after taking Josh, Trina and Kirra to the airport and just watched Bambi.

Mira is currently sleeping alone in her crib for the first time. We tried to start Joshua in the crib at this age. He didn't do so well but I am sure Mira will be fine. She is so laid back. We are also starting the infant potty training with her now and she is getting REALLY close to rolling over. She gets way over on her side but hasn't made that final little bit over yet. She likes to grab things and pull them towards herself and she loves to talk and laugh.

Joshua is enjoying Real Flight Simulator that Uncle Joshua and Daddy showed him this weekend. He can actually get the plane to take off and fly around occasionally.

As usual, pictures will follow when I have a chance to get them all together and posted.

Jason Graduates.

Josh, Trina and Kirra arrived on Tuesday night just after midnight. We had a mostly restful Wednesday as the kids acclimated themselves to each other. The weather was unusual and every time we tried to go outside (because it was sunny) by the time we got our shoes it it would be raining! Jason came home early and Godfather (Chris) came over to watch Joshie then we headed downtown for the graduation ceremony. We met my parents down there. It was a very cool rainy evening and Hopkins had not provided tents for the graduates and their guests. But, just as the ceremony began the rain stopped. The speakers were very good. One acknowledged the sacrifice that is made not only by the graduate but also his family. The other discussed the need for continuous knowledge and requirement to take risks to a advance technology. He also talked on the need to look outside your field for inspiration and answers, that was the president of Bell Labs.



There was a lovely reception afterwards where we enjoyed fresh strawberries, meatballs, cheese, wine and other appetizers. The we headed out to a nearby Irish pub for a celebratory drink. It was a great evening if not memorable.



I am so proud of Jason's accomplishment in spite of a difficult fall for us. Others might have given up but Jason perservered and with my mom's help and the help of other family and friends was able to finish his degree and achieve straight A's. I hope that when Joshua and Mira are older they will recognize the hard work of their father and will be inspired to do likewise.

3 months

Happy 3 month birthday to Mira! It was Thursday but it is never too late to celebrate! I don't have exact numbers but she is between 15-16 pounds and about 23" long. That is just from weighing her with me on the scale. She likes to grab toys now and is enthralled with the caterpillar that we have. It plays musical and has little toys hanging off of it.

Joshua seems to have a little cold now. He is raspy and whiney. I hope he feels better by the weekend. Aunt Trina and Uncle Josh are coming with Kirra on Wednesday and we have lots going on!

I haven't written much but a week and a half ago now Joshua got to see a newborn foal. It was about 12 hours old. There was another foal that was a couple of weeks old. Joshua was just as interested in the tractor that he saw as the horses. We didn't get out for our Mother's day weekend hike but the weekend was very nice anyway. Just a little rainy.

This past weekend we had a yard sale and then Memaw and Grandad came out. We all went together to pick out fabric for Mira's baptism dress while Daddy worked. It was really nice to have them out to visit. On Sunday, I made it to church alone with the kids, a first! Joshua behaved well enough for me to try it again in the future. :-) After church there was a Mother Daughter Luncheon that I stayed for since Jason was working again. Now he is out of town and we are managing on our own. It will just be for tonight and then he will be home very late tomorrow.

Joshua has had 4 days in a row now of being dry after his naps. He is consistently making it to the potty during the day and we are only focusing on nap and nighttime now. Yippee!

Mother's Day Etc

Mother's Day was lovely. We again had Amy and Mom and the accompanying family over for an afternoon tea in the garden. Aunt Jo joined us this year which was so nice. It is great to see so much of her! Grandma was unable to make it though and she was missed. Jason and the kids picked out a gorgeous bouquet of flowers for me along with new gardening gloves, can't get enough of those! I was also treated to a very yummy breakfast Sunday morning and time to work in the garden.

Videos

I have been trying to get a few videos up of the kids. Here is the link:

http://gallery.mac.com/robocoder#gallery

We had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend and lots of fun things going on. But... I'll write about them later :-)

New Tricks

Mira Jean is adding all sorts of tools to her baby tool belt. She now scooches across the pack n play on her back, mostly when she is frustrated, but it is movement none the less. She is rolling to her side and I don't think rolling over is too far behind. She brings her hands together now to put them in her mouth and chew on her fingers and thumb. She and Daddy have warmed up to each other and they laugh and 'talk' these days. He can get her to laugh in ways that I cannot and it is fun to hear her noises.

Joshua held Mira for the first time yesterday. I sat him in the corner of the couch, propped Mira up on the pillow next to him and took a few pictures. That was about it.

May is a crazy month for us but we have one event down. Grandad retired and had a birthday over the weekend and we had a little bash for him. It was a really good time and the kids did very well. This weekend is Mother's Day and we are having folks over for a Mother's Day tea as we did last year. Then the end of the month is Jason's graduation & party and Mira's baptism & party. Then we get to crash!! :-)

Goin' Campin'...Campin out under the stars...

This week, before we left to go camping on Thursday afternoon, Mira laughed a funny cackle laugh and Joshua enjoyed storytime with Memaw and Stephanie. But, Thursday afternoon we left to go camping. Joshua was super excited since I bought his sleeping bag a week and a half ago and has been having us read "Curious George Goes Camping" every day 5 times a day.

Thursday we headed out to a local state park and set up camp then ate dinner and walked where we could on foot. Driving into the park we saw a deer. We are using my Grandparent's tent and thankfully it was easy to set up. Josh wasted no type starting his search for worms in the dirt with my trowel that we brought from home. We took the swing for Mira which was a very good choice and she spent a lot of time in that. Joshua loved being in the tent and went right to sleep without a problem. Jack made one escape around dinner time and we later changed his hookup but he did come back after running around where we will never know.

Friday, we enjoyed bacon and eggs from the camp stove before heading out to the camp store, playground and our first hike. We started with a two mile hike we had also done before Joshua was born that took us out to a lighthouse and back. It was rated easy and there were lots of other people and pets on the walk with us. Joshua made it over half way before he slowed down so much we had to throw him in the backpack carrier. He was excited to see other dogs, water, butterflies, flowers, and sand. We wore Joshua and Jack out on that hike. So back at camp we ate lunch and headed down for a nap. After a difficult nap (for Joshua) we made a camp fire and dinner. Joshua loved the fire, it was hard to keep him away from it! and enjoyed roasting marshmallows. Bedtime was again easy.

Saturday, we got going on our hike sooner and chose a difficult hike that took us to a beach and back. Soon into our walk, Jason spotted a snake slithering into the root system of a fallen tree. Then just a little bit ahead we saw a garter snake laying across our path. That guy didn't want to move but Jason nudged him with a stick and he finally slithered away. Then a little bit farther up we saw a large black snake sliding away over a log. I was just about ready to turn back at that point but we went on. We saw a marsh, beaver dam, blue herons, lizard, butterflies, a ground hog and ants (a highlight for Josh). This time he made it halfway before we stopped for a snack and put him in the backpack. After the hike we again had lunch and mandatory nap/quiet time, we explored a playground made from used tires at another beach site and had ice cream cones we picked up from the camp store. Saturday's dinner was spaghetti over the campfire and off to bed for Joshua.

It rained Saturday night while we tired to sleep. Joshua slept through the rain but Mira did not like it and Jason and I worried about it coming in the tent all night. We had a little puddle that we sopped up with dirty clothes and were pretty much ok the rest of the night. We just packed up this morning and headed home instead of staying to play on the playground or attempt another short hike because of the mud.

We are all contentedly tired and Joshua is in bed for the night. He had a good nap after a long weekend of sunshine and exercise. It was awesome to be together and trying something new. I can't wait for our next adventure.

Our Walk

The March for Babies yesterday morning was a lot of fun. I carried Mira for the first half and Jason pushed Joshua in the stroller and then we switched. The walk was 4 miles long and we were home by noon. Joshua did get out and walk part of the journey. He was very observant and even found numbers on the road, motorcycles driving toward us and lots of doggies. Mira was awake and alert during the majority of the walk. She even had her photo taken. After the walk, there was food and games. Joshua had his first chance at playing in a big moon bounce. He was a bit skeptical at first and then we couldn't get him out. We ALL took a nap in the afternoon. :-) Gotta love wearing the kids out!





Joshua, in the last several days, has grasped the concept of 'I'. So now we are hearing things like, 'I want that', 'I actually picked it up,' and 'I am done eating'. I think his speech is becoming a lot clearer.

Mira has really found her hands and is trying desperately to suck on her thumb. She will spend a long time at this task while sitting in her swing and all we hear is sloppy, sucking sounds. Her 'coo's are becoming more varied and she is sleeping less and less during the day.