Squeezing the last drop out of summer

Can I just say, I love that we live in California. Yes the gas prices are outrageous and everything is generally more expensive but I love that we live with space around us, dirt to dig in, fresh air to breathe and fantastic weather to enjoy it in for a good chunk of the year. As the weather cools down we have spent lots of time outside in the heat of the day because the heat has been a delightful 80 degrees. On one of your Daddy's last days off we all went outside for a little water gun war and soak in the sun. We all had a pretty good time. 

Sweet Jack you just hung out and sat on the grass yelling if you ever got shot with water.

I love this shot...looks like something from the 70's

Daddy used two of the smaller guns

I love the way you hold this big gun up Jake...these guns are automatic, all you have to do is hold down the trigger and water shoots out...it's a little dangerous for anyone trying to avoid getting wet but it's a great way for you to be able to play water guns!

Shootin Daddy

getting Grandpa

got him...in the face!

ok look at your face in this picture on the left...amazing! 

Daddy I'm just going to shoot the ground just kidding...take down!!

I think you love it!

just a friendly war

I think you might be shooting the dog...ted isn't a huge fan of these guns.

get him!

get Daddy!

Mom...did you see him shoot me, I mean really!

Happy baby

serious concentration...yea golf ball!

first time in the swing, I'm not sure why you haven't been in it sooner, but you loved it!

You giggled and smiled the whole time, you especially loved when your brother pushed you.

Jake, I always love to watch you swing, it's childhood joy in it's purest form. Your smile and laughter bring me so much joy. 

So there it is boys our last drops of summer...no pun intended...or maybe now that I think that's clever...get it drops...water guns...ok

We sure are blessed to live where we do and we try to take advantage of it every chance we get. 

Dear Jake

Dear sweet Jakob, 

You crashed little brothers 7 month photo shoot. I didn't mind, it's not everyday that you volunteer to let me take pictures of you. I think you are generally sick of having a camera in your face. This time in your life is pretty dramatic. You are feeling strong emotions and you don't quite how to handle them. You love big and feel strongly about thing. It has resulted in some pretty tearful time outs and some very special cuddle times. You are such a smart boy. You listen and learn so quickly. I am so proud of you. We have talked a lot about changing your attitude when you feel grumpy. You change your attitude better than me...I'll admit sometimes I choose to stay grumpy at a situation...so we all are doing some growing up!! You have cruised through these terrible twos with ease and more grace than most. I feel rather proud...proud of who you are turning out to be. You are so sweet, so caring and very smart. You have the sharpest wit...which keeps me on my toes. You are very determined, which we are trying to channel in the right direction...with great success I might add. If you fall you get right back up and conquer the task you set out to complete. 

You bring me so much joy Jake. It is a joy to teach you about life and the Giver of Life. I love watching you learn new things and the joy it brings you. You are such a sponge and we are doing are best to help you soak up good things. You have the greatest imagination, you have your Daddy to thank for that, he has helped you from very early on play imaginatively. We pretend your bed is a fort, castle, boat or tent and you just run with it. I love playing with you!

You have such a servants heart already, you want to help with everything we do. I will do my best to always allow you to help even when it's not convenient because you love to help and I want you to want to help in the future. To not just help me but to help those around you, having a servants heart is such a powerful ministry tool, one that I hope to help you foster and develop.

 There are times that I feel like I'm failing or not doing enough for you. I'm sorry if that is ever true. Know that I always try to do my best. You are my everything and the biggest blessing that I never saw coming. I always heard people say, 'Children are such blessings', I always felt...'children are a lot of work'. No offense, but the sleepless nights and constantly being graciously available is tiring. It is easy to loose sight of the goal and purpose of our lives. You being my first child everything was new. I always knew that I loved kids and wanted to be a mom. What I discovered is that there is no greater joy than watching someone that is a part of you grow, learn, explore and love life. Even when you tell me you don't like me, I find joy in knowing that you recognize your feelings and can verbalize the way you feel. I also find joy in knowing that in about 30 seconds you will tell me you love me and say sorry for the way you acted. When you get angry I find joy knowing that you understand enough to feel strongly about a situation. Of course I find joy easily in the times when you are silly, cuddly or interested in learning. Those times are the majority, I just have to remind myself of that sometimes. You have taught me so much, about myself and about who God is. I have seen and experienced his heart more than ever ever before by becoming a mom. For that I am truly grateful. You have changed my life, not always in way I wanted but always in ways that needed changing. You have made me better, more self confident, self aware and generally nicer all around. These are things that you didn't have to try to do, just your existence has brought great refinement to my life. 

Jakob Robert,  I adore you my sweet boy. 

Where ever you are that's where my heart will be....

I love you, I love you, I love you

Love, Mama/so proud of you!

The School Area

I'll call it a school area, although you could call it a school hallway...but that doesn't sound as nice. I really, really enjoy having a special spot for us to do school activities in. We do circle time on the floor out side the boys door and I moved a book shelf next to the desk to store all of our supplies. I got sick of running back and forth from a different area of our house. So here is a little tour...

Main wall...a desk, book shelf for storage, a cable for hanging art work (this week we were studying space), our calendar, a frame that holds the memory verse of the week and some artwork for some inspiration!

This is another shot of that wall...the mirror ended up there on accident but it has been great to keep Jack busy while Jake and I work, it has also come in handy for practicing facial expressions and emotions!

This is the opposite wall...a world map, a magnetic white board and that canvas will soon be a flannel board (just like sunday school way back when!!)

the frame that holds the verse of the week

Did  you know that there are no boy bible printables to be found...annoying. So I made some. Real mean trust in the Lord...so mustaches felt appropriate. 

because dinosaurs walked in love i'm sure...

This is from our first week...All about me...I just loved this so much it had to stay. 

I just love theses jars as storage...they look cute and as functional...perfect!!

See these things that look like big crayons...they are dry erase crayons and are amazing!! They don't smell terrible and they wipe off of just about anything with a microfiber cloth!

There little flashcards are from mr.printables and are so cute. Usually I make most of my own things because I'm never satisfied with what I find but these are great! 

I have really enjoyed putting this all together. It has been some work but I have loved putting together lessons and I'm excited for what I can teach next!!

Jackson is 7 months old

Here it is, we have made it more than half way through your first year of life. I feel a sence of accomplishment, how ever little it is, we are on our way. Infant-hood is behind us and we are making our way through baby-hood. To be honest I have postponed writing this. I have been so exhausted, still not sleeping through the night and I wanted to be in a happy frame of mind. It's hard when I don't get more than 4 hours of sleep in a row to not take out my grumpiness on you. It's not your fault sweet baby. I blame myself but truth be told it's no ones fault, it's just life right now. I hear how other peoples babies, younger than you, are sleeping through the night and I get super grumpy. Like, what have I done wrong? I know a few things that we are going to work on. I have given up trying to soothe you in the middle of the night, I just feed you and it puts you back to sleep, but now we have formed a habit, one that we need to break. It doesn't help that you are sharing a room so I can't let you cry or you will wake up your brother and then we will have a cranky toddler on our hands! We are going to explore a few methods of helping you sleep and soon, hopefully, soon we will all be getting the rest we need. So now that you know what's really going on let's get to you my sweet Jack.

You haven't quite been yourself these past few weeks. You have been pretty cranky. It could be my crankiness rubbing off, some development stuff, teething (oh teething) or any amount of things. But through the grumps you are still our sweet Jack. You have the cutest giggle...boy does it bring joy to my heart. You are really friendly, people are always coming up to you because you smiled at them. You are learning more sounds and that your sounds mean things. You now consistently say, "Hi da" to your Daddy...he loves it!! I am now "MMMMM!!" or "ma" occasionally. The other day we were playing in your room and Jakob ran out...you called after him "ka!!"...it was the cutest thing...I can already hear you changing this sound to 'kob'...amazing how speech develops! Other sounds you make are, "ba, ta, ca, ma, di, da, ti, ga, goo". I love hearing your speech develop...that sounds totally nerdy but I think it's amazing! I once had to take a little boy I nannied for to a speech therapist...I was amazed! There are some techniques I have held on to that have really helped your brother have excellent language skills and I am excited to pass these things along to you too!

Anyway...

You are eating three meals a day with solids. You aren't a huge breakfast fan, you like to take your time and you don't eat very much. This might change after you start sleeping through the night. You really love pears. I can mix just about anything with them and you will eat it. You still love bananas. Since I make most for your baby food I have started mixing in some spices to help things not be so bland and to get you used to things we eat. You love combined foods, some of your favorites are...cinnamon pumpkin and banana, pear and peas, ginger carrots and apple, cinnamon apple rice cereal, all spice butternut squash and cinnamon pear...this tastes more like dessert than a meal and you love it... ginger carrots and mangoes, yams and cinnamon apples. These are all I can think of right now, I love making your food, not just because I know what you are eating but I love helping you explore new flavors. Speaking of new flavors, last night your Daddy gave you a taste of his enchilada soup, your brow furrowed as you tasted it and then you opened your mouth for more...too cute. We are still breastfeeding, about 5 to 6 times a day depending on how many times you get up in the middle of the night. I am desperately trying to wean you to a bottle. You will have nothing to do with a bottle or a sippy cup. I know you won't be nursing forever but I would love to go on a date with your Daddy, I miss those special times. But, we have made the best of things and have had some special stay at home dates too!

Jackson, we have a few nick-names for you...we mostly call you Jax, this is what your brother calls you exclusively. Of course we call you Jack too. And I call you bug...for love bug, cuddle bug, stinker bug!  Daddy calls you bud. It's been hard...the nick-names we have been calling Jake are special to him and so now we have to come up with a whole new set.

You are sitting like a champ, you only fall over when you want something. You still hate being on your tummy. Although this morning you were fussing in your crib and I found you on your tummy...funny boy. You are trying to push up to crawl...I am in no rush for you to crawl. Everywhere I look I see Jakes toys of death for you to grab. Plus you are a big boy I want your muscles and bones to be good and ready. You love your jumpers, they keep you quite happy so I get a few things done. You are standing more on your own...who knows you might go straight to walking...oh heaven help us!

You have been going through a little bit of separation anxiety. I think that's part of the reason you aren't sleeping through the night. You have also been throwing a huge fit when you have to sit in your high chair at dinner. As soon as you get pulled out and are in my arms you are fine. Stinker.

I have to remind myself that this time will pass and I will actually miss having to hold you through dinner. I will miss snuggling you in the middle of the night. It's true...when you are older and independent I will miss the times when you needed me...just me. I am enjoying where you are because these moments won't last forever.

Here are a few things that will last forever...super cute pictures of you!!

Look at that face!!! 

we kept having to scoot you back in the chair...I didn't want a repeat of last months chair disaster!

I had your Daddy spotting...you were determined to stand...

 

little monkey boy!

love that smile

These couldn't have turned out any better...

you are seriously so cute....and now you'll never believe you have been a little cranky, with all these cute smiles!

Jackson, you are such a joy. You have completed our family so perfectly. I am excited to continue to watch you grow and to teach you about this beautiful world we live in. Happy 7 months my little monkey boy!