January 2014

After nap snuggles

We had the pool all to ourselves at the hotel.

It was a lovely day at the beach!

An amazon.com TP delivery made 45 minutes of good clean fun!

Sierra builds and Jaxon destroys.  The norm around here.

Happy new year!  I'm amazed at how fast my kiddos are growing up right now.  After a few months of some sibling animosity, they have been getting along very well.  Sierra has had a change of attitude and is trying so hard to be helpful.  She's been patient with Jaxon and has been helping me out in all sorts of ways.  She's old enough that sometimes her "help" is actually help!  She did come down with a stomach bug early in the month that lasted for over a week.  She handled it pretty well.  I came down with it a few days after she did and it hit me a lot harder than it hit her!  Her comment when I started getting a fever was, "I'm so sorry you are sick mommy.  I sure hope you don't poop in your pants."  Such compassion!  ;)

Towards the end of the month we took Sierra on a special trip overnight to Lincoln City.  We don't really get time with her all to ourselves, so my parents stayed overnight at our house with Jaxon while we headed to the coast.  Sierra had a blast.  She loved the hotel, that she got to sleep with me, the swimming pool, and mostly not having to share our attention with Jaxon.  We all really enjoyed the trip!

Jaxon continues to improve his communication skills and uses more and more words.  He knows all of his colors now along with his numbers, letters, and shapes.  He says "scuse me" if he burps and his new favorite word is awesome.  He is in a stage of needing a lot more interaction and doesn't play by himself as well as he has in the last few months.  He doesn't need interaction in the same way as Sierra (so much pretend!), mostly he wants me to sit with him and push a car back and forth, throw a ball, or read to him.  He loves to be read to!  His favorite books right now are Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See, a lamb puppet book, and an owl puppet book.  He loves puppets!  He enjoys Baby Einstein movies (lots of puppets) and an alphabet learning show called Super Why.  Other than that he isn't interested in any of Sierra's favorites.  Sierra likes Doc McStuffins which is about a little girl that is a Dr to her stuffed animals, Wild Kratts which is about animals, and a spin off of How to Tame Your Dragon. 

It was nice to not be stuck at home because of snow this month!  We sure are ready for Spring!

December

So excited to decorate for Christmas!

Jaxon could care less!  It's all about his cars.

A big girl and a little girl all at the same time....

You can tell what has dominated my prayers over this last year!

Cutest selfie taker!

Sierra took this pic too.

We don't have any fun around here.

No fun at all:)

It's so hard to get a family pic!

:)

Jaxon loves books! (Another Sierra pic)

Watching the snow begin to fall....

Cheers!

Tree lighting ceremony at Benton County Museum

Too bad that it was too DANG cold to enjoy the week of snow we had!

Well, there were moments of joy.

Making snickerdoodles with mommy.

Playing hospital with daddy.  So grateful to have a healthy husband this year at Christmas!

"Pretty tee"

Christmas morning.

"Santa Claus is coming to town.  But he's not coming down our chimney, that's just silly.  Our chimney is not big enough for Santa so he must just come in through the door right Mommy?"  Then I make a sound like the helium is slowly being let out of a balloon.  I have the hardest time answering Santa questions.  I seriously have an easier time answering where babies come from!  It's not that I'm anti-Santa, but I try to be honest with Sierra and always tell her that she can ask me anything.  I talk about how important it is to tell the truth.  So, "The story of Santa started with a man named Saint Nick....."  The girl wants to believe and I can't make myself come right out and say that Santa is not real.  So I talk a lot about the story of Santa.  So far, that's working fine.  Is it just me?  Am I a weirdo?  Maybe I'd prefer that no one answered that.

December was a busy month.  We had a week of snow and were basically stuck at home because without chains we couldn't get out of our driveway.  Jesse made it to work every day because we do have chains for one of our cars.  It was so cold that the kids couldn't really even enjoy the snow.  Sierra and Jesse did get out one day and have some fun, but other than that we stayed in and stayed warm.  Jaxon refuses to wear his hat or gloves and hates his boots, so he doesn't get to go outside if it's not above 40 degrees.  Stinker. 

Both of the kids got colds just in time for Christmas.  What a pleasant gift.  They were luckily fairly minor sniffles that didn't amount to weeks of snotty faces.  Phew.  We got to enjoy Christmas with both of our families and the kids loved all of the people to play with.  Jaxon is still too little to be very interested in presents, so he really only had one present under our tree (we did the same when Sierra was uninterested in gifts) and Sierra was grateful for her gifts and was VERY excited that she got the weird, stiff, kitty that meows and purrs, just like she wished for. 

Sierra is going through a phase of being fearful.  It makes me sad because she has always been so confident and unafraid.  I wouldn't say that she is timid now, but definitely more aware, and can get embarrassed easily.   She doesn't want to sing in the front at church anymore and the last time she danced up in front of people she closed her eyes so that "no one could see" her.  One of her recent fears is that a bug is going to fly out of the toilet and get her while she is going potty.  A moth flew by her while she was using my parents bathroom and she freaked out.  She's never been afraid of bugs but something about it just terrified her.  So now she always makes me promise that there is nothing going to fly out of the toilet.  She also is worried about monsters at night and takes FOREVER to go to bed.  After 6 trips into our room to give us random tidbits of information, ask questions, or beg one of us to lay with her, she eventually goes to sleep. 

Jaxon is talking more and more.  I love hearing him call Sierra "Sissy" and how he says "Oh Boy!" if he's excited.  He sings lots of songs and is still so interested in his ABC's and numbers.  He's got uppercase and lowercase down to a T as well as his numbers.  He loves to be read to and can really sit and listen to a long story.  He has an amazing attention span for a little one.  He's so sweet and affectionate and I feel so blessed every day to have such loving children.  Some days are rough and I'm tired and grumpy but hearing Sierra say her prayers at night and getting snuggles from my babies before bed makes me feel so grateful that I'm a mommy.  Merry Christmas everyone!  I hope 2014 is a year full of joy for your family.

November

Queen and Princess of "butterflies, bees, roses, and hearts"

Sierra needed a chef hat to help bake cookies!

Happy children, even when they are sick.....

It looks like she's getting into fortune telling, but really they are having a picnic;)

So.much.dress.up.

Going through the Pastega light show at the Fairgrounds!

The kids loved it so much that we went through 3 times! (Jaxon looks thrilled doesn't he)

November was a busy month!  Jesse has been going to school an evening a week since October 1st, taking a class to prep for getting his maintenance electrical license from the state, he spent several days elk hunting, and the kids were sick.  Fun times!  I was worn out and took two days away mid-month to go meet my new beautiful niece, Florence (Kevin and Helen's little girl was born 11/12/13).  The kids did great with Jess, I got to snuggle a new baby without having sore boobies and a complete lack of sleep, do some shopping, and visit with my family.  Yay!

It's hard to believe that a year ago Jesse was in the hospital for seven days battling a micro perforation in his colon and a terrible infection.  Even though this was a trying month it was NOTHING compared to a year ago.  Thank you Jesus.

The kids are growing up so fast!  Jaxon's two year molars are coming in, he recognizes numbers 1 - 9 as well as all his letters, sings twinkle twinkle and row your boat, and started repeating words like crazy at the end of the month. He uses small sentences, "No I not!"  "Bye Bye Sissy."  "I love you."  etc.  I'm amazed at how clear the words are that he repeats and has never used before!  He has his r's down very well and his s's too.  Both of those are things that we had to work on with Sierra, but she started talking much earlier.  Two words that he uses that sound nothing like the word they are supposed to are Blanky (bees) and Milk (I can't even describe how he says this one). 

Sierra is going through a real frustrating time with Jaxon right now.  Everything he does makes her mad some days ("Mommy he ruins everything!"), and she wants to only play with one person at a time and if someone else walks into the room she wants them to get out.  We are working on playing together as a whole family and trying to teach her the more the merrier.  OK, it might not ALWAYS be merrier, but we're trying to make it fun.  She's been very emotional and sensitive.  She worries about people laughing at her and will whisper things in my ear so nobody else will hear and laugh.  I try to explain that a lot of times that people laugh when they like something and are having fun, but she remains very worried about it.  A new level of self awareness I suppose.  It's heartbreaking to see though.  She still isn't shy by any means but does get embarrassed easily.  It sure is interesting to see the different stages the kids are in!  Some that Jaxon goes through I clearly remember Sierra going though, other stages are brand new to me.  They keep me on my toes!  And for the most part, I wouldn't have it any other way!  ;)

October

Dress Up!  :)

Such cool kids!

Sierra helping shovel 4 yards of mint compost with a tiny trowel.

Sierra eating an ice cream cone.  I was impressed that she drew herself from the side!

Outfit #47 of the day.....

Jaxon loves to swing!

Met Daddy for lunch at Avery Park!

Happy pumpkins!

A remedy for our leaf problem.

Jaxon does not like pumpkin guts this year!

My kitty and dino trick-or-treating in downtown Corvallis.

Jaxon is doing so well potty training!  He's going #1 and #2 on the potty and instead of having to follow him around and watch for signs, he's started to tell me before he has to go!  I love that part of the training stage!  It let's me off the hook a little.  There are still accidents but he has done very well.  He's also doing GREAT with his letters.  By the end of the month he could visually recognize all except V and Z.  He tends to turn his head sideways and say N when he look at a Z.  He also mixes M and N up frequently.  But I am so impressed.  He's still not speaking in sentences, but the boy knows his ABC's!  He also counts to 10, says "bless" if I sneeze and says "uuuurch" when I put the breaks on in the car:)  He's at a super fun age!  He's such an affectionate, lovable little boy. 

Sierra on the other hand is giving me a run for my money.  Aside from infancy, four has been the biggest challenge so far.  I've seen my sweet, kind child turn into a hostile and mean kid at moments.  If she gets sent to her room, she runs up the stairs, slams the door, and says things like "I wish you weren't here and daddy was home."  "I wish you weren't my mommy."  "I'm never going to play with you again."  The list goes on and on.  I expected the door slamming to be several more years down the road.  She is very good at saying she's sorry though and usually does so on her own without prompting.  But the ups and downs, drama, and emotional roller coasters every day are exhausting.  Some days I get so frustrated with myself because I find myself constantly telling her no, don't do that, that's not nice, why did you do that, and I really have to make an effort to say some positive things to her.  I'm supposed to be building her up but teaching her at the same time.  Some days I feel like it's impossible to do both.

I read an article this month that really struck me.  It was talking about correcting your child vs punishing.  Kids will be kids.  They will be forgetful, make messes, talk too loud, and be silly.  If they spill their milk or leave their shoes in the middle of the floor for the 10th time of the day, they need can be reminded without being punished and belittled.  We tend to want to say "I've had to tell you 5 times today to put your shoes away.  Why do you keep forgetting."  Well, they keep forgetting because they are a kid!  It happens.  When they do some intentionally that they know is wrong (ie hitting a sibling, lying, etc) then those situations need to be treated differently.  Those are the times for time outs, or sending them to their rooms.  I've been really working on trying to look at her actions and remind myself of the times that she is just being a kid.  She needs to get to be a kid!  This takes constant effort from me though.  And some days I fail.  Repeatedly.  But, I also work really hard on saying I'm sorry.  I'm a work in progress myself.  We are all works in progress while we are on this Earth.  Here's to hoping that tomorrow we are a better person that we were today.