As soon as Jacob turned four he began asking, "When am I going to be four-and-a-half?" It's a big deal to kids to add that half a year. You don't hear adults say, "I'm 42 1/2." But to a child, it's important. Jake plays with a few neighbor kids who are all four. It's funny to listen to them talk about who's older.
For the past six months, I've had to count down until that long awaited milestone: four-and-a-half. You should have seen his excitement when I told him that he is indeed another half a year older. His eyes sparkled, his smile widened, and his feet danced with joy. He asked, "Do I look taller? I'm definitely taller."
Along with the pride of being older, comes added abilities. All day it's been, "Oh, I can do that. I'm four-and-a-half." He wasn't kidding. He made his own half-birthday cupcakes today. All by himself. He literally did everything except measure the ingredients. He even cracked the eggs! (Only had one tiny shell in the first one.) He washed the dishes too! He's helped me in the kitchen dozens of times, and watched hundreds. This was the first time I got to watch him.
My little boy is growing up so fast. I love seeing him learn new things and reach new goals. And now that he can obviously handle greater tasks, I'm thinking it's time for some new chores! Because after all, he's four-and-a-half!
Cracking an egg by himself for the first time.
The only piece of shell that fell in.
He loves using the mixer.
Doing what he does best: making a mess.
Not as neat as when Mommy does it!
He's a fast learner!
I'm not sure where more frosting ended up: the cupcakes or his face!
Happy mother’s day to all the moms out there, but especially to my wife, Erika, the best mother any three little children could ask for. She is more than any of us in this house deserve and she does more for us than she should. Let’s not forget to say happy mother’s day to the mom who raised her that way.
For me mother’s day is a day not only to celebrate the mother’s that are still in my life but also a day to remember the one’s that once were. My mother passed twenty years ago. I was just a young boy and really struggle now to remember much about her. I can remember her walking me to the bus stop the first time I rode to school. I can remember taking naps with her on the couch after kindergarten. I remember her bandaging me up after I took a spill from my bicycle to the pavement. But I can vividly remember her still laughing the day we found out that the cancer was going to take her life. One memory I wish I didn’t have was going to see her in the hospital and seeing all the lines and cables coming off of her, and seeing just how weak she was. I want to remember my mom as the strong mommy she was. I miss her so much despite how little I seem to remember of her. I love you mom and happy mother’s day!
And happy mother’s day to both my Grandma Leaf, who passed in ‘98, and to Grandma Leighton, who went this past year. I miss and love both of you!
Two of my favorite things are cooking and saving money. I experience both when making baby food. It is very simple to do and saves a ton of money. This time, I made peas. I thawed a bag (or half a bag because the other two kids stole the rest) and dumped it in my food processor along with expressed milk. Then, I blended it until it was a smooth consistency. After, I put it into an ice cube tray. Once frozen, I put the individual cubes in a freezer bag. Simple.
There is no wrong way to make baby food. You can use fresh, frozen, or canned fruits or veggies. You can use a food processor, blender, or a masher. You can add milk, water, or formula. You can freeze single flavors, mix them, or mix them once thawed. The possibilities are endless. It is extremely inexpensive and easy to do. Go ahead, give it a shot. Your baby will thank you.
The first warm day we had this year we went for a walk. I made sure to grab two pine cones to make bird feeders. We just got around to doing it. Don’t want to rush into anything, ya know!
The two older kids and I gathered our supplies (two pine cones, two spreaders, string, scissors, a bowl of peanut butter, and a bowl of birdseed) and headed outside. Jacob instantly started smothering his pine cone with peanut butter. Alyssa started eating the peanut butter. She eventually got the idea though and joined in on the fun. In no time, we had peanut butter everywhere! Next, they sprinkled on bird seed. Since Alyssa’s hands were covered in peanut butter, they became covered in bird seed as well. And what do you do when you have peanut butter on your hands? You lick them! She soon realized that she does not like to eat bird seed!
After tying on the string, we hung the feeders in a tree. It did not take long for them to get eaten. As you can see, it was not the birds that got them! Even though we never saw any birds on them (the squirrels stole them, string and all, by the next morning), we still had fun. Besides, it gives us a reason to make them again!
Get up. Make breakfast. Wash dishes. Wash laundry. Pick up toys. Pull cotton ball out of 2-year-old’s nose. Put away dishes. Dry laundry. Get spit up on by baby. Change clothes. Find 4-year-old climbing walls with suction cup. See baby saturated in poop. Spend 10 minutes changing poopy diaper and cleaning baby. Rinse and soak baby clothes. Fold and put away laundry. Drink water. Drop glass. Clean up water. Stop 2-year-old from eating stickers. Find baby covered in stickers. Sit on chair. Discover more spilled water on chair. Change clothes. Stop 2-year-old from coloring on herself with pen. Pick up toys. Vacuum house. Make lunch.
We enjoy having a garden. The whole family loves vegetables, and that’s putting it mildly. All summer long last year, the kids raced to the garden every day to see what they could pick and eat. No produce ever made it into the house. Needless to say, we’re expanding the garden this year. We also decided to start from seeds rather than buying young plants.
The shopping trip alone was an excursion. Jacob ran around the aisle asking to buy everything in sight, and trying to grab each packet to put it into the cart. Since we wouldn’t let Alyssa out of the cart, she bided her time by first taking off her shoes and eventually her socks. Zachary apparently wasn’t impressed because he sat in his seat sucking on his fingers. Leighton and I were a little overwhelmed with all the seed choices. Thirty-minutes later, we decided on a disposable “greenhouse” with individual pellets for the seeds and 50 million seed packets, or so it seemed. Here is everything that we planted: corn, banana peppers, asparagus, cherry tomatoes, pepperocini, 2 different types of green beans, colorful bell peppers, onions, cucumbers, broccoli, carrots, peas, dill, coriander, chives, sunflowers, and marigolds (to keep the rodents away). We still need to buy tomatoes and berry bushes, and we already have strawberries. All of this for our little backyard garden. We’re a little ambitious to say the least.
The kids and I planted the seeds the next day. They had fun watering the pellets and watching them expand. Alyssa helped count out the seeds, and Jake planted them, most of them anyway. Of course, it’s going to take a while until we see the fruits of our labor (no pun intended), but we’re already anticipating it. While licking his lips, Jacob said, “I can’t wait to try that sweet, buttery corn on the cob!”
Wow! Time flies when you’re not paying attention. I started this post last Sunday and have failed to finish until today. So keep this little fact in mind as you read the opening time statement.
Jake took to it immediately.
Over the weekend we went to a birthday party for a friend of Jake's from church. It was not a basic at home with lots of balloons and streamers party. These parents went for greatness and I would say they did greatness. The party was at a place called BounceU. You know those big inflatable moonwalk and obstacle courses that you can rent for fairs and carnivals and stuff. This place has two rooms with three or four in each. Not only were there kids running all over the place, but there were just as many parents running around. I found it fun just to watch the fathers that were coming in and seeing the look in their eyes as they glassed over. It certainly seemed to me that the fathers were just as excited to play as their children were. This was definitely a blast. Of course Jake immediately took to it and began running around after slight hesitation. Alyssa on the other hand struggled a little bit more. She didn’t really know what to do. Her brother had done this before, she had not. It probably did not help that the first bounce we went into had to adults jumping around whipping a dodge ball back and forth. By the time she finally started to get into it the workers from BounceU made the call to “move on”.
Alyssa took a couple of minutes then loved it.
I think we were the only newbie family. As everyone is lining up at the doors we’re huddle in the corner with our three trying to get shoes back on everybody and gather all our stuff. When we finally “moved on” the doors opened to reveal the second room of blowups. We had to remove all shoes again and start over. I wondered why no one else was worried about getting shoes on. Of course we had to collect both of our runners to get their shoes before they started climbing again. This place was definitely fun for the whole family, and it is a great place for a birthday party. We were rather impressed with BounceU and what all they took care of. When you get there they collect all the presents and hold on to them till the party time. They had two staff members with the group the whole time. When you did go into the party room they dealt with all the cake and pop serving, mom and dad didn’t have to worry about any of it. They did all the present handling as well, reading the cards, keeping the birthday child moving from one gift to next, and they even did the gift list to make thank you’s easier. It all went rather smoothly and impressively. I would definitely recommend it to those who can afford it. I don’t know the price but I heard it is a little pricey yet worth every penny.
