Tuesday, April 22, 2014

He Is Risen!

Happy Easter!

We enjoyed a relaxing day where we went to the 7:30am mass (in order to avoid crowds and meltdowns). After Palm Sunday mass we decided that the 7:30 am mass was our best bet for remaining in good spirits with the boys. It did mean us waking up earlier than usual and getting the boys up and fed earlier than usual, but John almost always wakes up in a good mood. And we prepped Joseph the night before explaining that we would be getting up early to go to mass. He seemed amenable and the morning went smoothly.

After mass we came home. The boys got to check out their Easter baskets and have an egg hunt while breakfast/brunch was in the oven. I also *tried* to get some pictures of the boys, but mostly failed at that (thanks to a very active 14-month-old).
Easter baskets
This was my attempt to get each of the boys to stand behind their basket.
Joseph loved all the stuff in his basket. John loved the grass.
"Wook 'a my eggs!"
"Cheese!"

This is the best picture I got of the two of them :)
Will even tried to help, but was only minimally successful.
After Easter baskets and the egg hunt we had a breakfast of quiche and cinnamon rolls. We then spent most of the day playing and relaxing with the boys. I also did a little prep work for dinner.
We had a couple friends (who also don't have family in town) over for Easter dinner.
We had a lovely dinner and the kids had a ball playing together.
After dinner I convinced all my boys to get back into their Easter best (minus shoes for all and jewelry for me) for a little family photo (as we now had someone to take our picture). It was, again, difficult to get a good one of all of us. But a couple of them turned out well.



I can't decide which one I like better - John is downright frowning in the first picture, but Joseph's arm is in the way in the second picture. If only I knew how to use photo shop :)

I hope you, too, had a blessed and holy Easter filled with people you love and lots of chocolate!

Monday, April 21, 2014

It's Spring!

We've been busy enjoying spring and watching the boys grow. Most of these stories and pictures are from a month or two ago. I have lots more to share - hopefully soon! - but I'll start with these. Enjoy :)

The first really nice day of spring. Yay for park days!
Joseph has been interested in money and where it comes from ever since a recent trip to the bank. These two conversations happened in the same night.

As Will walks in the door coming home from work.
Joseph: Hi, daddy! Where you been?
Will: At work.
Joseph: Why?
Will: To make money for the family.
Joseph: Ooooh! Wike mommy?

"This is mommy's vacuum..." "Oooooh! I see. How interesting."
At dinner:
Joseph: Daddy work at monies?
Will: Daddy works for money.
Joseph: Oooooh! Daddy works five money.
I'm a "fun mom"... on occasion.
See? So. Much. Fun!
I spent many months stressing about and planning for potty training. I had made minimal attempts to potty train Joseph in the past, but had been unsuccessful. With the arrival of baby #3 only months away I knew it was time to just bite the bullet and do it. To my great surprise and delight it went much smoother than I anticipated.
The first couple days Joseph was pretty upset that I wouldn't put a diaper on him. And at least one time he sat on the changing table crying for a diaper. But his requests for diapers waned, and by day 4 or 5 he was on board and was saying "we're all done wiff diapers, wight mommy?"
Within about a week Joseph wasn't having any accidents and often wakes up dry from both naps and night time sleep! Woohoo! I was a little wary of using treats to coax the potty training process along, but it definitely worked and he rarely asks for them anymore (only 2 weeks since we started).


John loves when I sweep. I think it's one of his favorite things to do - watch me sweep. He especially likes to squat over the dirt pile and search for treasures. I wish I had a picture of it, but every time it happens I'm - you know - sweeping...and trying to keep him from ingesting any of the dirt (although when there are legit pieces of food it's possible that I look away).
Breakfast with Grandpa.
One morning before preschool co-op I spilled half a box of Cheerios on the floor (one of the large boxes. No exaggeration.). Cheerios were everywhere. It was already a frantic morning. Joseph slept late and co-op mornings are already stressful enough trying to get everyone dressed and ready with lunches packed and out the door on time. And I believe I was teaching preschool this particular morning, so extra fun for the morning. It was one of those "of course this would happen this morning" moments. When it happened it was so surreal. I don't think I even got upset. I just looked at it and thought "mmhmm. There is no possible way this is getting cleaned up before we leave, so there's not reason to stress about it."
What did I do? I let John down from his booster seat and let him have at it. Breakfast? Taken care of.
I then went to get Joseph out of bed and let floor Cheerios be his breakfast, too. It actually bought me a little time to get lunches packed without the boys underfoot. Win for me :)
The boys were thrilled. A million Cheerios on the floor to sit in, play in and eat? So. Awesome.

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Caught Off Guard

We've been having a trying time with Joseph lately. He's begun to "actively assert his will" - that's what we'll call it. It's been fairly exhausting emotionally for all involved. It's also been hard to find ways to go above and beyond to love him which he, of course, needs because he's been seeing a fair amount of discipline lately. But sometimes it's hard to love someone who's getting under your skin so much.

And then - then! - he comes out of nowhere and blows me away with his sweetness. This afternoon on my way from the van to our house (approximately 15 feet) I managed to trip - as in I skinned my foot, leg and knee. And it hurt. Joseph saw me trip. He asked what happened then asked in a very concerned voice "are you ok?" I told him I was fine and that I just got a boo, boo. He wanted to see it, so I showed him and he said "It's ok. I'll kiss it for you." Oh the sweetness! He was so concerned and so sure he could help me feel better. I let him kiss my leg when we got inside, and would you know it did start to feel better!

It was the perfect reminder of what a great kid he really is, and how important it is for me to remain patient with him.


And for those who are interested - the bump at 26 weeks (I'm 27 weeks now, but who's counting?).