Gratefulness in late February

February brought many things to be grateful for:

Seeing family many times this year, including Hana and Libby's cheerleading competition at the TED. The "Sparkle Girls" as J called them, did so well and we enjoyed watching them perform in a sport that means so much to them. 

Aunt Janis, Hana

Aunt Janis, Grandpa and Libby

 Our little girl is eating solid food! She was cautious at first and then really began to enjoy it. Since this picture was taken, I realized that clothes during mealtime are not an option. Naked baby makes for easier clean up! 

 J sustained a pretty large injury that left a scar but thankfully his eye was ok. He slipped on a book on the floor of his room and gashed the corner of his eye on something (or at least that is the story he tells us....that week he had been playing around on his chair/bookshelf/window ledge, which we quickly shut down. However, I have a feeling there was a brief moment of disobedience that led to this scar).  The next morning he woke with his first black eye. I proudly exclaimed, "J you have a black eye. Check it out in the mirror!" and he cried and cried. Poor guy. 

 Jonathan has been super dad with both kids even though parenting in the early months is not his favorite age. Rachel adores him, as you can see below.  They are snuggle buddies.  J loves to be dad's helper with the grill, the yard and anything that involves tools.  They also still love their skateboard/scooter adventures with Lincoln around ODU. It's a spectacle that turns heads of all the college kids!  JB has also given me a little time to sneak away for coffee, sunshine, reading my Bible and blogging. Grateful :) 

 We enjoyed a great visit from Grandmom and Pop Pop! J's favorite article of clothing is PJs and if given the chance he would stay in them all day. He also likes to wear 'comfortable pants', however we only own two pairs of sweatpants and one is filthy and the other is too short. So, jeans it is my friend. He knows how to undress fully and can dress himself 3/4 of the way. Although, he is 'stubborn like his mom' as Jonathan likes to say and pretends like he can't dress/undress most of the time.  I'm really excited for when he can do a zipper and buttons (we're SO close to both of them!) and then my morning routine will get MUCH easier.  The hardest thing about parenting recently is that both kids are still very needy in many ways. I'm trying to find joy in being needed because it won't last forever, but really, it's hard. Very.Hard.

 Rach loves bathtime! Evening is the most difficult time of the day, as most of you know. Our routine recently consists of playing outside (Sunshine and friends!), eating dinner at 5pm, bathing both kids, feeding R and putting her to bed and then story time/bedtime for J. She's asleep by 6 and he's not far behind, at 6:30/45. Then, momma gets a glass of wine while I clean up from the day's adventures!

 I'm reading this book which is really interesting (and kinda nuts at times): The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. It's about going through your home in a very systematic way over the course of 6 months or so. You take out every.single.item. You hold it and ask if it brings you joy. If so, keep it and if not, discard it. Then, you can put your home back in order and maintain the minimalist standard. I'm already very neat, but this has given me new words and ideas to describe what I have been feeling in our house. We have plenty of space in our home but we have accumulated so many things (some of it is the phase of having a preschooler and a baby, but still...most of it was here before the kids!). I don't use a large majority of things. I keep things that that I did love but don't love now. So, over the next few months this is my project. We're getting rid of things that no longer bring us joy or use. And then, with less things there is less to step on, put away each night, fix when it breaks, etc. My mom is probably chuckling right now.  My sweet husband thinks I'm crazy and that I'll get rid of all of his things. I'll let you know how it goes :) 

The Ergo (baby wrap seen below): Useful for taking walks, getting your kid to nap, cooking dinner, going grocery shopping, enjoying snuggles, keeping your littlest close to you as long as possible, cleaning the house, etc.

 Our final snow for the season! We love having these kids next door and we also love having Spring here again. 

 #bjorntobewild #bjornfree #bjornintheUSA #CoolDadsRockTheBjorn

 Our dog used to weigh 72#. Now he weighs 86#. Hmmmm....I think that having an infant in the house could present a problem to his newly-instated weight loss program.  

That's all for now!