strawberry picking

JB was in India for 11 days and the pickin' was good out in Pungo so I recruited BB and Grandad to go strawberry picking with us. I figured they would enjoy the fresh berries and watching the kids harvest (plus the extra sets of hands while berry picking are very necessary!)

Jackson furiously picked berries, remembering what I taught him last year and chanting it to himself and others. "Don't pick the green ones. Only the red ones". Last year we took home lots of green berries on accident. This year the berries were huge and delicious, as Rachel can attest to. She literally ripped them apart with her hands and devoured 10's of them. 

J loves to play motorcycle spotting games, and we were in luck on the Pungo country roads! 

4 1/2 year old Jackson

Jackson, you are a delight. You are almost 4.5 years old and are a nice, charming, handsome boy. You are growing taller and more agile. Your sparkling blue eyes shine with your curiosity, humor and mischievous personality. Your brown hair looks good short, leaving us at the barber every 4-6 weeks or you look scraggly. You play hard, with dirty calloused feet, skinned knees and elbows and dirt under your fingernails. Like your mother, you hate wearing sock and shoes and prefer to wear comfy pants. You would live in flip flops, a baggy tshirt and athletic shorts if we let you. You can dress yourself completely (even buttons!), although you usually plead for help from me each morning because you like the attention. 

As we have said before, you are silent J no more. Your loud, high voice echoes throughout the neighborhood as you call out for Luke and Katie or yell as you zoom along on your scooter. 

Things you say: 

Mo-veels: It's some combination between motorcycle and vehicle that you came up with years ago and still use

You say "th" now! As in THREE. We worked on it for a few days and you were very agreeable to learning that correct part of speech. 

"Won!"Whenever you win at a game, let's say UNO since you seem to beat us most of the time, you play your last card and simply say, "Won". 

Mom, this cornbread tastes like skin. Real skin. (Note: my child has never tasted skin).

Likes:

Counting, math, board games, flashlight tag, scooter, running, playing, make-believe, action figures, baths with Rachel, chicken nuggets, flavored water, sprinkler, collecting rocks, TV, organizing items, trucks, I Spy, phonics, fruit, gummy vitamins, friends, zoo, park, flossing, preschool, giving money to church, wrestling with Rachel, Kashi, toys

Dislikes: 

Veggies, art/drawing/painting/coloring, naps, baths, getting your nails trimmed, time out, sitting still

Dinner with Blair, JB's college roommate

You have finally started to understand phonics and recognize most of your letters. This is a fascinating process to witness and I love watching you grow and develop more language. Your teacher, Becca, has really been a gift for you and we are so thankful for how you have responded to her methods of teaching. Whenever you talk, you either find words with the same sound like Ball and Blueberry or you find rhyming words. "There's a car. Rhymes with far and star!" You can recognize more letters and numbers when we are out driving and ear learning that we read left to right, which we practice with speed limit signs since you are much more confident in quickly recognizing numbers. The other day at the library, you colored a picture (!!) and wanted to give it to dad, so I encouraged you to write a D on it for daddy. You told me, No mom, that would be confusing. I'll write a J on it for Jonathan. (Again, note, that we do not let our kids call us Heather and Jonathan). However, Jackson wrote a legible "J" for the first time without tracing and I wept in the library I was so proud of him! Right now I'm trying to reign myself in with my excitement at his language growth and find subtle ways to work on it while keeping it fun, most of all. 

J beating us in UNO

You think that Rachel is pretty great most of the time. In the morning, you want to be the first one into her room, at which time you jump into her crib and hug her tightly. You two eat breakfast together (she only wants to eat your food). You have trouble sharing your toys but every so often will be generous and it usually sounds like this. "Here Rachel, I don't like this toy anymore. I want to give it to you". You will push her in the wagon and like to go down the slide with her. Your favorite time of day is the bath and bedtime routine. You two splash in the bath and giggle a lot. Then, once you are in PJs you two wrestle! Our favorite book is still "Tickle Time" by Sandra Boynton. Rachel picks it out and comes to me saying, 'tickle tickle' and then you jump in the action and we have a tickle fest! Rachel then starts to hug and body slam you around her room. when it's time for her to go to bed, you crouch down, reach out to gently hug her and give her a tender kiss on the cheek, saying, "Goodnight baby. I love you. You are so sweet". It is the perfect end to every day.

Cousins Riley and Piper

Here's your typical day:

You stay asleep/in your room until your green light goes on at 6:30am (what a HUGE success!). You find me, either reading my Bible or still sleeping sometimes and we cuddle for a few minutes while you still wake up. Breakfast typically consists of a bagel thin with cream cheese, fruit, yogurt and milk. We play or watch some TV before school, which is 9-12. You adore Ms Becca and your friends at school. After school we play outside until nap time and attempt to rest/nap from 1pm until at least 2. Some days you are very tired and you sleep the whole time. Other days you play (loudly...) in your room and protest the nap time. In the afternoon we play, outside, at the park, the zoo, the library, wherever! You love having Luke and Katie next door and hang with them most of the time. You play hard, stopping briefly for a snack and water break. You protest coming in for dinner but eventually comply. Dinner takes anywhere from 20 minutes to 1 hour depending on what veggie you have to eat that night and how long it takes you to eat it. You clean up your dishes, and get ready for bath. When Rachel goes to sleep, we play games or occasionally have a movie night before reading 2 books and tucking you into bed. We pray for you, rub your back and give you "kisses and tight hugs". You still sleep with a night light and a dim overhead light on and are protesting your sound machine right now. 

Fun with Fine Motor!

You are organized, type A, have a vivid imagination, play well by yourself and with others. You are a leader. You like structure and routine but you don't like to be told what to do. You are helpful to dad, Rachel and me. You love to have a few, close friends. You are still shy and prefer not to talk to new adults but you are very outgoing with people you already know. You love face timing or being with your grandparents and easily transition to weekends away with them. Every so often, you come up to dad or me and give us a huge bear hug, gently saying, "I love you SOO much." You want multiple kisses and hugs from me before you go to school or I go to work. 

Best friend, Aurelia

As I tell you often recently, God gave you to dad and me to be our son. We love you dearly. But, if we got to choose our children, we would still pick you and Rachel to be ours. You are perfect for us and we are so blessed to be your parents. We love watching you grow and learn and are so excited to continue to see who you are becoming. 

Fun with co-worker and friend, Cass

Rachel and Grandad

Thanksgiving and Christmas preparations!

Each year we have attempted to simplify more and more when the holidays roll around. It's been very evident this year as I have had time to enjoy my family (well...mostly the kids since Jonathan is working long hours to make up for the 5 days off at Christmas and New Years). We had a great dinner with our Community Group for Thanksgiving, celebrating our friendships and Jill and Stephen who moved to CA. Jill and I had grown quite close recently and I am so grateful for our short but meaningful friendship. And I'm so very grateful for this group of people who encourage and pray for one another, laugh together and care for each other, tangibly and intangibly. 

Who put this random Halloween picture in here? :) 

Beth did it again and hosted another lovely Thanksgiving dinner for us and the Speasmakers. The group seems to rotate every year based on JB's work schedule, us in Northern Virginia or the Speasmaker kids and grandkids in town or now very far away...sniff. We enjoyed a great dinner and conversation. The kids even cooperated and played/ate well for a period of time so we could all be hands-free of little ones! Matt was tasked with making these cute little place cards which were a hit. 

Rachel is a joy to be around. She is always smiling and up for a new adventure. She loves to bring you a book and then back up until she can plop into your lap. She gives big hugs, high fives and loves to say "tickle tickle" while she tickles her own belly. She still loves when I am in the house but she will snuggle with Jonathan like no one else. She will lay out on his chest, so deeply relaxed for 20 minutes without moving. Her favorite toys are my phone and anything from my purse. Current favorite books are: Brown Bear (slide-and-find) and Where's Spot (lift the flap book). She loves shoes, baths and hats that belong to other people.

I had a chance to practice with the camera in their house, which has good lighting for much of the day. This picture really sums up Jackson's last year...action figures and his imagination. He currently loves Ninja Turtles and Rescue Bots and will take them on great adventures with our Little People Farmhouse, in our garden, in the stroller, or even in an Amazon box. Playing with him is interesting, since he loves to dictate how you should play. "Mom, pretend that your guy says this. And then pretend that he goes here. No mom, your guy can't do that. He has to move like this". So, usually I sit with him and do as I am told and we have lots of quality time together. That is, when he actually wants to play with me. JB and I have taken back seat to his friends and TV if he's not on restriction (which is often, as of late).

We love having JB around for the holidays and lucked out. This year he was on call Wednesday which gave him Thanksgiving off! He magically got 3 holidays off this winter (but is working like crazy for the whole month of December). We're going to try to pack in a bunch of Christmas fun in the 5 days he's off! It will all start with watching Die Hard....yes, it's his choice :) We've already seen Love Actually, the Grinch, Mickey's Christmas and Frosty. 

I love that J still plays like he did when he was 15 months old...sprawled out on the floor, level with his trucks and equipment. He's such a sweet boy with both a tender spirit and a heart for adventure. 

Because of JB's wonky schedule, we decorated for Christmas on Wednesday before Thanksgiving. This is one of the many joys of having a FAKE TREE! We love our $50 Black Friday purchase from Lowes several years ago. Our pre-lit beauty is still going strong about 3 years in and I don't know that we will ever be convinced to get a real tree. Jackson loved decorating this year and continues to move ornaments around the tree (and play with them...and break some of them...)

We also hosted our 7th annual Elf and Cookies night! The group has rotated each year since we all have more kids and they are all old enough to help now, which makes it tricky to find enough space for everyone. This year I pre-baked the cookies and we ate pizza while we watched the first part of the movie. We took an intermission to decorate cookies and then ate while we finished the second half. Happy and with full bellies, the kids were all home by 7:30! 

Grand Illumination Parade in Norfolk 

1st annual Byrne Family Turkey Trot in Larchmont! 

Things we love (and a very late cruise update)

After a very busy October, life unexpectedly stayed very busy in November. So, here are a few picture updates from October and November. 

We had a great time on our cruise to the Bahamas, just the two of us. The weather was not as bad as predicted, so we enjoyed some lounging, reading, pina coladas at a local rum distillery and lots of quiet time. It was good conversation, good company and a very restful week together!

We started our cruise week with Wine Fest at Town Point Park on Saturday morning. Then, we grabbed our bags from the car and boarded the cruise. not bad.

Honeymoon Cruise 2006 (Left); Bahamas Cruise 2015 (Right)

>17mph winds in Nassau

Here are some things we love:

We celebrated a neighbor's 3yo birthday party at their house one evening. The night ended with me on the couch reading to them about Hungry Sharks. It made my heart full. 

 J got a razor scooter from us for his birthday. He loved getting it and hasn't ridden it at all. He loves to be incredibly fast on his current scooter and doesn't want the learning curve of a new one.

 Afternoons at the park. Siblings. Hugging. Dirty hands and feet. 

 cute baby in baby-ators. 

 pretty blondie at the beach. 

 Trinity Presbyterian Women's Retreat at Sandbridge. Amazing talks by Leigh Ellen Rodriguez, a peaceful run on the beach, good conversations with good friends, yummy food, worship time. 

 Snuggling with my baby. 

 Watching the kids have a blast with their grandparents. This is a rainy day in Williamsburg and coordinating rain coats! 

 They are related but not looking so much alike. 

 A toddler UVA Cheerleading outfit can make anyone's heart melt. 

Finally. I got a chance to ride the rhino at the zoo ;) Outrageous tights brought to you by LulaRoe (I was a hater but now I'm a fan). 

Lastly, something with a happy outcome but a scary day for all of us. Rachel woke up on Tuesday and was not herself. She lay on my chest all day and wouldn't move willingly. Whenever I shifted her position she was uncomfortable. She didn't eat, talk or drink water. She didn't want to be let down. I walked J to school with her in the ergo and then we cat napped on her couch together. When JB woke up, he assessed her symptoms, took her temp (none), looked in her ears (clear) and determined based on her symptoms we should have her checked out. I grabbed stuff and headed to a walk-in sick visit at the Pediatrician's office. However, those don't exist and thankfully instead of waiting to see them at 2pm they sent us right to the CHKD ER where we were able to see a doctor who used to work for Jonathan's practice. It was a long morning for both of us: I had to hold her down during an x-ray, hold her writing head and shoulders while she screamed as they attempted to draw blood and place an IV for a CT scan. 

The x-ray showed some possible swelling behind her throat (where we were expecting to see signs of an abscess) hence the need for the CT to further explain what was going on. However, since 3 practitioners were unable to place an IV, they gave her a mild sedative to assist with that process. That drug started to relax her and she began to move normally again. When the current (leaving at 3pm) and relieving doctors came into the room, they both agreed that she was looking like herself again and we could cancel the CT. So, the plan was to dose her with motrin and monitor her symptoms for any signs of infection, trouble swallowing, etc and if none of those reared their ugly heads, we were in the clear. 

At this point, the working diagnosis, torticollis, doesn't fit for a child of her age so we are really attributing this day as an answer to prayer. We had a bunch of friends praying for us when we were in the ER and are so thankful that Rachel made a complete recovery without any invasive interventions. We've been holding our children a little tighter this week and are grateful for how incredibly healthy they have been until this point. It's easy to take things like good health for granted and forget to be grateful for that each day.