Family updates

Like I mentioned before, I have been lacking the motivation to write much in my blog posts. And that continues... but with Pete's prompting, I thought I'd do an update on each of us...

First, Austin... 

 Not sure why the pics are sideways... annoying. Anyway, he loves ham. That's what he's eating in this pic. He also loves yogurt, microwavable instant oatmeal (not the legit stuff... spits it out), meat, zucchini, ice cream, and sandwiches. He will basically eat anything we eat... we know how to make things look appetizing. But if you put something on his tray he doesn't want, he will viciously swat at the food until it is no longer before him.

 We are done nursing at last. He was a stubborn one, and we had to endure many days of screaming fits when I only offered him a bottle of milk. Now he enjoys the bottle and is used to it. We have also worked on sleeping through the night. Maybe it's my own fault, but neither boy has been able to sleep through the night without some Ferber-izing. Now we have Austin going from 7pm-5am, at which point he has a bottle and then goes back to sleep for another hour or two. I'll take it, though I look forward to not having to see the clock in the 5am hour anymore. He is taking up to 10 steps at a time now, but only when prompted. Crawling is still his main form of transportation. He is getting quite skilled at mounting the riding toys we have. All of a sudden, he now hates baths. Not sure why, but could have something to do with the fact that Parker is a wild man in the tub. I think he got spooked. Austin has only gotten more cuddly and we love our before bed lullabye and cuddles. He has also gotten more clingy lately, but I'm thinking that's due to his incoming molars. That kid has TEETH, and a lot of them. He is a drooly mess most of the time, but I think things should be improving soon, now that the molars are almost in.

Here's Austin with my dad, Glen, who Austin gets his middle name from.


We love that boy and he is babbling constantly, and able to say, "mama, dada, papa, cracker, car, ball, Parker" and he points to everything. He loves when I roll down the window in the car and he can wave. He loves Parker and is very patient as he gets knocked over regularly.

Parker... that kid. He can be the sweetest child, and the most challenging child. He will randomly say, "I love you mama." Or pray that "daddy will drive safely." Or he'll play trains with Austin forever. It's sweet. But he is SO active and exuberant, that he is often unaware of how his actions affect others. For example he'll be racing around with his cape on (he LOVES his capes but it makes him super wild.. so we have to limit where he wears it), and he'll just knock over Austin. Or he'll demand that something happen right away because he's so excited, but then lose his mind when his desires cannot be had at that exact moment. I really struggle with curbing his tantrums before they get out of control, but I know it's the age and he'll get better.

He has an amazing vocabulary and loves to talk. He loves the word "sure," as in, "I sure do" and "it sure does."When we asked if he wanted Austin to sleep in his room, he said, "Um.... I think it'd be too squishy." He thought we wanted them to sleep in the same bed. He still takes a good nap in the afternoon, which affords us both a nice rest.

 Parker loves playing. He loves all kinds of toys and is wonderfully imaginative. He loves going to preschool and doing art and other hands-on activities. He loves singing and is very good at learning words. He loves to perform. We attend a weekly music class with my old voice teacher and it's such a joy to have my former teacher now teaching my kids. Austin also gets a lot out of the class and does the  hand motions when I play the cd in the car.

Parker loves cereal and would eat only that if we let him. He also treasures Wednesdays, when he is taken by Grammy to preschool and then gets to hang out with her all day while I teach Kids Sing in the afternoon. It's amazing.

Jessica... I love getting to be at home with the boys while still pursuing my musical interests. Kids Sing has been a great success. We have a preschool group which my sis in-law teaches and that has about about 10 kids. And the K-3 group meets on Wednesdays and has about 20 kids. I love  teaching the music and dances. We begin our performances this weekend and they are going to do great. We are also planning two weeks worth of musical summer camps, and I am really looking forward to that. The families seem to really love what we are doing, so we'll keep at it. Parker will be able to participate in Wee Sing (the preschool group) next year. I also enjoyed reviewing applications for U of M again this year, but I'm also glad it's done for this year. It's too good a gig to give up, but it is definitely a lot on my plate. But I'm thankful that my boss was willing to conference call me into meetings (at 6am... 9am EST). I plan to continue that as long as they will let me.

Aside from those things, I love where we live. It's a great location and community. I love our apartment and we have nice neighbors. I works with the kids at church which is really fun and I have been trying out some new recipes. Sometimes I look at blogs/pinterest and feel lacking in talent and other abilities, but I read a great quote about how in life there is a season for everything, and we don't have to do everything we want to all at once. God will provide the right time to grow in all the areas that need growth. So while I have dreams of improving my cooking, crafting, photography, parenting, music, etc... I don't have to perfect all of those things RIGHT NOW! I can rotate my dreams:)

Pete... he is certainly putting in the long hours right now, but we are thankful for his good job and the nice people he works with. It's hard when he goes a few days without seeing the kids, but he does a great job making our time together meaningful. I wish there was something I could do to make his load lighter, but I am helpless in that regard (aside from making sure lunches are packed and shirts are ironed). I am super proud of him because writing used to be something he struggled with, namely spelling. But with a concerted effort, he has made writing into one of his strengths and he now does it for a living! I am so impressed with how far he has come in this area, and it goes to show me that with determination you can improve any area of your life.

When he has the chance, he likes to go to basketball before work and soccer on Saturday mornings. He is working with the 14 year olds and scouts at church, and he's really great with that age.

That post good enough, Pete?