My Faith and Joy… and Boys!

We recently opened up the pool, so the kids were excited to try it out for the first time this year.  They declared it too cold to do any swimming, but they thoroughly enjoyed splashing around. 

Danny stayed high and dry, but he didn’t seem to mind!

Part motorcycle mama, part superhero, all Becky!

Where’s the best place to showcase fresh flowers from our yard (a.k.a. weeds)?

Why, in a “flower pot,” of course!

I guess that “pot” has many uses!

My adventurers don’t need an exotic location to go bushwhacking.  They just need a bush!

Jimmy, I can’t believe you are two years old.  Part of me agrees with my mom that it seems like you’ve been in our family forever, but part of me feels like it was only yesterday I was looking into your (alert, attentive) eyes for the first time.  Two is a funny age; you are part big boy, part baby.  You want to do everything yourself (“Me!  ME!”), but yet you still need my help with so much…although that list grows shorter by the day.  You adore anything on wheels, especially if it also comes with a loud motor.  You can practically spot a boat, motorcycle, plane, or bus with your eyes closed.  Nothing makes you happier than to play with your daddy, your grandpas, or your sisters.  Your happiest times of day are when you wake up in the morning and see your daddy, and when daddy comes home from work and you get to fly the remote control helicopter with him.  You love the TV show “Bubble Guppies,” but you will happily watch any show your sisters choose.  You want to do absolutely anything and everything your sisters do.  You aren’t attached to any toys unless your sisters are already playing with them.  You carry around not one, but now two soft, minky blankets that my mom made (or “B’s” as you call them), and insist that one “B” be draped over your head and back when you fall asleep. You enjoy being in your bed and I often see you on the video monitor just rolling silently and happily around when you wake up from a nap, playing with your blanket and a few books.  You love to read books (which is a surprise to me because you wanted nothing to do with them for so long, and then one day you discovered a small Thomas the Tank Engine board book from the library and you literally loved that book to shreds, and have continued to adore books ever since).  You’re becoming a very polite young man, often saying your equivalent of please, thank you, please don’t, love you, and sorry (“pee,” “tank oo,” “pee dohn,” “bub boo,” “bobby”).  You like to help put toys away, or help clean the kitchen floor with the vacuum, or help wash dishes in the sink, but you oddly refuse to pick up any food that you spill or throw from your high chair.  You have a fiery temper and express yourself passionately. You have the most kissable cheeks I’ve ever seen.  You are a clown and love to make people laugh.  You greet strangers with an infectious smile and eager, waving “HI!” that brightens everyone’s day.  Quite simply, dear Jimmy, you are a JOY.