My Faith and Joy… and Boys!

How can I not be motivated with this exercising buddy?

Today we had a lot of this:

And since I’m a cold-weather wimp and worried I might lose a child or two if I ventured out into the snow, we stayed inside and did a lot of this:

And this:

Jimmy: “The dump truck’s in traffic!”

And this:

Susie: “Umm…I drew on my lips!”

And this:

Danny: “Cheese!”

We hope wherever you were today, you were warm and surrounded by people who look cute in winter hats!

One of my favorite things about Susie is her creative determination; that is, when she gets an idea into her head, she runs with it, and doesn’t let a lack of supplies get in her way.  For example, the girls brought home a great Fancy Nancy book from the school library about how to throw tea parties (by the way, I highly recommend that book series for anyone with a “girly girl” or two!).  Naturally, Susie wanted to get right to work within minutes of reading the book.  She started with the place cards; the book suggested sticking a lollipop in a marshmallow and gluing a name to each one.  We didn’t have any lollipops, so she used toothpicks and tape:

Next, the book described how you can make your own placemats in the shape of butterflies out of cardstock and jewel stickers.  No cardstock or jewel stickers?  No problem!  Enter printer paper and coins – and more tape!

Your mom doesn’t stock her cupboards with tea-party-friendly ingredients?  Just serve popcorn, grape juice and hot chocolate!  And don’t let the lack of cloth napkins interfere with a fancy table arrangement!

And in the absence of a house full of guests, just serve your brothers!  You’ll never have more appreciative eaters.  🙂

The girls agreed  with me that it was the best tea party ever. I can’t wait until Susie plans her next party!

It’s been way too long since I’ve updated on Danny’s developmental progress, so here’s a quick look at how’s he’s blessing our lives these days!

He’s probably the most verbally advanced of our kids at this age, as he tries to repeat almost anything you ask him to (with varying degrees of success).  Here are the words he’ll say without a prompt:

Mommy

Daddy

Bubba

Pappy

Baby

Puppy

Cheese (when getting picture taken)

Hi

Bye

No

More

Please (he’s working on this one)

Up please (I heard this one time?)

He sleeps at night from 8pm until 7:30 or 8 am, with one occasional wake up where he’ll fuss himself back to sleep or need a back rub to quiet him down.  He naps from 12:30-2:30 (I’m working on having him stay in bed til 3). Now usually wakes up happy in the mornings (which is a HUGE change for him!) He wakes up from naps happy about half the time.  He absolutely adores sharing a room with his big brother. He went from crying almost every time we put him down to sleep to almost never crying after we made the switch.  He doesn’t have any favorite toy or blanket or use a pacifier.  Throws anything out of his bed I try to put in with him.

He eats well with utensils, drinks out of straw cups or open cups. Eats everything. His favorites are spaghetti, pizza, clementines, tortillas, broccoli, strawberries, and anything sweet.  He has lots of teeth – I’m honestly not sure how many! He has everything except his 2-year molars.

Loves to sing, dance, climb up and then go down the slide by himself, copy his siblings, throw balls.  He has very good hand/eye coordination and loves to put things in/out of objects. Plays well by himself sometimes or beside siblings. Doesn’t like books (yet!).  He gets very excited whenever someone is talking on the phone and he desperately wants to talk too and push the buttons.

He has a fiery temper and lets everyone know it!  He doesn’t bang his head on the floor in frustration as much as he used to, but he still yells "BAH!" with a scrunched up nose and outstretched arm at anyone he deems a threat to his food, personal space, or playthings (which happens much more often than his dad and I would like – we’re working on that!). 

He loves to cuddle. He loves to nuzzle his head into my neck when he’s sleepy. Anytime I hum a few bars of his lullaby song, he lays his head on my shoulder.  He gives kisses and tries to comfort his sisters when they’re upset by rubbing their heads and babbling softly to them.  He’s just started picking up fuzzy stuffed animals with a thrilled squeal and cradling them into his face while he rocks happily side to side.

He had the best belly laugh ever. He loves to be tickled and roughhouse around with his dad.  His dad and his Pappy are his favorite people, especially when either of them are on a motorcycle/tractor/ATV.  The kid is fearless and loves to go fast!

He has a smile that melts my heart every time.  We are so blessed by him!