we're graduating from the club...

...you know, the two kids under two club. Well, on Monday, we will officially have a two year old, and I've got to say, I'm really excited. I know know, terrible twos, blah blah blah. But, this little lady of mine is becoming such a fun little person, and sometimes I just look at her in awe and wonder where she gets some of her stuff. Sigh. And, J. Oh, baby J. He is dreamy. Just like with his big sister, each stage keeps getting better.

We like to stretch birthdays out around these parts, so today we started celebrating S's big day. She and I went to the farmers market, where I let her pick out a cupcake...for me to eat later. Ha! The lady selling the cupcakes was so excited that it was her birthday, that she let S pick out a little fondant butterfly to take home. We let S have it after dinner and she loved it. After Pato took his morning nap, we went to Jamestown beach. It is an absolutely perfect little beach.

Her new favorite is playing ring-around-the-rosies. Over. and over. It's looking at this picture above that definitely convinces me that one of the best things we've ever done for S was give her a little brother.

We had a perfect day together and look forward to even more celebrating :)

J: Eleven Months

He:

...has eight teeth.

...started walking.

...says "pat."

...drinks from a straw.

...is the messiest eater.

...gags himself way too much.

...loves apples.

...poops at least five times a day. Wish I were kidding.

...is the greatest shopping buddy.

...dances.

...has the softest most kissable cheeks!

Oh, and yeah. Here's another first:

...falling down the stairs.

Mommy's fault. I forgot to shut the baby gate and this guy got this good looking cut and bruise on his forehead. There were tears (and not just from him.) As I was cleaning the blood from the cut in the bathroom, he started to cry. S was watching us from the doorway, and covered her eyes and whimpered so sadly for her little brother (quivering lip, and everything). I wanted to hug her and say, "Oh, I love him, too, sweetheart."

And if you'd like..!

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

sigh

I tell ya...this girl has been all about the attitude lately. She cracks. me. up.

The thing is she knows she's funny. She thinks she's hilarious. My word do I love this stage.

Had to document this because it was one for the books. The lady checking us out at the end said (and I quote) "They are the best behaved kids I've seen all day!" Now, I could say something like "Oh, well maybe they are the only kids she's seen at all." But, I've got to give these guys credit. These two kids were such gems at the grocery store. S had a great time chatting away and repeating the names of everything we bought and she even found the beans that I couldn't for the life of me find myself. And J only tried to pull out sister's bow from her hair about five times.

Two successful grocery outings in one week? Maybe we'll just start hanging out there.

yeah, probably not.

little miss thang

This girl decided to try out being thirteen for the day. Picking out all her accessories, not being afraid to say no to her brother...like she'd been doing it for years. And, not only did she insist on being one of those people that wear their sunglasses indoors, she also insisted on wearing them upside down the entire time we were out running errands.

Speaking of running errands...today I realized that I'm at a really good place. I had an a-ha mom moment. The thought of taking both kids to the store no longer requires several hours of mental prep on my part. It's not scary anymore. S no longer yells at strangers and J is just such an easy going sweetheart. Today at Trader Joes, S loved putting our groceries into the cart, wandered ahead of me without being afraid, and even danced as we waited in line. The shoes she was wearing today have little zippers on the back that make jiggling sounds as she walks. She LOVED that, so she just stomped those little feet of hers. Oh, and waved and said bye bye to the grocery attendants. I think a lot of it has to do with their ages. S is not so much a baby anymore, and J isn't a tiny baby that needs so much of me.

Today I felt like I was doing more than just making it. I've been setting daily goals for myself, and I've found that doing this has made me feel like I am more than just surviving our every day. I feel like I'm actually doing stuff. Doing more. And it feels so good. 

*On an entirely different note, and for recording purposes... S's new thing to say is, "Hi, guys!" When she wakes up from a nap, "Hi, guys!" When we pick up Dada from work, "Hi, guys!" I think she got it from me. I often say, "Hi, guy!" or "Hi, my guy!" to J, so I think she may have picked it up from there.

And J may very well be the messiest eater on the planet. He insists on chewing AND touching his food at the same time, every time by shoving his fingers in his mouth after every bite. Often, he'll push his food out with his little tongue, feel his food, put it back in, chew it, then stick his fingers in his mouth, then maybe swallow. Ugh! Tonight, I gave up trying to get more food in him and just have my fingers crossed he doesn't wake up in the middle of the night famished.

whole buncha random

Took this picture after he woke up from his nap. Baby man always wakes up in the best mood. Silly, smiley, cuddly. Oh, how I could just eat him in one bite. On this particular day he was probably so happy because...

...he's been practicing walking! This was the best shot I could get. He's been walking a few steps for a little bit, but he broke his own record by taking six steps all on his own. To reward him, I smother him without a billion kisses. S wanted in on the action, and thought it was fun to walk in between C and I. Of course, we praised her and told her what a great walker she was, as well.

Our favorite vendors weren't at the farmer's market today, but we did walk away with several ears of corn. I have high hopes, but I know it won't even compare to Granny's in Utah. Since we had more time on our hands, we decided to go see if the horses were out. No dice. S kept saying, "There it is!" I had to keep telling her that nope, the horsies weren't out today.

My favorite house in CW. S tried for a solid five minutes to unlock the latch and break in. I know girl, I'd love to live there too. (If we had zero possessions and slept in bunk beds.)

Went out to lunch for some Salvadoran food. S thought the Latin food market next door was the most fun place on the planet and loved the pinatas hanging from the ceiling. And can I take a second and point out how grown up S is looking these days? She is such a little person and I love to see where her imagination takes her.

These two have been taking baths together more regularly. While S is not a fan of getting water in her eyes, she has no problem pouring it all over little brother. Good thing he's such a trooper. He's just happy to have his favorite person ever pay attention to him.

Took the kids to Jamestown Settlement before their naps the other day. I'm loving that we are finally getting into the season where there aren't as many tourists. 

One of my very good friends gave me this book before she moved away. (Yeah, she gave ME a going away gift? Isn't it supposed to be the other way around? Gosh, I miss her.) My mother-in-law has always said that there's no better gift than a book. Our kids will be bestowed with a plethora of gifts someday with all the books C has. How she was able to pick a perfect book that I loved comes as no surprise. And so, that night, I resolved that I would get back into reading. As much as one can chasing after two kids. And I'm pretty excited about it.

First up was My First Ladies. I've never read a book about any of the First Ladies, and this one really gives us a fun look into their personalities and little quirks from the Chief White House Florist, Nancy Clarke.  Did you know Nancy Reagan wouldn't allow any blue and purple flowers during the entire time she was in the White House? If I had to pick one to work for, I'd pick Barbara Bush. That lady was funny. Had no idea she was funny. Who knew?

Well, not a very exciting post. I've been trying to soak up every moment of having a not-yet-two-year-old, and a not-yet-one-year-old. It's like I'm trying to bottle every bit of their baby-ness. Has anyone figured out how to do that yet?

enthralled

This photo was taken yesterday during church. (No, we don't normally sit around taking pictures during church...) The primary children went up to the front to sing, and S was absolutely enthralled and that huge smile did not leave her face for a second. Someday, she and J will be in primary and will be singing sweet sweet songs and I will be sitting in the crowd bawling my eyes out.

top ten

Today was so. great. This post will be a "top ten" of my favorite things from our day. In no particular order.

1. Whenever we're home, S and I go to the farmer's market for a mama/daughter/girlfriend/besties date. We had so much fun chatting away together and sharing a croissant. (And I taught her how to say it properly, merci beacoup.)

2. A random lady decided to be my new favorite person by saying S looks a lot like her mama. I could've hugged her!

3. On the way home, S danced like a crazy lady to Black Eyed Peas. We listened to the song "Don't Lie" and she shook her finger and sang, "No, no, no, no!"

4. We visited our friends down the street and basked in the low 70 degree glory. We played on a wooden bridge that they have in their backyard and were informed that it was a "British ship." Wink wink. Oh, how I wish it were so and that we were sailing to England. Okay, maybe not sailing...but stick me on a plane. Please.

5. We. Found. Pupusas. IN Williamsburg. Well, C did anyway. Williamsburg is seeeee-riously lacking in the good food department, and it looks like we may just survive the remainder of our time here in VA. We may need to be rolled out of here, however.

6. J got some new kicks. They are kick-awesome. And he looks kick-handsome in them.

7. J took TWO steps on his own. Whatt? Before people start thinking that he's going to be walking any day now, you should know that this boy wants to walk before he even learns to stand. It's a problem. He can stand for about two seconds before he just wants to take off. Slow and steady, baby. 

8. S learned another word today. "Sientate" which means "sit down" in Spanish. She liked using it over and over again this morning while we were out. 

9. S saying "Oh crap." She learned it from one of her parents. I won't say which one because that would be mean. But, I'll tell you it wasn't her mother. (In his defense, I probably would have said the same thing had I found her peeing on the floor.)

10. The ivy monster that had turned our house into something out of Where the Wild Things Are is gone. Turns out there really was a house under all that stuff!

Happy weekend, all!

We are all alive and well and happy to be home. It's definitely a much slower pace over here, but very needed in this little family of ours. Especially as we all try to get over our colds that we so lovingly shared with one another.

Oh....and guess who has been pacifier-free since I last posted about it? This chick!

the jersey shore and a sleeping baby

What better way to spend our last Saturday in New Jersey than by driving down to the shore. This was the first time we've gone as a family, and J's first real time on a beach. Our beach experience in England was too cold and too short to be called a real beach experience, I think. We didn't know how Pato would react to the sand, and we were pleasantly surprised when he dug right in. Sand is a food group, right? This boy ate a couple handfuls. Easy.

So sleepy but always so sweet.

S also loved playing in the sand. I tell ya, these kids really do have Jones blood running through their veins. I'm sure their Poppy will be so proud.

How cute are these two? She is the apple of his eye.

And how lucky am I to be their mama? The luckiest. Tell myself this every live-long day.

And one last note about this little love bug...

I've never been a rock-to-sleep mama, and normally I nurse J before bed and then tuck him in for the night. Because of our extra tiring day at the beach, he totally zonked out as I was feeding him. Instead of putting him right down, I thought to myself, "I'm going to hold you for as long as I please and watch you sleep." I loved watching him lay in my arms and feeling his body go limp. I loved watching his peaceful face because I know one day, he will lose his baby face and he will grow into a man. One day, he will be taller than me and won't want me doing his hair. He will probably get slightly annoyed when I call him thirteen times a day. (Who am I kidding? He. Will. Love. It.) But for now, he is my little baby and I will watch him sleep and I will go in his room and make sure his blanket covers his feet ('cause he's got Mama's feet, and mine are always cold.) 

It was almost cool enough for a hat today (!) so we pretended it was fall around these here parts. And boy did it make me happy.

Dinners don't normally look like this. But today, it was an "eat-your-carrots-out-in-the-driveway-while-it's-drizzling" type of day.

Other things to note...

As we said our nightly family prayer earlier this evening, we asked S to please fold her arms as we usually do. Right after she folded her arms, she bowed her head and began to whisper quietly. I'm pretty sure she was pretending to pray, and it was her first time doing so. My heart almost burst.

J has been using his walker for a bit now, but today he went all the way up and down the hall by himself. I need to figure out how to post a video up on here to share. I can tell that he so wants to ditch the walker but I think he's got a couple of months before he's ready.

Yesterday my mom took S to a toy store and told her she could choose any toy she wanted. All she wanted was a purple magnifying glass. (I think she thinks she's Dora the Explorer.) She goes around with her magnifying glass, bends down at something, and mutters, "Noooo. Oh noooo." Now, had that been me when I was little, I would've been ALL over the baby doll section. And the tea sets. I threw awe-some tea parties back in the day.

S has been doing a better job at sharing with baby brother. Today I asked her to share her magnifying glass with him and she threw it at him and ran away (it didn't hit him.) The same with the other half of the banana she wasn't going to finish (that did hit him.) That's progress, right?