August Fun.

Silas is going to be 6 months old in just a few days. He has been army crawling, getting up on his hands and knees and rocking, and sitting up (mostly) by himself. Toppling over is still a pretty common occurrence, so I'm always staying close by. Another new hobby of his: scooting his way on over to the floor vent, propping himself on hands and feet, and letting the ice cold air blast him in the face. I'm not sure if I should be alarmed by this or not. It seems weird. But, then again, Joe is kinda like a polar bear insisting on arctic temperatures, so the apple must not fall too far from the tree. Silas also responds to his name, and has pulled himself up to a stand one time. It was at Chrissy's house, on this adorable little cube, which is just the perfect height for Silas and Titus to do reckless tricks on. I like to pretend that was a fluke.

Judah is talking up a storm these days. He is putting 4 and 5 words together pretty consistently, and naturally, making us all laugh until we cry. One my favorite things that he does is tell me all the things he likes. It usually goes something like this: We will be rocking wrestling before nap time, and he will start the list (which is always pretty random, but you can sometimes see connections between the items). " I wike outside. I wike Grandma. I wike Maggie. I wike birthdays. I wike cake. I wike swings. I wike church. I wike cheese". What a guy. He has become increasingly infatuated with sweet baby Silas which just melts my heart. And scares the crap out of me. The kid still has zero concept of gentleness. Let me tell you how Judah/Silas interactions usually go: Silas is laying on the floor minding his own business. Judah is playing/jumping off of something/being a renegade. You see him recognize Silas' presence. He zeroes in. Judah sits down on the floor a couple feet away from Silas and scoots his little bottom right over to the baby's head, all the while yelling/growling his name. (if you've heard it, you know what I mean). Silas becomes wide-eyed and clearly concerned for his safety. Smart baby. Judah either says "hold it!" in an attempt to ask permission to hold Silas or just drags him right up into his lap using whatever limb is closest. Yikes. And that's why I can't get anything done during the day, my friends. These boys require constant supervision. :) They are oh so entertaining, though!





Roman is currently obsessed with bugs. Grandma Suellen has got to be loving this (I wish she were closer!) and I'm trying to learn enough to encourage him to keep learning about what interests him. In the last couple of weeks, we have caught butterflies, a caterpillar, a dead cicada, and an ant. He tells me about his love for bugs and how they are "so beautiful". Oh my. Roman is in a bit of a hoarding phase. Well, at least I hope it's a phase. It has been going on for a while now. I know most of his hiding spots though. For example, I couldn't find some papers that were in my Bible {under his bed}, or my hand mixer {under the trampoline in the toy room}. He will make a pile of toys in a chair and sit directly in front of it so no one can reach them. Roman's current favorite book is a compilation of four parables that we got him for Easter. He loves to retell the story of the foolish man who built his house on the sand and the wise man who built his house on the rock. Coincidentally (or not!), that was the gospel reading we chose for our wedding. Makes me so happy every time.





Speaking of our wedding, let's talk about how great my husband is.





The other day I was cleaning up supper dishes while he played with the boys in the toy room. I spoke his name and it all came rushing back to me. In the simplicity of such an ordinary moment, I flashed back to knocking on this very front door and being welcomed into this very home by his mother. I remembered praying with his family right here. Listening to him play guitar in the basement, toasting our engagement at this very table, celebrating our rehearsal dinner in what is now our living room. So much has happened here, within these walls. We started our family here ...before we even knew that's what we were doing. God is in the details. I'm so grateful for the way He has orchestrated all of these moments to create this life that we are living.





And, I am so thankful for you, Joe. I always knew that you were a good man, a Godly man, a generous man. One of the first times you spent an afternoon with my family (before we even started dating) my grandma made a comment about you having a gentleness about you. And you do. It's not always the first thing that someone would notice, because you're strong, a good provider, you're funny and you're confident and you're outgoing. But, it's the gentleness in your strength that makes you easy to trust.

It's the love in your leadership that I have leaned on all these years. The way you encourage my faith and yet challenge me to grow. The way that (three times!) your eyes have met mine in that delivery room...and in the greatest possible pain, as you brush the tears away, nothing needs to be said because I am so comforted just by knowing you're with me.

Every girl wants to marry a man who is thoughtful and kind. One who would lay his life down for his family. I just had no idea I would be so blessed to have one who would pick up groceries for my grandma; one who would fabricate the most elaborate, silly stories to make red headed boys giggle the night away; one who would always put my needs before his.

I didn't foresee any of that when I knocked on this very door.

A Few Letters...

Dear Roman,
You could not have been cuter at your big brother class last night. And I had so much fun on our McDonald's date. I love the way that you got out your "big brother" bag of goodies and showed them to me all over again today...three times. You are so adorable.

Dear Judah,
I love the way you say "my-tar" instead of "guitar". I love that you are a cuddler. I love the way you shout "yah!" when you get excited about something. I love the way you are constantly asking me for food. Tonight after you finished all of your dinner you kept saying "saushage?" Maybe Daddy will make you some for breakfast tomorrow. He has a hard time saying no to you.

Dear Joe,
I'm so thankful that you are patient with me...especially when I'm grumpy and complaining. I love that you totally understand (or at least pretend to!) when I disappear in the evening for a hot shower...and I love that I can hear you laughing with the boys when I come out. I'm so proud of how hard you work and how well you are doing at your job.

Dear DOLE,
Thank you for making the Asian Salad Kit. Its scrumtrulescent blend of flavors is delightful to my tastebuds. I'm pretty sure I could eat a whole bag in one sitting. At the current moment I would totally blame that on my unborn child...because I'm a good mom like that.

Dear Roman,
Please stop waking your brother up during "nap time". Do you know why it's called nap time? You are supposed to sleep. Or at least rest. Thirty minutes is not enough sleep for Judah to have before you wake him up to jump on the beds and wrestle in the blankets.

Dear Judah,
Please stop waking your brother up in the mornings. 4:45 is not an acceptable wake-up time. And pulling Roman's hair is certainly not an acceptable manner in which to wake him. For.the.love.

Dear Mom and Bob (and Maggie),
Thank you so much for watching the boys all the time. It's awesome to have you so close. I love that Roman and Judah get to have a great relationship with you like Jim and I had with our grandparents.

Dear Mom (mom#2 - Suellen :)).
I'm so excited and SO SO thankful that you're coming to visit when Silas is born! You are always so willing to serve. We appreciate your willingness to go out of your way to nurture our family. The boys will be so excited to play with you again!

Dear Roman,
I love how you are totally awed by everything right now. It's such a fun stage. I feel so blessed that I get to watch you experience life everyday. The joy you have in the simplest things is incredible. I want to be more like you in that way.

Dear Judah,
I really can't tell you how much your smile melts my heart. I love seeing how proud you are of yourself when you complete a puzzle. It makes me laugh to see you dancing to music. Seeing you sad literally makes me cry. Like today when you got a HUGE goose egg from running head first into the piano. Let's stick to laughing and smiling tomorrow.

Dear Joe,
Thanks for letting me sleep in on Saturdays. You are so so good to me.

Love,
Me

No Sled? No Problem.

yeah...I'm a little behind.

Remember this post about playing in the snow? From almost a month ago??

Well, I thought it was time that I finally followed up on that. I'm sure you've all been waiting on the edges of your seats in anticipation. Or, more likely, you probably don't remember that post at all . :)

Either way, you've got to see this:

1. Why yes, yes that is a recycling bin and a jump rope. I can actually hear Jeff Foxworthy making millions of dollars off of a new "You Might Be a Redneck..." joke.

2. Joe was so excited about doing something fun with the boys in the snow that he dug around in the garage until he found something to take the place of the sled-that-we-don't-have. Pretty awesome dad. And the boys loved it.

3. As Tony so eloquently put it: "Now it doesn't matter how awesome of a sled you buy...your kids will always want you to drag them around in the recycling bin." Sweet.

4. Priceless memory right here. Love my boys.

Our Weekend

Just a glimpse of what we have been up to:

Friday: Went to Des Moines for a fun night out with Chrissy and Jon. We ate at Taki, which is always delicious, and then went to play some Wii at Chrissy's house. Roman was very excited. He kept saying "Chrissy. Jon. Toys." Those are the main things that bring him joy, so good night for him. :)

Saturday: I spent the morning hanging out with Roman while Joe slept a little bit. We watched Veggie Tales, talked about the zoo, and read some books. The usual. :) Then we went to lunch at Dutch Oven Bakery with my friend Brooke. So good to catch up! Roman was exhausted when we came home, but if you haven't heard, he's been on a bit of a "sleep strike" lately. Good times. Basically, what this means, is that once he actually falls asleep, he's good to g0 - will take his normal 2 hour nap or sleep his normal 12 hour night. It's the falling asleep that's really giving us trouble. You see, as of about a week ago, our naptime and bedtime routine went something like this:

read 2 books, sing two songs, read a Bible verse, say prayers, lay down

Now, Roman would sometime whine a little bit when I left the room, and he certainly didn't go to sleep immediately - he usually talks to himself/sings for a while before falling asleep.

No more, friends. No more.

We have not had any interruption in our routine, but for whatever reason, about a week ago, he just started screaming when we left the room - and will basically persist in hysteria until someone comes back to keep him company.

I have tried rocking him until he falls asleep or laying with him until he falls asleep. The problem with these attempts is that he doesn't ever actually fall asleep. Super. I laid on the floor for an hour with him the other night (keep in mind I am 29 weeks pregnant). Feels good on the hips at this point. :) But, still after an hour, he wanted to chat with me, and screamed when I left the room.

I have tried leaving the door open and the hall light on. I have tried complete darkness. I have tried to just give up on the nap - but by 4:00 he is screaming because he's so tired anyway. I have tried everything I can think of.

On the bright side, he usually goes to sleep a little bit better for Joe. Joe says he can talk to him "man to man"...that they understand each other. I say "whatever works". But, let's just say, I'm a little nervous for nap time tomorrow while Joe is at work. :(

If anyone has any ideas...PLEASE share.

Anyway, after the naptime fiastco, and Joe finally getting Roman to sleep, we went out to rake the leaves that have been in our yard since August. Yep. Good homeowners, I know. But, remember, we moved in November, so about a week later there was snow on the ground and the opportunity has really not arisen until now. Tony has been AMAZING help with everything around the house - I am so thankful!!

After Joe and Tony yelled at me for being pregnant and bending over to pick up leaves, they finally just sent me back into the house. They are so funny - they think I'm handicapped or something - although I wasn't going to question their decision to exclude me from yard work. :) So, I went to Wal-Mart and bought paint so that we could get Roman and Judah's rooms painted one of these days. Very exciting.

Later in the afernoon, my family came over - Grandma, Mom and Bob, and Chelsey and Carter. Roman was SUPER excited to see everyone. He and Carter had a fantastic time playing peek-a-boo, "sharing" (more like stealing) snacks, practicing their crawling skills, and laughing at each other.

When my family first came over, Joe and Tony were finishing the raking. I left the room to get something and I came back to everyone laughing. Chelsey says "Tony just threw a bag of leaves on the roof". I look out the window to leaves raining down. It was so funny. He thought he could throw the bag all the way over the house into the pile with the rest of tha bags. Definitely didn't even clear the roof, so nice effort. :) He's hilarious.

Sunday: This has been a rather lengthy post, so I'll give you the quick version. Went to church, went to lunch at Applebee's with Anna, got to chat with Mike and Joyce for a bit, went home. Got to skip horrendous naptime screaming because Roman fell asleep on the way home - and does pretty well transitioning from car to crib. I taped Roman's "big boy room" so that Joe and Tony could paint. They got the whole thing finished and it looks AWESOME. Such good men at my house. :) Agape (my small group of high school girls). Dinner with some of the girls from my small group. Youth Group.

Such a productive and fun weekend. I only have about 2,957 more things to do before Judah is born. :)

Pictures and Video

Roman loving on his brother

Joe raking and Roman "helping." :)
6 months pregnant!

Roman and Mommy




L0ts of love.

Roman and Daddy

Roman wearing Adam's shoes

Roman playing Daddy's drums...he's a natural. :)

When Joe Talks in His Sleep

HILARIOUS.

If I haven't already mentioned how fantastic my husband is, let me just tell you. Joe takes his role as a husband and father very seriously...and I appreciate him so much. I just love seeing him with Roman - the two of them are kindred spirits if I ever saw some. Already we know that Roman wants to be just like his daddy. You will find him saying these phrases at least 23 times a day: "pway dwums" (play drums), "pway micwaphone" (play microphone - which usually consists of him licking the microphone and then pulling the device away from his mouth in order to actually sing a song). I so look forward to seeing how Judah will bond with his daddy and his big brother.

And speaking of Judah... this well tell you how much Joe loves him already.

Often, when we are laying in bed, not really trying to sleep yet, Joe will talk to Judah - he will put his head on my stomach and talk to the little guy (and let him kick him in the face...) Judah responds a lot to Joe's voice which is really neat to experience!

Anyway, they are clearly already bonding.

So, the other night Roman was just not sleeping well. At one point (about 4 am) he woke up, laughed and talked to himself for a while, and then, about 15 minutes later, just started yelling. Apparently, he was mad that he was awake. Joe, of course, is mostly oblivious to all of this - the man could sleep through a tsunami. I was laying awake in bed giving Roman a few minutes put himself back to sleep (Please God!)

Now, Joe frequently talks in his sleep, but it's usually just nonsense - funny - but mostly not related to anything. All of a sudden, Joe sits up in bed and says "Wait, wait...Which one is that?"
Me: "What are you talking about?"
Joe: "Which kid is that?"
Me: "Honey, we only have one outside the womb"
Joe: "NO! We have two kids!"
Me: (laughing) "I know, babe, but it's not like we can hear Judah crying"
Joe: "Oh yeah."

And then he falls right back to sleep.

He is such a good dad. SO confused...but such a good dad. :)

Sick Boys...

Not fun. Roman started with the flu on Saturday morning...while we were driving to Ames. Took a long time to clean that up...then two more times in his crib on Saturday and Sunday. Yesterday he seemed to being doing better - just not quite himself. Today, though, it seems he took a turn for the worse. He hasn't gotten sick again, but his schedule is usually as follows:
Wake-up: 7-7:30
Nap: noonish...usually 1 to 2 hours long
Bed time: between 7 and 8

He is usually going going going like crazy all day long...

Today went something like this:
Wake-up: 8:30
Nap: 11-11:45 and again from 1-4:30
Bed time: Said "I'm tired" at 6:30. I put him to bed at 7

He has been really dragging all day. Poor guy!

To make matters worse, Joe got sick last night. He doesn't get sick all that often, but when he does, he gets REALLY sick. So, I've been nurse for the day. Any tips, Kim and Kathleen?? :)

Things You Hear When You Live With Boys...

1. Joe and Tony brought home Papa Murphy's pizza and cookies tonight...YUM. I was putting Roman to bed while they were "cooking". I came out to see the oven door wide open, and both of them bent over looking in at the cookies.

Joe: "Whoah, those spread out."
Tony: "Yeah, a lot."

The cookies, for the record, were really good - just a little bit square-shaped. Tony cut them apart with the pizza cutter. :)

2. At dinner, Joe was telling Tony about a couples' group that we are in at church, Love and Respect, which is fantastic by the way! Joe was telling him that he really related to what the speaker was saying when he talked about the fact that men would rather physically die for their family than have to say "I'm sorry". I was kind of laughing about how ridiculous that sounded to me.

Tony: seriously "No, but I would really rather fight a grizzly bear."
Joe and Me: laughing hysterically
Tony: smiles and thinks about it for a while..."I think I could outrun a grizzly."

Cutest EVER

I have to share with you a conversation that I had with Roman yesterday. It is, perhaps, one of my favorite in his lifetime.

Joe and Adam had been working in Des Moines the last couple of days and so Adam was just staying at our house because they were driving together...so I knew they would both be home for dinner and decided to invite Ryan, and Kim too. I had told Roman earlier in the day that they were going to be coming over. He gets so excited about having visitors and will remember and talk about that person/those people all day long.

So, about an hour before everyone is scheduled to arrive, I am cooking, and Roman is playing with the oven mitts and I say:

"Roman, do you know who's coming to see you tonight?"

Roman: "MY DADDY!!!"

Awwww. :)

Weekend 'o fun!

Joe and I had an amazing weekend in Kansas City! I will be putting pictures up soon so you can see the cool hotel we stayed at (it was a restored Hotel, so it had a lot of really neat features). We had an awesome couple's massage, went to the Plaza, ate at California Pizza Kitchen...MMMM!! (probably one of my new favorite restaurants!), visited the restaurant where Joe proposed (aww!), and relaxed by the pool. It was so relaxing and awesome to have uninterrupted one-on-one time.

Also, I have to update you... turns out Action Accents is the place to go to buy a swimsuit. This is the one that I bought. It is amazing. :) Let me tell you about my "AA" experience. HA HA. I walked into the store, Joe and Roman in toe (and really excited to be there, of course), feeling a little anxious. You see, when I go to a store to try on swimwear, I tend to get a knot in the pit of my stomach. Why you ask? Because it is such an overwhelming task. It is not even so much that I am unhappy with my body as it is I am stressed out about finding something that actually covers my body without making me look like an old woman. There are always many colors, shapes, and sizes to choose from and yet, somehow, it is always difficult to find something.

The woman that greeted me was very friendly, approaching with a smile and a "What can I do to help?" I just laid it all out on the line. "I'm looking for a one-piece suit that has good chest support and sucks the tummy in. I want it to be modest but I don't want to look like an old lady. It's very difficult to find a swimsuit when you go from pre-baby to post-baby". She totally understood and went right to work on finding me some options. She gave me about 10 suits to try on...none of which I was a huge fan of and all of which were more than $100. Oh no. This was not looking good. I was panicking...what if I can't find something? This is going to be like every other time...which wouldn't even be that huge of a deal, but we were going on vacation! While she was answering a phone, I convinced Joe that he should ask her if she had anything a little less expensive. She did. She brought back another 6 swimsuits, 3 of which I really liked, but I ended up going with the lovely brown number. :)

Success! The saleswoman made me feel really comfortable, and complimented the good things about my body, but she wasn't going to lie to me about the ones that didn't look good. All in all, it was a fantastic experience.

Spring has sprung...

New babies, Roman's first trip to the zoo, bridal showers, and more spring fun are upon us! We have had so many fun events in the last couple of weeks, so here is a link to my facebook photo album because I thought it would be easier than posting a million pictures directly on this page. :) There are a whole bunch of cute pictures of Roman and Joe and me at the zoo, Kim's bridal shower, and Sarah's new baby, Clare! YAY!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2210719&l=1d425&id=16916593

In other fun news, I have the best husband ever! :) I mean, you probably already knew I felt that way, but this weekend Joe is taking me to Kansas City (it's my belated Mother's Day gift!) So fun huh? We are staying at a resort and spa and we will go to the plaza (where we got engaged), and just have a fun weekend together! Joe's sister Mary has moved back to Iowa so she is going to watch Roman for us. I am so excited! I have to find a swimsuit first, though...that I am not so excited about. To me, swimsuits are the worst item of clothing to have to shop for. But, on a positive note, Chrissy told me that she got a really good one at Action Accents in Des Moines...might have to try that.

Roman is finally not hating grass, so it has been a blast to watch him run around outside. He loves to chase bubbles and kick his bouncy ball around the yard. We just had the living room baracading system perfected...not sure you can baracade a yard without a fence, though, so we have to do a lot of chasing.

I hope you're all enjoying spring as much as we are!!