Ten on Tuesday

{1}

Has your February been as beautiful as ours?

{2}

As seen on Facebook, Justin has been busy turning this

into this.

More details to come this week.

{3}

Home improvement projects aren't the only thing cookin' around here.

February 2015 will heretofore go down as the month I discovered Chocolate Covered Katie.

Oh. My. Yum.

{4}

This just in: we may be officially transitioning out of the high chair stage.

{Side note: not one minute after this photo Cohen took off into the living room with pretzels in one hand and raisins in the other. He may not be graduating from his high chair just yet.}

Also, pants are optional at snack time.

{5}

Our new favorite book: The Pout-Pout Fish

They love doing the 'blub' part together.

{6}

Parenting moves into a whole new stage when kiddos grow tall enough to turn on/off lights...

turn door handles...

pull knives down off the counter...

{7}

This kiddo's expressions crack me up.

3 months:

21 months:

{8}

Pretty sad over this:

Can you see the crack?

Justin assures me we can fix it, but I'm sad just the same.  I love this stool.

{9}

These two are proving more alike each day.

Whatever Kendry does, Jack is right behind him, ready for his turn.

{10}

This Week's Blessing:

Remembering our journey.

Four and a half years ago I shared this post and photo:

And now here we are:

Thank you, Lord, for every precious moment.

And for three-seater teeter-totters or these boys would be duking it out every time we head outside.

Its a Wonderful Life {Holiday Highlight}

Every January brings a customary greeting between friends and acquaintances, an instinctual question following the initial "Hi" or "How are you?"

"How was your Christmas?"

There are the standard responses you come to expect.

"It was great!"

"Oh, it was so busy."

"Would you believe Justin nearly killed himself stringing up the lights again?"

And then there is my response this year.

I pause. I chuckle a little to myself. I look up at the sky as I try to find the right words, while you stand there thinking: "Jody, this is not a hard question. Did you have a good Christmas or not?"

Ahhh yes, Christmas.  It really was a beautiful Christmas. Indeed, we had a good Christmas.

Christmas is always an amazing and magical time of year.  Children make it even more magical.

Children also make Christmas chaotic. 

Why I have to keep reminding myself of this is beyond me. But each and every December, a part of me still fantasizes about that Hallmark Christmas where I wake peacefully before my children and have a few moments to enjoy my morning coffee before the three of them wander out from their bedrooms, eyes sparkling at the sight of the tree and presents.

Hallmark said nothing about changing dirty diapers before the coffee was even brewing, or refereeing two toddlers as they duke it out over the single phonics toy they just unwrapped. As their fighting was reduced to ear-splitting screams at one another, I found myself wondering exactly why I thought one phonics toy would be a good idea for two toddlers.

{insert forehead smack here}

By the way, I so seldom have to admit I am wrong that when I do - even when I merely type the words - it sends out a little vibration. A tremor, if you will. And just like that, the hubs feels it all the way from the next room: "What's that, honey?  Of course you were wrong. Everyone knows you never buy one toy for two babies."

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

What I'm saying is that somewhere along the way (before Christmas, obviously) I forgot how busy the toddler stage is - how much constant tending a parent must do to keep a child from climbing too high, playing in the toilet, biting their sibling(s), slamming their fingers in doors, pulling down a Christmas tree...  and its that crazy with just one toddler. Throw in another one, plus a few not-so-routine Christmas activities like photos with Santa, a few late nights, some traveling, playing with cousins, and opening new toys (just not two phonics toys) and you've got yourself a wild ride.

A few days before Christmas I finished sewing Kendry's Christmas jammies while watching Its a Wonderful Life. One of my favorites.

If you've seen it, you know the part where George comes home at the end of the day, downtrodden and sure he is about to lose everything. He gets irritated over and over again, until Mary finally says, "George, what's wrong?"

George replies: "Wrong? Everything is wrong...Why did we have to have all these kids?"

And just like that I was laughing and laughing, and then nearly crying.

We really do have a wonderful life.

We adore each of our children, and thank the Lord for them every day. 

But occasionally I convince myself that our holidays, our mornings, our life - should look like that movie, that magazine cover, that blog, and I forget how to simply live in our NOW - and be thankful for our now.

Our now this Christmas was special.  

We watched the boys perform in their Christmas programs, although 'perform' might be too strong a word for Cohen, as evidenced in the video.

We made gingerbread houses with friends.

We rode with Santa on his Harley.

We made silly snacks.

We continued to form our own family traditions - attending Christmas Eve service, making homemade pizzas for dinner and then opening Christmas jammies.

There was a little basketball.

There was a little snow.

There was a lot of extra volume with Kendry's new guitar and the twins' new blocks, which incidentally make an incredible crash against our hard floors.

But our now this Christmas also included some chaos, and that is okay.  That is real.

"Please just sit still for one second...at the same time..."

So when you ask me "How was your Christmas?" I will be real with you. This Christmas was a lot of work, but it was wonderful.

Oh, and I totally made up the part about Justin nearly killing himself while stringing up the lights.

That was two years ago.

Ten on Tuesday

{1}

Every December deserves a new Christmas album.

My pick this year:

Google

{2}

We interrupt this Tuesday for Cohen's first visit to minor care. Thankfully this injury was resolved with glue rather than stitches.

Did I not tell you just yesterday this kiddo was a climber?

Another punch in our minor care punchcard; I'm halfway to my free latte from the hospital cafeteria.

{3}

Every year I am floored by the cost of Christmas cards.

I'm curious. What do you budget for cards (plus postage) each year?

{4}

As Cohen's vocabulary has blossomed, we have referred to Jack as the strong, silent twin.

Then out of the blue he throws a three syllable word at us.

Uncle Dru would be proud.

{6}

What we really do when the boys get too rowdy.

{7}

How is this for holiday eatin'?

A big shout out to my friend Jennifer who gave me this fun (and delicious) idea.

{8}

Hugging because they love each other or because the Seahawks got another win?

Maybe a little of both.

{9}
Our little singer at his daycare Christmas program:

{detailed post to come}

{10}

This Week's Blessing:

The precious enthusiasm of a child at Christmas.

Its magical.

Its contagious.

Ten on Tuesday

{1}

Happy Fall, ya'll!

{2}

Looks like I'm not the only one excited that fall has arrived.

He assured me there were enough leaves for a jumping pile.

I counted thirty-three.

But this mama capitalized his proud moment (and the overcast day) and suggested he play in the leaves for the camera.

I even caught a real smile or two.

{3}

Today was a bit of a wildlife day.

Kendry found a slug.

The twins made a beeline across the road to introduce themselves to the neighbor's pitbulls.

I redirected by giving them their first up-close-and-personal with a horse a few houses down.

Kendry and I discovered a recently deceased snake on our road.

I met a black widow on our front stoop.

{4}

As a mother of boys, there are times you must dial down your fear of spiders.

This was not one of those times.

On a positive note, I created my own dance move in the front yard today. I call it "spider killer". 

Except I didn't actually kill the spider. I maimed her a bit with my broom before flinging her into front yard. 

She's coming back for me, I know it.

{5}

I miss Alaska and its tiny spiders.

{6}

Fun at the fair:

{7}

Gotta hurry and finish up this post cuz I have a date with these fellas tonight:

{8}

Jack the Seahawk
(kinda long but pretty cute)

{9}

The only non-Seahawk jersey we allow in this home:

{10}

This Week's Blessing:

Family.

God has blessed us beyond measure. May we never take it for granted.

Ten on Tuesday

{1}

Never take a properly working refrigerator for granted.

Ever.

{2}

Never take for granted a husband with a surprising knack for appliance repair.

He's a keeper.

{3}

Photographic proof that he is a keeper:

{4}

Less than two weeks until my half marathon, which means this is the toughest week yet.

{5}

This noisy little popper finally popped its last...

...and mommy and daddy slept a little more peacefully that night.


{Justin took a photo of this as proof that these rough and tumble noisemakers do, in fact, eventually break.}

{6}

Speaking of rough and tumble, we sure are getting a kick out of the personality emerging from this fella'.  If I ever catch his 'head down, charge like a bull' crawl on video it is sure to go viral.

{7}

This kiddo has been walking a few weeks now - although I call it wiggling, not walking.

{8}

For those who aren't aware, after a lot of back and forth over the last six months, Justin and I finally decided to wait a year before starting Kendry in kindergarten.  I love knowing I have a little more time at home with my little man.

{9}

Is anyone else as excited as we are that its football season again?

All together now (except for Cohen):  TOUCHDOWN!

What's a brother photo without a little biting?

{10}

This Week's Blessing:

A fun weekend with Justin's family.

Its always a fun time when these six are together.