splish splash

One night a couple of weeks ago, someone else was in the bathroom and Josie was desperately in need of getting cleaned up from head to toe, so we improvised. She loved it so much, that now she asks all the time to take a bath in the sink!

backyard bunnies

They're back! We have baby bunnies in the backyard again this year. Thankfully, there are only 6 of them, not 15 like last year! The kids love to hold them...poor little things.

after bath shenanigans

Josie just doesn't want to stay inside, especially since we got the play house from Grandma and Grandpa! We have it right on our deck. The other night, after her bath, Josie disappeared right out the door before I could even get her pajamas on. Here is where I found her...peeking out of the door:)

May birthdays!

Brendyn turned 10 on the 10th of May, and Kaden turned 9 on the 31st. Brendyn's cake was a 'dirt' cake, and Kaden's is a Nintendo DS. They were both surprised with new DS Lites:) Happy birthday, kiddos!

a day at the zoo

Here's a slideshow from our trip to the zoo yesterday...

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two years ago...

Two years ago, our little Josie was born...two very short years ago. The time has gone by so fast, but I've enjoyed it so much, every minute of it! As we've gone from teething rings and bottles, to dollies and slides, I've soaked it all up realizing how precious this time was. While a tiny part of me is a little sad that my baby isn't a baby anymore, a very big part of me is so happy and proud of the little girl she is becoming. She is a loving, curious, talkative, energetic, cheerful, and sweet little soul. She is our daily reminder that miracles do happen and we thank God every day for her. I don't know what we ever did without our little Josie! We look forward to many years of watching her grow, learn, and live...

Here are a few pictures of her birthday...

booga

So I went into the bathroom this morning and here's what I found! When I said, "Josie, why did you do that?" She gave me a one word reply..."booga". Well, that answers that!

catching up

Here's what we've been up to...

• Kaden continues to do well in Tae Kwon Do! He just got his "high yellow" belt (yellow with a white stripe) at the end of January...and he's still loving it. Go Kaden!
• I brought Kaden to a Valentine's Day dance at his school. Wow, was that a busy place to be, but he had a lot of fun dancing with his friends.
• I am still doing child care at home and it's going very well. The kids are definitely growing closer to each other, and to me as well. They get so excited to see each other, and I love the little "I love you Julie"s that I hear on occasion. They really are all sweethearts. Oh, and the parents are wonderful to work with, too. Really, it couldn't be going better!
• I've been watching a lot of Joyce Meyer lately...I find her very inspirational!
• Josie is adding new words on to her vocabulary every day. She's now 21 months and growing up so fast. Her hair is getting long, too and every day she looks more like a little girl than a baby. Although I asked her yesterday if she was a big girl or if she was still my baby. She pointed to herself and said, "baby Josie". Good answer:)
• Jordan is doing his 30 hour famine at church this weekend. Yes, they go 30 full hours without any food! The kids don't have to do this, but it is an option and can fill a requirement for confirmation. They have an overnight lock in with lots of fun activities planned...and all the juice they want. Then, of course, they have a feast planned to break the fast after the time is up. It makes me nervous, but I know they take precautions and have food there if needed...I'm thinking of doing it with him from home.

Well, that's about all I can come up with for now...I'll try to be a little more consistent with updates!

my son, the teenager

So somehow, it happened! My first baby turned 13 on the 20th! Does that make me feel old? You bet it does, but most of all I feel very proud. Jordan is a very good kid. He has not given me a reason to fear the teenage years at all. He has straight A's in school (he's in 7th grade), he is a very considerate friend, he's happy and outgoing, he's respectful, kind, and responsible. I am very lucky to be able to say that he has made being his mother very easy! I have enjoyed every day with him and I look forward to many more. I love you, Jordan!

valentine's day

We had a Valentine's Day party on Friday (the 13th) with all the day care kids, and Jordan and Kaden (they had the day off of school) We made pink heart pancakes for breakfast, danced, exchanged Valentines, and ate some candy and junk food. Here are a couple of pictures...can you say "excited!"

And this was a special message for me from Kaden...my sweet boy:)

where does the time go...seriously

With having no spare time to blog lately...which 5 kids will do to you...I leave you with one thought...PEEK!

a few of her favorite things...

Josie turned 15 months old the other day! She is a joy beyond words. Here are a few of her favorite things...

playing outside, toddling up and down the sidewalk, picking up the rocks and giving them to Mommy (wondering why I keep putting them back) playing in the sandbox, laying down in the sand, digging a little with a shovel, trying a bite here and there,
stopping along the way to smell the flowers
and enjoying a popsicle every chance she gets (especially after owies)...they can fix anything!
a few more of her favorite things...

exclaiming "ahh da" whenever she decides she is finished with something

kissing anything that remotely resembles a baby ("day dee")

feeding her "day dee" her bottle

waving "ba bye" to anything or anyone leaving including cars going by

catching bubbles, and tasting the bubble wand

her bottle ("ba ba")

following all burps with a fake one or two, then a laugh

trying to copy a wink by scrunching up both eyes really tight

drinking from a straw

spinning and spinning and spinning

dancing by bouncing up and down at the knees

climbing up the slide...all the way to the top

pulling the petals off Mommy's roses

going "ba bye"

her blanky

pulling her hair clips out

screaming really loud when she doesn't get what she wants

reading books

singing songs, even humming along when I hum to her

playing peek a boo

tickling toes and playing "this little piggy"

giving eskimo and butterfly kisses

bedtime snuggles

making Mommy smile:)

cloth diapering

I starting using cloth diapers on Josie when my sister helped me become aware of some pretty scary facts. Some people have given me "that look" like your crazy for using the "old-fashioned" diapers, but when they hear some of the reasons, suddenly I'm not so crazy anymore. Anyway, I thought this might be a great place to share some things I've learned about diapers...

• Disposable diapers "feel dryer" so they are changed less often (sometimes as infrequently as every 4-5 hours) allowing more bacteria to grow thus increasing the incidence of diaper rash.
• Furthermore, plastic does not "breathe" to let out the ammonia formed in the bacterial breakdown of urine, while a cotton diaper and nylon or wool wrap are breathable, allowing air to circula te to the baby's skin, keeping it healthy.
• Of a more serious concern, disposable diapers contain traces of Dioxin, an extremely toxic by-product of the paper-bleaching process. It is a carcinogenic chemical, listed by the EPA as the most toxic of all cancer-linked chemicals. It has not only been shown to cause cancer, but also birth defects, liver damage, and skin diseases. It is banned in most countries, but not the U.S.
• Disposable diapers contain Tributyl-tin (TBT) - a toxic pollutant known to cause hormonal problems in humans and animals.
• Disposable diapers contain sodium polyacrylate, a type of super absorbent polymer (SAP), which becomes a gel-like substance when wet. A similar substance had been used in super-absorbancy tampons until the early 1980s when it was revealed that the material increased the risk of toxic shock syndrome.
• In May 2000, the Archives of Disease in Childhood published research showing that scrotal temperature is increased in boys wearing disposable diapers, and that prolonged use of disposable diapers will blunt or completely abolish the physiological testicular cooling mechanism important for normal spermatogenesis.
• Then of course you have the environmental aspect that I won't go into detail about, check out the links below for more info.
• Cloth diapers are way cheaper over time

http://www.mothering.com/articles/new_baby/diapers/joy-of-cloth.html

http://www.realdiaperassociation.org/diaperfacts.php

It's too bad that more people aren't aware of these facts, but there you have them!

my sister...

This morning Jordan and Taylor came up with something that made me laugh...a lot! I overheard Jordan refer to Brendyn as "my brother from another mother". Now this I had heard before but then he said, "and Josie is my sister from another mister". Made my day!

summer summer summer,

So I know it's been a while, but here are a few recent pictures. This one was before Josie's first trip to the beach! Here she is playing in the sand.
And here Josie is all set to go...somewhere, even though she will have to drag the bag behind her:)

Let's see, what else is new...

• Jordan has swimmer's ear again, just like last summer. He was in the ER Wednesday night and then Saturday back in to see the doc because it got worse. The drops weren't getting in where they needed to go so it spread to a middle as well as outer ear infection, very painful. Poor kid, so now he's on oral antibiotics, too.
• We got a new swingset, or at least new to us. My brother, Jody, was looking to find a new home for the one he made now that his kids outgrew it so we gladly accepted! And another brother, Jeff, was kind enough to help haul it here and put it back together, which was a 2 day job! Thanks Uncle Jeff!! Did I mention it's a giant one!
• Kaden and Brendyn have spent lots and lots of time playing "Tarzan" on the new swingset!
• Jordan and Kaden took swimming lessons for the first time this month and they both passed with flying colors. In fact, Jordan advanced all the way from level 2 to level 5 in three short weeks! Now they can both swim like little fishies.
• I started a new job. I am no longer working for my Dad, I started doing home day care again. It was getting way too hard bringing Josie to work with me and it was time for a change. Now Josie has playmates, and Mommy only has to do one job at a time!
• Josie is talking a little more here and there. She now says, "Daddy", "teys" (for keys), "oots" (for oops), "kickle kickle" (when she decides to tickle tickle your toes, or hers), "ee" (for peek), and "mmmm" after she takes a drink or bite of something yummy.
• She also understands more and more all the time of what we are saying. She loves to do "This Little Piggy" and she can find her belly button...or anyone elses, too! It's hilarious! She gives kisses and comes up to you saying "mm ma", then plants one on you.
• Oh, and I'm thinking of taking her off of the "older infant formula" soon since she is eating like a champ, except for vegetables. But she learned that from Brendyn!
• We are going camping next weekend with Sarah and Sonia and their families. My biggest challenge is figuring out who we have to strap to the roof of the van because we will never fit everything in the van with all 5 kids!

new words

Josie has been trying very hard the last few days to mimic words that she hears. She can say "eye", "mama", "dada", "fa" (for fan) and has attempted a couple others.

This morning during our morning snuggle in Mommy and Daddy's bed, Josie was looking at the picture of the flowers on wall. I said "flowers", and Josie replied with a her very own version of the word..."FOWIE"

No matter how many times you hear a child learning new words, it never stops being amazing!

pitter patter

The pitter patter of first steps...

Kaden is 8!

Happy Birthday to the sweetest boy I know! Kaden...you have all of my heart. I love you so much.

In case you are wondering, the song in the slideshow is the song Kaden and I sing when I tuck him in at night, or at lease a version of it:)

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on the day you turned one...

on the day you turned one
I gave you your first balloon
I let you play with the real remote
rip up the newspaper
push buttons on the telephone
eat on my lap
bite my nose
mush up a whole cupcake
I treasured every giggle
gave you extra kisses
played with you a little more
held you a little tighter
rocked you a little longer
put you to bed a little later
prayed for you a little harder

and when you were asleep

I went into your room to check on you

I looked at you a little closer

and I remembered

how tiny you once were

how much we had gone through

and I realized

how far you've come

how tall you've grown

how much you've learned

and how proud I am of you

then I envisioned

all the years to come

and what each one would bring

dollies, wagons, picking flowers

pony tails, beaches, and bugs

baking, shopping, painting nails

and lots of kisses and hugs

and then as my heart overflowed
and as the tears fell

I had never felt so lucky

then right there in your room as you slept

one year made one word real

miracle

the party

the decorations have been taken down, the cake has been eaten, Mommy's tears have fallen...but here is the memory of one day we will always remember

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