Thursday, January 11, 2018
I have a to-do list a mile long and one of those to-do’s is to update my blog. Well, I guess that’s the one I’m going to try to work on now since little baby Peter has decided that the only way he is happy is if he is strapped to my body. I can’t believe he is actually allowing me to sit right now, so I’m guessing this blog-writing session will be short lived.
 |
| Troublemaker |
Peter has been such a sweet, happy, BIG boy since the day he arrived. We have felt so blessed to have such a beautiful boy join out family. Maddie and Sarah are obsessed with him and, let’s face it, so am I. He is developing so quickly, too! He rolled from his front to his back when he was about 3.5 months old and the next week, he rolled from his back to his front - a feat that most babies don’t accomplish until they are 6 or 7 months! So, gross-motor-wise, he is way ahead of the game by 2-3 months.
 |
| First roll front to back |
 |
and Back to front!
|
Right now he is going through a tough patch. I think he has started teething because he is super drooly and he is chewing on everything he can get his hands on. He has also regressed with sleeping. He used to sleep 4-5 hour stretches, but he's been waking every 2 hours for the past week or so. I am so looking forward to this period to pass because I am tired!
He recently has become super social, though. He will smile at just about everyone if you look at him the right way. He laughs, too, especially at the girls. Maddie was making a joke about bringing Cody to school for show and tell one day and she was saying that the dog wouldn’t fit in her show-n-tell bag when Peter started cracking up (for the first time!). Maddie and Sarah kept repeating, “he won’t fit!” over and over again and Peter was loving every second of it.
 |
| My goofballs! |
Life has been pretty hectic for the past few months. As Phil and I tend to do, just when we feel like we have a handle on what’s going on in life, we decide that we need to shake things up a bit. The transition of bringing Peter home was going much more smoothly than I expected, so I must have subconsciously thought, “well, let’s throw something new into the mix!” Enter Cody: our lovable, rambunctious (now) 8 month old puppy. He really is a good dog, but he is a lot of work. We are working on bell-training him so we get a better sense of when he wants to go outside, he walks well on the leash but still needs a bit of work, and he does great with sit, stay and lay down. He still chews all of the kids’ toys, which gets really frustrating, and he has tons of energy which is hard to exercise now that the weather has turned cruddy. But, he is a fabulous family dog! He nips when he plays, but he’s never tried to bite. He plays fetch and tug with the girls and I’ve even seen Sarah pull his ears and tail without a bad reaction from Codester. I’m looking forward to this summer when we can be outside more and go on walks and adventures with our sweet pup. And when our sweet pup can be outside for longer stretches time and not freeze to death.
 |
| Bringing Cody home! |
 |
| That time when Sarah was on the swing and Cody pulled her pants off. |
Our silly Sarah is just that: silly! I can not believe the things that come out of her mouth sometimes. I seriously just sit back, listen to her and laugh sometimes. Today while playing with a toy computer, she turned to me and asked me, “Mom, do you want to do logic or numbers?” Love it! Well, this silly brain of hers is also super smart. She has been memorizing some of Maddie’s Bible verses and knows John 3:16 like the back of her hand.
 |
| Coolest kid on the block. She has so much personality. |
 |
| Sarah with her coat-beard |
Maddie is in her first year of Sparks and is almost completely done with her book! I am truly amazed at the way she picks up her memory verses. She can recite all the books of the New Testament now, too. She is doing great in school and loves her friends. She is SO SO social and hugs everyone she knows.
 |
| Maddie went caroling with her Awana club. She was so excited to be an angel! |
 |
| Maddie did an EXCEPTIONAL job at her school's winter program. We are so proud of her! |
 |
| She has been going to several birthday parties and loves playing arcade games. |
 |
| Look at that stamina! |
And now you are about to be inundated with pictures:
 |
| The girls were fairies this year for Halloween |
 |
| And Peter, Gigi (cousin) and Logan (friend) were pea pods. Very unhappy pea pods. |
 |
| We went trick or treating with Maddie and Sarah's friend, Jacob, and with Auntie (Danielle) and their cousin, Gigi. Maddie had a breakdown three houses in. Sarah kept tripping over her shoes. When Auntie Danielle chuckled, after determining that Sarah wasn't hurt, of course, Sarah thumped her fists on the ground and growled, "It's not funny, Auntie!" Of course this made Auntie laugh even more. |
 |
Sarah also saw a bunny from across the street. We gestured for him to come say hi to Sarah and she hugged him, saying, "I like bunnies." Since her newfound friendship with the rabid bunny, she has also announced, "I like stinkbugs. Ladybugs and Stinkbugs are my friends." And, yes, she was referencing a dead ladybug in case that wasn't clear.
|
 |
| Happy Birthday, Daddy! Maddie and Sarah painted him a new mug. |
 |
| We opted to stay home for Thanksgiving this year and celebrate with just the 5 of us. We needed a little time to ourselves after all the big changes and transitions our family had recently gone through |
 |
| It was a BEAUTIFUL day |
 |
| And we spent a lot of time playing outside in the backyard |
 |
| It was just what we needed to refresh |
 |
| The next day, we put up the Christmas tree |
 |
| and we decorated for Christmas. The girls love playing with the nativity sets. |
 |
| We visited my parents' for another Thanksgiving dinner the following Sunday. |
 |
| Its so good to be with family |
 |
| And Sarah, of course, only cared about being with Uncle Mark |
 |
| Sarah got her first hair cut! |
 |
| Maddie and.... |
 |
| ...Sarah performed in front of church, leading worship fr the congregation |
 |
| Maddie and Sarah were SO excited to visit Santa! |
 |
| We went with Baby Gigi this year. Look how cute they are! |
 |
| I made the dresses again this year (whipped them out just in the knick of time!) and I made a bow tie for Peter and matching hair bow for Gigi. |
 |
| We had a couple of grandma days in December! One day we had Baboo over for lunch |
 |
| And another day we visited Grandma Rumproast and Maddie got "a thousand kisses!" |
 |
| And Grandma Jones. We really enjoyed our time. |
 |
| Christmas Eve was here before we knew it and Aunt Rachel and Uncle Neil made us dinner at their house. |
 |
| Everyone had a really fun time! Maddie and Sarah met guinea pigs for the first time (they were terrified!) and the kids all danced to a song about tacos raining from the sky. |
 |
| Christmas Morning rolled in and we spent the morning opening gifts |
 |
| We all got just what we wanted (there were actually concert tickets inside this box with Phil's old shoes). |
 |
| Christmas morning with kids is even more fun than it is being a kid! |
 |
| She loves dinosaurs! |
 |
| We hosted Christmas day dinner... |
 |
| Which was actually a Christmas day brunch! The food (especially Danielle's quiche) was delicious and simple. |
 |
| And this little guy celebrated his very first Christmas. <3 |
 |
| The guys |
 |
| Auntie with "Auntie's Baby" |
 |
| And, oh my goodness, could this be any cuter?!?! |
 |
| Phil's Dad and Carin stopped by for a bit |
 |
And Alex was in town and spent the night with us, too!
|
 |
| We spent the next few days at the Illinois Beach Resort courtesy of Phil's dad and Carin and celebrated the holidays with most of the Jones clan |
 |
| I didn't take a lot of pictures, apparently. but here's a shot of Uncle Taylor and Sarah. We really had a nice time swimming, eating and spending quality time with our family. All-in-all November and December were lovely. |
