What a busy few months!

The very first thing that needs to celebrated is that yesterday Miss Phoebe turned1!! Hooray!! She is such a joy and we are so blessed to have her in our family...Happy Birthday Miss Phoebe! Can it really be a year since we went to the hospital and had her, and then turned around and did a cross country move two weeks later?? Wow...

We have had a busy few months...Jake has been busy with Kinder, we have had Matt's birthday, our anniversary, we have been settling into a church, Phoebe started walking and has gained a few more teeth, Matt has been travelling and we are now planning to move, again! Whew!

Jake is really enjoying school. We have had a few rough spots, but he is learning and growing. :) He loves to read and figure out math. Its wonderful to have an outlet for his energy and that he has some focus for that energy now!! Its been fun to see what the latest "trends" are for kids...especially since I've been out of that loop for a couple decades!! Right now its Silly Bands...or jelly bracelets for us 80's brats. And he loves them! He will wear 20 of them at once...and loves to give them away! What fun :)

In October we visited the Pima Co. Air Museum in Tucson, AZ... Jake was in his element! All the plane knowledge stored in his brain had an outlet!

We also went to the Pumpkin Patch out in East Mesa...it was a real farm that had a barrel train, corn maze and animals - such fun!

Halloween was a fun night. Jake went as Han Solo and Phoebe as a Halloween Elf. Both had great fun collecting candy and once Miss Phoebe figured out that all you had to do was walk up and someone put food in your bucket...well, she thought that was the greatest thing EVER!

Heading into a busy November...Mum is coming down, tonight actually, so we will have some fun while she is here, including celebrating the First Birthday! And we are moving, again. Not loving that this is a tradition of sorts, but the past three Thanksgivings have been spent moving. At least we are going back to our house...that will be nice to do project again: paint, put up shelves...etc. Praying about schooling for Jake, wish we didn't have to take him out of Brisas, but resting in that even in this, God has a plan. And that gives peace.

Will post again after the move! Get ready to enter a season of Thanks - we have so much to be thankful for!

The start of school.

This week Jake started Kindergarten. The past month we have been on countdown to that first day. We checked clothing, brought new shoes, purchased school supplies, and practiced getting up earlier. As he got more and more excited, the more melancholy I got for the days of him being 2 or 3...still needing Mom much more than he does now. Remembering how fuzzy the back of his hair was when he woke up from naps. The way he would bend down, hands on knees to examine a bug or spider. That sweet smell of baby shampoo after his bath at night. Now, Jake has short, short hair - better to deal with in the summer heat, and that it "looks cool". Spiders and bugs are gross - robots and dinosaurs are awesome. And the baby shampoo has been traded in for a regular Big Kid wash... Sigh.

The night before, I was in tears. Not because I was worried how HE would do! But how I would do...turning him over to someone else, letting them have influence over him, knowing that he was now spending most of his day with a person that wasn't me. And it hurt. I hoped that I had done a good job getting him ready to start Life. That Matt and I had instilled in him the idea of doing things that pleased Jesus, and not to please others. That even on the really hard days of parenting: that we were able to show him what love looks like...for each other, for others, for God. I wanted to be that fly on the wall as he learned to interact with the other kids. To watch as he figured out how to be a good friend, to have a tough skin, to have a tender heart... And I had to let him go.

That first day was good. He was a bit shy as we all walked across the playground, but as soon as the play area caught his eye, he was off and running. After a bit the kids lined up with their teachers to head in...Jake was already laughing and talking with another boy...I finally caught his eye and waved, and he waved back...jumping and laughing as he headed inside.

We have both learned this week. Jake - about schoolwork, lunches, recess, playtime, sharing and listening. Me - about how to trust that God gave me just the right skills to parent these two kiddos, that its okay to let them go, and that He is holding on to them.

Congratulations sweet boy on starting this new chapter of Life!

Summertime Life

Wow. Too long!! Life has been full and busy...and I JUST finished uploading pictures from June...oh well, would rather have it busy than boring!

Spent an amazing 20 days in Oregon with my family. Got to see a few friends, but the kids decided they were going to pass the Crud around and so some things had to be postponed till next time! Life with kids, eh? We got to go to NW Trek, the beach, downtown...Jake had a fabulous time with Jack and Kate, got to spend some one on one time with Papa, and entertained his Nana tremendously. Phoebe just entertained everyone! She was quite the little attention grabber...teasing us with "will she crawl or won't she" and sending sunny smiles at all.

Back in the heat of AZ, Jake has started (and completed) his first round of Swim lessons. Taking to it like, well...like a duck to water! He is already swimming and floating on his own! And loves it...so perhaps this may be something to continue through the year? Only three weeks left till Kindergarten. Sigh. Is he REALLY old enough to go?? As difficult as it is to keep up with him at times, I am going to miss not having him around during the day! I suspect that first day will be harder on Mommy, than Jake!

Phoebe...well, lets just say that she is going, going, going. Started to crawl and decided she wanted to pull up and stand on her own in the same week! She is now (tentativly) cruising the living room and giving me mini-heartattacks as she lets go to balance!! Jake - 5 and half years...no ER. Phoebe - well, I'm pretty sure it will be before 2!!

Matt is heading into a burst of travel for work...about 8 trips before Christmas! I don't know whether to laugh or cry! I am so proud of him being "that person" that they send... but its hard when he is gone. Missed, very much. I'm excited that he is getting to go to some new places - Korea, Turkey (both after Christmas). He is SLIGHTLY excited too!

Well, now that things have gotten into a groove, will do better with posting over the next few weeks...maybe.

Growing up, last day, new teeth and mobility

A LOT has happened this past month with Jake and Phoebe. Not really things out of the ordinary - but just all at once... This biggest being Jake has finished preschool and is ready to enter Kindergarten this fall.

Now, this transition has been infinately easier for him than I, of course. He simply was excited to have such fun end of the year activities: Crazy Hair Day, PJ Day, Water Day and Bowling Day all ended with his very official Graduation Day - caps and gowns included. He thought it was so much fun to dance down the aisle while "Are you Ready to Rumble??!!" blasted through the speakers...and it was all the 18 kids could do, sitting still through the slide show and speeches, because there were CUPCAKES waiting for them!! Meanwhile, all the mommies in the audience were using Kleenex in abudance watching the same slideshow and listening to the speeches about how grownup their 5 yr olds were now...and feeling a mixture of pride and sadness that their little one was now not so little. You WANT them to get big...but not too fast. And today I went and toured his gradeschool and met one of four teachers who will continue to guide him next year...and was glad that I had 2 1/2 months to get ready for that!

And probably making it all a bit harder is that Phoebe is hitting a growth stride herself....Miss Mobility has taken to rolling herself hither and yon all over the living room and I found her in the beginning stages of crawling yesterday. It is only a matter of days and weeks now, I think. She gets so mad at being left behind in a room, and moves so quickly in so many other ways....that she is channeling that energy into figuring out how to get her legs under her and GO!!

She has also sprouted two teeth. Two little razor sharp pearls on her bottom gum. Two little razor sharp pearls that she enjoys burrowing into my shoulder...with glee. And she shows them off - a big, big grin with her bottom jaw stuck out - she is so proud of those two teeth!!

I love that my kiddos are going through these stages...we WANT them too. We want them to grow up, to keep making strides in learning and doing...but we still want them to stay little. It wasn't SO long ago that Jake was sprouting his first teeth, learning to crawl, learning to talk... And now he is ready to start his path into grade school - the first of so many steps without Mommy. And Phoebe will keep cruising through this year of firsts: after crawling, walking and talking will follow.

So I am going to enjoy this summer. With my delightful, fun, giggling, loud, slightly chaotic, soon to be moving, and always changing children.

My Sweet Boy

This week I was blessed to see another piece of the unique little boy that God has created as Jake.

He has a tender heart towards others.

Now, Jake is ALL boy. There isn’t a “boy” sound that he won’t do…he runs everywhere…anything in his hand can and will become a weapon…and if it can be destroyed, well…he can destroy it with style!

However, when it comes to Phoebe he is beyond gentle. This bundle of constant movement slows down and moves with care when around his baby sister. There is a deep concern for her well being from him, and he is constantly aware of what she is doing…and if its abnormal to him – I am notified! “Mommy! Phoebe did this….” or “Phoebe, you can’t roll there!” Absolutely amazing, how intensely he can watch out for her. And how much it pleases him to make her laugh and play with her.

Now, I know that this won’t always be the case. Someday, very soon, he will get frustrated with his little sister. He will get angry and probably yell at her. He might even push her out of his way… But I think that he will always have a tender heart towards her, even under the angst that a little sister can sometimes bring to a big brother.

I think this because of a story that Jake’s PreK teacher told me this week. About Jake’s interaction with one of the little girls in his class. Apparently Jake has taken on the role of protector with this little girl. At snack time, if they are serving a treat that she doesn’t like, Jake can now read her facial expression and will retrieve a stack of the crackers that she DOES like from the class stash and place them on her tablemat, before she can throw a fit. If she is colouring outside the lines, he will remind her to colour IN the lines. And because she is the smallest in class, he takes special care to make sure she always has a place in line, or a toy at recess. He simply looks out for her.

Wow.

Now as the mother of this five year old, there are moments when I have a difficult time finding this gentle soul in midst of the chaos of a temper tantrum, or a “me first” kind of day, or in his need to go!go!go! But it touches my heart that God made him with this ability to be compassionate to others, and it fills me with the deep burden and desire to keep that there, always. Because I know that the world will fight against that, that it will want to take it from him, that it will encourage him to always be “me first”. So, my prayer for my little man is this: always let the LORD lead your heart, Jake. Keep loving others Sweetheart. Keep loving them the way that Jesus loves them.

My little Yankees fans...

We are a house divided. Matt is a Diamondbacks fan. Mostly because here we live...but I honestly think he really likes them. This has caused spirited discussion from time to time. Especially when I walk through the Sky Harbor Airport, past a certain sports store that is ALWAYS replaying that fated game from the 2001 World Series. I am a Yankees fan. Born and bred, a pinstriped heart. I leave the room and pace if they are losing. I cried during the final game in the House that Ruth built. I turned at the alter and asked for a World Series score. I watched with my newborn daughter as the Bronx Bombers won series number 27. My dad instilled a love for Mantle, Maris, Berra, DiMaggio, and the rest of the greats... I grew up hearing about the times he took in a game at Yankee Stadium and all three of us girls took a part of my Dad's Yankee pride and made it our own. So, of course, I am passing along this love to my kiddos. Jake cherishes his first Yankee hat. He told me today it was his favourite hat in the "whole world, Mommy". Phoebe will always be reminded that one of my first memories holding her was cheering on the team. Now, I will let them "decide" who they will cheer for when they get big...who knows, perhaps they will someday move to San Francisco, or Seattle...but until they do - I will keep buying them those navy blue caps, they WILL hear about my dad's attendance at games at Old Yankee Field, and 61* will not simply be a number. Go Yanks.

Phoebe...eater of all?

So I thought I would start the day out with a short story about our daughter. It has been noted (MANY times) that all her pictures seem to be with her mouth open. This is NOT an exaggeration!! She really has it open most of the day. Now, generally its open for a reason: eating, talking, drooling...and chewing. I discovered yesterday that the open mouth is also a trap to draw in prey...very much like a Venus flytrap, angle fish, or still spider.

Phoebe was playing on her rug, chatting away...looking very cute, very mischievous. I leaned over her to talk and play back....when out of nowhere two chubby (and sticky!) hands reached up and grabbed (not gently) the sides of my face...catching hair and ears in the process! She then levered herself up, by pulling on my face, to a sitting position...and promptly clamped her open, drooly mouth on my nose. Yuck and ouch.

She wouldn't let go...it was like a Nature show, the more I struggled to retrieve myself, the harder she hung on! Finally, I was able to get a finger under her arm and tickle! That released the beast, and she was again a sweet, cooing baby girl.

Now, I don't know WHAT the moral of this tale is...I know that there IS one, and I know that I am going to be much more careful in keeping this trauma from occuring again. My face still hurts.