Are you happy?

Grandma is visiting, and taught J a new word! Watch this video clip (less than 30 seconds) to see the cuteness!

Little Gentleman

Matt's been sick the last few days, and consequently, I've been sleeping on an air mattress in our guest room the last 2 nights to avoid getting sick as well. (It stinks - just for the record. I'd so much rather be curled up next to my wonderful hubby!) Anyway, Matt was awake when the boys woke up this morning, so he got them up, and then they all came into my room to tell me good morning. Matt and Joseph left to go get started on their day, but Darren lingered..... He politely asked me if I would like him to close the bedroom door. I said no, because I was getting up, too. Then, he comes over to my bed, holds his hand out, and says, "Help you up, Mommy!" To which I responded by grabbing his hand, and "let" him pull me up! Then he gave me a big hug and kiss, and said, "I love you, Mommy!" A few minutes later, while I was feeding Joseph, Darren came over to me again. This time he started running his fingers through my hair (one of my absolute favorite things!), kissed me and said he loved me again, and said, "No no-ning, Mommy." (Good morning, Mommy).

I have the sweetest little boy, ever! He learns his chivalry from watching his father! I am the luckiest girl alive!

Brave Boy!

On days like yesterday, I really miss old friends. Yesterday, it was specifically my friend Samantha (aka Grandma Sam - yes, there's a story but it's for another day). She is my friend that would cut my hair, and she gave Darren his very first haircut. Darren loved her and "Grandpa" Steve, and it was nice that Darren underwent scissors for the first time surrounded by happy, loving faces that he knew. And, he was in a familiar environment.

Joseph wasn't so lucky. I finally bit the bullet and took him in for his very first haircut yesterday, in a new place with a new person aiming sharp, pointy things at his head. He was sooo brave and sat pretty still for not really knowing what was going on (although it helped that he had just woken up from a nap and wasn't fully awake yet). Here are pictures of the event:

Gettin' ready and trying to figure out what's going on.

Being brave! Look how long his hair was.
Suckers work great when they start to get fussy. This is his very first sucker, too.

All done! He's still not sure what to think!

A little lunch and a better nap do wonders. Here's the new happy Joseph! He looks so grown up!

I couldn't resist posting this one too!

Music To My Ears

I have a clock that chimes on the hour, every hour (except at night). I never unpacked it while we were in Texas, so it's been awhile since it's chimes have been heard. This last weekend, it finally came out of the box and took it's place on the wall.
Ever since then, every time it chimes, Darren stops what he's doing, runs over to the clock, looks up at it with a look of wonder and excitement, and then proclaims: "Mommy, the clock is singing!"

I LOVE it!

Brothers!

You're my best buddy,

My favorite friend;

We'll always be pals,

From now until the end!

Author Unknown

Solutions

Over the last little while, several things have led Matt and I to rethink how we are parenting our children. We have decided to make some changes. Through lots of prayer, we keep coming back to the idea of doing a preschool type of thing at home (just with our kids), by structuring some of their playtime and doing educational activities with them for a couple of hours every day (not necessarily all at once, though - especially at first). For example, if we do a jungle animals theme, we could sing songs, do a craft of some sort, read stories, make a snack or treat, act like/pretend to be an animal, etc. all pertaining to jungle animals. The goal is to make it FUN to listen to instructions, obey, build self discipline (as much as possible with very small children), build a foundation for later education, build positive memories, and build self confidence. It will take a lot of work to get things going the way we envision (especially since neither of us have done this type of thing before), and probably won't be as formal as I laid it out to look, but I think it will still be very worth it if we stick with it.

If any of you who read this have done something like this, please leave comments as to what works, what doesn't, and any other suggestions you may have. Thanks. We are excited to make these positive changes.

Joseph

On the 27th, we celebrated the one year anniversary of the surgery I had in which a very large mass (11 lbs. 9 oz.) was removed from my abdomen. I've been in love with him ever since! Happy birthday, my sweet "little" Joseph!

This is his very first picture and has proven to be THE trademark photo that everyone remembers!

Joseph is such a joy to have in our family. At age 1, his personality is still developing, but here are some of the things that I love about Joseph so far.

• He is the BEST little snuggler! And, he likes to snuggle frequently. He puts his thumb in his mouth, wraps his little arm around my neck, lays his head on my shoulder, and tucks his little knees in, and then stays there! I love that he's such a great snuggler! I melt every time!
• Joseph is very observant and intelligent. He watches EVERYTHING that we do, especially Darren, and then tries to imitate it (with some things, he's successful after only seeing it once!). He's currently trying to figure out how to jump and walk backwards (thank you, Darren)!
• He always wants to be a part of what's going on. Especially at the dinner table. He KNOWS when he's eating something different than the rest of us, and makes sure that we know he doesn't approve!
• Joseph is very strong-willed and stubborn. When he's made up his mind about something, there is NO deterring him. This can serve him well in the adult world, but it also means there will probably be great challenges between now and then.
• He is very responsive to music. Whenever I turn some music on, or start singing, he stops what he's doing, gets a big smile on his face, and listens for a bit. It doesn't matter what I put on, his reaction is pretty much the same. He's a boy after my own heart!
• One of my favorite things about Joseph is his smile. When he looks into your eyes and smiles, it somehow penetrates your soul. I have often referred to him as my little angel baby, partially for this reason.

I love my little Joseph to pieces, and I can't believe he's already 1!! Here are some pictures from his birthday.....

His own personal cake for him to demolish

The cake for the rest of us.... Darren helped me decorate it! See the little finger swipe that goes from the tree to the edge of the pan? Well, I'm sure you can figure out what happened!

Checking out the cake... he wasn't sure what to think at first.

He decided the cake was yummy, and the mess wasn't TOO bad!

Getting washed up/stripped down (sticky mess), with AMAZING hair! The hair happened when we took off his shirt.

The boys playing with Joseph's new birthday toys

Modeling the latest fashion accessory....... He did it himself, and walked all over the house like that for awhile! It was really funny to watch live!