Big Boy Bed

John was given a big boy bed today! He kept referring to it as his "perfect bed."
The quilt is light blue and tan, but appears more blue in person than in these pictures:

John kissing Mary:

We don't know if John will quickly take to sleeping in this bed or if it will be simply a fun piece of furniture for a while yet. [EDIT: I won't provide daily updates, but I will say that on the first night, John slept in his new bed till 3:15 a.m.! We consider that a big success.]

John Finally Likes the Pak N Play

Yesterday I set up a Pak N Play in the master bedroom to see if Mary might like sometimes playing in it, which would allow me to step out of the room (say, to put away laundry or something fast), leaving her alone with John--something I don't do now because it's not safe to leave her with a toddler. Anyway, John never took to a Pak N Play as a baby himself, but now he was very excited about the idea. I let him play in it once as he is still one or two pounds beneath the upper safe weight limit (30 pounds).

Mary seems fine about the Pak N Play and has already taken a nap or two in it. (I have to buy proper Pak N Play sheets; the below is a queen-sized flat sheet.)

Little Catholic Scholar

John's early morning "reading" of Gate of Heaven (about the doctrine of extra ecclesiam nulla salus):

Early Morning Mary

Mary was unusually wide awake this morning at six o'clock. She was cooing and "talking" so very loudly (like an adult person's speaking voice) that I closed the bedroom door lest she wake still-sleeping John! Of course, once I turned on the video camera, she mostly fell silent and flirted at me with her smiles. (Mary is even now at that cute age when she's flirting with strangers out in public.)

Ash Wednesday

I do not have pictures of my precious children with ashes on their foreheads because we went to a parish not our own where apparently the pastor will not distribute ashes to children. Children younger than the age of reason cannot sin (true), therefore he thinks that the symbolism of the ashes is all wrong. As a mama, I was disappointed and I'll be looking into the truth of his theological idea. If children shouldn't receive the sacramental of ashes, then why do we have children crossing themselves with the sacramental of holy water which remits sins (even if they can't sin yet)? Why do we have them pray the Our Father ("forgive us our trespasses, lead us not into temptation . . .")?

All that aside, we had a great Mass experience. We are actively trying to teach John to behave at Mass and last through it. Part of our tactic is to start taking him to one weekday Mass per week in addition to Sunday so he gets more practice. Last week I began offering him a "special cookie" after Mass if he could be quiet. I'm focusing on teaching him to be quiet first and foremost before tackling other behaviors like sitting still in the pew. For these first few weeks, I want to ingrain in his mind that there is a reward for good behavior, so he'd basically have to throw a gigantic tantrum for me not to give him the cookie. When we were getting ready this morning, I told him that we were going to Mass and he immediately replied, "Buy cookie?" He remembered! Then he did great (for him) and lasted through the entire Mass without being taken out once (perhaps for the first time!). When we went to the bakery, I let him choose his own treat, which was this gigantic chocolate cupcake covered in artificially colored frosting in the shape of a fish. (I am on a diet to lose my pregnancy weight, so feeding John this cupcake while I ate none was about as fun as cooking him my fabulous homemade fettuccine Alfredo yesterday while I ate low-fat, low-cal food.)
Proud boy with his special treat:

Pretty girl dressed up for Mass:

I've had "angels" (so to speak) minister to me at the last two weeks of daily Masses. It's very humbling to have a toddler, I'm learning. They are loud and cause much embarrassment. I've learned that what makes me so angry as a parent is actually the feeling of my own impotence, not the child's behavior per se. Last week I was at Mass alone with the children and valiantly sat in the third row because every single mother I've asked has said that sitting way up front helps the children because they have something to watch. I felt like all eyes were on us as John squirmed and made little noises and I burned with shame. Yet when we left, three different strangers pulled me aside to say the exact same words: "Your children are precious." I came away thinking that God was reminding me that my children are precious. I should be so blessed as to have a wild toddler to teach the Mass because the alternative is not having a toddler at all. (I suppose there is a mythical third alternative that I could have some innately perfectly well-behaved toddler whom I don't have to teach, but I think that is a myth for sure!)

At today's Mass, I believe the Holy Ghost sent me more "angels" for reassurance. Chris and I debated where to sit and again bravely decided to sit in the third row, which turned out to be in the same spot right in front of the elderly woman I sat in front of last week (must be her regular spot). Before Mass began, she whispered to me, "Your children won't bother me. They won't bother me! I raised nine children." That made me feel so much more comfortable. Part way through the Mass, she gave John a holy card, which he loved. Then later another elderly man whom I don't know leaned over and whispered to me that I should have many more children. Here I was burning with shame that my 26-month-old still won't sit still and quiet through an hour of Mass but this man saw something so beautiful or good that he thinks I merit having more of these kids? Then after Mass ended, I thanked the woman again for the holy card. She asked John's name and said that she too has a John, and we talked about her 15 grandchildren. I asked her if she had any tips for teaching children the Mass. She said, "No, honey, just take it one day at a time." I asked her, "Well, how do you think John is doing?" She laughed and said, "He's doing beautifully!" No one should be surprised that I burst into tears.

Kiss It!

Around here, Mama's kisses are pretty much required to heal an injury. Just now I was doing dishes in the kitchen while Chris and John played upstairs. I heard the calm, deliberate thump-thump of John's footsteps as he came downstairs and into the kitchen. He wasn't crying at all, but he was rubbing his head. He requested matter-of-factly, "Kiss it."

I kissed it.

He turned on his heel and said without a backward glance as he walked upstairs, "Thanks, Mom!"

It just struck me as funny. Oh, and on a related note, he is calling us Mom and Dad much of the time now. I have no idea where he heard those titles since we use Mama, Mommy, and Daddy. It strikes me as so mature and old and I wish he wouldn't call us those names!

I Knew This Day Would Come

I knew the day would come when John would discover that he can hide in his built-in cabinets. He has enjoyed hiding toys in there, closing the door, then experiencing the thrill of opening the door to see his toy right there! Today he called me into his room where I found him in his cabinets. He told me, "I hiding!" Then he scooched backwards along the cabinets, as these photos show:

And, as shouldn't be surprising, the next time he had a dirty diaper and saw me coming to change it, he ran and hid in his cabinets. Great, like that makes my job easier!

Holding Her Head High

Raptor Center

On Sunday afternoon we visited the raptor center:

John is looking at the owl, but what is the owl looking at?

Fun in a Box

For a few days, John had grand fun playing with this empty diaper box and getting himself stuck in it over and over.

Learning to Sing

John is learning how to sing. This is his rendition of "Do You Know the Muffin Man?"

Following is his absolutely favorite song, "Mary Had a Little Lamb." (This is his lullaby song, song by Mom and Dad often.) If you listen very closely, you can hear him at the end attempt the verse about "and everywhere that Mary went the lamb was sure to go."

Lastly, John sings "Bah Bah Black Sheep." I always find this humorous because it's so unusual to hear a two-year-old saying "master" and "dame."

JD the Whale

John drew his first whale on the back of an envelope. He was drawing quietly when he exclaimed, "whale!" Chris looked down at his creation and it was, indeed, a whale!
We've dubbed this whale "JD" because of the things that look like letters to the bottom right of the whale. (John frequently asks us to write his name, so I wonder if those were attempts at "J" and "O.")

Lest you think this randomly looks like a whale (eventually 100 monkeys while type Shakespeare . . .), later John drew another same-looking whale on his Valentine's picture to me and at some other drawing sessions. I think it's so neat!

First Flowers and God

Today John brought me the first bouquet of "flowers" ever given to me by a child of mine. He was outside playing with Daddy and had his very own idea to bring me the below offering, which he clutched proudly in his fat little hand.

Of course, I was moved to tears and placed his "flowers" in a vase next to the exquisite roses Chris had given me for Valentine's Day.

Of course, I was very moved on the natural level as a mother. But the whole thing got me thinking about God too.

I really enjoy when Chris brings me flowers and his roses on Valentine's Day were no exception. But Chris knows how to buy flowers, he's good at it, and he can afford it. Two-year-old John only just conceived of the very grand idea of giving flowers, he has no money, and he found in the yard what he thinks was a pretty offering. I was so touched that it made me wonder if this is like the greater joy God feels about one sinner who repents compared to 99 righteous men who have no need of repentance (Luke 15:7). And I pondered how much parental affection God must feel when a new Christian (or a child or a convert or a "revert") squeaks out a stumbling Our Father or a distracted Rosary, just like my heart swelled at John mustering all his meager flower-giving skills for his Mama.

My thoughts on the subject seemed much more interesting and profound the day John gave me the flowers. But in the time it has taken me several attempts to write this blog post, I seem to have lost my way with words. But perhaps you mamas understand me.

Miscellaneous

For Valentine's Day, John and I made this heart-shaped ladybug craft for Daddy. John kept calling it "speshul lay-dee-BUG." He colored, then I cut out the shapes and glued them together.
Sweet boy asleep with Lambie and Reindeer Bear:

Two nights last week, John and I ate dinner alone, during which time he was very conversational, using so many words so quickly that I didn't always know what he was talking about. Each night he said very seriously to me, "Don't worry, Mommy. It's true, honey."

Look at Those Rolls!

Look at those beautiful milk fat rolls!

Quiet Reader

This evening I found John quietly reading to himself in his cardboard box house, which he'd turned upside down.
He said, "I reading!"

Mary Rolls Over on Video!

Happy Three-Month Birthday to Mary!

Because of her reflux, I'm not in the habit of putting Mary on her stomach. Today I put her on her stomach for "tummy time" for probably the fourth time her in life. She started making great cooing noises at her toy lion, so I got the video camera rolling to capture the fun sounds. Lo and behold, Mary proceeded to roll over--her first time--on film! What excitement!

As I began uploading this video to the blog, I put her back on the ground on her tummy, and she immediately rolled over again. I flipped her back onto her tummy and she did it a third time. That's just showing off.

Toys Before Nap Time

The lesson I learned today: Do not give a child a new toy before nap time!

I took the kids to Target this morning and, while there, spontaneously bought John four cheap, plastic garden toys (about $1 each!) so he'll stop trying to run in the yard with my potentially injurious metal gardening tools. All the way home he clutched his watering can, trowel, rake, and pail, reminding me over and over that at home we were going to get scissors and cut off the price tags.

We arrived home just as nap time should have been starting. I told him we would play in the back yard after nap. Chris and I tried to transition him into nap time and quickly realized that there was no way, no how that it was going to happen. Rather than ruin our whole morning with tantrums and him not taking a nap anyway, I just sucked it up and took my sweet boy outside to "scoop dirt" (as he kept begging).

John had such a delightful time, digging quietly by himself. I should have taken a book with me because I could have sat on our bench peacefully reading for an hour. Next time I'll do just that!

Speaking of toys, Mary is now starting to show interest in looking at toys. (She might have shown interest earlier, but I haven't really bothered with them. She's usually tagging along with me in the Maya wrap . . .) At one point today she was fussing and I thought I'd grab a toy and see what happened. I dangled the lion in front of her and her crying ceased. So then I put the lion on her chest and walked away to do some more chores. She was fascinated and even managed to grab on to the lion (probably on accident, I don't know). But after a few minutes she wanted to let go of the lion and didn't know how, so she got the saddest little expression on her face and began crying until I rescued her.

General Update on the Kids

What Are the Kids Doing These Days?


Mary, at three months old this week, is growing like a weed. She has great head control and, if she is lying somewhere like on the bed, she likes to watch me as I walk around the room. She spends much time staring at her hand floating mysteriously in front of her face. Mary loves to smile--especially first thing in the morning when I turn on the bedroom light--and coo, whether to herself or in "conversation" with someone else. A few days ago, Mary began outright giggling, first when Chris was kissing her bare tummy and later when I invited a very silly song that went something like, "ziggity ziggity ziggity ZIG!"

Mary remains a great sleeper, giving me one five- to six-hour stretch most nights (although it begins around 8:00 p.m. and I don't go to sleep for another hour or two, so I don't gain the full benefit of her long stretch). Unfortunately, Mary is very restless each morning starting at around 4:00 a.m, which means that I am generally awake for the day by then--and that is getting pretty old, I must say!

Mary has a mullet, which I must photograph one of these days. Although the hair on the top of her head has thinned out, as is normal for infants, she still has two to three inches of locks at the nape of her neck!

John, at two years and two months old, is at a very interesting age. Most fascinating to me is to watch his language development. These days, nearly every preposition is "a," which--as a transient speech pattern--I find very humorous and charming.


"Play a-gether?" [play together]

"Paint a table?" [paint at the table]

"Jump a couch!" [jump on the couch]

"Help a snaps?" [help with the snaps]



John makes delightful errors based on regular grammatical rules. For example, with forms of past tense: he'll say, "I seed it!" I'll reply, "You saw it?" He'll correct himself, "I sawed it!"


As I wrote in an earlier post, John calls us "honey" much of the time. When he is calling up or down the stairs, specifically, he calls out "Chris!" or "Katherine!" (in imitation of his bellowing parents). And lately John has begun calling me "Mommy," which is cute, but also makes me feel sad because it is more mature than "Mama" and is on its way to "Mom"--where is my baby boy going?

John currently loves to jump with two feet, especially off of the two short steps that descend into the den. "Ready, ready . . . jump!" Recently Chris taught him to dance the Hokey Pokey. And John does love to dance--especially when he is naked and fresh out of the bath tub! Even better than dancing, John loves to be chased in circles. "More chasing!" he says.

It is fun to watch John's developing creativity. I taught him how to paint with water colors a couple of weeks ago. Then today in the yard, he dug a hole in the mud with a stick, then would carry the stick to a tree and smear the mud on the bark, exclaiming "I painting!"

Sweet Boy

Yesterday we refinanced the house mortgage. John was so sweet and well-behaved at the signing of papers. He sat quietly at the end of the lawyers' table, "signing" his own papers (on his magnetic doodle pad).

Safari Sunday

For a week, John has been asking me, " 'fari now?" meaning that he'd like to go to the safari (Lazy 5 Ranch) now. It's been about a month since we last went while Grampa Neil was visiting. On Sunday the early February weather was positively gorgeous, a high of 68 with a mild breeze blowing that I simply have to describe as a zephyr. We decided to visit the safari, where many baby animals had been born since we were there last. John rode with his head out the sun roof--with Daddy holding him and driving very carefully and Mama nervous nonetheless.
I sat in the back seat with Mary. The below picture is fuzzy but shows how grand her smiles have become at almost three months old.

In this first video, you can hear John looking for camels: "Camels? No. Not yet. Not yet, honey! Climbing." On that note, I say "honey"--a lot. I call Chris and John "honey" following most sentences in my day. I've only realized this because John now says "honey"--a lot. He sounds exactly like Joe Jack on "King of the Hill," for those of you who know the reference.

In this second video you can hear him spot the camels and say "bye animals!"

Feeding the giraffe was a highlight.

Afterward we played on a neat structure that was two arks connected by a fort.

Astonishingly, we were even able to leave the safari at the end of the afternoon without a tantrum from John. It was a lovely visit.

Girls Have Cooties?

John has warmed up to Mary considerably, but he still doesn't want to hold her (and we have not pushed it). Here he wanted to be in the picture so I put his arm around her and snapped a photo before he could get away:
Looking alarmed because she he touched her:

Really not wanting to touch her!

Finally smiling for Mama:

(While blogging this, I caught John sticking one of the ear pieces of my sunglasses up his nose. Ew. Get me some disinfectant please.)

Beautiful Babies

Our beautiful girl . . .
and our beautiful boy!

We are so blessed to have these sweet babies!

(An admission: Mary didn't wear that darling Laura Ashley thrift store-find today because it was so cold that it snowed. I just dressed her up briefly so I could see her in the outfit!)