The Boys

Lately, it seems like Jilian is the "star" of the show. 
After all, she is the baby, and the only girl.

Well, it's not to say that I am not just as proud of my boys as I am of her.

Let's see what the boys (My sons, NOT the Cowboys - BLAH!) are up to, shall we?

JAYDON COLE:

Jaydon just finished the 5th six weeks of school.  He has made straight A's the ENTIRE year.  He has perfect conduct all year (stickers every single day) with perfect attendance as well.  How lucky are we to have such a smart, healthy, and well-mannered boy?

He also seems to be doing better at socializing. . . YAY! 

He officially starts Karate classes next week and is quite excited about this.  He has also been playing golf with his Daddy whenever possible.

He spoils his little sister rotten.  I am pretty sure that Jilian thinks he hung the moon.  They are so sweet together.

He is quite the model.  He is tall & dark with a thick build - 65+lbs. and around 51 inches tall.  He is officially 1 ft. away from being my height.  I can't get over how handsome he is.

That little boy will forever hold the first spot in my heart.  ☺

JACOBY CADE: 

He is 2 years and 3 months old.  He is a little busy body.  He LOVES to play outside.  LOVES it.  He climbs up and down all by himself off the trampoline, slide, and swings.  He also turns the water on more than he should, but that's okay. 

As busy as he is though, he is my learning machine.  Jacoby recognizes ALL of his uppercase letters, (in random order) and he can tell you what sound every single letter makes.  He can count to 10.  He knows all of his body parts, and recognizes 5-6 animals. 

He loves to hear me sing to him.  He loves to grab books and bring them over to me.  His favorites are the books that have animals in them because he loves hearing me make a fool out of myself as I make the animal sounds.

Our next objective is lowercase letters and colors, followed by shapes.  I have no doubts that he will learn all of this very quickly.  Pre-K here we come!  Oh wait, he's only 2.

He has a charming personality.  He laughs at jokes and smiles from ear to ear when it is time to pick his brother up from school.

We have realized over the past few weeks that he needs alone time.  He behaves like a different child at night after Jaydon & Jilian are both asleep.  He stays up the latest, and enjoys the individual attention.  We are pretty sure he gets out of bed 400,000 times on purpose.  Whatever it takes so that he doesn't get that "middle child" syndrome is fine by me.

I am so in love with Jacoby's eyelashes, and his care-free attitude.  In my next life, I want to come back just like him. 

I ♥ both of my boys so much!

What's not to love about those two adorable faces?

Fifteen Months

My oh my... I cannot believe my youngest little one is ¼ of the way into her second year...

Dearest Sassy Girl:

Right now, you weigh about 23 pounds.  I had to cancel your 15-month visit this morning because your brother, Jacoby, had been up since 6AM, and he wasn't going to allow us to go to the doctor in peace.  It has been rescheduled for April 30th. We'll get your real numbers then.

According to my calculations, you are still my petite little thing, and between the 25th-50th percentile for both weight and height. The good news is that you are closer to the 50th instead of the 25th like you were before. For being petite, you sure can chow down though. Daddy has nicknamed you "fatty cakes" because there is nothing you won't touch. Veggies, fruits, chips, chicken, meat, ham, cheese - you name it, it's in your belly...fast!  I take that back - you really don't like grapes or hot dogs.  That's it though.

My little petite thing, you are ready for your gymnastics days!  You love to hang on the monkey bars outside and swing.  Daddy loves to watch you hang on - you sure are strong!
...speaking of gymnastics, your Daddy and I found you a nice gym in Keller. It is called ASI Gymnastics, and you will start there in September with your brother, Jacoby. I have to wait until you are 18 months old. I can't wait to see you guys having fun!

These past few months, you have really blossomed. You walk everywhere, and have started running and climbing. You love to do everything that your brothers do. No amount of toys keep you entertained. You love to look at books-but ONLY with Jaydon.  You hug your dolls, and toss the ball. Climbing up the ladder to the slide is your favorite thing to do outside - along with moving all of the rocks from the landscaping to your own little corner.

You also love to talk on my cell phone, open and shut the DVD player, turn the TV on/off, and you are definitely Jaydon's little doll. He carries you when he can, and you just take it all in with a "poop-eatin' grin" on your face.

You squeal and smile when you get your way, and you throw yourself on the ground in a fit of rage if you don't. We'll have to work on the latter.

You also love anything that shakes, rattles and rolls. You love to "boogey" to any beat. You shake your head, bounce your knees, and move your hips around like a rock star! That's my little Cubana for sure!

The other day, we were all singing in the den, "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine..."
You ran into your brother's room, and brought out the toy dog (puppet) that sings this song. How you knew to do this was beyond us, but it shows how attentive you are because we hadn't played with that thing in weeks.  Maybe you were trying to tell us that we should stop singing and allow the puppet to sing?  Ha.

You wear size 18 months clothes, but some of your outfits are 24 months. You even have a few shirts that are 2T that fit you nicely. It just depends on the brand. You are in a size 4 diaper, and a size 3 shoe. (At this age, the boys were wearing size SIX shoes!)

Your most recent development is your language. You have 18-20 words under your belt that you use daily. If we ask you to say something, you repeat at least part of it.

Here is what you say: the ball, doll, baby, dog, Duke, juice, please, this, Aba, Daddy, buh-bye, kiss, taca, (You tell us when you are 'CACA' by pointing to your bum and saying "taca".) eat, bottle, leche, Jay (for both brothers), eyes, teeth, and you sign for "more". (You picked this up from my trying to teach your brother some signs.)   You also shake your head for "yes" or "no".

You can also point to your eyes, ears, nose, and teeth when asked.  You even know some of your letter sounds!

You are the first one to run to the door when you hear the garage open in the evenings. You know that Daddy will be there, and you always want to be the first one to greet him.

For being "sassy & petite", you are definitely tough. I like that, and I know that your Daddy does too.

Thank you for being YOU!

We love you so much, and we hope that you never forget it!

     ~ Mommy & Daddy ~

 xoxo

Outside Play

I remember riding around my neighborhood on my bicycle as a little girl. I would circle my block more times than I can count, and it never got old. There were 4 trees before the first corner, 9 houses before the railroad ties, another turn, a steep incline, and then a long hill down to our house.
My sister and I would run to the grocery store on our bikes and get things for our Mom. I still think to this day that she never really needed what she asked us to buy, but it was a good way to get us out of the house for a bit. I remember being outside constantly, and loving every minute of it.

These days, it seems like you can't let children even so much as circle around the block alone - no matter how "safe" your neighborhood is. It is really pretty sad that our society has made such a drastic change for the worse.

I do, however, want my children to enjoy the wonderful outdoors. I want them to enjoy this beautiful Spring weather.

So every day, they play outside. They play outside in our backyard. They play outside for hours - and that is NO exaggeration.

They find things to do that I would never dream. They play games under the clubhouse, they peep through the fence at the neighbors, we read books under our big tree, they turn the water on and get each other wet, they jump on the trampoline, they swing each other, they go to our shed (which they call a barn) and pretend to feed their animals, they push each other from the top of our incline to the bottom on the tricycle,(I'm waiting for someone to break their arm, or run into that aforementioned huge tree!) they get their toy cars & trains and push them down the slide, we picnic at the table on the back porch, they play ball, they (Jilian) eat dirt, and the boys have taught their 14-month old sister how to climb the 6 extremely steep steps on the ladder to go up to their "clubhouse". Yes, she does this alone and will laugh the entire way up because she knows how much it freaks me out. She has gotten herself dirtier in the last two weeks than both of her brothers combined ever have. That little Sassy "Miss Priss" is going to be one tough cookie for sure.

I find such joy in watching them do all of these things together. For so many years, it was just Jaydon alone. Even though his brother & sister are a lot younger, he still enjoys being out there with them. ...and the two little ones are like twins - they won't do anything without the other.

We also go to the Farmer's Market and buy new fruit every week. We sit on the back porch and peel/cut everything together. They get out their plastic utensils and help me. Jacoby loves to feed his sister, but he doesn't always get everything right into her little mouth. Then we I laugh (they squeal with delight) as the juice drips onto our shirts from the new tasty treats.

It is such a blessing to be at home with them. It is so nice to be able to enjoy these special moments together. Daycare would never work for me. Jaydon attended daycare for a couple of years, and I'm glad we don't have to do that again. There are some great ones out there, but that is just not for our family. There comes a time when they will need to be with other kids, but that can wait until they are 3 or 4, and even then, it won't be all day. For now, they just need to enjoy being little, enjoy each other, enjoy their mommy, and enjoy that they can go outside whenever they want to. 

My hope is that they continue to teach each other how to do things. I also hope that their laughter and happiness in getting to do things together never dies down. My hope is that their outside days only grow more fun as they get older & wiser.

The pictures below say it all.
I'm such a proud Momma - so proud that they are mine!

Important Question

I recently posted a question on Facebook that said:

Why do young men (usually Latino) carry shirts (usually white t-shirts) over their shoulder? Is this a gang sign? Jeremy and I are in deep thought about this...

I had a few friends answer the question. Their responses ranged from "they are hot", to "they are young and don't know any better" to "they are selling drugs".

I got a kick out of reading the answers. Google was of no assistance. I tried everything, and couldn't get my question answered.

Jeremy and I pondered for a few hours last night, and finally decided that by carrying their shirt over their shoulder when they are walking, they don't get the shirt sweaty or wrinkled, and they can tan at the same time.
It was actually a smart concept...if that is the only reason that they are doing it. We just aren't convinced.

So I leave it up to you. What are your thoughts on the white t-shirt carrying?
Do you and your significant other ever stay up way too late trying to solve the problems of the world?

Happy Easter Week

====================================

My Dearest Children:

 Even though you can't see Him...

 remember that HE will always be... 

      by your side.

Have a most joyous Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday!

Thanks to Heather, at Chunky Monkey Photography, for the great pictures!