Wordless Wednesday - They Grow Up So Fast

Picture Perfect?

With the modern technology of cell phones and games and cameras on your cell phone I find all kinds of pictures from my phone these days. Since Joshua has learned his way around my iPhone so well he now takes pictures when he can get a hold of it or when I'm letting him play games on it. These are just a few of the pictures I find when I download the pictures from my phone. Keep in mind that I usually have about 1o copies of slightly different versions of the same shot.

Do you find this happening with your phones, or am I the only one?

Finger shot

Another finger shot

It's so obvious who's taking this

picture (like I had any doubts).

For Real Thursdays - Challenging Children

This is my precious, sweet, cuddly Joshua. He is also my most strong willed and challenging child. You literally can't take your eyes off of him for 5 seconds or he's in to something he is not suppose to be in to, or climbing on something he's not suppose to climb on. He always tests his boundaries and always tries to get away with something. He knows where all the hiding places are and how to reach them, so nothing is safe. He loves to talk loud and lets himself be heard when things don't go his way. But, oh, how I love this precious child.

I think so many times when we face challenges like this, that instead of always looking at the challenge and getting frustrated because of the way they are we should look at ourselves and the way we are. Maybe sometimes God is using these opportunities to refine us. He's making us a better person through the challenges we face with children like these.

I don't blame Joshua for his behavior, I also don't accept his temper tantrums or misbehaving as acceptable behavior. I deal with the issues at hand, but I pay close attention to how I deal with them.

My Bible tells me that love is patient, kind, not rude, not self-seeking, not easily angered, keeps no record of wrongs, always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres and NEVER fails. It also tells me that I should have love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. That those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. And that since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

So I take these words as a challenge for me to keep in mind as I raise our children. It's easy to get angry and discipline harshly, because it's what my flesh feels like doing. It takes a lot more self control to discipline in love. But I can guarantee you that the outcome will be so much more worth it in the end. Besides, if I think about it, isn't God patient with me? My strong will may not be as obvious as my two year old's but how many times has God gently and loving taught me the same lesson again and again when I stubbornly do the opposite of what He tells me?

So love those challenging kids of yours. No one said parenting was easy, but if you do it God's way it's soooo rewarding, for both you and your child.

Puddle Hoppin'

After the huge storms we had pass through our area last week there were a few yard puddles remaining. Of course on Joshua's first chance outdoors he found the puddles. I hesitated at first and almost told him no, then thought "Why not. What kid doesn't love puddle hoppin'?" So, he went for it and had a blast. I'm glad I said yes :)

Wordless Wednesday - Ready for Work

Joshua dressed himself to

go to work with Daddy.

Over his pajama's, he's wearing one of Daddy's

shirts and some of his big brother's shoes.

Yay!

Yay! Joshua made it through the night last night without getting out of his bed. He stayed in his bed and fell asleep by himself. I am so happy and pray that this continues.

You see, for the last week or so the girls have been putting Joshua in bed with them because he wouldn't go to sleep in his bed (he likes to cuddle). So instead of fighting with him to keep him in his bed, they just cuddled with him in their bed. I wasn't sure how we were going to break this habit and get him back in his bed, until the bed set was given to us. I am so thankful for this little gift that has made a world of difference. It's amazing how such a little thing can change everything.

This makes me stop and think about how something I have that I may not be using can make a difference to someone else. What do you have that you can pass on?

Still Trying...

So, we are still trying to encourage Joshua to sleep in his bed through the night. Thanks to a dear friend, we are getting closers to accomplishing this task. My friend's son outgrew this bedding set so she passed it on to us. I only wish I would have had the camera to take a picture of his face when he saw his bed fixed up like this. I will keep you posted on how it works. In the meantime, thank you my dear friend, you know who you are :)

Little, Big Helper

Saturday evening we decided to have a cook-out with hamburgers and hotdogs. Jim decided to let Joshua join him in cooking up the meat and of course I had to grab the camera.

Flipping burgers with the spatula

Daddy teaching the proper way to get the job done :)

Using tongs to grab the hotdogs

Smile!

Ok, Joshua is NOT suppose to be in Kyle's pack and play but this was one of those situations where instead of getting upset we grabbed the camera. As I've stated before, Joshua LOVES Kyle and kisses and hugs him all the time. I'm glad he loves him, I'll take that any day over being jealous. So, to show you what I'm talking about, this is what happened yesterday...

My favorite picture ever!!!

Ready

This is Joshua's idea of being ready to go outside...

Did I mention it was in the 40's that day?

Might be a little hard to run while

wearing Daddy's steel toed boots :)

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Joshua is our "Little Monkey." He's so cute and busy and always into something. If you don't keep a close watch on him he can destroy a house in a matter of minutes :) This is why he reminds me of Curious George. He is curious about everything around him and copies everything he sees.

Since I taught him to brush his teeth, he copies the way I brush my teeth. Even the part where I pull my hair back so it doesn't get in my face when I lean down at the sink. I couldn't figure out for the longest time why he would grab the top of his head and hold his hair when he brushed his teeth and then it occurred to me that he was holding his hair because I was holding mine.

It amazes me how much a child copies those around them. All the more reason for us to be careful what we do. I think God designed it that way so that we make sure we are behaving at all times :)

The picture above shows Joshua holding his hair the same way he does when he leans over into the sink when he's brushing his teeth. Of course he's holding the top of his head because he doesn't have enough hair in the back to hold it back. It was the only place that he had enough hair to grab.

He's also giving me one of his "monkey lips" kisses. When he first started puckering up to kiss us he looked like a little monkey with his lips puckered out so far. So now we ask him for a kiss by asking for his "monkey lips." And of course I'm giving him a monkey kiss back :)

Powder Face

Friday night, Joshua got a hold of the baby powder and poured a pile onto the bed of the fold out couch. He then, for some odd reason, shoved his face into the pile of powder. When he came to Jim and me this is how he looked.

Joshua looking like the Phantom of the Opera.

Jim gently blowing the powder out of his eyes.

Did you get it all?

Much better.

Time for Bed...or Not

In case some of you are wondering how it's going with Joshua sleeping in his toddler bed, I thought I'd give you an update. Challenging! That's my word for how it's going :) The books worked for one night and one nap and that was it. The second night Christiana tried to get him to stay down but he wouldn't get still enough to go to sleep. Finally, after pointing to her table, she figured out he wanted the radio on and then he tucked himself in and fell asleep. Since then it has been a guessing game as to what will make him go to sleep. Sometimes singing to him works, sometimes reading a book, sometimes having me just sit next to him works, and sometimes it feels like a wrestling match trying to keep him in bed. In fact, the reason I didn't get a post out on Tuesday was because I was trying to get Joshua down for his nap and was so exhausted afterwards that I fell asleep as well.

My napping buddy on Tuesday.

Today, I'm letting Joshua stay up and play outside during nap time in hopes that he will fall asleep quickly tonight. I am so looking forward to warm days outside where he can release his energy and be ready to sleep at nap and at night. I think that will make a world of difference.

So, for those of you who may think that with eight children I have it all figured out, now you know. I'm still learning and always ready to receive wisdom from those who have insight into what I don't. Obviously, getting a child to stay in his bed at bedtime is one of those things I haven't figured out yet. And of course, what works for one child may not work for another. I sure hope there's a grading curve on this one.

Any advice on what worked for you? I'm open.

So Tired

When Joshua missed his nap one day this is how we found him later. He was so tired that he didn't even lay down. He stayed in this pose the whole time he slept. I thought it was funny because this little guy doesn't slow down much. He's usually full speed ahead. I guess this day, since he didn't go to sleep, he was just completely tuckered out.

Joshua and His Toddler Bed

So sorry that I didn't get a blog out Friday or Monday. Things are starting to get back to normal (whatever that is) with school and every day scheduling. The only difference is that the times I would usually sit down to do a quick blog I'm now sitting down to nurse Kyle. Not that it is a bad thing, I actually love nursing and spending time with him. I've done this enough times now to know that it is over way too quick, so I like to savor this time. So, please forgive me if I don't get a blog out each week day. I promise that I will try. I guess, for now, there may be days that I just don't get to it.

So, that being said, we have just recently gotten Joshua into his toddler bed. Since Kyle is sleeping with us in our bed we decided to just convert the crib into a toddler bed. Joshua has been sleeping in his crib with the mattress lowered all the way on the floor because he kept crawling out of the crib with the mattress in the lowest position and we were afraid that he would hurt himself when he climbed out of his bed. We had planned on making the switch from crib to toddler bed before Kyle was born but it just didn't happen. So last night Jim and Josiah were able to make the switch. The only thing left to do was to see how Joshua would do. Would he stay in bed or continually climb out?

Here's what we did once bed time arrived. We put him in bed and had his sister's watch him and encourage him to stay in bed. That didn't work too well. So, I decided to go upstairs and read him some books. I noticed that he seemed to be getting tired so I left a couple of cardboard books with him in his bed and headed downstairs. Before I went to sleep I went upstairs to check on him and he was sleeping soundly. The girls informed me this morning that they had to read to him a few more times before he was settled, but that he stayed in bed and went to sleep. (I did put up a guard rail before I left the room keep him from falling out of bed, this may help in keeping him from getting out of bed as well).

At nap time today Josiah put him in bed (put the guard rail in place) and the kids gave him plenty of books. Sure enough he's upstairs sleeping right now. He didn't even try to get out of bed :)

This is what he looks like...

We will make sure that we continue to switch out the books so he doesn't get bored with the same ones. And for those of you wondering, no we do not let him sleep like this, we do remove the books from around him so he doesn't hurt or choke himself while sleeping.

We shall see how tonight goes. Hopefully, it will continue to be this easy to get him to stay in bed :)

Joshua

Joshua

Two weeks ago Joshua turned 2 years old. Also two weeks ago, Kyle was born. I usually try to post a picture of our birthday child wishing them a Happy Birthday, but with everything going on that day I didn't get a post put out for Joshua.

So today I thought I'd post a picture of my little man. I can't believe you're already two years old. What a blessing you are to our family. You make us laugh and I love your hugs and kisses. I love you so much and I love being your Mom.

Yummy, Cake!

Since I've come home with Kyle, we've had some wonderful friends bringing us meals. One of my friends, Beth, brought an awesome dessert that I can't wait to try. Everyone else was quick to tell me how good it was, but I don't think anyone enjoyed it as much as Joshua. This is what happened when the dessert was left on the counter and Josiah had his back turned.

Joshua had taken a chair and pulled it up to the counter and helped himself to some cake. Fortunately the others already had some and there's still plenty for me to try later.

Beth, Joshua wants you to know that he loved your cake :)

Wordless Wednesday- Where's the Slide?

Wordless Wednesday - Where's the Slide?

Little Helper and Uh-Oh

During our Thanksgiving bake day Joshua wanted to help out like all the big kids. So, I let Kaitlyn watch over him while he helped stir the lime salad mix. Here are a few pictures of how it went.

Joshua excited to be helping stir the

jello and marshmallow mix

Here he looks like he's getting ready to taste it, however once

Kaitlyn took the picture he started stirring again.

Looking very serious at his task

Dropping the spoon in the bowl

Uh-Oh :)

Not Yet...

Understand as you read this that we lived in Vermont for 4 1/2 years where there is plenty of snow to play in.

This morning we had a few snow flurries and my children headed outside as quick as possible to enjoy it. We have been in Tennessee one winter so far, so we are very aware of how quickly snow disappears here. What I found amusing, though, was that although we were having snow flurries, there was nothing on the ground and yet my children drug out the sleds. "Poor things", I thought, "they can't sled without something on the ground." But they had to try anyway, gotta give them an "A" for effort (my kids have found out that if they can get outside while there is still frost on the ground that they can sled on a frost covered ground).

So anyway, I just had to take a picture of Josiah pushing Joshua down the hill on the sled (because otherwise it wouldn't move). Oh well, hopefully soon we'll get enough snow for them to enjoy :)

Josiah pushing Joshua down the hill on a sled.

My delicious cup of hot chocolate that Christiana

made for me after they came in from the cold.