What it Means to Be Held

Life is always busy especially when you have two young kids. But the past few weeks have seemed more overwhelming than usual. Jason being unavailable, due to finishing up one of his hardest Master's classes while working 6 days a week, has left me tired from having to deal with the kids by myself most of the time. It has been even more difficult wth Josiah being emotional and acting out as he deals with the void of daddy not being around and also feeling jealous of Jaron. Jaron hasn't been napping well (probably due to the huge developmental leaps he has been making lately) so I have needed spend more energy taking care of him and discovering what he needs to stay rested and happy. There have been days where I wanted to go to bed and try again the next day. But as I look back on the past couple of weeks I see how God was faithful to carry me through. He gave me wisdom to ibegin "chore time" with Josiah which gave me a break from him to get things done and helped me stay relaxed so I could better handle temper tantrums. Even though Jaron was struggling during the day, God helped me out by allowing Jaron to start sleeping through the night so I could get enough rest to tackle all the demands of taking care of a house. He gave me a clear mind to problem solve how to get Jaron better rested and happy. God has also blessed me with wonderful friends and resources to give me ideas on organization and child-rearing. So though the past few weeks have been tiring and frustrating, I see how God has held me every step of the way. Today I was reminding once again of His goodness as I was sitting on the couch cuddling with my two happy, loving boys thinking how two weeks ago neither one of them were happy, but today were back to their normal, wonderful selves. I couldn't have done it with God's help and the help of the people he has put in my life.

Josiah, My Big Boy

Jaron is going through a lot of changes, but so is Josiah. He is going through a huge developmental leap. For one, we are officially starting to potty train. He has already got the pooping thing figured out. We have occasional accidents, but for the most part I haven't had change a poopy diaper in months. But two weeks ago I finally decided that he was ready to start peeing in the potty. While we still have a long way to go, I am very pleased with where he is at. He runs around the house with big boy underwear on, and for the most part keeps his underwear dry. We still have to put a diaper on when we leave the house because the excitement of being somewhere distracts him from realizing he has to pee.



He has also been given the responsibility of keeping his bedroom clean. We made a chore chart that reminds him to put his books back on the shelf, put dirty clothes in the laundry basket, and to make his bed. When he is done he flips the chore over. We do "chore time" after breakfast. I tidy up a few things around the house while he cleans he room. He loves being able to "read" his chore chart and do things on his own. I love not having to clean his room and it frees me up to do some cleaning as well.



He has been really interested in numbers and how things are spelled. So I decided to do "school time" with him 3 days a week. It only lasts about 15 minutes (short attention span), but it makes him feel big that he is "going to school". I am working on letter and number recognition, what sounds each letter makes, and how to spell his name.



His vocabulary is growing quickly. This is good because he can communicate well what he wants to me. He likes to say the prayer at dinner. He does a great job. He likes to try to participate with answering questions at life group (to the point we have to tell him to let other people talk). He still loves to sing and enjoys learning new songs.



Though we have been having some trying times with him lately, I am always amazed at his love for people and for God. The other day we were listening to the birds chirping outside. I asked him if he could hear them singing, "Cheep cheep." He replied, "They aren't singing cheep cheep. They are singing Awesome God." For the past couple of nights he also has been praying for Jesus to come back so we can go to heaven.



Here are some pictures of Josiah the past couple of months.

Josiah at a Lighthouse near Newport

Josiah and Daddy playing in th Ocean

Easter Egg Hunting



Hanging out with Jaron.

Riding a pony at the circus.

Jaron is 4 months old

I took pictures of Jaron at 3 month old to post to the blog, but never found time to do it. So now I am doing the 4 month old pictures. Where does the time go? Today we had Jaron's 4 month doctor appointment. He is now 25 1/4 inches long and weighs 15 lbs 11 oz which is average for a boy Jaron's age . Jaron has gained 4 1/2 lbs in two months. Josiah at this age was 24 1/2 inches long and weighed 15 lbs 8 oz.

Jaron is coming along great developmentally. He is ticklish, which his daddy loves. He is starting to purposefully grab toys. His tummy time is going well. He doesn't seem to mind it like Josiah did. Jaron can stay on his belly for 5-10 minutes before he gets tired. He can roll from his belly to his back, though not consistently. The doctor was surprised at how well Jaron can sit up with not much help. She thinks he might be sitting up by himself at 5 months.

Up until this past week Jaron wouldn't take a pacifier or a bottle. Now he thinks they are okay. I am so grateful because Jaron is so curious and social that if we aren't at home in a quiet dark room he would much rather look around or talk to me than eat. That means he makes up the missing calories in the middle of the night. Now if we go somewhere, I can pump milk and feed it to him with a bottle and he can still look around. I don't use the pacifier during the day because Jaron never needs it, but he still hasn't figured out the night time sleeping thing, so a pacifier has come in handy to help him sleep better.

Jaron's personality is very laid back and very curious. I thought Josiah was laid back, but Jaron is even more so. He never cries and has a smile for everyone. He is content to sit in his bouncy chair, lay on his back, or sit in your arms as long as he can see and hear you. My only two complaints are his night time sleeping (he is still getting up 2-3 times a night) and swaddling. He still needs to be swaddled, but he is so strong it is difficult to find a swaddle tough enough for him. If his arms come out he can't go back to sleep. We finally found one, but it is made of micro fleece, which is really warm. As soon as the weather warms up we won't be able to use it without over heating him. Hopefully he gets over the swaddle soon.