The Truth

I got out of the shower this morning and Jakob was there to greet me...

"Good morning Jakob."

"Good morning Mommy."

"Mommy I had 2 nightmares last night...why didn't my "nightmare protector guy" (a.k.a. a stuffed boy elf doll that I pulled out of storage and told that the doll protected against nightmares) work?

"I'm not sure, I'll talk to him about it...I'm sorry you had nightmares, but you know you are safe with Mommy and Daddy right?" 

(I have to think of a reason - I'm thinking of telling him that the doll protects him and keeps him safe even if he has a nightmare - and a reminder that nightmares are imaginary? We'll see how that works!)

"Right" "Mommy why are your boobs so flat?"

my thoughts - AWESOME - seriously moving that quickly from nightmares to my bodily flaws - where the heck is my shirt!

"Because I just fed Sarah"

"Yeah they aren't normally like that, they are bigger."

"Well, someday they won't be that big, after I stop breastfeeding they will change."

"Yeah, that's ok Mommy"

"Remember Jakob, every body is different."

"Yep."

As a parent I've learned a few things about the truth - sometimes the truth hurts, but sure is funny coming from a 3 1/2 year old and that bending the truth doesn't always work in your favor!!

Sweetie Pies!

New Happenings

On 5/21, Sarah ate brown rice cereal (Happy Bellies brand- with probiotics in it - pretty cool) for the first time.
She really liked it, but I think only a few drops actually got down into her belly, since her tongue pretty much just thrusted the cereal out of her mouth! She had some more tonight and did a little better.

Big Brother getting in on the first food action!

Jakob has started swimming lessons at the Clackamas Aquatic Center - a great indoor pool area with big water slides and all. He wasn't too fond of the water at first, and is still a bit hesitant when he gets there, but once he's in the water he does pretty well. He's actuallly gone under the water a few times now.

He really likes his teacher Ms. Kathy and likes to ride on the big "floaty things."

He's not much of a fan of the water being dumped on the head! Not sure that I would be either.

New Teachers

On the way to swim lessons last night, Jakob told me in the car that he has 2 new teachers at preschool, "Clinton and Obama".
I have no idea where he got the idea that they are going to be his teachers - but how hysterical. I asked him if he knew them, "No, but I like Obama." Of course I took the opportunity to tell him that Obama would be our next president, "Yeah and he'll be my teacher." I said, "Yeah, in a way he will be."
Mark picked him up today and noticed that they had Clinton and Obama written on their board - not sure what they are talking about, obviously the primary but how that relates to a preschooler - who knows - but at least my child is keeping up to date on current events- I guess!

Sarah's 4 months old

Sarah turned 4 months old on Saturday. Here is what she is up to...

Playing in the exersaucer


Riding in the stroller with her brother (Jakob calls this the "double decker stroller")


Looking Cute wearing her strawberry hat (Mother's Day at Grand Central Bakery)


Chewing/gnawing/drooling like a fountain, on anything she can get her hands on


Getting used to and/or really annoyed with her super cute sunglasses


Cooing and screaming a lot!! I think people sometimes think we torture her with how loud she sings/coos/screams - she does this usually, right before she falls asleep in the stroller or in the car.


Learning great things from her big brother - like it's fun to pee in the bushes in the backyard - if you're a boy...


Showing off her cute little body in her new swimsuit! I wish she knew this is the only time in her life that cellulite and rolls are very, very cute in a swimsuit!


Learning the fun of sitting in a wading pool in 100 degree weather. (Jakob didn't want to put on his swim trunks - just thought he would play in his clothes - not the battle I wanted to take on!)


Sleeping in her crib, and sharing a room with her big brother. (Yes, Jakob is sleeping upside down - of course). Also, she has perfected her technique of getting her arms out of her swaddling blanket and rolling from back to tummy in the crib, she was in the midst of doing this when I took the picture - this has made the nighttime routine a bit hard as she can't settle herself as easily as when she would stay swaddled.


So, crazy how fast 4 months goes by and how much these sweet things change!

P.S. Congrats to my cousin Monica who had her baby today - Isliana Mae or May (not sure on the middle name spelling) Morris!
7lbs 8.8 oz with a lot of hair - or so I hear! I can't wait to see pics. Sarah and her 2nd cousin are almost exactly 4 months apart - so exciting.

My Mother's Day

So, after my seriously long posting on some of the things I've learned as a mother, I forgot to blog about my own Mother's Day!
Side Note - I forgot to put in so much on the Mother's Day blog, I really do have a lot more that I've learned about myself as a Mother and what it takes to be a Mom of a 3 year old and a newborn - but I didn't have the time nor the energy to type it all out. I was holding Sarah while I was typing and it was getting a bit tiring and my arm was full of drool by the end - needless to say all the wonderful thoughts were jumbled and didn't really make it to the computer!

Moving on, I had a great Mother's Day. We walked up to the Grand Central Bakery for breakfast/brunch and sat outside in the sun - wonderful! Jakob and Daddy took a nap while I nursed Sarah and did the long blog posting. Mark and the kids gave me a super cute necklace ( a circle pendant with dragonflies engravd on it), Jakob made sure to ask if I liked it - so cute! Then we headed to the Brink's for the afternoon/evening. Julie and I left the kids with the Daddies and we went to the mall! We ate a nice dinner at the cheesecake factory, (salads and drinks - cheesecake to go), I had the Patron Diablo - it was awesome, most of you know I love Tequila - of course, we toasted to ourselves as Mom's.We then did a bit of shopping (not the brightest idea when you've had some alcohol in your system!).
All in all a great day! Being away from the kids for a few hours on Mother's Day was wonderful as both Julie and I have infants and 3 1/2 year olds, we don't get out much. We were the old balls at the restaurant, but I know there were some jealous Moms in that place!! Thanks to the wonderful husbands for taking on the task of single parent for our pleasure!

Happy Mother's Day

This is dedicated to the all the amazing Mothers that we know, love and have loved! I hope you are having a wonderful Mother's Day!
Things I have learned so far about Motherhood....

Motherhood starts out so exciting and wonderful, that twitter in your belly, the excitement and wonder around what it will be like to be a mother, you start to love having that gorgeous pregnant belly that everyone admires and touches (sometimes whether you like it or not!).





Then the time comes when you work the hardest you've ever worked to get that baby out. Later on you realize that was the easy part of Motherhood! You meet your children in a haze of excitement, adrenaline, exhaustion and ultimate joy that you have made an amazing being! (Now that your beautiful belly is gone, you use that cushion that is left to help that baby snuggle in to you!)




As a new Mom you realize how much your own Mother and Grandmother mean to you and how important they are in your child's life. They cherish the snuggle times, the story time, the play time and the hugs goodbye! And if you're lucky like we are, they teach the joys of cooking, baking and even make awesome cakes for your kiddos!








As a Mother you need the support of your friends who are Mother's and have gone thru the same challenges you are going thru! These girlfriends will be the people who tell you that it's ok that you almost lost your sanity in the pool changing room (that story to come in another blog).

They will go with you to torture your kids with visits to Santa:


They will show you how to make a crazy face to make your kid smile:


They'll show you how to make your life easier, like Carmen showing me how to use whatever you can to open a jar:


They'll laugh with you when you do everything you can to take a picture and it turns out that everyone looks crazy or that your kid won't look at the camera. But as a Mom you take what you can get!




There are so many things I've learned as a Mom so far, and much more to learn. One of the simplest things I've learned is that you never have all the answers - sometimes "Because I said so" does work. You'll never be prepared for everything like:

Your child pulling up his shirt and putting his hands in his bottom during a preschool production, lovely!


And yes, the horror of looking over at your son in a public park, with his pants down, peeing on a tree, nothing can prepare a Mom for that!


As a Mom, I have realized that sometimes, you have to accept that your husband is going to teach your child things that you might not approve of, but you chalk that up to "That's life and that's why I love my husband"



Lastly, I have learned that Motherhood is the most amazing, challenging, mind bending, back breaking, sanity testing, selfless, hysterical, heart melting and yet rewarding thing a person can experience.



Oh, and of course these are the faces that keep me coming back to Motherhood!!

Visit with Nana and Papa

Nana and Papa Varner left today after visiting with us for 5 days. This was Papa's first time meeting Sarah. She, like Jakob, loves him - smiled right away at him! We had a nice visit, went to the park more than a few times, went to Cannon Beach (but it turns out it was freezing there - so we only played for a bit), went to the Rhodedendron Garden by our house and saw lots of new spring lfowers and even baby geese! Jakob worked Papa to the bone - he had him playing trains,games, fishing with his new poles from Nana and Papa, playing soccer, walking, riding bikes, digging in the sand etc. - Jakob has a real play pal in Papa - no wonder Jakob adores him so much!!

After they left today, I said to Jakob, "Boy do they spoil you," and Jakob's response, "Yeah, I know, I love them!"
About an hour later he came to me teary eyed and whining, "I didn't want them to leave." This is the first time he's ever been sad when someone has left, broke my heart!! I reminded him that Nana would be back in August and she promised to make cookies with him - and boy did he light up. Papa will be back in November and Jakob says he can't wait to show Papa how big he will be, "Because I will be 4 years old".
It is so hard to live so far away from our family, but we really do love it here in Portland and we REALLY enjoy our visits with family and friends when they come stay with us - it gives us such quality time with them.

Sarah's first meeting with Papa and remembering Nana's voice!!






Nana's girl!




Sarah with the baby warmer/whisperer - Papa can always get the baby to sleep!


Jakob and Papa building sand castles - or more like Jakob destroying Papa's work - and loving it!


Sweet little baby geese and their Mama!