Monday, September 2, 2013

Snuggling ....

Today is Monday (Labor Day) and the whole family is under one roof with NO scheduled activities ... I was awoken by gentle little fingers caressing my arm which had escaped my warm bed .... "Mommy, I-awake" said a soft little whisper .... I outstretched my arm and invited my little snuggle bug to climb into our bed. Kenna worked her way over me and under the blankets in between Tim and I.  "Mommy, will you snuggle me?" - I happily threw my arm over the top of her chest into a warm hug and we proceeded to rub our cheeks together ..... it was a good morning because Kenna was generous in dolling out kisses ....

From the safety and warmth of our covers, we could see that it was cloudy outside and hear the rain dripping in the downspout ... I took the snuggle time to study the muted light on her little face. Her cheeks looked of peaches and cream and her hair, slightly sweeping across her forehead, appeared a strawberry hue. I looked at my beautiful little girl and tried to capture this one moment in time - to engrain her innocence and youth in my memory - because one day, she will be big and won't want to snuggle in my bed, or intertwine her little fingers in mine while whispering about the rain outside.

Where is the 'pause' button' for this life?

Saturday, August 31, 2013

First days of school ....


This past summer yielded many exhilarating and fun activities for our family. We went on a few camping trips - we went to Boca Resivor, Stampede Resivor and Salte Point - we bought a boat (and thus spent a fair amount of time on the lake and fishing at various locales).  Mason attended church camp and both kids took swim lessons.

 
  Mason and I were also fortunate enough to take in "The King and I" at the California Music Circus. We were in the front row and Mason was completely enthralled the entire show! 


Due to my work schedule, there were a few weeks that found us limited in our travels and adventures - so we tried to spend time on the river, riding bikes and getting things done around the house. The kids had a summer that was very busy and jam-packed full of activities.

Mason has been very busy with soccer practice and has joined a competitive competition karate team. The national competition is in Reno next year, so we signed him up for the team and we shall see if he is still interested in competing by the time the competition rolls around.

This past month, Mason started first grade and Makenna started preschool (gulp)! I can't believe we are already to the point in time where both kids are in school. Makenna is only going two days a week (Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9am - 12pm) and Mason is in school from 8:05am to 2:25pm.


I asked Margie the other day if it was wrong to feel slightly giddy and terrible all at the same time with both kids being in school ... I feel giddy because I am able to work out, grocery shop, clean house, do laundry, study, etc. while  Kenna is at preschool... and, at the same time, I feel terrible because it means the kids are growing and they are no longer small ....

At first I was pretty sad ... thinking there would no longer be mornings of lazing around in our PJ's until 10am, no more porch-rocking snuggling, no more waffle breakfasts and laughing around the kitchen table, etc .... but then, I realized that those times during the WEEK may no longer be here, but that there were plenty of days ahead of us where all of those wonderful activities could take place on weekends.

In fact, this morning (Saturday) Kenna felt compelled to stowaway in our bed. I melted a little when I
looked over to see her snuggling in the fluffy quilt - her teddy bear at her side. It is these moments that I will continue to treasure - even if they only happen on weekends when we are all home and are able to relax and sleep in ...

Honestly, I just have decided to grab hold of those moments, recognize them for what they are and never let go of those memories!!

Til next time -
J

Sunday, March 10, 2013

a perfect morning ....

Mak and I were rocking out on the back porch this morning ... the birds were happily chirping away in the trees surrounding us and the sun was shining on her  hair ... each strand looked like a golden-red thread, with a little shine, as I twirled them through my fingers ... The air was a little brisk (since it is March, after all) so we were snuggled up tight, wrapped together in my big pink bathrobe.... she took this time to happily chatter a random story about kitties (since she was petting Bella) ...every so often, she would turn her head back to mine, to proffer up a big kiss and rub her cloud-soft cheek against mine .... my heart is happy in this moment, snuggled with my little kermuggin on the back porch...I hope to remember this moment forever ....


a long time gone ....

Wow, I can't believe it has almost been three years since I have shared anything! Much time has passed which has seen the kids growing at an unprecedented rate .... instead of trying to get back to blogging on a regular schedule (which is just not possible with the school and family schedule), I am just going to randomly log in to share poignant moments that I experience with my family.....

It became painfully obvious the other morning that the kids are growing entirely too fast. Mason has started school and Mak will be starting preschool in the Fall..... so, I am going to capture these little moments, so I am sure not to forget them as sometime in the future, I will not remember the little things said, the sly little looks, or the shenanigans had ......


Thursday, August 26, 2010

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

May 2010



I always thought it was a cliche' when people said that time passes more quickly as you age. I now know, especially since I have little ones, that what they say is true.

I am amazed that 4 months have passed since I have last shared our family stories, pictures and videos of the kids. It is truly awesome to watch Mason and Makenna grow and flourish before our eyes.

Mason has grown into quite a little boy. He has entered the "why?" and "what for?" phase of his life. I now understand, after answering a string a questions in a row, why my mom would say, "BECAUSE I SAID SO!" Tim and I are encouraging his imagination, exploration and absorbtion of our big world. His current passion is "going swing" on our little play set in the back yard (which he helped daddy, grandpa and Uncle Cory assemble, by the way). When his inertia slowly decreases, he shouts out, "ready for a push mommy!" He is happy to share his daily swinging with Makenna who lounges in the infant seat next to him, happily chewing on the strap that holds her in place.

Makenna is entering my favorite stage of babyhood. She is sitting on her own, but is not yet mobile. We have just begun feeding her solid food. She wasn't too sure of rice cereal, but seems to be enjoying her latest concaution of banannas and breast milk. Makenna (or Kenna) has turned out to be quite an easy-tempered baby. Everyone told Tim and I that we would have a little hellion since Mason was mellow; well, she is doing her best, in her infancy, to prove that theory wrong. She does, however, have a little temper (who knows where she got that from?) and I am sure we will encounter the hell-raiser phase in her teenage years.

We are blessed beyond reason to have two kids that sleep. On average, the kids will wake themselves up between one and three times a week: a pacifier falls out, sheets get tangled, or a diaper gets too wet.

The kids have been in relatively good health lately. It seems we have had more run-ins with the common cold, allergies, and ear infections over the past few months. Mason has had a snottie nose since February and we just can't seem to get him better. I finally started giving him allergy medicine today and hopefully, that will make a difference! We should buy stock in Kleenex with as much tissue we have been going through in this house!

Kenna will have her 6 month appointment in the coming week. I had to take her into the clinic on a Sunday (two days after she actually turned 6 months) and our little hefty-Hannah weighed a whopping 19 pounds 9.8 ounces. She is moving OUT of 9 month clothing and is getting ready to show off her dimpled elbows this summer (if it ever gets here).

The coming weeks yield an exciting development for our family. We are going to start potty training Mason the 3rd week in June. It is time to kick the diapers! Tim will be home with the kids this summer (since summer school was cut due to budgeting issues) and will be the front runner on facilitating the potty training. I will be so proud of my big boy (well, both big boys: Mason for training and daddy for stepping to the plate)!

So, I know I am WAAAAAY behind in posts ... here are a few pictures from January: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AbMnDJi3ZN2T-A

February and March should be separate posts from Shutterfly (on the blog page).
I hope this finds you all doing well! I will hopefully post again soon to re-cap the next months (April - August) ....

Jenn


Friday, January 29, 2010