Reflections

I usually pride myself on talking honestly about things that are hard (i.e. motherhood). However, I hope I don't come across as overly negative about my life. I want my blog stalkers and children (more so children) to know exactly how I feel so none of my "honesty" is misinterpreted.

Simply put.... I love my life. I've spent today reflecting on the day-to-day monotony and struggles of being a stay-at-home Mom and how much it entails...and how I really feel about it. As hard as it can be sometimes....it's the only job I ever dreamed of having when I was growing up. So, in other words...I'm living my dream.

Yes, we are in the midst of the drama/battles with Addison. Sometimes I'm amazed at how much every little detail involves a battle. And I secretly hope we leave this phase when she turns 3 in a couple of months. Yes, the house is usually messy and I'm always trying to be okay with that which is usually still a struggle. Yes, Jonas has entered into this screaming phase just for the fun of it and it's draining on my ears lately. Yes, the days are long and most of the time I'm counting down until bedtime.

However, on the flip side of it, I'm extremely grateful for all these things and more. Today was our self proclaimed "lazy day" and I spent most of it just thinking and counting my blessings. Realizing that nothing was really pressing or scheduled. Looking at the toys and messy house thinking how grateful I was to have kids that are there to make it messy. Just stopping to take joy in the journey. So, I wanted to share a bit about what I love about each of my family members...

John - I'm one lucky lady. How many people can say that they enjoy hanging out with their husband? If we weren't married, I definitely would want him as a friend...I'm lucky to have both. He's a very hard worker and rarely ever misses a day of work. He provides for our family financially as well as every other possible way. He's a great father. I couldn't have picked a better one. He has the energy to come home and play with the kids after a long day at work. He never expects dinner on the table or a clean house waiting for him. He's not perfect and I love that he realizes this as well. He's always trying to be better and work harder at everything. He loves his family, he loves my family, he loves our family. He gives me lots of breaks and nights out with the girls while manning the home front. And then spends the next day going on and on about how much work it entails and how grateful he is for everything I do. He's always good about appreciating me and complimenting me. Sometimes I accuse him of having his "love goggles" on when he tells me I'm pretty as I'm unshowered, in sweats, messy hair, and no make-up. And I love that about him.

Addison - Who could have created a sweeter girly? She's everything I would have picked for my oldest child. She tries sooo hard to be good and do good. She always tells us how much she loves us. She tries so hard to be independent and do everything herself. She loves her brother and it shows. She adores her Daddy and has such a great relationship with him. Every time I pull into our neighborhood on our way home she'll shout from the backseat "Thank You for driving down da road Momma! Dat's so nice to you!" Same spot, every time. She loves to give and receive cuddles. She loves to wrestle and play rough but also loves frilly dresses and loves the color pink. Tonight in her prayers she said "Please help Daddy to go to work, help Mommy to get me donuts....chocolate donuts...." She has the most hilarious prayers and loves to say them "all by myself". When blessing the food she will always say "help to bless da food and make us strong" while growling the word "strong" and flexing her muscles. I always have to peek every time she does this. I love it. She's growing up so much but I love seeing her go through each phase. I hope she recovers from our parenting mistakes as we learn along with her.

Jonas - He's the most perfect little boy I could have ever imagined. He has a scrunchy nose smile that just melts me every time. He's starting to get more mobile and I'm loving it. He's rolled a few times but still struggles with sitting up and hasn't even been tempted to crawl yet. He's so adorable and so easy going. I think the "boy" is starting to come out since he has now acquired this high pitch squeal that he does just to be heard. He's rarely ever upset and is always happy. He's a good sleeper, eater, cuddler, you name it - he's perfected it. He's a big boy. My arms ache after carrying him or his carrier with him in it. He needs to start walking soon so I can take a break! He loves to have books read to him. He loves his baths and loves to sit and splash away and play before he gets soaped up. I love how his hair is so thin that it stands up in the back. I'm definitely understanding how little boys can turn their Momma's into putty. I can't wait to see his personality come out even more as each day passes.

So, in summary, I am grateful for my life and the blessings Heavenly Father has given me. Although I may struggle along the way or have days where I just want to beat my head against a wall, I love my job. I'd never trade it for another. I'm glad I have the opportunity to stay home with my kids. I can't really think about anything I could want more that I don't already have. I'm blessed.

Apparently I use Zip Loc bags a lot. I didn't realize this until Addison went and got one and put her shake in it while muttering something to Jonas about "saving it for later". ;-)

Desperate times call for desperate measures. I learned the hard way that Jonas isn't quite old enough to sit in the shopping cart at Walmart. After lugging him in one arm and pushing the cart with the other while pouring sweat, I had to get creative when it was time to go to the car with the groceries. Thank heaven for older sisters!

6 Months Old

This little guy is now 6 months old! Can you believe how fast time has flown? He's almost doubled his birth weight and that is saying something since he was born at 9 lbs 6.5 oz. He's a chunky monkey and so adorable. Most days I am just fascinated by him. He is SUCH a good baby. I really didn't think I'd get so lucky two times in a row but am so glad that I did. He is happy almost all of the time. Just patiently waits/hangs-out if I'm busy doing something and is so mellow and laid back. The only times he really cries are if he's either hungry or tired and even then very rarely.

Today, I was brave and hauled both kids off for pictures all by myself. Usually John is able to tag along and help but since he had to work I braved it alone. I'm not a fan of prepping small children for pictures. I worry and plan every little detail to make sure they are happy, full, well rested, etc just in time for the camera to start shooting. And no matter what lengths I go to, it never works as planned. Thankfully, we are still able to get a few decent pictures regardless of what mood they are in but that is usually after I've jumped all around the studio and am sweating like crazy. Anything to get a smile right? What confuses me is that my kids are happy and smiling 99.9% of the time. However, when it's time to do it for a camera they immediately turn it off and make me work for it. Luckily, it gets easier as they get older but when they are little it is hard work! Oh well, what I won't do to document my cute kids as they grow up. It's always worth it to see the cute little pictures!

Jonas was not very generous with his smiles today. They tried putting almost every toy/prop in front of him to eek out a smile. He wasn't having it. What he DID smile at was his sister of course. Like he always does. All she has to do is just smile at him and he's all grins from ear to ear. So needless to say, we weren't above using Addison as our little prop just to squeeze some smiles out of this guy. We had her hanging in the air, moving around the room, draped wherever, just to get his smile perfect. It worked every time. I'm so glad she was our human prop today. We have her to thank for the cute pictures we did get!

So, lets see.... What is Jonas up to lately at his ripe old age of 6 months? Well, for starters he has finally rolled over. Once with Daddy a few weeks ago but luckily he rolled again for Mommy and Addison to see a couple of days ago. He's not too generous with rolling. He's pretty content to just sit and hang out. Daddy has been practicing with him more than anyone but Jonas doesn't last long on his tummy and usually gets upset pretty quickly. Oh well, one of these days he'll just take to it and roll and crawl all over the place. It's funny how less concerned you are with all the milestones when it's your second child. I figure he'll learn to roll, and crawl, before he walks right?

He has been enjoying his rice cereal for a few weeks now and is eating very well. Soon, we will start trying out his veggies as well. He loves to play with Addison and she can get him giggling and belly laughing so hard - more so than the rest of us can. I'm so glad they love each other. She's very protective of her brother telling everyone she meets.... "He's my Jonas!" or "He's my Bonus." (his nickname is Jonas the Bonus). Many a time, we will all gather as a family around Jonas as he lays on the floor and just smother him in kisses all at once. As you can tell, we love having him in our family.

He has really mastered using his hands to grab anything in front of him. He keeps trying to figure out how to hold his own bottle but we aren't quite there yet. He has slept through the night a handful of times (most recently being last night). He will wake up sometimes but just goes right back to sleep after getting his binky back. He is truly an easy baby and so laid back that I'm even amazed most days.

And his latest accomplishment is going "swaddle-free"! I decided to try it out tonight since he's getting so big. I prepped myself for a long night of fussiness but so far it hasn't happened. He only needed one reminder that it was "night night" time and he was out. I couldn't help but get a picture of the big boy in his bed. So funny how he spreads out like superman. I guess he was ready to stop being bound up like a little china man eh?


And just how big is our little guy getting at 6 months?

Length: 29 inches (95%)
Weight: 18.11 1/2 lbs (50-75%)

He's a tall little dude. He looks so big but I guess when you are stretching that weight out across his long little body it is a bit more deceiving.

Happy 6 month's old Jonas McKay! We love having you in our family!

Cool Hand Luke....love his facial expression in this one.

I L.O.V.E. his crinkled nose smile.

Best Buddies

Flattery & Gratitude

It may seem like I talk about Addison and her tantrums quite frequently. However, I'd like to document that for every tantrum she throws, she has about 20 more acts of being kind or sweet. If/when she ever looks through these posts as she gets older, I want her to know just how much I enjoyed her kind, sweet, heart.

Her new favorite thing is to shower me in compliments. It's also MY new favorite thing! ;-) It's usually while I'm getting ready or curling my hair or putting on make-up, or even getting out of the shower (THAT has gotta make a Momma feel good eh?) Just today she mentioned....."Mommy, you have pretty eyes" "Mommy, I like your sunglasses" "Mommy, you look like a princess!" "Mommy, I like your dress!" It always makes me feel good to hear the compliments coming from such an adorable little girly.

And also, she's on the kick to thank me for everything. I hope this is a life long thing. I even told her how much I liked hearing her say "Thanks" and how it makes me feel good. So, of course, she has started doing it even more since then! No complaints here! Often I'm told "Mommy, thank you for driving down the road" "Mommy, thank you for making dinner" "Mommy, thank you for my snacks!" I forget just how many things she is thankful for but I could happily listen to that all day long.

She's also Jonas' number one fan. So much so, that I have to prop her by him while I feed him his nightly rice cereal just so he'll stop being cranky and smile at her and eat. It works every.single.time. She loves to get him laughing and giggling and usually does it by giving herself the giggles first. Hearing them laugh with each other is easily one of my favorites as well. Her brother adores her and rarely looks at her without smiling from ear to ear. They are now getting to the phase where they will giggle at each other while they are riding in their car seats down the road. And THAT is music to my ears....much better than the crying that has plagued us before.

So, Addison thank you for being such a good girl and great big sister. I realize you are exploring the land of independence and learning along the way (as am I) but regardless, we are lucky to have you in our family and wouldn't have it any other way.

Progression of an Ear

January 2010 - Dr. Black's Office
(6 months old)

January 2011 - Dr. Black's Office
(1 1/2 years old)


July 2011 - Dr. Black's Office
(2 years, 2 months old)

February 2012 - Dr. Black's Office
(2 years, 9 months old)

It's time for our yearly picture/check-up with Dr. Black. This past week we went for yet another follow-up to Addison's ear-tube surgery she had when she was 6 months old. Sadly, we won't be getting anymore of these cute pictures since both of her tubes have now fallen out successfully. Of course, I guess that's a good thing right? I'll still miss seeing how much she has grown from one year to the next.

One of Addison's favorite games to play/pretend is doctor. She'll lay there while John or I check her out. Push on her tummy, look in her mouth, eyes, ears and even give her fake shots (tickles). This has really helped when it comes time to go to the real doctor. I prepped her before this appointment and just gave her the basic run down. He'll look in your ears and it will tickle and then we will be done. She seemed okay with that and was actually pretty excited. However, Mommy failed to mention that he would also lay her down and pull out a good chunk of ear wax while he was at it. This part she didn't do too good on...but I wouldn't either if someone was holding me down and poking tweezers in my ear. She was a trooper and even scored a pink princess sticker and a sucker. By the look on her face I'm guessing all the pain was worth it. Good bye to our favorite ENT doctor! Hoping we don't have to see you in the near future for Mr. Jonas.

Random Happenings

Technically, there wasn't anything extraordinarily unique about today. It started and ended like most do. The only thing that could have been a bit different was that the kiddos had a tired/cranky Mommy. Okay, who am I kidding? That probably is more of a "normal occurrence" than it should be. However, I did get greeted by a 2 year old at 6:30 am so I had a little bit of a good excuse.

However, luckily in the midst of the crankiness and regular routine of our days....sometimes we encounter the following:


And it has me busting up laughing in the midst of putting the boring laundry away. She just walked right past me and matter-of-factly said "I shopping Mommy". Isn't she a cute little bag lady? If you focus in on the contents of her cart you'll find her half-eaten dirty banana. Yep, we are high class like that folks. ;-)

So glad I have funny kids who can turn the tides on a boring old regular day. Although, I'm starting to think there is no such thing as a "regular day" when you have kids.

And of course this little guy can always bring a smile to my face as well. I'm dreading the day when little teefers replace that crinkled nose, gummy smile of his. I fear it's right around the corner...sniff sniff.