Watering Hole

I've learned a lot about Jonas in his 1 1/2 years of life thus far.  The obvious facts are he's beyonnnnnd adorable...and can melt me in a matter of minutes with his little flirtatious smile and eyes.  He's ALL boy and then some.  Part of me loves this fact, and part of me is exhausted by this fact.  He loves to climb and will quickly figure out a way to scale heights that you were convinced were out of his reach.  

Case in point: Just last night, he crafted a way to stand either on Dad's foot or Mom's leg just to scale his way up the coffee table and wreak havoc on Addison's crayons.  Once he has accomplished his feat, he just stands up and smiles and bounces and makes eye contact with all who look his way.  He's ALWAYS proud to show off his abilities.  It makes me laugh while simultaneously trying to predict when his little bouncing maneuvers will send him falling.  Sometimes I'm not always quick enough.  

Case in point: A few weeks ago, while waiting at the doctor's office for his flu swab test, he climbed up on the chair and sat down on the edge and just swung his legs.  I was right next to him and thought, no harm no foul, he's a boy, if he's enjoying it and it is semi-sane and normal, have at it.  However, within seconds he took a nose dive right into the concrete floor before I could catch him.  I was hoping his hands broke his fall but sadly, his head did.  He had a pretty good size dent in his forehead that was quickly changing colors.  Luckily, the doctor came back and was able to examine his head in addition to our normal visit.  Two weeks later, the bruise is going through the color changing phase but the dent still remains.  I'm wondering if I should be worried?

I realize, with a boy, I need to quickly get accustomed to this crazy life of never holding still, always pulling him off/down/away and cleaning up any mess he's created in a matter of seconds.  I also realize, with age, comes bigger cuts/scrapes/bruises.  I've been privy to a few of his Daddy's tales of growing up.  Lots of those included blood.  That will be the hardest change for me.  I'm not a fan of blood or trying to figure out what exactly requires the ER vs a home remedy of some sort.  I fear for our future of figuring it out together.  

However, I digress.  The latest thing I'm learning about Mr. Jonas is that he LOVES water. I already knew he loved his bath time but I didn't understand just how MUCH he loves it.  As in, if it were up to him he'd sit in the bath every hour on the hour.  Since that isn't an option....he has sneakingly found his alternative:

His first offense.  Luckily Grandma & Grandpa were here to witness his latest accomplishment.

His second offense.  Notice his skill level has advanced.  Entry WITH the toilet rim down.  Impressive considering his girth.

His third offense.  Yes, it happened the exact same day as the picture above. 

Then I got smart, buckled and bought the toilet locks.  Worth every penny.  He wasn't a happy camper and grunted and tried to use his sheer strength to lift up the lid anyway.  I loved watching his determination and eventual surrender.

But, the funny thing about toilet locks is they only work when you actually USE them....Daddy!  This was on his watch and you can probably guess who got to clean him up this time.  :D

Did you count all those pictures?  Yep, a total of FIVE successful attempts at swimming in the toilet.  Needless to say, we've all stepped up and reminded each other.....  "Did you lock the toilet?"  Even Addison has become quite the professional at mastering the toilet lock.  She was gracious enough to show Daddy when he came home from work one day.  I'm sure it's pretty confusing for the little guy when his punishment involves Mommy running for the camera, coming back and making him smile for the photo, and then dragging him out of the toilet and saying "No, no, no!"  I'd be confused too.  But it's to his advantage...trust me!

The little guy keeps us busy but in the end, it's pretty hard to stay upset at him for too long.  He'll usually smile or giggle and get us laughing again.  Either that, or we are already on the run getting him out of his next predicament.  Speaking of which...here are a few more for your viewing pleasure:

Sunbeams!

Mommy & Addison (mostly Mommy) has been counting down for quite a while for the first of the year to start.  Addison finally reached the ripe old age of 3 and was able to move up a class in church which makes her a big girl Sunbeam  now!  She gets to actually go to Primary and sit and be reverent and listen (instead of play with toys non-stop in nursery).  It seems like such a huge milestone and I can't believe I have a little girl in Primary now.  I think I was more excited than she was but she was definitely looking forward to it.  I tried my hardest to talk it up so she'd know it was a fun time and a not a scary time of change.  

All in all, she did great with the transition.  She was a little nervous to go but never once shed a tear (thanks to the practice we've had through preschool).  Luckily she was able to be brave and also help out her buddy Cooper who was also a little nervous about the big change.  We were very excited to run and pick her up from her classroom after church was over.  She had nothing but great things to say about her experience and was so proud that she was so grown up.  I'm not going to lie, John and I had many moments of peeking in the windows to check on her.  I think it was more for our sake than hers.  She sits so reverently and listens and even remembers what she learned about Jesus.  I'm always amazed at the detail she can relay about her lesson while we drive home afterward.  Since I was a Sunbeam teacher not too long ago I can attest to the fact that I would have LOVED to have a student like her in my class.  It's so hard to get kids that age to sit quietly and listen AND pay attention.  I'm a very proud Mama and excited to see her grow to be such a grown up and mature little girl.  I always have mixed feelings about her growing up.  It's sad to know she'll never be a "baby" again but it's so fun to see her learn about and discover new things.  It's starting to really fly by!

On our way to church and ready for her big day!

Peeking in on the big girl being so reverent.

Cooper & Addison are good friends.  We were glad to hear they were in the same class too!

And the first day was a success!  She loved every minute of it and so did we.  So proud of our big girl!

Addisonism's

Every once in awhile, Addison says something super cute and/or funny.  Okay, who am I kidding?  She does it MORE than every once in awhile.  It's hilarious and makes the hard times worth it that's for sure.  I try to document them on Facebook (as they happen) and then eventually, I post them to the blog for posterity's sake.  Enjoy the read!

Addisonism #1:  After a crazy morning of rush hour traffic, she observed me using the word "Are you serious?" a few times (hey, at least it's not "freak" anymore ;).  
A: "Mommy, you know what I'm serious about?"
M: "What?"
A: "Doze cars!"

Addisonism #2:  After a morning of doctors and shots for Jonas, then flu shots for the rest of us, I asked her if she wanted to be a doctor when she grew up.  She LOVES doctors and loves to take medicine and did wonderfully with her shot.  Her reply?
A: Yes, but I don't wanna do da shots.  I just wanna do da ears and da babies in da bellies...oh and da knees when you hold da fing and it goes (hammer actions ensue).

Anyone know how to specialize in all of that  Where there's a will there's a way.  And trust me she has a STRONG will!

And meanwhile, I caught Jonas eating out of the dirt pile when I was sweeping.  I promise I feed the boy.  He just NEVER gets full!  I gotta sleep sometime right?

So proud of both of my children and their lofty aspirations.  :o)  Addison a doctor, and Jonas a garbage disposal.

Addisonism #3:  
A: "Mommy what do you want for Christmas?"
M: "I want a happy girl named Addison and a happy boy named Jonas."
A: "Otay!  Do you want us to dance around and stuff?"
M: "Sure!"

Addisonism #4:  After a particularly rough morning and being in a grumpy mood, we picked Addison up from school.  While heading home she says:
A: Mommy! Do you want to see my quiet laugh?
M: Sure! (While looking in the rearview mirror)
A: (Gaping mouth and squinted eyes while wheezing away in an actual quiet laugh.) 
I couldn't help but bust out laughing.  So glad she can give me the giggles and chase away my grumpies.

Addisonism #5:  After being told by her Daddy that there was a baby in Mommy's tummy, I knew it was only a matter of time before she announced it to the world.  We were still early in our pregnancy and it was still hush hush.  However, she did pretty good with keeping mum.  Until, I heard her preschool teacher ask me about it one day when I was picking her up.  How did she know?  Addison told her "I have a Mommy in my tummy."  Her teacher thought that was the most hilarious thing and couldn't stop laughing and told me to record it (I'm very obedient ;-).  Then she proceeded to tell her own family over their evening dinner and had them all laughing as well.  Glad I'm not the only one who thinks this girly is hilarious!

Many times, (mostly by her uncles), I hear how cute and adorable her little raspy squeaky voice is.  Honestly, it's all I know so I don't ever notice it like they do.  However, when it's pointed out to me by more than one person on more than one occasion it makes me take a step back and observe.  She does have an adorable voice and she loves to use it.  I love the way she observes the world.  I also love the way she tells us what she thinks about it all and I love that it's always intertwined with her cute little sense of humor.  She's a silly girly and I'm glad she's mine.

A brave and happy little girl at the Dentist office.

Grandma Has A Birthday!

For Grandma Bell's birthday this year (January 14th) we got to give her a surprise visit.  What Grandma doesn't want that for their present!?  However, due to her schedule revision the "surprise" part actually didn't happen.  Either way it was a fun day with Grandma, and three of her grandkids and two of her favorite daughters (one being me ;-)

The kiddos and I got an early start on Friday and drove down to Springfield to meet up with Grandma at her work.  We even got to get our energy out in the gym and kick around some balls and chase each other.  That is always a fun time.  Then Grandma took off the rest of the day and we picked up some Subway lunch and headed to the park.  It was a little cold but we still managed to have a good time.  Even considering the fact that I was still battling some pregnancy nausea.  So glad Grandma could step in and help with the kiddos while I took a break.  

Later that afternoon, Aunt Cassie and Alexa came to join in the fun and celebrations.  I had decided to take the kiddos on a walk down to the cemetery and see where my Grandma & Grandpa and little brother were buried (along with a cousin, and an uncle, and some other family members).  It had been FOREVER since we visited their gravesites and since my Mom lives right next to the cemetery it was a good excuse for a little field trip.  

I don't think Addison or Jonas had ever been to visit the cemetery.  It was fun getting to explain to Addison about her Uncle Jeremy that passed away when he was a baby.  She had lots of questions for me and I tried to be honest and straight forward without too much detail.  She ate it all up and has still talked about it all to this day.  She's actually been a little obsessed with it all...well at least the "dying" part of it all.  So much so that I've had to explain to her that some people may be sad if we talk about things dying.  It is interesting to hear what she has to say and think about it all.

Heading out on our walk to the cemetery.  Addison insisted that she pull the wagon which made for a LONG walk.  I was quite impressed with her determination to make it up some pretty big hills.

Aunt Cassie telling the girls about their Uncle Jeremy.  They were very intrigued with it all.

My Grandma & Grandpa Bell's gravesite.  I spent many days thinking about my memories with these grandparents.  They were one-of-a-kind grandparents.

Jonas spent most of his time wandering around the headstones and stealing trinkets off of them.  However, I was able to get a good shot of him hanging out with my Grandma & Grandpa's headstone.  I can't wait to see them again someday.

The next day we got to enjoy the mall and all the play things that come with it.  It was a fun day of shopping and was especially fun to get all our wiggles out on the play land.  

 And last, but definitely not least, we got to celebrate Grandma Bell's birthday!  She requested some brownies with nuts (instead of a cake) and Aunt Cassie happily obliged.  The girls were so excited to sing the Happy Birthday song to her.  That along with flaming candles, is always an exciting time!

These girlies just adore their Grandma Bell.  I love seeing the happy smiles in this picture.  She adores them back just as much.

Jonas wanted in on the action too.  They all decided Grandma needed their help to open her present.  Especially when it was covered in tootsie rolls.  So glad Grandma decided to share!

And last but not least, the icing on the cake.  Kisses all around.  Happy Birthday Grandma!  So glad you could get another year older and that we could watch you do it!

I've Been Everywhere Man

Sung to the tune of the 1962 classic.  I've NEVER gone this long without posting to my beloved blog.  But, really, I HAVE been everywhere between traveling for the holidays to battling the sickies with me and/or the children to mentally traveling long distances....  Beware, I'm about to learn the art of post dating blog posts.  Read at your own risk!

Good news is that I'm BACK!  And am now flipping through the calendar to remember exactly what went on when, so I can continue to document our crazy and fun and chaotic happenings at the Hufford household.

I think I've now lost the ability to guilt any of my family/friends into keeping their own blogs updated.  Boo.