Just call on me brother...

When you need a hand

We all need somebody to lean on!

I hope that song is now stuck in your head.  I kid, I kid!  I know it's kind of a cheesy song but it really has some good truth to it.

I tell our kids on a daily basis that they are God's gifts to each other.  I genuinely believe that siblings are one of God's neatest ideas and I take seriously my responsibility to teach them to love each other well.  Think about it; they are far more likely to have each other in their lives longer than they have Mom and Dad.

So while teaching siblings to love each other can seem frustrating at times, lately I've been getting to see little glimpses of fruit in this area.

Just tonight we were driving through a small rainstorm and Jack started to get scared.  I heard Riley say, "It's okay Jack.  I'm here for you."  And I turned around and saw them holding hands!  Also, if we're at a park and Jack gets scared at the top of the equipment, Riley says "I'm coming to rescue you Jack!"

Yup, that's the picture that will forever completely melt my heart.  It was a pretty Spring day and we were going crazy in the house so we went on a walk at a beautiful park and they just sat down on this bench and did that all on their own.  So thankful I thought fast and pulled out my iPhone to get the picture before that perfectly serene moment ended!!!

Jack-of-all-Trades

Back in March (March 10th to be exact), we celebrated Jack's 2nd birthday with a Construction Party!  It ended up being just our family because Jack had gotten a yucky bug a few days before and our backyard had turned into a lake due to all the rain.  Nevertheless, we put up decorations and had a great time!

Jack continues to register "off-the-charts" in size.  He is the same height and weight as Riley and we get asked regularly if they are twins.  He just got his very last set of molars and we're grateful to be past the teething stage!

Some of our favorite things about Jack:

1.  He has the most adorable one-armed run!  He has been doing this for months and I just keep hoping this doesn't go away any time soon.  It's like he thinks all the power for running comes from pumping his left arm back and forth with all his might.  So precious!

2.  If he sees a horse he says, "Yee-haw-haw!"  It sounds french.  Hilarious!

3.  His laugh is infectious.  It fills the whole room with joy.

4.  He's very determined.  He can figure out how to do almost anything Riley can do.  He doesn't give up easily!

5.  He still loves his blankie - sleeps with it every night.

6.  He's still just as friendly as ever.  And he's loyal.

7.  He loves to dance.  He can be the life of the party for sure!

8.  He still loves to eat.  When we're at a restaurant and the waiter/waitress brings out the food, he usually claps very enthusiastically.  His favorite foods are bananas, cookies, chicken... who am I kidding?  He likes it all!

9.  He has developed a fear of loud noises - thunder, motorcycles, etc.  If he's startled, it can take awhile to calm him down but he's learning to trust Mommy and Daddy and be brave.

The Birthday Boy

Or more accurately, the birthday man.  But that just doesn't have the same ring to it.

Yesterday we got to celebrate Josh's 28th birthday!  So I wanted to take a few minutes to write about how much we absolutely love this guy.  I don't mean to be too annoyingly mushy most of the time, but this occasion allows for it, right?  Because we (me and the kids, that is) can't get over how great he is!

So without further ado, here are just some of our favorite things about Josh.  For starters, take a look at this photo:

It's a letter Josh wrote to the kids on our white board before he left for work.  This has become a morning tradition around here.  The kids can't wait to run into the kitchen first thing in the morning and have me read the note to them.  And of course, they love the pictures he draws!  (He's quite the artist if you didn't know.)

Secondly, Josh has truly stepped up to lead our family towards a more healthy lifestyle.  For the past six months, he has worked so hard in establishing good sleep and exercise routines and he has showed immense self-control in what he eats and drinks.  He has lost over 30 pounds!  (I know, amazing!!!)  Better yet, his habits are starting to rub off on me and the kids... such a servant leader he is!

Lastly, Josh is totally FUN and FUNNY!  I mean, this guy cracks us up all the time.  I have always loved that he can make me laugh no matter what difficult situation we're going through.  And he can make any task fun no matter how boring you think it will be!

In closing, I have to share that our little Riley has become quite the party planner.  She's gone to a few parties and has figured out that the party themes are usually based on the birthday person's preferences.  As soon as Jack's birthday was over, she wanted to start planning the next birthday, which for our house was Josh's.  She knows that Josh has a little obsession with bears so she came up with the idea to give him a bear birthday.  She has been talking about this for months and she had lots of cute little ideas.  Thus, Josh got to enjoy a "Papa Bear" birthday set-up yesterday.  He was super sweet to play along and Riley was stoked to see that he loved it.

H-E-B Obsession

In this family, H-E-B is one of those things that simply makes Texas even better than it already was.  Not many things have that power - to elevate the status of Texas in my mind.  But H-E-B does.

They have two-seater car carts y'all.  When our kids see that we're driving into the parking lot, they go bananas.

Josh and I have decided we have a good several years before we have to take them to a real amusement park.  In their minds H-E-B is as good as Fiesta Texas.  And for a mom trying to find groceries, that's pretty darn great.

Summer Splashin'

We're truly enjoying the summer, as it's been a wonderful time to relax, regroup, and refresh before the school year starts back up.

Josh has been working at our neighborhood pool.  He cleans it first thing in the morning, then does some swim lessons and life guarding.  And he usually spends the afternoons working on lesson plans or preparing his classroom.  This schedule has been so laid-back and we're loving it!

As for me and the kids, our mornings are usually pretty chilled.  We slowly get up, have breakfast and do some chores.  If chores don't take too long, we usually watch some Diego.  Then we put on our swimsuits and we're at the pool when it opens at 10am!  We hang out there an hour or two before coming home for lunch.  And of course, mornings at the pool make for awesome afternoon naps (and so does the rainfall we've been getting)!  Best of all, usually by the time the kids wake up from naps, Josh is home and ready to play with us!  Like I said, this schedule is amazing and it's totally spoiling us.

We've also gone to some splash pads, hung out with new and old friends, and the kids have spent the night at both sets of grandparents' houses. They had a blast at both houses (and of course, Josh and I enjoyed the alone time too)!

Enjoy the pictures of summer splashin':

Look at that water... so perfect!  The kids are getting really good at blowing bubbles and kicking their legs.  Riley might be swimming on her own by the end of the summer.  For any parents out there, I must share that Puddle Jumpers have been life-savers this summer.  They're not wearing them in the picture, but if they both want to come in the big pool with me, they wear the Puddle Jumpers and I don't have to worry about anything.  So if you don't know what they are, definitely google them and then go to the pool with no worries!

A Review of the February Challenge

Two things came out of the February Challenge, and I'm not surprised by either one.

First, I re-developed the habit of blogging, which was the primary goal.  I am very glad that we have a record of pretty much everything we did this month.  That's exciting!

Secondly, I spent way too much time online.  I knew this would happen, but I was hoping I would be a little more self-disciplined.  I would sit down at my computer to blog and end up on Facebook or Pinterest.  Uh-oh!  There were times where I scheduled a post to appear and didn't sit down at my computer for the whole day, but that wasn't often.

So, as we go into March I plan to write fewer but meatier posts.  Does that make sense?  I'll be sitting down at my computer fewer times but when I do, I'll write something with more substance.  Also, I might do a form of a photo thankful journal that I saw somewhere.  I hope this is a fruitful endeavor!

Chatter

These days Riley is often heard saying:

• "My bad!"
• "Actually..."
• "Oh, that's right."
• "Comes..." (which she uses in place of "because")
• "I have a sapwise (surprise) for you!  It's in my purse."
• "Oh you look cute!"
• "We went to Chick-fi-Wa and there was a giant cow."  (Yes, this was a traumatizing experience.)
• "We went on Uncle Austin's boat and there were no whales in the water."  (Who knew the whole time we were on Lake Travis Riley was looking out for whales?!)
• "I ate all my dinner with a happy heart.  I get dessert!"
• "That's OK.  Daddy will fix it."
• "That's a bummer."
• "I'm a cowboy girl!"
• And one funny line she said a few months ago:  When a friend asked her if what she was drinking was delicious (as she had a big smile on her face), she said, "No, it's not delicious!  It's lemonade!"

Jack is often heard saying:

• "Dada"
• "Mama"
• "Mmmm..." (which is "Gig'em" and refers to all footballs)
• "Hewo!"  (Hello!)
• "Dank-u"  (Thank you)
• "Duck!" and "Quack, quack!"  (Any kind of bird is a duck in Jack's world.)
• "Dere dey are!"  ("There they are" - referring to the planets that show up on his ceiling when I turn the lights out, which is super cool!)
• "Yeah."
• "No."
• "Rara"  (Aunt Lala)
• "Vroom!"  (doesn't really sound like that but it's the sound of cars & trucks)
• "Baaaaa"  (the sound a sheep makes)
• "Wuv, wuv, wuv"  ("Love, love, love" - this is part of a song from Seeds Family Worship)
• Some of his favorite signs:  banana, firefighter, helicopter, more please, I love you, cookie, all done, diaper, cold, bug, bear, deer, backpack, cereal