J Update

I took J in for his 2 month appt. one week late, and then forgot to blog about it for another 2 weeks--so while he's technically almost THREE months old, this is his 2 month update. Hmmm. Is that clear?

As of May 28, 2010, J's stats are as follows:

Weight: 12 lbs, 4 oz/ 50th percentile
Height: 24 1/4 inches/75 percentile
Head: 40.5cm/25-50th percentile

Despite his seemingly benign expression in this next picture, he was screaming his head off just seconds before. I don't know why he was so incredibly insulted by my putting him in that cute little robe.

I was trying to get him to smile in this picture, but he seemed to stop every time I got the camera out. And that little hand on top is David--he can't seem to restrain himself from putting his hands all over J's head/face/eyeballs, etc. It's a constant battle. Also, J has extremely dry skin, and so I'm constantly slathering him with baby lotion (hence the healthy sheen.


Here's that smile I was trying for. J really is one of the jolliest babies I know. As long as he's not sleepy, hungry or uncomfortable, he's usually cooing or making other unbelievably adorable sounds at us. And sometimes he likes to just stare at the wall (which seems to be strangely exciting for him)

He loves being outside. S will usually take him in the backyard while he's working on the garden, and J will quietly look around with an intense look on his face. I like to think his brain is drinking in a million observations at once. (And look at his eyes---will they stay blue?)

I am really enjoying this baby. Sure, getting used to the whole three kids thing is hard, but all in all--he's just an absolute joy. I really wish I'd been more laid back and less stressed out with my other two. It's nice to be able to just bask in his sweetness and...well, to just be still.

Why Is it...

that I never seem to be able to hang on to a pair of sunglasses for longer than a month or maybe two before breaking or losing them? (Well, the breaking has to do with my fantastically cheap taste in sunglasses, and come to think of it, I'm abnormally absent-minded and I lose everything [*cough* cell phone], so I guess this isn't really that much of a mystery.

It IS, however, a wretched inconvenience for someone like me who has the sun-sensitivity of a mole. My crow's feet are turning into pteradactyl's feet due to incessant squinting.

Making Our Gardens Grow...

My friend Emmaly came over when I was about a besquillion months pregnant and helped me dig a garden. She got me pretty stoked about getting a garden started, and I somehow got Steven pretty stoked in turn. The product was two cute little garden plots with veggies galore. We planted tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapenos, broccoli, eggplant, squash, cucumbers, onions, potatoes, herbs, blackberries, blueberries, corn and even peanuts!

Steven has really taken over the gardening thing---what with me being a little more than occupied trying to keep the 2 Tasmanian devils from smothering the Jakester. It’s actually become a bit of stress reliever for him. Usually the first thing he does when he comes home is change into his Farmer Joe clothes and go work outside until dinner’s ready.

All of his hard work has really paid off. First, it looked like this:
And then like this:

And now it looks like this:


We’ve already been able to harvest quite a few green beans and a bell pepper or two. Our tomato plants are a bit out of control, but they’re on their way. The squash and cucumbers have completely taken over the garden behind the shed, and we’re afraid they might actually start to breed and then we’ll have to eat squcumbers. The corn unfortunately got aphids and the birds have eaten all the blackberries, but other than that, it’s been a highly successful experience. One of the highlights of our day is going out back to inspect the garden’s progress. We’ve learned a lot about what to grow and what not to grow, and so hopefully next year will be even more fruitful.


And believe it or not (brace yourself), I’ve never been so excited to eat vegetables in my life. I pluck green beans off the vine and eat them like candy. I’m crossing my fingers that this whole gardening thing will be the key to teaching our kids to have a lifelong love affair with fruits and veggies.

Funny Pics of My Kids

J's brand new and slightly manic smile

D's new modeling pose a la "Zoolander"

Here's what S Jr. does nowadays when you ask him to smile

No explanation for this one.

Matrix S Jr. (doesn't he look slammin' in my light sensitivity shades?)

Mmmmm Hmmm (you'll just have to imagine his little head swivel)

PRESCHOOL GRADUATION

Well, our preschool year is over. This week, both Stevie and David had their preschool graduation ceremonies. (I know that finishing a year of preschool isn’t necessarily “graduating” per se, but I think it’s still important to recognize them for finishing their first experience with organized schooling. And plus, it was terribly, terribly cute).

First off was David. Elsje Denison, who spearheaded the organization of preschool this year, organized the event. It started off with some light entertainment--the kiddos performed some of the songs they learned that year, such as “Willaby Wallaby,” “Sharing, Caring,” “Days of the Week,” and “Tiny Tim.”

(This was all preceded with some gratuitous muscle-flexing).

Next, was the presentation of their school folders, which contained all the wonderful work they accumulated over the year.



Then all the hardworking parents were awarded with some potted flowers to thank them for the time and effort they put forth to make preschool a success that year.


Afterwards, we all watched a photo slideshow (crazy adorable) and had some yummy treats and chat time. It was a great way to conclude our wonderful little school year.

Stevie’s graduation was put together by Kallie Greenfield. It started off with a processional, in which the little graduated paraded past wearing their graduation caps.



Next, the kids were each acknowledged and told us all what they wanted to be when they grew up. (Stevie said “Construction Worker.” I said, “We’ll work on that.”)


They were awarded with a certificate recognizing their successful completion of preschool.


Afterwards, the kids each presented their moms with a thank-you card for all the hard work we put into preschool this year.



We also watched a cute little slideshow highlighting all the fun times we had this year—with the best ending ever. It said, “THANK YOU PARENTS FOR ALL YOU DO, AND ESPECIALLY------FOR PICKING UP YOUR KIDS!” Well said.


So Stevie starts kindergarten in the fall and David will (hopefully—fingers crossed) start Trooper School. My little fellas are so grown up!

Soccer Finale

May 15th was the day of our last soccer game and team party. Unfortunately, Mother Nature obviously hadn’t been consulted about it, because it rained BUCKETS that day and the fields were soaked. Consequently, the game was cancelled, but fortunately the after party plans remained intact under the somewhat dry sports pavilion.

After loading up on sugary treats and running around like crazy people, the coach awarded the kids with a little soccer trophy.


They were so proud (and so was I—I don’t know, I know that all the kids got a trophy. You would have thought they’d just won the world cup).



It wasn’t long before the kids had abandoned the safety of the pavilion and were darting out into the rain storm.


It eventually the thunder got so alarmingly loud that we feared another flooding like last year.


We escaped to the car during a brief lull and loaded two outrageously wet children in the back of the van.

I really enjoyed doing soccer through League City. It was very laid back and the kids had lots of fun. We definitely plan on trying out another sport in the fall. Because hey, if I want them to learn to love being active human beings, then someone’s gotta teach ‘em, right? (And it definitely shouldn’t be me—unless they want to be that dork who’s running the wrong way or scoring a point for the other team. Just being honest here).

A Few Things

1. I taught David's preschool this week. It actually went pretty well. All the kiddies played nicely, and we had a good time. My theme was "Camping", and we sang songs by the "campfire" (my fireplace), made s'mores on the stove, made some binoculars and even took a hike around the neighborhood. There really are the most adorable kids in our little preschool co-op--I could just eat them all up. Of course, Jake decided to freak out for the last half-hour or so, but other than that, it was quite nice. But I'm glad it's over.

2. I've lost my camera USB cord. So while I have all these absolutely cutetastic pictures of Jake, I have no way to upload them onto my computer. *Sigh. I hope I find it soon.

3. I would really like a money tree. Anyone know where I can pick one up? Why does everything cost so much? And why does it seem like the comfortable amount that we lack each month is equal to the exact amount of our tithing? Heavenly Father -- you sure are good at testing us! The wretched thing is when it becomes a question of whether I go back to work or we pay our tithing. I don't really want to deal with that right now (Do you hear that, tax assessors?)

4. It's almost swimming weather, and I can't wait. I love to swim, and we have a little neighborhood pool that I'm dying to try out. The only way to stay cool outside in Texas during the summer is spending it fully immersed in water, and I fully intend to do just that! So if you're looking for me sometime this summer, you know where I'll be.

Jungle Boy

One of our favorite little family activities lately:

Step 1: Daddy lifts a diaper-only clad Baby Jacob into flying position and sings the following song

Jungle Boy!
A Real American Baby!
Jungle Boy is there!
Jungle Boy! (sung to the tune of the GI Joe cartoon Theme Song)

Step 2: Afterwards, he says, “Jungle Boy, take a bow.” and tries to bend him at the waist.

The boys think this is hilarious and ask Daddy to do it again and again.

Jake just seems a bit bewildered, and maybe a little annoyed.

WORST CASE ...

of Baby Blues I've ever had. I really hope to shake this soon. I want to be me again, but I'm finding it a bit tricky.

On Time Management and Other Things

I have been quite absent from the blosphere, and I'm starting to feel a tad guilty about it---especially due to the fact that I consider myself the Grundberg Family historian, among other things. So here's a stab at what's UP!

I can't for the life of me figure out how to get everything accomplished now that little Jake is here. Nursing takes a big chunk out of my day, and then add cleaning, cooking, shopping, trying to somewhat entertain the boys and contiually breaking up their daily fist fights---there's just not enough hours in the day.

Actually, I know there probably ARE enough hours in the day, but I have a terrible case of the ole Farmer John complex. (This is where you start one task, get distracted by something else that needs doing while in the middle of said task, and immediately start another task, leaving the first unfinished. Don't ask my why I coined this condition "Farmer John" complex. I'm sure I heard it somewhere....maybe I'd better stop blogging and go look it up on the internet---NO, WAIT!)

Nursing is giving me hives. Not literally, but definitely in a stress-related, figurative kind of way. I worry about Jake's ineffectual feedings constantly. I'm afraid my milk is going to dry up, and so I'm incessantly pumping. And I always feel horribly guilty if time doesn't permit and I end up giving him a bottle. I've decided, however, that this mindset is driving me insane, and is therefore stupid. I'm going to try to be less obsessive about it and just take my circumstances as they come. (Just FYI--this wasn't an invitation for more nursing advice--chances are, I've tried it anyway).

Speaking of my sweet little dolly, Jake is fattening up nicely. I'll look at him sometimes and think, "he's HUGE!" (which is of course ridiculous, seeing as how he barely weighs 10 pounds). Nonetheless, he's definitely awake more, squirming around lots and has even slept through the night (more or less) a few times! Let's hope this trend continues...

In other news, the Toyota finally rolled over and died (in a horrible, clutch-related death), and our big question now is whether or not to fix it, and when. And how. And with what money. Until we answer those questions, we're a one car family. Which isn't that big of a problem, considering Steven rides a van pool to work, and on the weekends we usually do everything together as a family. HOWEVER, wrastling 3 children into the car at 6:15am in order to take him to work is not fun, and its beginning to take a strange, zombie-like toll on my general well-being.

That's all for now. Things have been looking up, despite money mishaps, hormone-related weepies, and a waistline that refuses to shrink. To quote Scarlett, "Tomorrow is another day!"