finding joy.

07 May 2012

this much [28 months] | Jarvis

This boy, oh my. He is one little bundle of energy!!

This picture isn't perfect, it was a bit underexposed and blurry, but it sums up Jarvis right now. He is two extremes. A screaming, tantrum-throwing toddler, and a sweet snuggly little one claiming, 'I want my mommy!'

I asked him for a hug, and he gave me one, but it was complete with a nose bite!

Although 2 is alot of work, I am loving his age right now!!

Insta-Friday | 'Unca Kis'

Uncle Chris and Gammie came to visit this past week!! We have thoroughly enjoyed having them here, and I got more pictures on my fancy camera rather than my iphone... but here are a few!

1. Uncle Chris and the babies!

2. Luc and Jarvis think Uncle Chris is awesome.

4. There are numerous elbow dimples on this precious girl. I want to nibble on her little arms!

5. Chris getting his workout on with the wheat grinder... I love it, but it's a WORK.OUT.

5. The difference in the twins' feet... Joelle on the left, Jonah on the right....

6. The babies' afghans, crocheted by Big Nana! Aren't they gorgeous! Jarvis has one of his own too. My kids have such loving grandparents and great-grandparents.

7. Jarvis used to care less about stuffed animals, but since the pacifiers left, he is all.about.the.animals. Currently, he has his bear, his baby scout, his 3 wonder-pets, his elephant, his puppy, a hard plastic toy rhino, and a hard plastic toy hippo. He just keeps adding to the collection and now sleeps buried under them. adorable.

8. Project 'get rid of processed foods' continues! Homemade granola about to go in the oven! So delicious!!

9. My husband is awesome. I adore girl scout peanut butter patties. So for an early Mother's Day present, he made me some from scratch. Freshly ground whole wheat shortbread cookies, organic creamy peanut butter, dipped in dark chocolate. They are soooo good!!!

05 May 2012

EIGHTEEN | p52 | 2012

remember when....

saturdays were low-key.
pajamas all day, fort building, pancakes,
puzzles, playdough, and books.
precious family time.

before too long, we will spend the weekends running.
to and from sports games and dance recitals.
birthday parties and sleepovers.

for now, i am treasuring our calm family weekends.
and trying to freeze time.
don't grow too quickly babies.

Check out other Project 52s at:

And if anyone else wants to link up- let me know!

02 May 2012

this much [3 months] | Joelle & Jonah

(picture taken by my brother, Chris Ray)

Three months. How in the world are they three months already???

We are all surviving, taking it day by day! The babies are finally staying awake a bit longer in the afternoons and we are getting to go on walks and play a little more. Here's their general schedule (although there is up to an hour sway some days, this is our goal though!)

6am- feeding, about 50 min total waketime (some mornings this is closer to 5am), 2 hour nap
9am- feeding, about an hour total waketime, 2 hour nap
12pm- feeding, about 70 min total waketime, 2 hour nap
3pm- feeding, about 75 min total waketime, 45-60 min cat nap
5pm- up, about 80 min total waketime, feed at 545ish, bed around 630pm.
12am-2am- they have one feeding anywhere in this time range.

Like I said, that's a general time frame, but the waketimes are pretty consistent and they are fairly good nappers. They appear to finally be coming out of their wonder week. Overall, I would say Joelle is a better napper than either Jonah is or Jarvis was at their age. But Jonah is still much better than Jarvis was at 3 months.

Jonah is a little smiley baby, although its hard to get on pictures because he only smiles at people. He is getting some hand development and grabbing at things. He particularly loves the play gym and is reaching out and batting toys. He is not a huge fan of bathtime, the sun, or wind. He seems to be very sensitive to his senses. His hair is all growing in the same length, and it stands straight up, just like his brother and dad's hair. He does resemble Jarvis physically, but he is changing some. Personality and habits-wise though, he is a carbon copy of Jarvis. He is starting to put on some little chub.

Joelle is out sweet little chunky girl. She is so petite but has so much chub, I love it! She is defiantly a snuggler and loves to be held. She has a sweet smile and smiles with her eyes. She likes to be sitting up and looking at things. Her hair is very soft and she has this one long curl right on the top. She adores bath time and being naked and smiles like crazy the whole time. I'm still not sure who she looks like, but I think she has my mom's blue eyes!

And here are just a few more recent pictures of them!

29 April 2012

Insta-Friday | partially

I was missing my phone for most of the week... but here's what I've got for this week!

1. Snuggling with the puppy while watching a show while mama feeds the babies...

2. Our 'grow' area... (on top of the spare fridge/freezer in the laundry room) all the plants have been transplanted into bigger containers...

3. The jalapenos in their new containers...

4. The paci tree is growing well!!

5. Making homemade ice cream in my birthday present!! SO DELICIOUS!!

6. Our daily 'routine' typed out. We never make this exactly, but it helps me to have a goal! (see the SINGLE line that is blank on both sides??? that is my down hour. yeah.)

7. My Jonah bear chewing on his hands...

8. You can really tell the size difference between the babies here! They may be twins but they are so different!!

27 April 2012

Insta-Friday | the missing week

trying to catch up here... this is the 5 days of last week, before I broke my phone Friday night...

1. spent a quiet evening painting chalkboard paint on the new Ikea craft table and the used train table... so exciting, I know!

2. Meet the wonder-pets. Jarvis adores their show (60 episodes on demand on netflix, yes please!). They came to our house to watch over him at night during the 'paci-tree' growth.

4. Planting his pacifers...

5. The next morning, a pacifier tree had grown! (aka, a cherry tomato seedling!)

5. Someone wasn't sleeping well because of a little congestion, so she spent a nap in the Moby. Love it.

6. That someone at the doctor getting her ears checked, all clear, no infections!

7. Sweetness.

8. Discovered how insanely easy it is to make your own chicken broth in the crockpot. Cost just a couple of cents (I had already made the chicken for dinner with the veggies, so just a few more spices and a bunch of water!). Made over 14 cups. Um. awesome. I mean, I get convenience food, but how have we gotten away from doing anything ourselves in this country? Such lazy people we are.

9. Haircut in town ALONE. Mommy time!

10. The tomato, jalapeno, and okra seedlings just before transplantation into bigger containers. Still too cold to plant, our last frost date is May 20...

11. Who said it was ok for them to be big enough for the Bumbo seats. Deny, deny, deny.

12. Meet Owee (Owen), Jarvis loves to have him over. They wanted a picture with Luc. Easier said than done.

13. Daddy got older! Happy Birthday morning snuggles from the littlest two.

14. Mommy and Jarvis made a whole wheat chocolate cake for Daddy. Sprinkles and two candles courtesy of Jarvis.

15 & 16. Learning more about cooking from scratch and with fresh grains. Slowly but surely cutting out all processed foods.

17. He sorted them by color and (almost) size all by himself. Seriously. I walked over and it was like this. Crazy. Little OCD boy.

SEVENTEEN | p52 | 2012

remember when...

there were no little fingernails to clip.

no fuzzy heads to shampoo.

no bottles to make.

no diapers to wash.

no dirty bums to wipe.

no matchbox cars to step on.

no wake times to pay attention to.

no video monitors screeching in the middle of the night.

no baby gurgles or toddler screams.

three kids is A LOT of work. I honestly only really sit down when I am feeding one of them or during the ONE HOUR of overlapping nap time.

but there were so many days when I never thought I would get to do this.

so now, every time I see those three towels hanging in the bathroom, I can not help but be thankful for the crazy, busy, beautiful life I live.

This whole 'raising little human beings' thing is hard, but so very worth it!

Check out other Project 52s at:

And if anyone else wants to link up- let me know!

23 April 2012

Insta-Friday | Jace style!

Chelsea's phone is broke but mine isn't! So I'll hijack the blog to bring some photos.

1. Jarvis in his made-by-mommy Wonder Pets cape, running to save some an animal in need (most likely the puppy)

2. Tomatoes, Eggplant, Okra, and Jalapenos enjoying some light in their new larger solo cup containers.

3. We call him the screacher preacher creature, here he is doing the preaching part, you don't want to see the screacher part!

4. Daddy is flying a helicopter on the front page of the base paper!

22 April 2012

Insta-Friday | or not

so this week's insta-Friday will be late. very late. you see, this is my iphone currently.

yeah. ouch. I was walking a friend to her car and it was rainy and dark and I stepped in a pot hole and landed on my bum. Too bad my iphone was in my back pocket. smash. boo.

hoping we get the parts in sometime this week because i am missing my right hand!

19 April 2012

SIXTEEN | p52 | 2012

Remember when...

I was a naive, first time mom and I swore we wouldn't use the pacifer.

until you were 3 months old and I was desperate for sleep training.

but only in the crib or car. and that worked for us.

gone by one year I said.

but you still seemed like such a baby to me.

gone by eighteen months I claimed.

but by then you were VERY attached,

I was pregnant with twins and scared for my precious night sleep.

gone by two I hoped.

but there was going to be so much upheaval in your life in the next month,

as you became a big brother twice over.

two years, three months, and ten days.

we got brave and

you finally said goodbye to the pacifier.

we placed them in a pot,

covered them with dirt,

poured on a little water,

gathered up our wonder pets stuffed animals.

and hoped for the best.

all my fears. all for nothing.

you rocked. my big boy.

you woke a couple of times and unconsciously searched for the pacifier.

but you fell asleep again no problem without any comfort needed.

the look on your face the next morning

when you saw that your pacifiers had sprouted.

and grown a little tree.

completely worth it.

my big boy.

then you napped, no problem.

my big boy.

after nap, you and daddy shared a special celebratory treat.

blueberry greek yogurt pop.

It was barely even a blip on your radar.

and now I feel so silly for worrying so much.

Everytime you lay down to go to sleep now,

you tell me that you don't need pacifiers.

and you are right, so right.

mama needs to remember,

to never let my own fears hold you back...

Check out other Project 52s at:

And if anyone else wants to link up- let me know!

16 April 2012

Insta-Friday | Little Things

1. Toddler handle for my diaper bag/stroller/cart. Because I now have more kids than hands. Jarvis holds onto this and it keeps him paying attention and near me. Perfect. and no, it's not a leash, he holds it and can let go...

2. Spinach and tomato quiche with a whole wheat crust. Made with wheat that I ground myself... um yeah. who am I??