Tell me about Jesus

Slade and his mom and my mom often tell stories to the boys.

Slade used to tell Russ and Randall about the penny robot. He's told stories about the rubber band boy. We even sing a song about the rubber band boy; we've been singing it for years. There are stories about Speck (my niece and nephew still enjoy a good Speck story when they spend the night), stories about the rainbow fish and, Judson's newest contribution, Buggy.

The grandmas sometimes tells stories from their childhoods and Slade's mom will make up stories like Slade.

All of our boys have loved to sit and listen to story after story. I don't know how Slade does it. I have tried and I am just not able to think of good stories. Maybe because I think the stories need a good moral or to teach an important truth. It's the mom in me.

This morning, sitting at the table for breakfast, I was singing a Sunday School type song. I can't even remember which one. I sang while I cleared the table, waiting for Judson (the world's slowest eater) to finish his strawberries. When I finished, Judson said, "Tell me about Jesus."

So, I started by clarifying that a story about Jesus was real and not made up, like stories about Buggy or Speck. I told him that a story about Jesus could be read in the Bible and that everything in the Bible is true.

Then I told him about how Jesus fed 5,000 people with a little boy's lunch. When I finished, he said, "Tell me about Jesus again!" So, I told him about a man whose legs didn't work, but when Jesus' friends, his disciples, spoke to him, they gave him a better gift than gold or silver, because God used them to make the man's legs all better.

I teared up as I told him stories about Jesus. It isn't the first time I've told him about Jesus or shared stories from the Bible, but it's the first time he's requested them. And he listened so intently. I told him that God made the man's legs all better and the man was so excited and was jumping around, praising God and telling Him thank you and Judson threw both his hands up and cheered. It makes me cry just typing it.

I am so thankful to be blessed with three sweet and wonderful boys. I often feel inadequate to the task, but this Mother's Day, I was reminded that God has equipped me and is guiding me. And that He has been so good to give me such a wonderful man to help raise these boys. I am going to record Slade and Nanny and Grammy telling their fun and creative stories so we can enjoy them for years and years. And I'm so thankful that the stories of Jesus have been recorded for us, too.

Judson's "Judson Puzzle"

For Christmas this past December, I made this puzzle for Judson.

He's still not able to go it entirely on his own, but he loves it. We have it sitting up on his dresser and he enjoys putting it together with me (aka: taking it apart so I can put it together).

Fitting!

Slade came home the other day and Judson was outside with a sippy cup of water. He would take a big drink and then lean over and spit it on the ground.

Slade: What are you doing, Judson?
Judson: I'm 'fitting.
Slade: You're spitting?
Judson: Yes. I was fitting inside but Mommy got mad and told me to fit outside.

Ha! That kid says the funniest things. I didn't actually get mad, but I told him to clean up his mess and go outside if he wanted to spit. He did. And he would just come in for a refill when he 'fit it all out and needed more water.

He will also play for a long time with a spray bottle of water. On Saturday, after we finished yard work, Slade turned the sprinklers on and Judson had a blast with a spray bottle, his rain boots and the sprinkler's spray.

"I want to pay a dame"

Judson has discovered that he loves to play board games. His favorite is Cariboo, which Russell and Randall used to play. I pulled it out a few weeks ago and it has become his new obsession. He will sit and play (following the rules, waiting his turn, etc) for as long as someone else can stand. And then when we lose interest, he'll often stay and play with the cards and balls by himself. He calls it "paying a dame".

Another favorite is Connect 4. He doesn't follow the rules for that one, but he loves it. Really, he loves any game that one of us will sit and play with him.

Sunday, he asked Randall to play a game with him and Randall was more than happy to. They sat in Judson's room, both in jammies, and played for at least 30 minutes. So sweet. They both had a great time. Randall is very sweet to Judson.

Judson's Blues' Clues Birthday Party

Where has the time gone?!  Judson can. not. be two!!  Apparently I didn't blog his first birthday--rats!  Oh, well, here's his second...

A few months before his birthday, Judson was on a huge Blues Clues kick and any time he wanted to watch anything on TV, he would ask to watch Blues Clues.  Sometimes he wanted to watch a different movie, but any TV watching was called watching Blues Clues.  And he usually did want to watch the actual Blues Clues episodes we found on Netflix.

Then, about two weeks or so before his birthday (that I had been already planning for a month), he grew tired of Blues Clues... Too bad.  I had already planned and brainstormed and purchased some of the things I needed so he was getting a Blues Clues party.

We kept it pretty low-key since we didn't want the birthday boy crying all thru his party.

We had balloons because Judson absolutely loves balloons!  We played a game of Blues Clues, ate cake and other goodies, opened presents and then just hung out and enjoyed our friends.

Randall and Julia really got into the game... *grin*

Each kid got a handy dandy notebook and a crayon and we found 3 clues.

Each clue was drawn in the notebook.  One was the piano, one was a box of matches and one was some birthday candles.  What does Blue want to do on Judson's birthday?  Sing Happy Birthday and blow out the candles!

We just figured out Blues Clues!  I think that deserves some cake!  A sweet friend from high school made these cute cakes for Judson.

My sweet nieces modeling my cookies.  I had a lot of orders that week and decided to go with simple and quick for the party and, luckily, the pawprints were perfect.

Judson absolutely loved blowing out the candles and every time I would light one and then go on to the next one, he'd blow out the first.  Then I was laughing so hard that I couldn't light them.

He liked his cake a little better this year than last year... He took a few bites and then opted for a cookie again.

A clue!  I see a clue!

Present time, present time!  Open a present and see what's inside!

Judson really enjoyed opening the presents, but didn't care for having to stop playing with one gift to open the next.  One of his favorites was this cute pair of monkey slippers from Grammy.

We got him a balance bike.  He loved it and so did all the other kids at the party.  He still loves it and it's light-weight enough that when he gets tired of riding it, sometimes he'll just pick it up and carry it for a while. *grin*

It was a wonderful birthday party and we appreciate all our sweet friends that came to help us celebrate.  Judson, you are a precious gift to our family.  You are funny and independent and snuggly and full of personality.  You love to laugh and be scared and you dislike getting in trouble.  You will stick your bottom lip out before you start to cry and we all think it's adorable, but it still doesn't get you out of trouble.  You are talkative and smart and we are enjoying getting to see your little God-given personality come out.  You enjoy praying at bedtime and if Daddy or I will sing to you or tell you a story, you will sit still for hours.  What a joy you are.  Happy Birthday!

A Phineas and Ferb Halloween

In my mind, Halloween is fun.  I love the idea of making our costumes and coordinating them.  But, in reality, I forget it's coming up; then I'm too cheap to buy what I tho't I could make myself if I had the time.  So, we end up letting the kids choose a costume from the Halloween store and they're happy, but I am slightly sad.

This year... was no different...  I decided it might be fun to do a Phineas and Ferb family Halloween.  Russ would be Ferb, Randall would be Phineas, Judson would be Perry (because he's the smallest and because my mom gave him this adorable hat that I want to do something wonderful with), I could be Candace and Slade could be Doofenschmirtz (sp?).  So fun!  We all love Phineas and Ferb and watch the episodes available on Netflix on a regular basis.

But, I didn't plan well and then Russ wasn't keen on the idea of a homemade costume and it just never worked out.  So, when I saw these t-shirts on Amazon, I decided to go with it!

Altho you can't tell from the picture, Judson loved wearing his hat.  He kept pulling it down over his eyes.  

We tried to use spray hair color for Phineas and Ferb, but even with about 3/4 of the can, it didn't really look very dark.  

The boys can still wear their shirts, unlike most Halloween costumes that get worn once, they were cheaper than a costume from the Halloween store, still kind of matching, I could use the Perry hat and everyone liked the idea!  Score!  Happy Halloween!

Randall Reading

Slade passed by Judson's room the other day and this is what he saw:

Randall read to Judson for quite a while and Judson was happy to sit with him and listen.  Sweet moments.

Two Monkeys

Back when Judson was born, Slade took the boys to the toy store on the way to the hospital (the second day) to pick out a stuffed animal to give to Judson.  Randall chose a hedgehog and Russ chose a monkey.

Randall's hedgehog "shed" and little bits of "fur" would end up all over the crib, so the hedgehog ended up on a shelf.  Over time, however, it became very clear that Judson was getting very attached to the monkey.  By 18 months, that monkey (named Monkey because we're very creative around here) was a constant companion and went everywhere with Judson.

I began to have visions of losing Monkey and the distress that would follow and decided to buy a second monkey just in case.  I was unable to find one locally so I checked eBay and found him!  I was so excited to order him and felt such peace of mind, knowing we wouldn't know the meltdown and sleepless nights that come with losing a lovey.

But, when the new monkey came in the mail, my heart dropped and I had to laugh.  Apparently, Monkey had been loved so much that he no longer looked like he had when he was first purchased.  He was flat, his fur was matted and his sweet pink cheeks were not pink at all.

Here's Judson with it fresh out of the package.  He's tickled that they both have tails (Monkey's tail is his favorite thing--he wraps it around the fingers not in his mouth while he sucks the two middle ones). *grin*

Laughing with the two monkeys on the couch.

When I first gave him to Judson, he grinned and held him and said, "He's so chubby!" So, now we have Monkey and Chubby Monkey. Chubby Monkey is great for sitting at the end of the bed and sometimes he makes a good pillow if Judson lies on the floor, but he will never work as a substitute for Monkey. *grin* He is cute, tho!

Here's Judson telling me he has "two monkeys!"  Chubby Monkey is sitting pretty on the left and Monkey is slumped over on the right.

I think Chubby Monkey might work in an emergency, but I pray we never have to find out whether he does or not!

Potty Training Judson

I'm still going back a bit to catch up.  I think little boys in underwear are so adorable, so while potty training Judson, I had to get a few pictures.  

We started the actual training in September when he was 22 months.  He has done well, but has not caught on as quickly as Russell and Randall had at this point. Oh, well.  He will use the bathroom any time I take him and almost always holds it between trips, but he rarely tells us he has to go.  I know that'll come someday...

Monkey and a cute kid.

Nothing cuter than an "underwear baby" with an evil grin.

Eating on the back porch.

He's still in diapers at night time and doesn't wake at all for us to take him during the night.  He wakes up soaked.  Not sure how to train that, but I figure I'll worry about the day time first.  He has the cutest little "squishy tushy" and all of us have a hard time not giving him a little pinch whenever he wears underwear around the house.  He doesn't seem to mind.

Squirt Bottle from Nanny

Slade's mom often brings a little treat for the boys when she comes to visit.  When she came for Randall's birthday party, she brought Judson a squirt bottle.  He loved it!

He had a blast with it and was soaked by the time we took it away.

It takes so little to amuse him...

Big Boy Bed

One day last week, on a particularly busy day, I was thinking back to when we first moved into our house.  Russ was about 18 months old and I was pregnant with Randall.  We decided to take down the crib when we left our apartment and go ahead and just switch Russ to a toddler bed so that when Randall came, Russell wouldn't care that the baby got the crib.  It worked out perfectly.  Russ did great in his big boy bed. 

When I realized that Russ was 18 months when we switched him, I decided we should switch Judson.  Not that we're moving (altho we're trying!) and not that there's a baby on the way (altho I wish there was!), simply because it crossed my mind and, before I could think it through, I had the tools out.  The day was still busy and I still had things on my To Do list that needed to be done and there I was, converting Judson's crib to a toddler bed.

Because of the big age gap between the two big boys and Judson, Judson is more like an oldest child and less like a youngest.  He is confident, but also compliant.  Altho, he is more like a youngest in that he's laid-back and a bit of a clown.  I was pretty sure he would do well, altho I was ready for any training and walking back to bed that might be necessary.

The first nap he took went wonderfully.  He slept great, woke up and stayed in bed until I came to get him.  The first few nights were a little rough because he kept falling out of bed!  2 or 3 times, he'd wake us up, crying and disoriented as he tried to get back into bed with Monkey. 

We debated putting the side back up, but I'm a bit stubborn (I think I'm more like a youngest child than a middle child in that respect...) and since I had taken (wasted) the time to take the side off, I didn't want to put it back up!  I had the idea to use the little wedge we sometimes use when he's congested and has trouble sleeping.  I wedged it a little bit under the mattress on the open side and it gave just enough of a slope to keep him in bed.  It worked like a charm!  After a few days, I took the wedge out and he hasn't fallen out of bed since!

He absolutely loves having his bed the way it is. When I ask him if he wants to go get in his bed for a nap, he grins this huge grin and takes off running for his bed. He has a little plastic bin (for his cars) that he pulls over to the side of his bed to climb up onto the mattress. He will grab his Monkey, stick his fingers in his mouth and say, "Night-night, Mommy."  He really loves it when someone sits on his bed with him to rub his back or sing.

The night I took these pictures, he happened to be holding his "Baby Tiny Monkey" in his hand.  Baby Tiny Monkey is a little monkey with a blanket that his Grammy got for him.  He loves it and he named it himself. 

I know we moms say this all the time, but he is just growing up too fast!

Alive and Kicking...

I can't believe it's been almost a year since I last blogged. Well, I can believe it, but I don't like it. We are still alive and kicking. Summer is here, so it's been busy around here. Trying to keep up with busy big kids and still be home for a semi-regular naptime for a little one can be a little difficult. But, even the big kids benefit from the down time (and the routine).

My goal for next week is to organize pictures and start real blogging again. Can I do it? I hope so! I miss the chance to document what is going on in our lives and I'm looking forward to getting back into the groove. I hate the last year that hasn't been saved on here, but I'll just go forward from here.

I'll leave you with an attempt at getting a picture of the boys in their matching swim trunks.

It wasn't happening and I gave up. *grin*

Visualize Whirled Peas

Judson is following in the footsteps of his beloved grandfather, Oscar. He loves, loves peas. Russell and Randall did, too, when they were younger. Me? I. Can't. Stand. Peas. They make me gag. I wouldn't eat them if you paid me. Slade isn't a big fan of them, either, so we just never eat them at meals. But, Judson does!




Big grin!


Kinda drinking out of a sippy cup. There seems to be more spitting and dribbling it down his chin, but I think he's getting some of it in.


Since this post is a shout-out to my dad, I had to include these pictures of Judson in his way-cool jammies that my dad got him for Christmas. These were taken at the beginning of July, when he was just learning to sit up.






Now all he needs is to learn to ride a dirtbike! But, I'm hoping his big brother, Randall, learns before he does...

First Swim of the Summer

Russell and Randall have been swimming twice this summer, but yesterday was Judson's and my first time to actually get in the water.

My three sweet boys.


Matching trunks! I bought swim trunks last year and crossed my fingers that everyone would be the right size to fit their shorts. And they were!!


I wasn't sure if Russell would like matching his brothers, but he's been more tickled about it than Randall. He put on a different pair and then when I came out with Judson dressed in his, he said, "Oh, they're wearing that pair?! I'll be right back!"

I didn't get any pictures of the kids in the water because I'm not talented enough to hold a baby and a camera without one of the two getting dropped in the water.

Randall has become crazy-brave this year. It's like he has totally lost his fear or timidity in the water. It began last year, but he's taken off this year. He now scares me a little. He said, "I lost my breath a few times when I got out too deep and wasn't sure if I could get back to the edge." What?! Yikes! I have to remember to watch him a little closer...

Russ is a fish. He's amazing. Totally comfortable in the water. He's also already turning brown from the sun, even with the SPF 50 sunscreen lotion.

Judson was not a fan of the water at first. He would gasp as we got in and got wetter and wetter. He was very serious pretty much the whole time we were there. My sweet friend, Luciana, tried to hold him a few times and within seconds, he would stick that bottom lip out and start crying. He smiled a few times and even laughed once or twice, but he didn't want to splash or anything. He was very serious. After about an hour in the water, he fell asleep! Neither Russ nor Rand have ever fallen asleep in the water like that! But, when he woke up, he was a different kid. He was grinning and moving around and smiling! It was crazy!

I wrapped Judson in my towel and laid him on a chair while I gathered up swim toys and towels and such.


He was happy as could be and hardly moved the whole time.


Russ put his towel over his head and Judson looked so cute.


And, my very favorite:


All in all, a great swimming time! We definitely have to go back soon!

Bumblebee Swing

We have an old yellow bumblebee baby swing in the backyard. I can't even remember now where we got it, but I've kept it for when friends come over that have little ones.

Well, now *I* have a little one! And he's a big enough little one to sit up (for the most part) in the swing.

So, about a week ago, we went outside and enjoyed this beautiful weather we've been having.

I thought the cute little feet dangling down were so sweet.


Trying to get him to smile. He would be grinning and then as soon as I brought the camera up, he'd stop.


Trying to get him to look at the camera...


Fascinated with something, probably his hands.


Got it! A little smile, but it was as good as I could get.


I'm enjoying having a little person around again. It gives me an excuse to swing in the backyard or go to the park during the day or meet friends at Chick-Fil-A.

Rub-a-dub,dub...

The other day, I was getting Judson ready for bed and Russ came in to play with him while he was laying on his changing table. Then he moved the ottoman to the rocker over to the crib and pretended he was going to climb in. I told him he could if he wanted to and he was very excited about that.

I offered to let Judson get in, too, and he thought that was a great idea.


Then Randall wanted to join the fun.


Rub-a-dub, dub. Three boys in a crib. That's what I call a "kinda rhyme". Because it kinda rhymes...

And, on a completely different note, it rained the other day while it was nice and warm. That is the best rain for playing in!


It cracks me up that Russ's peace sign is kinda gangsta-looking and Rand's is bunny ears.

I didn't get any other pictures because it's hard to hold an umbrella, a baby and a camera.

Jud and I stayed dry by hanging out in the garage. He's thrilled to be enjoying his first rain.


He'll be out there running barefoot before we know it!