Last evening we put the kids to bed and we went outside for some yard work. Laura was out back and I was in the front yard pulling weeds. You see, the weeds are quite tall and are easy to pick out since my grass is really yellow. So I was taking advantage of the situation and plucking them out.
I heard the front door jostle a little bit. I thought maybe Laura was back in the house, putting something away, and bumped into the door. Anywho, a few minutes later Josh appears out of the garage door. Did I mention that we put him to bed already? Josh then says, "I was looking for you Daddy." By looking at him I could tell why he was looking for me. But he continued on and said, "I went poop on the potty." Now I don't know if I am really good, or have a keen sense when it comes to my kids, but I just knew that is what he wanted to tell me. On the other hand it could have been the fact that Josh was standing outside wearing his birthday suit from the waist down.
I went over to him and said good job. He then took me inside to show me what he did on the potty. I must say it was awfully big and stinky for a little boy.
It is amazing how kids always look to their parents for approval. I told Josh that I am really proud of him. He is doing a fantastic job at going pee-pee and poop on the potty.
I don't know if the desire for parental approval ever goes away. My mom sent me a fathers day card and it was awesome. In summary, my mom is very proud of me and my family. That's so cool!
"Eegh! Eegh! Eegh!", said Jude.
Eegh! Eegh! Eegh!
Jude has got a new habit.
He wakes up around 4:00 AM for some play time. He grunts and scoots on his tummy until he gets to the end of the crib. At this point it is usually 4:15 AM and he is stuck. My theory is that once he gets to the end of the crib he works hard to go further, but can't. He pulls out all the stops and in doing so his right arm gets stuck outside the crib. Now he has got a problem, his head is in the corner and his arm is outside the crib. So what does a 3 month old do?
Eegh! Eegh! Eegh! Until we come and rescue him.
It was 4:14 AM this morning. I moved him back to the center of his crib. A little crying and Jude was back to sleep after his morning workout/playtime.
So what is Eegh? It is a little grunt he does in bursts. He will give this grunt when he is getting tired. He will give this grunt when he is uncomfortable. It is usually a warning sign. If we don't heed the warning, little Jude will start crying.
Jude has got a new habit.
He wakes up around 4:00 AM for some play time. He grunts and scoots on his tummy until he gets to the end of the crib. At this point it is usually 4:15 AM and he is stuck. My theory is that once he gets to the end of the crib he works hard to go further, but can't. He pulls out all the stops and in doing so his right arm gets stuck outside the crib. Now he has got a problem, his head is in the corner and his arm is outside the crib. So what does a 3 month old do?
Eegh! Eegh! Eegh! Until we come and rescue him.
It was 4:14 AM this morning. I moved him back to the center of his crib. A little crying and Jude was back to sleep after his morning workout/playtime.
So what is Eegh? It is a little grunt he does in bursts. He will give this grunt when he is getting tired. He will give this grunt when he is uncomfortable. It is usually a warning sign. If we don't heed the warning, little Jude will start crying.
Knepfla
This is what you will need:
4 Cups of flour
1 Cup of water
2 Eggs
1 tsp of Salt
Mix 1 Cup of water, eggs & salt. Then add flour, 1 cup at a time to make a firm dough. Roll out & cut into 1 inch strips on floured surface.
Cook in boiling water. Check at 20 min to see if firm. Drain. Heat 1 stick of margarine. Add saltine crackers crumbled. Brown crackers. Pour over Knepfla and stir. You can fry all together to get it all crispier.
For those of you who don't have German ancestry, Knepfla is a basic homemade egg noodle. Knepfla is certainly good to eat and thoroughly enjoyable to make.
Thanks for the help Josh & Jake! They had fun and so did I!
Ryan
4 Cups of flour
1 Cup of water
2 Eggs
1 tsp of Salt
Mix 1 Cup of water, eggs & salt. Then add flour, 1 cup at a time to make a firm dough. Roll out & cut into 1 inch strips on floured surface.
Cook in boiling water. Check at 20 min to see if firm. Drain. Heat 1 stick of margarine. Add saltine crackers crumbled. Brown crackers. Pour over Knepfla and stir. You can fry all together to get it all crispier.
For those of you who don't have German ancestry, Knepfla is a basic homemade egg noodle. Knepfla is certainly good to eat and thoroughly enjoyable to make.
Thanks for the help Josh & Jake! They had fun and so did I!
Ryan
New Morning Ritual
A while back I had a really good habit of reading my one year Bible, embarking on a prayer walk, then coming home to prepare breakfast before the rest of the family is out of bed. Well something happened 3+ months ago, we had our 3rd child and 3rd boy. What a blessing Jude has been in our lives. He is such a treasure just like his older brothers Joshua and Jakin. But my routine was messed up a bit with Jude's sleep habits. I used to love getting up early and carving out that time, just me and God. It was some really good times for sure.
So now that Jude has been sleeping through the night, we can get on a more normal schedule again. Or so I thought... Jude gets up at 5:15AM, now being the good dad and husband that I am, I retrieve the little tyke and feed him. This had been the New normal routine. I would feed Jude, read and then we would go on a prayer walk. Fast forward to yesterday.
Did I mention that Josh is now potty trained?
With Josh's new found freedom by being able to get out of bed and go pee-pee, he has pushed the limits of his old rules of having to stay in bed until we come and get him. So for the second day in a row now, Josh has joined Jude and I for our morning ritual, minus the prayer walk. On Monday I had to explain to Josh that this was quiet time in the morning and that he needed to be silent and read if he wanted to stay up. I had to give him quite a few reminders, but overall he was really good. Today, he was up with Jude and I at 5:15. Josh came down with all 3 of his blankets and plopped himself in the chair. He was really good. I hardly heard a peep out of him. I finished reading and feeding Jude.
After I put Jude on the floor for some play, Josh came over to cuddle. Daddy was pretty tired this morning, so I was trying to get some more rest. Josh placed my Bible in my open hand, I then told him that I had already read this morning. Josh then told me he wanted to read about cheeses. I took me a second to comprehend what he was saying (might I remind you this was before 6:00AM). Then I realized he wanted to read about Jesus. Seriously, Josh is almost 3, but I would swear he said cheeses, or that is how he pronounced it. So Josh and I read in the New Testament and had a grand time. It was really precious to be able to spend 1:1 time with him. I mourn the loss of my cool morning 1:1 time with God, but to have Josh want to spend time and read about Jesus - how cool is that?
No worries - I have a lunch hour that is perfect for reading and prayer.
Ryan
So now that Jude has been sleeping through the night, we can get on a more normal schedule again. Or so I thought... Jude gets up at 5:15AM, now being the good dad and husband that I am, I retrieve the little tyke and feed him. This had been the New normal routine. I would feed Jude, read and then we would go on a prayer walk. Fast forward to yesterday.
Did I mention that Josh is now potty trained?
With Josh's new found freedom by being able to get out of bed and go pee-pee, he has pushed the limits of his old rules of having to stay in bed until we come and get him. So for the second day in a row now, Josh has joined Jude and I for our morning ritual, minus the prayer walk. On Monday I had to explain to Josh that this was quiet time in the morning and that he needed to be silent and read if he wanted to stay up. I had to give him quite a few reminders, but overall he was really good. Today, he was up with Jude and I at 5:15. Josh came down with all 3 of his blankets and plopped himself in the chair. He was really good. I hardly heard a peep out of him. I finished reading and feeding Jude.
After I put Jude on the floor for some play, Josh came over to cuddle. Daddy was pretty tired this morning, so I was trying to get some more rest. Josh placed my Bible in my open hand, I then told him that I had already read this morning. Josh then told me he wanted to read about cheeses. I took me a second to comprehend what he was saying (might I remind you this was before 6:00AM). Then I realized he wanted to read about Jesus. Seriously, Josh is almost 3, but I would swear he said cheeses, or that is how he pronounced it. So Josh and I read in the New Testament and had a grand time. It was really precious to be able to spend 1:1 time with him. I mourn the loss of my cool morning 1:1 time with God, but to have Josh want to spend time and read about Jesus - how cool is that?
No worries - I have a lunch hour that is perfect for reading and prayer.
Ryan