I'm grateful for life itself. I know this sounds really cliche but it's true. Lately I've been reminded just how fragile and fleeting life can be. Several of my friends have lost loved ones recently and I have been overcome with the idea that someone can be here one second and gone the next. In just the blink of an eye. Life is fragile and I know I need to do a better job of treating it that way. Usually when I wake up in the morning I have my normal thoughts like, "here we go again" or "if only I could stay in bed and not deal with all the mundane things." However, since these recent events, even though I still have these thoughts when I wake up, I quickly override them with another one along the lines of "It doesn't matter what it is, I'm grateful to be here doing it." This has given me a new perspective on the daily tasks like doing laundry, doing dishes, changing diapers, wiping up messes for the hundredth time, and so on. We are the sum of many parts and all of these tasks are part of a bigger whole, which is to create a home and life.
I am grateful for a wonderful, loving husband. I couldn't ask for someone better. I am so lucky that Jeff wanted to marry me. He has so many great qualities that I hope to emulate one day. I love that he is so easy-going and doesn't get stressed out like I do. I love that he is completely non-judgmental. Anytime I am quick to pass judgement on someone he will immediately defend them and remind me that I don't know the full story for that person so I can't judge. He is also such a great hands-on dad with our boys. Just this past Sunday I was sick with a cold so I told him I wasn't going to make dinner. He said he would make it and then made us a chicken cordon blue pasta from scratch with no recipe! He made it up in his head! That's another thing I love about him...he is a great chef! It makes me so mad that he can just come in the kitchen and make anything taste good without a recipe while I have to meticulously follow a recipe for it to be good. I will say I think I'm a better baker than him because he doesn't believe in exact measurements or timers, both essential in baking! ;) After making dinner he got the boys into bed and then picked up the house. I was so grateful that he did all of this while I relaxed. I love that when he gets home from work he immediately takes Jackson (possibly because I practically throw him into his arms!) and does something with Jamisen. They will usually either go in the backyard and play soccer, wrestle upstairs, or walk to the mailbox to check the mail while I finish up making dinner. Then after dinner he is so good about taking the boys to have baths and get ready for bed while I clean up dinner. Lastly, I'm grateful for Jeff's sense of humor. He always has a quick comment and keeps us laughing. He is silly and goofy and the boys love that. I really lack in this area so he is the fun parent that can be goofy, make faces, do funny dances, etc. Recently he did the cutest thing before bed. Jamisen really loves the song "Ice Ice Baby" for some reason so Jeff decided to turn it on in our kitchen, turn the lights off and have a dance party right in the kitchen. We all danced and Jamisen was thrilled by the whole thing. I never would have thought of doing such a thing! I'm too focused on tasks and what needs to be done next that I get overwhelmed and don't stop to just enjoy the little moments. I'm so grateful that he helps me see and enjoy the spontaneous moments in life!
Handsome and funny!
I'm grateful for Jamisen. I will always have a special bond with Jamisen because he is my firstborn and made me a mommy. He was my little buddy for 3 years while it was just he and I. He is so full of life, so smart, funny, curious, busy, determined, sweet and loving. I have loved seeing him grow in his role as an older brother over this past year. He loves his baby brother soooo much, I can't even explain how much in words. I know to an outsider it looks like he is constantly harassing Jackson but I can honestly say that 90% of the time Jamisen is actually trying to love his brother but it just isn't executed well. He constantly wants to hug him, kiss him, and cuddle him but it isn't carried out so well because even though he tries he isn't very gentle. So this results in Jackson screaming and not being the biggest fan of Jamisen getting too close to him. I know one day they will best best friends. The other day I was cooking in the kitchen and Jackson was in his highchair eating snacks. He started to get really fussy and I couldn't help him so Jamisen came to the rescue. He loves to have a job and be in charge so he rushed to take care of his baby. He kept running to the pantry to get him more snacks, then got him water, and then tried to entertain him. After all of this he said, "I think he just wants his mommy!" Speaking of him loving to be in charge and have a job, lately I have been giving him chores and he is so cute about carrying them out. He LOVES to wipe the windows with windex, mop the floors, and unload the silverware from the dishwasher. I used to think he should have been born second or third in our family because he is so extremely social, but lately as he gets older I am beginning to get glimpses of what a responsible little boy he can be when given tasks and that he will be a great "firstborn" in our family. Speaking of being social, I can't write about Jamisen without mentioning what a little social butterfly he is. He is obsessed with playing with friends, especially his cousin Cole. Lately Jamisen wants to say hi to random people as we drive around town. He saw a homeless woman standing on a corner and wanted me to roll his window down so he could say hi. Then a few days later he saw a man fixing a sign at McDonald's and as we drove out of the drive-thru he told me to roll his window down. When I did he said hi to the man but not loud enough for him to hear. He also has a crush on a little girl that goes to preschool with him. It's his first crush and I can't believe how he blushes if we talk about her. I didn't have my first crush until the fourth grade! I'm blaming all of this on Jeff! He just thinks it's hilarious and loves to tease Jamisen about it. Finally, he is one smart cookie. He has always been a very observant child since the time he was a baby (when other babies passed out in their strollers on walks, Jamisen would sit straight up, hanging on the edge of his seat and looking at everything). It's fun to see how he makes connections. For example, the other night he was having a hard time staying in his bed and going to sleep. He kept coming downstairs and didn't understand why Jeff and I didn't have to go to bed yet. We explained we are older and are done growing but he needs sleep to keep growing bigger. That did the trick and he went to sleep. The next morning as we were driving to preschool he saw a black crow and asked me if they fly at night. I said, I didn't think so and that only owls are nocturnal. Then he said, "well you and dad are nocturnal." I told him we weren't because we also sleep at night and he said, "But last night you guys didn't go to bed!"
Silly boy.....................Brotherly love at it's finest ;)
I'm grateful for Jackson. This sweet boy of ours has melted our hearts over the last year. If I'm being completely honest, Jamisen wasn't the easiest baby; partly because I think we were adjusting to our new role as parents but also because he had a terrible time learning to breastfeed, wasn't a good sleeper in the beginning and has a more demanding personality. When we were ready to have another baby I prayed and prayed Heavenly Father would send us a sweet, easy going baby. That's exactly what he did. Right when he was born he nursed perfectly and we haven't had an issue since. Also, although he woke up the normal every 2-3 hours for a nursing in the night, he immediately went back to bed. This helped in me not feeling as sleep deprived as I did with Jamisen. He also has a more easy-going personality that rolls with the punches. I think this happens to all kids after the first because the parents aren't able to cater to everything as they did on their first child. For one thing, he will just sit in his crib for the longest time after he wakes up waiting and waiting for me to come get him. I can see when he is awake on our video monitor and he will just sit there and play (loves to throw his binkies behind the crib) until I come in. Another example of his patience was this summer when we were hiking in Canada at Lake Louise. We were with some of Jeff's family and decided to do a longer hike to the top of the mountain. At the beginning of the hike I mentioned I needed to nurse him but that we could get started and then whenever we stopped for a break I would nurse him during that time so it didn't hold everyone back. Well, somehow we hiked for a solid 2 hours before finally stopping. When we did I checked the time and was shocked to see that he had gone 6 hours without eating and still wasn't making a fuss about being fed. I think he just figured, "She'll eventually feed me!" Now in more recent times as he has been exposed to table food I have to say he has become more impatient. He is very serious about his food and when he decides he wants to eat something he wants it now! This is another thing I love about him. I think he will be my fellow foodie one day. I get super passionate about my food and I can tell he is the same way. One day I was feeding him something and he was just going to town and I had the thought, "I don't know anyone this intense about their food.........except for me." Jackson also loves music. Anytime he hears a beat in a song he immediately starts dancing. It can be on a commercial, on the radio, or at church. From the time he was really young he would tap his foot to a song, and now as he gets older he will dance when he hears music. It's the cutest thing and we all love it. He is also one smart cookie. One day I was wearing a hat and we went into our closet and he kept pointing to a pile of Jeff's hats. I didn't know what he wanted but I grabbed one and put it on his head. As soon as I did, he immediately got a big smile (like, you finally got it!) and then we went to the mirror to look at ourselves. I pointed to me and said "Mommy has a hat" and then pointed to him and said "Jackson has a hat!" He just lit up and got this big smile behind his binky.
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Loving wearing Daddy's hat!
