A perfectionist raising a perfectionist...

Jack flying a kite with Daddy

Adam has a great personality.  He likes to do a good job, he puts effort into his work and somehow he manages to do so without becoming an overachieving maniac.  I on the other hand have been known to stomp my feet, curse, throw things, and even smack myself (can you believe I am admitting this?? Perhaps this is the first step to curing my crazy. That or Two Rivers Hospital.) It seems that Jack may be taking a BIT more after me with his personality, or at least his frustration tolerance...
 Luckily I understand HOW he feels, but unfortunately I don't know how to really help him.  We started noticing it before he could even walk.  He used to pick toys of matching color. You could actually watch him scan the pile of blocks searching for the other matching blue one. He loves to organize and line up his hot wheels, pennies, toys etc. When he was learning to ride his 4 wheeler he would bounce up and down in frustration if he couldn't maneuver it smoothly enough. If his sandwich, granola bar, biscuit etc. would crumble or break in half he was devastated. Now when he colors he screams if he goes outside the lines.  He expects to be able to DRAW perfect pictures and cries "it's NOT good" if his people don't turn out just right. The other day he was hitting baseballs off the T and yelled "ahhh, it wasn't good" when his ball didn't go far enough to his liking. Today his play doh creation lost its arm, Jack lost his cool, and I came to the realization that Jack's perfectionism is wide spread and SEVERE. 

The kite is wayyyyy up there. Right over his shoulder

Adam and I do our best to respond consistently. "It's all right Jack.  It's still good, and you can either keep playing/eating/etc. or you need to go take a break/time-out on the stairs."  He usually consoles fairly well, and will continue to practice his skills with determination.  This is why he has mastered every puzzle he owns. He has an amazing amount of determination to complete any task set before him.  As PROUD and amazed as Adam and I are of Jack... I worry about his ability to use his perfectionism to his benefit rather than his demise.  If we are able to teach Jack how to manage his desire to do everything perfectly, and instead turn it into a healthy desire to do his best.... but aggghh! Who am I kidding! All we can do is support him , love him, and encourage him to keep on keeping on. right??  Meanwhile my Mom and Dad are surely enjoying this... thinking back in fond memories of the times I made us late because the stripes on my socks weren't perfectly aligned... oh dear. I do think it got better with age...

Trying on the fire fighter gear at a car show in Joplin MO

Riding a pedal cart at the "WildWest Show"

Captain Jack is turning 3!

I am NOT the best at celebrating birthdays.  This is because I am an extreme birthday party pooper.  Birthdays make me sad instead of happy.  No, it's not that I dread the NUMBER, I don't really care how OLD I am per say... it's the reminder that another year is GONE.  My time, my life, my opportunities here on earth are dwindling. I write this and realize how extremely depressing this sounds... but for some reason this is the sentiment that birthdays produce in me.  So now, as a mother, I am faced with the challenge of celebrating my children's birthdays.  An annual reminder that they are growing up. Becoming more independent. Each year of their childhood being marked down in history... with the inevitable truth that they are not MINE to keep. That they will grow up, follow God's path for their lives.  That God truly created them for HIS glory, not mine.  But in the meanwhile... I make it my devotion to absorb and experience everyday and moment with them.  Perhaps their birthdays should be seen as an annual reminder to cherish, love, and celebrate everyday with them and to Thank GOD for their birth.
So in the spirit of JOY and Thanksgiving, I celebrated my JACK JACK on his 3rd Birthday.  We had a real PARTY. With pirate decorations, balloons, cake, and colorful kick balls for the kids to take home.  Jack was happy, Nona was happy, Adam was ecstatic, and despite my birthday fears... I had fun too.

holy moly that didn't go as planned

NonaJane is nearing 4 months old now, and she is out of control.  She has learned how to roll! She has mastered rolling back to tummy, and has a pretty good hang of rolling from her tummy to her back. The other day I even saw her make some forward progress to grab at her brother! Jack was such a passive baby, that I am not used to this wild child.  In fact, I used to always tuck baby Jack in with a blanket ( I know you're not supposed to do that but he looked so sweet just like a miniature little person. Plus he always slept so still that the blanket never moved.) Well not little miss! She won't leave her blanket alone! Twice I found her with it pulled over her head. So no more blanket! Plus she scoots, turns and twists in bed so you never know how you will find her!

Mastering the trumpet at an early age

But someone else has an even bigger milestone coming around the corner. Jack is turning 3 in less than a week.  I believe it, because I have loved every day of the 3 years he has been here, but I also can't believe it.  Didn't we just sing happy birthday to him yesterday when he turned 2? Well the little man has matured in his taste, he wants an i-Pad for his birthday.  Yea... that's not going to happen. But we are going to have a Pirate Birthday Party! His very first real birthday party.  Except mom was a little busy and didn't get real invitations out so everyone got the word thru texting.  Tacky? Maybe, but everyone got the message so that's all that matters :) Jack is quite excited, and we really look forward to celebrating with him.

Jack wanted to learn to draw a 'real' picture so I showed him how to draw a stick person...

Mine is on the right, his is on the left!!! Pretty good for a 2 year old! (I can say that for another week :))

Now I can't leave out Adam.  He too is getting old. On Wednesday he will be 34, so we made plans to celebrate his birthday with his family over labor day weekend. The plan was to go camping at Marion lake in Hillsboro Kansas.  On Friday night Jack spiked a fever and was clearly not feeling well. When we woke up Saturday AM he did as all children do and acted fine. So Adam was determined to go camping. We called and warned everyone that Jack could potentially have a life threatening illness which may or may not be contagious (mild exaggeration) and all were cool with us still coming. So we headed down, and I complained that I too thought I was getting a cold.  I spent the first day griping that I didn't feel well, that Nona was out of sorts, and so on etc...  Then Sunday morning I woke up with a stomach ache :( Adam, Ryan and his Dad headed out for a birthday round of golf... and I started puking in the trees.  After a bit I had had enough and summoned Adam home from the golf course. We packed up and headed the heck home.  To make his birthday even BETTER, I passed the stomach bug to him and he spent the whole night puking too.  Unfortunately his brother and niece caught it too :(  Sooooo... maybe we will plan a birthday re-do some other time this year. Sorry Adam!

Consignment sale junky

My name is Kelly. I am a consignment sale, Craig's list, and garage sale junky.

 I LOVE deals, I find deep joy when I buy something at a fraction of it's original cost. It's hard to describe how GOOD it really makes me feel!!! A dollar saved is a dollar earned :)  Adam says sometimes he feels bad for Jack that he has never owned anything new in his life.  But we don't feel that bad because the kid is spoiled rotten! It makes no difference to him if some other kid played with it first, and our basement 'toy room' is proof. Plus he is pretty good at getting deals himself. At the last garage sale he bought himself a bicycle that hooks up to the TV and works like a video game. The lady was asking $10, but he got it for $8... I don't know what they are new... probably $50?

Nona enjoying her new 'sassy' jumper ($10 thank you very much!)

 Anyhow, last week was the first round of fall consignment sales.  I was excited for weeks, I lined my mom up to babysit the kids (much better to shop without the distraction of children), marked the date on the calender, and had Adam up and ready to go by 8a.m.  On the way there I literally felt like I was having an anxiety attack with each red light.  "The crap will all still be there Kelly" said Adam calmly.  Once there I felt like a kid in a candy store unsure of which way to go first: clothes, games, toys, shoes, ahhhh!!! But no fear... we went and we conquered.  I spent nearly $200... BUT I imagine the original ticket cost of all I purchased was probably closer to $600-700 or likely even more.  Now sweet NonaJane has more than enough GIRL clothes to last up to size 18 months!

What a sweet face of excitement over her new exersaucer! What, only 15 dollars??? hehe

Jack showing her how to work all the toys "oh, thank you BIG brother!"

We purchased Jack some safety scissors.  He likes to ask if he can do some "scissoring" instead of cutting.

An outdoor/indoor playmat with toys ($3) and new pajamas ($2) 

This is a Pottery Barn nursery rug, which we purchased for $30.  It goes perfect in her room!

Baby Nona is 3 months old!

Tummy time on our camping trip

blurry, but she was laughing up a storm with Papa

A few weeks ago we were at the park. Jack was running around playing, and Nona was on her playmate enjoying the weather. I saw some little girls running around and  I looked at Nona and thought "I can't imagine who you are going to be.  A little NonaJane running around... what will that be like?"  Isn't it odd that even with her here, I still long to know her better...to know the future.  Why do I long for the future, but at the same time long for everything to stay exactly the same? Time always seems to be my enemy.  NonaJane is already over 3 months old, and I can't believe how much she is changing.  But to be honest I'm a little glad to have seen some time go by... I feel lucky to have survived the second month of life her life.  It was a rough one.  She was fussy, and demanding, and a little opinionated at times.  Not that it is her fault,  she is a baby after all.  I am pretty sure her stomach was the root of her problem.  She always seemed uncomfortable and gassy.  I took dairy out of my diet which I really believe helped her.  Now she is HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY! I am loving every bit of it! She smiles all the time, she laughs at everything, she has the CUTEST dimples and loves to show them.  She is rolling up on her sides... rolls over occasionally, grabbing anything that comes near her hands, and bringing stuff to her mouth.  She hasn't really figured out how to let go of things yet... and she has taken out quite a bit of my hair with her death grip.  When nursing she will stop and smile or laugh at me, which is a nice little thank you :)  She has definitely found her voice too. She coos up a storm, and throws a squeal in every now and then for good measure.   It seems like she is nearly twice her original size, and getting cuter everyday.

Starting to have good head control!