Sorry readers...we haven't had internet for the last few days. So from where I left off in my last blog...John is feeling better. Must have been a 24 hour bug or something. Pops decided that it was time for John to go to his first professional baseball game. So Pops, Daddy and John headed to the Royals game on Tuesday. However, before going to the game, Pops and John did some shopping at Wal-Mart. Royals outfits, stuffed animals (for Sophia), a baseball tee (along with a bat and ball) and a new "soft" ball for inside batting practice was purchased. Let's just say our house is all about ball right now. Everyone had a great time at the game and John even got a certificate for his first game at the Royals stadium. He is still talking about it! Enjoy the pictures!

Here we have batting practice going on in our house after the game. John LOVES hitting the ball and he even "runs the bases" after he is hits. He is always asking for "ball" to be on the TV. Needless to say, Matt is loving it!

Talking to Nannee after the game. He was talking 90 miles a minute.

Pops and John discussing the game. Notice my dad is in Cardinal's red. He even wore it to the game. :)

Miss Sophia even got a Royal's outfit. Isn't she looking pretty in pink??

On Monday evening, John spiked a fever of 102.4. It was just all of a sudden. Morning came and so did the fever...100.4. So John got to spend the day with Daddy on Tuesday. He kept the fever all day long. Pops was already planning on coming up on Thursday, so he came up a couple days early to take care of the sweet boy. John was very surprised this morning when Pops came in to get him when he woke up. The fever has broken and it is time to get playin'!

One of the things I love about living in KC is the RIVER MARKET. We went down there for the first time this season and I had almost forgotten how much I do love it. I love the idea of getting fresh produce. I love the idea that some of it was just picked that morning. I love that it is just one more way I am trying to keep my family healthy and away from pesticides. I also love the smells, the sounds, the colors from the vegetables, fruits and flowers. My new love is the Italian Grocery Store....AMAZING! See the pictures below to see how our day went.

Sophia's first time going to the River Market and she is excited!!

John saw that Sophia had a hat on, so he thought he needed one too. He is a little obsessed with hats these days. He would wear them all the time if we would let him.

John would try to grab food off the tables. He would say "yummy". He loved going down there. We finally let in and bought him an apple. He worked on that apple for a long time. He kept saying "mmm".

If you have never been to the River Market downtown...you should try it. My recommendation is to go early. By 9:30/10:oo ish, it is getting very crowded and hot. Not only are there farmers that bring in their crops, but there are little shops with specialty foods all around the edge. I love this coffee shop.

Sophia was so excited when we were home, it exhausted her...so she slept the whole time we were down there.

Matt surprised us with a canolli after buying a few things at the Italian Grocery store. I had actually never had one, and it was delicious! It was great treat!

When we were finished buying our goods, Sophia got hungry. So we headed over to the Nelson. John and Matt played in the yard, while Sophia and I sat on the bench and soaked in the sun.

The main purpose of us going to the River Market was to buy fresh strawberries. I had decided that I wanted to make my own jam this year. We usually get it from my mom because her's is the best. But I was going to try it this year. I have been on a kick of being more domestic...and this was one more way of fulfilling that feeling. So we found beautiful strawberries! Part of my Saturday was spent making this yummy stuff. The hardest part about this process is you have to wait 24 hours to let it set...so your need isn't fulfilled right away. I can tell you it turned out beautifully and the verdict is that it tastes FABULOUS! Just like my momma's!

On Saturday and Sunday, I also got to make beer bread, a Sunday lunch for friends, and a chocolate meringue pie. I have decided if I could cook/bake all the time...I would be in heaven. It was a fantastic weekend. I hope everyone has a wonderful Monday!

I love the mornings. (Almost) everyday, Sophia wakes me up around 5 a.m. At first, I wasn't a fan, but now it is something I look forward to when I am heading to bed each night. It has become "our" time. The house is quiet and it is just us stirring around. Our girl time is spent talking and lots of smiling. Sophia isn't quite an
"evening" baby. That is her fussy time, but morning comes and she is a hoot! She smiles and coos. She kicks and punches. She looks around at everything. You could see her little brain working as her eyes dart around the room and then she gets fixed on something and nothing breaks the eye contact. She follows me around the house, either in her swing, bouncer or a blanket on the floor as I am doing things. As I blog, I stop to talk to her and she usually gives me a grin. I am so blessed to be able to have some girl time with my daughter.

Have a great day!

Oh to be a kid again...
Do you remember when it didn't matter if you were a boy or a girl...you just played. You played with whatever because you weren't nervous about someone making fun of you. You were your total self...nothing else. You could dance your little heart out to a barbie movie about a mermaid. Oh to be a little kid again....

Can you guess which baby this is? It's John...but can you believe how must Sophia and him look alike? Sophia does have bigger cheeks than John did and John is about 6 months in this picture. However, I do think it is amazing that they look SO much alike. Crazy!

Dear Heavenly Father,

Today starts a new schedule. A schedule that I am afraid will kick my butt. I know that it is part of your will for me to be in this cohort program; however, the next 2 weeks I will have to depend on you. My worries and anxiety are getting the best of me. 2 nights of my week are going to be spent in a cold, gray building...away from my children. The homework is long and tedious...which will consume other nights of the week. I pray that when I start to get stressed, sad, frustrated, or any other feelings that get in my way of our relationship, that I will pause and crawl into your lap for rest. I pray that I use my time wisely and let go the things that don't matter, such as a clean house. Don't let my pretend image of "everything is put together in my life" get the in way of reading books with my children, finger painting, tummy time, cuddling with my husband and taking moments of quietness to enjoy Your beauty.

Let your will be done,

Jodi

Finger Painting Time!!!

I realized that this weekend had flown by and I had pretty much done homework and things around the house. I realized that I had hardly read a book to John, had tummy time with Sophia, or any other fun activities with the kiddos. So I decided to take a break tonight and FINGER PAINT! This was John's first time really finger painting and he loved it. Sophia sat on daddy's lap and watched the whole time. She smiled at John, but I couldn't get it on camera. Oh well...someday I will catch her smiling for the camera.

Sophia is 2 months old! Can you believe it? Matt took her to her check up and she is a whopin' 13lbs and 1oz. She is coming in at 23 3/4 inches long. I am not sure they stretched her out because I think she is longer than this. I was looking back at John's measurements and he was measuring 24 inches long when he was 2 months. I am pretty sure that she is longer than he was at that age. She is barely fitting in 3 month sleepers...she can barely stretch her legs out. The doctor said she is looking great and growing wonderfully. She is in the 90th percentile for height and weight. She is really starting to smile, coo, and chuckle. She is starting to interact with toys that hang from her bouncer.
Sleeping is getting better! YEAH! Miss Sophia has slept from around 9:00 p.m. to about 5 a.m. the last couple of nights. The only thing is that I am falling asleep at 9:00...so not much gets done in the evenings. We are still working on the being fussy in the evenings. Once 8:00 p.m. hits...my precious girl wants to be held. Don't even think about doing anything else. Last night, Matt and I decided we would try to clean the house after John went to bed so we wouldn't have to do it this weekend. I was in charge of the back of the house and he was in charge of the front of the house. I got one basket of clothes put away, and Sophia started fussing. So I picked her up and we laid on the bed. I guess we fell asleep because at 11:00, I woke up and it was dark in our room. My sweet husband, who had been doing his part in the cleaning, came back and saw that both of his girls were conked out on the bed, so he turned out the light.
So...I am learning that I am not going to get things done in the evening after 8:00 (or before 8:00 for that matter). I am learning to be an early bird and do things after the 5 o'clock feeding. I am learning that it is okay to go to bed at 9:00 (even though my husband doesn't like it :))

I love that John LOVES Sophia so much. This is just a small catch of how he acts around her all the time. As you can tell, we are still working on being gentle. :)

Hope you enjoyed the video!

Last year, Matt and I decided to put in a flower garden in the front of our house. We are starting to see the flowers bud! Last year, since we had just planted it, we never saw the "full" garden in swing. We are excited to see it this year.

I don't have a hobby...and I would like to have one. Part of the problem is that I need more than 24 hours in my day...but that is just not going to happen. I have also decided that when I start something, I always want to start big and then I end up not following through because it ends up being overwhelming. So I am starting small....

I am going to try to be a gardener. I am going to start with tomatoes and peppers in pots on my back deck. If I like this hobby, which I am hoping that I do, we will make a raised bed in the back yard this summer. That way we will be ready to plant next Spring.

So here are my new little friends...

The peppers...

and

the tomatoes...

John is obsessed with mowing. (His Pops should be proud...since he owns a lawn mowing business!)

Any time he hears a mower he gets so excited and wants to see it. Every time we are in the garage, he wants the mower out. He loves pushing the mower. He didn't even want to take a bath because Daddy was mowing and he couldn't stand to be inside!

Don't worry...the mower is off in this picture! They are just pushing it around the grass, making mowing sounds.

It was my first day at Jewell's house today. I knew that it was a different kind of day because Mommy was running around this morning trying to make sure that everyone was ready to go. I heard her say to Daddy, "Can you take them? I don't know if I can drop them off. I am afraid I will ramble on about all the things about Sophia. Jewell will figure it out because she is wonderful and is a pro. She doesn't need me standing there for 30 minute telling her about stuff." Daddy told her that he could and gave her a hug. I heard him say, "It's going to be fine. Just think...she will take care of them better than I did :)". I am not sure what that meant because I thought Daddy did a great job. (Even though the house was a mess when Mommy would get home). So off we went to Jewell's house. John wanted to stay with Daddy when we got to Jewell's house. Yet, when Daddy got me out of the seat...John wanted to show me off. He was telling everyone my name and showering me with kisses. Daddy disappeared quietly and the day began. I got to see a lot at Jewell's. It was easier to stay awake there. That will make Mommy happy because I might sleep more tonight. I watched all the kids. I saw the kids that John is always talking about...Reese, Brooklyn and Eli. Jewell fed me 3 times today and changed my diaper a few times too. She told me I was gassy! That is what she told my mom too. Mommy came to pick us up a little early because John has pink eye. Even though she looked tired when she got to Jewell's, her face lit up when she saw us. I think she was excited to see us.

Overall, I loved being at Jewell's and Jewell loved on me all day. I am one lucky girl to have a great place to go while my Mommy and Daddy work.

I think I want to go back there tomorrow.

I know I know....I haven't blogged since Tuesday. I am so sorry, especially to my avid readers. I guess you could say that we are still adjusting to having 2 little ones and working full time. I am learning that there is not a lot of down time with my life right now...and I actually do love it. So here is the update on our lives right now and some pictures to follow.

I finished my first full week of working full time since having Sophia this week. It was a challenge to get through but I made it! My sweet Sophia, who is cute as a bug's ear, is still having trouble sleeping at night and staying awake during the day. So by Friday...I was exhausted...but I made it! Another thing that is happening is that Sophia loves to be cuddled around 8:00 pm. This is why I haven't been able to blog. John goes to bed around 8:00 and Sophia has claimed this time as her own. There is no putting her down...or you hear about it! We have found that she is quite particular but let me tell you...she smiles at you and it melts your heart. We just keep telling ourselves that when she is 12, we will be wishing that she still wanted to cuddle...so we are soaking it in!

John gets funnier by the day. He truly loves his little sister and he is excited that she is going to Jewell's tomorrow. He talks all the time and seems to remember the strangest things.

Matt survived his 2nd week of paternity leave. I think he was ready to go back to work by the end of it though. :)

Here are some pictures with dialogue to go along...

John loving my headbands!

We went to the Springfield Cardinals game on Saturday. After the Cardinals played, my dad's baseball team played against Willow Springs. It was a fun filled baseball day. John got to walk on the field and go in the locker room after the game was over. He loved it! Here are the pictures of the day...