How To Roll Over...In Three Easy Steps....

Jayden has learned to roll from his back to his tummy....although he usually gets frustrated with himself that he can't just "flip over" yet. It still takes a little "umph" on his part, but he's getting faster and before I know it he'll be chasing the others around the house too...

Step 1: look cute for the camera so mommy can take a "before" picture

Step 2: swing your leg over and arch your back to be on your side

Step 3: move your toes to grab the carpet to make the rest of your body turn over. Be sure to pause for mommy to take a quick picture

Cereal

 We started rice cereal a week ago. I know that you're probably thinking, "already?!" Yep - already.... With Josh, he had severe reflux and our pediatrician had told us at his 3 month check-up to start putting rice cereal in his bottle to help him keep the milk down. Not only did it help him keep his food down, it also helped him go longer than feeding every hour....So, we've continued to do this with ALL our kids and it's allowed for a nice slow introduction of solids. Of course, you know your child best, and an assess whether or not he/she is ready for solids.

 Jayden was ready...He was starting to want to nurse more frequently and wasn't as satisfied with "just milk". So last week, I tried to introduce the cereal. I expected the first round to be mostly on his face or shirt, but mainly wanted him to get a "taste" of it....

 He LOVED it and ate every last bite!

Now he's not only content, but will only wake up once during the night....aaaahhh sleep! :)

This is Julianna writing....

 Mommy didn't get around to writing "Makin' It Monday" because I got spoiled while with daddy last week and it's been a little hard adjusting into a routine. I also kept mommy up all night last night because I didn't want to sleep in my room, but with my daddy.....

 This morning I threw a tantrum on the kitchen floor because I didn't get my way...I had to go to bed and take a nap. It's so hard being almost two! I missed my mommy and my brothers and sister though and it's so good to be home....

Sorry mommy about the house being a mess too.... :)

Puzzles

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words....I disagree....

A picture is priceless...... because it tells a story....

that words never could tell.....

and it allows you to imagine the story behind the picture...

What do your pictures tell?

Thankful Thursday

Naps....

Need I say more? When we're little we love hate taking naps...but when we have kids, we need naps. Jason's been gone for a week and I am thankful for naps...because without him here I can't sleep as well at night. Funny, isn't it?! I also had Jenna crawl into bed with me last night because she wasn't feeling well, so she has to touch you and then lay ontop of you for her to sleep.

Jenna fell asleep today on the floor, just as you see her in the picture, watching VeggieTales. Thankfully she was able to get some sleep...which allowed mommy a bit of down time as Jayden was also sleeping and Josh was watching his movie.

But do you think I slept? NO! What's wrong with that picture?! Instead I decided to clean the upstairs....ugh, I hate it when I have an opportunity to sleep but my mind has other things planned...Oh well, at least the upstairs is nice and clean! :)

What "little" things are you thankful for today?

3 month update




Joshua and Jayden's feet

 

Today (Feb 16th) my baby is 3 months old. It's gone by too quickly. I wish I could freeze every moment and hold on forever for this time. His smile lights up a room and his snuggles warm my heart.... 

 He's learning so much.... He can hold his head high and play with toys around him. He "talks" to the blue seal on his exersaucer toy. His eyes are bright and his smile too.....

 He captures the world around him and studies every last detail. He focus on those who talk to him - especially when it's his brother singing to him...

 He oohs, ahhs, coos and laughs...

He is cherished by all, especially his big brother, Josh, who is the proudest of all to have such a "sweet baby brother"....

Wasn't it just yesterday that you were born? Time, stop going so fast - my "babies" aren't babies anymore!

Brothers

 I am so blessed by our eldest son, Joshua. He is the most compassionate and caring little four-year old I know. He prayed for his baby brother.... and he takes care of him as if it was the greatest treasure ever given to him. He loves to sing "God's Army" to him to make him laugh....

"I may never zoom over the enemy"

 He loves to entertain and make sure his baby brother is always well taken care of....

"I may never march in the infantry..."

Here's a video of Joshie's entertainment... 



It can be challenging at times, but I am so in love with my boys and so thankful for my family God has blessed me with!

Makin' It Monday

Valentine's Day

Yesterday was Valentine's Day and it is HUGE here in Texas. It's funny to see the tents that go up in grocery store parking lots a week before Valentine's day and the massive amounts of people in stores Valentine's weekend.

I was excited this year because Valentine's was a school day. I was also a bit sad though as my Valentine is in California until Friday with Julianna. But, we had a great day, and I made Valentine's for my students :) Here's how I did it:

Red cardstock cut in half
Pink cardstock cut into quarters

Red and pink bags ($0.25/ea)
Sweethearts conversational hearts
Heart-shaped sugar cookies

 I was going to make cookies or cupcakes, but I just had too much to do this weekend from putting off things to spend the last few moments I could with Jason and Julianna, so I just bought some cookies from Kroger. I then folded the red cardstock in half to make a card and angled the pink cardstock on top with their name on it. I glued it onto the top of the card and added some conversational heart stickers for added flair. I then wrote inside each card; filled the bag with a few cookies and candy and attached the card.

Goodie bags for all my wonderful students and two special bags for Joshie & Jenna's teachers



Joshie & Jenna's teachers
They LOVE them and I do too!!

What are you makin' today?

Thankful Thursday....on a Saturday ;)

The past couple of weeks have been cold. I don't mean cool, I mean ARCTIC COLD! But don't get me wrong - I love living in Texas because we have seasons here. It's nice to have a taste of winter a couple weeks out of the year. Then springtime comes and everything is so beautiful! I can't wait for spring....

But today I am thankful for the sunshine. It's 44 degrees outside right now and a bright blue, sunshiney day! "This is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it!" It really makes me look around and be thankful for everything God has created for us to enjoy. With this coldness comes new life and beauty.



This is what it was like last Wednesday at my parent's house. The morning started out at 45 degrees. We dismissed early from school because at noon the temperature had falled to below freezing and ice was forming. I drove up to get my munchkins from their grandma's house and the temperature dropped so fast that these cool-looking icicles formed on the plants, cars, and houses.

We have to go through the cold of winter to be able to rejoice in the springtime. A lot like life, huh? We have trials and "dark" times in our lives that we have to endure through to bask in the sunshine of springtime!

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" 2 Cor. 5:17

Family

Family has always been very important to me, and I have to say that since I married Jason, it's become important to him too. Today Jason got a call from his mom that his grandmother is in hospice and has had to be resuscitated several times already.

Its times like these that I wish we didn't live in Texas and the rest of the family in California. We are looking at how much it would cost to fly him out there later. I wish we could all go as a family, but to fly needing four tickets is just not in the budget - even with the tax return coming :/  

Times like these cause you to evaluate the golden question - "why are you here?"  I know why I'm here. My family knows why they're here. Do you?

Makin' It Monday

Jason and I are huge fans of Supernanny and have used a lot of her techniches since we first had Joshua. We recently decided though to actually write down the rules and expectations we have for our kids since they are learning to read. It kinda helps make them have a little more responsibility. Here's what we did:

Buy a couple of pieces of poster board and some poster markers



Make the title "cute" so your kids will be less intimidated by it.
I'm a teacher, so of course I love to be able to use those creative genes!
Be sure to write large so kids will be able to see it when it's hung on the wall

Decided on how to formally write up the house rules with your husband.
Again, make sure you write large enough and clear so you can read it.
Make simple rules for younger children, but explain in detail later.
Don't make more than ten as it becomes too overwhelming - so be kind of general

Bring all the kids together at a time when they can listen and pay attention.
Explain your expectations and the consequenses of the "rule chart"
Explain why you made it
Have fun

It has made such a difference in our house having the expectations of proper behavior and the knowledge of consequences if rules get broken. I think this is a lot of why having four kids; four and under; isn't as big of a deal as people around us may think. I rather enjoy it - and they aren't a burden at all. God calls children "a blessing from the Lord" and that they are His inheritence. That is true and it's a whole lot easier to remember that when they are not making th ehouse a jungle gym, screaming or throwing tantrus...

Remember though that kids are testy, and they do test the boundries from time to time. Stand your ground and be the parent - they fall back into line quite quickly :)

Hope you have a great Monday - how are you "Makin' it"?

"Movin' On Up"

If you haven't noticed, I've been spending some time trying to get the blog "out there". I've been interested to see where everyone is from that reads about my family. I hope this blog has touched some lives too....that's why I write.

Some things that I've added are:

• The Traffic Feed that's on the right side of the blog when you scroll down.
• "Donate" button also on the right side - help keep the site up and running!
• Custom domain name...

I decided to register the blog name "Made From Above" to get the blog out there a little more to people. madefromabove.com was already taken (artists website), so the BRAND SPANKIN' NEW WEB ADDRESS IS.....    http://www.made-from-above-com/    woo hoo! I feel like this is a monumentous occasion and I can't wait to see where God is going to take me and my family as I document our journeies for you to read....

See you tomorrow for "Makin' It Monday"

Snow in Houston....Yeah Right!

 We were ready.....

 The kids were excited to have a "Snow Day" on Friday....

 The city of Houston and surrounding areas were shutting down for 2 - 4 inches of snow overnight...

Instead we got ice.....

 Not even a hint of snow for miles around.....

Just lots of ice and 20 degree weather for the day....

There wasn't even a hint of frost on the roof....

But at least there's beauty in the ice....

A Little Princess

 Jenna-girl has always been a mommy's girl. She used to be our "rough and tumble" girl - which she still can be, but she's really into princesses now. Last night I decided to give her a trim, but she kept moving and her hair trim turned into a hair cut....I think it still looks cute - and at least its even - what do you think?

 One of my students' parents' had given us some old princess outfits for the girls to play with. There's a little black ballet onsie, a sleeping beauty dress and the one Jenna's wearing below. She's playing in the playroom - gotta have the princess crown, the dress, the shoes and of course the bracelets on!

 My little princess has such a good imagination - I love watching her play!

Although when cleaning up, she really does think she's a princess and gives Josh orders as to how to clean up! That's when mommy has to bring her back to reality!

Lil' Miss Mischief

Julianna at about one week old

 Who would have known that Julianna would grow into such a little mischief maker! I had always thought it would be Jenna that would be always into trouble, but she's turned into such a quiet, sweet 3-year old. Julianna on the other hand has the sense of humor and will get into anything she can. I definately don't need a personal trainer with her around!

Peek-A-Boo....The bookshelf is always a great hiding place

 

Peanut Butter & Jelly sandwhiches are a favorite



She loves being silly in her baby brother's car seat



Spending time with Jayden is becoming something special to her



 Here's a silly video showing her personality off a little more. She's such a delight to have - even though she definately keeps me on my toes!

And of course our little "fashionista"