Jonathan went number two in the toilet for the first time today! Hopefully we're on our way out of diapers. I told Stacey a while ago that I thought Jonathan was going to be the type who decides for himself when we wants to do it. The past day or two he's been wearing underwear and generally seems to have no problem with number one if he's not totally distracted.
Today he sneaked upstairs while we were getting lunch ready. After a few minutes it seemed much too quiet, so Stacey ran upstairs hoping he hadn't made a mess of himself. She found him in the bathroom, underwear off, just about to climb onto the toilet. Talk about independent. He told her to go back downstairs and that he would come down to get us when he was done. Sure enough, a few minutes later unclothed from the waist down, he appeared on the main level. We all ran upstairs to see. It was the real deal. He was very proud and received lots of hugs and praise.
Up to this point he seemed tentative to try number two. Afterwards he said that he likes using the toilet much better than going in his diaper. You think? That's what we've been trying to tell him this entire time.
28 December 2013
27 December 2013
Ten Year Anniversary
Today is our ten year anniversary. The time has gone by really fast yet the details of certain things at the beginning of this journey seem like forever ago. Life is so different now from when we met in Spokane in 2003. We used to go to the park together during the summer, and take road trips, and go out to eat, and go for rides on my motorcycle. Sometimes we would just hang out - we had so much free time, relatively speaking.
I left Spokane around August or September 2003 for training in Texas, then back to Spokane for Thanksgiving to propose, then back to Texas to finish my course, then to Colorado for the wedding. The next year was spent in California and then two more years in Hawaii before returning to Colorado at the end of 2006. Even though we had Julia at the end of 2007, the first year here seemed relatively the same as before.
Jonathan came along and I took some time off from work in 2010. Then all his medical issues started. That's when things started to change. Not only did we have another child, but Julia was growing up and eventually started school. Now we both work, have two little dictators running the country and starting wars, bills, and a cat, in addition to being married. The vast majority of our energy, time, and money is spent on the kids with little room for much else, however planned. Our situation isn't that unique - in fact, it's pretty much the same as most everyone else.
The above paragraphs help explain why the average divorce happens sometime around year seven. So much change, so many demands, so many unprepared people. I think that the first ten years are easily the hardest. It would disingenuous of anyone to sit here and say nothing but great things about the first ten years. Just because they are hard, doesn't mean they are unhappy though. The point is, I think we've happily made it through the tough years. There will always be challenges to face, but they will be different kinds of challenges. The next ten years will be very different from the last ten, and hopefully somewhat easier. We're entering the real/critical family phase, the ages from adolescence to teenage years.
Why do I bring all these facts up? As practical and boring as it sounds, this is the married with children life. If you want the blessings that come with being married and having children (which are numerous), you have to choose a teammate who is willing and able to work through this life with you. To be successful, the character of your mate is most important. They have to be selfless, hard working, mature, willing to compromise, willing to let the minor things go, not proud, with lots of grace on hand for when its needed. Luckily, I have found that in Stacey, despite the imperfections in both of us.
I've been lucky enough to find someone that has helped navigate life's challenges with, instead of someone who has created life challenges to overcome. There is a big difference between being married to a fellow firefighter and an arsonist. So in a practical, round about post, I'm saying I'm very thankful that I chose Stacey for these first ten years. We'll see how things pan out over the next ten years! All kidding aside (see, I can do that now that we've defied statistics), thank you Stacey. I love you and look forward to spending the rest of my life with you by my side.
I left Spokane around August or September 2003 for training in Texas, then back to Spokane for Thanksgiving to propose, then back to Texas to finish my course, then to Colorado for the wedding. The next year was spent in California and then two more years in Hawaii before returning to Colorado at the end of 2006. Even though we had Julia at the end of 2007, the first year here seemed relatively the same as before.
Jonathan came along and I took some time off from work in 2010. Then all his medical issues started. That's when things started to change. Not only did we have another child, but Julia was growing up and eventually started school. Now we both work, have two little dictators running the country and starting wars, bills, and a cat, in addition to being married. The vast majority of our energy, time, and money is spent on the kids with little room for much else, however planned. Our situation isn't that unique - in fact, it's pretty much the same as most everyone else.
The above paragraphs help explain why the average divorce happens sometime around year seven. So much change, so many demands, so many unprepared people. I think that the first ten years are easily the hardest. It would disingenuous of anyone to sit here and say nothing but great things about the first ten years. Just because they are hard, doesn't mean they are unhappy though. The point is, I think we've happily made it through the tough years. There will always be challenges to face, but they will be different kinds of challenges. The next ten years will be very different from the last ten, and hopefully somewhat easier. We're entering the real/critical family phase, the ages from adolescence to teenage years.
Why do I bring all these facts up? As practical and boring as it sounds, this is the married with children life. If you want the blessings that come with being married and having children (which are numerous), you have to choose a teammate who is willing and able to work through this life with you. To be successful, the character of your mate is most important. They have to be selfless, hard working, mature, willing to compromise, willing to let the minor things go, not proud, with lots of grace on hand for when its needed. Luckily, I have found that in Stacey, despite the imperfections in both of us.
I've been lucky enough to find someone that has helped navigate life's challenges with, instead of someone who has created life challenges to overcome. There is a big difference between being married to a fellow firefighter and an arsonist. So in a practical, round about post, I'm saying I'm very thankful that I chose Stacey for these first ten years. We'll see how things pan out over the next ten years! All kidding aside (see, I can do that now that we've defied statistics), thank you Stacey. I love you and look forward to spending the rest of my life with you by my side.
25 December 2013
Christmas 2013
This year we started a few new Christmas traditions. On Christmas Eve after church we all opened one present. That present was a new set of pajamas, popcorn, candy, and hot chocolate. We changed into our new pajamas, made our food, and then had a movie night in the basement together. This year we watched the Polar Express (side note: streaming in HD from Amazon on my Smart TV) before putting the kids to bed. In future years we may choose to watch a different show, maybe a classic, on Christmas Eve.
We started the present festivities at 6:30 in the morning. Including a quick break for breakfast, it took us about three hours to get through all of it. Most of the time was spent playing with what was just opened, but we also had several fun stocking gifts this year to get through as well. After the party was over we had a second one over at my parent's house for a few hours.
The second tradition we started (sort of continued from my parents) was to have cheese and chocolate fondue for Christmas dinner. It was very delicious and preparation and cleanup was a breeze. We even had leftovers for the next day, which we looked forward to that afternoon.
On to pictures. I rarely post this many, so you know that there are some good ones. I love the shots of the kids reactions to opening a gift. You can tell they are having so much fun.
We started the present festivities at 6:30 in the morning. Including a quick break for breakfast, it took us about three hours to get through all of it. Most of the time was spent playing with what was just opened, but we also had several fun stocking gifts this year to get through as well. After the party was over we had a second one over at my parent's house for a few hours.
The second tradition we started (sort of continued from my parents) was to have cheese and chocolate fondue for Christmas dinner. It was very delicious and preparation and cleanup was a breeze. We even had leftovers for the next day, which we looked forward to that afternoon.
On to pictures. I rarely post this many, so you know that there are some good ones. I love the shots of the kids reactions to opening a gift. You can tell they are having so much fun.
21 December 2013
19 December 2013
Four Eyes, Four Swings, & Four Wheels
Jonathan receiving fashion advice from Uncle Pat, Julia at the batting cages for the first time (she actually made contact with several balls) after a round of miniature golf, and Jonathan at Toys R Us. When he climbed into the police car he said, "I want to get someone". Ha!
07 December 2013
Julia's 6th Birthday Party
Ever since Jonathan had his birthday at Chuck E. Cheese, Julia was set on having her next birthday party there. It worked really well for us too, since it required minimal planning on our part after being out of town the weekend before. Julia invited four other girls to join her...Julia, Rachel, Emma, and Evie. Julia is our next door neighbor, she met Rachel in preschool, and Emma and Evie are in her kindergarten class.
Food, cake, and ice cream preceded presents. Most of the game playing happened after the party. Julia had a ton of fun, even though she wasn't feeling 100%. After a couple of hours we were all ready to go. Since the weather was bad and it was a Saturday, the place was really busy. One employee told us they had 19 parties planned for today.
The presents were a big hit. Thanks to everyone for contributing.
Food, cake, and ice cream preceded presents. Most of the game playing happened after the party. Julia had a ton of fun, even though she wasn't feeling 100%. After a couple of hours we were all ready to go. Since the weather was bad and it was a Saturday, the place was really busy. One employee told us they had 19 parties planned for today.
The presents were a big hit. Thanks to everyone for contributing.
05 December 2013
Foul Weather Friend
When it gets cold outside, the heat mooch shows up. She didn't care much for what was on TV, just my lap.
04 December 2013
Thanksgiving
This year we flew up to Washington and spent the holiday weekend with Stacey's family. We had a good time seeing friends and family, even if it meant spending more time with our young kids in a car, a train, on an airplane and in a hotel. It's not easy, but our kids probably make it easier than most.
We spent most of our time there on three things: eating, drinking, and/or hanging out. Whatever we did involved one or more (sometimes all three) of these things. Isn't that what Thanksgiving is all about?
We enjoyed our time up there once again and are thankful for the opportunity to visit. It was a special event since all of Stacey's family was together in one place this year. I think that last time that happened was in 2010 in Seattle, but it was only for a few hours.
We spent most of our time there on three things: eating, drinking, and/or hanging out. Whatever we did involved one or more (sometimes all three) of these things. Isn't that what Thanksgiving is all about?
We enjoyed our time up there once again and are thankful for the opportunity to visit. It was a special event since all of Stacey's family was together in one place this year. I think that last time that happened was in 2010 in Seattle, but it was only for a few hours.
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