To nap or not to nap...that is the (daily) question.

I have the “disappearing nap blues.” Lee’s nap time has always been a struggle...he often refuses at least one nap, and when he does nap, he only sleeps 45 minutes to an hour. We do have the occasional 1.5 hr nap, though, when you can find me dancing in the street.

I think Lee is giving up his morning nap. It’s really hard to know for sure, though, since naps are often optional to him. It’s obvious on days he refuses the morning nap that he needs the morning nap. It’s even more obvious on those days that I need him to take that nap.

I guess time will tell. We’re trying to make it on one nap a day. On days like today, when he didn’t get up until 8:15 (“Thank you, Jesus!”), one nap is no biggie. But on days when he wakes up at 5 or 5:30 (we had three of those last week), one nap isn’t gonna cut it. Especially one abbreviated nap. If this one-nap-a-day morphs into a really good 2 hour nap, then I’ll be fine with it. But since Lee’s only real consistency is his inconsistency (and, of course, his smiles), I’m guessing that as soon as I figure out what’s going on, he's going to change it up on me.

Lunch with Kelly

We had a wonderful visit with Kelly on Friday (“Happy Birthday, Kelly!!!”). To see pictures that Jessalyn took on our outing, check out her blog: http://photogragirl.blogspot.com/

Lee Reorganizes the Library

Lee LOVES the library. And not for the reading. Don’t get me wrong, Lee loves when we read books together (he’s finally at the age where he’s interested in more than eating books). But that’s not why he likes to go there. He loves to rearrange the library. Over and over and over again. There will be a few of my smirky friends who will insist that he’s inherited his OCD, over-organizing personality from his mother (you know who you are), but this is actually a very typical toddler behavior! Luckily the librarians are tolerant of us (it helps that I reorganize his reorganizing). We go there A LOT. Cheap entertainment!

Jessalyn has her own blog!

Well, I guess I’m going a bit overboard with this whole blog thing, but I’ve made a blog just for Jessalyn, showcasing her photography and artwork. She is SO excited that she has her own web site! I hope you like it!

http://photogragirl.blogspot.com/

Funny Boy

I was videotaping Lee and flipped the viewing screen over so that he could see himself. He seemed to like it, then wasn't sure, then liked it again. He's so cute and funny!

Cutie Pies

15 months old!

I just don't know where the time has gone. It seems like yesterday Lee made his entrance into this world, three weeks earlier than we expected him to. It's been a rocky 15 months, though. As much as I love this sweet little boy, he's definitely not been an "easy" baby. Much of that has been due to illness, a lot has been due to his hit-or-miss and short nap-taking (although he's a champ at night), and some has been due to a stubborn streak and temper. However, at 15 months, Lee is a smiley, vocal, curious, giggly little boy. His favorite word (and food) is "cracker" ("ack-ah"). He also says "outside" ("at-sigh"), ball (high pitched "baaaaaaaa"), "moo" ("mmmmmmm"), and "choo-choo" ("too-too"). His latest has been "tickle tickle" ("ticka-ticka-ticka") where he simultaneously tickles himself or someone nearby. His very favorite thing in the world is his blankie, which he often carries around in his mouth like a puppy dog. His favorite person in the world is his sister, who can make him laugh and smile like nobody else can. We so look forward to seeing what he learns next and what he'll delight us with!

Vacation Bible School

What a week we've had! Jessalyn and I both participated in Vacation Bible School. She was in one of the three Pre-K groups, and my friend Alison and I were the Pre-K craft teachers. Lee was on the tail end of a viral infection, but was not contagious, so he was able to stay in the nursery. It was a fun, albeit exhausting, experience. Jessalyn had a great time and loved that I was her teacher. The boys and girls were separated into different groups, so she didn't get to hang out with her best buds, Noah and Jeremiah, very much. We had a little bit of drama at the beginning of the week: Jeremiah told Jessalyn that he was not going to marry her. She was crushed. During this past school year, Jessalyn and Jeremiah sat next to each other in their preschool class and, on most days, were determined to get married. However, this became null and void on the days that she and Noah (her best friend since she was two) were to be married. So, she was a bit on the sulky side on Tuesday. On Wednesday she got mad at Noah for something he did or didn't do, so she announced that she wasn't his friend anymore. After realizing that that was not very nice and that she hurt his feelings, she apologized, gave him a very big and sincere hug, and told Noah that she would marry him. Connor, Noah's 2.5-year-old little brother said, "I wanna marry you, too." Jessalyn, quite apologetically, told him, "I can't marry you, Connor, because I'm taller than you." On a side note, Eli, one of Jessalyn's preschool classmates, told me during one of our craft classes that Jessalyn was his girlfriend (and, when I relayed this bit of info to her, she smiled and happily stated that she guessed she would marry Eli, then!). All of this marrying/girlfriend business reminds me of a story that one of Jessalyn's AWANA leaders told me earlier in the year: as Jessalyn was surrounded by three boys, each of them tugging on her, she told them, woefully, "No, no, I can only marry one!"

Noah & Jessalyn

Noah, Jessalyn & Connor

Future Gourmet Cook?

It seems that Lee really likes his sister's play kitchen. Poor little guy can't go through my kitchen cabinets, so we moved Jessalyn's kitchen into the den so he could have some cabinets of his own (although sister reminds us that it is her kitchen, not his). By the time we move into the new house and have cabinets that Lee is welcome to plunder, he'll mostlikely be fascinated by something else!

Dance Recital Portraits

Here are some of my favorite portraits that Jessalyn's MawMaw took of her in this year's dance costumes.

Getting Started

I've wanted to start a blog of my own for awhile now....what a great way for family and friends to keep up with each other! So here it is....my blog. Hopefully there will be lots of updates on what we're up to and photos to go along with them. Thanks for checking us out!