Haircuts!

The boys both got haircuts this weekend. They were starting to look like shaggy dogs and now they look so grown up. Funny how a haircut ages them so much! Andrew starts preschool tomorrow, and we are very excited about his new school and teacher. He's a little (A LOT) nervous, so we're saying some extra prayers for an easy drop off and a good first day!

Rides with Grandpa!

On Friday, we went to see Grandma and Grandpa before school starts and all our Fridays are busy. The weather was beautiful and in the 80s. Grandpa wanted to take the boys for a Ranger ride, and Jonathan has some sort of fear of all machines, so he refused to ride. We didn't force the issue, but decided to leave him playing in the sandbox while Andrew and Luke went for a ride. Mom, Sondra and I went inside to sit and have a few minutes of quiet. Mere minutes later, the phone rings and dad is calling from his cell phone to tell us to look at Jonathan on the Ranger. The power of positive peer pressure was too much, and he had to have a ride too! Then he didn't want to get off. Curious to see how he reacts next time he's offered a ride!

Applesauce and Frogs

I found these pictures from July on my mom's camera and had to post them...

Andrew found this fat frog and played with it ALL day.

Helping make applesauce!

The pictures of Andrew with a frog are from July 4th weekend. He spent the night with Grandma and Grandpa and had the time of his life. It had rained a TON that weekend and so there were mud puddles to play in and frogs to catch. And after it stopped raining, he got to go fishing with Grandpa. He informed us later that he caught 5 fish and Grandpa only caught 4. Unfortunately Grandpa forgot to take his camera, but there will be a next time and photos will be taken!

And then in mid-July, we got a bunch of apples and worked all day with Grandma to make applesauce. The boys were big helpers - washing the cut apples and running the cooked apples through the sauce-making machine. Later when we all were enjoying the yummy applesauce, Andrew told Keith, "Grandma makes the best applesauce ever!" Keith asked if I helped, and Andrew said, "Yeah, a little." I see where the love is!

Sleep Trouble

And the sleep saga continues. The boys have been doing pretty good at going to bed at night. Jonathan is still adjusting and was up at 5:30 Sunday morning. Fortunately I got him before he woke up Andrew. And then we both took a great nap that afternoon. I'm not made to be up at 5:30! Most mornings they sleep until around 7:30, but this morning Jonathan was crying at 6:30. I don't know what was wrong because he wouldn't use his words, and he wouldn't lay back down. He was, unfortunately, loud enough to wake up Andrew and that was the end of all sleeping!

And this is how I found Jonathan at nap time the other day. We are trying to establish his old room as the baby's room and have rest time in his new bed. But with his new found freedom, naps are a little more tricky. A child-safety door knob has helped keep him in his room. So now I hear these little knocks from time to time, followed by a pathetic, "Hewoo?!"

Apparently it's a rite of passage - this was Andrew in Sept. 2007, almost the exact same age as Jonathan now.

A day at Grandpa's

Jonathan and Luke were having a great time jumping/dancing on the trailer. And making A LOT of noise!

Andrew begged Matt to take him on a 4-wheeler ride on the "fast red one!"

Sondra, Andrew, Grandpa and Luke on a Ranger ride. Jonathan wanted nothing to do with rides.

Last week to break up the monotony of the heat, we went to Grandma and Grandpa's house. Matt was in town and this day was only the 90s, so we spent a little time outside. The boys had a great time as always. Jonathan is currently against going for any rides, but he was VERY into jumping on the metal trailer and making a ton of noise. He called it dancing, but it was really just a lot of jumping around.

It was a fun and busy day. We met the rest of the Nisly gang at the Dutch Kitchen and then went to visit Great Grandpa. Sondra and Luke were at Grandpa's house too, along with Matt and us. By the end of the day, we were all tired and refreshed with a change of scenery!

Operation - Share a Room update

Well we have survived nights 4, 5, and 6. The bedtime routine hasn't been too rough. They are pretty tired by bedtime and have gone to sleep fairly easy. (I blame it on the heat. I think we are in some sort of 10-15 day streak of triple-digit temps. AWFUL!)

Anyway, Jonathan continues to take a nap almost every afternoon in his crib. I just don't trust him to stay in the big bed yet. And he's been napping most days because the boys are now early risers. So sad for this mama! We used to have a rule that Andrew had to stay in his room until the first two numbers on his clock were 7:3. But now that they share a room, he comes out the second his eyes open, and he isn't very quiet in his exit. (We're working on that!) So then Jonathan is up for the day too, yelling, "Anroo! Where are you?" Jonathan used to sleep until 8:30-9, but those days seem long forgotten and no one sleeps past 7:30. I know it could be worse and they could wake up at 6:30 or something horrible time like that!

We are surviving and learning a new routine. And the boys LOVE sharing a room and sometimes even play in there together during the day. So I guess this is our new normal. Now I just have to figure out how to get Jonathan to have rest time in his new big boy bed!

I just read this verse today and thought it was fitting:
"The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace." -Psalm 29:11

Operation - Share a Room

A couple weeks ago, we put up the bunk beds. The boys were super excited. We were scared. We held off letting them share a room until this past weekend. I know we need to start this process before preschool starts and before the baby arrives, but it's not easy!

1st night - went pretty well. They were both very tired and went to sleep without too many warnings. But Andrew was up at 7 and by 7:30 he was looking for a playmate, so he decided it would be a good idea to wake Jonathan. His parents were NOT happy with his decision-making process!

2nd night - again pretty good going to sleep. But Jonathan was up at 5:50 am. I told him the sun wasn't up yet and he needed to go back to bed. He argued with, "But I no go ouside!" Two minutes later, Andrew is awake and the parents are groaning with exhaustion. Everyone took a nap that day!

3rd night - repeated threats for silence were required, and we even had to go so far as to put Jonathan back in his crib to drive home the point that it was time to sleep. He, of course, screamed and cried promising to be quiet if we just let him sleep in Andrew's room. So we tried putting him back in the bunk bed. At 9:45 pm, he declares that he wants to sleep in his crib after all and so we put him back in his room. And that was the last we heard from the stinkers last night. And the best part of separating them again...they both slept in! Andrew slept until 8 and Jonathan until 9!

And now we approach the 4th night of this exercise. I'm scared and tired. What will tonight bring? Any ideas of how to make this a smoother transition, without drugs?!