I'm Yours, Jason Mraz

Super sappy, but truly from my heart....

The song, I'm Yours by Jason Mraz is a song that stirs up so many emotions for me.  When John was a tiny baby, Ryan used to sing this song to him all of the time.  John was a baby that was hard to get to sleep.  I can't even begin to put into words all of the sleepless nights/weeks that we had.  As soon as we would get him to sleep, he would be up again just as Ryan and I had fallen asleep ourselves.  Back to the song, it has so much meaning to me (and Ryan too).  It was almost my rescue anthem.  While I would be desperately rocking John in our Milton apartment, at 3 am watching the Grand Avenue traffic go by, praying (begging) to God that John would stop crying and go to sleep, Ryan would walk into that living room, and quietly say, let me try, you get some sleep.  As much as I wanted to stay up, and rock John, I knew I needed to be at work in the morning and I was so tired!  I would hand off John to Ryan, and John would stop crying as soon as Ryan would start singing, it was amazing the way John would close his eyes and nestle into Ryan's chest. I will never forget laying in bed, falling asleep to the sound of Ryan singing I'm Yours to John as he walked around our apartment.  And, yes that song worked every time- only when sung by daddy.

Today, as I was driving to meet Ryan at St. Ambrose for a tour of their preschool, that song came on the radio - and boy did it pull my heart in all directions!   Oy, talk about water works.  It is so hard to think that our little baby John is going to go to school next year.  I just never imagined this coming, especially during all of those nights Ryan and I took turns rocking John, all night long.  Time really does go way too quickly, and I do still wish for the nights when I could hold him all night or listen to Ryan softly sing to him.  Even though they were very long nights, and I didn't know how we would get to the weekend many of the nights, they are nights that I treasure, dearly.

We are waiting on exciting news right now, but I do need to make it clear, that none of this is official.  Ryan and I have been looking and many, many, many houses in the last month.  We really are quite the critics of houses, which I would consider normal after our last house was just not the house for us!  Long story short, (haha) we were pretty set on a 5 bed/4 bath house in Burnsville.  It was a great house, on a quiet street and move in ready. Our only hang up was the location- it was 40 minutes from 3M, which was just too far to drive if he didn't have too.  That's when Ryan and our realtor found a house that had been on the market about 5 hot minutes! We knew it was going to be the house for us! When we got to the house in Woodbury it really checked all of our boxes; big fenced in yard, 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, close to Ryan's work etc. etc.  We wrote up an offer and submitted it fast as there was a lot of other interest in the home.  It is a short sale, so we won't know if we got it for a while still.  This is why we are getting John all signed up for school... and this is why things are really bitter sweet right now.  I really feel like this is the house for us, and Ryan and I never felt that way about our last home.  We can hardly contain ourselves because we have so much excitement about these next years of our lives as a family.  I know that preschool is next in line, and I know that I am not ready to send him yet, but I know that he is ready and will have an amazing time!  I also know that having extra time to spend with just Stephen will be wonderful too!! Things are always changing as kids grow... it feels like as soon as I get a handle on one thing, 3 other things change.  So, here's to change, it is good change... and that is what I need to remember.
And, for the record, whenever John hears I'm Yours on the radio, he will freeze, no matter what he is doing, just to listen to the song- babies are really listening and remembering even when they are so little. <3

Update: 37 Months and 18 Months

John:
Playing: John has been doing a lot of Lego and block play.  He has been creating some very amazing little worlds out of his wooden building blocks.  There are always many structures involved in each little world he builds- one being 3M, one home, one school, one Target  and what ever else comes to him that day. :) 
John loves to be outside!!  Yesterday Jana had him outside playing outside for over an hour and she had to beg him to come inside for lunch! He is hard to get outside- (he is rarely interested) BUT once he is out, it is game on!! :)
John still loves water play of every kind- He loves baths, loves it when I fill the sink with warm soapy water and a few bottles to fill and dump out. 
He is still enjoying his trampoline, too.  Ryan and I think this summer we are going to get the boys a trampoline for our backyard- they would both bounce all day! :)

Eating: John has been eating much better lately too.  I would say he is eating close to double what he used to and needs much less coaxing and convincing.  He is growing!!  All of the sudden his pants seemed to be 2 inches too short over night! Good thing Grandma Mitty bought him a bunch of new 4T size pants for Christmas. :)  They are a little long, but he will grow right into them in no time.  Favorites? Eggs, oatmeal, pasta with Alfredo sauce, oranges, broccoli, corn, sausages, chicken, strawberries and more.

Sleeping: It is still a process to get John to sleep but one that Ryan and I do enjoy!  He needs quite a bit of time to calm down enough to to sleep.  Ryan reads and sings to him- it is usually a hour process.  However, John has been increasingly harder to wake up!  He for sure got that from the Lais side!! HA


Stephen:
Playing:  Oh the love for animals and puppies is still in full swing!!  He carries them around most of the time- he does have his favorites, but just about any animal will do. :)
Stephen has been playing Legos a bunch lately- he has been building tall towers, some as tall as he is! As it slowly leans to one side and breaks off, Stephen a matter-of-factly says,  oh, broke.
Stephen has been playing trains too- if we set up a track together, he will time up trains on it for a loooonng time and drive them around.   He has been just starting to make sound effects for the trains in the last few days.  I love being home to see this progression.  :)

Eating: I would say that Stephen is a good eater.  :) He has been drinking the Naked Green Machine juice by the gallon!  It is his go-to! haha  He likes most of the food we offer him and will usually try it.  Favorites?  Eggs, pasta, yogurt & granola, potatoes, strawberries, oranges, broccoli, goldfish crackers and more.  He is not a big milk drinker, but we are offering it at meals and usually if he drinks one cup he can have some green machine.

Sleeping: Well, I wish it were going better.  Stephen seems to be having a harder time sleeping in his (closet) room. :/  He wakes up 2-3 times a night, and just wants to be held- almost like he is scared?  He is a very light sleeper!!  So, even though Ryan is super, super quite when he leaves in the morning, he usually wakes up- to the tune of 5am! I could do without that wake up call! :)  I am hoping this wears off soon and he snuggles into his bed a little longer! :)


The usual January cabin fever is in full swing here! I have been catching myself day dreaming of being outside from morning until night- playing in the sandbox and swinging with the boys, drinking lemonade while grilling and no snow gear- just simply shorts and tee shirts! OHH! And the smell of sunscreen- Yummy! ;)  I. C.A.N.N.O.T. W.A.I.T. F.O.R. S.U.M.M.E.R.!!!  :D