Mother's Day went swimmingly.

Jeremy left on a jet plane; Jones set sail in a plastic pirate "sheep," and Freddie drank more chocolate milk than any child should be allowed to do.

All in a day's work.

In a nutshell, that's how we spent our Mother's Day. Jeremy left from Greenville for ten days of work training in Chicago, so after dropping him at the airport, the boys and I went to church with Mom and Daddy. Then the boys napped, and after that, we got in the pool for the first time this season.

Jones did GREAT. Last summer, he was as hot and cold towards swimming as the water itself. This year, he very quickly got over his early nerves and spent the better part of an hour floating in the pirate sheep we bought him during last summer's short-lived "Jake & the Neverland Pirates" phase.

Instead of making it about 25 minutes before wanting to get out, he made it almost 60 minutes (that's when he, very matter of factly, made the sign for and said, "All done!" but even then, he wanted to stay poolside with Mom and Daddy instead of coming in with Freddie and me), so that was a step in the right direction. He still had the most severe shivers (and blue lips) I have ever seen an actual human child get by the time today's swim session was done.

He also let his Pop throw him. Daddy'd say, "1-2-3..." and then throw him, and before long, Jones was counting FOR Pop to signal that he wanted to go again!



For his part, Freddie either wanted to swim on his own (sorry, Son. That's a no go), or he wanted to sit on the step, holding on to Mayme and splashing every time Pop passed by (or "pushing" Pop's float out of the way). I love some of these pictures below where he's holding on to my mom's bathing suit. It shows he was a little nervous about was essentially a new experience for him.

All in all, it was a VERY happy Mother's Day and offered a glimpse into what I know will be a VERY fun summer!

Havin' an ugly bug ball!

If you know Jones at all, you know that he is a little bit, shall we say, "timid" in some aspects of his life. This, I know, will serve him well in life; other moms are constantly telling me it'll probably mean far fewer trips to the ER, which is a REALLY good thing.  His natural inclination to timidity is a trait he inherits from BOTH of his parents. Jeremy and I were each a little "discriminating" in our activities, particularly as young children. That's why this story both surprises and THRILLS me.

After the boys' naps, we went over to the Pressleys'. When we got there, I saw a caterpillar climbing the outside wall of the house. I caught it on a stick and showed it to Jones, assuming he'd be interested but stand-offish. Instead, he petted the worm - the first he'd ever seen, I guess - and that was that. Well, probably an hour later, we were all outside. I was standing in the grass talking to Mrs. Pressley when Jones walked over CARRYING A CATERPILLAR.

I LOVE how proud he looks of his little buddy here
and how tightly he's holding him, not knowing his
grip could mean ... well, you know.

I don't even know where in the world he found it. All I know is that my naturally-timid son picked up a crawling creature THAT NO ONE FORCED HIM TO HOLD and proceeded to carry it around for at least 15 minutes, as if they were old friends. Instead of letting it creep and crawl all over his finger, though, he carried the future butterfly in a pincher grasp, which ultimately, we think, may have led to the "demise" of the furry fella, but still.

It made me SO excited to see him so recklessly and excitedly engage with something so new to him. At least, that's how I felt until my natural timidity kicked in, and I started worrying about all the OTHER critters he'll be bringing home now.

But seriously, it was awesome, and it was adorable to see how tenderly and proudly he petted the worm - even kissing him at one point (he also tends to kiss his tractor on the hood; at least, it'll always know how Jones feels about him).

I know it goes without saying, but seriously, Y'all. I love watching these boys grow up.

my beautiful boy

Slide over.

Remember how the boys got a slide from the Easter Bunny?  Wait. I DID post about that right? Regardless, the boys got a slide from the Easter Bunny, and I'll be honest: I love and hate this thing. I love how much THEY love it, because it keeps them occupied for as long as I'll let it. What I hate is how I never feel like the boys are completely safe from, say, pulling the (very lightweight) thing over on them as they slide down it.

If they heard my concerns, I'm 127% certain that both boys would respond with, "But Mama, what a way to go." Watch this video. What do YOU think?

Also, Jones has reached that phase that all boys seem to - where they become total train / heavy equipment savants. I pointed to a vehicle on his jammies and mistakenly identified it as a bulldozer. "No," Jones corrected. "Kee (crane)." He was right. The bulldozer was farther down on the shirt. How silly of me.

Slip Sliding Away

Today was gorgeous.

From just about the second he got up, Jones was wanting to go "si" (outside), so we did. We started off at Lake Junaluska Golf Course, and, after the boys' naps, we went to the playground at Meadowbrook Elementary School. It was the first time since he's been walking a lot that Freddie was at a park. That to say, it was really Freddie's first time to play at a park (except for baby swings and sliding with me holding him.

He took to it like a duck takes to water. In fact, last year, it took me all summer to get Jones comfortable going down a slide. Today, Freddie climbed up the ladder and walked straight to the slide, going down headfirst without pausing to think about it. He did it again and again.

Here's a video of one of those times. I don't know why in the world it's sideways. I took the video with Jeremy's phone, and I held it upright, but still, it's sideways. Go figure.

Anyway ...

At the lake, Jones chased the "kack
kacks." He yelled at the duck
when it didn't stop to talk to him.

I think he looks like such a handsome
junior golfer here. Can't wait
until he's big enough to start
taking lessons. 

Garden Party

For Easter, Jones got some gardening tools. Ever since, they've been on a shelf in the kitchen, but today, as Jeremy pulled weeds in the front yard, I pulled down the tools, so Jones could join in to "help" his daddy.

He had a BALL. He'd scoop mulch and "spread" it and run around the front yard, telling me every time I showed my face outside that "[jibberish] Dad-da hep." When Jeremy would take a big scoop of weeds to the tractor wagon, Jones would fill his spade with mulch and try to carry some over, too. 

It was adorable ... and gives me great hope that Jones will grow to REALLY help his daddy outside, so I DON'T HAVE TO.

Oh, and later in the day, Freddie came outside, too. He saw Jones's juice cup and headed straight for it. Seeing that, Jones ran to the cup, picked it up, and hid it somewhere that Freddie couldn't find it. That reminds me - there's probably STILL a half-empty sip cup of milk outside.

So, yeah. Any tips on teaching toddlers to share?

Hymn of the Month

"Wonderful, Merciful Savior"