Cars!

Thank you to Grandma, Papa, Nana, Pop, Aunt Hopey, and Neil for the gifts and cards you have recently sent us.  We appreciate the kind thoughts, encouragement, and special gifts.  Jakub especially loves the theme of "Cars" that have come with his gifts.  He LOVES Lightening McQueen and Mater even though he had never really seen the movie about them, yet.  A couple of weeks ago Hope and Neil sent him some gifts, which included new, big-boy underwear with Lightening McQueen on them.  Then, my parents sent him a new book via our summer interns who just arrived last week.  It's a story about the characters from Cars and it's read aloud by my Dad (Pop).  Today we opened a gift box from Josh's parents, Grandma and Papa, and amongst the gifts were some more underwear with Lightening McQueen on some and the movie Cars.  Jakub immediately wanted to watch it and was so excited.  I wish we had had room on our video camera to capture the singing and dancing by Jakub every time he saw L. McQ. race across the screen (He says "lie-teen ma-teen). :)   He was very happy to finally see this movie!  Papa, he loves it when Mater tips the "cows."  You would be proud!   Thank you to all of you for your gifts and for providing some special moments for us with our precious little boy.  Dad, it's good to hear your voice at bedtime. :)  Here are some pictures from today... unfortunately, I had not remembered to get my camera out lately to capture more of these moments.

  

 Waiving hello and saying thank you to Grandma and Papa!!

 

Dancing around to the music on the movie... in his Lightening McQueen underwear. :)

 

Look!!  Lie-teen Ma-teen!  Lie-teen Ma-teen!  Lie-teen Ma-teen!

 

 

 

Thanks for the new p.j.s!  

 

I love you my family!

Oh so fun... and random!

 

 Here's our precious friend Mikuláš.  Jakub and he play very well together, usually, and despite the typical fighting that does occur, they have both learned that Friday is their special day to play together and they look forward to it each week.  They both ask during the week if it's Friday yet, and on Friday Jakub wakes from his nap yelling for Miki and his Mom to come play. :)  It's really sweet and I'm glad they are both so fond of one another.  They give the best hugs and kisses to each other and to us.  They have both also started asking when they will get to start "školka" together.  Last week we took them to play on the playground at their soon-to-be-school (end of this year) and they were thrilled!  Jakub couldn't stop talking about how they were going to be there together one day.  I am happy that they are so excited and I'm sad that they look forward to school so much.

 

 Sweet boys...

  

 My parents sent these beautiful flowers as a surprise for Mother's day.  Thank you!  They were gorgeous and the daisies are still very lovely and sitting on my table. :)  My sister, Hope, also sent us a package recently and it had in it a gift for me, which you can see on the ledge in this picture.  We both said it was a God-thing that she was given the wrong box, with the wrong item inside, which she unknowingly sent to me.  She meant to send me the image of a woman holding her toddler against her shoulder (for me and Jakub).  However, I was sent this image of what could be 2 sisters hugging each other (older and younger like us).  The caption on the bottom says "always close," and it talks about being close at heart and with love even when you are so far apart physically.  It couldn't have been a better message and image for us and it meant so much to me.  I didn't know about the mistake until after I raved to her about how awesome it was and how much I needed just that image. :)  We were both so happy about this "mistake."  Thank you, Hope! I love you!  :)

 

 

We recently put up some sun, moon, and star glow-in-the-dark stickers above where Jakub sleeps so he can look at them at night while laying in bed.   Yes, my shirt is inside out.  Yes, I went out in public like that.  Yes, it was one of those days... :)

Pop, we've been practicing!!  

 

 

He loves golf!

 As part of Josh's recent birthday we did all the fun things we wanted all day long.  It started with making blueberry pecan pancakes and having a dance party in the living room.  Jakub doesn't look too thrilled here, but he was having a blast.  He was teaching us how to twist and hop at the same time. :)

Here he goes...

What a fun day together!  We've had lots of fun moments together lately.  Jakub is full of energy and ideas and can go non-stop all day if you let him.  I try not to let him.  I can't keep up. :) 

One last thing I want to post about because it just began in the last week and I don't want to forget it- Jakub is finally singing all of the words, on his own, to several songs he knows.   It's amazing that he's just decided he'll sing them out loud for us now and that he knows so many.  He even knows songs I wouldn't have imagined he memorized yet.  With very little flaw he is now singing:

1. Twinkle, Twinkle
2. Jingle Bells
3. What colors do you see
4. ABC's
5. Numbers song (1 to 10 and back again)
6. Old McDonald
7. Head and Shoulders
8. Teapot
9. Itsy Bitsy Spider
10. Yankee Doodle
11. I Love You song (Barney)
12. He-man (our version) :)

Bed Time!

Just look at me.  Can you believe Mama and Daddy make me sleep in here still?  It's like a prison with all of these bars and I am WAY too big for this.  You would think they would get it by now.... I keep trying to prove to them what a big boy I am.  I even dress and undress myself now.  Just look, closely, and you'll see I even put my pajama pants on myself before going to bed- too bad I got both legs through only one hole...

Come on!  Don't YOU think I deserve a big boy bed?

 

 See, I can brush my teeth alone.  

 

 

 I also can go to the bathroom alone and then wash my hands by myself.  What more does my Mama want?

 I'm a good boy, really, I am!  I smile every time she points that camera at me and tells me to. Come on, please don't put me back in that tiny, little, baby bed!

  

Yeah!  They listened!  This morning Mama and I cleaned and rearranged my room and she made me a Big Boy Bed!  I was so excited!!!  Much to my Mama's surprise I even went to sleep on it like a good boy for nap time.  She only had to come back 3 times to ask me to stay in bed. :)  I did so well and I could tell she and Daddy were very proud of me.  They took me on a long walk this afternoon in the beautiful sunshine and then we stopped for ice cream at an ice-cream parlor.  I even got to kick the ball around and swing on their play-set before walking back home.  Yeah!!!!

 Now it's night time and I'm ready to try it again.  Here I am in my p.j.'s and all ready for bed.  Wish me luck!  Hopefully I'll stay here all night long and not need to see my toys in the dark or try to scare Mama by watching her sleep in the night....  I don't know if I'll be able to resist.... It seems like she always wants me near- surely she'd love it even in the middle of the night...

Good night!  I love you all! :)

Jakub at 29 months

Sorry it has been a while since I've posted something here.  The past few weeks have been full of activities and a little bit of sickness, so I'm behind on blogging.  I haven't even been taking many good pictures to use for the blog.  We've had gorgeous weather and we've been busy enjoying it as much as we can outside of work... or sometimes as part of our work-day. :)  I know many of you live where these temperatures are normal, but having 80+ degree weather in April here is unusual.  I hope it won't stay for long because it's too early to be this hot, but we're loving it for right now.  Just about 2 weeks ago we still had some snow, so it's been quite the turn-around.  I wasn't prepared for it and didn't have any shorts or sandals for Jakub to wear, yet, in such weather.  He's grown so quickly lately, too.  I went shopping today, though, and got him a few things.  I've decided I hate shopping in tiny, fully-packed, stores with a toddler.  It was not fun for either of us! :)

It's been a while since I've recorded some of my favorite moments with Jakub, as well as some of the things he is doing and saying right now.  Here are some of the best things I can think of:

- He weighs 16 kilo and is 97cm tall (35 lbs and 3 feet 2 inches)
- He wears a size 26-27 shoe (euro) or maybe a 9/10 shoe from the U.S.
- He's outgrown the last of his 3T clothes and 4T underwear I bought for him or received from others while home in the U.S. over Christmas time.  It didn't last as long as we thought it would! :)
- His eyes are still very blue, but have gained a little green around the very center
- He is a huge fan of Daddy and always wants to know where he is and if they can play together

- He speaks or sings or makes some noise almost constantly while he's playing or working on something
- His favorite songs are "I love you, Yankee Doodle, Row Your Boat, Jesus Loves Me, and Wheels on the Bus."  He can sing the words in them as well as just hum the tunes.
- He loves to figure out how things work, put things together, build, organize, and construct while playing.  We recently got him a construction set that allows him to build various things with the tools inside.  He loves it and will patiently work with it alone or build with Josh.  Here you can see a "man on skates" they made.

- He loves to be in "Bible class" with other kids.  He refers to both our Wednesday Moms' group class and Sunday Bible class as "Bible class time."  He enjoys being with other kids and is starting to communicate with them in Czech while playing.  Of course, he first picked up the phrase "that's mine!", which is essential in any language when playing with others.  "To je moje!"  Which I've been told he says with a true Czech accent.  You go, Jake. 
- He also loves to roll and kick the soccer ball. He lines it up well and can kick it far, and can also continually kick it while running with it.  However, Josh has been teaching him to only use his feet when playing, since other, older kids on the playground don't want him picking it up with his hands, ever.  They take their "football" seriously from a young age here. :)
- He's just starting to notice clothes sometimes and care about what he's wearing.  He also likes to look at his hair in the mirror.  He can take off and put on his shoes, shirts, hats and jackets alone.  He can get his pants down for using the bathroom alone, but can't get them back up well, yet.  It's awesome to hear him say he needs to use the restroom and then watch him go in the room and use it by himself.  If only he could get those pants back up alone we would be set!  He even can get up to the sink and wash and dry his own hands.  Such a big boy!!

- It's not all easy with this cute little guy.  He's also recently learned how to throw a true fit.  It doesn't happen too often, but when it does it's not pretty (when is it ever, right?).  He's so strong-willed, and so naturally loud anyway, that it makes for one very big tantrum.  Thankfully, it didn't take us too long to figure out how to best respond to him. 
- He would rather be outside playing in the sand, playing soccer, or riding his bike than doing things inside.  I love that about him and look forward to a Spring and Summer full of outdoor activities together.
- He's also doing well at trying to swim.  We went with some friends, and Jakub's best friend Mikulas, to a water park last Saturday and we swam all day.  When he was alone in the children's pool he would put a swim tube around his body and try to swim around alone.  He did great!  He even went down a very large indoor slide with Josh and loved it.  He's so brave and takes most new experiences in stride with a desire to discover and learn new things.  It's awesome and I love to have these adventures with him because he's so great at them and not afraid to try new things.

- He's always watching other people around us and observing their faces and moods.  When he sees someone laughing he likes to laugh with them, even if he doesn't know why they are so happy.  When he thinks someone is sad he says "Mommy, they're sad!" and wants to do something for them.  If he knows the person he'll give them a kiss and hug without being asked.  If he thinks I'm tired he'll get my pillow and ask me to lay down and rest.  He can be very sweet and gentle and I'm thankful for that.

- Unless he has a bad cold, or the occasional tooth pain, he still sleeps well through the night and around 11 hours.  He naps well in the day, but is starting to occasionally skip it if he's not tired enough.  He still sings and talks to himself a lot before falling asleep.

- He's starting to carry on conversations with many full sentences.  He likes to roll the ball back-and-forth and practice speaking sentences to each other.   I need to record it soon on video- the way he says "I live in Olomouc" is hilarious.  Olomouc is more like "oo-me-notes."  I like it. :)  Sometimes we practice too many for too long and he starts to roll the ball and say "my name is blue... my favorite color is jakub... I am a lion..." 

- He doesn't always like to say the prayer himself during prayer time, but when he does want to pray it's amazing how thoughtful he can be. He'll remember people we haven't talked about in a while and the situations or sicknesses in regards to them.  I'm thankful for this gift God gave him and I pray we can encourage him in it.

Ok, I think that's it for now.  Thanks for enduring the long post!! :)

First Haircut...

Ok, it's not exactly the first, but it's finally the result of a professional job and more than just a tiny little trim at home. I have to say I'm thrilled with the results- even if they make me miss my little baby boy. He did so well during the process. Josh told him all about what to expect so, he was actually excited and couldn't stop talking about it on the walk there. This kid usually loves to try new things and I'm so proud of him for that. He sat very still and just watched her the whole time in the mirror. I could tell he enjoyed observing this shop and all of the people in it getting their hair cut or fixed.

Here are the results...







Before...










After...

Easter Time

"How great is the love the Father has given us so freely! Now we can be called children of God. And that's what we really are! ... We know what love is because Jesus Christ gave his life for us!" 1 John 3.



What a great week and weekend we had celebrating Jesus, his life, his sacrifice, and his love for us so that we can also be called children of God and have a relationship with Him. It was a somber and yet joyful week remembering, reading about, and celebrating what Jesus lived and died for. We also did some of the typical Easter traditions as well, like dyeing and hiding Easter eggs, baking an Easter cake, and making some Spring crafts with the children at our Moms' and Kids' group.

We also made our annual trip to Slovakia to celebrate Easter with our church family from many different cities. It was a very special time together sharing our lives, our stories, and our faith with one another. I'm thankful for how God encourages me and teaches me through this time with our friends. Here are some pictures from the last week, though, unfortunately, I was too busy having fun to take pictures of some of the best moments. :)




Our teammates Mitch and Graham, as well as Josh, were able to share some lessons and thoughts with us at the Easter retreat.







This was the best photo we could get of the kids together. Jakub had a blast playing with all of them, following the older boys around playing cars, and he especially had a good time with his new best friend, Katka. She's the little girl with dark brown hair and has her head turned in the picture. They were inseparable by the end of the retreat and Jakub was constantly asking for her, pulling her around by the hand to play, and asking for her to come home with us. She was doing the same for him and they played really well together. It was very sweet, especially when they gave so many hugs at the end and were saying bye to each other.

There are 4 kids missing from the picture, so you can imagine how lively things were at times with all of the kids around. :) Thankfully, some volunteers planned some great kids' activities and classes during the adult Bible lessons so that we could fully listen and be a part of the study groups and discussions without much interruption. I am thankful and was refreshed and encouraged by this time spent with others. Jakub had a great time at the kids' classes, too, and we now have some homemade flowers in a pot and some real grass growing to watch after each day. :)

It also snowed again while we were in Slovakia in the mountains (just a little with lots of sunshine as well), so we had snow for 2 Sunday Easter worships in a row this year. Awesome!



The picture above is from our craft time at our Moms' and Kids' group in Olomouc last week. We made a spring tree by painting our fingers to make blossoms, as well as gluing on some popcorn. They turned out really well and we celebrated God's creation and the blooming trees and flowers all around us.





Here are a couple more from our Moms' group and celebration last week.










And here are a couple from time with Jakub dyeing Easter eggs. Thankfully,d we were able to do it with my Mom on Skype, so she shared in the experience with him. It was great!









I hope you all had a meaningful and blessed Easter as well. God is so good to us and I am so thankful. Love to you all!

My handsome boy!

Thanks, Grandma, for our Spring jacket. We wore it today as part of our special Easter outfit. We celebrated Easter early with our church body and friends here since we'll be away next weekend with some other churches on an annual Easter retreat. More on that later. This post is all about my handsome little man. :)




This is what happens when I say "pose for me please." Boy does he like to play it up. :) I wish I had video of the modeling he did. Ha ha.








And this is what I get when I ask for a kiss. :)

I hope you all had a blessed Sunday and time of worship with your family and friends. We did here. We also enjoyed some beautiful snow fall. I'm not kidding. It was so strange and so cold. Hopefully Spring returns again soon.