Piecing together the words.

My family is awesome.

Today, it was time for daddy to take the kids on our first 3 : 1 outing. With amanda K.O.'d with a cold and running on little sleep, i decided she needed a solitary place to rest and not have to care for anyone but herself for more than 5 mins at a time.

Jayna and i met the kids at school and it was an extremely happy reunion for Nyla and Jayna - running towards each other, laughing and yelling... kinda scary too, seeing as how neither one are really super stable runners, but fantastic to watch. We played on the playground at school for a bit, and Jayna once again was being cared for immediately by some older girls from Ethan's class. Then, (as part of her introduction to a rollercoaster loving family) Jayna was training on the tire swing - its still a little sketchy for her, with the nervous laugh and tense limbs, but she's getting the hang of it. Her first time feeling dizzy was after Ethan had finished running around her about 10 times(imagine that!?), and she didn't enjoy that at all. So the tire swing is a great step!

Then it was off the the pet store. What a blast that was! Nyla would build a home there if she could, and Ethan likes seeing all the fish and reptiles... Jayna hasn't reacted well to pets of any sort so far. I thought a layer of glass in between would help... she couldn't stop giggling when she saw the little puppies who couldn't reach her! Then a little hamster on a wheel, then all kinds of birds and rabbits... "what kind of crazy place is this?!" She wasn't sure about the fish area, but watching Ethan and Nyla wander in eventually drew her in... but it wasn't long before she was saying  "puppies" and working her way back to those silly furry barking things.

A "quick" visit to home depot (Nyla and Jayna sitting in the Race Cart), Jayna tried her first lithium ion drill, and liked it. I was about to buy her one, but though i better hold off. Its important for my kids to never be afraid of the hardware store... yeah, i was just making sure my kids are well balanced individuals... thats all.

I must say, at this point i was expecting some kind of mutiny. We were obviously killing time, not really doing anything, but they were handling it well, so we needed to go to McDonalds. Not the play-park one,  though - most of my being has to hold back the gag reflex watching my kids play in those germ infested urine traps - i am crazy, but not insane, we would be dining in a "normal" fast food dive. We enjoyed a lovely high cal meal together and had some great conversation. Jayna is definitely comfortable just yapping in toddler/english/creole dialect. Ethan and Nyla try to get her to say funny words until its not funny at all... I had a moment to just watch my kids eating, talking and laughing together and it was pure joy.

On our way home, Jayna said her first "on her own" sentence: "Ethan, can you open this for me, please?" i almost hit the ditch... yeah, she's gunna be ok with language... We watch her learn new words, try new tastes, open herself up to allow us into her uniqueness, and we are in awe that God would invite us into life with our kids. I think too many times that i ignore the beauty and joy that God puts in front of us because we are too busy looking at the all that isn't "perfect". It becomes more and more clear to me that God's love for me is not because of my potential, but in me, his kid, just in this moment - he stares at me and is reminded of how good his creation really is. I hope that i can in some way be this kind of dad from time to time - that my love will bring out their real strength and beauty.

Some recent pictures...

grace and peace
jake and amanda

Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth?!!

The past couple days have been more interesting than usual... Jayna has reached a point where, as Amanda puts it, "trusts us enough" to throw a few extra tantrums and test her boundaries. Yes, we have a 2 year old! For those of you who don't have that experience yet... much joy awaits you! It really isn't that bad, but i can deal with a child crying because they're hurt, or angry, or sad, but the "cry just because you want to make a loud noise" is like chewing on foil whilst rubbing styrofoam - hence, the eye twitch.

Jayna truly has been such a joy to our whole family, and today, instead of tantrums, she was talking like crazy! We couldn't understand a word she said, but she was pointing and explaining a story about Ethan and Nyla for about 5 minutes... her cute little accent and random finger pointing was awesome to watch, and, as my father would do, i just nodded and agreed. She also is picking up a lot of real words like please, thank you, potty, all done, more... and even uses the "baby signs" for most words. Its amazing how great it feels to actually begin to understand each other! I almost forgot "coffee" immediately followed by "yum", which is my fave.

Amanda has sorted out the best way to get her to go to bed easily, and for the last couple nights, she's gone down without any explosions - which is good for my eye twitch, too! My wife is amazing. I know, you all know this, but everyday i watch her care for her kids and i am amazed that i get to be in on this adventure with her. She is able to do some lifting and its incredible to watch her hold Jayna in her arms... blessed.

Ethan, Nyla and Jayna played in puddles after school today and watching them all together was great! the sun shining, sipping a latte and playing with my family... heaven was very close today.

grace and peace
jake and amanda