Christmas

Dear Jordan,

In case you ever wonder how loved you are, just look back at your pictures from this year's Christmas!  I know you can't measure love in presents, but if you did, well...you cleaned up!  You have too many new fun things to list here, but I will specifically mention your new basketball goal.  I KNEW you would love it and your Mimi bought it for you.  Your face lit up as soon as you opened it.  You have played with it quite often since then.  I have no idea where your love of basketball came from.  We usually watch it when OU plays, but other than that, we watch alot more football.  But basketball has captured your heart...probably because all of the kids play on Wednesday nights in the gym!

This Christmas was so fun!  Last year you didn't show alot of interest in anything, but this year, you really got into it.  You liked the music and the movies...but your favorite were the lights!  Driving around at night sounded alot like this...."Whoa!  Lights!  Wow!  Lights!".  Every morning you had to have the tree lights plugged in or it would really really throw you off!

Another fun thing is your new play area.  Your Aunt Katie got you a letter puzzle mat that is the size of a carpet.  So we made half of our dining room into a special area just for you!  It's nice for us because we have our living room back.  It will never be "kid free" but that is fine with me.  I like the little reminders when I walk around the house that we have a little kid in our family.  It's a blessing!  (Although, sometimes I grumble about the mess...)

We survived another ice storm.  It's been a crazy winter.  Two snows and an ice storm and it's not even January!  Hopefully we'll get to enjoy a couple of more snows!

You have brought us so much joy, little man.  You are the reason that this Christmas was magical and I can't wait for many more Christmas celebrations with you!

Love,

Mom

Firsts

Dear Jordan,

Well, little man, you have accomplished a couple of things this week!

The first was your first haircut.  You were really looking shaggy, but I was putting off taking you.  First, I felt guilty because I didn't want to spend the money on something I should be able to do.  And second, I knew how it would go. :)  Well, we took you on Monday and it went about like I expected.  You cried the whole time!  But you did it!  You got some bubbles and high fives after it was over and they did a great job.  Turns out, I think we're going to have to pay because I will not be able to hold you down and cut your hair at the same time.  I promised your dad that I wouldn't cry, but I did kind of tear up.  You just look like such a big kid!

The second milestone is something I've been dreading.  You figured out how to climb out of your bed.  Yikes!  You did it a few days ago when I put you in there because you were throwing a fit.  I was nervous about you doing it in the middle of the night, but you haven't done it yet.  I have been sleeping with the door open just in case!  Today at nap time was the first time you did it to get out of sleeping.  You didn't want to take a nap, even though you were exhausted.  About ten seconds after I closed the door, you came walking out and closed it behind you like you owned the place!  So, it took a few tries, but you are finally asleep and resting!

Last night and today we have been in an ice storm.  We were without power for a few hours, but it's not bad.  It's on now and we're hoping it stays that way.  All of the trees in Norman are covered and many are broken.  It's always very sad for us when the trees get broken because that is one of our favorite parts of this town!  They are beautiful, but trouble when the ice comes!

It is hard for me to believe that you will be two in six weeks.  Time is just flying by!  I love who you are.  You make us laugh all the time!  You are sweet...you always blow kisses and say hi to strangers.  You make people smile!  I pray for you all of the time.  I pray that God will capture your heart at a young age so that you can start spreading His love and truth early!

I love you, buddy.

Mom

Blessings

Dear Jordan,

When you were six months old, I told your dad that I wanted you to stay that age forever.  It's not that I didn't enjoy your newborn years, it's just that when you were that age, you really started to interact and I really felt like I knew what I was doing!  Well, every stage since then, I've said the same thing.  Each age and stage is so much fun.  Today I told your dad that I want you to stay the age you are now forever.  You are so funny and sweet and independent.  You talk alot more and can play by yourself.  But you also say "mama" all of the time and give hugs when asked.  It is so much fun to be your Mom!

That doesn't mean that our days are always easy.  You are working on your last molars right now and it's made it hard for you to sleep and sometimes you are a little crankier than usually.  I have to admit that sometimes I wish these days away.  Sometimes I am so ready for you to be able to communicate with me better.  Sometimes I am ready for you to listen to me better.  And sometimes you whine.  But, the issue is not with you, it's with my heart.

Yesterday was the one year anniversary of the Newtown shooting.  You can google it when you read this, but on December 14th, 2012, a young man went into an elementary school and shot and killed six adults and twenty first graders.  I remember seeing a vague comment about it on Facebook, but when I turned on the news, I felt like someone had punched me in the gut.  And the moment they announced that twenty six and seven year olds had died, I cried.  I hugged you and tried not to imagine what those Mommy's and Daddy's were feeling at that moment.  Yesterday, I was reflecting on that tragedy and on those parents.  I realized that those parents would give anything to wake up in the middle of the night with a teething toddler.  They would give anything to have a kid throw a tantrum because he wanted more milk.  Those parents would love to have their babies back.  Thinking of them reminded me of how blessed I am.  I am so sorry for taking you for granted.  For not being patient with you.  For wishing that you would grow up.  Sometimes, I need God to remind me that it is not honoring to Him that I complain.  Instead, I need to be focused on what He has given me and being thankful.

So, with that in mind, I have been cherishing you.  Last night, I thanked God for the snuggles and the laughs.  You are an amazing blessing from God that I don't deserve and I am thankful that He is gracious and good to correct me when I forget that. 

Little Man, I pray that some day you will understand what it means to be in a relationship with God.  You are already a boy who loves to pray.  You even bow your head and close your eyes and when I snuggle you at night before bed and pray for you, you seem to understand and appreciate it.  I don't know how much you understand now, but I pray that you will become a follower of Jesus as soon as you hear and understand the Good News.  I can't wait to see you grow in your faith in Him. 

I love you,

Mom

Thanksgiving 2013

Dear Jordan,

You have given me so much to be thankful for this year!  Instead of dwelling on the losses we had this year, I decided to focus on the blessings I have...you and your Dad!  I am one blessed Mama.  You were such a joy throughout the entire holiday weekend.  You make it easy to be thankful, especially when you give me that toothy grin!

You are really starting to say a lot of words.  One of them is "thank you" which just makes my day, especially when you use it in the right context!  You also are really enjoying wrestling and playing football with your Dad (which basically involves wrestling and diving on the football!).  You are such a spunky little boy, and it is really hard for me to keep up with you sometimes!  Yesterday, we let you walk beside your stroller down the street and you just thought that was the greatest.  Until you fell and scraped your hands...then you were kind of over it!

On Thanksgiving Day, we got up early and went to Mimi's house.  You love it there!  You act like you own the place.  We watched the parade and then went to your Great-grandmother's house for lunch.  We stayed for a while, but you got tired and cranky, so you, me and Ying went back to Mimi's house where you took a great nap.  Then that evening, we decorated Mimi's house.  I'm surprised at how indifferent you are to the Christmas trees.  You like them and look at them, but you're not trying to climb them!

On Friday and Saturday, we hung out with Aunt Abby and Aunt Katie.  We ate another Thanksgiving meal and the highlight was getting to go ice skating.  They had skates that fit you and you did great.  You were freaked out most of the time, but kept trying to walk on the ice.  Someone had to hold you up and you were happy to skate or sit with Mimi on the sideline and watch us all zoom by.  It was fun for you to try to give us high fives when we skated by.  At first, you wouldn't even let me put your skates on, but once you saw your Dad putting his on, you went for it.  I was very proud of you!  Not even two and already ice skating!

I feel like I'm forgetting so many funny things that you do.  You are just such a joy and I am so looking forward to this Christmas season and watching you experience so many new things.  You are just big enough to enjoy things, but still a little small to understand.  My goal for this year is to work on our Jessie Tree and ornaments so we can start teaching you about the true meaning of Christmas.  Santa Claus is a fun story, but I am so excited for you to hear the real "Good news of great joy" which is Jesus!

I love you,

Mom

Blurry

Dear Jordan,

Life is just flying by.  Yesterday, you were a little bitty baby who needed to be held to fall asleep and needed a bottle every two hours.  Today, you're a little boy who just pushed his pretend car by my chair and said "Bye, mama".  I feel like God has given me wisdom to savor today because I know before long, you will be grown up and I will miss these crazy days...and yes, they are crazy!

You keep doing things that blow our minds.  I'm going to name a few and you'll probably laugh at this, but for us, we are constantly amazed at watching you grow up.  For example, last night, I fixed sloppy joe's for dinner.  I put your meat on your open bun because you usually just go at it with a spoon and your fingers.  Last night, though, you watched your dad put his sloppy joe together and then you closed your bun and picked it up and started eating it like a big kid.  We were both so amazed by that!  (I told you, you will laugh!).  You also have started asking questions like "What's that?" and "Where did he go?".  I had no idea how much fun it would be to watch you develop.

You have been sleeping better this week.  Last week you were sick and it was kind of a hard week from you.  But the past couple of weeks you slept past sunrise.  Whoo hoo!  You have no idea how nice it is for me to get up and get my head on straight before you wake up.  I am thankful that you still need a good snuggle when you wake up.  I will miss that when you grow out of it.  Maybe you never will!

Back to eating...you are always more interested in what I'm eating than what you are, even if we are eating the same thing.  Every few minutes you push your plate over to me so I can put some food on your plate.  This morning we were both eating oatmeal and you just wanted to eat my oatmeal. 

On Friday, we went to the OU English Conversation Club Thanksgiving meal. We hosted a table and they all really enjoyed you.  For some reason, international students just love you.  They had a professional photographer and you were in a lot of pictures with people we had never met.  It was pretty cute!  You ate your meal on my lap and shared with me.  I kept trying to give you bites, but you refused.  But you stuck your spoon into the bread and would eat bites of food off of the bread.  Silly-ness!

Well, you are lounging on the keyboard right now.  Time for me to go!  We are going to a playdate with some friends here in a  bit, so we should probably get ready.

Thanksgiving is this week.  I am so excited to celebrate with you and your Daddy.  I am beyond blessed to have you two!

Love, Mom

Friendship

Dear Jordan,

This weekend was completely exhausting but totally worth it!  We drove to Texas to visit your great-grandparents and then we spent most of the day Saturday with our friends.  These are friends who we've known for many years.  They are the kind of friends who will be our friends forever.  We all got married at the same time, lived in an apartment complex together, went to church together, and even though we are scattering (and we're the only ones left in Norman!), we still love to be together.  Now, the best part of it all is that we are all having kids!  We now have the tradition of taking the "kid picture".  It keeps getting bigger and bigger and so do you kids!

Speaking of getting bigger, you need to stop growing up so fast!  I am cherishing this time because I know that I will blink and you will be too big to snuggle in my lap or just follow me around saying "mama".  I am so thankful that the Lord has given me the wisdom to slow down.  Frankly, I don't get things done very often!  I'm slow to get checks to the bank and the laundry is not always finished.  But, I never regret taking you to the library to play or sitting in the chair and watching Sesame Street with you.  You are a joy and an answer to prayer and I am determined not to let you grow up without my savoring your childhood.

You are so cute!  You make all kinds of people smile because you are so friendly.  You don't talk a lot, but you can certainly communicate.  And one thing is for sure...you are persistent!  You never quit!  Today at the library you really wanted to play with the computers.  I probably pulled you off of them ten times.  You never got mad, you just kept at it.  I try not to get mad or frustrated, because I know that someday God will use your persistent personality.  I pray all of the time for you to become His child because you are so special. 

I am so looking forward to you getting a sister pretty soon!  I know you two will grow up being great friends.  I know it's going to seem like you are neglected, but it will be worth it.  I will have to really make time for our snuggles and hopefully your sister won't be quite as high-maintenance as you were when you were a baby!

Alright, I need to wake you up from your nap (crazy Mom!) because we have to go.  I'm taking you to your friend Henry's house for a bit so I can go to the Eden Clinic.  I am so thankful that you are flexible and you let me go.  It fills me up to be there and I love getting to help women.  You are an important part of my ministry just by letting me be there.

I love you little man.

Mom

 

Hot Diggety Dog!

Dear Jordan,

You make a super cute hot dog.  Your Mimi bought you the costume to wear to Trinity's Fall Festival.  I had a back-up costume planned just in case you didn't want to wear the hot dog, but I think you had too much fun to even notice it!  From the second we got there, you were on the move.  You sat through the very first part of the costume contest and then moved on to the Toddler bouncy area.  Then you ate about a hot dog and a half and then half of Grandma Nietzie's cookie.  We tried to play some games, but you got tired and so only got two pieces of candy!  Finally, you wanted to jump in the big kid's bouncy house.  You kept saying "jump, jump" until I let you go.  I thought you wouldn't last long, but you I had to force you out to let the other kids have a turn! 

Last weekend, we went to Shawnee to visit Mimi.  You walked into her house like you own the place.  I love how much you love being over there.  I remember my grandparents' houses being so special!   I might remember more about them than I did my own houses I lived in!  You are such a blessing to your Mimi.  She loves you so much and you bring so much joy to our family.

Eating out with you has gotten tough.  You NEVER sit still unless your eating.  So if we take you to a place where we have to wait for food, it's pretty miserable.  We went to McAlister's last night.  I went to go get a straw and you were sitting in the booth with your dad.  By the time I came back, you had climbed over the booth and had dumped the little container with all the sugar packets.  Your dad was trying to hold you down and clean up at the same time.  It's a bit of a challenge, but you're not obnoxious about it.  You just never stop moving!

This weekend was Daylight Savings time.  Hopefully, by the time you read this, this will be no more.  I used to love it.  I like this time of year so the fact that it's darker earlier just means more time to see Christmas lights.  Plus, you get an extra hour of sleep the night it switches over.  Well, now that I'm a mom, it's a little different.  Actually, no, it's terrible!  You think you need to wake up at 5:30 every morning.  Two nights ago you woke up at 3:30!  I'm super tired.  However, I kind of knew how bad it would be, so I have my friends praying for patience.  I know their prayers are helping and I've tried to make an effort to be mindful of my attitude.  This really is just a season.  You keep getting bigger and bigger and will never be my sweet, little 20 month old again!

One last story...a new game we play.  Every time I say "Night, night" you lay down your head, wherever you are.  When I say "Good morning!" you pop your head up...grinning the whole time!  It is so cute!

Well, speaking of sleep issues...you're up waaay too early from your nap.  I can tell it's too early because you are really, really mad!  Time for me to put that patience into practice!

I love you, little man!

Mom

 

Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Pumpkins!

Dear Jordan,

We have had quite a week!  It's that time of year where I just can't stop thinking of fun things for us to do together.  We have gone to Pumpkinville, the Tiger Safari, and TG Farms.  And Saturday night we carved pumpkins.  You didn't carve yours, but we let you paint yours.  You were very serious about it for about five minutes and then you were ready to move on to the knives!  I tried to carve you an Elmo pumpkin, but it turned out to look like a very angry Elmo.  Oh well!  I tried!

This morning, we went to TG Farms with a bunch of mommy's friends and their kids.  You had a blast!  You are such a daredevil.  They have a big haystack with a slide at the top.  The first time down you went head first.  Collin was sitting on your legs the whole way down and the extra weight made you hit the dirt at the bottom face first.  But you just got up, laughed, and kept climbing!  You also really enjoyed the cows.  You recently learned how to say "moo" so you repeated that over and over while you fed them straw.  It is so fun to watch you learn and play.  It's fun to go to the same places we did last year and know how much you have changed in a very, short year!

One of my favorite things is how much you love church.  You walk in like you own the place.  Every time we go down the hall, you insist on stopping at the water fountain.  If we pass a speaker in the ceiling, you stop and dance.  And you always have to stop by and give hugs to Grandma Nietzie!  If we don't leave you in your class for a long time, you completely ignore us when we come to get you.  If you're not doing anything, you run and grab a toy, as if that's going to get us to leave you there longer!  I love how social you are.  It's easier for me, but it just makes a mama's heart happy to know that you are having fun with your friends.  I am able to go worship and listen to God's Word without worrying if you are happy. 

I picked you up yesterday from your class and Miss Elise was holding you.  I said "Hey Baby-cakes!" and you put your finger to your mouth and shushed me.  I have no idea where you learned that from but it certainly made me laugh! I guess you were embarrassed by me calling you that.

Another hilarious thing that you do is you feel like you need to bring something every time we leave the house.  Today, when we left for the pumpkin patch, you wanted to bring your dirty pajama top.  The other day, you took the car keys and tried to start your top car with them.  It's pretty funny to see what you choose to bring and the car is always full of toys!

I think I'd better go.  You kind of stink and you just climbed up in my laugh.  You really enjoy getting right up in my face.  Plus, it's about nap time!

I love you, little pumpkin!

Mom

Bath...Bath...Bath...

Dear Jordan,

You are really getting good and communicating.  You don't say many words, but the ones you do say, you know very well.  Your vocabulary is "yes", "no", "dog", "duck", "bye bye", "Dad", "mom", "book", "choo-choo", "look", and of course, "bath".  It's funny how you know that it's the right time of day for you to take a bath.  The other night we ate dinner at Fuzzy's on Campus Corner and then walked around campus for a while.  You cried most of the way home, but as soon as we pulled in the driveway, you started chanting "Bath, bath, bath"...while pumping your fist in the air!  It was so funny!  I don't know where you learned that, but we got a good laugh out of it!

I hope you don't get embarrassed about this later, but your favorite part of bath time is when we let you lose and you run naked and soaking wet through the house.  I wonder at what age that stops being such a thrill, but surely before you move to college, right??

We got to go meet Ruby's birthmom this week.  She wanted to talk to us without you, first, so you ate lunch with the ladies from Deaconess.  They said you were so good and polite.  I expected to hear some screaming, but you were so sweet to them!  Ruby's birthmom was so sweet.  She really liked you when she got to meet you.  You were shy at first, but showed off some of your songs.

One of the best investments I ever made was buying the DVD players for the car.  You love to watch Sesame Street when we go on longer trips.  Recently, though, we have been letting you watch "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" because it's that time of year!  I have loved watching you laugh and smile at Snoopy.  It's so fun reliving my childhood through you!

I have so many things that I am looking forward to in the years to come.  But really, I enjoy every day with you.  Sometimes I get impatient with you, but I try to make the most of every moment.  I blinked and you're a little boy now.  The other morning you woke up early and fell asleep in my lap.  I didn't want to lay you down, because I was enjoying the snuggle time.  You were dreaming and laughing at sometime and it took me back to when you were a baby.  You were making the same faces.  I just love it!

Well, enough mushy gushy from Mom for now.  We're going to Boofari this weekend with your Mimi and Aunt Megan and Uncle Kevin.  I'm sure we'll have some fun!  And hopefully we'll get to see Aunt Abby this weekend too.

I love you Buddy,

Mom

 

Sick Week!

Dear Jordan,

This week has not been the best one for the Lindley's but it's also been a good one at the same time!  Your dad got sick on Sunday and we've just all been passing stuff around since then...it's been like 6 days.  We're starting to get really good at handling your high fevers.  I waited for it to come and the other night it did.  I got you out of bed because you were crying and you were burning up.  We gave you a bath, which always helps and then you snuggled with me in the chair for about an hour.  Every time you get sick...even if you get a cold...you get a high fever.  Usually the high fever is your body's last battle against the germs.  You always win though!  I love the day after you have that fever, because I can't stop kissing your cool cheeks and rejoicing that you feel better.

The big news this week was on Thursday.  We found that you will be getting a baby sister in January!  I am so excited to have her here, but we'll see how you feel about it.  You don't like to share attention with anyone or anything.  You are happiest when someone is playing with you, but you're getting better at playing by yourself.

You are such a little engineer.  You're always coming up with new ways to do things and I call you the Deconstructor.  You take apart things and just want to know how everything works!

This week, you have started answering questions.  It's so nice because I never know quite what you want.  You have started saying "yes" and "no" when I ask you if you want something.  Some day you will be able to actually ask for things.  Until then, we will just keep playing Twenty Questions!

Another big victory in your life is you are getting better at being patient.  Yesterday at Rhythm Babies you waited very nicely for the instruments and the scarves.  I was impressed!

We have a lot of fun in store for this week.  It's supposed to get cold and rainy so we might still be cooped up, but we'll try to do some fun things anyways.

I love you buddy,

Mom

First One...

Hi Sweet Boy!

You are about to turn twenty months old tomorrow and I can't believe I just thought about making this blog for you!  I was snuggling with you the other day and you were doing something really silly as we were singing.  We were singing "Oh, How I Love Jesus" with your Praise Baby cd and every time I would sing the word "oh" you would make your mouth into the shape of an "oh".  Somehow you managed to hold it while smiling the whole time. :)

Anyways, I thought, I really need to start writing stuff down that you do.  I really don't want to forget, but the reality of life is that it is zooming by.  I know you're probably excited about all of the new things you can do now, but sometimes I miss Baby Jordan.  Don't get me wrong...I like the longer naps and the sleeping at night.  But you are just getting so big and so this is my desperate attempt to hold onto today.

Right now you are in that phase where most of the time you look and act like a little boy.  Every once in a while, you do something that reminds me that you are still just a baby.  It's fun to enjoy both sides of you.  Every morning you have to sit in my lap while you drink milk.  If I put you down before you're done, you lose it!  I finally figured out that a) it's not worth the battle just to get started on stuff around the house and b) you will be a big kid soon and I will really miss our morning snuggles!

I wish I had time to write all of the silly little things you do.  You love to climb (everything!) and you love to help.  Sometimes I find myself being really impatient with you.  You are so curious and you are always two steps behind me trying to figure out what things are and why in the world I would be doing whatever chore I'm doing.  Every once in a while I catch you with a sock on your hand, dusting something random because that's what I do when I dust!

Speaking of copying everything...yesterday your dad hocked up a loogie (spelling?)...disgusting!  We were on a walk and he cleared his throat and spit.  Well, you had to do the same thing.  Only yours was cute, not gross. :)

I hope you know how much of a blessing you are to us and to so
many other people.  You freely give hugs, and high fives, and waves...and if they are lucky...kisses!  The other day we were walking through the library parking lot and you suddenly stopped.  I looked down and you were waving at an older gentleman who was in his car.  You did not stop until he looked at you and smiled and then you moved on content.  I pray that Jesus will capture your heart because you can be such a blessing to others when you share His love with others!

I seriously could go on and on about your obsession with dogs and airplanes and trains.  You're all boy and all sweetness combined.

I'm sorry for the times that I lose my patience.  I am always trying to let go of my agenda and surrender it to Jesus.  It is hard for a type A person like me!  I'm thankful that he blessed me with a little free spirit like you to keep my life interesting.

I love you, buddy.

Mom