Monday Musing - An Update

I have been intending to write for a few weeks, but time keeps slipping away...at least time at the computer.  With us all home nearly 24/7, I've been regrouping...again.  

Last I updated, we had learned of new precautions for COVID guiding Brent to work from home through 2020 and Luke and Nora to distance learn through Jan 15.  We're still in the midst of these changes as well as restrictions for the state of Minnesota through Dec 18.  We're supposed to get an update from our governor later this week.

SO...we're home.  Except for Jace who still gets to go to daycare 3 days a week while I work.  We are SO grateful he has this outlet.  It gives him variety in activities and interactions.  He's a great little guy, but he's still a two year old who would not be able to be unsupervised at home while the rest of us work and do school online.  

We've been doing a lot of holiday celebrating at/near home:

• Thanksgiving day was a quiet day at home.  Very different from other years when we would have been heading to see family or hosting family at our house.  We put up the Christmas tree (this was a little more of an adventure with Jace this year, but went well overall), played a game of Ticket to Ride in the afternoon while Jace napped, ate our Thanksgiving dinner together, then watched Home Alone together.  We had one "exciting" moment while making a turkey breast in the oven.  I set the oven to cook at 325, but something went wrong with the heat control and it overheated and started beeping with an error about 25 minutes into the 2 hour cook time.  I had noticed some smoke coming from the oven, but thought was just the broth from the pan evaporating while it cooked.  I'm very glad I was in the kitchen to hear the oven beep with the error, because all of the liquid was gone from the pan and the top of the breast was already very dark (in just 25 mins!).  We had to kill the power to the oven via the electrical box.  We let it cool off a bit then tried again.  Thankfully no errors the second time and everything cooked as planned.  I've never had this happen before or since, but again I'm very happy I was in the kitchen to hear the oven error!

Dinner time!

Jace decorating the tree...mostly in one spot 😉

Jace's collection of ornaments 😆

• We started the 12 Days of Christmas gifts from Gma Ruth.  Each December, she gives the kids 12 small gifts each that they can open every other day Dec 1-24.  We record the kids opening the gifts and send it to Gma and Gpa so they can see the kids reactions.  It's been a fun thing to look forward to a few times a week.  This is the first year Jace has really engaged in the 12 Days of Christmas, so it's fun to see him get into making an ornament with stickers, playing a new memory game, or read a new book from Gma.  
• We've made a few outings to see Christmas lights.  Last week we had unseasonably warm weather (50s in Dec in MN!), so a few nights we walked around the neighborhood after dinner to check out the Christmas lights.  Jace especially loves the neighbor's blow up helicopter 😊  And he's revealed more words I didn't know he knew, like reindeer, while pointing out things he sees.  We also made a couple family outings to see local Christmas light displays: Lights at Bluff Valley in Zumbro Falls and Rotary Lights in La Crosse.  It's been nice to feel like we're "getting out" as a family while also staying safe in the pandemic.  The Lights at Bluff Valley had a fun light maze that Jace and Nora really enjoyed.  On our trip to the Rotary Lights, we picked up pizza and ate in the car while we drove through the light display.  It was one of the warm nights so we also parked and walked through the park to check out the lights closer up.  

Lights at Bluff Valley light maze

Rotary Lights:

• Yesterday, Nora and I made treats to share with the neighbors and a ministry our church supports.  After Jace got up from his nap, we drove around the neighborhood for Nora to deliver.  Jace was happy to help hand Nora the treats she delivered to each house.  Nora called this event "reverse trick or treating" 😊

Ready to Deliver!

• Christmas movies are a big part of December for me every year. Nora and I are most into watching them together, but there have been a few that the entire family has watched.  I even snuck in a quiet night to watch a favorite myself while everyone else was busy.  It was lovely to watch the Preacher's Wife in a quiet room, lit by the Christmas tree 💗

• We've also had fun with the big kids shopping for their siblings.  We really started this just last year.  We've done it online this year, but it's fun to brainstorm gift ideas with the kids and give them ownership of the gift giving.  

Luke

Luke can usually be found in his room either doing school online (weekdays 8-1ish), playing x-box, playing a Star Wars game on his phone, playing Among Us, talking about fantasy sports, or watching a football or basketball game.  He and Brent spend a lot of time together and Luke chats with friends and family on the phone while playing games together as well.  He's also been having weekly calls with his basketball coach and team to discuss workouts to do at home and some season prep.  He's also taken advantage of the lack of snow and warmer days to get outside with the neighbors to play basketball or jump on the trampoline.  

Luke is generally quiet, but he loves time with Jace and Brent and I find their relationships very sweet.  We often see/hear Luke "checking on" Jace in his crib before Luke heads to bed for the night 💓  I have a few funny quotes from conversations with Luke recently:

Me: Are you going outside?  

Luke: Yep

Me: Because you love me and you're going to shovel?

Luke: Nope

Luke walking back through the room..."No to the second part, not the first. I do love you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Luke had just tried to convince Jace to do something and Jace only listened to Brent's guidance: 

Luke: I guess I don't have dad powers yet.

Me: That's OK,  because I don't have grandma powers yet. 

Brent: Yep, you just keep those dad powers to yourself. 

Starting school at home full time

Dribbling workout on a warmer day

Snuggles with Jace are highly coveted

Nora

Nora has adjusted to distance learning very well.  She's dressed and had breakfast before class starts at 8am and does a great job keeping up on and track of all of her Google Meet meetings and school work.  She will give us a holler if she ever needs anything, but typically she breezes through her school day by 11:30ish each day.  She's also very ambitious with daily tasks we expect of her like reading, exercising, connecting with someone on the phone, piano practice, and chores.  

Nora can usually be found reading (alone or to Jace), writing, drawing, making a project, playing piano, or chatting on the phone with her grandparents.  She's gotten outside to play with some neighbor kids on the warmer days as well and has been very into all things Christmas with me this year.  She's also especially into the Hamilton musical and learning about our founding fathers and the US presidents.  

She has been very into reading her Bible and reading/writing in new devotionals and journals she got at her baptism.  She's also been pretty proud to be taking communion at church each week since her baptism.  She has a heart for God and I love watching her grow and hearing her thoughts and questions.  

Playing the xylophone at the park with Jace

All ready for school at home at her bedroom desk!

Playing imaginary airplane ride with Jace

Our public library assembled the gingerbread houses and sent home kits to decorate. 

So fun!

A recent project: a robot costume from shipping boxes 😊

Jace 

Jace can usually be found playing cars, reading books, singing songs (i.e. ABCs, jingle bells, baby shark, baby beluga, etc), playing something with or following around his siblings, playing chase or "surprise" (we hide and scare him), and eating...he's always eating!  He loves to be in the action (think decorating the Christmas tree) or the center of someone's attention (being read to, playing cars with someone, or having someone at his beck and call).  He loves his days at daycare with lots of daycare buddies. We've even heard him call a few by name recently.  He's been calling the daycare family by name since early on, but learning his friends' names has taken longer.  They get lots of time outside, make projects, and overall just give his energy some direction.  We have a fun time trying to decipher things he's learned at daycare, for instance he started singing Jingle Bells and always includes slapping his knees and jumping around while singing it.  We're guessing he learned it at daycare because we don't do it 😊

Jace loves to be part of the action and he doesn't like it when he learns I'm leaving for an errand.  I often leave the house with him upset in the mudroom or come home to him greeting me in the mudroom because he's so happy I'm home.  I guess it's kind of like having a puppy 😆  Overall, Brent says Jace is most attached to me right now.  I tend to think it has more to do with who is willing to give him fruit snacks.  

The highlights of Jace's life recently have been around the few times we've seen people.  We met cousins at the park and the neighbors have come over a couple times or they have played outside.  It gets a little monotonous with just his fam 4 days a week.  

A Jace-sized bite of ice cream

Cheese face with mom

Pushes on the tire swing with Piper

Sliding with Piper

Sliding with Parker

Sliding to Papa

Swinging with Papa

Swinging with Gma with pushes from Parker

Swinging with Bridgy

Watching a show together

I love his little feet when he sits like this 💓

Artwork from daycare!

Can you find Jace in the midst of all the big boys?

He learned to roll his tongue 😋

Picked his PJs...truck shirt and batman pants.

Also, this is him "showing his muscles"

Jace wanted to get ready for church with Nora.

He asked for a pony and was trying to spray his hair with water.

Jen & Brent

Not much to speak of for us.  You'll find us in comfy clothes in our home office most week days and trying to keep a semblance of a clean/controled-ish house while we're all home.  

I've had a sore foot the past month which has been discouraging.  I enrolled in a research study at Mayo where I had an injection in my foot.  I've done several studies through the years, but this is the first time I've had a strong reaction to anything.  Apparently I was not the only one.  I learned form the doctor running the study that others have struggled with pain.  Thankfully I'm making progress with less pain this past week!  Hopefully my days of limping are behind me!  

I've been able to make a couple day trips to visit with family: once to see my Gpa and uncle who was also visiting, and once to see my cousin for a little Christmas shopping.  Similar to Jace's excitement to seeing others outside the house, I get excited by the opportunity to leave home and not be going to the grocery store 😊  Thankfully we've been able to make these sporadic visits safely during the pandemic.  

Brent's just keeping on...calls and games online with his brothers and the neighbors and running on the treadmill and lifting weights at home.  

I hope this update finds you finding joy in the midst of a strange Christmas season 💗