Be Orange!

IYKYK.

I spent this last weekend back at Warburg College for Homecoming/Family Weekend. Every year I say I want to go back for Homecoming but since I've moved out of the Cedar Valley, it hasn't happened. 

But luck on was on my side this year! My BFF (and college roomie) won the title of Ultimate Knight (her name was drawn on the UKnight Day of giving) and she got a free hotel room and free registration to the event. I immediately invited myself along on her trip. :) 

So we both made it back to Wartburg after far too many years away. Even better, another dear friend was temporarily back in town and able to spend a majority of the weekend with us. Plus I got to see another good friend on Saturday morning for a while. 

(Side note: I'm really hoping that I'll get to see even more amazing people next year because we'll be celebrating our 15 year reunion!!!) 

Being back at Wartburg was... magical. That place holds so many memories. It is the place where I learned, not only academically, but learned about the world, about others, about myself. It's a place where I started to grow into the person I am today. It's a place where I met people who would impact the course of my life. It's the place that gave me experiences I never imagined possible. It is a place that challenged me and pushed me. It is a place that comforted me and made me feel safe. 

As we sat at the bar on Saturday night, someone placed Lady Gaga's 'You and I' song. And I couldn't help but think, there really was "something about this place." 

We were walking around the Ren Faire and a business owner who had a table set up asked if we were alumni and if we were from the area. When we said that we were alumni from out of town he asked us, "What is it about Wartburg that bring so many of their alumni back year after year?" And I thought, it's just... home. Even when I first stepped onto Wartburg's campus as a senior in High School, I felt at home. 

It's a place where everyone is family. Where you can excitedly say hi when you see a familiar face even if you can't place their name. Where you can sit down with people you knew from your time in college, even if you didn't spend much time together then and spend hours chatting away in the Den. It's a place where you make forever-favorite friends with the most amazing people.  

And so the weekend was magically awesome. It was soul-filling in a way I didn't know I needed. It was reconnecting with people I should have never let drift away. It was being able to have these deep conversations and asking the types of questions that require reflecting. It was laughing loudly and creating new memories. 

But the weekend was not without some bittersweet feelings and memories as well. Because it was at Wartburg that I met AJ. It was at Wartburg I fell in love, got engaged and got married. For many years when I thought about Wartburg or talked about Wartburg, it involved AJ. Everything that I went through with AJ has changed me into the person I am today - for better or worse. And all that started with Wartburg. Those feelings are some of the most complicated and poignant ones. Because I can't regret what happened. Because I am thankful for so much.

All of that - the memories (the good and the bad), the people I've met, the reasons I am who I am today, my journey up until this point, the jobs I've held that have led me to my current role - so much of that started at Wartburg. It is forever a piece of me. 

And so, in deciding to "recreate" some of our college days and partake in a favorite Outfly tradition, two of my BFFs and I decided to get coordinating tattoos. Because once you go to Wartburg, you will always Be Orange. 

Once a Butter-nutter, Always a Butter-nutter

 After 151 years of ministry, Our Saviour's Lutheran Church in Butternut, Minnesota has closed its doors. 

Our Saviour's was my home congregation, my first church. It was such a huge part of my life growing up and shaped me in many ways to the person I am today. I created life-long friendships, questioned and grew my faith, sang songs of praise, welcomed new members into families and said goodbye to loved ones. It's where it was ingrained in me to always volunteer to help clean up after events, clearing the plates of others and getting the dishes done. It taught me to lift high the cross. 

The church has never been about the building. But I can't deny the many memories made inside this particular building. A small country church, surrounded by corn and soybean fields. It's completely true what they say - Once a Butter-nutter, Always a Butter-nutter. (I think we were going to get hats that said this one year... haha!) 

Below are some of the memories that I never want to forget when it comes to Butternut. It will forever hold a very special place in my heart. 

• This is the church I was baptized and confirmed my faith. It is also the place where Jacob was baptized. My siblings were baptized and confirmed here and my younger sister had her ordination service at Butternut. My mom grew up in the church as well, baptized, confirmed and then married my dad in this one place. It was where we said goodbye to my Grandma and across the road is where she and others rest with the saints. 
• I grew up going to Sunday School, gathering before it started in the social hall. I remember that on your birthday you got to put a special offering in the little church piggy bank. 
• I spent each summer going to Vacation Bible School (VBS). My Grandma and Aunt Missy often helping. And Barb a constant in anything related to youth. 
• Thursday night of VBS we spent walking the ditch and eating supper. But Friday was always everyone's favorite day - water balloons and water guns to end the week. 
• VBS was filled with music and crafts and of course snacks. We would get to climb the large tree out front when it was time to hear the story of Zacchaeus. And a tent would often get set up and moved around the grounds for other story times. I think I remember one time trying to rig a system so we could lower someone into the tent from above - can you name that Biblical story? 
• Games of Red Rover and basketball took place outside. 
• When we were little, we always sat in the back row of church, my siblings and cousins and Grandpa. He would always have gum for us. As we grew, we moved to the very front of the church. There was still gum. And one memory of Daniel when he was still very young standing up on the pew during a song, slipping and hitting his forehead on the pew in front of us. 
• I remember the Halloween parties that took place in the social hall each year. Games and treats and fun! A "cake walk" near one end, one of the Sunday School rooms where I blindly put my hand in boxes to feel "eyeballs" and "brains". And the Big Kids who would set up a haunted house down in the basement. I'm going to be honest, I don't think I ever made it down there! 
• The Christmas Program growing up was also a fond memory each year. The large tree up front, waiting excitingly to see which part you would have - sheep? Angel? Mary? A wise man? Singing our songs in front of the dress in our fancy Christmas outfits. But my favorite part, and I'm probably not the only one, would be when Barb brought out the large birthday cake and we all sang Happy Birthday to Jesus. And ate cake. And the goodie bags filled with peanuts and other treats. 
• As we got older, monthly Luther League meetings, which always included needing to remind the bus driver that this Wednesday we needed to be dropped off at church please. Meetings were filled with fun and more snacks. These were by far some of my favorite times with friends at church. One Wednesday, they had just mopped and waxed the social hall, everything was cleared out. We held a game of sock hockey. 
• And one Luther League Wednesday every year was spent decorating the entire church with all the many Christmas decorations. The large Christmas tree, the garland hung from the choir loft and up along the railing. Setting up the Manager, with its green grass roof and wooden figures. 
• We would go to camp in the summer - Shores of St. Andrew and Green Lake Bible Camp. Spending a week away with strangers and away from our parents, swimming in the lake, worshiping in the beautiful chapel, sleeping in cabins, riding out some storms, playing games and singing songs (like Baby Shark...), doing skits and eating in the hall. 
• And even before camp, the car ride there would just as much fun - often we were driven by volunteer members of the congregation and we knew how to make those rides entertaining. Gettin' Siggy with it! 
• Easter Sunrise Services, led by the youth. Some of these services started in the cemetery across the road, which usually meant freezing in our Easter dresses and watching out for snakes. Then always the big pancake breakfast. 
• Confirmation on Wednesday nights, switching between Our Saviour's and Faith in Madelia. Racing to get the big red pillows to sit on and filling out the Sunday sermon notes. Small groups with our leaders, sharing our highs and lows from the week. I can remember one week sharing my low of failing gym class. Yup. Or maybe it was just a test. Making our own stoles with felt and then standing in front of the congregation, on that Confirmation Sunday. 
• As I got older, I joined the church choir, with Grandma directing and never taking any crap from anyone. She knew how to get the best out of all of us. I always felt like an adult when I was at choir practice, listening to all the real adults talk about whatever it was they talked about. 
• Each summer we would do a week-long service trip. One year was always more local, a trip to cities to volunteer and help out at different nonprofits. Our regional trip included a week of white-water canoeing, which isn't something I ever thought I would enjoy, but had one of the best weeks ever. And even a trip to Guatemala, where we did various service projects and learned about the history of the church in Guatemala. 
• And before we went anywhere, there was always a group picture in front of the church, around the sign. And many scrambling to climb to the top to sit for the picture. 
• We started a praise band that sang praise songs once a month and my love of singing grew. One of my favorites will always include Shout to the Lord with Krista next to me and Lauren jamming out on the piano.  
• It was in the church social hall that I had my first cup of coffee; where I ate many meals - including a full Seder Supper one Lenten season. 

The church is definitely much more than just the building. It's the people, the memories, the service, the music, the Word of God, the connections, the love. And the vision of Our Saviour's was always much larger than just our small country church. And while Butternut may just be a place on a map, being a Butter-nutter will always be so much more. 

COVID-19 Quotes & Memories

I'll be continuously updating this post with memories, quotes and short stories I want to remember from our COVID-19 Days.... 

--
*At a fairly crowded grocery store, we ran into some family
Me: "...yeah, Dad is home sick today."
Jacob (rather loudly): "Yeah, he has the coronavirus!"
Me (slightly horrified): "SHHHHHH, you can't say that sort of thing!" 

--
After coming home from a long day at work where we announced a temporary closure...
Dad: So, are you out of a job?
Me: Who, me? No! I've never been busier! I might not get paid... but I've never been busier!
#nonprofitlife #communicationsdirector

--
After reading a work email on my phone, I sighed fairly heavily. Jacob looked at me concerned and asked, "Did you get fired?!" 
No idea what prompted that! Haha And no, I did not get fired!! 

--
Some of Jacob's new independent playtime activities have included the King of the Coronavirus and bad guys stealing our internet.... 

--
Nana was helping Jacob with some school work. They were having some issues with technology and the internet and Jacob kept asking to take a break. Megan came down to check on them and said, "Maybe you should take a break before everyone gets crabby." And Jacob promptly says, "That's what I'm looking for! I needed Megan to say we can take a break!" :) 

--
Jacob has weekly check-ins with his teacher and a small group of students on Google Meets. The other day, they were doing a "role-call song". Jacob decided I needed to play along so I got to sing with the group! "I see... *whispering*, Jacob, what's the name of one of your friends??" hahaha 

--
While helping Jacob with his school work, Megan said, "You know, you could be done with this assignment already if you quit being silly." And Jacob replied, "If I didn't get the goofys from my daddy!" True fact. 

A long overdue 2019 update...

This year has not been good for my blogging skills and I'm long overdue an update to 2019. But it was recently pointed out to me that often the second year after a loved one's death is harder than the first. That first year, you're in shock, you're in survival mode. But the second year, that's when you really start to process your feelings of loss, your grief. And that can have an impact on daily activity or function. 

At the start of 2019, I chose FOCUS as my Word of the Year. But I've got to tell you, I have not been focused this year. I have struggled staying focused - in so many ways. I started the year strong, with clear goals in mind of what I wanted to accomplish. But many quickly became goals I just couldn't grasp. There have been many days when nothing in particular has been wrong, but I've just felt off. I think this is an effect of my grief. 

While the year has definitely not gone the way I wanted to, it has still been busy. I'll do my best to recap the past 7 and half months. 

I started the year getting a few things organized for Jacob and I. I created a schedule that hangs in Jacob's room that we can put up of all the day's activities. Jacob likes to know what's going on. Jacob was busy with Rainbow Room at church and swimming lessons at the Rec Center. I had joined Minnesota Valley Chorale again this season and choir practices started up quickly. We also spent one very cold Saturday exploring the St. Paul Winter Carnival and an Ice Castle! I have to admit, the ice castle was really cool!! ;-) We also froze bubbles outside in the -20 degrees weather!

In February I got to participate in Pedal Past Poverty, as part of my mom's church group from Messiah. Jacob was there to cheer us all on - myself, Nana and Papa. 

Pedal Past Poverty

We also took Jacob tubing for the first time at Mt. Kato. He had a blast!! Our first trip up the conveyor belt, Jacob kept losing his balance and falling over, getting carried along and struggling to get up. It was funny to watch. The rest of the day he got pulled in the tube and so he was not nearly as exhausted as Brandon and I were! I also managed to fall the down the stairs while carrying a sick Jacob. Sprained my foot and had Jacob throw up all over me. Winning parenting moments. Overall, we got entirely too much snow and storms and wind this winter. That was not fun. I summed up the month of February in my planner as "survived".

March started a busy church season of Lent but we manged some fun in there too. Jacob and I got a trip down to Iowa in right away and it was so much fun to watch Jacob play with his cousins. Brandon and I went with some friends to the Four Daughters Winery for a dueling piano event where we have a table right in front - so fun. We also went to Rochester to see my very good friend in her local theater's performance of Avenue Q! She, of course, was amazing! And the show so funny! Although, it had been years since I last saw the show and you can tell it was written in a slightly different time. 

Great Wolf Lodge

Marshmallow Pit

Jacob, Brandon and I also spent a weekend in the cities at the Mall of America where explored Candytopia - basically a dream come true for me. It was so fun and neat to see everything made out of candy - really like Willy Wonka! Jacob really enjoyed the marshmallow pit at the end! We spent the weekend at the Great Wolf Lodge enjoying the water park - especially the wave pool! 

Candytopia

Sips for Shelter

April was busy with church and choir practices. Throughout the month of April, I was singing in four different choirs! The Worship Choir and Chamber Choir were both a part of church. Then there was MN Valley Chorale and the Mankato Children's Choir - more on that later. I tried taking Jacob to an egg scramble, but there were too many people and he didn't want to participate. He did enjoy playing at the playground though! The weather was super nice that day. Jacob got to spend an extended weekend in Iowa with his grandparents and cousins, which he LOVED. Chelsea and I managed a girls day while helping a good cause at the Sips for Shelter event, put on by Partners for Affordable House. We spent the day being bused around to different local wineries and breweries and it really was a super fun time. 

Also in April, I made my final payment of student loans!!! YAY!!!! 

MCC Concert

In May things started to slow down, choir-wise. I decided to sing in the Alumni Choir of the Mankato Children's Choir with a good friend. We both grew up singing in MCC and thought it would be fun to do the alumni choir as part of the 25th Anniversary concert - and it was! It was great to see some familiar faces and old directors! While the Minnesota Valley Chorale had our two concerts in April, we were still practicing. We had been invited to sing with the Mankato Symphony Orchestra. They were doing Handel's Messiah. This was my first time ever singing with an orchestra and singing so much of the Messiah. But it was such an amazing experience, I'm glad I did it. 

The last few months of school were somewhat challenging for Jacob. While he's a smart kid, he was having trouble staying focused. Sounds like the beginning of this post! He wasn't listening like he should, would rather walk around by myself than do his school work or listen at story time. He was using some "potty words", trying to get the other kids to laugh and distracting the class as a whole. We tried a couple of different things and we talked through it with Jacob's therapist. (He regularly sees a therapist and has been since the start of 2018.) Finally, we found a system that seems to connect with him. Jacob would have daily sheets sent home that would tell us how he did for each party of the day. He would get a smiley face, an OK face or a sad face. His points would get added up and he had a goal he tried to meet each day. There were rewards both at school and at home when he met certain goals. By the end of the school year, Jacob seemed to be on track and doing what he needed to be doing. I was extremely proud of the progress he made and thankful for the teachers that helped us at school. 

Champagne Bar

Brandon and I also decided to take a vacation during May and spent five days in California where we explored Wine Country and San Francisco. We both decided the vacation was too short but we had a fun time wandering around and relaxing. I even convinced Brandon to do a spa day with me which included a mud bath! I'm not going to lie, it was a little weird but super relaxing. The weather was perfect while we were out there. 

Chicago 

Jacob meanwhile, spent a few days in Chicago with my parents and had a blast. He really enjoyed going to the top of the tallest building and standing out in that glass cube. I admire his bravery! 

And then it was summer! Ah the start of summer. When the weather gets better, the days get long, you have a ton of fun plans and then you only manage to do a fraction of them.. 

I did get to spend a weekend in Rochester catching up with two very amazing friends. We went and saw the super funny movie "Booksmart" and spent the weekend catching up and talking about life. We managed to get to the Air Spectacular event as well and saw some really awesome airplanes doing some amazing tricks. We also went to the Lake Days parade in Lake Crystal and enjoyed the marching bands. We found a new seating spot this year, right at the beginning and I'm pretty sure it's our new favorite spot. We ended the month in Iowa, celebrating Jacob's birthday with family. 

Cousins!

July was a bit busier. We started the month celebrating the 4th, Jacob's birthday again and the wedding of a cousin's out at the family farm. All of us cousins were finally in the same place at the same time! It was a miracle. Jacob did TWO weeks of Vacation Bible School - one at Messiah with Nana and one at CTK. While he might not have been a fan of going that much, he was a trooper and did good! 

Girls Weekend

I also enjoyed an extended Girls Weekend getaway with some high school friends. This was our second year of having a girls weekend and it was just as much fun and definitely needed. It's always amazing when you can get together with friends who you don't see very often and sometimes don't talk to very often, but it's like nothing changes. I love having such a great group of women in my life and I love all the fun we have. 

At work, we had a Office Family Outing at the Mankato Moondogs game at the end of the month. It was a fun afternoon of food, drinks and baseball! Then, I ended the month up in Fargo, at our headquarters for our annual marketing meeting. This was the second time I've been to Fargo for a marketing meeting and the second time I did not manage to get a visit to Dan and Josh in! There's always next year. 

And finally, August. We spent one Thursday exploring a new park up in Jordan with some friends and had a great time. The park had a great playground, a splash pad and a little beach! We would definitely go back. Then Jacob and I went to Iowa to take part in the 2nd Annual Focus Up on Mental Health 5K, which is organized by Austin's sister, in his memory. It was a very successful event and a great weekend to spend with family. But our weekends down there are never long enough and Jacob did not want to leave that Sunday. 

Just last week, Jacob had Camp MidKnight at school. This is where they invite all the incoming kindergartners to come experience what a typical school day will be like once school starts. It's so amazing because they have not only the Kindergartner teachers there, but also many of the preschool teachers. They have practically the whole school to themselves, get lunch and meet new friends. Jacob had a really fun time, saw some friends from Knights Plus and made some new friends. While he's excited to finish out his summer vacation, I think he's also really excited to start school again. 

I also had the chance to attend my 15 year High School Reunion last week!!! What?! Yes, 15 years. We all kind of missed the ball on this and so the event was thrown together last minute. But we still managed a good showing and it was fun to see old friends and classmates that I haven't seen since probably our 10 year reunion! :) 

Jacob and I have spent the last 10 days fending for ourselves while Nana and Papa are enjoying a trip overseas! And I'm happy to report that we are surviving! And while it's nice to know we're capable of taking care of ourselves, we're also looking forward to the return of Nana and Papa. And if I'm not mistaken, I think they're glad we aren't taking this newfound freedom of living independently too seriously and that we'll probably stick with the basement a while longer. :) 

So here's to the rest of summer vacation, my favorite season fall and then winter before we know it. 

More pictures from the year:

Like I said, entirely too much snow

Cousins!

Kindergarten Roundup!

Happy Easter!

Air Spectacular 

Celebrating 150 Years at Our Saviour's Butternut

Jacob's Anecdotes vol. 3

These never get old...

***

One night that AJ called to say goodnight to Jacob, we were still at church so he left a voicemail. When Jacob and I got in the car, I gave him the phone to listen to the message. Jacob listened to it over and over and over. When he handed me back the phone, I asked him if he liked listening to that voicemail. He said "Yes!" I asked him what his favorite part was. Jacob said, "When daddy said no momy's bed." (We're still trying to get Jacob to sleep in his own bed....lol) I asked Jacob if that meant he was going to sleep in his own bed like a big boy! He said, "yes!" I said, really?! And Jacob said (in the most serious voice), "No." Oy. The next morning when we were on the phone with daddy again, he asked Jacob if he slept in his own bed the night before. Jacob said, "You said no mommy's bed so I slept in mommy's bed" with a huge smile on his face. He's too smart for his own good.... He still asks to listen to this voicemail, insisting that the "no mommy's bed" part is the funniest.

***

No matter what Jacob says or does, whenever I laugh at his antics, he has to ask me, "What are you laughing at?" Then once I tell him, he'll laugh too and then, of course, continue to try and make me laugh again and again.

***

Jacob was going to spend the weekend in Iowa with his favorite cousin! The night before he left, I asked him, "Will you miss me?" And Jacob says, "No. I love Evie. She's my cousin. My cousin Evie." He's always saying things like this! He loves his cousin Evie! :)

***

Sometimes when we're reading a story or if we start doing something, Jacob will hold up his hand and say PAUSE! Then he'll go grab some toy or book, cuddle back in next to you and say "okay, you can go now" or sometimes he'll "pause" us because he wants to be the one to say the prayer. Super adorable. 

***

One night as we were driving home from church, a bunch of houses had their Christmas lights on. Jacob asked if we were at the park. (Sibley Park does a huge Christmas light display that Jacob loves!!) I told him no, that those were just people's houses. He asked if we had Christmas lights up on our house. I said, no and when he asked why, I told him because it's a lot of work and Papa didn't want to do it. I said to Jacob, maybe when we have our own house one day, we can put lights on it! Jacob got excited and agreed! But then he got all serious and said, "But I won't be able to help you." When I asked why not, he said "Because I'm too little! I'm sorry!" He was so sincere! 

***

We took Jacob to see Santa the other week. The photographer kept saying, "Say cheeseburger!" And so Jacob said cheeseburger. After a couple of times though, you could see something click in Jacob's mind. The next time the photographer asked him to say cheeseburger, Jacob proudly says "Cheese sandwich!" Haha 

***

One night at supper, Papa handed Jacob the dish of pickles. He said "Take one and pass it to your mother" (meaning the pickle dish). Jacob took one pickle out of the dish and passed it to me. HAHAHA! At least he was listening!! :) 

Jacob's Anecdotes vol. 2

I love this kid.

***

After waking up one morning after a really good sleep, Jacob sat up groggily and slowly lifted up one hand. With a confused look on his face, he says to me, "My hand is buzzy" I LOVE his creative way of telling me about his hand falling asleep/waking up, since he doesn't understand that yet! 

***

This isn't necessarily just one story, but Jacob has started to become very.... confident? Ha! More than once he's been asked "Who's in charge here?" when he isn't listening to what was being told/asked of him. His response? "I am." Or I'll say, "Jacob, you're being a little bossy." And he says, "Yes, I am." Another... "Jacob, are you going to be a pill tonight?" "Yes, I'm going to be a pill." Oy. He's only four!?! 

***

Jacob has always been a fan of the "Pigeon" books. If you haven't read them, check them out. His current favorite is where the Pigeon finds a hot dog! At one point in the book, frustrated with the Duckling, the Pigeon says "Oh for Pete's sake!" This has become Jacob's new catch phrase! He'll say it as an answer to anything and even roll his eyes with it! It's pretty adorable.  

***

Jacob and Nana were saying bedtime prayers the other night and were doing "God Bless..." God bless Mommy, God bless Daddy... etc. And Jacob said to my mom, "Everybody loves Jacob because I'm cute!"

***

While talking to Jacob on the phone (a regular phone call), he'll often try to tell you or show you what he's doing or playing with. Tonight on the phone, Jacob said to me, "Watch this! Oh wait! You can't see!" Hahaha

***

The other Sunday at church, Pastor Patrick invited all of the kids to come up for the children's sermon to listen to a story. Jacob went quickly and excitedly, something he doesn't always do. The story was read without too much interruption... only towards the end did Jacob realize he could see himself on the big screens up front and had to point that out. On his way back to his seat, once he got a little closer to me, he said (in not a whisper), "That was a good story." :)

***

The other night, Jacob and I were having some conversation that included him asking me a bunch of questions I don't really know the answer to, so typical parenting. And then this happened... Jacob: "Mommy, why are bugs so small?" Me: "I don't know, I guess because God made them that way." Jacob: "Yeah! And God made my butt!" Yup. That too. LOL

Jacob's Anecdotes

Jacob is at one of the most precious stages right now. His imagination and creative play is growing so quickly and it is one of the most amazing things to watch and be a part of. This kid is funny, quick, witty, and just downright awesome. 

I've decided to record some of his more better anecdotes here on the blog. Not necessarily because they'll be that funny to anyone reading it (you always have to be there!), but so that we have these posts to help us jog those memories down the road. So here are just a few of Jacob's recent anecdotes.... 

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After eating a really good dinner, Jacob announces to the table. "I'm full. My tummy said I'm full. I'm done. My tummy said I'm done." He starts to push his chair away from the table to get down. He spots the container of chocolates on the island counter. He pauses. You can see the light bulb turn on... "My tummy said it wants dessert. I want dessert please." 

****

We went to a local event where kids go get in and explore different types of vehicles - firetruck, school bus, dump truck, etc. Jacob's favorite was the school bus but he also enjoyed going into the dump truck, mostly because it was the one vehicle that you could press the horn. Right towards the end of the event, Jacob honked the horn and must of startled or at least gotten the attention of the two police officers that there next to their squad car right in front of the dump truck. Upon seeing this, Jacob yells out "I'm sorry!! It was an accident! A silly accident! I'm sorry to scare you!" The police officers couldn't even hear him, but it was adorable. 

****

Jacob is still in a cuddling phase and to be honest, I'm trying to enjoy it the most I can. But some nights, when it's past his bedtime and he won't settle down, I try hard to keep him in his own bed instead of cuddling "on the big bed" as Jacob calls my bed. One night not too long ago, I managed to get Jacob down in his own bed without too much of a fight. I went to my own room and started to catch up on a TV show. All of a sudden, Jacob runs into the room and yells "SURPRISE!" catching me completely off guard and scaring the crap out of me! (I might scare a little easily...) After my heart rate slowed down I asked Jacob what he was doing? Jacob said, "I was thinking about cuddling you." Aw. Heart melted. Jacob got to cuddle that night. 

The best part about this story is it isn't the first time something like this has happened. Jacob knows I scare easily. He will stay as quiet as he can, opening his bedroom door and even tiptoeing until he gets to my room. One night he tiptoed his way in all the way to the end of the bed when I suddenly saw movement! Another night he quietly came up to the bed and said "peek-a-boo!" This kid... 

****

While waiting for our food to come at a restaurant one night, Jacob kept asking me "What should we do?" Finally I suggested that he tell me a story. He proceeded to tell me three or four very good (and tiny) stories! They all had a similar theme... Mommy walking down the street and is suddenly being chased by a _______ (big squid, big t-rex, big sharp tooth dinosaur....). And each story ended with a 'the end'. It was quite adorable and I was impressed by his story telling skills. When his daddy came back from the bathroom, I told Jacob, "tell your daddy a story like you told me." He continued to tell his daddy a story about a daddy walking down the street when suddenly big Bowser appeared! After that story finished, his daddy asked for another story. Jacob sat for a moment and then said... "You give me money first!" Where on earth he came up with this? I have no idea. But he got paid! Six coins for six more stories! And oh what stories they were! Jacob was very excited to get home and put his well earned money in his piggy bank!