Random Thoughts

Yes, its been almost a month AGAIN since I was here. I thought we were going to try to make sure that I kept up with this blogging thing better? I need your help..keep reminding me..haha!

Jonah's birthday has come and gone. My baby is a toddler now, and approaching the 13month mark in only days already! His birthday party was such a great time - thanks to all of our wonderful friends for celebrating with us! Amy's cake was amazing, so much so in fact that we almost didnt want to cut it for fear of ruining her creation.

Then it was time to play dress up - Halloween! I think the most difficult part of the whole experience was chosing the costumes - who knew that kids could be so indecisive!? In the end a muscular Spiderman, a Fairy Princess, and ferocious little Monkey graced us with their presence for a Fall Festival at church and on the streets of SJAFB.

Now its November and it finally feels like fall! Bring on the jackets, jeans and hats! And if we complained, which we dont, we might even say its COLD right now!! After so many months of humidity and heat the cold air is more than welcome to stay for awhile.

School is good for the kids. Jacob has finished his first grading period of Kindergarten and has passed with flying colors! Report cards arent used in his class, so instead he got an award for doing great work and for having perfect attendance so far this year. Way to go Jacob! Chloe is loving preschool. She is learning to write her name and loves to wear her backpack:) Jonah is walking!! About a week before his birthday, he took a few very tentative steps. Now he is moving all over the house on only two limbs - yeah Jonah! I have yet to take a pic of this new milestone, but I will soon.

Speaking of milestones, you will love this one! I went to the dentist! Ordinarily its a task that isnt worth mentioning, but for me (and those of you who know me well understand) its a huge ordeal! To say that I am terrified of anything dental is putting it mildly. I have made excuses one after the other to avoid making this step. But for whatever the reason, last week God gave me enough strength to make the call. Yes, I realize that this seems funny - but its NOT! I WAS SCARED!! Of course, being that I have been putting things off for so long, I do have a few things that need fixed, but over all it wasnt as terrible as I expected. Just keep praying that I continue being brave and not run away screaming from my next appointment - did I mention that said next appointment will be for a wisdom tooth extraction!?!?!?!

So there you have it - a short update. Any questions? Love to you all!

Happy 1st Birthday Jonah

I cant believe its here - Jonah's first birthday. Where has the time gone? I can remember exactly how this day unfolded one year ago - I dropped Jacob off at preschool and came home to enjoy the day with Chloe. Nothing was unusual. I felt a bit off, but being that I had been sick the entire nine months, it wasnt worrisome that I felt out of sorts. About 930am, I called the dr because there had been some activity that wasnt normal - even for me:). Of course, we were told to come to the hospital for a checkup. Again, routine and expected. Paul and I arrived at the Labor/Delivery floor fully expecting to be observed for awhile and sent home. Never did we think that day was going to be a birthday for our little baby boy. I was not quite 37weeks pregnant, and having two c-sections previously, they were a bit more cautious. 'Just in case' I needed to be delivered, preparations were made. We were still thinking that this was only going to be an 'err on the side of caution' idea. This was about 130pm. By 430, I was having contractions (something that I had never experienced before!) and by 658pm on 19 October 2006 Jonah Luke Jankowski was born.
I remember looking at my swaddled little boy, eyes barely opened, thinking how amazingly blessed our family had just become. From the moment he came into the world, he has been nothing but a source of pure joy to our family as well as our friends. His goofy faces, the way he loves to cuddle, sucking his thumb, and the crazy growls and squeals all make Jonah the beautiful little boy he is today. Seeing his smiling face looking up at me each morning make our days that much brighter. Jacob and Chloe love having someone to laugh with and play with. Jonah makes our family full and complete.
Happy birthday my beautiful baby boy - we love you and thank God for the blessing he has given our family - you.

A Few Pictures

An Update

So I think its safe to say that I wont win any awards for keeping this blog current. I am trying, I promise! But unfortunately the computer hasnt been a huge part of our life lately. Moving happened, shift change happened, and school happened. And I cant keep up:)

Lets start with moving. We are officially moved in - only a couple boxes left to unpack and pictures decorate the walls. And YES - there are pictures! Just a few, but at least it will satisfy curiosities for a while.

I think they are pretty self explanatory but just in case... The first two are our kitchen. Yep, I know its big and I do appreciate that! But I am having a hard time getting past the older aspects and colors! Shallow I realize, but this is me:) Oh, thats Lillie (she just wanted to say 'hi'). The living room is dark - sorry, I will try to take another pic later. Its not too bad, again just carpet color. Its a bit smaller than we had before but it works. Next is our bathroom - can you tell how huge it is? LOL....not at all! But I guess as long as it has a toilet and shower we cant complain. And the kids toyroom - best invention ever! They love having a room to themselves, and I love that their bedroom isnt chaotic all the time. I will try to take more pics of the rest of the house -inside and out soon.

On to school. Jacob LOVES Kindergarten! Its been such a blessing to see how enthusiastic he is about learning (and playing with his friends). His favorite time of the day? The bus ride home from school! He cracks us up. Here he is on the first day.

Chloe has started preschool too. She is only going twice a week for a few hours, but its still exciting to see her growing up. And Jonah is 11 months old!!! I know we say it all the time, but I cant believe how fast the time has gone - my baby boy will be ONE YEAR OLD in only weeks!!! A silly Jonah face.....

The month of September has already been a busy one for our house. Routines seem to be coming together and daily life is settling back down into our 'normal'. Hopefully this means that I will have a bit more time to keep up with the little tasks - such as this blog! For now, its time to wake up the little one, pick up the middle one, and wait for the oldest one:)

Moving along...

We're moving! Not to a new town, but to a new house. The section of housing we currently live in is being renovated in a few months, and we would be moved. So, after many weeks of questions and prayers - do we let the miltary move us into another house on base? do we buy a house? can we afford all that goes with buying a house? what are our other options? - we were given an answer. Our friend, Venessa, has relatives here that we have gotten to know during our almost five years in NC. They have become an extended family of sorts. A family that owns/rents houses. Do you see where this is going? We are blessed to have been offered a very nice FOUR bedroom home at an extremely generous price. The house is much larger than what we have now, and has a beautiful fenced backyard - a great bonus for our family! I have to be honest and say that the asthetics of the house gave me a few reservations at first. But I know that this is an answer to our prayers (an amazing answer!) and we are excited to make this house our home.

With the new address comes a new school district for Jacob. Talk about paperwork! He will actually be starting Kindergarten just days after we are moved. What a transition time for him. Pray for his 5yr old anxieties to be calmed. He and Chloe are excited to have a 'new house for us'. I dont think they quite understand all the work that will come with it, but its great to see the anticipation in their smiles. I will try to take pictures of our handywork - remind me!

We have UNDERWEAR!

Yes, you read correctly. And no, I am not going crazy - well at least not more than any other day. So what's the excitement about? Three days of two children wearing underwear all day! Normally I know this isn't cause for much joy jumping, but in our case with three kids all in some stage of diaperwearing - this is great! Chloe has finally taken to pottytraining, finally. We were starting to have our limits of patience tested, and I think God knew we weren't able to take much more. Saturday, after a couple hours of crying and visiting the bathroom every 20 minutes, she finally used the potty like a 'big girl'. That was what it took. Since then, no accidents (well of the liquid variety anyway) and no hesitiation. In fact, she is a bit too enthusiastic about it all and wants to hang out in the bathroom more than she needs. But we aren't complaining!! It is such a blessing and a relief to both Paul and I. We knew she was going to be difficult to train, but we didn't expect such strong resistance. I think we both thought on more than one occasion to duct tape her little bottom to the toilet until something happened! Of course, it never would have come to that, but we sure felt the frustrations. Thankfully, the hardest part is over and we are so proud of her!

No other big events happening right now. Which is actually quite fine with us as it seems within the past two weeks all three of the kids have hit some sort of milestone in their growing up. I think we are getting a bigger dose of reality than we want - our babies aren't babies anymore. Its exciting to watch them learn and discover new adventures, but I love to just sit back and cherish their smiling faces too.

Well there you have it, an update - just for you Jamie!

Growing Up

What's missing?

A crawling professional!

Miss Chloe

So...what's missing? Training wheels!! As of this morning, they are gone, gone, gone! We are so proud of Jacob - it only took a couple tries with Daddy running behind and off he went without looking back. And only hours later, he is starting, stopping, turning, and going way too fast all by himself.
Our crawling monster hasnt stopped! In fact, as every day passes he gets faster and more determined to take the next step. Literally! He uses every piece of furniture or whomever is closest to him to pull himself up. The bravery doesnt end there. He doesnt even want to hold onto us either! Hands free is the name of his game.
I had to add a pic of Chloe to even things out. She is talking so clearly now. Its amazing the difference from just a few weeks ago. She has mastered the pedals on her tricycle and now wants to follow Jacob into the world of two wheels. I dont think so! Not yet!
It seems like the accomplishments of our little ones has been on fast forward this week. As much as we love to watch them learn and grow, it needs to slow down a bit so we can catch up! Or at least give me a bit more notice so I can have the camera ready.

Family Summer

He Moves

My crawling monster!!

He is nine months old. He loves to walk while holding on to your fingers, has been doing that for two months. But when faced with the task of getting on all fours, we were greeted with an attitude that isnt fit for an angelic face such as his! Paul and I had even wondered if he would skip crawling all together and just walk right into mobility. On one hand, I was glad that I could sit him down with a few toys and know he would be in the same spot at next glance. On the other hand, I kept thinking 'He's almost 9months old - crawl!'
I am excited to report that, as of this week, he has decided that relying on mama and daddy for transportation is no longer working for him! Crawling he is, all over the house! Up are the baby gates, away are the knick-knacks, closed are the doors, and loud are the complaints from brother and sister as he involves himself in everything that they try to do on the floor. And here I am, no longer able to sit and watch, but having to follow every move his chubby little arms and legs make.
We realize that our time with an infant is nearing its end. Emerging from the cuddles and comfort of my arms has come a toddler in the making. We are a bit sad, of course, but we know that a new adventure is just beginning. We just hope that we have the energy to keep up!

An explanantion

I know what you're thinking - another website!? Come on Jski family, enough is enough - we can't keep up! I would be thinking the same thing in your position, but I am really hoping that this will be the last and most successful effort. We have just found that the other sites were to much to be paying attention to - really all that we did was write a bit and show a few pictures. Those things that we can do here with much less difficulty and effort. Of course, being that we are new to this specific host, it might be a bit before all the details are ironed out and perfected. So bear with us, be patient, and pray (haha)!

Oh! One more thing - the few posts that are here now are all taken from the old site to keep things together. We can at least attempt some sort of organization, right?

Family Visit

Last week, we had guests! Paul's parents, sister, her husband and kids came to stay with us. They were here for only a few days, but were able to celebrate Jacob's fifth birthday with us as well as enjoying some amazingly warm weather. We had such a fun visit, and the kids loved being with their Papa, Nana, Uncle, Auntie, and cousins. There was even time to get a few Easter activities in too - we colored eggs and used our backyard as a hunting ground for candy filled treats. We love you guys and had a great time having you here!!

A week of firsts...and fifths

It all started last Saturday - We made an appointment to finally get pictures taken of Jonah. He is five months old with no pictures - we am terrible at these things! We decided to get all three of the kids dressed nicely 'just in case' they would want to be in a picture with him. (I need to add that Chloe has NOT had her picture taken in TWO years - she screams if we even try it so we werent expecting much) Prayers were being sent up all over Goldsboro as we drove to Walmart..lol. EVERYTHING WENT GREAT! All three did so well - even Chloe! In fact, she asked if we could take more pics after the session was over. What a blessing it was:) The only problem we had was that Jonah wanted to move..he cannot sit still but he was smiling the whole time. The pictures are beautiful, adorable....I could keep going, they are my babies after all:)Monday afternoon I picked Jacob up from school and noticed that he was missing something - a tooth! He lost his first tooth at four years old! It had been loose for quite awhile, almost a month. Now, anyone who really knows me knows that I am a complete wimp when it comes to losing teeth, well anything mouth related really:) So, I had been praying that his tooth would fall out either 1) when Paul was home to help me OR 2) at school so I wouldnt have to deal with it at all. Thank goodness God has a sense of humor! The funny part is that he really did 'lose' his tooth - we couldnt find it anywhere! It must have taken a ride through his body courtesy of the hamburger he ate for lunch that day:)Tuesday thru Thursday were great days. The sun shined, the kids laughed, and we were all having a great week.Friday - the dreaded day for moms of four to five year olds everywhere - Kindergarten registration! I think having Jacob in preschool this year has helped calm my anxieties about him entering school next fall. His schedule has been very similar to what he will follow in kindergarten so we are a little bit more prepared. Its amazing, though, what the kids have to learn in that first year of school compared to years ago when we were there! No doubt, it will be challenging, but I know Jacob is ready for the task. The weekend was good - we did all the regular things - played, errands, visited with friends, and church. We prepared for our guests to arrive too! Papa and Nana Jankowski, and Uncle Chris, Aunt Amy, Kaylee, Alyssa, and Hunter will be here tonight to visit with us this week! The kids are so excited to see them and I cant wait for them to meet Jonah as well. So its Monday, and as I said, our company will be here later tonight to spend the week with us. Today will consist of typical Monday activities - school, laundry, vacuuming, etc. Tonight we will have fun being with family, and have a great week together. And then there will be tomorrow...Tuesday, 3 April 2007 - Jacob's fifth birthday! My baby is turning 5!! I guess the point of this whole rambling is that this has been a week of growing up. From pictures that went smoothly for the first time, to loosing a tooth, to Jacob's birthday, it has all been a week that I see my children maturing - and I dont like it! :) I want my babies to be my babies for as long as is possible, and I know that age doesnt change their hearts but knowing my first baby will be five years old tomorrow is so scary. Where has the time gone?? Where is it going? It makes me realize how important every moment that I spend with them is. It is a second, a minute, an hour that leaves an impression on their little hearts and minds for a lifetime. It is a smile or a hug that they will carry with them in each step of life's journey. I pray that God will make each of those moments special. I pray that my children will continue to grow and mature ( but to also know that they will always be my babies). I pray that we all will strive to take care of every second we are given - to make it one to remember.

Fevers, Coughs, and Spots - Oh My!

530am - What were you doing? Me? I was awake with all three of my kids (two of whom did NOT go back to sleep). Jacob and Jonah are sick - fever, cough, runny nose, the works - and Chloe, she just didnt want to miss anything. Now its almost 10am. Is that close enough to justify naptime?
Jacob came home from school Tuesday with a fever of 104.9. Yep, you read that right - almost 105! I know that, in children, high fever isnt something that is too worrysome, but he was miserable. Wednesday consisted of making an indent in the couch, wiping a runny nose and wearing out the tv. Thursday was a bit better. We took advantage of the absolutely beautiful 80+ degree weather playing outside as much as Jacob felt up to.
Jonah and Chloe were fine both days. Chloe was a bit concerned that brother was taking up too much of my time, so I did hear a bit of 'Why aren't you in school?" and "Go away brother" from her sweet little mouth. And now being Friday, lets just say I cant wait til school Monday morning! Jonah has loved being outside in his walker. He can move both backward and forward! His little toes have a few rough spots though after being on the cement. The warm weather is something that Jonah is going to have to adjust to slowly. In barely 80 degrees, he was sweating with rosy cheeks.
That brings us to now - 10am on a very wet, dreary Friday and me wishing for naptime. Jonah has fallen next victim to whatever it is that Jacob has. In addition to the fever, stuffy nose and cough, this bug has left him spitting up constantly - ick!! Jacob seems to be a bit better, but the fever just wont leave. And Chloe, she hasnt been affected yet - still crazy and bothering brothers. Her time might be coming though. Spots may soon decorate my little girls smiling face. Two weeks ago, she was exposed to chicken pox. Now we are playing the waiting game. Time will soon tell whether our house will be overrun with yet another epidemic..lol

Springtime

I cannot believe that March is a day away. Did we even have a winter? I do remember a few days of unusually cold weather here, even our ONE day of snow, but it seems to be gone. Of course, I'm not complaining - I love warmer weather and sunshine! The recent days of warmer weather have refreshed my craving for spring. The windows are open, the smell of growing grass and blooming flowers are floating thru my house. The kids are anxious to be outside too. I dont think there has been a day recently that has kept us inside. The washing machine has started to see grass stains and leaves hiding in rolled pantlegs again.
With this turn towards spring, it has made me think that I might need a new season to my life as well. A refreshing of sorts I guess you could say. The days that left us stuck in our houses made me a bit short tempered and dull. Its not exactly where I want to be. Paul likes to call me a flower because I get recharged with nice weather..lol. So let the sun shine in! I know that only God can truly make my days sunny and bright. So Paul and I are trying to make prayers with the kids and quiet times more of a focus than they have been in the past. We can already feel the change in the air!
Here's to a new season, a new spirit, and a springtime full of sunshine and blessings for us all.