A Spontaneous Date

Jonah played very well by himself for the longest time this morning. I was busy getting stuff done around the house and was thankful that he was "letting" me, meaning not complaining about it. I had told him once when he asked me to read him a book that I couldn't right then. And he never asked again. Part of me was grateful and excited for his display of independence, but another part was a little heartbroken when I realized just how long he had sat there "reading" books to himself. He was so patiently waiting for me to be done. And it just hit me that he is easy like that most of the time...so much so that I could easily overlook opportunities to just spend intentional quality time together. We're always together. But I'm talking about not just being together and interacting while I'm getting something done. But doing things just for him and being completely focused on it. So I stopped what I was doing and read a couple of books to him...then we loaded up into the car and headed on a "surprise date." His excitement was so precious. He kept asking for hints as to where we were going, and he's said so many times since we've been back that that was a fun date! We spent some time at the kids' Wildlife Museum here, and it really was fun. I kept telling him how much I enjoy his company. I think I just needed to take a break from other duties and instead spend time helping him to know that I enjoy him. I wish I did that more often. I think I'm really bad at it because like I said, Jonah is pretty low-maintenance at home MOST days, in terms of not always requiring my attention every second. Because of that, I have to be very careful not to just waste our days. I know the nudge today had to have been from the Holy Spirit, and I'm hoping He sends more reminders as to how important that is to do. I need them! I can get so preoccupied with what needs to be done (not that I'm even getting that much done right now...I'm slow!) that I miss so much of him. And that makes me sad to think about. I realize that we rarely go anywhere that's just kid-oriented and for him if we're not meeting friends or going to our playgroup. And let's be honest...playdates are so much more for meeting Mommy's social needs than anything for Jonah! Although my friend Maureen says that if mommies are getting the emotional boost and social rejuvenation we need from spending time with our friends, then ultimately our kids benefit from it too! But still...it was a good reminder today to make sure we do some of those things when it's just him and me. It's just another way to communicate love to him, and I don't want to miss out on that...and I do for such silly reasons sometimes.

We do have a lot to get done this week as we're getting ready to go visit my brother's family at the end of this week. We have tons of stuff to pack, and we're going to be really limited in space, so packing for this trip might require more than my brain can handle right now. I don't know where I'm going to put anything! I'm also trying to stay on top of the housework this week as I will again be getting back from a trip with house guests having already arrived. So I have lots to get done this week! Joel says I'm nesting. I don't know really. "Nesting" seems to imply a certain level of productivity and efficiency in tasks around the house. I'm majorly lacking in that area. It's been a struggle lately to get things done in a timely manner. But I guess my desire to be at home and work here has had a recent surge. The nursery is starting to look somewhat like a nursery, but it is nowhere close to actually being baby-ready. I can't work on it when the rest of my house is disorganized, but I finally saw some progress in the time spent last week cleaning and organizing. I just have to maintain it for a week, and hope that the craziness of next week doesn't send me back to square one! Then, maybe I'll be able to come back and actually decorate Parker's room.

On Sunday, we went to visit our friends Stephen and Stephanie who just had their first baby....a little girl named Mayleigh. She's beautiful, and it was so fun watching Jonah around her. Y'all, he was so sweet to her! He remembered what we had told him beforehand about being respectful and not touching her skin without permission. He just sat by her, but once Stephen told him he could touch her hand, Jonah just sat beside her on the couch holding her hand for the longest time! It was precious. Made me so excited! And I think it was helpful for Jonah to be around a three-day old baby and realize that they're not born capable of getting into their big brother's collection of Hot Wheels! He's been most concerned about that. So I was relieved to see him understand that newborn babies don't really do anything. Should buy us some time in preparing for the day when Parker really will start messing with his stuff.