Josie's 4.5-5 year old stats: 55 lbs, 3'10" inches, 6/7 in clothing (we've graduated across the baby and toddler aisle to the kid aisle!), size 11.5/12 shoes
Josie's favorite books/songs: Amelia Bedelia chapter books; Girls Hold Up This World; Fight Song (performed by her idol Clare Crosby)
Josie's favorite movies/tv shows: Annie (the musical); Mary Poppins; Pippi Lockstocking; Madeline; The Willoughbys; as Jonathan pointed out, these are oddly all orphan themed...
Josie's greatest hits: She is full of hilarity and wisdom and sass, as per usual. Read on.
- Josie: "I wish I were a grown up." Jonathan: "Careful what you wish for, Your sweet spot is in your 20s." Author's note: this is more of an example of a sassy Jonathan remark which the author also appreciates
- Josie: "Mama, tell me a secret." Me: "You're my favorite girl in the whole world." Josie: "That makes me so happy, I want to lay next to you." We snuggle and then she says... "Mama, your face smells like socks and butter and shrimp and bell pepper." Me: "Thanks babe, that's so kind of you to say." And then with zero transition she asks... "Mama, why do people need to be responsible?"
- Josie squirted half a bottle of toothpaste into the sink and when I asked her what she was doing she replied, "Mama, I'm making a Jackson Pollock of course!"
- "Do you know if you have puffy eyes you can hold little bags of tea underneath them and they won't be puffy anymore?" #beautytipsfromachild
- "You know when I have a husband I'm going to make him hold my hand while we're driving."
- So we're reading a book about a girl who lost her grandfather (gift from Ariana, thank you!) and the loss is described through a metaphor because the girl protects herself by wearing her heart around her neck instead of in her body so she doesn't feel sad. Josie is asking me lots of questions so I start trying to explain how a girl can live with her heart outside of her body in a book because books require imagination more than science sometimes and further that this is a metaphor...and then we go into what a metaphor is but to do that I have to use even more complex ideas. The conversation spirals into several other ideas and at the end of it Josie says: "Mom, what's authenticity? Remember, I'm just a child." I smiled and said "You're right. But you understand big ideas."
- Me: "Josie, I need you to try and go to bed now." Josie: "Mommy, I'm trying to go to bed but you know it's not my speciality." Author's note: She's not wrong.
- "I'm proud of my own self! This is my first craft box!" Josie adopted the Krause tradition of making craft boxes from popsicle sticks. Could I be more proud??
- "I like when my tap shoes are on in the morning because they give me good energy."
- Me: "Oh there's a chicken nugget on the floor. Too bad we don't have a dog." Josie: "Yeah but we have a Roomba as a pet."
- "This is an easy concept for me. I'm brave and I can do it." (referring to showering by herself)
- (After Jonas bonked his head) "Mom, should we put on music to induce sleep to relax Jonas?"
Josie's new tricks
In other Young children performance news, check out our Trust Falls.
Finally, Josie has been on a mission to prove her pet care-taking skills and practicing on anything in sight, including these ceramic owls. Little does she know she's about to get special 5th birthday present. Two of them!
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New words/sentences:
Speaking of family traditions, Jonas has found his swing and his propensity for lining things up. His Uncle Paul is a talented golfer (and former childhood object liner upper). We often remark on the similarities between the two; if this kid turns out anything like his sweet Uncle Paul, we are lucky!
Building on our interest in face painting, Josie was photographed mid-session with stolen paints and a makeshift mirror. You'll notice a bit of a theme in her tricks this month, not that we haven't seen her flair for the dramatic in the last ~4.5/5 years of her life before...
Josie completed her first Zoom dance recital! Except she was overcome with stage fright and didn't. Instead, Jonas (her faithful understudy), donned a tutu and jumped right in.
In other Young children performance news, check out our Trust Falls.
Josie wrote, directed, and acted in her first play: Jonas is Missing. Josie has a clear interest in theatre to literally no one's surprise.
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Jonas's 22-27 months stats: 34 lbs, 33 inches; 3T in clothing, size 6 diapers, size 7 in shoes (big paws!), hazel (turning brown) eyes, blonde hair, and many teeth!
Jonas's favorite books/songs/tv shows: Sesame Street (finally); Booba (which I loathe); Wheels on the Bus; the Moana song You're Welcome; Peppa Pig; Madewine (we're working on our r's); Things that Go
New words/sentences:
22 months: "It's a dirty pacifier." "It's a puzzle. The couch. It fits together!"
23 months: "Mama, look at the shadows." "I'm scared of the rain. No jacket, yuck!" Calls our play doctor kit a "doctors office".
Me: "Jonas, what are you doing buddy?" Jonas: "Making a big mess!" Josie: "This is going to be a big problem."
24 months: "I rescued the blue one." (referring to a car); as the credits are rolling on a show "Those are ABC letters!" "We play the circle game!" (this refers to a game where I swing him around in circles and then out him down - he giggles furiously as he tries to walk through dizziness and I try to shield him from smashing his head into furniture. Look, I'm not going to win any parenting awards for this one.)
25 months: Me: "Jonas did you see the airplanes fly today?" Jonas: "So amazing!" I can't recall what this was in reference to but Jonas also said this month: "That impossible!"
26 months: "I want my big football!" "I expert. I take shower by myself"
27 months: Josie: "My kids' names are going to be Michael and Lily. What are your kids going to be named, Jonas?" Jonas: "Firework"
Me: "Thank you for cleaning up, Jonas." Jonas: "You're very welcome."
Jonas: "My voice is gone!"
**Also worth nothing that Jonas has renamed our family. Jonas is Batman. Jonathan is Bruce Wayne. I am Bat Signal. Josie is the Joker (see above photo for evidence this may actually be the case).
Jonas's new tricks
Jonas turned 2! We had a quarantine birthday party for him, meaning I purchased bubbles for our neighbors and everyone blew them from their driveways in his direction.
Jonas discovered choc-o-late ice gream and brinkles.
We've learned he isn't quite ready to consume the frozen treat unsupervised.
He learned the ukulele! Not quite but he did perform this amazing rendition of Baby Beluga.
He's picked up a proper British accent. Thanks Peppa Pig!
Apparently he's also in on the pet care-taking initiative. I've never seen anyone exude this much affection for a ceramic owl in my entire life. I can't imagine what's in store for us when they want something even bigger! I am fully prepared to sit through intense PowerPoint presentations arguing why we should go to Disney World.
In other Young family news...
We celebrated Easter! This is one of those classic pictures that will go down in history. Our funny bunnies. <3
We've been living our best quarantine lives, which means as much outdoor time as possible. We been enjoying exploring our neighborhood parks and learning to skip stones.
Here's another sweet park pic with Grandma in our most casual park attire.
We've been re-enacting that famous scene from Lady and the Tramp, without having actually seen it before and with a low carb family (minus mom because CARBSSSS).
We kept our 4th of July tradition and celebrated a quiet 4th of July (which is a bit of an oxymoron). Grandma Anne and Papa Bob have perfect firework views however our little babes preferred the glow of their iPads instead. 😂
We celebrated 6 years of marriage! I made Jonathan this charcuterie board because he likes them, it's a nod to our honeymoon destination, and because he once swore I made up the word charcuterie.
Here's one of my favorite pics of us the day before our wedding celebration party, young and full of energy.
We went on vacation to Corpus Cristi with our dear friends, the Justice family. It was GLORIOUS.
We lost Peter "Grampy" Krause on April 2nd, 2020 after a brave 6-month battle with pancreatic cancer.
And...Josie and Jonas continue to be obsessed with each other.
Until next time...
Xoxo,
J Cubed
Xoxo,
J Cubed
Author's note: I think part of the reason there's been such a huge gap in blog posts is we've been coping with the loss of my father. It's been enormously difficult for our family to weather this expected (and yet unexpected) storm in the season of COVID, where end-of-life rituals are sacrificed. Where loss sits like an open wound and throbs in moments of shared grief over video screens, text messages, and phone calls with family and friends. Where single tears roll down cheeks in moments of betrayal during work meetings. Where children wonder why you can't read books with grandfathers as characters, but you can't begin to explain the agony and weight of unprocessed grief. Where there is no opportunity to fall sobbing into the arms of people who share these wounds. And so I carry the grief, the weight, the sadness - and smile through signs of life that surface all around me: anniversaries, birthdays, vacations. And so dear readers (all 4 of us), I feel a bit torn between two very distinct worlds - one that needs me as a wife, mother, friend, manager, employee, and citizen, and one that is attached to my ankle like an anchor, pulling me into the wreckage of a ship miles below the surface. The latter of which encompasses barnacles of memories that scratch me as I struggle to free myself from the heavy anchor's chain. It's exhausting and uncharted. Paradoxically, I know I need to swim below to remove the anchor and yet I feel as ill-equipped to do this as if I was trying to actually swim without access to oxygen. I'll save you from the remainder of my nautical metaphor for coping with the loss of my father but just know it's been one hell of a hard time for this mermaid.
