Tuesday, May 31

9 months

I can't believe it...but, Jackson turned 9 months old yesterday!

And he is up to so much stuff, I can barely keep up with him.

Here's some of what he's doing:

he's making messes just like a "big boy"- can you believe that he did this mess all by himself, with no help from his big sister!

he's pulling himself up on everything and standing up to play...and is it a boy thing? or a second child thing?? I'm not sure, but for some reason Jackson has had more bumps and bruises and falls in the last few weeks than Hailey has had in her entire life! I can't keep up with how many times this weekend he's fallen on his poor little head. I'm just thankful that God made babies really flexible and created their bodies to heal quickly!
he took his first few swigs out of a sippy cup and his first few ounces out of a bottle just in the last week and I'd have to say that he's doing fairly well. He probably will take a few ounces at a time out of either one, which is definitely an improvement! :)

he's eating finger food and pretty much anything Hailey can eat- Jackson eats (even if he's not supposed to- he either steals it or she "shares" it with him) So far (compliments of his sister) he's had a chocolate chip cookie, a cheeto, rice, pasta, cheese, grapes, strawberries, cereal, snack crackers, goldfish crackers, and numerous rocks, sticks, dandelions, and pieces of grass. The poor kid- he even knows to hit the highchair top when he's choking on something now... :(

He's still rather small for his age- only about 14lbs. 13oz, but we all think that he's just so active and so busy that he doesn't have time to put on any extra weight! :) (plus, it's a lot easier to carry around a little one than a big 18 pounder, so you won't hear much complaining from this momma)

His favorite game and my new favorite trick of his is playing "peek a boo" with mommy. It's adorable, so next time you see him you'll have to put a blanket (or pants or anything you have handy) over his face and say, "where's the baby" and watch what he does!

Friday, May 27

say cheese

A few days ago we went and had some pictures taken by my neighbor (in her new studio- very exciting stuff)!! And, apparently it made quite an impression on Hailey- you would never have known it at the time, though, 'cause the little bugger would barely smile at all and didn't even want her picture taken...grrrr!!

But, since then she has been a regular little "poser"- always wanting me to take her picture and everyone elses!!

she's even been coaching Jackson to "say cheese"
all of her favorite stuffed animals had to get in on the action, too :)

even Allie had to have her picture taken (as she waits patiently by the door for someone to take pity on her and let her out to go to the bathroom...poor little neglected doggie) ;)

Ahhh...you just gotta love the way a 2 year old mind works...hating pictures one minute and loving them the next! :)

Monday, May 23

"oh the places you'll go"

"Today is your day. You're off to great places! You're off and away!

You'll be on your way up! you'll be seeing great sights! You'll join the high fliers who soar to high heights.
You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed. You'll pass the whole gang (or just your sister) and you'll soon take the lead.

Except when you don't, because sometimes you won't. I'm sorry to say iso but, sadly, it's true that Bang ups and hang ups can happen to you.


You will come to a place where the streets are not marked. Simple it's not, I'm afraid you will find, for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind. YOu can get so confused that you'll start in to race down long winggled roads (or the hallway) at a break-necking pace and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space, (like the kitchen and bathroom and sister's room, too), headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.

The waiting place...

for people just waiting.


waiting around for a yes or a no or waiting for their hair to grow.


No! That's not for you! Somehow you'll escape all that waiting and staying (and crawl off the basket) You'll find the bright places (and trouble galore) where Boom Bands are playing

With banner flip-flapping once more you'll ride high (or crawl fast)!

Ready for anything under the sky. Ready because you're that kind of guy!!"

-Dr Seuss

(words in brackets are mine, in case you couldn't tell) ;)

I'm so in love with my little "mover and shaker" these days! He's getting all over the house and into all sorts of trouble and finding all sorts of things cause pain (such as falling off the trampoline or stealing your sisters dolls- she likes to hit him on the head...) ;) He's just such a cutie, how can you not just love him??!!

Monday, May 16

our new swingset




We were so blessed to be given a swingset as a gift from some friends, who are trying to make room in their yard for their daughter's graduation party! And the kids are in love with it! We aren't finished with it all, yet, we still have to pressure wash it and then paint it, but we thought we'd better at least put up the swings, for now, or Hailey would revolt! :)

It's really hard to imagine that our friends built this swingset when their daughter, now a senior, was just a few years older than Hailey, and that someday our lives will be drastically different and we may even look back at these crazy, busy days as the best days of our lives!

that in everything Christ might have preeminence...

Today I listened to a Family Life Today broadcast (actually 2 of them) that had a mother/daughter writing duo on. They had written a book called, "7 hardest things God asks a woman" and I can't speak for the book, 'cause I haven't read it, yet, but the broadcasts were, almost literally, day- if not life- changing for me! I don't know why I often forget about having a quiet time on Mondays, but that just seems to happen to me a lot...I get busy cleaning the house and getting back into our "routine" and I just sort of let my Bible sit. Maybe I feel like I can coast on Sunday for a few more days, or maybe I just don't think that God has a place in my "cleaning day," whatever excuse I use isn't a very good one! I NEED to take time to read my Bible I NEED to take time to spend in prayer and I NEED to take the time to get my heart and mind right with the Lord before I start the busyness of the week. And, that is what these broadcasts really drove home for me- that in all things Christ must have preeminence! They talked about 4 verses and I am going to make them my memory verses for the week- as a reminder for next Monday not to loose my focus and to keep God in my Monday(and Tuesday, and Wed, and Thurs... routine! :)

Colossians 1:17, 18 says, "And he is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything He might have preminence"

Is it just me or is this verse so easy to read and so hard to put into practice??

I find that the center of my focus shifts from Korey to my kids, to my house, to myself, but very rarely do I have the central focus of my life where it belongs- on the person and life of Jesus Christ! I can only imagine how different my life would be, how differently my attitudes would play out, how different my marriage would be, and how different my parenting would be if I put this verse into practice and put Jesus as the center of my life!

John 15:4, 5 says, "Abide in me and I in you. As a branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine; neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he, is is that bears much fruit; for apart from me you can do nothing"

This verse, too, seems like it should be pretty "simplistic" or "elementary," but it seems a lot harder to put into practice in real daily life! Drawing the basic essence of my life from Jesus Christ and his teachings and life and letting him live through me is definitely easier said than done! I guess that's why they call it the daily disciplines of a christian life, rather than the every other month or every other year rewards of the christian life. Discipline seems like a word that just evokes rather unpleasant feelings in a person (or at least me, because we're doing a lot of "disciplining" of Hailey right now), but just as a parent disciplines their children, not to make their life hard or awful or anything but fun, but to train and encourage right behavior, so God wants me to spend my time near Him, gaining more training in right behavior so that I can go and live my life as one who Christ lives through!

These two verses aren't just going to be my "inspiration" for this week, they are going to be my prayer- that I would be putting them into practice and not allow myself to forget them!

I'm so thankful for christian broadcasts and christian writers and speakers that can keep encouraging me in my daily walk! And, I just love the fact that I can listen to Family Life Today or Focus on the Family broadcasts on my Ipod. It seems like I never had time or a quiet house to listen to them before, but now that I can listen to them at my leisure it is pretty exciting! :)

(I do get excited about the littlest of things, but I just can't help it- I've always been an emotional rollercoaster of a person- where else would my daughter have gotten it??) ;)

I guess it has become more and more important to me, lately, because I skipped out on our churches Thursday morning bible study this session and I'm kind of missing the great teaching that I got there! I just always felt like I left there encouraged and strengthened in my walk...good thing they have another session starting in a month that I can get in on!

Saturday, May 14

it's a good day to be a mama to a little boy!

Today I truly felt loved by my little man!

He actually reached for me (without me putting my arms out for him...he was just in Korey's arms and I came up to him and he reached for ME)! If you can't understand why this is such a HUGE deal for me, go back and read my posts about how much Hailey loves Korey and how she had just finished nursing one day and he walked in the room and she immediately reached for him...or if that doesn't do it, read the posts I wrote about how I couldn't even nurse her, if Korey was talking in that room, because she was just to excited to be by him! :)

And...if that wasn't enough to make my mommy heart soar, he actually said, "mama" today! Isn't that sweet?? I pretty much melted! It wasn't even any special moment- I was just changing his diaper and tickling him and he said, "mama"!!!


Oh yes, it is definitely a good day to have a little boy (or a "mama's boy" as Korey calls him)! ;)

Every day really is, it's just that some are more rewarding than others!

Tuesday, May 10

where has all my thankfulness gone??

Today I realized that I have been nursing and/or pregnant for 3 years straight...wowzer! It was definitely a huge yikes for me when I realized it and it couldn't have come at a "better" time (when I remember that God's timing is not my timing). I know it doesn't really seem like a depressing thought (or maybe it does...), but with the state of my mind the last few days it was a pretty depressing thought. Jackson's been cutting his second tooth, so he's been quite the bear and Hailey had such a great week last week, that even a few little glitches seem huge and awful! But, honestly, my kids aren't the problem in this house- I AM! That's a hard realization to come to, but if I'm trully being honest I'd have to say it is the truth.

Thankfully, God, in His great mercy hasn't been allowing me to stay there- wallowing in my self pity and unthankful attitude! He sent along a friend at Walmart (of all the places...apparently God does have a sense of humor) to remind me of all that I prayed and begged God for over 3 years ago and how wonderfully and abundantly He answered those prayers and granted me my hearts desire. You see, it's easy for me to forget that these sweet little cherubs ARE gifts from the Lord and that there was a time that I wasn't sure I'd ever be gifted with them!


And, then, as if God was making sure to drive His point home I heard a song about a father dancing with his daughter and how he cherishes every minute of it because he knows that his time with her is limited and that someday, sooner than he would like, she is going to grow up and be gone! And, between those two circumstances God did really drive his point home- hard!

There is going to be a day when Jackson will have hurts that me carrying him around the house and nursing him won't cure...in fact, some day he is going to be done nursing and he's going to be too big for me to carry around! And, there is going to be a day when I'll wish for all of Hailey's chatter and her craziness back in my life- I know that when she hits her teenage years I'm gonna miss the fact that she used to sit on the floor in the kitchen and pose for a picture all dressed up in her princess skirt with her new sunglasses on. I'm gonna miss her simple childlike dependence on me for everything, someday! I may even miss taking them with me to Walmart to do some grocery shopping and being able to buy them mickey mouse shaped cheese to make them happy!

I am thankful for my children and I am thankful that God blessed my life with them- even when I'm exhausted and worn out and am thinking that I can't physically handle another minute of them- I love them and am thankful for them! I just need to be reminded of what a blessing they are to my life every now and then. Pray for thankfulness in my heart and peace in our household, if you get a chance!

ahhhhh...and, now I must go, my sweet little one is crying in his bed, begging for his mommy to hold him! :)

Monday, May 2

Dried crusts of bread...

that's what we feed our kids over here at the Konietzki house!

Ever heard the old mother goose rhyme:

There was an old woman who lived in a shoe,

she had so many children she didn't know what to do-

so, she spanked them all soundly and put them to bed,

with nothing to eat but water and a dry crust of bread.

(I think that's how it goes...)

And, apparently, we're trying to rewrite that rhyme at our house,

because when Jackson's cranky or wanting to eat and I don't have his food ready

I just put him in his highchair with a dry crust of bread and let him chow down!


It worked like a charm for his sister and it works great for him!

I'm thinking the "old mother" was onto something with her dry crusts of bread! :)