Aunt Pam came up to visit us with Grandpa Tut and she made Thomas move! I thought that would be sweet fun for Jed. But he said "uh-uh, no," all the while shaking his head. Wow, was I wrong.
A few days later I was getting laundry done. I had the clothes folded & in baskets, left the room to tend to something and returned to find a child in one of them - watching one of his favorite shows - Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. It's his favorite because it flashed blue as they get ready to ask the question, yellow if it's a correct answer and green for the correct answer when the contestant is wrong. He proudly yells out the correct colors. It's quite amusing to watch.
Jarrod and I finally set up his train set. We've been collecting items for it for quite some time. We have track & trains from Grandma Tut, extra track, trees, house & animals from garage sale-ing and a few "specialty" items that Jarrod & I hand picked. Can you see the railroad crossing in there??
We put it all together while Jed was napping and after waking up & snack time, we brought him in to see it. Wow - he was a bit overwhelemed, but quickly went right to work, making the crossing arm move up and down. He loves to go "UP!" to play "choo-choo" all the time. He'll even 'disappear' and I'll hear a tiny voice chatting away upstairs with a few "woo-woo" or "ding-ding-dings" thrown in.
I can't say enough about this window. We love it! I'm going to put a baby gate in front of it when I'm not upstairs - just to be safe. But how precious - he's watching the birds outside in the yard pulling up worms.
Dad and Jed have lots of fun "hopping" on the bed together. They also play "Spider-Jed." Jed loves to crawl along the ceiling to be dropped onto the bed unexpectedly. 
We went for a family hike last weekend in Hixon forest. We all loved it. It was a bit buggy - even with bug spray. Jed was a hoot! And he did get tired after awhile and needed a piggy back from Daddy.
Jed admired the really big trees in the forest and I discovered what he thought tree trunks were for - scratching your back! (That's why the picture is blurry.)
Stella slept the whole time in the babybjorn. Jed was always making sure that Mom and Baby didn't get left behind.
It can be hard at times to put down the baby to play with the toddler, but Stella made it easy this time. She really seemed to enjoy looking at Jed's Thomas pillow and I even caught her cooing and smiling at it a few times. How precious.
Jed found this camera and loves it. He'll walk up to you and tell you to say "cheese" and snap your picture. I just happened to have the camera with me at the time. 
He had to take a portrait rather than a landscape!
Stella's bathtime is so enjoyable for all - she doesn't cry! She is so alert and attentive during her baths and quiet! Here she couldn't take her eyes off me.
First off - can you believe this red, curly hair?? I love it!
Here's a "pouty" face that has a hint of giggle to it.
Now for the "Awe, how cute" pictures:
Then she woke up and was very content cuddling with her big brother.
Then she started fussing, so Jed helped her with her paci. And she fell asleep again. The two of them sat that way for at least 15 minutes before Jed started pushing her off of him. Now I just need to teach him to ask me to take her back. 
Stella just loves to be swaddled. I swaddled her the other night and she was so angelic looking on our bed I could hardly stand it.
I am continually amazed by my kidlets. They each grow and develop in their own unique way. Just yesterday, we were playing upstairs with the trains. Stella was content hanging out on Jed's bed (only with his permission) while I ran downstairs to get some water. I heard Stella start crying and hurridly gathered my glass, Jed's sippy cup and some pretzels to snack on. Before I even got to the stairs, the crying subsided. I peeked around the corner to see Jed with his chin resting on his hands gazing at Stella saying, "OK Sessa, OK" and when she would spit her paci out, he would put it back in her mouth as gentle as a toddler could. My heart melted.
I just love being a Mom. I love how God can reveal more about his heart for me through my role as Mom. Just the other day, Jed was off a ways playing. It was time for him to come by my side. I called to him a few times before he began making his way toward me. He moved slowly but I kept encouraging him that he was doing the right thing. A few steps later, he stopped, looked back then started crying. Immediately I thought of how God will be asking me to do something and I ignore his request or move slowly - while kicking, screaming or complaining about it. I thought about how God responds to me in those moments. He doesn't yell or call names. He keeps requesting and sends encouragement my way when I take steps toward him. So, in desiring to love my son in his disobedience, I told him that he was being a good boy coming to Mom and to keep walking toward me rather than telling him to stop crying or angrily calling out to him or just snatching him up and telling him he was being naughty. I was amazed at Jedidiah's response. His crying didn't stop, but he kept walking toward me, knowing that what he was doing was right, even though he didn't want to do it. When he reached me I gave him the biggest hug with lots of kisses and lots of praise and thank yous. His tears quickly disappeared and proud smiles decorated his precious face. Sometimes, it is difficult to do what God is calling you to do, but if you act in obedience to Him, you won't be disappointed.
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