our first thumbsucker

this was really early on. i was obsessed. back then, i hadn't noticed that she only sucks her left thumb. i'm still in love with her little habit.

he takes the mound

Just when you think baseball season is over...

...the league throws together a tournament team and your son pitches for the first time ever.

so long, old timer

This carseat brought home all four of our children from the hospital.

sniff. thanks for the memories.

wha???

i came across these and was totally baffled. my handwriting and doodling, yes, but i couldn't make sense of it. i think it has something to do with a human trafficking. but, still. would i really have taken such weird notes on such a horrifying subject? what IS that thing next to the word "spy"?



and apparently, i didn't know how to spell camouflage? what is lucrative camouflage????

carpool crew on the last day of school (which was quite awhile ago actually)

Remember this?



And what about those future scholars on the end? Class of 2025, I think...yikes.

she turned "free" in july

The other day Brent said, "Mommy loves you and Daddy loves you and..."

"My BIRTHDAY loves me!" Jillian finished.

little drummer boy?

Recent find while cleaning up:

my drug of choice

I decided yesterday that if they could encapsulate the hormone which causes nesting--that wonderfully productive urge to clean and organize your entire house 26 hours a day--I would take that pill. Indeed, I would.

thoughts on my earlier post, blogging in general and the pitfall of narcissism

Last night when I wrote about my kids, I was pretty aware that I was gushing over them. Maybe a little too much. And I realize that I gush over Brent whenever I write about him (because he's awesome...).

This morning I reflected on a brief conversation that Brent and I had about narcissism. I had read an interview with Angelina Jolie and immediately thought, narcissist. I need to admit that's not a good habit, diagnosing people you're reading about in the paper or on a blog. But it got me thinking about how our look-at-me, read-about-me, watch-my-youtube culture seems like a petri dish for narcissism.

On one hand, I don't want to be guilty of showcasing only the positive side. On the other hand, I want to be cautious as I write about my family. I should say only positive things about my kids or my husband on a blog. If they want to be vulnerable about their weaknesses, I'll let them do that.

So, if you're reading along and find yourself thinking, "Wow! Jenna's kids are the most amazing kids ever," or "Dang, Jenna, you are a deluded child-worshipper," just keep in mind that I'm trying to be respectful of them by leaving out the bad stuff.

trying to prove a point

me and phoebe



me and phoebe


me


and phoebe