Jakob's Cat Like Ninja Skills

A lot of really great Jakob stories have passed us by during my time "away", but true to form, he provided us a doozy to come back to!  Some people in this little tail (yes, that is an intentional typo) will remain nameless so as to protect their identity!  Yesterday, the Hardy foursome had a few things we needed to do including going to a friend's house to visit for a bit.  While these people are precious friends, we aren't at their house often, especially with Jakob.  They have two cats who were not familiar with Jakob and with whom Jakob was not comfortable.  They introduced one as 'Monster Cat' and told funny stories of it being dropped down the stairs one to many times as a kitten.  Ha!  What a cute and funny story!  Jakob, in case you didn't know, is crazy afraid of animals...crazy.  We've come a long way, but he was obviously nervous around the cats.  (As a quick aside, these cats have been raised around kids, they are inside cats who are current on all of their shots, and they are loved by the most wonderful family...truly)  He was sitting on the couch next to Jared when the cat innocently hopped up.  Cue Jakob quickly standing to move behind Jared.  Prepare for it.  You know what's coming.  That sweet, slightly off kitty cat pounced onto my sweet Jakob.  Pounced might be putting it lightly.  It enveloped his torso.  Picture this:  the cat's belly was on top of Jakob's head and its previously assumed 'clawless claws' were going to town on Jakob's back, neck, and arm.  Wow.  Wisely, Jakob's reflexes took over and he crouched into a ball, protecting his face.  Jared grabbed a handfull of fur to pull the cat off of Jakob, our sweet friends were mortified, there were screams I think, and their beautiful lamp had taken its final bow onto their lovely hardwoods.  Jakob freaked.  Bless his heart, he was hurting really badly, scared to death, panicked, and embarrassed.  He has never held me so tightly in his whole life.  Our poor friends (who we are NOT upset with in ANYWAY whatsoever) were understandably beside themselves.  They had had the cat declawed, but in the way of all things 'Jakob Hardy,' there were still some claws left in there when that cat felt threatened.  Last night in the bathtub, Jakob said to Jared, "I think Miss ____________ is wrong.  Her cat does have claws."  Yeah, buddy.  I'd say so!  What a memory.   

Where does the time go?

Wow.  It has been a while to say the very least!  One way to tell when things around here have gone crazy is to see how long it has been since my last blog update!  Whew!  While the busy-ness has been so much fun and rewarding, it required that some thing take a backseat.  The blog got pushed to the rear-end for sure!  Since Christmas, we have had eight straight weekends of work-related contests, clinics, concerts, and commitments.  (like the alliterations?!)  One of these days I'll catch up on everything on here (yeah, right!) but in the mean time, let's just pick up where we are, shall we?! 

While thing have been quite exciting and successful professionally lately, the greatest accomplishment of our lives has come into fruition.  That's right...JAKOB IS POTTY TRAINED!!!  Eight months, 16 days.  Longest. Year. Of. My. Life.  God love him, he proved everyone right...one day, it just clicked.  Praise the Lord!  I know without a doubt that I learned a lot more during this journey in Jakob's life than he ever did!  I have been so embarrassed at the amount of time it has taken to reach this point.  "Jakob is so smart."  "Jakob could teach others how to do what he refuses to do."  "Jakob is just doing this to spite me."  "What have we done wrong?"  "What must people think of our parenting skills?"  Yep.  Thought it all and more.  God has really started a change in my thinking toward other parents/situations.  What a life lesson I should have learned a long time ago:  you just don't know the road someone else is walking.  Give some slack.  Give compassion.  Shut. Your. Mouth.  It has been a tough lesson, but one that I pray will stick with me and continue to revolutionize my thinking and my parenting.

Lily is 7 and a half months old.  Seriously.  We are having more fun with her.  She is so laid back until she gets hungry or tired.  Then, she goes 0 to 60 in no time at all!  Her hair is continuing to turn the most beautiful shade of red and her attitude matches it perfectly!  Just like Jakob, she is a late bloomer in the teeth-cutting category.  We have buckets of drool and no teeth to show for it.  Poor thing.  She said her first word on February 1:  'Da-da.'  You can imagine Jared's excitement!  Soon after, she mastered 'bye-bye' and the wave.  We are trying so hard to soak her up during these last non-mobile days.  Her laugh.  Her smile.  Her excited discoveries of her hands, feet, and tongue.  Just her.  I could eat her up!

Jared and I are just trucking along.  I realized that my Christmas cards are still sitting, unfinished, in the floor.  We may be sending St. Patrick's Day cards with a Christmas theme and Lily's birth announcements.  I am still the world's worst at actually sending things.  Sorry.  We are preparing for concert and sightreading contest on March 11 which is Jared's big day, but doesn't require any after-school work!  Halleluia!  5 rehearsals left.  Yowzas! 

I don't even have a new picture to add.  I'll work on that.  Now, where is my camera cord again?