My boy!

So, I am learning all sorts of things about E. Turns out if he sits in the front at storytime he focuses and pays attention much better than sitting further back. He really does the best right up front with the kids that sit right in front of the librarian. I also learned that he can be a little s*** and knows how to push buttons. I guess I already knew this but figured he only pushed my buttons. Here is how I learned of E's aptitude for pushing other people's buttons:

Library time a week ago:

Okay so we got there late and all the kids and parents were already sitting and so E did not climb past all the adults to sit up front with the kids. Instead we sat with some friends. E was pretty excited to be sitting with his friend and wanted to entertain. He also was sitting further back than usual and not as engrossed in the stories as he usually is. Anyhow, we were also sitting next to a 5ish year old boy who would shhhhush E & his friend any time they would talk, no matter how brief. E started to notice when the little boy would shhhush them and then would talk and then watch out of the corner of his eye when the boy shushed him. He did it over and over again. Finally, the dad of the shushing boy figured out what was going on and got his son to stop and then so did E. I tried to stop E previously but he doesn't like to be told what to do, especially over and over again. That's my boy....look out kindergarten! (Thank goodness I have a little time before then.)

Too long, too long...

Wow, has it really been over 2 weeks since I've blogged. Well, with E not napping blogging falls very low on the priority list. Anyhow, it seems our little cranky pants, as I call him on days he doesn't nap because he really needs one, just needs to nap a little later than usual. If I can get him to sit on my lap around 2 instead of 1 then I can usually get him to crash. He is so tired if he doesn't nap and is in bed by 7:15 in the evening, which rocks for us but I do miss my afternoons. If he doesn't nap he also acts out a lot between about 3:30 and 5:30 obviously because his body is so tired he just can't keep his shit together.

figures!

It figures that we would decide to take a vacation, book it and pay for it all and then appliances start to die. Our dehumidifier died last week and now our chest freezer is dying. I would give up the freezer except this summer we are planting a huge garden in hopes of canning and freezing a bunch of fresh produce. It looks like I should get our taxes done very soon so I know how much money is coming back to us. I know life could be a lot worse, I am certainly not going to get to riled up about this.

Change is coming

No, I am not talking about the economy! My little sister is getting married and it is starting to freak me out. It is less than 4 months away. This year we celebrated our 4 year anniversary and now my sister is going to be all grown up and get married. It hit me when I was trying on the BM dress and realized that my sis was going to be the one standing in front of everyone professing her love to James. Yikes....I just can't believe it. For so long I have been the only one in my family with any sort of significant other and now I won't be alone anymore. Will will be so happy to not be the only "outsider" at the family functions. I can't wait but man I need to be in better shape as my youngest demands to be held whenever anyone is dancing.

Waiting for spring....

With a slight warm up on the way I am so waiting for spring. I was so excited the other day when I heard the temperature outside and just wanted to get the boys out. Then I remembered that there is still snow everywhere and I would still have to put their snowpants on so they wouldn't get too cold if we were playing in the snow. I just really want this snow to go away....I am so done with it. There is another warm up tomorrow and I can't wait to get out their spring coats and go out without hats and mittens.....hooray for less clothing. Our vaca in Florida will feel amazingly warm and sunny. I can't wait for April!

A real babysitter.

Yep, we are finally going to use a real sitter. We hope it goes well, for our sitter that is but we have no doubt she will do a great job. It's always been hard to rely on family and friends and it would be nice for us to have more than one option. Now, I just have to figure out how much to pay a babysitter. Hmmm....time to ask my mom friends for help.

"That's freaking me out like a raccoon in a batman costume."

Yep, that phrase was coined by E! He has a little fear of stuffed animals dressed up in clothes. He was at the West Town mall play place and there was a little boy that had a stuffed raccoon in a batman costume. Upon seeing the raccoon E pedaled backward so fast he tripped and fell down, only to get up and beeline to the opposite side of the play area.

That's my boy!

Christmas pics!

Again, these pics are compliments of my sister. Just a few of Christmas with my side of the fam...Will's side will come soon.

Birthday Prince!

I couldn't resist this one all on it's own!

Pictures courtesy of my ever talented sister!!! & Yes she is for hire!

Here are pics of our crazy trip to OH and pics of M's 1st birthday...only my faves are here. If you are on fb & my friend you can check out the rest!

M'S B-DAY

The boys and cake!

M Dancing!

Cousins!


E & the ladies!

M & his pal Z!

The Beautiful Birthday Boy!

E & Uncle Noel playing with his favorite gadget---the iPhone!

All partied out!

OHIO trip for Josh's grad school graduation!

Sibs & nephews....exactly 9 years after my graduation from college!
Could I be any shorter?



E @ hotel!



Uncle Josh, the graduate, & E!

Big boy shoes!

Yep, my 3 year old no longer wears diapers and my 1 y.o. is now in regular tennis shoes. No more baby shoes for him. Boy my boys are getting big. I am so sad about M growing up so fast, I think that's why I put off the shoe buying as long as I did. :(

Cold Turkey

I've finally done it! No more diapers for E! Yep, Dec. 26th we took the diapers away. I knew the only way to do it was to go cold turkey and so he now wears underpants with a diaper cover over it so as not to soak everything if/when he has an accident. He will wear diapers at night and nap time but that is it. So far, we have had a couple of accidents. We've gotten some resistance, especially when it comes to pooping, but I am hoping today is the pooping breakthrough. He realized, M who is a baby, poops in a diaper and he poops in a potty. I hope that thought sticks. I will keep the web world updated of our progress.

Is it Christmas now?

It's been a long wait for E. He has been ready for Christmas for a while the week prior to Christmas he was so hyper. I thought we weren't going to make it to Christmas with all of our hair. He gets so amped up that you can't even calm him. It's been a rough couple weeks. Christmas eve came and you could see him mellow. Christmas day came and he relaxed even more. Then, the 26th came (we celebrated this day as our little family unit and Santa came late to our house on Christmas night) and E said to daddy seeing all the presents under the tree, "Is it Christmas now daddy?" Will laughed and said, "yes." E has been himself ever since.

Finally Will has his wish....

Yep, he finally has a daddy's boy. M runs to daddy instead of mommy on all occassions. Will is so pleased he has wanted that since bringing E home and E was such a momma's boy. It is nice to see M so close to his daddy but now I know why he was so jealous.

My fear....update

Nap time has been reinstated. We are back to rocking to sleep but I will take that any day over him coming out of his room and claiming, "quiet time is over." Yep, I will give up 15 minutes to get a couple hours of peace. Besides he still badly needs quiet time.

"No Mom"

The first words of my 1 year old...yep that's it. "No Mom."

E's first word was "doggie", which sounded like goggie.

I'm not sure which is better, to be trumped by our beloved family pet or to hear "no mom" as a first word? Hmmmm....I will have to think on that.

Oh the fear.

Yikes it's been 3 days of refusal, nap refusal by E. Yep, 3 full days of me putting him down to nap and not napping. Not only was he not napping, I think he was attempting to wake his sleeping brother. Here was how it went.

E...I don't want quiet time.
Mom...You don't have to sleep you just need to be in your room quietly reading or playing.
E...I don't want to.
Mom...I just need you to be in your room for a little while, if you don't sleep then you can come out.
Mom put E in room. He doesn't lay down, just sits briefly on his bed. Mom leaves and E begins to play. No biggie, I can handle playing I just need to be alone for just a little while. Just a little peace is all I need. Then E begins the shouting & the crying. Mommy can't leave him in there to wake his brother so we try to rock on the pink chair (our lovely mauve recliner in the living room). He sits quietly for about 5 minutes and then begins the squirm. Mom tries him in bed again and he is quiet for about 15 minutes. Then the shouting begins and out he comes. Clearly he is not currently tired but he will be soon or so I hope. No luck for me. He is up all afternoon for 3 straight days and on all 3 days he practically falls asleep while eating his afternoon snack between 4 & 4:30. Yep, so much for his usual 8 pm bedtime.

Please tell me he isn't weaning himself from his nap. He needs them so badly and so do I. I admit it everyday I look forward to that time when they are both asleep and I get a little me time. A little peace in the house never hurt anyone either. I hope my biggest fear is not coming true....I need that nap!

To Ohio we go!

Yep, the boys and I, minus Will because he has to work are driving to Ohio with my family. Will thought I was completely crazy and now I agree. Who ever thought that driving to Ohio for 2 days there was a good plan. Granted my brother is graduating from graduate school but still I think he would have understood had I said no of all people. On Friday, weather permitting, the boys (E & M) & I, my parents, my sister and 1 of my brothers are headed to Ohio in 1, yep 1, minivan. We must be crazy, 5 grown adults and 2 children in car seats all in one car.

Boring, boring....

....now I know why I was never going to be a creative writer. I just don't have the knack for it. I read my friends blogs and they are hilarious. Mine, not so much just mundane and boring. So sorry for those of you who read it! I will see what I can do about that.

What a day!

Today we celebrated M's 1st birthday. It was nice to gather all those people near and dear to our hearts to celebrate our little boys 1st year. I think everyone had a great time, even the birthday boy. That is a feat in itself since E spent his 1st birthday with a rash and asleep most of the party. Luckily on child number 2 I got smarter about the timing of the party and chose a time that worked better for our children. M was awake and alert the whole time. His first cake experience was funny. He felt no need to put it into his mouth he just enjoyed smashing it. It wasn't until his Nanna fed it to him that he even attempted putting it into his mouth. Of course the wrapping paper was a lot better than any of the gifts in them. As usual the ending of the party triggered a melt down in E. He just couldn't keep it together. After numerous attempts to put him to bed Will finally brought him out to the recliner to rock him. E declared, "I don't want parties. I don't want cakes. I don't want anything." He'd had enough. Two minutes later the phone rang and the birthday party we were to attend tomorrow was cancelled. Hmmmm....was it really a sick child or the curse of E! We'll never know.