Growing Up

I wish kids didn't have to grow up so dang fast. Last night I was telling Brian that in the blink of an eye James went from saying "Geeee!" (his favorite thing to say at five-months-old) to walking around saying "I like you, Mom! You're my best." He used to tell us we were his "best friends" but in the last few weeks it has been shortened to simply "my best." Maybe that's the hip slang among two-year-old circles now days? 

Anyway, James is a hoot. I need to learn to write down more of what he says because we have daily comedic routines around here.

Sometimes he insists on holding his sister. And then he realizes how heavy she has become and insists on her sitting next to him instead.

Here's our little chunkster. She goes in for her six-month doc appointment in two weeks. Holy smokes.

Here she is trying to talk to us. She is definitely an "ooohh" girl. She has also mastered the art of whimpering like a puppy to get our attention.

Speaking of puppies, James likes to ride his pillow pet puppy and pretty much do anything with it but use it like a pillow.

This one's for Andrea. She bought this outfit for Livy months and months ago and it finally fits her.

She's almost sitting up on her own. She could totally do it if she wouldn't try to straighten her legs every time I put her down.

The not so fun goings on around here are 1) Livy has refused to take a late afternoon nap lately (I'm pretty sure she's too young not to have one though, right?) and 2) We're trying to ween her off her swaddle. I have no idea at what age you're supposed to do this but she breaks free of it every night anyway (even those dang Woombie things everyone swore by are no obstacle for her. I bought the "houdini" one that is supposedly the toughest to break through and her arms are out of it within 5-10 minutes). So bedtime with her has been a blast lately. Fingers crossed that we all get more sleep soon!

More Ramblings

I just realized that some of these are kinda negative. So be it.

Being sick. I was sick this past weekend. I don't get sick very often, maybe once or twice a year. I literally had no energy to do anything but sit and stare at my kids and tell James "I'm sorry I can't play with you. If I get up and chase you like you want me to, I will either pass out or throw up on you." It reminded me to be grateful for my health. Being sick with an energetic little boy is by far one of the hardest things to me about being a parent--I can't call in sick and have someone else watch my kids for me (if you have family nearby and can do this, you are totally cheating). What's worse is when you pass your illness along to your five-month-old baby girl. I would take that illness back ten times over to keep her from the agony that is the flu.

Cucumbers. I have tried to like them in the past. Okay, scratch that. I have not tried to like them. Ever. They are nasty, terrible things. Oddly enough, I love dill pickles. Go figure that I got like half a dozen larger than normal cucumbers in my CSA share this week. And lots of tomatoes, which are about the only things that have actually grown in my garden this year and which we have plenty of. Better luck next week.

Shopping. I know so many people who detest grocery shopping. I, on the other hand, find it stress-relieving and I love it. I love it even more when I am doing it by myself, but even James likes it so it's not so bad with him either. Today though, we braved the grand opening of Trader Joe's. Not a smart move on my part. Try maneuvering a stroller, with a two-year-old who insists on pushing it, through a crowd of hundreds of people who have no rhyme or reason to which direction they are going. It was a traffic jam at every turn. I'll probably wait a few weeks before going there again.

Scrunchies. I find it curious how gymnasts all over the world seem to embrace the scrunchy when the rest of the world rejected them decades ago. Over the past few days watching the Olympics, I've seen metallic scrunchies, glittery scrunchies that perfectly match the face glitter (another oddity) the athlete is sporting, scrunchies with butterflies poking out of them, etc. Where are they getting these things? Are there companies that still make them?

Blogs. I have all these grand ideas for blog posts and even new blogs entirely. I get really excited thinking about all the possibilities, etc. And then I look around me and realize that I can't even keep my own house clean, so I should probably concentrate on that first.

Facebook. It's interesting to me, this whole Facebook thing. I think it's funny when people post their every emotions, actions, problems, health updates, etc. It especially intrigues me when I see things like "My stress level is through the roof right now!" or "I'm having the busiest day of my life!" I just wonder why posting about it on Facebook is a priority. I guess this is what our total technology world is coming to, when people on the verge of nervous breakdowns or a health crisis still have to take the time to post about it.

Texting. I hate it. Yes, it is nice when you don't actually want to talk to the person. But it is NOT real communication. It cannot take the place of real human interaction to people you are supposed to care about. It should not count for visiting teaching, home teaching, etc.  (UPDATE: I did not mean to offend anyone who has ever sent me a text. If I would never hear from you otherwise, I do not hate hearing from you! I was just suggesting that texting should not take the place of real communication.)

Grudges. I sometimes get mad for dumb reasons. At people I love. But my anger doesn't usually last long. So grudges I do not understand. Life is just too short. If it's something that is THAT big of a deal, then agree to disagree and move on with it. Why drag it out and let that kind of anger/resentment/drama fester inside for so long? Easier said than done, I know. But none of us are perfect so to hold someone else accountable for not being perfect either is a mystery to me. Life is just too short and family, especially, is just too important.

Families. Speaking of family, my entire family is all together this week without me. Again. It's my fault this time, though. I could have gone but the whimpy part of me chose not to. Flying alone with one kid was stressful enough. Flying alone with two terrifies me and I have to do it in a couple of months anyway.

Flaky me. I am about four or five months behind on sending out baby presents to various family members/friends. So if I've recently asked for your address and you've received nothing and think I'm a total flake, please know that yes, yes I am. But not usually. Just lately. And you will get something if you are patient. I promise.

I just finished reading The American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin. All you Downton Abby lovers will probably get a kick out of it. I thought it was well-written and entertaining but predictable and something about it kind of bothered me. I think stories about women who are supposed to do exactly what society expects of them and who will go to any lengths to get a husband, without stopping to think what they're even doing, get to me. That's probably why I really hated These Is My Words when everyone else loved it.

Cousins

"Cousins are friends that will love you forever."

I knew my entire family, including my internationally residing brother, would be getting together in August in Utah. I also knew that we wouldn't be there. I hemmed and hawed over the decision to go for awhile but in the end decided since we were out of Sky Miles and our millionaire status hadn't exactly kicked in yet (or ever probably) that we would be staying in Tennessee all summer long.

I never expected my brother to email a few weeks ago asking if he and his little boy could stop by for a visit on their way to SLC. It may sound sappy but the thought that he even considered detouring to see us meant a lot to me. After I told James they were coming, every time we got in the car he asked if we were going to pick up Michael. I finally made him a countdown chain so he could get a better grasp on when they'd be here.

It turned out it couldn't have been better timing since Brian was gone unexpectedly that entire week. It wasn't a long visit but we were so grateful to have them and loved every minute with them. James and Michael had a blast together and at one point James put his arm around him and said "Michael, you're my best friend." Cute.

Here are some shots of the less than 48 hours they were here. We also went to this random safari ranch where you drive around and zebras, deer, emus, llamas and other random animals stick their heads in your car windows and follow you trying to get food. It was hilarious (and kinda scary) but we forgot to take a camera to that, so here are other randoms shots:

This is what our world is coming to--sitting next to each other playing iPads. They were both excited to show each other what they were doing on their own iPads.

 Uncle Rob (I just realized I never got a picture with him)!

I told James if he could go an entire week without having an accident during bed/naptime that he could have this Mater bubble blower. He and Michael took turns running it up and down the yard while the other one chased behind. They loved it and I'm pretty sure it wore them out (and Mater out since he hasn't worked since) since they both fell asleep really fast that night.

 Rob being a good uncle and holding Livy even as she spit up all over his watch.

 This was the day they left and we were all kinda sad they were gone. To add some excitement to our day we decided it was time Miss Liv tried the doorway jumper. She loved it.

So did Jamers. He was hoping they also came in his size.

Sadly, it'll probably be another year before we see Michael again. I vow to make it to Israel to see them at least once while they're there though.

Fireman James

James doesn't leave home without one of his precious fire hats. Yesterday he insisted I call him "Fireman James" all day long and walked around in this "fireman" getup. I don't know how he comes up with these things. He also had to wear one of each boot instead of a matching pair.

The other day I was buckling him in his carseat and was getting impatient with him and he looked at me and firmly said "Mom, do NOT yell at the fireman!"

He's been potty trained for over four months now. I was determined to have him potty trained by age two because I knew he could do it and I'm convinced that if I had been more consistent with it, he would have been. He was most of the way there for months and months and then when Livy came along he totally backtracked just like everyone said he would. So we started over in April fully committed to this method and haven't looked back since. He has an occasional accident during naps but we've learned as long as we don't give him much to drink in the couple hours before bed time, he usually wakes up totally dry in the mornings and runs to the potty first thing, which means earlier wake up times, but overall it's awesome.

Since moving into a big bed a couple months ago he still wakes up about an hour before he used to, but naps are finally getting better at least.

He's finally getting to be a better eater. If I persuade him hard enough (i.e. threaten to not give him his beloved chocolate milk or iPad), he'll usually at least try a couple bites of what I've made for dinner and he's starting to request healthier and more normal snacks. Hallelujah!

Just about every day he asks if either Grandpa or cousin Michael is coming to play with him that day or if Pawnka (what he calls Brian's dad--not even sure how to spell it) is bringing his boat to take him skiing. It's always sad when I have to tell him they live too far away. Hopefully not forever though.

When Brian came back from Idaho last week he brought a huge suit case full of his nephew's old clothes for James to wear. One item was a pair of zip up Air Jordans just his size. James thinks he's pretty hot stuff in them.

We go out in the backyard once or twice a day to throw a football/hit baseballs. He's getting quite good at catching and hitting the ball really far. I'm already curious to see what sport(s) he'll really take to when he gets older.

He goes a little overboard with his past-tense verbs. Two out of three times he'll try to add an "-ed" onto an already past tense verb. I always correct him but I get the feeling that he thinks I am the one who is wrong.

"I eated all my dinner."
"He chaseded me."
"I felled down."
"I gaved her a kiss" or "I kisseded her on the cheek."

He's started to get embarrassed. The first time I noticed it we were at Livy's four-month doctor's appointment and he accidentally fell off his chair. The look on his face when everyone asked if he was okay, as he tried to nonchalantly brush it off, was priceless. The doctor probably thought I was rude for laughing so hard about it.
 
He still loves Donald Duck and Chip and Dale. And the iPad.