Warner Bros. and Sister

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

21 months

I have a such a love-frustration relationship with toddlerhood... I can feel so overjoyed with the new things Lili B, West and Jack are doing and saying one minute, and in the next minute feeling like pulling my hair out. This week I had to pull the car over. Yep... we're there. Klint and I just had a conversation about how these three are the funniest little cats we know. Jack is amazing at distracting. If he knows he is teetering on trouble's edge, he breaks out all his best jokes. If that doesn't work he starts passing out kisses like a politician in a crowd of babies. Jack also enjoys helping me determine when would be a good time for one of his siblings to have a "Tim out." I don't know how this unknown "Tim" became involved in our family's "time outs," but according to Jack, it's "Tim out." West is a super sneakster. He "helps" his siblings with toys "I fix it, I fix it" and then all of a sudden it is in his control and someone is screaming, "Take it! West take it!" Lilibeth has busted out with the total girl scream. Only a slight change of octave indicates whether the scream is one of delight or disgust with her brother(s).

Where is the mother in this sweet little piece of chaos? She is pouring the coffee that grew cold in her cup hours ago over ice (and aren't we all thankful that we are past those Mad Men days of the 60's and coffee is the only thing I'm pouring over ice at 9 a.m.?) and repeating my mantra...
"We don't take"
"Kind and gentle hands"
"Feet on the floor"
"We sit on the furniture"
"Our food stays on the table"
"It is your choice... you may give (any given toy, piece of trash, shoe, vacuum, etc.) back to your (brother/sister) or go to time out."
"I am happy that you made a good choice"

OVER and OVER and OVER

As my mother laughed at me the other day, I said, "I repeat the same thing over and over all day every day." She kindly reminded me that I am an elementary school educator. Why is this any different than what I have done every day of my entire adult working life?

Here's how it's different... as much as I loved (and still love!) my students, these babies are OURS. These babies say, "I miss you, Mama" (Jack when I came home from a few days away), "I love you, Mama... Squeeze" and she hugs me as mightily as her little arms will allow (Lilibeth), "I comin', I comin' (when I am coming toward West) and then "Up, up... I hold you" when I reach him. It is different and so good.

We ate Daddy's favorite meal on Father's Day... dirty rice!

Jack, Daddy, monkey... happiness.

Kittens! We have three outside kittens for three kids. Hopefully the three kittens will eat up every snake within 300 miles of us!

Pocket... what on earth will I find?

Who's the fairest of them all?

Public service announcement: A tray for a mom of many is a beautiful thing on the way to an outing.

New York City... you've got nothing on our Naked Cowboy!

Swim lessons this summer... So much fun! Such a process... this mama did not know that swim diapers were not actually "catch the pee" diapers.

Our swim teacher Carly and Lilibeth. Jack talks about swimmin' with Carly at Aunt "Bickie's" pool often.

Jack is swimming!

Daddy is the most fun in the pool by far

Swimming for blocks... Thanks, Carly, Aunt Vicki and Uncle Bill!

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

The big 2-0 months!

Summertime is so much fun, who can stop to blog? Also, twenty month old toddlers require so much attention... who has time to blog? My friend Bonnie emailed last night and asked if Jack was still saying "I don't know" in response to every question. I realized that he had stopped and that I had stopped blogging and that I am going to forget everything that I love because my brain, if you were to look at a current scan, must most closely resemble a sieve. Sad. Moving on....

At the church house... Klint and I may have had a teency fight about the outfits the boys were in

BIG NEWS!~ Jack, West and Lilibeth are in summer school two days a week... and Mama is doing part of her other (much less important) job during daylight hours. Hallelujah!

We took a little trip to the outlet mall to get appropriate school shoes. I miss elementary school. I don't say "appropriate" or "inappropriate" 500 times a day at home. Maybe that's a good habit to drop :) Anyway, West had to entertain himself by putting goldfish crackers in his ear. I say that's inappropriate. West says shopping is no fun. We can agree to disagree.


We had a fun morning at Creekside Park with Jessica of JL May Photography. Klint took our camera and stole some shots. www.jlmayphotography.com

West Irby... what I don't want to forget about this time... "EEE... up, up." He loves to be held right now and I am hoping that they "EEE" is his shortened version of "please." Who knows... it's sweet.

The official photo shoot is over and the party gets started... the boys found a puddle in the slide!

The kids think that the TV is called "Einstein"... how ironic! They LOVE Baby Einstein and they love to watch and ride on their ponies.

Camp Cousin 2012... Uncle Mark and Aunt Linz came and hosted camp. Klint and I took off to Florida to celebrate almost 15 years!

Lilibeth loves the slide! We all love the play set from Ben & Papa!

Funny girls

"It's too dang hot for a penguin to be just walking around out here"

The Zoo Crew!

West is using (I hope!) "gentle hands" with the goat. Do they sedate those goats? What a bad job for a poor goat!

Lilibeth and Jack brush the goat who is wondering how he should go about putting in for a transfer to a local farm.

Walker working on his grooming skills

See ya!

Linz (voted Best Girl Counselor) said that she and Mark (voted Best Boy Counselor) got lots of interesting looks... four toddlers and a baby on the way!

Bring your green hat... it's a dance party!

West and Walker tried to escape into the rain. When it rained on the beach in Florida, Klint and I took off for an unexpected trip to Disneyworld. I must admit, I have made HILARIOUS fun of adults who go to Disney by themselves... especially those who honeymoon in Disney. Really? But... it was by far the best day of our vacation... we raced between parks and rode every roller coaster, saw Cinderella's castle lit up at night... and here I go, I am going to say it.... it was magical. I don't know how Walt did it, but I cannot wait to take these three!

Sweet pea... always making sure the boys have their sippy cups. She adores her "bruh-ers." She has become a chatterbox in the past month... Yay, Lilibeth!

Reading to Jack

Lilibeth wants my spot at the trip-trap... these boys need a good teacher and she is the girl for the job!

We got a little sick last month. After gagging up his dinner two nights in a row with the antibiotic, we tried it in Blue Bell. Now way, Dad. I'll play with this straw, but I am no dummy. YOU drink the amoxicillin shake.

I may apply for a job as a nurse...

We are mostly well now and ready to celebrate the 4th! I can't wait for Lilibeth and the boys to see fireworks!

post signature

Friday, June 1, 2012

19 (and a half) months...

19 (and a half) months... so time just gets away from you when you have three toddlers in the mix!

What in the world are those three crazy cats doing?

West- Putting together sentences! Smarty pants! His sippie cup spilled milk on the floor one morning. He said, "Mess." I said, "I'll get it." West responds, "I keen it." And so he did... walked right over to the pile of "keen" towels on the couch, grabbed a washcloth and mopped it right up.

Lilibeth- Currently loves "gasses"... sunglasses. She is a summertime girl! We have spent lots of time "ow-side" and a girl needs her sunglasses.

Jack- His most recent sentence, "I need my monkey." This is true... As Jack, West & Lilibeth get older, their attachment to the monkeys (lovies) only intensifies! I am amazed at all that they are saying!

We spent Memorial Day weekend at a family reunion in Louisiana. Jack ran and "danced a jig" the whole time. That kids loves a party! His brother liked the eating out aspect of the trip! Because one of our local restaurants has a patio, we usually eat there when we go out. They happen to serve primarily pizza. For some reason, eating in the great outdoors makes me feel a little bit better about bringing our three little bears out to eat in public. Anyway, since we don't eat out often, West thinks that when we do go out to eat, he will get pizza. Each time we put him in his highchair at a restaurant he got the happiest little look on his face and said, "Pizza!" Jack is now calling West "Wast" and Lilibeth "B-beth." I took West to the pediatrician by himself the other day and he kept calling out, "Jack, Jack!" as if I had forgotten someone. (I hope sweet Lilibeth doesn't read this post in the future and wonder why West was not worried about her well being!).