The Year Was 2014....

And the year went undocumented. Ha! What an insane year it was. I blogged 5 times between January 15 and February 21 and then said, "Screw it. Life is hard right now" and stopped.

Raising a three-year-old is hand work! At two, they have tantrums, they scream and cry, but then they recover oddly fast. But as a three-year-old, they think "if I just keep doing this longer. If I add in all these new words I'm learning. And, on top of that, if I start to reason, but in a way that confuses the parent, the parent will have no option but to give in to my demands." The three-year-old also begins to understand the term "in charge" to mean whoever is making the demands. So, if he is stating he wants to watch TV, then he is in charge and should watch tv. And if you, by chance, try to say no, then he will proceed to scream and cry and argue for as long as you will hold out.

 This, unfortunately, is where my three-year-old failed. He is only just now realizing (at just four-years-old) that I have amazing willpower and I like to be in charge. Always have. So these performances are lost on me. And while listening to crying and screaming    a-l-l    d-a-y    l-o-n-g    have slowly made me want to admit myself into the nearest psych ward, I stand firm and tall in my decisions... until my husband comes home. And then I run as far away as possible grasping for solitude.

I actually had a conversation with a friend of mine that I think kids are making me an introvert. Like I got overwhelmed the other day at an event introvert. Like I will sit in my car for 30 minutes and stare into the wall of my garage just to be alone introvert. I am now one step away from wearing a black trench coat and caring a weird duffel bag.

On top of being screamed at all day, my one year old had her own issues. She is demanding, hungry 24/7, and has a personality that is loud. She wants to be held all the time and dreams of dreaming in our bed for all naps and nighttime sleep. She also has been sick for approximately 2 months, 10 days, 3 hours, and 10 minutes. Seriously, I love this girl so much and we have a crazy bond that cracks me up, but she also drives me nuts with her demanding ways. It makes it impossible to discipline well, impossible to teach, and with the lack of sleep going on over here, impossible to function.

One day, it dawned on her that she could take off her clothes. So we now go without clothes.... and I'm kinda nutty about my kids wearing clothes. I just think it needs to be done. So it's 50 degrees outside, she's eating ice cream cake, she's shivering from being so cold, and she's naked. Does she want to put on clothes?? No, she does not. Reason doesn't seem to play a role in her little mind.

So on top of the kids, I joined a friend in a great small business venture called Greener Grass. It is a great business. Melissa is so talented in teaching and creating beautiful things. She teaches sewing classes, craft events, makes amazing products, and I handle the business side. We worked our butts off this year and are so broke it's sad. Welcome to Small Business America! It's totally worth it and, hopefully, soon we'll start seeing a profit. We are just so fortunate to have the support of so many great people. It makes each day exiting!! Seriously. It's such a neat thing to hear praise about something you put your heart and soul into. It's a high for real.

This year, I also began writing grants for a non-profit. I miss the non-profit world and was so grateful for an opportunity to reenter on my timetable. But, man, has it been hard. Balancing deadlines with littles who have no concept took great practice in patience and the support of an amazing husband.

Speaking of the husband, Jeremy struggled through this year right with me. We grew a lot. We had to learn to communicate better,  handle each other's stresses, and laugh as much as possible.

Over the summer my car was having some issues that were disturbing me greatly. My car is not old at all and has a ridiculously low number of miles on it. Issues should not be happening with my car. Jeremy decided at this point that he was going to learn all about my car and how to fix these things himself. So he did research and decided the issue had to be X. So late one night, he went outside, to fix X on my car. After about two hours, I got a little worried. By that time, it was dark and from how he explained it to me, the issue was a quick fix. So I casually went outside to see the entire insides of my car on our lawn. I, then, asked, "So was the problem with X??" To which he replied, "Oh... so that was what I was supposed to be checking!" No lie. I couldn't make that up. He had been out there for two hours taking apart my car trying to remember what he was supposed to be fixing. I laughed for days about that. Heck, I still chuckle thinking about it. Obviously, we are sleep deprived and enjoy not being around others at this point in our life. Life with toddlers.....

It's funny looking back at the year. It was so hard, but we made it. The year is over and it ended fast. I quite often tell my friends who are just starting to have kids "your days are going to be so long, but your weeks are going to fly by." It's just so true.

In my first post of the year, I quoted the following from Streams in the Desert:

Through poverty, through wealth, through sickness, through health; at home, abroad, on the land, on the sea; in honor, in dishonor, in perplexity, in joy, in trial, in triumph, in prayer, in temptation—“hitherto hath the Lord helped!”

But the word also points forward. For when a man gets up to a certain mark, and writes “hitherto,” he is not yet at the end; there are still distances to be traversed. More trials, more joys; more temptations, more triumphs; more prayers, more answers; more toils, more strength; more fights, more victories; and then come sickness, old age, disease, death. Is it over now? No! there is more yet—awakening in Jesus’ likeness, thrones, harps, songs, psalms, white raiment the face of Jesus, the society of saints, the glory of God, the fullness of eternity, the infinity of bliss. Oh, be of good courage, believer, and with grateful confidence raise thy “Ebenezer,” for,“He who hath helped thee hitherto Will help thee all thy journey through.” -C. H. Spurgeon

How appropriate was this? If you follow me on Instagram, you know that 10 weeks ago, Jeremy and I lost a baby to an ectopic pregnancy; it was our second pregnancy loss in two years and just really hard. Moments since then have been equally hard. I have cried randomly and needed more time alone to think. But, oh, am I grateful. I am grateful because we have hope in Christ that these moments of suffering do not compare to the moments that await us in heaven.

"No more let sins and sorrows grow
Nor thorns infest the ground
He comes to make
His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found
Far as the curse is found
Far as, far as the curse is found"
- Joy to the World

As you begin celebrating Christmas with your family, may you remember that the story didn't end with Jesus being born in a manger and it didn't end with him dying for us. The ending is still to come.

Merry Christmas!

The real deal

So this 3 year old thing is really kicking my butt. Most days I cry. Most days B cries. Most days I want to sell him. Most days he'd prefer to be around anyone but me (aka the Punisher). But we are in this stage for now and so most days we both just do the best we can with the grace we are given from God and spend the rest of the time praying for our hearts to continually be more and more like Jesus and less and less like the evil beings we both are.

Today was equally rough and really, really beautiful outside. For this reason, I decided that the Chick-fil-A drive thru was not enough and that we must enjoy the outdoors on its playground instead. Now, I have to admit that I have yet to take both my kids to a restaurant solo. It really sounds like torture to me and so I have avoided it. But today I was brave... and extremely ill prepared. I didn't have a diaper bag or extra snacks or cups or anything. It was me and the kids... no extras.

Both kids did great! B listened as we were in line. A cashier helped me with my tray. Miss M learned to drink from a straw and hold her own cup. B played well with the other kids and ate all his food. I was feeling pretty good. I decided that we should exchange our toys for ice cream cones!

As we were standing in line, I smelled something. "Oh, Miss M must have pooped. She can make it home to be changed," I thought. We were just 10 minutes from our house. But the smell grew. So I peeked. Thus revealing that my entire sleeve and her back were covered in poop. And we were still waiting for our ice cream. I had options. Walk away and have a meltdown by my 3 year old from.... or stay and endure the poop. Ladies and gentlemen, I endured that poop. I endured it while we got our ice cream. I endured it as B was stopped by at least 3 couples entering the restaurant who wanted to tell him how cute he was. I endured it all the way to the car.

Thankfully, I keep a small bag in my trunk of diapers, wipes, etc. So I got Bradley in the car with his ice cream and went to the trunk to handle Miss M. But the thing with blowouts is that you just kinda need to hose them off. Wiping and changing doesn't really cut it. But something had to happen. So I rolled up my poop sleeve and conquered her blow out the best I could. I got her naked and in a fresh diaper and buckled in her car seat for our 10 minute drive home.

Well, as we are about home I turn around to see Bradley covered head to toe in ice cream. "It melted, Mommy." No joke. Two baths it is... wait... I then notice that we had driven from Chick-fil-A to home without B being buckled in.... Yes, I will accept that Parenting of the Year award. Thank you....

Whew. I got both kids inside, in the bath, and clean in a matter of minutes. (I can be quick and efficient when necessary.. We were already an hour passed nap time.) I turn around to grab towels for my kids only to notice that there were none. Yes, it is laundry day. No, I haven't put a load in the wash yet. Yes, it is 2:00 p.m. So I do the only sensible thing. Grab Miss M, put her on the bath mat, leave B unattended in the draining bath water, and run like hell to grab some towels downstairs. You want to give me another Parenting of the Year award??? You are too much.. I could probably pull a great Taylor Swift shocked face impression after her 10th award. But I'll save that... the story continues.

I grabbed the towels and run back upstairs. Miss M is in the hallway dragging puddles of water. B is playing with the toys. The water is fully drained. I pick Miss M up in the towel and hand B his. (He should be able to dry himself off, right??) and head to Madelyn's room to put her in some clothes. When lo and behold the girl decides that pooping on me is not enough, but now she must pee all over me and her freshly clean body!

Guys, let me be really real with you. In moments like these you honestly can only do one thing.. Laugh. I burst into laughter. I couldn't believe it. There was no way I was giving her another bath. The water had drained. The boat had been returned to its basket. We were moving on with our naptime schedule. So I wiped her up, put her in clean clothes, and stuck her in the crib. Pee is sterile, right? (And, now, I'll give you that Taylor Swift impression.)

I got B out of the tub.. No, he can't dry himself off yet.. Ran downstairs to get his last pair of clean underwear (I promise I am starting laundry today!) and into his bed for nap.

And you thought you were a crappy parent. Ha!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go clean myself, my car, and our clothes....

Classy Lady in the Rain

I have studied Emily Post etiquette. I have watched enough Project Runway and What Not to Wear to dress myself in a decent manner. I have even picked up a few cute hairstyles from Pinterest along the way.

Yes, there are days when I feel pretty good about myself.

And then there comes the kids... and rain... to bring me back to reality.

...................................................................

There I was, in the rain, one baby on the hip, one son holding my hand, and one umbrella attempting to cover us all. The carpool lane was full. I had 50 feet to go to the car.

I opened up the preschool door telling myself we could do this. We could make that 50 feet with no incident. As the door slammed shut behind me I realized it did so right in the face of my unaware 3 year old. He yelped. I lost my breath and quickly turned around to apologize and check to see how much damage I'd done when a puddle... no joke... a puddle came out of no where throwing me, the baby, the son who I had just hit in the face with the door and who was still holding my hand tighter than ever, and the umbrella to the ground... right in front of the super long carpool lane.

So, now, I was mortified. I was mortified that I had slammed the door on my son. Mortified that I had fallen with all my kids attached. And mortified that the 'eyes' of the carpool lane were all there to see.

My only solace in this situation is that perhaps all those moms chose the carpool lane and that moment in time to check Facebook on their iPhones rather than watching me take out my kids.

Oi vey!

Potty Training and Superman

This weekend we were potty training. This means that in a span of four days, Jeremy and I have aged 5 years. I'm also certain that Jeremy might be getting to work early tomorrow and working late... Haha. We are completely worn out.

Thankfully, there is an app for that.

As I was loading B up on all kinds of food to force a bowel movement, I noticed that Kellogg's has a Superman app where you get to use one of his powers. Now how could we resist that??

It was, however, very unfortunate for B.

Let's just say B was not very happy to have the heat vision used against him. On the other hand, his father and I have not stopped watching it or laughing. 

Wrestling

Well, as you can imagine, the last 7 months have been quite busy. Being mom to two littles is seriously time consuming. I have yet to figure out when I am supposed to shower or pee, which apparently are becoming spectator sports in my household, much less blog. However, I just had to find time to share these pictures. I know the grandparents will like them. :) 

 Bradley and Madelyn are hilarious. They were actually "wrestling" with each other. Love it! 

They tried to get me to join them, but I politely declined. They were having too much fun for me to interfere. :) 

(PS Sorry for the graininess. These were taken with my cell phone.) 

{Video of the Week} Parker and Bradley

For those of you who follow me on any social media site, you know that I often talk about Parker and Bradley. Parker thinks he's a real boy and Bradley thinks Parker should worship him. In case you doubted me, Jeremy caught the following on video. This is a typical play period for the two of them.

The Biker Son

Oh, the joys of being a big brother.

Today, Bradley thought Madelyn would want to play with one of her toys. So, naturally, he threw it at her head while she was sleeping.

Yes. These are dangerous times in our house. Thankfully, Miss M brought Bradley a really cool new bike to thank him for all these moments to come.

Newborn Pictures Sneak Peek

Last Friday, the fun Ladies of Two Chics Photography, Jessica and Shauna, came over to our house to take Madelyn's newborn pictures. To say I was excited would be a true understatement. I love these girls' work. They are all about color, funk, and fun times. Plus, to do what they do, they are amazingly patient and gracious.

To see Bradley's newborn pics, which they also did, click HERE.

Madelyn is not one to be messed with and that's all these ladies do! Ha! Needless to say, it was a long morning of a lot of waiting, but it was totally worth it! These pictures are awesome. I just can't wait to see the rest and get them on our walls!

Aren't those two kids just simply gorgeous?? I die! This one will definitely end up on my wall.

Thank you, Jessica and Shauna, for your amazing talent!

Veggie Tales and The Politics of a 23 Month Old

Yesterday was a big day in the life of our nation and our 23 month old.

Our nation voted the next President to run the country and my 23 month old saw Veggie Tales Live.

One should note that when I was eight months pregnant with B, Jeremy and I went and saw Sufjan Stevens live. This time it was Veggie Tales.  Oh, how life has changed!!

Veggie Tales was a really awesome and fun. I grew up watching it and love that B enjoys it almost as much as me. B did great considering it was late, there was the temptation of merchandise, he had been sick, and he had to sit still for a long time. He only needed one additional intermission. :-) He did really enjoy the songs and at the end decided to dance in the aisles.

I feel so blessed that Jeremy and I can take him to little things like this for him to enjoy.

After Veggie Tales, Jeremy left B and I to go to his weekly bible study. I put B to bed, but about two hours later he woke up crying and coughing really bad.  I quickly ran up and got him and brought him to my bed thankful to get some additional snuggles in while watching the election results.

Little did I know how much B would like the election results as well! The reporter would say something about some state and B would look at me nodding his head as if to agree with him or her and then add in his own comments. It was hilarious. So I decided to get his opinion.

Me: "Bradley, today we voted for our future President and we are watching to see who won. The two running are Obama and Romney. Who do you think will win?"

B: "Obama. Yeah. Obama."

Me: "You really think so? Your daddy and I were hoping Romney would win."

B: "Yeah. Dada. Mama. Nee. Yeah. Me. Nee. Yeah. No. Obama." (Obama was said with a nod.)

Me: "I think you might be right. It isn't looking good for Romney."

B: "Not good Nee."

Then, he continued with his nodding and adding his own comments to the reporter's. It definitely made watching the results much more enjoyable. I just wish I could have understood his additional comments! 

No More Pacifier!

Disclaimer: I don't know how Jeremy and I did it. But we did. We birthed an amazingly easy baby. Since birth, B has surprised us both by how well he transitions into each new phase. He is by no means perfect, but he handles this growing up thing pretty darn well. I just hope we don't screw him up along the way.

The pacifier. Shortly after Bradley was born we quickly nicknamed this amazing invention "the mute button." And that is exactly how it worked. Bradley would start to fuss, the pacifier would be inserted in, and he would instantly get quiet. How could parents be so against something so wonderful?? Jeremy and I loved its magical powers. We needed its magical powers. Heck, we may have even wanted some of those powers to use on each other!

As B grew, we decided to transition his pacifier usage with when it was needed most, not when it was wanted.

At around 6 months, we had to make B cry it out. He was realizing that if he cried Mommy would come. He didn't need me. He just liked me. So we had to allow him to learn to self soothe. After talking with our pediatrician, we came to the conclusion that a big part of his crying was that not only did he want one more look at me, but he also lost his pacifier and couldn't find it in the dark. He recommended we put a couple more in the crib so that one was always in reach.

At the same time, Jeremy and I made the decision to take away B's pacifier except for when he was in his crib or at our church nursery. Each nap and bedtime, we would give him three pacifiers: one in his mouth and one in each hand. At the end of the nap or in the morning, we would then make him put the pacifiers in the crib for the day.

I have to say he did great at this. Occasionally, he would sneak one past us, but we'd quickly remind him of the rule and make him put it back.

And then I started to look ahead. I'd heard horror stories of the pacifier being taken away. And that was usually only ONE. How in the world would I get B to give up THREE??? Jeremy and I started talking strategy. We knew we were entering a war zone and needed to prepare for battle.

When Bradley got 8 teeth at once, Jeremy and I decided to phase him down to one pacifier in an effort to prepare him for that final one. I took away the first one easily. I don't even think he realized it was gone. Four weeks later, I took the second one. The first time Bradley didn't get this pacifier, he looked at me funny, but didn't complain. He still had one. The last, dreaded one.

Our original plan was to take it away over Labor Day weekend. We figured we would need three days to transition him and wanted to do it during a time when we could sleep in if we needed it. Well, as luck would have it for Bradley, my parents asked to come that weekend and so we put it off. The next holiday was in October. B could wait one more month.

Except this past Monday morning, Bradley bit a hole right through the pacifier breaking the rubber piece in half. Now, it was a health concern for me. I had to act on impulse. I had to act without consulting Jeremy. I relied on my Mom instinct.

I showed B the pacifier and told him, "Look B! The pacifier is broke! You can't have it anymore. We have to throw it away so that you don't choke on it." To which B said, "Paci broke. Bye Bye." Then, we threw it away together.

Now, I have to interject here that Jeremy and I have no idea what B calls his pacifier. It starts with an M and ends in a vowel and that's all we got. So for this post, we'll just pretend he calls it Paci. You should also note that our son obviously doesn't know that we have about 10 pacifiers hidden in his bedroom.We are thankful for this.

Ok. Back to my story.

After we threw the pacifier away, we went on with our day. I called Jeremy to give him a heads up that I made a rash decision and he just needed to go with it and that I was sorry for what he might come home to and how our night may go. Jeremy was cool, but I could hear a bit of hesitation in his "ok."

On Monday, it was raining. This was good for sleep, but bad for all the energy my son has. We thankfully met a friend and her kids at an indoor playground to get some of that out. Then, we came home. I kept B up 30 extra minutes to see if he'd get even sleepier and then placed him in the crib.

"B, you remember this morning? Your paci broke. We had to throw it away. No more pacifier. Ok?"
"NO MORE PACI?????????"

B dramatically cried for 20 seconds and then laid down and fell asleep. I sat down in shock and wonder. Did my son really just go to sleep that quickly??? I wrote it off as a fluke. Tonight would be bad. I just needed to prepare.

That night, we did our nighttime routine, put him in the crib, and I reminded him again of his broken pacifier. He looked around for a couple of minutes just to make sure it wasn't hidden and then fell asleep.

I really think that if I could have opened a bottle of champagne at that time and danced through the streets, I would have. But Jeremy and I were too busy staring blankly and confusingly at each other. No tears. No screaming. We both agreed we'd be woken up at 2 am.

But we weren't.

The next morning, I was elated and so proud of Bradley. I could not believe he didn't complain once. I told him so to which he responded, "Paci broke." And went on to play. I mean, seriously, who's kid is this???

It's been three days now and I can safely say our son is free of a pacifier. He has asked for it at each nap, but once I remind him it broke, he moves on with no complaining and no tears.

I am still slightly in shock. Jeremy and I had dreaded this time for MONTHS. We would whisper about it and hint to B about it never imagining that our little man could handle it so wonderfully. I really couldn't be prouder of him.

Here's hoping transitioning to a sibling goes semi as well as this! Ha!

Randoms on a Wednesday

As I was getting on here to blog, I noticed the following draft post. I believe it was written in February right before our world began to crumble under Madelyn's entrance and a million other things.

My child is a pre-teen girl

I promise you my cute little boy is slowly turning into a 13 year old girl. His emotions are heightened, he can cry instantaneously, and things are either extremely good or extremely bad. Plus, when he wants something, he wants it 10 seconds ago.

And I thought little boys were supposed to be easy.

It really all started when Bradley learned the word no and its negative connotations. At that point, not only did the meaning of "no" come to light, but also the fact that if mommy and daddy use the word "no", we are upset with his behavior. This would then begin the moment in time that I would like to call "the end." During "the end", Bradley gets his pouty face on while conjuring up as many tears as his little eyes will make and crawl toward us to then cling to us with every ounce of his little 24lb body.

The same reaction happens when his food is not served promptly at 5:30 p.m., I leave the room for more than 2 seconds, and basically anytime he doesn't get what he wants.

Ha! I wish I had finished it! That period was about 4 months long right during the same 4 months that I didn't leave my bed. To say, "it.was.rough" is slightly an understatement. I am so thankful that with the developing language skills has come the ability to cope better. Bradley definitely still has his moments, but we are able to work much better together to get through them.

I can also say that since that draft post in February my son has gained 4 lbs. I had to take him to the doctor today and he only weighs 28 lbs. You should also know that he is just under 3 feet tall. So basically he will meet all height requirements to ride all the fun rides this Fall at the fair, but will end up flying off said rides if we let him. And, again, this makes him tall and lean like ME... NOT Jeremy... ;-)

Now, on to the randoms on a Wednesday!

Yesterday, Jeremy told me that I am super emotional right now. It took me about three seconds to decide not to switch emotions on him and make him sleep on the couch. I think he really should think before he speaks.

I came up with a funny last week. If you follow me on twitter, you've heard it, sorry. I was super proud of myself. 

#Ironyoftheday For Jeremy's 30th birthday, he wants a hand gun. For mine, I want to make sure he's shooting blanks. #itsgoodtobe30

Good, huh??

Jeremy's birthday is in a month. I have no idea what I am going to do for it.

This morning, I had to sit Bradley and Parker down and talk to them about sharing and playing together. I have this conversation with them about once a week. The cause this morning was a 2 liter coke bottle that I gave Parker to play with. B insisted it was his or trash, not Parker's. Parker knew it was for him and decided to fight for it. Bradley decided to beat Parker with his teddy bear. And, yes, I really do think that Madelyn will be making child number 3, not 2.

I ordered a crib yesterday. I have no idea how I'm decorating the nursery, but I have a crib on its way. This makes me feel like Madelyn can come on whenever she likes. It's amazing how things change with baby #2.

Speaking of which, I have a real life fear that I am going to have a home birth this time around. Jeremy will be at work. I'll be home with Bradley all by myself... and out will come Madelyn. It's moments like this that I am glad we live 5 minutes from the hospital and a block away from the nearest fire station. Oh, and that I've done the whole birthing a child thing before.

Jeremy and I have started to watch Burn Notice on Netflix. We figure it's the urban version of Survivor. You never know when you'll need to break into a building or blow up a car in this town. We need to be prepared.
And so there you have it. Randoms on a Wednesday!

First Day of School

Today is a BIG day for Bradley. This morning, he went to "school" for the first time. I am so excited for him to be able to have this experience. Not only is he going to be able to make lots of friends and do tons of fun things, but the program he's in follows a curriculum so he'll be learning as well.

 

 B's book bag!  

(I figured the Fox is studious and being a future doctor, he needs to be studious as well.)

The following pictures were taken right before we left. B was trying to figure out his new bag while refusing to smile at the camera. And this is the first time I've used my real camera in a while so the images aren't the clearest... Ha! At least I took some pictures, right???

Bradley did great when I dropped him off. He cried a little, but quickly found a toy and a friend and I became obsolete. It definitely made leaving him easier knowing he wasn't wailing!

I arrived at pick up time just a little early so that I could spy on him through the two way mirror.

 He was just hanging out messing with the bulletin board. When I picked him up, he immediately assumed we were going to see "Dada" because we usually do after nursery time at church. He was so funny. "Dada, dada, dada..." In the car, I asked him how his day was, he proceeded to say, "Knock Knock" while making the motion with his hands. I responded, "Who's there?" To which, he mumbled something and started laughing. Ha! He's so goofy.

I'm so excited to see all he learns and to watch him grow new friendships.

And in case you are wondering: the letter for August is "H" and the color is "Yellow."

Personality

My son is full of it.

After the last 4 months of struggling to lift my head and trying to decipher between Bradley's meltdowns and toddler babble in the middle, I have to say that this month has been such a fresh breath.

I'm not only starting to be able to rejoin society, but Bradley has really blossomed. He is now carrying on full conversations, able to express himself without fully melting down first, and letting us get a glimpse of his big and wild personality.

I am LOVING this stage. I spend most my day laughing, helping Bradley with his vocabulary, and watching him play pretend. It amazes me how fast his little mind can absorb the world around him.

Here's some funny stories to give you an idea of what our future holds:

 Watching synchronized diving on Olympics.

The other day Bradley and I were watching volleyball on the Olympics. All of sudden Bradley picks up my phone, puts it to his ear, and says, "Babble babble babble, Momma, babble, babble, babble, tv, babble, ball, momma, babble.... (laughs)... Buh-bye." Then, he hands the phone back to me.

Bradley HATES mess. He doesn't like it on his hands, shirt, feet, OR the ground. While washing dishes, Jeremy got some dish soap on the floor. Bradley immediately pointed it out to us and started to complain. I told him it was fine, not to worry, but he wouldn't let it go. So I handed him a paper towel, curious to see what he'd do. He knelt down, wiped up the mess with the paper towel, and, then, threw the towel away in the trash. Jeremy and I burst out laughing, cheered him for being so helpful, and then in unison said, "I could get used to this."

 Insisting on wearing my hat while saying "Roar!!!"

Bradley also hates bugs. To him, a dust bunny looks like a bug. He found a little one yesterday, picked up the nearest and largest toy he could find, and proceeded to beat the bunny until I intervened and picked it up. I'm really glad to know he'll protect me against the real bugs.

Bradley was riding his firetruck around the house. I asked him if he was getting the fire out. He immediately began to pretend he had a water hose and continued to ride around while going "Shhhhh" pointing his "hose" at all the furniture.  Once the fire was out, he continued riding while loudly cheering himself on.

 

Pretending to be Daddy.

 At lunch, Bradley decided to copy everything I did. If I took a bite of my sandwich, he took a bite. If I took a sip of my drink, he took a sip. (Apparently, I also go "ah!" afterward which he in turn copied.) When talking to him, I put my hand under my chin; he did the same to respond. I, then, decided it was time to get his pigges. He could do nothing, but laugh... And there isn't a purer sound than a toddlers laugh.

The following are two videos. Before I started recording, Jeremy decided to walk on the treadmill. This got all the dogs going crazy, which led to Bradley wanting to mimic them...and then he decided to mimic Jeremy.  H-I-L-A-R-I-O-U-S

Like I said, this stage in his development is really fun.

It was a moment

There are things that a Mom looks forward to with her children. Watching their first step. Seeing them learn new words. Waving good bye as they head off to college.

Then, there are things that a Mom knows are coming, but hopes she'll be the rare one that her kids miss that phase or are just so exceptional that it does not effect them. The teething portion of a child's life. The first pee shot across the room. Or what I had the joy of experiencing today.

Bradley has a favorite TV Show. I know he's young. I know I shouldn't let him watch it. But when you are pregnant and having to go to the bathroom every hour and can barely lift your head from weakness, you get desperate for any form of babysitting around. So he has a favorite show- Shawn the Sheep, or what he endearingly calls "Sha Shee". It is the one thing in our entire house that will capture his attention so wonderfully that I do not have to worry about him for a minute. The couch could catch on fire while he is on it and he would have no clue.

Well, this morning, I had to run to the bathroom and wanted to finish getting ready and so I put on Shawn the Sheep and went. About 2 minutes later, Bradley comes running into the bathroom saying, "Uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh" in a very distressed way. I knew immediately that he had either fallen and had a new boo-boo, found something gross, or was just dirty on his hands. (He hates dirt on his hands for too long.)

I casually ask him what's wrong to quickly discover that there is poo on his hand, around his mouth, and in his mouth. Without hesitation, Bradley runs to the bathroom sink, "uh, uh, uh, uh." I quickly wash off his hands and face and proceed to brush his teeth which for the first time ever he encouraged and didn't fight at all.  Then, I decided to investigate what happened.

I had mistakenly not gotten him fully dressed yet for the day. We are in the process of working on getting laundry done in the next day or so and our clothes options are currently scarce. I was having to grab something from the dryer for him to wear and figured I'd wait until after breakfast and right before we left the house to get him dressed. The least chance of messing up what is probably his last clean outfit, right?? Right.

Bradley has also started sticking his hand down the butt side of his diaper lately. We haven't quite figured out why. He's been involved in some serious teeth making lately so I just figured he itched back there and would ignore it mostly. He poops on a schedule and would usually only do it at a time I knew the diaper was clean. Unfortunately, this morning was a different kind of day.

I guess, he decided to stick his hand down his diaper right after he pooped, didn't realize what he'd done and put his hands in his mouth to gnaw on only to realize that it doesn't taste so good and then came running to me, the mom, to clean up. Yay me!

Don't you just love it when mornings start off so eventful? It really gets the blood flowing.

Happy Thursday!

The longest flight/evening of my life

A few weeks ago, I needed to fly out to Texas last minute. Since I stay at home with our son, Bradley, I knew he would need to come along. And, as you know, last minute flights are not cheap so Jeremy and I figured I'd have to do this alone.

Now, you should know that leading up to this trip, I had been extremely sick with a case of baby in my belly. There had been many days where I didn't leave my bed. I was throwing up every few hours, nauseous constantly, and eating so little that I was not consuming enough calories to meet my needs much less a baby's. I had barely walked more than 300 feet in a little over 2 months. Yet, when Jeremy said he doubted we could make it work out so that he could go, I was positive and upbeat about the situation. I said something like, "That's fine. People fly alone with toddlers all the time. I can do this. I know I can."

You have no idea how happy I am to tell you that we found super cheap flights the next day that actually allowed Jeremy to come with Bradley and I. There is no way on this planet that I would have been able to do that trip alone. I would have ended up selling Bradley at some point to the highest bidder and then jumping out of the plane myself. Although, I don't think we would have even made it to the flight. We more than likely would not have even made it much further than security. And in this scenario, Bradley would have still been sold and I would have jumped in front of the train under the airport.

Our flight was scheduled to take off at 7:30 p.m. We chose this time so that Jeremy could work a full day and we were hoping that since B goes to bed around 8, he'd naturally sleep during most of the flight. He is a very good sleeper and he's usually the one to tell us when it is time for a nap or bed! Ha! Was I ever wrong!

We arrived at the airport around 5:00 p.m. We decided to do the park and ride thing. So we grab our extra large suitcase, our hanging bag, diaper bag, Bradley's teddy bear and blanket, the GoCrib, and B's carseat.  Picture us?? Yeah, we were a hot mess of stuff and toddler.

Then, we wait for a bus. As we are waiting, Bradley notices the planes flying overhead.  I tell him that they are planes and they fly in the sky. "Prains!" "Sky!" he starts to exclaim.

About 10 minutes later and about 100 "prains" later, the bus arrives. We go check our huge suitcase. We decided to check the carseat at the gate to protect it as much as possible and we were taking the hanging up bag, diaper bag, and GoCrib as carry on. So here we are walking through the airport: Jeremy carrying the carseat and GoCrib and me carrying Bradley, the diaper bag, and Bradley's accessories. Thankfully, Megan joined us for the flight out so she had our hanging up bag. Can you picture us?? We were still a hot mess of stuff and toddler.

Now, also picture with me Bradley saying "prains" e.v.e.r.y.t.i.m.e. he sees one...which is about every 5 seconds. Then, imagine with me my sweet husband asking me how I am doing every 5 feet... literally every 5 feet. They were both so annoying that I really didn't know if either of them was going to make it to our flight.

And then there was me. I was busy praying to Jesus the whole time that our flight was right around the corner because I didn't know if I could walk a step further without passing out. The walk to our terminal alone seemed to take an eternity. And we were in Terminal A... as in the first one!

We finally made it to our terminal, grabbed dinner, and sat at our gate waiting. We flew Delta and so I knew we'd be able to board the flight very first since we had B. I was looking forward to that moment of calmness before everyone else boarded. Mainly because I needed to calm myself before this flight. I was nervous about having complications with my pregnancy because of the altitude and pressure. (I had called the doctor to get cleared for the flight and they told me that it was fine unless I had any issues. To which I thought, who doesn't have issues with their pregnancy??) And also because I just wanted to get the whole thing over with.

Well, Jeremy decided to run him and B to the bathroom before the flight. Not 2 minutes after they left, we were called to board.... 15 minutes later, Jeremy shows up with B. Yup, we were the last ones to board. We get on the flight to discover that the flight is completely full and we are on the VERY last row. As in, no window and right beside the bathroom.

Bradley was completely in awe of everything going on. He wanted to read all the safety brochures, press all the buttons, meet all our neighbors, and absolutely not sit in our lap. We were able to distract him for a little with the iPhone, and then again with a magazine. Then, I went to the restroom allowing him to take my seat which he liked. However, then, he decided to scream out in joy a couple of times as he attempted to tickle us causing the entire flight to turn and look at us with that disgusting look of "Can't you control your child??". I wanted to slap every last one of them and then hand them Bradley and say good luck while I took a nap.

 Unfortunately, in none of this time would he go to sleep. We tried everything. I set him up a little bed. I sang. I read. He was just too fascinated by the "prain."

The flight was only an hour and a half, but it felt like a six hour flight. A six hour flight spent wrestling a bull. I was fully exhausted at the end and so thankfully that it was Jeremy sitting beside me and not some random person. Seriously, can you imagine if I had to do it alone??

Once we arrived in Texas, we had to walk through another airport and then distract Bradley while we waited on our luggage. The luggage decided to take its precious time and arrived to us an hour after we landed.
 
Luggage in hand, we got to my grandparents' car and proceeded to put the carseat in adding another 30 minutes to the trip. And as we drove to their house, all completely exhausted and tired, Bradley, wide awake, reminded us constantly that we had just rode on a "prain" in the "sky."

{video of the week} A typical Sunday

Jeremy and I were in another room, when we all of sudden heard the television turn on, the channel changing, and the volume going up. We ignored it for a few minutes while we finished our task at hand and then realized that B was no longer with us. When we got into our living room, this is what we found. B lounging on the couch watching golf. I couldn't have been prouder. This furthers my suspicions that he will one day be a doctor obviously.

Later that day, he got a hold of the remote again and this time turned the TV to soccer. He got really heated watching the teams play.

In fact, he insisted on showing them how to properly kick a ball.

Notice how he kicks with his left foot?? My sister, Rebekah, said that this is a great thing because left-footed soccer players go further and are better. Thankfully, this has come naturally so we haven't had to become all stage mom on him, but we are on standby in case he ever changes his mind and tries to use that right foot.

The photo below is not from Sunday, but from today. I had to add it because it is hilarious.

This is B. He fell asleep WHILE eating his lunch. I wish I could say it was because we ran around all morning outside and I wore him out, but unfortunately I was in the bathroom yet again puking my insides out while B was in front of the television or playing with his toys... inside. Maybe he just sensed my need for him to take a nap on schedule today so that I could continue in my state of utter despair without the guilt. He is a sweet kid like that.

{Video of the week} A typical drive

Bradley loves to talk. A few weeks ago, we met Jeremy for lunch. Afterwards, Bradley had a lot to say. The drive from Jeremy's office to our house is about 20-25 minutes. B talked the e.n.t.i.r.e. drive.This is about a minute of that drive.


You may need to turn up your volume to hear over the driving noises.

{video of the week} Pure joy

Want to hear what pure joy sounds like?? Just get Parker to play with Bradley.

Dr. Bradley Johnson

 

 photo credit: {two} chics photography

BUT I DON'T WANT TO BE A DOCTOR!!!

This would be what he screamed at Jeremy, me, the photog, and her daughter the minute we put the stethoscope around his neck. I proceeded to tell him that being a doctor was fun and noble. Jeremy told him he could do whatever he wants. Bradley then quit crying and started playing with his drums.