Not Even For A Second...

This morning Chad had an early wake up call which alerted a wood pecker to start pecking outside my window at 6:47 after my staying up until way after midnight. That should've been my sign to call it quits for the day- I'm an 8 hr sleep a night kind of gal, and well, I didn't even get close to 7-- it was going to get ugly.

So by 9am, I had already had multiple conversations with Max about why he couldn't have cookies for breakfast, and a handful of conversation which consisted of me begging him to be the mommy today so that I could be Max. Unfortunately he couldn't get past the fact the he couldn't reach the cereal or he would've realized that it was actually a good deal that could've resulted in said cookie for breakfast. Oh well, I had to put on a smile and be the mommy, again!

Luckily they're really cute and funny... During bed making and dressing they were cracking me up and delivering kisses. Before I even knew it, I was sucked back into the roll... Despite the double runny noses that are the reason that we've gone through 9 (seriously) boxes of tissues in less than 2 weeks. Our trash man may have noticed and influx, for real.

Well I was sitting on my floor reading an email when Max came and delivered another kiss only to disgust me because it involved slimy snot being passed to my face. I sent him to his bedside table to retrieve his 72625th tissue of the morning and he said "I can't see any tissues by my bed." Well just 10 minutes before I had gotten a tissue myself from the box so I was momentarily befuddled until I remembered that Chad had just flew in and back out a few minutes before and thought that maybe he had used the last of the tissues from that box and thrown it away. I went to find Jack who was playing in the trash per normal, and beside him was a tissue box.

It made everything make sense. A few minutes earlier, just seconds after Chad left and seconds before Max delivered the slimy kiss, I had asked Max where Jack was... We could hear him but we couldn't see him. Max rounded the corner and found him in the bathroom pulling tissues out of the trash and blowing his nose. I could pretend that I'm appalled by this and the grossness of the story but let's just say that it happens ALL. THE. TIME. All day long. We keep our kitchen trash can up on a chair for this very reason. And yes, we say no, and discipline him, but the draw of the trash is just too much for Jack and it's too often for this mother who needs to have more than 10 seconds to get something done without having to remove said child from dumpster diving. So I just put minimal stuff- like tissues- in the bathroom trash and transfer all other things straight to the kitchen trash that is kept out of Jack's reach. I should tell you that Chad is worried about his future and that we have lost several important items to his love for the trash... Like a set of keys, his buggle, many cups and Tupperware from the cabinet he can reach, etc... And we didn't realize any of these items were gone until they were in a landfill gone. But that's a story for another day.

So back to my original story... Max gets a tissue from my room, I wipe his nose, and he then announces he has to go potty. I send him that direction only to have him right back in my face making a sad face saying, "Jack put 5 5 5 5 tissues in the potty." What could he mean? Well, let's just say that for once Jack wasn't playing in the trash and Chad hadn't used the last of the tissues nor had he put the box in the trash can Jack was playing with... No no no! Jack had gone to Max's room, carried the tissues to the bathroom, opened the toilet, blew his nose on every tissue and wadded it up and dropped it in the potty. Lucky for me, Max had the sense NOT to use it or else when I reached in the potty to pull each and every tissue out, I would've also gotten to deal with bodily fluids and excrement. Joy.

The moral of the story? Don't take your eye off of this child. Not even for a second. He's only 16 months people... It's downhill from here!

Max turns 3!

Oh how my heart rejoices and aches simultaneously to write this post-- my baby boy, my first born, my little sidekick just turned 3. I can't believe I've been his mom for 3 full years, I can't believe that he's been my baby for that long either-- it has flown by and been absolutely wonderful!

Max's birthday was on a Sunday this year, so we just decided to make a day of it and do it all in one day. He was really funny about his birthday this year- he actually understood it and was looking forward to being 3 like Lizzy. He had also just celebrated Hudson's 4th birthday and understood all the in's and out's of a party.

For several months, Max had said that he wanted 2 parties-- one at Pop's beach (because his birthday was in the midst of our beach vacation when he turned 2, he thought that meant that he should be celebrated on every beach trip!) and one with his friends. He wanted the beach birthday to be golf themed and the friends party to be baseball themed and he was ADAMANT about all of this. And then about a week before he turned 3, we figured out why... me and the boys had gone to my moms and we were walking up to their place when Max started telling me and my mom that at his golf birthday (the first one) he was going to turn 3 and then at the baseball party, he was going to turn 4. We cracked up!! That's how this little man's mind works-- he analyzes a situation, figures out what he wants, and then makes a plan... even if that means skipping a year of his life :)  Apparently being 4 like Hudson seemed like the best way to go!

And so that's what we did-- my mom planned his beach golf birthday party and I planned his baseball party with his friends. And the boy was loved and celebrated all the live long day/ week/ month. (I've taught him well!)

My dearest Max, oh how I love you and your sweet peanut face. I love that you managed to turn 3 and 4 in one month and then finally decided the being 3 was just fine and dandy in itself. I love that being 3 makes you so much bigger in your mind-- including that you buckle your own carseat (praise the Lord) and can now suddenly dress yourself.  Your brain, your vocabulary, and your phrase kill me every time-- lately you've told your Dad and I when we've questioned your mumbling, "nothing, I'm just talking to my own self" and then after turning three, you wanted to make sure all of your clothes still fit and if they we still your size. After Pop got you your new hat, you walked around telling us that "it's just my age" and although you meant size, I will surely not correct you!

Sports are still at the center of your attention, although motorcycles and tractors have made a recent appearance on the radar. You still are very independent and will spend hours playing golf and baseball and soccer and tennis by yourself. Although you do talk us all into playing these sports with your regularly. Your brain is so funny-- you got a golf glove a couple months ago, and as soon as you wake up each day, you must put it on as well as your fitted Braves hat. You like to do things that Chipper Jones would do and your must have on your golf glove to bat as well as ride your bike. (You came up with this completely on your own.) You are a precious child, and your are a mommy's boy who does love time with Annie and Pop. Every time you go visit them, you call and say that you want to stay for 5 days. Luckily you don't know how long that is so usually 2 nights is good and you can be convinced to come back to me.

You have wonderful friends, and a wonderful brain-- you are active and strong and smart, and managed to master the alphabet in about a week. You  now recognize letters on signs as we drive and tell me who's name they start-- you see G's for Gabe and J's for Jack and V's for Vicki and P-O-P for Pop. You recognize when other people share the letters from your name, too. You love that your friend Mason has an M and and A like you--  but he doesn't have an X. Your brain analyzes things like this all on it's own, and I love that almost all of your time is spent with me so I get to watch and 99% of your thoughts. You are an amazing little boy and your Dad and I could not be more proud of you.

Each night as we pray and sing Jesus Loves Me, I tell you how thankful I am that God gave you to me-- but just in case you ever forget, I just want to remind you of that!  You are such a blessing to me and our family. And you are loved forever, 100% as is, and Jesus died for you. And don't forget, I love you tons and tons, but God loves you even more. Happy 3rd birthday little man. You are magnificent!

Balayage

So I've mentioned my amazing cousin and hair stylist Lindsey-- and well, she's begun worrying about me... it started with the minivan, but when I admitted to buying this dress from Talbots (my grandmother's favorite store!) it became serious.

Don't judge, it's dressy AND it has pockets!!

She works her darnedest to keep at least my head "cool". As she's watched my cool points plummet over the past few years, she's been a constant source of "we could do this to your hair and it would look wonderful". Between my cuts, dealing with my relentless baby bangs, and my color, she has managed to give me an unbelievable amount of good hair days, considering what she had to work with.

Well she began telling me about balayage a few months ago... apparently it's a french word meaning "to sweep" and "Balayage is a hair coloring technique which is designed to create very natural-looking highlights which grow out without developing a noticeable and obvious root. Many stars and models use balayage on their hair, and in response to popular demand, many salons offer balayage, especially in urban areas. Some pride themselves on their balayage technique, considering themselves artisans of the craft and offering training to people who are interested in learning balayage."

And so we decided that it'd be my fall do-- it'd help with cool points, it'd be good fall coloring, and it would help me manage my roots... it'd consist of dying my whole head dark and then lightening the tips... completely opposite of what I've been doing, ha!

(I'll work on my photography skills later... I can't do it all, people :)!!)

Well, I'm happy to report, that minivan driver and all, I'm now as cool as most of hollywood with my new do! Thanks Lindsey for keeping me "in the know"... or at least helping me to appear as such :)

Brotherhood

I posted this funny post when Max was little and learning to "share" although he still hasn't grasped the concept well...

Recently, I've enjoyed watching the same turn of events with Jack too... oh boy!

Jack is "big" now and can do everything that Max can do-- this includes going outside in the yard alone (or so he thinks) climbing up and standing on anything and everything (including his fire truck that moves) and of course, eating everything that everyone else is eating. When the boy sees food, he is immediately at your feet screeching for a bite. I keep hounding him with "please" but screeching and pointing is much more efficient.

This past week, I caught one such event on my phone camera-- Max had asked for a spoonful of peanut butter-- his most favorite post nap snack right now-- and as soon as Jack saw the spoon and jar, he was in need. I was in the middle of something, so I didn't get him one-- I didn't want it smeared all over my house and I didn't have time to get him in his seat at the moment. So Jack took matters into his own hands...

And all of a sudden, it was silent in the house.

So I walked around the corner to see this:

Oh melt my heart!

Max and Jack seated on the rug-- Max got a lick, then Jack got a lick, and repeat.

Of course Jack was screeching when it was Max's turn...

But Max was not deterred, he just kept sharing :)

I love that these boys are brothers and have each other and I love that they're so close in age. Some days they make me crazy and it'll get worse, I'm sure of it, but they'll always be brothers-- and no one can mess with that bond!

Jack's 1st Haircut

When it comes to their hair, Max and Jack are yet again, total opposites. By the time Max was one, he had already had at least 3 hair cuts... a couple without my permission if you remember correctly. Well Jack, not so much. It basically took him through his first year to even sprout hair, so we managed to get pretty close to his 16th month before he needed his first cut...

But alas, the time has come.

Lucky for us, my wonderful cousin Lindsey is amazing with hairs, even baby fine ones, and she also puts up with my wiggly (and sometimes tearful) children. She lives just around the corner from us, so we scheduled a family outing with her to get our baby J trimmed up. The problem was the mullet he was starting to get in that back... yikes! I didn't want anyone mistaking him for a Gators fan, that's for darn sure!

He handled it well-- we both sat in the chair, I had him in a bear hug, and he thought it was pretty funny. I think he enjoyed being the center of attention, and being under the lights and Chad was their to capture it all on camera.

All was well until..... his mother started crying. Seriously. I started crying. Why? Well because my baby as getting his haircut... making him not so much of a baby. And well, because I'm a sap and a nutcase. Chad noticed first and started making fun of me... so I just said I "needed a moment" and Lindsey looked at me in bewilderment. It's amazing I have friends and family that still hang out with me!

But after it all was said and done, and after I regained composer of course, we had the most handsome baby/ toddler ever!

A Diaper Problem

I feel like we haven’t had an incident in quite a while. Truth be told, it’s probably that I’ve become more immune to “incidents” and forget that certain aspects of raising boys isn’t normal to everyone. And one day, when I forget details or want to remind them of the things they did to give me gray hairs, I’ll be wishing for more accounts and more pictures… but I guess keeping them safe and keeping me sane is also a good use of my time!

But alas, Jack went ahead and gave me something to blog about yesterday... apparently his diaper was causing an issue prior to his nap...

Around 2pm, I laid him down for his afternoon snooze. Max was with my parents, so I soaked up the quiet time in the house... I took a 20 minute power nap myself, then I did my bible study, organized some piles, tidied up my to-do list and the living room. I also got in a good episode of The Baby Story (my favorite pass time) and before I knew it, the afternoon was gone and I was wondering where my baby was.

I turned on his video monitor, wondering if he was awake already, but just playing quietly in his bed and to my dismay, I saw this:

His bare booty UP in the air while he was sound asleep. I did a double and a triple take and just began to laugh. Oh this couldn't be! When I put him down, he was so sleepy, he didn't even make a sound. But apparently, he did go ahead and get his diaper OFF before catching his zzz's.

Oh how I chuckled and trembled with fear simultaneously. I tried to ease my anxiety by pointing out that I'd already changed a big #2 earlier in the day, but my heart just couldn't be calmed. Yet, every time I looked at that monitor, I just couldn't stop my laughter. What a funny little boy! And oh what fun it is to raise these small people who are always in the midst of what you least expect!

He didn't wake for about another hour... in the meantime I posted the picture on Facebook and texted it to some of my peeps while I waited in anticipation for the first sounds from his room. When it was time, I went in with my camera and flicked on the lights...

And I was blessed, very blessed!

It was merely a wet spot and a half- diapered kid. And he wasn't pleased with the situation at all. I was giggling and snapping pictures and he was giving me the stank eye. But my dearest Jack, I really appreciate the laugh and the joy-- oh how you bring me joy! And thank you thank you thank you for keeping is "clean-ish" for me with this one. You're the greatest. 

Fall Changes... Double the Boys!

Even though it's not really fall, as the temperature would prove, we're still considering it fall because naturally, summer is over when the kiddies go back to school. We're about 3 weeks in and the biggest change for us is the Spiva boys! For half of Tuesday and all of Wednesday, they hang out with us while their parents are at work.

And so far, it's been amazing! We pick up Hudson from preschool about half way through the day and Max loves that although he has made it clear that he doesn't want to go to school :) And after some playing and lunch, all the boys lay down and sleep at the exact same time! That's right-- I have a house full of a 4 yr old, a 3 yr old, a 1 yr old, and an 8 mos old, and yet I still get about 2 hours of silence before baby Grant wakes up and I get to snuggle him on the couch and give him a bottle. He really helps with my baby fever although he is getting too big too fast!

The boys all play so well together-- all 4 of them. Both of the big boys are protective over their little brothers and come to the rescue anytime they fuss. So then naturally, they've started being protective of the other's brother too. I love it!

My mom came by one day when they were all here and she said it was loud and full of boy craziness, but I've yet to notice! It's a houseful and a handful but it's oh so fun and full of lots of laughs! And did I mention how cute they all are??