Talks with John

Funny conversation tonight....

I asked john to help me think of something tonight and as he looked around for a bit he says:

" I am trying to think of that, but I cant't because my brain is thinking of something else....wait a minute....I am mixed up in the brain....it is like my brain is a broken TV and it has a lot of channels on at once and it can't choose what to watch"

Love a 5 year old brain....

Immunity

I am quickly figuring out that John's immune system is the exception. He was hardly ever sick as a baby; never had antibiotics until he was 3. This last two months one of the three of us, and the majority of the people we come in contact with have been pretty sick...not John, never caught it. There was one 8 day stomach thing a couple years back, but in almost 5 years, I can count the times on one hand.

Of course, being my first child, I assumed this was par for the course....enter Matthew. He has not been over the top I don't think, but easier to catch colds and seems to run a fever if you look at him wrong. (Apparently uncle Brent is the same way about fevers) My poor baby is such a trooper and you can't really tell when he is not feeling well though.

Guess having 2 babies with super immune is asking too much. Here's to all the parents that take care if sick babies!

MJ - new words every day

I think the flood gates are opening. MJ seems to have at least 2 or 3 new words every day. Thank goodness. I have been making a concerted effort to make him talk and have asked John to stop talking for him.... Low and behold... he speaks! Just in the last couple of days... "up", "eat", "stuck", "pickle" (random word thanks to Daddy), "yogurt" (Or some variaton of), "blanket" (well ... "bebe"), "sink", "pig", "elephant".

Christmas 2012

Christmas brings more and more joy to me each year as John gets older and he learns what Christmas is really about. He loves the season and of course Santa and the presents, but to hear him talk about Jesus birthday and giving, etc. it just warms my heart.

The quote of the season from John would have to be this.... he had heard on TV that a family tradition was to go around the table and say our favorite thing about Christmas. Here is our conversation:

John: Mommy we should do that.
Me: I think that is a great idea.
John: I already know what your favorite thing is.
Me: Oh ya, what?
John: Giving. (awwww)
Me: What is your favorite thing?
John: Getting.

HeeHee.

We started off December with this handy, pinterest inspired advent calendar. In which I put a slip of paper that included a special activity that we got to do for the day. Activities included, decorate cookies, dates with mom or dad, random acts of kindness, Christmas crafts, play dates, Christmas movies, look at Christmas lights, shop for Christmas presents, etc.

 

Then of course Jingles the elf showed up with breakfast and started flying around the house each night. Here are two days I happen to remember to get his picture. 

 

All John asked for on his list to Santa was a lego box and this dino shirt: 

I am super pleased with the lego box, as he has played with it every single day for quite sometime, the dino shirt on the other hand, I can do without. Other gifts he received included a toy story blanket, a remote control light up car, lots of dinosaur legos, a dragon shirt, books, an ATV, a bear sleeping bag, a razor scooter, a pop up soccer goal, an angry bird board game thing, and more wonderful things from very generous people.

 

Matthew obviously did not ask for anything, but some things he got it, balls, a tricycle, a lion sleeping bag, books, art supplies, a LOL elmo, a remote control robot, a dragon shirt, a ball pit, etc. He really did not care too much about the presents. He liked to watch other people open and then play with whatever John was playing with.

Best thing of all was that they had a white Christmas! I think I read this is only the 2nd time in 100 years that Dallas has seen a white Christmas day. It was awesome, although MJ did not want anything to do with it until the next day. Here are a few pictures:

We went to Oklahoma before Christmas and shared in the celebrations with a lot of family. Grammie had created an elf for each of the kids and decorated the tree with them. Matthew's had a sack of balls, John's had a fishing pole, Brendan had a soccer ball, Maggie had a tu-tu and baby Everett had a yellow baby blanket. She also incorporate elf-nog (lime sherbet and ginger ale) and an elf hunt with 36 different bags for the kids to find. Super fun.

Full of personality

Matthew is coming into his own little personality right now and he is FULL OF IT! I love this age so much. I remember saying that with John too. He is 22 months and I can not get enough of him!

He is so animated and can be a total ham when he wants to be. He hardly has any words, but he sure knows how to express himself and communicate very clearly.

Happy! Happy! Happy! That is the one word I would use to describe him right now, not much can get him hot and bothered, and even if it did, he bounces back pretty quickly. John being the main culprit of the "hot and bothered" moments.When he does hear no or does not get his way he simply, wipes the smile off of his face, drops his shoulders, tilts his head and looks so pitiful. It makes me smile every time! He does get the real tears every now and again and then you know it is for real, but without those tears.... you know it will be quick lived.

He points and grunts a lot or just goes and does it himself or pulls you to show you want he needs or wants. I just know the words are coming. :)

He is growing up so fast and almost everyday I say "go write that down" because I know I will forget these times. He is still sitting in a booster seat at meals so that I can make sure he stays still, but he can go without and he eats with utensils and from a real cup (sometimes). He can run really fast for his age and he jumps, both feet off the floor, pretty high. He can out shoot me in a plastic basketball game and probably out dribble John with the soccer ball. He tackles Daddy with some real force and loves to swing a bat (or anything else handy) at a ball like there is no tomorrow. He taught himself how to do a three wheel scooter a few months back. He amazes me everyday.

He has started to sleep with an animal and a blanket at nap and night night. It is so cute when he tries to grab them both and drag them upstairs. Sometimes he thinks he can do more than he can with his little pudgy legs.

Once he is warmed up in a situation he can be a real ham. He loves to dance to anything and thinks it weird if music is on and no one is dancing. He knows how to get someones attention to get what he wants.

The one thing above all is his overflowing love for his brother. If John is around, life is good. He mimics everything he does. They are playing together and really enjoying it. He literally will do whatever John is doing no matter how wacky. Watching them play together are my favorite moments throughout the day, by far. Admittedly, I get teary eyed several times a week at how sweet they are with each other and how I want to stop time. They are my angels!

Before I forget....

Oh, times flies so fast and countless times I think to myself "don't forget to write that in the blog".... well, we all see how that turns out.

So, a list of things that are on the top of my head...

* John and Matthew have started playing together and it might be the sweetest thing I have ever witnessed. Well, for 90% of the time anyway.

* Matthew still is slow growing is vocabulary, but has clearly picked up "Mama", so I am happy. :)

* Matthew will do ANYTHING that John does. He has entered the obssession phase of little brotherhood I think. So cute. And John eats it up and 97% of the time encourages it and takes wonderful care of him.

* It look Matthew 3-4 times going to school, but now he leaps out of my arms into his classroom. It is an awesome feeling for us all. Matthew and John see each other sometimes and school and all 4 teachers tell me how cute they are when they see each other and how they light up! cue my heart melting.

* Today was Johanna's last day with us! :( She has been in our lives for so long, but she is moving to Houston. I am super sad about it, she was like family and helped us out in so many ways beyond watching the boys. She is precious and will be missed.

* I love when the boys run around the house. It makes me wonder at what age the "pitter patter" goes away. Matthew clearly still has it, but John is more of a clumping. :)

Matthew 18ish months

We had to wait a few weeks on his 18 month appointment to spread out the shots, so we are a little late in these stats.

Matthew Stats:
Height: 34 inches (87%)
Weight: 27 lbs 2 oz (64%)
Head: 19 inches (61%)
In comparison, here is John's at 18 months:
John Stats:
Height: 34.5 inches (94%)
Weight: 26 lbs 10 oz (54%)
Head: 19.25 inches (79%)

A few things about Mr. Matthew:

- We started MDO on Wednesdays. We have been 4 times now and this last time there were no tears, he was smiling and reached out to Ms. Karen! WOOHOO! He does not nap at school, bu apparently is quiet, so they are fine with it. Surprising enough, he functions pretty well the rest of the day with no nap. We all got a little cold on week 2 and then settled with MJ and he got a double ear infection from it. yeah.

- We also started a playgroup with the kids in his class on Tuesday mornings which is nice, so they get to see each other 2 times a week now. He does not play with the kids, but he acknowledges that they are there.

- Still not a lot of words, but communicates very well. If not with sign language, he will point or grab your hand and take you to what he wants. I am guessing those words will come in a flood real soon.

- He LOVES to do whatever John is doing, most of all run around and play tag. Although he has no idea what is going on, he just runs and screams and laughs.

- Starting to really get into coloring and asks to do it all the time.

- Really enjoys nursery rhyme/ toddler music on Pandora and when I sing silly songs to him.

- No interest what so ever in TV yet. Not that I care, I just assumed he would like it by now. :)

- Full blown Mama's boy, but less and less separation anxiety each and every time. Worst part is when I am cuddling with John, he will literally insert himself between us.

- Can dribble a soccer ball almost better than John!

- Eats like a champ, not really picky at all. Although I still do have to sneak veggies in where I can.

And finally, to quote the new movie "What to Expect When You Are Expecting". I love him so much I am afraid I will eat him!

LOVE THIS AGE!

Mountain Village, Colorado: Summer 2012

 

WARNING: Long post, but I want to re-live this one years from now. If anything, look at the pics. (to see the pictures in full screen click on the slideshow and it will take you to the site)


Our first family trip just the four of us and it was a huge success. There were some struggles as well, but how could there not be with two young boys, a long drive and mountains?

Breaking down the days:

1) Monday 3:00am, Carl and I get up, get ready and pack the car. We have the boys in the car and on the road at 4:30am. They were pretty groggy, but stayed awake for half hour to an hour or so. Then me and the boys fell asleep for a couple of hours. Sorry Daddy.

The drive was not bad at all. John was GREAT. Matthew had a little harder time, but overall as long as I was available to give, reach, climb, feed, do, have, etc, they were good. John only watched one movie. Cars 2. Matthew would not wear the head phones to his movie, but he watched some baby Einstein pretty well. John played on the ipad a lot too. Stickers were a hit for both and the best thing of all was food. I had packed about 10 sacks of random trail mix type of stuff that was supposed to last the trip there and back. It was like a surprise in every bag. They made there way through them all on the trip there. We stayed in New Mexico after 9.5 hours and then drove in the next day. The hotel was not fun, too tight of space for a family with Matthew's age. And we were all tired and cranky.

2) Tuesday morning we got up and went swimming at like 9:00 in the morning after some room service that neither boy would eat (note: the boys have not had a real meal since dinner the night before we left our house. I tried to let it go.) The pool and the little splash pad with the mountains in the background were great. We were trying to wear them out before getting in the car for another 5 hours.

After we dried off and packed up we headed off again. Matthew was asleep with one night taken from a granola bar before we got on the highway. John was not far behind.

The landscape totally changed this part of the trip and was awesome to look at it. Oklahoma and Texas are so flat. I only thought we passed through mountains in New Mexico.... Colorado was AMAZING! From the moment you cross into the state there was not ever a scene that captured my attention.

We pull in right at check in time at 4:00. We stayed in Mountain Village which is a smaller less known area, but just a gondola ride away from Telluride. The house and views were nothing less than breathtaking, seriously, made me wonder why I live in Texas.

The second thing that becomes very apparent to only a mother of two boys and the the second one having no fear.... STAIRS....E.V.E.R.Y.W.H.E.R.E. A little panic set in, but in the long run we were able to block and maintain. Not quite sure it was how the house intended to be used, but it worked for us. The house was built into a side of a mountain so there were literally 5 stories or half stories throughout the house and multiple staircases to some. The bottom street level was like a basement with three bedrooms, and although I think it was meant for the "kids" to stay in we stayed down there too. I could not imagine John trying to find us in the middle of the night otherwise. Or me stumbling around to get down to Matthew.

The very top floor was all a master suite and bathroom, AMAZING! It had a steam shower and I used it as my bathroom while we were there to escape, but other than that, did not really use it much.

We spent most of the time in the great room, porch and kitchen area. Beautiful from every vantage point. There were no vents in the house, thus no air conditioning. The house was heated through the floors. So during the day we had to open every window and door and it felt like we were outside. Again.... AMAZING!

We ordered pizza and the boys finally ate... A LOT! Everyone off to bed, slept pretty good.

3) Wednesday. Our first day of hiking. We got off to a little late start, maybe 9:30. Carl had scouted out the Alta Lakes. We drove up what they call "switchback" roads, which was basically zig zagging up a side of a mountain on a one lane road, inches between you and well....I  won't turn this to negative town. I did cry the entire way up the mountain. Seriously.

Once we got to where we could park, we loaded up and started hiking. It was more fun than I ever dreamed. All 4 of us had a great time. It was an easy hike to start out and then we set up a day camp by the side of one of the lakes to fish and fly fish (hoping to catch lunch). John of course caught the first fish, but it was a baby and a throw back. We ended up eating the PBJ's that I packed.

Carl and John went on a hike by themselves while Matthew and I explored a bit. They saw some sort of animal that we never really figured out what it was. When the got back, the boys fed a duck on the lake while we packed up and then we headed back. 10 minutes into that hike, Matthew was asleep in the pack. He was exhausted. It was so cute. Carl took the opportunity to hike a steeper hill with him asleep and John and I perched in the valley eating a snack and watched him the whole way. John found a chipmunk skeleton and yes, it is on his dresser now along with the cow bone he found on Nana's farm. yea.

Back to the house (much less nervous on the drive down, I guess you get initiated and then it seems okay). I pulled together some random stuff we had packed for dinner because we were too tired to do anything else. We were starting to adjust to the altitude, but still struggling.

Wrapped up in a blanket and a cocktail Carl and I spent our evenings on the porch just staring. LOVE THIS PLACE!

4) Thursday. Okay, so Wednesday went well.... we decided to take it up a notch and try for Silver Lake. The sites all said "difficult", but we thought we could do it if we carried both boys. We should have brought a trail map.... going to leave it at that.

The drive up was MUCH longer, but the roads were a little wider, so I felt better. It seemed like we had driven to the top of the mountain. Only to find there were more mountains to climb. We found the only place to park and loaded the boys up. Carl's pack with John and the gear was so heavy that he broke his walking stick trying to STAND UP! WHAT? Should have been our first clue. We followed the directions on the website (prior to leaving, because of course you get no reception once you are on trails) and this guy that worked at the power plant (uh huh) and crossed the river right where we were supposed to, only problem was we really did not know what to do from there. We were in the thick of it and creating our own trails at this point. I was getting a little anxious. Then we kept seeing people on a main trail across the river... we came to a decision point.... we hit a part of the river where it was either climb a mountain on the right or turn back, we could no longer cross the river because of the high cliffs.... we were exhausted and Carl had too much weight.... we crossed the river where we could and then literally crawled on our hands and knees up the steep side to the main trail and collapsed. At this point we needed shade and food.

We ran into some folks that pointed us in the direction of Silver Lake (our destination) and it was on the opposite side of the river and on a steep mountain with no main trail.... poo... we hiked a bit more towards another lake and then decided to turn around, we were in over our heads. Matthew slept on me on the hike down. We found a shallow and narrow part of the river with some shade and ate lunch.

Carrying Matthew was great, Carl and I both agreed. Although he does not weigh much less than John, he sits still and he "talks" the whole time very sweetly and happily and plays with your head. Super fun. John apparently (although I never carried him) would lean from side to side and at one point tried to count as far as he could and got close to 150. And he would talk loud right in Carl's ear and then start rambling about something and then complaining. In retrospect... pretty funny. I choose Matthew on this one. :)

On our way home, we drove through Telluride because John had fallen asleep. There was one school K-12. But beautiful. I can only imagine what it would be like to live there.

We stopped in Mountain Village for a rootbeer float and some sliders and this little park with the biggest and the best see-saw I had ever seen. Carl and I got on that and laughed so hard we couldn't get off. Showered and then back on the gondola to Telluride for dinner. The boys loved the gondola. And I have to say.... I think it would be pretty cool to take a gondola to work everyday. We ate at a high review but let down of a bakery type place, but did pick up some cool desserts and breakfast stuff.

4) Friday. Carl got up with the boys and got them breakfast and brought me coffee in bed. FIRST TIME EVER to bring me coffee in bed AND I WILL NEVER FORGET IT! MEANT A LOT TO ME!

For the adventure, we decided to take this one easy. Went to Priest Lake (I think) after a detour up a long switchback road to get to lake that was private (they should put that CLEARLY on the maps). Back down we go in the car. Once there, no hiking, car within site distance, set up day camp and tried fishing for lunch again. No luck. but lots of fun. We went on little adventures around the lake and crossed another river and built a lean-to for some shade. Awesome day.

For most of the trip I am the type of person to be anxious about the unknown and what could happen that I would not enjoy myself. However, from the depths of my sole, I trust Carl with our lives and if I ever had to be stranded with both kids and him, I know we would be okay. He amazes me and keeps me sane. He approached every outing as if he was to break a leg and we would have to stay the night in the mountains. He was more than prepared and I can not thank him enough for that peace of mind.

After our adventure, we took the gondola to the same place with the pizza from the first night. Just a huge outdoor open area with umbrellas that several restaurants shared. But still my kiddos run-a-muck. We ate quick and went home.

5) Saturday. Up and at 'em. Long drive ahead. Took FOREVER to pack us all back up. I forgot what time we got on the road, but it was 14 hours until we got home I think at 1:00am (ish) Sunday morning. John watched movies at night and Matthew fell asleep right on cue, but then after an hour or so, he was just awake, staring, almost in a trance for a couple of hours before he fell asleep again. I tried my hardest to stay awake. I did. I did. But I think I slept the last hour. Boys went right to sleep when we got home, but were up early.

Would do it again in a heartbeat and I hope to do it every summer. As the boys get older it will only get easier and more adventurous.

Top Ten

1) This is our last week of summer and once again, I can not believe how fast it goes by! I still have another year with John before he starts the big K, but as I see some of my friends letting go for that first time, it makes me remember how fast this next year is going to fly.

2) I am on an organization crusade! Slowly I am cleaning and organizing different parts of the house and there is a neighborhood garage sale next weekend, so I will unload a lot of it then. I am also going to try and get some more organization to meals and daily life. I have dry erase calendar and wall files hung in the laundry room that I refer to as my command center. I love it and use it every day. I hope to include more things like that around the house to help me stay organized so that I can focus on more important things like my hubby and kiddos. :)

3) We went to Telluride, Colorado a couple weeks back and it was incredible. A whole post coming soon, but if you are ever in the market for a summer vacation spot that is not the beach, I highly recommend this place and I hope to go back many times!

4) Matthew is not talking much. I think I have said this for a while now, but his vocabulary does not increase near at the rate that John's did at this age. I guess it is true what Dr. Bill, why should he learn to talk when everyone else will talk for him.

5) John and Matthew play more and more together every day and it is cute to watch. Matthew will follow John around (when John wants him to) and mimic everything he does (crawl, jump, hide, growl, super powers, etc.)

6) Carl has traveled much less these past few weeks which is great. We are preparing ourselves for the busy season that awaits him pretty much now and ramps up to its highest of highs at the end of the December. Here we go again (collective sigh).

7) I love play dates for John now. I love them when they are over here so that I can hear and see him interact with the other kids and I love them when they are at someone elses house (as we speak) because I know he is having fun and I get a little extra break.

8) John's official first season of soccer started this week and it is going to be great. There are 5 boys from the neighborhood, although he only knows Garrett. He will get a chance to know the rest of the boys that will go to his school next year too. I will try to take some pictures and do a whole other post on this because he is a different kid than the first day of T-ball and it is so fun to watch.

9) I am into running... yes...you heard it right. I have always cursed running and did not quite understand the enjoyment. All of a sudden I can not get enough. It is some alone time with my thoughts and my music and my competitiveness (against myself this time) leaps back into action. I get better with every run. Although my IT band on my right side of my leg has been bothering me and stops me in my tracks on some runs. I am seeing a sports chiropractor about it and is doing wonderful things. I think a couple more sessions with him and more conditioning, it should be gone for good. Anyone have any good running/workout songs to add to my play list, let me know.

10) Invesco pulled my plug last week. This is the first time I have been officially unemployed, I am sad about it, but it did lift one more burden and one more to-do list from my life. They said I can call them anytime once I have a more set schedule and get back on the team. Not sure when that will be, but glad to know the door is still open.

The Top Ten

1) Carl left town today. :( Although so far this is the only trip scheduled in July I still hate to see him go. I have noticed how very different our days and weeks are when he is in town versus out of town. Now that we are used to him travelling, I look back on how freaked out I used to be when he would leave for a night and I laugh. I miss him and want him home.

2) Matthew still has not taken a liking to Church nursery at all. Although this last time he did not fuss much, but he did have to be held most of the time. I guess we are making progress. He will be going to MDO there once a week in the fall and be in that same room, so I really hope he can get used to it. I will pull him out of MDO if, after a fair trial, he does not warm up. He will only be 18 months and we do not HAVE to do it since I am not working from the office any longer.

3) This summer is flying by! I can not believe it is July already. I need to remember this feeling going forward, as both last summer and this summer I was nervous about and wondered how I would keep the kiddos busy. In all honesty, I am looking at our "summer to-do list" that John and I created and wondering how I am going to get it all in at this point. I completely believe in down time, at home, doing nothing, except being with each other and taking us where the blows....but I may need to step it up a gear. :)

4) John is going to drop off camps this summer and really enjoying them. Garrett and/or Elyse are also there with him and in his mind there is NOTHING better. He has been to an "extreme sports" camp at The Little Gym and to VBS at Stonebridge United Methodist Church and to science day and tomorrow is solar system day at Trinity Presbyterian Church.

5) Matthew has bumps and bruises all over his head and body. It looks like we beat him. (we don't)

6) Bailee is old. I love her so much and she has been the one day-to-day part of my life that has stayed consistent since I was 21 years old. She is on pain medication for her arthritis, the vet says it is one of the most advance cases he has seen, but the meds really help. And they do not make her a lump on a log at all, they really just help her to walk and get up and down. I know John will remember her, as he still talks about Kallie, but I hope Matthew will remember Bailee too. Her name is one of the few words that he has and he loves dogs.

7) How is my house more messy now that I stay home full time than it was when I worked part time. I look around and think... I should be cleaning that, not writing this... but we can all see how that turned out. :)

8) We have been in this house 5.5 years and it is starting to show a bit. Random things are happening, but nothing major thank goodness. Toilet seat broke, cabinet door hinge fell off, shutters breaking, paint peeling, etc. I love this house, but would love to build one from scratch one day with my entire wish list (the list is reasonable and practical for the most part). Pinterest will really help me out in the design process! :)

9) I catch myself looking almost daily at John and wondering where the last 4 years went. Time flies by with these boys. I remember the early days with both boys thinking those sleepless nights and newborn frustrations would never pass, but man, they pass too quickly!

10) John is hot and cold, good days and bad days, no in between. Today was fantastic and gives me hope. His latest antic is the way he speaks to people, his tone of voice is so angry and unkind. The "fits" have virtually stopped (with the exception of the normal 4.5 year oldisms, but he gets those under control pretty quickly), but the tone of voice is crazy. We are working on it....