tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33336121803872663762024-03-13T23:15:40.259-07:00One Little RumerAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12783684993637667960noreply@blogger.comBlogger305125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3333612180387266376.post-8531981604001870162016-03-27T11:52:00.002-07:002016-03-27T11:52:52.842-07:00Spring Break 2016<div style="text-align: center;">
Some things never change. I still can't remember what has happened in the past couple weeks. Stay with me anyhow...?</div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">William is really starting to improve at Karate. He loves going through the form sequence and has it pretty well down pat. His favorite part still seems to be saying "Ki-yah" at the end - but that's probably the most fun. His sensei works really well with him and manages to get him to focus, stay on task, and use his manners. Most of the time. I'm super proud of him and enjoy watching him on Monday & Wednesday evenings. Cool to see him learn and enjoy new things.</span><br />
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The Cat in the Hat came to the Springer Opera House a couple weeks ago and lucky for us, there were still tickets left for one of the last shows - so off we all went one Saturday night to see the show. The boys did so well behaving and the show was perfectly adorable. Apparently William has the book memorized because he kept telling me what was going to happen next. I think we will definitely have to go see shows more often. They've done really great at the few I've taken them to - granted they are ones geared to kids - but that's kinda the point right?! Both monsters are begging to go to The Little Mermaid later this year - should be fun!!</div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">We also went to Auburn for the day before the show, to eat at Niffers and walk around the downtown. It kinda stinks that they have been to Auburn but never Athens... I'm hoping they will still choose Red & Black when the times comes, and not just for In-State tuition... but really... for in-state tuition. :) The three of us had never been to Niffer's before and it was delicious. I had a burger with some kind of amazing yumminess (I can't remember now but it was gooey and awesome). The boys got crazy with a hot dog and nuggets... but they had a great time with the blue fish bowl drinks for kids. There were even red fish at the bottom!! So cute. Always surprises me how close a drive Auburn is. I suppose I can NOT hate them... LOL LYMI. ;)</span><br />
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This past week was William's spring break, the first half wasn't too exciting, but the back half was spent at the beach with my sister and her husband's family. It was an 8+ hour drive, and I thought I'd be smart to start the drive in the middle of the night so the boys would sleep most of the way. Yeah... best laid plans. I put them in bed at 1:30 and they were awake the entire drive, we arrived just after 10am I think. Wow. 2 coffees, 2 Monster drinks, snacks... it was a situation - but we made it. </div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">And then they wanted to go straight to the beach. Of course. The water is still very very cold in March (Atlantic Ocean) but they didn't care. Right in they went. So I stood there up to my ankles, freezing, to watch them. They went back and forth in the sand, played with the styrofoam airplane, and just had the best time. Finally convinced them to eat lunch and then have quiet time. They didn't fight that too hard - told them 1.5 hours and then they could be done (2pm). Yeah - they fell WAY asleep and took a good nap until 4pm. I even got to snuggle with Patrick. Not mad about it.</span><br />
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Without going minute by minute - we all had a really great time on the beach. I took building a sand hole (fort) a bit too seriously - but it came in handy to block the wind so Patrick would stop shivering, and flying kites was SOOO much fun... Until the plan one went all kamikaze on me and now I've got a big ol' knotted mess to untangle LOL They used their manners, 99% great behavior, and we just had the best time. The ride home was 9.5 hours with all the potty breaks, and I was sooooo sleepy when we finally rolled in.</div>
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The Easter Bunny made a stop at our house though, glad we didn't get skipped over. :) Because of the weather, eggs were hid in the living room and the boys were so funny to watch. They would focus in on one and ignore the other 6 in plain view in the same area. Silly monsters. Patrick got new Batman pajamas and William got a friend for Hilbert. He is Hilbert's twin, Humphrey, but William wants to call him "Bumpy". I'm hoping that won't last. We will see. Off to church we went, the boys too too cute in their blue and green plaid, we even snagged a few pictures in between rain drops.</div>
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Loves.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12783684993637667960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3333612180387266376.post-57099298382112841472016-03-03T09:05:00.003-08:002016-03-03T09:05:48.612-08:00Absense makes the heart grow fonder... after two years...I haven't written a word for two years. I didn't know what to say. But, I've missed writing down the memories. THere's a phone app (will we laugh about that in 20 years?!) that reminds me of all the funny things my children have said, things we have done, and I am sad that I couldn't do it for two years. I am terrible about printing out pictures, I never finished the baby books, but if you put it on the internet - it lives forever. An in this case, that's a good thing! So.... I make no commitments, no promises, but I am going to try to start recording my sweet strawberries' lives again. Here goes nothing.<br />
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I am amazed daily at how wonderfully sweet and kind and energetic William has become. Patrick was hysterical on Monday (because I wouldn't let him put his trash in the window at karate...seriously), and William so very gently and full of empathy tried everything he could think of to help calm Patrick down. I'm not sure any of it worked, but he had so much patience and was so kind o Patrick through all of it. It was the sweetest thing to watch. And then he did it again at bedtime, and even in the wee hours when Patrick woke up and was hysterical again. I'm so glad he hasn't lost his sweet spirit.<br />
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I rarely get one on one time with the boys, but Patrick and I manage to make the most of the time before & after I drop off William at school. The other day we pulled up next to a dump truck and I asked Patrick what he thought was in it. I had suggested monkeys, but he said no! ROBOTS!!! And they were black, like the cover on "brudher's seat!" Love that boy. We also have agreat time jamming to classic rock so his animals can dance in the backseat. I figure, if there is going to be noise and non-sense, it might as well be a good musical education. ;) Though, occasionally I do wish for Sirius and Kidz Bop channel so I Don't have to screen the lyrics as much. Haha!!<br />
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William is clearly advanced for his age - he had to have his six year molars extracted because his thirteen year molars were already coming in and 'eating' his teeth! So crazy!! He was hilarious on the "happy gas' and had the dentist dying in laughter. He told her something about the Sugar Bugs on his teeth ending up in his poop. I wish I could remember exactly how he phrased it because she told every person who came in the room. William was very very brave through the whole thing and was rewarded with red Knox Blox, lots of icecream, and so many mommy snuggles.<br />
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William like to pray before all meals now, which is absolutely precious. Today's breakfast prayer included thanks for our wonderful life, a wish for snow, and closed with thanks/wish for a wonderful future. I am going to have to start recording these. He is so genuine and it's adorable. Love that monster.<br />
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I realize that I'm 100% bias, but Patrick is really shining in school (probably thanks to being a good year older than his classmates, thank you September 1st school cutoff). He can write his ENTIRE name, loves to have me spell words for him, is great at numbers, and is generally a smartie pants (but the good kind). Ms. Phyllis, remember her?! Only Williams' most favorite teacher of all time. Yep. She says that he is coming out of his shell and we both hope that next year his Pre-K teachers will find the right way to gain his trust. He's so cute and funny and awesome when he trust you - it just takes a good long minute for him to be comfortable. We shall see. Fingers crossed. Pre-K is coming up way too soon, and even after getting an extra year of him being "little", I'm still not ready to send him to real school.<br />
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Atleast this real school is still at the TLC> And then I suppose, there will be the perk of both boys going to the same school. That sure will make drop off/pick up simpler. Yeah. Ok. I can come to terms with that.</div>
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They are both still relatively picky eaters. Patrick more so than William. I have gotten them to eat pork chops by calling them nuggets or just chops - they haven't figured out it's not chicken yet. They will eat broccoli, but only raw and with ranch. I only really like broccoli roasted with olive oil & garlic, so that one is a little less fun to model. They love sausage and noodles, but I was informed yesterday that they prefer penne over spaghetti noodles. Oh excuse me!! But tortelini is always a winner. LOL Applesauce will always reign supreme, and Patrick has decided he does like apple slices and even occasionally will eat pineapple. He does not like blackberries/raspberries in his smoothies. William loves ALL fruit - no surprises there though!!<br />
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OH! The dog!! Santa and his elf helper, Silly Willy, brought the boys a puppy a week before Christmas because of their great behavior and asking so sweetly. :) She is a beagle mix and her name is Sadie. She is perfectly adorable and totally destructive. The boys aboslutely adore her! William totally and emphatically believs that she is a North Pole puppy and desperately wants to take her to school to show everyone. Just the cutest. They love to give her hugs (when she's still), take turns holding the leash when she walks, and teaching her new tricks. She is 5 months old (3 months when we got her) and is ALL puppy. She drives me bananas but is very sweet when tired and likes to cuddle and loves to sleep under my covers. Silly dog. She is the best worst decision ever. Haha!!<br />
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Finally got rid of the bunkbeds a couple weeks ago. Patrick was starting to hit his head regularly and I was just kind of over the bulky thing. So now they are side by side and I think they like it! I like it because now I can easily kiss them both goodnight and they have learned how to make their bed. There is less floor space for playing, but the back room has become their playroom, so they aren't really losing too much there. They keep waffling back and forth between wanting a Pokemon or dinosaur room. I think I'll end up doing Pokemon (mostly because when they first agreed I went ahead and bought 8 prints off etsy...so there's that). Oh - catch up - William has been obsessed with Pokemon for atleast a year. His 6th birthday cake was Pokemon, everything he got for his birthday was Pokemon, and we are still watching it on Netflix multiple times a week. I know a lot about their powers and forms and well, yeah. Haha!! Patrick LOVES dinosaurs though - so maybe I'll do something in the playroom with that. They flip flop. Silly monsters.<br />
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So yeah - there's been a decent amount of change in the past two years. Just the three of us now, plus the evil cat, and a crazy puppy.... But we're good. Atleast according to William's prayer this morning - we have a wonderful life - and I couldn't agree more.<br />
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Loves.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12783684993637667960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3333612180387266376.post-16883963959790222162014-03-24T18:46:00.000-07:002014-03-24T18:46:25.304-07:00Epic Fail. I know.<div style="text-align: center;">
So clearly I took a "bit" of a break from the blog. I could probably come up with atleast 7 dozen somewhat decent reasons why I punked out for 2.5 months but that would be pretty boring when I know you just want to hear about the super adorable things the monsters do on a daily basis. Now, granted, I'm not even going to be able to come close to remembering 10 weeks worth of pint size amazing-ness - but maybe I'll give you just enough not to throw tomatoes at me. Which I would appreciate it, because unless they're cooked, the texture weirds me out. Just saying.</div>
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Patrick got his first haircut in January. He wasn't happy about it. I wasn't happy about it. And I'm pretty sure Walter wasn't happy about it either. I miss the baby curls. He never even got the curly baby 'fro before he got a haircut. Insert sad face.</div>
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I went to London in February, which I only bring up in order to say.... I swear my children grew overnight. Or atleast over that week. I came home and Patrick was TALKING! Yeah yeah - I know I know - he has been talking for awhile now... but Y'all. Seriously. He was talking in sentences! Words I'd never heard him say before. And it was easy to understand the words he was saying!! Especially, if you caught him in the 2.5 seconds he doesn't have a paci in his mouth. (yeah yeah... I know about that too.... leave me alone) It was just the craziest and most awesome thing to come home to such a big boy.</div>
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And William was no different. He seemed so much bigger as well! I didn't even know what to make of it. He seemed more mature. Atleast he until he pitched a fit because he didn't like the airplane toy I brought home. He wanted a Swiss Air one like the trip from last summer. Nevermind that they don't sell Swiss Air planes at Hambly's in London. The red double decker die cast bus wasn't cool enough either. Oh well. I told him that what he is supposed to say when given a gift, is "ThankYou". Need to work on our manners a bit more apparently.... but still - super cool big kid. How'd I get so lucky?!</div>
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It snowed at some point since the year changed to 2014 - and that was super fun. William was SUPER excited about the snow! Patrick was pretty jazzed but nothing like William. I felt kinda bad because I still had to work - so they went to school. Two of maybe 8 kids total.... parenting fail. But gotta bring home the bacon... ahhh bacon. Anyhow. We did play in the evening. Put some plastic bags on their feet like any good momma, and we threw snow piles, filled up dump trucks, and had a generally awesome time.</div>
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Patrick has decided that his favorite food is mac & cheese. Not even kidding - we get most of the way through the SAMs club bundle in a surprisingly short amount of time. And I had to make a second box the other night! They are becoming bottomless pits. I don't have the slightest idea how I'm going to keep the refrigerator and pantry stocked as they get bigger. Guess I better get faster at cookie making to keep up with the grocery budget!! hahaha I'm happy they are swallowing food though, so I'm cutting myself a break about it being Kraft. I mean, it's kinda awesome. Especially if you ignore the processed bit about it. I'll get it together and make real dinners again at some point. This year. But right now, I'll take happy boys and a ten minute prep meal. </div>
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Probably in the same week, the sun came out, it warmed up and it was finally time to rake up the leaves from the fall/winter. Yes. You read that right. I didn't do it at all. Either season. I blame the water oak next door. There's no point. It drops leaves the whole stinking time. But whatever. I bought the boys kid size rakes and we had a great time getting the leaves in to piles. Jumping in the piles. Raking them up and bagging them. William was actually a really big help. For real little helper. And I totally appreciated it. I think Patrick got bored and went back to watching Mickey Mouse. I don't blame him really. There's a reason I put it off for so long. Unfortunately, I still have to do the backyard.... lame.</div>
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William ran his first "race" not that long ago. He was so so so excited!! And to top it off - He won!! Ok Ok - it really was just a little Tot Trot, and probably not even 50 yards... but the kid was focused. Which impresses me. I thought he'd go total squirrel on us. And he could've been faster, but he kept looking back to make sure that he was still in the front. He was so proud of being the fastest and getting the medal. He then said that he wanted a trophy, because he came in first and winners get trophies. I swear to you - I've never had that conversation with him. Though, I agree.</div>
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So yeah. There you have it. Cross your fingers I don't take another 10 weeks to blog again. I know you are all having the withdrawal shakes. LOL</div>
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Loves! </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12783684993637667960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3333612180387266376.post-75046371591295112013-12-31T18:44:00.003-08:002013-12-31T18:48:39.985-08:00Squeezing one last post in<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Maybe I should just go ahead and shoot for only one blog a month because that's apparently all I'm going to manage....</div>
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif;">December seemed to move along quickly probably because Thanksgiving was so late this year...? I don't know. We got a tree, decorated, shopped and it was Christmas before we knew it. </span></div>
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<em>and this is how it goes most of the time - Little Little with his hand in my hair and me trying to show Big Little that he still matters to me with my hand in his hair</em> - <em>wouldn't trade for anything</em></div>
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif;">William was WAY excited about Christmas and Santa this year. We decided against using Santa as a tool to get good behavior - rather focus on that gifts are given because people love you and want to give presents instead of based on whether you are good and bad. He's been saying that he's "a bad boy" when he misbehaves, doesn't listen, gets reprimanded even in a small way - so we didn't want to make that worse. I've been trying to emphasize that he's not a bad boy, he just needs to listen, not hit, etc. It's not sticking yet though. I might need to google a different approach, I really don't want him internalizing that he's a bad boy. He's a great boy with a lot to learn and grow is all. So yeah. Santa wasn't emphasized but he was excited.</span></div>
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<em>here's another real moment - toys, paci, walter, airplane, pizza, chocolate milk. Simultaneously.</em></div>
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Because we weren't emphasizing Santa, we went ahead and put gifts under the tree. This created some discussions about not opening presents, but mostly, they were both really good about it. I took William to pick out a gift for Patrick and with about 45 minutes of gentle leading and constant discussion that he was not buying himself a gift, he landed on a barking/walking puppy Patrick had been really interested in. It was really fun to watch him shop for his brother and begin to understand the process. That it's not all about him, etc etc.</span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif;">Patrick is still very serious but is saying the funniest things all the time. And he's started saying his name. William is still "brother" unless prompted to say his real name and it's just too cute to correct most of the time. I love it. "Brodder" So cute. He pretty much just orders us around and gives us commentary on everything that is happening- but it's so fun to listen. He's learning so much. Favorites are still trains and trucks. Which is good, because we have plenty to go around.</span></div>
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<em>Literally, the best we could get.... best laid plans</em></div>
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif;">We went to Cleveland for Christmas the weekend before the holiday and had a big time despite the 24 hour a day rain. Boo. The boys watched movies, played trains, rollercoasters, and enjoyed the time with their cousins on Sunday. It was nice to get to spend the time with my brother and littlest sister. Miss when all five of us would be home and we'd drink, laugh, and be ridiculous. One day I hope. It was much too quick of a trip and we drove home in what seemed like a monsoon.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif;">The next couple days were filled with me home with William (no school) and him asking what was our next activity. Thank you school for that one. I could barely keep him occupied. Went and bought a gingerbread house for him to do with Aunt Tasha, while I finished up some last minute shopping. Tuesday we went to see Santa - and he knew precisely what he wanted. Laser focus. He wanted a stick with a hook on the top and a bow and arrow. God help us. Sam made an emergency trip after Christmas Eve church and family dinner and lucked out at Kmart. We definitely didn't want to ruin the magic of Santa at the tender age of four just because he kept changing his mind! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif;">We stayed up late working as Santa on their room - total overhaul while they slept pretty soundly together in our bed. I have to say, I might love this room more than the nursery. It's a very loose circus theme and I love it. I'm so pleased that all the elements came together and the boys loved it the next morning. And then immediately wanted to open presents. Laser focus again. LOL We didn't get them an overwhelming amount of presents and that helped with everything. I think William was most excited about his "soft pants"!! hahaha And Patrick loved the big semi car carrier truck thing. Though, with every toy their were given, they basically switched. Patrick played with "William's gifts" and vice versa. A couple disagreements over sharing because of it, but for the most part, they are playing nice.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif;">We had to make a new rule about eating. We'd gotten lazy, probably out of exhaustion, and had been letting them eat (a lot) in the living room, so when we would actually have real dinner at the table, it was a nightmare. So now - all meals and snacks are at the dining room table. This is not without loud and persistent protest, but we are hoping it doesn't last long and produces some really great table manners. Jury is still out on this one - they both cried for nearly thirty minutes last night - but then settled and ate their grown up meal of "bous cous", chicken, and broccoli pretty well. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif;">I am in awe of what big boys they are becoming and every funny new thing they say. William has gotten really good and really enjoys telling stories. It's so fun to hear what his mind can imagine. It takes him a little bit to get it out of his mouth, he talks so fast and trips himself of, but it's nothing short of wonderful. They both still really enjoy chasing each other with cars - very dangerous when it comes to our toes - but they are playing really well together most of the time. Patrick hates to change out of his clothes but has started telling us which jamas he wants. Last night he wanted guitars, the night before it was Christmas. It's fun. And William is still very particular about what he wears as well. Nothing with a tag and he practically refuses to wear jeans. (I think it's because they are hard for him to fasten to go potty...prefers elastic/slip on waists for sure)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif;">They are still loving the bunk beds, though sometimes they love them a little too much. LOL Some nights they talk to each other kinda late, others one will cry and wake the other, which makes the other cry and then it's just downhill. They've both started using the word "scary" to describe anything dark, and William basically refuses to open his own door to go potty in the middle of the night - preferring to holler at us to come do it for him. That's (not) awesome. Maybe we should replace the glass doorknob, but he has no problem using it during the day. He probably just wants reassurance that we are still there. You know how the night time can be scary.... sweet baby.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif;">So yeah - no holding your breath for the next post. It'll probably be then end of January....</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif;">Loves.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12783684993637667960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3333612180387266376.post-4415612616666877682013-11-19T15:42:00.003-08:002013-11-19T15:42:56.121-08:00Few words for a long hiatus...It's been, obviously, a little hard to blog for the past two months... Oops. We didn't even take that many pictures... The nice camera was dead for most of the 8-10 weeks, and we use our phones a lot. They're handy. Anyhow.<br />
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The boys are still cute - so be ready for the overload. I'll try and think of things to say for the next go around... in 8-10 weeks. hahahaha!!<br />
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Double Fisted :)</div>
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Too Too Fast</div>
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My sweet little ginger snap</div>
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Paci weaning went great - can't you tell?!</div>
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Full of joy</div>
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We're still working on the rules of soccer</div>
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Patrick would rather dig up our yard</div>
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all of our yard....</div>
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Resorted to the always present & more efficient utensil - HANDS!</div>
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He's just the coolest kid...</div>
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...and most 'interesting'</div>
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He must always have a running start - in sports and hugs</div>
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He's a natural!</div>
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Patrick is just happy he grabbed the ball</div>
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And then they argued over it</div>
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And then they worked it out!</div>
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So happy about the planes!!!</div>
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Two on one... not the greatest odds, but I held my own</div>
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Even for barefoot in the nasty yard LOL</div>
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Uhoh - think I gave up the ball this time :)</div>
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Being a super hero will make you extremely thirsty!</div>
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Better take Captain America seriously! He's for real!</div>
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Batman has all the important accessories - Walter, juice & paci</div>
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I love him THIS much.</div>
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Loves!</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12783684993637667960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3333612180387266376.post-22539737709926307622013-09-19T17:41:00.001-07:002013-09-19T17:43:43.129-07:00Patrick is TWO!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;">My sweet baby is now a bold 2 year old (as of September 2nd... Labor Day...ha!). I feel like time should’ve stood still. Or atleast that I stood still but he moved at light speed. If I concentrate I can still remember how it felt to have his tiny little head asleep on my chest, nustled in under my chin.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;">He is growing so fast – at his well check they said he was 36 inches (90<sup>th</sup>) (more like 34 if you don’t extend to his toes….) and 28 pounds (50<sup>th</sup>). He still prefers to be carried – so he’s a bit of a chunk in the arms but, as I’ve always stated, I will hold him until I can’t or he doesn’t want to anymore.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;">There has been a word explosion going on. We are constantly turning our heads saying “did he just say what I think he said?!”. It’s really awesome to watch. He’s putting little sentences together and we’re trying to get him to use his words versus just pointing or screeching (which is still a favorite when he’s upset).</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;">He is definitely starting to show his displeasure in something. He has his opinions and doesn’t mind expressing them in the form of growls or screaming. Not exactly how we would prefer he communicate – so we’re working on that.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;">He gets mad like everyone else in the world, but he is also the sweetest little boy. He LOVES to give kisses. To everyone. You ask and you shall receive. Just the cutest. He loves to give ‘knucks’ and ‘high fives’. Hugs and ‘ugga muggas’ are always fun too. He needs snuggles in the morning at school and he is always accommodated by his teachers.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;">He is obsessed with wearing shoes. He must have them on at all times. Even naptime at home and he doesn’t consider himself ‘dressed’ in the morning without them. The most fun is on Sundays with his “church shoes” (saddle oxfords) and he likes to stomp around making the most noise possible on the hardwood floors. Silly boy.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;">He has absolutely no fear and I’m constantly afraid during our nightly horseplay in mommy & daddy’s bed that he’s going to bounce/throw himself right off and break something. His newest trick was literally throwing himself fully in the air to land on his back, followed by the best giggles ever.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;">He loves his brother. (And says ‘brother’ now – cute) He follows him around and plays whatever he plays, wants whatever he wants (yay for those ‘discussions’), and generally wants to be just like him. William loves to play with him right back most of the time, so that’s perfectly adorable.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-C_On1ymqryA/UjuUkvMGDTI/AAAAAAAAoEs/S6Fo54jXvIs/s1600/DSC_3686.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-C_On1ymqryA/UjuUkvMGDTI/AAAAAAAAoEs/S6Fo54jXvIs/s400/DSC_3686.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;">He is still nursing, which I love and he loves, so there’s no plan to wean him any time soon. And, quite frankly, I can’t see myself initiating that anyway. He gets a little frustrated with it now that I’m not producing as much – so the milk runs out before he’s ‘done’ most of the time. Though, it’s not like it’s for the nutrients so much anymore anyhow – more for the comfort. Again, totally fine. We have our night night routine. Songs with William, then P & I go to my room, he nurses, I sing and snuggle with him, and then Daddy takes him to bed. Easy peasy. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;">He usually wants to nurse right when we get home today – a reconnect moment for us. Only issue is when he wants to nurse at the dinner table instead of eating. Not sure what’s up with that – he’s been on a bit of an eating strike again….except when Daddy convinces him to take 'dinosaur bites'.... I don’t know. He’s definitely growing, so we are rolling with it and filling him with what he will eat. Apple sauce and yogurt. Silly boy. I think he would love nothing more than to eat yogurt all day long every single day.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;">He’s all boy. LOVES trucks. All trucks. Loves to drive them, crash them, point them out on the road, and watch them on tv. He also gets excited about buses. Which there are plenty of in the mornings when we are headed out.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;">So, here’s to my sweet little quiet boy, who is slow to warm up but has the best sense of humor when he feels comfortable. I hope you always keep your sweet spirit, your expressive faces, your wonderful curiosity, and never-ending love for your family (even in the teenage years). You have been a joy for all of us and we have loved watching you grow, even as we fight the denial that creeps in that you are becoming a big independent boy. </span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12783684993637667960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3333612180387266376.post-68167843299208126972013-09-11T17:10:00.001-07:002013-09-11T17:10:53.440-07:00Really need to squash the Mommy guiltWilliam had his 4 year well-check. Complete with 4 shots. He wasn't scared of them - which definitely made the appointment go well. He had the nurse doing all of the tests on Hilbert and Clifford (Red Ruffie) which was really cute. Love his pediatrician's office. She even let him listen to her heartbeat. His eyes & ears check out - so that's great - and he is 42 pounds (88%) and 43 inches (93%). He's someone managed to become a big kid!! haha!! My little munchkin! Never would've guessed.... ha. We played and played like dinosaurs - he was teaching me how as we waited for the doctor. He has elaborate stories to participate in and it's really fascinating. When it was shot time - the nurse had to give both Hilbert & Clifford shots, complete with band aids. I honestly think it helped him really settle down and not be scared of them. I held his hands (and the first song that came out was Little Bunny Foo Foo - and I don't think he even knows that one... random... but it was my littlest sister's favorite song when we all became a family), poor kid kept saying "ouchie" and "stop it stop it", but it was over quickly. Thank goodness.<br />
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I had contemplated delaying shots, etc. But since I didn't delay the onslaught of shots when he was itty bitty - it wouldn't have done any good to delay the boosters. I didn't realize he was getting four of them today though. I only knew for certain about the MMR booster... mommy fail. I'll try and tamp down the guilt on that one. He had all but forgotten about the shots after Chick-fil-A though. It was a little trying getting him to run two errands with me smack in the middle of lunch & NAP time. And, of course, he broke my heart by wanting to go home and play with me. I made the mistake of trying to explain that I had to go to work so I could give him food. And - har - if he wanted to stop eating - then I could stay home. Yeah... my sweet boy said he wouldn't eat. Heartbreak again. Then I had to apologize for making a bad joke. Cue mommy guilt. Not sure this one will be tamped down any time soon.</div>
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Patrick's number one favorite thing to play in the recent days/weeks/probably month is trains. He'll come up and say "track". Which of course means that he wants me to set up the track. He does like to help. The only problem with him helping, is that we only have so many curved pieces that have survived the years, so it has to go together sort of strategically in order to make all the pieces connect. He also doesn't really like when I flip the curves to make them go the way. So it gets a little interesting. Is this a little bit of my control freak coming out? I am totally the kid that doesn't like people to write on my notes because they are color coordinated, organized, and awesome... hahaha Cue embarrassing funny story involving work... ha. But he could play for hours and sometimes even parts of those hours will be by himself so Mommy can load the dishwasher. I love independent play. I love independent play even more when I can call it a developmental necessity and not cue the mommy guilt. I'm sensing a theme. Perhaps I need to talk to someone to deal with my mommy guilt. Nah - that's what this blog is for - lucky you.... teehee....<br />
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Why is it that, when asked what they did at school - even when asking a specific yes/no question, the answer is always I don't know? I mean really? William can't remember what book they read? Or if they even read a book?! I have a feeling that the years filled with homework are going to be frustrating. I somehow imagined the car ride home, now that he's in PreK, being filled with lots of sentences of all the amazing things he did, learned, and played. Not so much. I'm a little disappointed. And Patrick isn't much better - though he will usually tell me "truck". But that's no surprise. Of course he played with a truck.<br />
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We went to Cleveland for the weekend so many weekends ago because my sister and her boyfriend Tim were coming into town. Haven't seen her in FAR too long and every one in my office (and probably most of my clients -ha) knew about how excited I was to see her. We spent two wonderful days soaking up family time in the now full pond. The boys played in the little beach area Daddy & Uncle John made - which is absolutely perfect for them! The big game there was jumping off the edge and William even made a slide with a float. It's kinda great. It gets them in the water but without all the nervousness that a big body of water creates - so by the time we move to the big water - they are that much more comfortable. I love it up there. I love the weather and all the room the boys have to play. Such sweet memories every single time. Though, I got back on Monday and everyone asked me about pizza night.... I'm telling ya Daddy - you've created a pizza monster!! LOL It's epic even in my corporate Columbus office :)<br />
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I went to Ireland for work. It was AHmazing. I love any city that is walkable. I want to live in a city that is walkable. The weather was high in the 60s. In SEPTEMBER. The people were friendly. The beer was too good. The work was easy - which I maintain is because the Terms Team is rocking - shout out to my peeps! hahaha Unfortunately, this one hit the boys harder than before, so I only got to talk to them once and the whole time William kept asking me if I was coming home since I was no longer on an airplane. And apparently when we hung up there was mass hysteria. Break my heart. I was super homesick for them by Thursday. I thought it would get easier, but I suppose it never really does. I got home on Saturday - late afternoon - and we had a pizza party (I think in bed...hahaha) and snuggled. I actually fell asleep before their bedtime. ha! Then Sunday was Patrick's birthday party. More on that later... (yeah - I've got a whole birthday post planned - so I skipped it this time around)<br />
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OH! When we came back from Cleveland we had managed to invite a LOT of unwanted guests into the house. We were being swarmed by fruit flies. It was awful. I don't know who sent the memo - but they should be shot. By the end of the week, Sam had determined that it was our old nasty sink that was breeding them and the only solution was to replace. I am not a fan of surprise (and expensive) home improvement projects, which is why we had been dealing with a faucet that shot out water from all connections for months... haha. But, while I took the boys to church, Sam tore out the sink and faucet and put in new ones. Well, it wasn't quite that easy and seamless but the result is nothing short of one of the greatest things to have happened to our house. We both still cringe a little bit in preparation for water hitting us every time we turn on the faucet - just makes me laugh. I really wish we hadn't waited four plus years to replace that hunk of junk. The gleaming white sink makes dishes *almost* enjoyable. *Almost* We still aren't fighting over who has to do them. ;)<br />
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I have renewed the resolution to take the boys (and myself) to church. We've been the past month, except the Cleveland weekend, and William is kind of obsessed. He knows that if Chickfila is closed, then it is church day. He loves going to Sunday School and then he gets to go to big church with me. I'm still working on teaching him how to sit still and behave in big church, but he's coming along. He likes to sit in the very front row, which is *awesome* after he has gone to children's church and I'm just the random person left all by my lonesome up there, but whatever. He loves going up and sitting next to the pastor. He also loves answering all of the questions the pastor poses. This Sunday's lesson was about being a fisher of men. The pastor starts with what tools are needed to catch fish - the kids answer fishing pole, hooks, worms, etc. Then he asks what do you need to catch people? William pipes up, not missing a beat, a hook from the helicopter. The whole congregation laughs, but then I think about it... and he's right! We've been watching Fireman Sam and there is a rescue show where they have to get the annoying kid off the roof with that hanging belt hook thing from the helicopter! The answer was actually "God's love" but the pastor should know better than to ask children like that LOL Love my boy. This morning on the way to school he told me that The God put a boat in the tree to get the truck..etc etc etc. So he is paying attention to something.<br />
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Quick Ones: Patrick now calls William "Brother". William came home today upset because he didn't know what to give me to make me happy. Sweet but unsure where that came from. I gave him some extra snuggles all evening. Patrick's version of "I don't like that" is "Not Nice". Very loud. Very very loud. Squeezey Apple Sauce might be the greatest invention to hit our house. I don't even care the outrageous price I am paying for it. Note to self - check SAMs. He-Man is still number 1 around here. Patrick refuses to take his shoes off, let alone his clothes.<br />
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Loves.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12783684993637667960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3333612180387266376.post-22994728176291075052013-08-19T18:20:00.001-07:002013-08-19T18:20:12.491-07:00Big Pre-K and BeyondI can barely even believe it. Not only is he four now but he is also in PreK. Y'all - that's like real school. How did this even happen?! Ok yeah - I know - the days turn into weeks into months into years and before you know it, it is August 7, 2013 and the crying baby who I walked around the house non-stop is now a talking non-stop big kid walking into school all by himself with a bookbag on his back. Blink of an eye. Crazy.<br />
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Seriously, though. This kid was WAY excited about starting school and going to his new classroom. He's been talking about it for weeks, and then the day finally got here?! Ooh Yeah (as William would say - it's his new favorite phrase) I made sure to drop him off "late" (instead of at 7:15 as usual) so he could walk in to his real classroom, just like real school. He was so stinkin excited he didn't even give me a hug or a kiss. Just dove right in to the new toys and jabbering to his new teachers. And as much as I would have liked a hug on such a big day - I'm kinda proud that he was so comfortable.<br />
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Poor Patrick was also supposed to be moving rooms that day - but he caught a nasty stomach bug (that subsequently hit the other two boys in the house - Girls (me) rule this time around - knock on wood - I didn't get it) - so I stayed home with him and worked from the sofa. Not complaining - I watched SVU all day while clicking through emails and paused it through calls. In small doses, working from home isn't half bad. LOL (This is what Patrick chooses to wear when he doesn't feel good - I just kept telling everyone he was obviously destined to be a weather man LOL and knew something the rest of us didn't.... It DID rain later in the day)<br />
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Of course, by the time I picked up William - he couldn't remember a blessed thing that he had done that day. Silly boy. I know he had a great time though - and his teachers are so excited that he talks so much and gives so much for them to do the beginning assessments with. Not entirely sure that they will be thankful for all that 'noise' in a couple weeks - but they think he's adorable and love how curious he is. He may not have been able to tell me anything he did - but before we could leave he did have to show me nearly every item in the room. Including magnets and microscopes. He was all about it. So cool.<br />
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He literally has not looked back. Threw a bit of fit because he had to go to "before" school care, instead of straight to PreK - but that was only a day and now he's a pro at the whole thing. Patrick has even semi-adjusted to not getting Ms Arnie or Ms Sonya snuggles. He's warming up to Ms Katrice (who is his full-time new teacher - so that's good). He's always playing happily when I pick him up and then comes running saying "my Mommy"... I guess he thinks the other kids will be confused otherwise. Silly.<br />
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I say this every time - but he's talking even more now. Today he told me "Don't Go My Mommy" - so of course - I picked him up and took him with me to the kitchen.... How could I say no?! :) "Not Nice" is a favorite when he is displeased - complete with a finger point and a serious look. He's starting telling me he wants to "nurse" and then to switch "sides". It's just the neatest thing when he starts saying new words, stringing them together, etc. <br />
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Monday night (as well as most nights really) have become jump on Daddy & Mommy in the bed before bathtime nights. And it's really vigorous horseplay. I don't know how we haven't broken something yet. Something being - the boys - or us!! They jump around and "get us". It's really cute how IN to it they are and the giggles can't be matched. But goodness - Patrick's full body weight thrown onto your stomach right after dinner is no cake walk.... And then William does it! It's a wonder we have survived. Sometimes I can punk out and just leave Daddy to handle it - but they don't usually let me get away with that too often. Ouch!<br />
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We think William is about to hit a growth spurt. He's getting a little belly, which only happens when he hasn't "stretched" up yet... and he's actually eating. And eating well. That never happens either! ha! Of course, I JUST bought him some pants for fall, so hopefully he won't grow up TOO much. teehee<br />
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But yeah - otherwise - life is pretty normal. I'm loving working on sugar cookies, we pillow pile on the weekend, bath in the evenings, in bed by 8pm. Normal. Oh! We did take them to see "Planes" yesterday afternoon. It was cute. Not as good as Cars - what could be though?! - but still really cute and they both sat and watched the whole time. And William ate popcorn off the floor. Not sure, but I feel like that should be preserved for the future.<br />
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Loves.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12783684993637667960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3333612180387266376.post-3585852600732606372013-08-18T10:53:00.001-07:002013-08-18T10:53:39.507-07:00William Turns 4So, obviously William's birthday was the 3rd..... I'm behind. Not apologizing for this anymore - I have two mini people (and a full life) - it happens. ha!<br />
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Birthdays are a big deal around our house. (atleast when a mini person is having one) I started William's birthday fun by taking him to Six Flags on Friday. We took off school/work, went and bought me some tennis shoes (literally no idea what happened to mine - they have vanished), and off we went to Atlanta. He watched a movie on the way up, I enjoyed the random conversations. <br />
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We got there shortly after they opened, because I got lost a little (easy to do for me). We parked at the FAR end of the parking lot, because my parents always parked over there when we came to Six Flags. You park under the trees and your car doesn't get as hot because it's basically in the shade all day. It does make for a REALLY long walk to the park - but it was fun. I had to explain to him why he had to hold my hand in the park. I told him that my number one job as his mommy was to keep him safe and there were lots of people, blah blah blah. The part about keeping him safe has stuck around - and I've used it frequently since. <br />
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I made William take a picture as soon as you walk in. I know, cheesey bad touristy, but absolutely a right of passage if you're going to be there for your birthday. We walked straight to the kid area to ride his first roller coaster. He got more than a little distracted by the flying piggies and had to ride that several times before we could get in line for the roller coaster. OMG - we were in line for what seemed like hours, but was definitely atleast one. It was painful. Especially with an antsy 4 year old. But he did good. <br />
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He LOVED the roller coaster. It was so cute - I could tell that he would get nervous going around curves but he loved the rush down the hills. I would just hold on to his legs and that reassured him enough to have fun. He didn't want to get off!! Wanted to ride again... I told him that there was no way we were getting in that line again, we'd check it in the afternoon to see if it was shorter... (It wasn't) So, he rode the piggies a couple more times then moved on to the outside rides. <br />
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We did the airplanes, the semi-trucks, and the flying boats before going out for lunch. We took the train out this time - we needed a break from walking. I made turkey/cheese rollups for him and we sipped on capri suns sitting on the trunk of the car. Put on more sunscreen and back we went to ride the carousel, drive the old timey cars, ride another boat that spun, and the hot air balloons. The coolest thing was to watch him on these rides. He was always staring towards the 'gut's of the ride - wanting to figure out how it worked. Mind just turning. I had to explain to him why the hot air balloons had a high side and a low side (circle on an angle) - but he was enthralled by it all. Engineers are cool people too :)<br />
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At some point, I had promised him a milkshake. I can't remember why now, but oh my, it was not the day for milkshakes. We literally went to five different fast food places trying to get a milkshake. All the machines were broken. We ended up at Zaxby's and got a birthday cake milkshake - which worked out perfectly since it was a birthday trip. He totally understood that and was all excited :)<br />
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Saturday was awesome. He woke up to his presents laid out like Santa had come in the living room. Though, we had to explain that it wasn't a birthday fairy, or Santa, but Mommy & Daddy who made all of the fun happen. haha He got the Jake and the Neverland Pirates set up - Bucky, Skull Rock, all the figures, a treasure chest full of sword, gold dubloons, etc. He LOVED it!!! We went to Chick-Fil-a breakfast as usual, him in his pirate 4 birthday shirt and everyone there loved on him - gave him a special Birthday cow (he has since been named "Moo-ey"). <br />
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After nap, we had birthday dinner and cake at the pool with B&B. He had a great big time playing in the baby pool with Patrick and then requested to go swimming in the big pool - so we all tooks turns with him. He's holding on to someone at all times, but it's an improvement that he WANTS to do it! And he's really getting better and more comfortable in the pool. <br />
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William is really just the coolest kid. I know he talks a lot, has more energy than most people know what to do with, and is really stretching his independence.... but I just can't get over how neat he is. He has such a kind soul. We have to be really careful to be gentle with his emotions because he feels everything SO big. He's so cute with animals - always asking permission and giving them his hand to smell first. He randomly says "I love you mommy". And when he is really into something he will say "I Just Love {it} so much". The "just" gets me. He loves to have dance parties in the living room and, this bugs his daddy, but he loves to pretend to be like mommy (painting nails, borrowing my jewelry) - he SO CURIOUS about everything. And honestly, isn't that one of the better qualities?! He can be a snot with the best of 'em, he is still four, but I hope his spirit isn't beaten down as he gets older. He's 'just' so free and wild and it's 'just' awesome.... (ok, maybe I can see why he says JUST now lol) <br />
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William Rumer - I love you sweet boy. Happy Fourth Birthday. I hope all of your wild dreams come true.<br />
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Loves.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12783684993637667960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3333612180387266376.post-15269104607245456702013-08-07T07:57:00.000-07:002013-08-07T07:59:34.541-07:00Really? I should be embarrassed....Oh my goodness............. I don't even know where to start.<br />
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Patrick is talking up a storm! His favorite phrase at the moment is "big truck" said in the deepest, most certain voice he can conjure up and it's perfectly adorable. He's also starting to put little sentences together, "I got you" - that kind of stuff. It's so fun when the word explosion starts happening. For awhile he would say his name - but it's back to just "me" now. <br />
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William thinks he's a teenager and has started the 'sass' in full force. We were so not prepared for it and am a little on edge about how to tamp it down the right way. Guess I better start reading my favorite parenting sites :) Did I mention he pulled a "whatever" on us?! Sam and I could barely hold back the giggles. And then, a couple days later at school, the early morning teachers asks me what's up with "whatever". "Why - has he been saying it?!" "No, he tells me every morning that 'we don't say whatever'" I'm guessing that he's been scolding the teachers for saying 'whatever' since it's on the no-no list. Lord. <br />
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The boys and I survived Daddy going out of town for 3 days. Honestly, it went so well, I might have a bit of a confidence boost from it. Might be the first time Sam has left me with the kids and I didn't have an anxiety driven panic attack. So, I'll take the success, ha! Seriously, though - it went really well. The boys listened, we took baths, they went to bed with very little fussing at all. I stayed up much too late watching Law & Order SVU every night. Good times were had by all. I even got to work on time. Easy peasy. Now watch next time Sam goes somewhere be a doozie and I lose my mommy mojo big time. It's bound to happen. The universe won't let me stay like this. hahaha<br />
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I'm calling it. I have no idea what's been happening the past month in detail enough to preserve it here forever. I've been trying to remember for days. I give up. I'm consumed with birthdays.... Four and Thirty-One (and a party for Two in September) More on that later.<br />
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<i>**Based on the pictures - we made lots of cookies and treats, had a play date with a friend at Callaway, snuggled a lot, tried to let the boys have a sleepover at William's request - he wanted to snuggle with Patrick - melt my heart now...</i><br />
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Loves.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12783684993637667960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3333612180387266376.post-51134205829006047482013-07-09T17:18:00.002-07:002013-07-09T17:18:50.382-07:00Mr. Rumer Takes a Vacation<br /><table border="0" cellpadding="0" class="MsoNormalTable"><tbody>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So – we started off July with a
super short week……. That managed to DRAG by.
We only had two days to ‘suffer’ through until we hit the road for the
beach, but I swear Tuesday must’ve been 20 hours in one. Finally though, we got home, cleaned the
house, fed the family, packed up everything in the house, and off we went to
Destin at 7:30. Only 30 minutes past
our planned leave time. (Sam forgot
his sunglasses – turns out they weren’t quite as ‘necessary’ for a vacation
as we thought…)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The boys did great. Except that they didn’t fall asleep until
20 minutes from Destin. They watched
two movies, ate gummies, and had a ball in the ‘jamas. We arrived at 11:30 on the dot. Patrick went right up to bed I think ? – he
was just sleeping with us…. But William was wired for sound. That kid.
I don’t even know what time we all called it quits – couldn’t have
been too late. But the boys refused to
go to sleep until 100 ish…. And then wanted to rock it out at 400ish. No bueno.
Thank goodness for Kindle & Netflix </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">First thing, well not first thing,
but William and I went on a bike ride – maybe 830? We got a couple miles out and it starts
raining. We don’t get totally soaked
to the bone, but we definitely had to change clothes…. And then the rain doesn’t stop. For the entire weekend. We had a handful of no rain moments – just
enough to get to the beach with all the accoutrement, play for 30 minutes,
and then make a mad dash to gather everything up, wrap the boys into towel burritos,
and run for the house in the rain.
Talk about a wet blanket….<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We did manage to have an excellent
time though. We had a 40 minute
adventure on 98 to only make it 2.8 miles.
We were trying to go to the Carmike, but apparently the trip from the
house to the theater was a total of 7 miles and leaving an hour early just
wasn’t adequate. So we pulled a crazy
u-turn, went to a little antique mall to say that we went ‘somewhere’ and
back to the house we went. Oh – and
that night (or maybe it was Thursday – I don’t know) – we watched the most
fun movie “Mr Hobbs Takes A Vacation”.
Seriously – go get it on Amazon (sorry about the one-click order Dad –
we thought the next screen would ask us for our card!) It’s a classic. Super funny and good clean laughs. Refreshing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Thursday we smartly decided it was
shopping day and headed out early to the outlets. We hit the high points – Brooks Brothers,
Banana, and probably some other stuff, ate some insanely amazing gourmet
Mexican food underneath a very wide and very covered patio, and then the
‘kids’ went to see White House Down (surprisingly good btw). The grandparents took the littles and went
to the seafood market and then home for a nap. The boys did take amazingly long and
wonderful naps the entire time – so that was a very happy surprise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Friday – it looked like it might
dry up and just be cloudy. Good enough
for me. I threw swimsuits on the boys
and off we went. Just the three of us
– I wasn’t going to wait around for anything – clock was ticking! We dug a great big hole and put our feet in
the water. Daddy came down to play
after about 30 minutes – big times!
Then 15 minutes after that the rest of the family shows up – along
with the rain. Sam and I were glad
that we called it (we briefly considered playing through it) but that water
from the sky didn’t stop for the rest of the day. I was thankful to have the extra hands to
help get all the stuff back though.
Put the boys in a bath to warm up and it was back to the Kindle for
Netflix.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Saturday was the same. We got to the beach. Played for about an hour and a half this
time and then the rain came. William
had a big time getting in the small raft and riding the waves. I was pulling him in to go play in the sand
though, and a big wave came and turned the raft over dumping him into the
water. And because of all the storming
– the under current was STRONG – scared me half to death. My kid under water and starting to get
dragged back out… I grabbed him quickly – held him close. He was fine. Not even that shaken up. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MujTfxMLMHE/UdymyPjURSI/AAAAAAAAnmk/v4xQwZ4U9Uc/s1600/July+2013+215.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MujTfxMLMHE/UdymyPjURSI/AAAAAAAAnmk/v4xQwZ4U9Uc/s320/July+2013+215.JPG" width="320" /></a> <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--e94meIRSkQ/UdymyG-jLuI/AAAAAAAAnmo/X5t7CRtZ8KM/s1600/July+2013+238.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--e94meIRSkQ/UdymyG-jLuI/AAAAAAAAnmo/X5t7CRtZ8KM/s200/July+2013+238.JPG" width="132" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The best part of the day – he had
to go tee tee – he tried just to pull down his trunks right there on the
beach. No. I take him to the water to let him go, but
the waves are so high I have to hold him.
He doesn’t like it. Won’t
go. I try to pull his shorts down a
little while keeping both our heads above the waves. Won’t go.
I bring him back to the shore and tell him to go talk to his Daddy
about what to do. Instead he walks up
and pulls his trunks down. The wind is
blowing teetee EVERYWHERE. I try to
position him so it’s not blowing onto any one or on to the ‘resort’
chairs/umbrella. I then get sprayed in
the face (which no one noticed) and a second later William nails himself in
the face and gets his mouth. He just
kept telling Bebe (while she was washing his face off with bottled water) “My
tongue Bebe – it got on my tongue”.
Poor baby – we were all DYING laughing. Too bad we aren’t on reality tv with a film
crew following our every move – would’ve been one for the records for
sure. Ha!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</v:shapetype><v:shape id="_x0000_i1025" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="Description: http://e.delta.com/a/hBRgJNAB8LP6IB8uzznNvEmOg.B8LP6IG-/column.gif"
style='width:1.5pt;height:1.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square'
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<v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\Meghan\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001.gif"
o:title="column"/>
</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><img alt="Description: http://e.delta.com/a/hBRgJNAB8LP6IB8uzznNvEmOg.B8LP6IG-/column.gif" height="2" src="file:///C:/Users/Meghan/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image001.gif" v:shapes="_x0000_i1025" width="2" /><!--[endif]-->Sunday was pack up and leave day, and
wouldn’t you know the sun was out and it was gorgeous. Granted the weather said the rain was still
going to be around – but c’mon. Couldn’t
even get a late checkout to enjoy the weather a little longer. <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">L</span> Took the boys with Tasha to the beach to play
while Sam finished the odds/ends of packing and then we were off. 45 minutes before official time to go. In hindsight – should’ve gone to the beach
again just to play – but then where would we get the sand off the boys?! Anyhow – they didn’t sleep AT ALL on the way
back. No nap is now a new form of highly
effective torture. We put them to bed at
7:00. Just couldn’t take it
anymore. My patience was shot – bucket
was empty.</div>
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<o:p><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zGikllyzLjY/UdymzEtXpCI/AAAAAAAAnnA/dsF18W1Tn8E/s1600/July+2013+322.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15.555556297302246px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zGikllyzLjY/UdymzEtXpCI/AAAAAAAAnnA/dsF18W1Tn8E/s400/July+2013+322.JPG" width="400" /></a></o:p></div>
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All in all though – it was a nice getaway. Not what we had planned or hoped for – but
definitely really good quality time.
Even got to see my sister Kat & her boyfriend Matt. (And listen to a good local band at a local
bar and drink cheap beer all night – felt like a rockstar) So – all’s well that ends well. Until next year!</div>
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<o:p><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a8DVP3fQgC0/UdymzXc7psI/AAAAAAAAnnI/D0ETZdFIm5A/s1600/July+2013+352.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a8DVP3fQgC0/UdymzXc7psI/AAAAAAAAnnI/D0ETZdFIm5A/s400/July+2013+352.JPG" width="400" /></a></o:p></div>
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<o:p>Things to remember - 4T clothes all over the house because William "had the power" being HeMan. Patrick's laughter being swung all around. Racing on the beach "ready on your mark go". Patrick repeating his name for the first time. William sleeping in his super secret special hangout. "Mommy I love you" constantly. P's kisses complete with the smack sound and plenty to go around.</o:p></div>
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<o:p><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FIs8xfA4uS8/Udym0Gt1lCI/AAAAAAAAnnc/XoUTaekxhB8/s1600/July+2013+487.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15.555556297302246px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FIs8xfA4uS8/Udym0Gt1lCI/AAAAAAAAnnc/XoUTaekxhB8/s640/July+2013+487.JPG" width="424" /></a></o:p></div>
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Loves.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12783684993637667960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3333612180387266376.post-48723731693875147212013-07-02T13:38:00.002-07:002013-07-02T13:38:53.545-07:00Out of 414...... pictures taken in June - here are some of my uneditted favorites. Be prepared for red eye, out of focus, cutest faces you've ever seen.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VjNIuJ8a0NI/UdM39AE0b_I/AAAAAAAAnhE/U7TIx1y3FAc/s1600/DSC_1905.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VjNIuJ8a0NI/UdM39AE0b_I/AAAAAAAAnhE/U7TIx1y3FAc/s640/DSC_1905.JPG" width="424" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3HnsC9vNpRo/UdM39RQqQNI/AAAAAAAAnhM/frP9z5tpNRs/s1600/DSC_1943.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3HnsC9vNpRo/UdM39RQqQNI/AAAAAAAAnhM/frP9z5tpNRs/s640/DSC_1943.JPG" width="424" /></a></div>
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quickly - Switzerland was ridiculously amazing. SOO pretty there are literally no intelligent words to describe. I didn't get punished too badly by the boys when I got back and surprise surprise - Patrick learned how to sleep through the night. So that is kinda awesome. We talked on Skype via the Kindle twice - which was absolutely magical. William didn't understand why I was in 'jamas LOL. <br />
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Patrick has one little curl in the back - so there is hair - officially!! Woot!!! William never stops talking but is becoming one sweet little boy. When he chooses to listen. Which isn't as frequent as we would like. I think God is laughing every time my child opens his mouth... Karma is real people!!!! <br />
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P is getting more words all the time. "Me" is a new one and "Mommy" has gotten clearer. Um .... Bus, Grass, I know there are others.... Play. Anyhow. Paci weaning is probably coming soon - just because he's much more social without it and I like to stare at his beautiful face.<br />
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We are off to the beach tonight - so I hope you forgive me for a forty+ picture post without a lot of words. Seriously though - I know you only come here to see their faces. I'm no literary giant. LOL.<br />
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Oh for posterity.... Pirates - Superheroes especially ones who don't wear shirts (HeMan)- Dry PullUps at night GO WILLIAM!!<br />
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Loves.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12783684993637667960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3333612180387266376.post-40281166684803433562013-06-10T17:22:00.000-07:002013-06-10T17:22:19.598-07:00Loud chaosSwim lessons are finally over. And William didn't do one bit of swimming. He floated holding on to the rail and "walked" along the edge with his hands. I didn't really expect him to be swimming by the end. I didn't expect him to flat refuse to swim either though, but he is definitely more comfortable in the water overall than when we started. I'll take whatever level of success I can squeeze out. We'll see what happens the rest of the summer.<br />
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Patrick is becoming more and more verbal. Not necessarily adding more words, but more often than not, we can figure out what he wants if he's making a request. And if the kid gets started - he just keeps going. He'll sit in the backseat and just go on and on about something. Then William gets started too and it just never ends. **yay** No, really, it's cute. Loud but cute.<br />
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Patrick is even starting to play independently. Without me in the room or engaged with him. It's awesome. If I can get him into the choo-choos - I can make dinner without a baby on my hip or crying at my feet. He will happily sit in the middle of the track and drive the trains around him. I bet his imagination is just as good as his brother's - oh the adventures they will have!<br />
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Jake and the Neverland Pirates has been on basically constantly all week. So maybe instead of Buzz & Woody for Halloween - I'll dress the boys up as Jake & Cubbie. The costumes would be a LOT easier to put together for sure. I found myself singing the theme song while grocery shopping ALONE on Saturday. Maybe they need to go outside............ ha!<br />
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We did have a great family evening planting monkey grass this past week. The boys had their little shovels and were going to town in the tote of leftover grass. Then the water hose came out and we had a water party with the mister. Sam would squirt them and then they would run giggling just to turn right back and ask for more. So so so cute. Of course, they wanted me to get in on the fun, and truthfully, that was fine with me. It was hot and monkey grass has surprisingly deep roots. <br />
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Positive Discipline is finally starting to pay off in a real way. Atleast I think so. William is doing a better job of listening, behaving, and has even started to figure out on his own when to say he's sorry and what for. It's showing up in small ways, we definitely still have multiple daily struggles but I can see the hard work & patience paying off. He is really is such a sweet boy with humongo feelings he needs help with. New favorite sentence we're working on - "I'm having a rough morning/day." Favorite part of all this working - lots of random "I love you Mommy". So glad all that parenting research is paying off - nothing wrong with finding new ways to do something. Especially when they make life better & easier in the long run. (if you're interested - <a href="http://www.ahaparenting.com/">http://www.ahaparenting.com/</a> is a great place to start)<br />
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Random - I read something the other day - gist : We hold children to a higher standard than adults - not allowing room for a bad day, rough morning, wrong side of the bed, etc. Treat them like human beings, with real emotions, etc etc. Thought that was interesting. Am definitely going to be fitting that in to how I interact with the boys. One more ounce of patience added. I'm sure they'll appreciate it.<br />
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Exciting news - I begin a two month trial of Flex Time on Monday. My hours will be 730-330, 8 hours, no lunch, but I'll be off in time to pick William up from PreK (when that starts in August). This is going to be AWESOME for a multitude of reasons. 1. I get to work basically at 7:30 anyhow but work until 5 (I do workout at lunch - so that usually goes a little over an hour with a shower - but still, long day) 2. More time with the boys. I've always been a little upset that their teachers spend more time with them than when do, especially during the week. This will be just one tiny way to chip away at that - and when afterschool activities begin - I can be the one doing the driving - not arranging for someone else to do that. I also get to be the one helping with homework, etc. Being the PARENT. I was spoiled by my parents being teachers - I definitely will do whatever it takes to give my boys a version of that. 3. We won't have to pay for after-school care. Mini-raise for the Rumers! Seriously, it'll be a couple hundred off the bill list. I'll take the breathing room. <br />
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So - I get to rise to the challenge for two months and hope the higher ups agree that it's working just fine. Luckily, I'm on the International team - so since our peeps are hours ahead, the earlier I'm officially there, the better for them. Fingers crossed!!! This would be huge for our family in so many ways!<br />
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## so much has happened since I wrote most of this s but here you anyhow. Next I'll tell you about Switzerland and maybe even include some pictures of the monsters. He. I know that's the only reason you tune in. Ha.<br />
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Loves.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12783684993637667960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3333612180387266376.post-79561218353163568472013-05-25T16:56:00.002-07:002013-05-25T16:56:56.863-07:00Not quite a month's worth...Lo and behold Chick-fil-a finally realized that this town needed a Mommy & Son event - so Saturday evening William and I had a date. We got moderately dressed up (and took a picture - which truthfully surprised me at the weight loss - go mommy me!) and off we went to the Date Knight! They had the back part of the restaurant all dressed up like a castle, complete with a King (James) and a prince and princess. William wanted me to sit next to him (aww...) and we dined in style. He sat on my shoulders to see the other boys get knighted by King James and had the best time when it was his turn. Perk of being THE last one in line - LOTS of time to play and ham it up. By the end of the night - half the employees had been knighted by King William and he was doing a great bossy "impression". haha. Love that kid.<br />
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While we were on a date - Patrick was getting some fun time with Daddy. I can't remember what they were eating while watching tv - but apparently right before we got home - P was having a great time pretending to eat Daddy's shirt & stomach. Sam said he was making big "grabs" and putting them in his mouth and chewing up. I love this age - when playing pretend really starts to happen - so cute to watch the wheels turn and see what their mind is capable of.</div>
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William started swimming lessons this week at the YMCA. Twice a week and there are 4 kids in his class. We were a little apprehensive about how lessons would go this year after last year's disaster but it's like he's a whole different kid. HE LOVES IT!!! He's not scared anymore and always wants it to be his turn. But he is listening really well to the <strike>child</strike> young adult teacher, staying where he's supposed to and trying to do what is asked of him. Obviously, I don't think we will hit the beach in July a full fledged swimmer, but I'm just wanting him to be comfortable in the water - we can work on the kicking, floating, etc. in time.<br />
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Not sure what hit our house, but Thursday Patrick had a fever and then Friday William started running one. Sam has a crazy busy job right now - lots of meetings - so I picked up my laptop and "tried" to work from home. Total bust with Patrick. He either wanted to be in my lap, nursing, or hitting every button. Luckily, nothing on my desk was pressing and the one thing that needed to be done could be done by anyone, but it was frustrating. Then, after William ended up in our bed at 2am and was still pitiful at 6:30, I stayed home again. Fully thinking - Great - atleast I can work with William here. Yeah.... my 'extra' power cord is apparently dead, so "working" didn't last too long. Oh well. Poor bambinos. First two sick days of the year though - not TOO bad. <br />
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Mother's Day was good. I decided that Sam was buying me a new dress for the occassion - ha - so that was fun. Even more fun - I'm now a Medium at a BOUTIQUE :) That was gift enough! The boys ended up giving me my gift early - William can't keep a secret.... Sam had helped them do a handprint flower on a wooden plate. It was really really wonderful. Absolutely perfect. But while I was working on nursery fabrics for a preggo friend - William decided it needed to be clean and "washed" it with a wet wipe. Yep - you guessed it - the paint is not waterproof.... Poor guy - I did my best not to overreact but I did exclaim that he ruined it. Not proud of that. It really upset him, and him being upset made Patrick cry too.... It was a bit of a mess there for a minute. But sweet boy has been randomly apologizing since Mother's Day and keeps reminding us that they need to paint (to fix it). I had finally decided just to let it be an indication of our crazy life this year but the day I took it to work I spilled coffee all over it. Lawdy. Maybe we'll start over after all! LOL!! <br />
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The waterpark at school opened with a bang and the boys could not have been more excited! Patrick stuck close for a little bit but by the end he was just as independent as his brother. It was really nice not to have to hover over any children and be able to stand in the shade with other parents chatting. William ate his weight in fruit and they both got spoiled on sugar cookies. Patrick could not get enough cheese puffs. Ms Vicki actually just sent us home with them he was eating so much. Not an ounce of nutrition in them - but he LOVED them. We compromised and got him "veggie sticks" at Publix over the weekend. I don't think they have any nutritional value either, but I sure do feel better giving him a bowl full and he doesn't get covered in orange dust! ha!<br />
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Patrick had SUCH a good time at the waterpark that he slept all the way through the night Friday AND Saturday night! It was such a treat. I don't mind 5:30am wake up nursing when it's not preceding by 1 & 3am! Unfortunately, the sleeping didn't hold and he was back to waking up atleast once by Sunday. Oh well. It was nice while it lasted. One day he will sleep and I'll try and remember to enjoy the nursing snuggles while I still can.<br />
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Since I began this post, ahem weeks ago, William has regressed in swim lessons. I send him with Sam one day and he no longer wants to participate at all. I'm not saying there is a link there... I'm just saying.... haha! (History - Sam refused to learn how to swim until he was something like 10 years old - his parents still laugh about it) B&B obviously found it hilarious then that William is his father's son... By Thursday he didn't even want to kick, but I told him he couldn't get out of the pool. So he sat on the stairs for 45 minutes watching his friends. I don't get it, but I'm not going to push it either. Just like Patrick sleeping, he will swim when he's ready.<br />
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The whitewater downtown opened today. We took the boys and what was intended to be a quick see - turned into several hours of fun downtown. We ran into some great friends with kids close in age and one of our best friends stayed with us and walked around. It really was a great time. The boys did so good considering we didn't leave until 3pm. They both loved watching the boats (rafts & dragon boats) and even did a decent job of listening. Patrick did want to play in a really nasty puddle on the rocks and got fairly wet doing so - but that was the only thing a little hairy. I'll call it a complete success. It was really fun downtown - so many people out and about - barely even felt like Columbus. For once - there was plenty to do and see - we were all saying we could get used to this!<br />
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On the topic of listening, this morning we had to come right home after Chickfila, instead of going to market days before the river, because William needed to go to his room. He was doing a terrible job of using his listening ears and had basically decided that he was the one in charge. It has hit a tipping point. We really can't take it anymore. I don't know if this is preFours or what - but it's not ok. He's starting to back talk a little too - definitely not ok. So.. we aren't doing the corner, I will never spank them, but there are silent moments in the car and time in his room. I did hold him a little while he fussed initially and explained as much as I could what was going on and why he was there. Fortunately, it made an impact on him and he quickly decided he was ready to listen. We didn't give in though and that was good - but he needed to stay in his room until we left (he never did leave the room). And he really did do a pretty good job the rest of the day. He had to be reminded about going to his room a couple times, but that's all it took. We'll see how it goes.... <br />
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The boys are playing together more and more and I just can't get enough of their laughter. It fills the house with happy. They were bouncing on their knees on the bed last night - thought it was hilarious! Today William found a dog leash and they took turns being the "puppy" with it hooked to the collar of their shirt. So funny!!! It really warms my heart that they enjoy each other so much.<br />
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They are both in a HUGE mommy phase though and that is making life a little interesting. They BOTH always want me. And I'm totally find with that except that I am not the world's strongest mom and I don't have five arms.... Bit of a problem. haha William always wants to snuggle and ended up in our bed SEVERAL times in the middle of the night this week. Fine if he goes to sleep. Not fine if he decides to talk and play. It always turns to play time when Patrick walks in to nurse. They see each other and it's all over. So much for the last 45 minutes of sleep... ha! Life with boys. Shoot - life with kids! ha!! <br />
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Patrick said "William" earlier this week but it makes William mad when you say his name for some reason. I don't get it but whatever. It was really cute! And there's even a couple mini curls of hair in the back - so he won't be bald forever. P gives the best hugs and kisses and ugga muggas. You ask and you receive - it's wonderful. But he pretty much refuses to smile for a picture. <br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12783684993637667960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3333612180387266376.post-86226455827896552332013-04-30T19:49:00.001-07:002013-04-30T19:49:26.693-07:00Sweet Southern DrawlWilliam has developed the cutest little southern accent. It is especially evident in words like 'grass - fast - now - yeah". They are ATLEAST two syllables. I love it. My Mema was famous for drawing out her words and it was beautiful. It's kinda like a flag got switched though - I swear the drawl came overnight. <br />
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Patrick follows his brother in everything. Funniest moment - William likes to be the 'helper" in the morning dropping off Patrick. So he speeds down the long hallway to P's room - he inevitably falls because he is the clumsiest kid I know. Patrick is running as fast as his little legs will carry him and then purposely throws himself on the ground to be like his big brother. So cute. Oh - and P's "ready set go" stance might be the cutest thing ever - always trying to be like 'big little'. Sweet boys.<br />
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Patrick managed to get himself a double ear infection. Of course, Sam went out of town for a couple days, and P does nothing but scream all Thursday night. I thought he was just getting some teeth, I mean, the kid barely has ten in his mouth and that might be an exaggeration. But I got a call while out on the bike after nap on Saturday, that his ear had done some serious draining and he was acting pitiful. Twenty minutes later, I'm back, changed out of workout clothes and on the way to Pediatric Acute Care. Under an hour later and we are headed to Publix with a prescription for antibiotics. Poor baby. <br />
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William has finally hit the superhero phase - though, truly, he's already moved on. But last week, it was ALL about Batman. Thank goodness for Netflix or I don't know what would happen to the kid. <br />
And ChickFilA has the cows dressed up as superheroes on their bags and that was BIG stuff today at lunch. (He had a dentist appt today - so as a treat - he got to have lunch with mommy) Though, I'm not sure he bought that cows can have super powers. He's too smart for that. Batman is TOTALLY real though.<br />
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They are starting to actually kind of play together. I swear. Sometimes it's just around each other. But they both really enjoy turning Patrick's bed into a house with a roof and doors so they can hide from the monsters. It's fun to hear the laughter. Especially when it's not followed by screeching and tattling. Oh - I think William is becoming a tattle tale. He keeps talking about telling on his friends... Not sure what to do about that. He's telling his friends "I don't like that" like he's supposed to, but then he goes and tells the teacher. Maybe we should put more focus on ways he could handle the 'situations' himself... Any ideas? Though, really, how bad is being a tattle tale...? And is it Tale or Tail? Goodness - the things I have to think about now.<br />
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We just had to put "stanky cup" on the bad word list. Somehow Poopie isn't on the list but stanky cup was just getting ridiculous. haha. It's on there with 'stupid' and 'shut up'. We get called on the bad words frequently. Usually it's just 'stupid' used in a harmless way, but when William decides he doesn't like something, he determines it is a 'bad word' and we shouldn't say that. Sometimes we can't even tell what word he doesn't like - that gets interesting.<br />
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Patrick said Good this week. And he "quacks" for all birds, not just ducks. He is starting to say more - in his own language of course. He'll probably be just like William and be kinda late about it. Not worried about that at all!! William is MORE than making up for whatever faux verbal delay I was concerned about 1.5 years ago. Whoa!<br />
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I did realize this past weekend that Patrick has a bit of an obsession with his paci. As evidenced by not wanting to give it back to him at some point because I just wanted to stare at his face. I found myself thinking that he was so beautiful and I never get to see his pretty face because of that paci. He doesn't throw tantrums over the paci like William used to, so I don't think we need to start phasing them out... but I might have to make sure it's 'put away' a little more often. Maybe start a routine of him putting them in the duckie or something... I don't know. I just like looking at his face.<br />
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William is signed up for swim lessons at the Y. They start next week. It is not a Mommy & Me class. There are only 5 kids in each class and I'm hoping that he will learn to rely on himself a bit more since he won't be able to cling to Mommy or Daddy. I'm a little nervous to see how it goes but I am optimistic. I mean, it can't be any worse than last year! ha! I'm still debating whether or not to put Patrick in swim lessons this year. We are leaning towards no just because he's more comfortable in the water than William ever was and last year was such a terrible experience.... Seriously a little scarred. We'll see. I wish we could afford the ISR classes - those are amazing. But I don't have $500 laying around to throw on swimming... or anything else for that matter!<br />
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For a couple days we were having mandatory outdoor time after dinner. It was wonderful. William decided that he does like baseball (he got a giant ball & bat - blowup but still - for Eater) and Patrick likes to play in the dirt. I am starting to successfully let go and let him throw dirt in his hair and all over himself because he thought it was fun. Not sure what happened, maybe it rained, but definitely need to make sure the outdoor times happens more than it doesn't. It's so easy just to snuggle in on the sofa with them - they sweet and smell good - but I know that playing is better developmentally than constant snuggles. <br />
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<i>Quick things I don't want to forget: William's night night prayers thanking God for every task in his day, including a good nap and the pictures on his wall. How he really tries to make Patrick happy when he's upset/crying (most of the time anyway). That William loved having his nails painted until a teacher implied she didn't like them - I definitely spoke to her - but William wouldn't go see her until we remembered to take off the polish. Patrick loves to be tickled under the arms and down his sides. Patrick is becoming quietly defiant - here come the Twos. William & Patrick are both in really wonderful 'love' phases - lots of kisses and hugs - I'm loving it. They both love bananas and poptarts - but not the fudge kind - those are not a favorite...lesson learned.</i><br />
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Loves.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12783684993637667960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3333612180387266376.post-11404699435645503182013-04-03T15:50:00.001-07:002013-04-03T15:50:22.816-07:00Dates with monsters<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;">So because we switched our computer to be hooked up to the TV for the best Netflix/Hulu experience (ie faster load times), I find it really hard to squeeze out time to blog. I mean, RescueBots will beat out Two Little Rume</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;">rs every single time. So here goes the past three weeks.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;"></span><br />
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We took the boys to the air show that comes to Columbus every year. Patrick is more than a little obsessed with airplanes, every time one flies over our house (which is often – we’re on the flight plan) he throws his hand up in the air and yells “aahpaane”. So cute. William likes them too – he used to do the same thing when he was little, they just aren’t quite as thrilling flying over anymore. Anyhow. We got there ridiculously early – note to self – no need to be there 3 hours before the planes start flying. They had a great time running around looking at the planes on display though. We delayed nap (and Patrick had a stinky and we didn’t have a spare on hand) so we left about half way through. It was so cute to see them get excited about the planes doing the flips and one even tried to land on a moving truck!! </div>
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif;">William spent the night with Bebe & Grandaddy after the airshow and Sam & I took Patrick on a date to Zoe’s Kitchen, Barnes & Noble (train store - ha), and then to Chill. He is really the coolest, funniest kid. I can’t get enough of him. It’s really amazing how his personality and behavior changes when he is by himself. It’s kinda like an actual shadow is lifted…. I’m sure he’ll come into his own as he grows up. But he is so funny!! Kid has such a sense of humor - which feels a little strange to say when he doesn’t really have words – but we spent so much time laughing WITH him. I don’t know how to explain it. He’s just fun.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif;">I’m sure cute things happened during that week – but I have no idea. I do know that I had spent the entire week planning on and looking forward to taking William to Six Flags on Sunday. Well, the idiot weathermen decided to scare us all into thinking there was going to be bad weather, so I canceled that plan. Thank goodness I hadn’t told William about it! Instead, I took him to an afternoon movie (thanks to the Judge), with candy (he chose malt balls of all things – weird kid – I hate them), LARGE popcorn (thanks to the Judge again!) and a drink of his choice (well – Strawberry Fanta – he chose the pink part – I chose the non-caffeine. He NEVER gets carbonated though – so there’s the treat in that one). He was all excited about going on a date with mommy. I had made the mistake of telling him that after nap we were going, so he laid down for maybe two minutes then said he was done and it was date time. Sweet boy. We got all dressed up – him in a tie and me in a dress. It was the most fun. It took us about twenty minutes to choose a seat – up and down all the stairs several times. I’m sure everyone found us VERY entertaining. Oh! I had to touch up my nail polish before we left and he had me paint his nails blue too. He was so proud – showed them off to everyone. Sam wasn’t very pleased but he let him have his fun for a couple days anyhow. I really need to remember how special one on one time is with each boy and to do it more often.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif;">Again, I’m sure really wonderful things happened during the week. The small highlights that I can remember are: we (William helped) made cookies to give for Easter gifts (not really a thing –I just like making cookies and had new cutters) for the boys’ friends, I scored two goals at my soccer game, and William started calling his little brother Patrick instead of Tatrick. I’m not sure how I feel about this. I know we’ve been trying forever for him to say the P, but now that he has, I’m a little sad that there isn’t a special brotherly nickname of sorts. Though, everything is still blahdy blah poopy. “Silly poopy mommy” is a favorite. And someone at school has obviously taught him “butt” and we are NOT happy about that. So we now have three bad words “Stupid, Shut Up, and Butt”. I have a feeling that list is going to be VERY long by the end of the year. Lord help us.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif;">Saturday William had a birthday party for the twins in his class at Monkey Joe’s. He had a really great time and even decided that he liked the jumpies and the slides. Yay!!! He was sweet and wanted to sit by me and ‘snuggle’ during pizza and cake time and stinker stole my piece of cake. Actually, it was kinda ok because it meant I didn’t eat all of it but it was tiny and good. Oh well. When we got home, it was basically time to turn around and head out to Callaway for the Easter egg hunt. That was kind of a big let down (too many rude people) but then we went to the Discovery Center, got a snack and played while waiting for the bird show. After 2.5 birds – they were in full non-nap moods, so we left for home. It was a good, but busy day. And the weather was gorgeous. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><i>we took a lot of pictures trying to get a good one.... this out-take cracks me up</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif;">Easter Sunday was lovely. The boys were just beautiful. Ahem Handsome. Nope – I’m sticking with beautiful. Takes my breath away. William in seersucker and Patrick in smocked – sweet sweet boys. WHO REFUSED TO TAKE A PICTURE TOGETHER. They would not cooperate. So frustrating. But they were really excited about the Easter bunny and their baskets and hunting eggs. We were able to hold them off until just before 8am I think. Even Patrick started getting the hang of it and was picking up eggs. We went to church and then to B&B’s. After church, William wanted to ride with B&B, so it was just Patrick & me walking to the car and all of sudden I was just overtaken with an intense feeling of pride ( and sadness ) watching him walk with on the sidewalk by himself, holding his blue balloon dressed in his saddle oxfords. He’s becoming a big boy and I want to remember everything about this time. It’s so hard not to take moments for granted – I feel like I’ve already forgotten so much of when William was little...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">At B&B’s we finally managed to get one or two decent pictures of the family and then it was on to more Easter baskets. The boys were thrilled with the cars and treats and William got some cars undies and our new favorite movie “Rise of the Guardians”. The egg hunt was adorable again – William was a speed demon and Patrick was only interested in holding all of his cars. Ha! Neither one took a nap, though, we </span><span style="color: #222222;">didn't</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> even try to get William to take one… I think they ate a little bit of the dinner and then we all went home and laid down. All in all, a pretty wonderful day.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: sans-serif;">It goes without saying that Patrick is going to do whatever his brother is doing. This is at a whole new level now. Literally EVERYTHING that William does – Patrick will copy. Bad behavior, noises, running, etc. EVERYTHING. Sometimes it’s adorable. Other times it’s loud. And then there are the times when it just isn’t ok. So, raising two boys isn't easy, but it certainly is fun and interesting. What we </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;">didn't</span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> count on was William learning from Patrick. William has always been the kid that will stay in bed until we come and get him. Period. Patrick </span>didn't<span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> get that gene. And he has now taught his big brother that it’s ok. I honestly, don’t really mind being woken up to little boys in the bed (shhhhh don’t tell Sam). I think it’s the best way to wake up actually. As long as it </span></span><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">isn't</span><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"> ridiculously early…. It was 6:10 this morning – perfect little alarm really.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif;">Oh – Sunday after naps – Sam wasn’t feeling well (pollen gets him every year), so I took the boys with me to Old Navy to return something and then as a treat, we all walked down to Toys R Us. Somewhere between Old Navy and bedtime, we either totally lost or Patrick “put away” Walter the piggy. Either way – we can’t find him. I swear I remember seeing him that evening as I was putting too small boy clothes in a tote for the attic, but he is N.O.W.H.E.R.E. Finally broke down last night and ordered a new one after a bad night of sleep due to Henry the horse being a bad substitute. A new Walter will be here on Friday. Good thing we never washed him – so the new one shouldn’t be TOO different. I just keep thinking atleast it wasn’t Hilbert – that would be a real family tragedy and William would not recover from that. Plus, we’d have to go run new Hilbert through the leaf blower vacuum thing to get him in the same condition he is now – hahaha!!! I do feel really bad that I might be to blame for losing Walter though – Mommy isn’t supposed to do that. I also hate that there will be a replacement one and not the one that we bought for him before he was born. But I suppose in 20 years I won’t really feel that guilty about it. Atleast I hope not. Ha!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif;">Things to remember: "Mommy - why are your baby foods small?" Trying to teach William that there's a time for play and a time to be serious - dinner is the latter. "Roger" seems to be coming up more frequently - we aren't sure who or what he is. He might be a toy airplane but we aren't confident about that. Sam spinning the boys in the kitchen - they both squeal, fall over, and then beg to do it again. Patrick has to be touching my hair or holding my hand - nearly constantly - in the car, at the table, while nursing... Patrick's words: choo choo, airplane, car, mommy, daddy, eat, mine, no, more, meow for cat, lots of animal sounds. He begs to go out side, and sometimes the porch just doesn't cut it. Guess the backyard makeover just moved to the top of the list. William called Patrick an old woman at dinner yesterday - definitely don't know what to make of that. We are still trying to figure out how to pronounce the word for orange in Spanish. It's not going so well. I've taken to affectionately referring to the boys as my little monsters. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif;">Loves.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12783684993637667960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3333612180387266376.post-24106028972229726292013-03-11T17:30:00.002-07:002013-03-11T17:30:53.278-07:00Baaaa Mooooo OINKyeah yeah... so I took a mini break from blogging that turned into a two week hiatus. I'm really not even quite sure why I continue to post - it's a time suck but I suppose I want to be able to remember the monsters as little people when I am old and gray and wrinkly. So here goes nothing.<br />
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When we got back from vacation, William had to go through a learning curve of figuring out who was in charge again. For some reason, he seemed to think that he was in charge. Which I don't quite understand, because I know for a fact my dad would never let a 3.5 year old rule the house, but either way, Sam and I were not William's "best friends" for the better part of a week. I'm pretty sure that means we were being awesome parents. ha<br />
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<i>this is the result of Shaun the Sheep....</i></div>
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Patrick took the past two weeks to truly punish me for abandoning him. No kidding. I couldn't move to the other side of a room unless he went with me. And if he didn't, hysterics. I mean, he's always been a bit of a mommy cling-on, but this was a whole new level. Lucky for all of us, he seems to have come to terms with it and no longer thinks I am disappearing from his life completely EVERY time I move. Back to only 70% of the time. Stinking status quo. Good thing that baby is adorable.<br />
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He also started nursing like his life depended on it. You would have thought that I stole the magic boobs away from him......... oh wait......... haha Anyhow. He is still getting his snuggles and milk in the morning and evening and whenever he wants on the weekend. Though, he's started this new "buffet attitude" about it during the day, and I'm honestly a little tired of getting every thing out and situated for a total of 7 seconds. Just to repeat 5 minutes later. It's not ok. I say that like I'll refuse him asking... ha. He knows better... All he has to do is point. <i>**Oh - to remember in the wrinkly moments - he "has" to be able to play with my hair while he nurses. And even when I hold him - it must be some kind of "safe" thing for him.**</i><br />
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<i>this is what happens when I turn the camera on William "cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeese"</i></div>
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What was really cute was the moment when William & Patrick were reunited at B&B's. Truly heartwarming. They genuinely love and care for each other just like brothers. BIG BIG hugs. So sweet. <br />
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Patrick is getting REALLY good at his animal sounds. Baa... Quack....Oink (Sam is trying to teach him to do it the non-cute way with his nose)....Neigh and then OOO OOO for monkey complete with shaking his head back and forth. CUTEST. THING. EVER. This really works out because we have barely changed the channel from Shaun the Sheep or Timmy Time (baby sheep). Both boys are oddly enamored with it and there is not a single word. Not one. And they could watch for hours.<br />
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We have teacher conferences this week. I already know what they are going to say about William - lots of energy, hyper, fast, talks a lot, focusing is sometimes an issue, big emotions. I mean, for real, his nickname from the teacher is Red Rooster. He's a loud red head. And he got it all honestly... I should start each school year with an apology that he is just like me. LOL <br />
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Patrick is, on the whole, sleeping much better every night. He still has some extremely bad nights, but usually he's only wakes once and some nights not at all. Sam is loving it since he's the one who gets up with him now. I am loving the full night's sleep (not that I don't wake up to crying babes).<br />
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I am seriously contemplating only doing one, maybe two posts a month, just to give myself a pass. I know that SO MANY PEOPLE will be disappointed that I'm not posting weekly... haha... <br />
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Loves.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12783684993637667960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3333612180387266376.post-39393456723855297082013-02-22T14:42:00.001-08:002013-02-22T14:42:04.147-08:00Ok ok... so I missed themLong time .... no see.. The Rumers went on a real vacation! Sam and I had our first vacation all by ourselves. We slept and ate and played outside.... and I missed the boys terribly. It took a couple days for a real live meltdown, but I did not like not seeing them. (Sam has pointed out that I will have to get better at it for when I travel for work. I pointed out that atleast both boys will be at home with their Daddy and not separated, out of their routine.... not that their grandparents aren't FULLY capable) It was very quiet and more than a little strange and we kept seeing things that I wished the boys could see. It didn't help that on Monday the phone at the cabin rang and it was Becky saying that Patrick had a fever and was sick. I especially did not like being 4+ hours away from my sick baby. (He stayed home the next day and was back to school on Wednesday and back to normal on Thursday...easy peasy. Sam was not going to be pleased if we had to leave....)<br />
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SOAP BOX ALERT: I absolutely believe that married parents need to take time to take care of their relationship and relax and just take a moment for themselves. I think it is important for the boys to have the time for some independence, and know that their parents value their relationship. I'm not saying that we are going to do it every other week, every month or shoot - probably at best only once a year. We really do like our children and being surrounded by their quirkiness - but someone might have unleashed their own (and their friends) insecurities on me about leaving my children and it's been on my mind. I think taking a week to work on my relationship with their dad is better than a life time of being shuffled from house to house because I didn't. Just a thought.<br />
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I insisted on calling morning and night to check in on the boys. Bebe would report how Patrick slept and ate, he ate better than he slept.... B&B finally got to here him wail one night, not that that is a good thing. Both said they had never heard him cry! Oh he cries all right. Poor baby. We tried a couple times to talk to him but he would just stare the phone curiously. William would get on the phone and very quickly tell me about his adventures and then just as quickly get off the phone saying I love you BYE!! So funny. I go back and forth between thinking he's so big and then that he's still so little. Just can't make my mind. And that's probably the point of this age... and the root of many many tantrums.<br />
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In light of a meltdown, Sam let us leave a little early and come to my parent's house on Thursday afternoon after some fun shopping. (we bought the coolest train car prints for the boys) I was so excited to smooch all over William's face. Of course he ran to Daddy to get a hug first... stinker. But then he snuggled with me all night long. Even asked at the dinner table if I would watch Dora and snuggle (best way to get out of dishes ever! haha) Love that sweet boy. He's been quite the Momma's boy all day Friday and for the most part, I'm totally ok with that. <br />
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He's so neat. His pretending has taken a new deeper turn in the story making and he's very insistent and demanding on the stories. He is REALLY specific about where you stand and how you play. William got lucky and Daddy had to replace the HVAC outside box thing (unlucky for the Kennedy's) and there was a huge box. That was immediately turned into a house with a door and a window. He and I would get in there (me just barely) and we'd hide from the monsters (Daddy & Mima)!!! Really so much fun playing him. Later, pieces of the box were used to make a 'truckrocketsleigh'. Seriously. That was what I made. We only got as far as the four wheels though - he didn't like I how I was planning to make the seat, threw a tantrum, and we changed plans to go outside and ride bikes. I really could just watch him all day, complete with an always on video camera. He says the funniest things. "No you can't go in the mud, I have to rescue you" - Uncle K just came and told us... <br />
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I'm anxious to snuggle with Patrick tomorrow. I'm sure I will be in awe of how big he has grown in just a week, and I bet his two most recent teeth are halfway out of his gums now looking like real teeth. He might even have more hair on his head. And I cannot wait to snuggle, nurse him, and put him to bed. I hope he hasn't decided to wean just because I was gone all week. I pumped every morning so the boobs wouldn't get the wrong idea... I know it's silly, and I need to let him decide, and I will. But I will be so sad if he puts the kibosh on that special time. Guess I'll find out soon enough...<br />
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Doing this on my Dad's super cool IPAD with keyboard stand thing... so no pictures. But honestly, there aren't any new pictures of the boys. Only of Sam and I and waterfalls. haha! <br />
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Loves.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12783684993637667960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3333612180387266376.post-64658789379225454192013-02-14T16:48:00.000-08:002013-02-14T17:08:00.673-08:00Little Swashbucklers<br />
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Sam and I are going on a much needed vacation next week, so
I figured I better do my February duty and squeeze in a blog before we
leave. I know you are all DYING to know
what the boys have been up to. Haha!! At
the very least, I need to document SOMETHING,
since this blog is acting as their baby books… I never got William’s all the way filled
out and we didn’t even buy one for Patrick.
Oh the mommy shame!! LOL</div>
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Patrick has made us oh so proud by deciding to finally sleep
through the night after weeks and weeks of Sam getting up to comfort him back
down. I suppose, in the end, we really
did kind of do the Elizabeth Pantley No Cry Sleep Solution, just adapted our
way (ie – no real schedule to any of it) but it worked. Every night it would be a little longer and a
little easier to get him back to sleep and then one night he slept all the way
through until 4:30 or so, and then went back down again. It’s wonderful. Granted, it’s not that way every night, but
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Which he totally did!!!
Sweet boy has two more top teeth that have FINALLY broken through! That means we are up to six and as soon as
those two come down and look like real teeth – he won’t be so snaggly smiled
any more!! Haha!! He loves brushing his mouth 'full' of teeth - he beats William to the bathroom every time. I’m sure he will love
having the extra teeth to bite into all of his food with – the kid is a
bottomless pit. Seriously though, most
nights he eats more than William does!!
He’s a bit more deliberate (SLOW) with his eating though.. so maybe that’s
why. William is in such a hurry to get
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<o:p><i>Little known fact - I am an expert pipe works builder.</i> </o:p></div>
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I know it is well documented that William has a rough time
in the mornings and sometimes even with bedtime. We got the bright idea, well Sam says it was
all his idea, earlier this week to make a chart so he would know what was
expected and we could give him stickers/checkmarks/surprise/SOMETHING to get
him on board. Turns out I had a little
extra time on Monday and got them made and sent off to Fedex to be
printed/laminated. THE BEST $7 WE HAVE
SPENT IN A LONG TIME. The kid is JUST
like his Momma and will do just about anything to get a check mark!! He will get dressed by himself, brush his
teeth, follow directions, etc if it means he gets a sticker! Granted, this morning wasn’t quite so easy
and he was 3 stickers short… but, honestly, that is still an improvement. And the arguing about going to school has
disappeared! No tantrums about going to
his class or anything. I swear it’s
related! Or atleast I hope so because we
are enjoying the trend!</div>
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Patrick has learned how to cross his fingers. It’s so cute to watch how proud he is of it
and does it over and over and over again!
He also REALLY likes giving ‘knucks’.
He goes back and forth between everyone around and makes the exploding noise,
without exploding his hand – we’re still working on that one. Haha!
He is growing up much too fast and is much too smart. I know it’s because he has a model to watch
constantly, but still, must too fast. He
follows directions so well and wants to be big so badly. This Momma just isn’t ready yet.</div>
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We might be crazy, but Sunday morning we decided it made perfect sense to get both boys pirate swords. We had to repeat SEVERAL times that we do not swing swords in the car and not to hit Patrick in the face... Both boys had a great time playing with them though and I'm sure we put on quite the show in the front yard. William takes his pirate-ing very seriously. Patrick preferred to hold the sword by the blade, we never could convince him that the handle was better! A friend at work now knows where I live (not that I was hiding it) because he happened to be driving by during the sword fight. Oh my! <br />
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Obviously, today is Valentine’s day. It started early for me making Pink Heart
pancakes (I made the batter last night to save some time). Wouldn’t you know that I was the only one who
ate them?! William took two bites, sans
syrup, with his hands and was done. Sam
wasn’t hungry at 6am and Patrick only wanted boobs. I’m not going to lie, my feelings were more
than a little hurt, but RPM during lunch fixed all that. William kept switching puzzles with Patrick,
since he slept in a little more, and that was funny. He couldn’t decide whether he wanted the
house or the train, and then he wanted to know if where the fire truck was that
I got the hat from… silly boy. Always
full of questions. (His version of why
is “tell me ‘bout it”) I had big plans for a pizza picnic, lots of movie snuggling, and extra special homemade pink heart cookies. Life had other ideas that kept the event a little more lackluster than I had intended. But that's why you get for making plans and having expectations with small children. haha! This is Sam’s and my 10<sup>th</sup>
(crazy) Valentine’s day and we’ve had pizza every one of them, except the one
year the in-laws wanted to cook us filets.
Rumers don’t say no to steak, so we skipped the tradition that
year. Haha. </div>
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So here’s to a day full of love, hopefully just like every
other day. But there only fun cookies today.</div>
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<i>PS.. Because I want to remember this. Currently, I am William's best friend and Daddy is Tatrick's. "You're my best friend Mommy" melt heart into little puddle, unless he's only saying this to get me to stop holding Patrick and pick him up, then I melt a little less.</i><br />
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Loves!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12783684993637667960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3333612180387266376.post-31778458233305556012013-02-09T10:05:00.003-08:002013-02-09T10:05:50.908-08:00Precious Momentshaha - I totally had a Precious Moments bible when I was little and I LOOOVED it. Bet it's floating around somewhere in the attic.... But that's not the point at all. About three weeks ago we had our first professional family photos taken by the super amazing wonderfully talent Kate Whitmore, who I totally want to be friends with. She's kind of adorable and the best kind of fun. I wasn't quite sure what would come out of us playing in a deserted lot in Phenix City and I certainly couldn't have predicted that some of the most beautiful moments with our children would be frozen forever as result. <br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Everybody yell AHHHHHHHHHH!</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HJoSfbdpn3w/URaNnEnPy6I/AAAAAAAAmhA/WimeR3lEwfo/s1600/Rumer-1007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HJoSfbdpn3w/URaNnEnPy6I/AAAAAAAAmhA/WimeR3lEwfo/s400/Rumer-1007.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Not quite as carefree as his brother</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Hilbert & Walter go everywhere with us</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bUAB74zUqi4/URaNn6g45LI/AAAAAAAAmhM/RULlr_hAMuE/s1600/Rumer-1011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bUAB74zUqi4/URaNn6g45LI/AAAAAAAAmhM/RULlr_hAMuE/s320/Rumer-1011.jpg" width="213" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eeQJpGxe1Mg/URaOjtGJ3fI/AAAAAAAAmjM/Yf5JtThFUvo/s1600/Rumer-1048.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eeQJpGxe1Mg/URaOjtGJ3fI/AAAAAAAAmjM/Yf5JtThFUvo/s320/Rumer-1048.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">The KNOCKDOWN hug</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Knockdown hug looked like fun...</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8iX4JJBprJ0/URaNrCzbf8I/AAAAAAAAmiI/rPi6cB1CzbY/s1600/Rumer-1021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8iX4JJBprJ0/URaNrCzbf8I/AAAAAAAAmiI/rPi6cB1CzbY/s400/Rumer-1021.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Those eyes. That face. Sweet boy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Patrick finally decided to have some fun</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Love Walter</span></div>
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I will treasure these forever. And, much to Sam's chagrin, they will be printed extra large and plastered all over every open space of wall I can find.</div>
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Now go to katewhitmore.com and get your own :)</div>
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Loves!!!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12783684993637667960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3333612180387266376.post-47422399706818841102013-01-27T13:27:00.000-08:002013-01-27T13:27:21.962-08:00Patience is a virtue....?We have had many many moments this week when we realize that .... I don't even know what we realize. That we are doing the best we can, we aren't doing it right, we are doing it right... I don't know. What I do know, is that every single morning and afternoon with William was a super huge gigantor struggle. Even donut Friday went south. I got him a sprinkle donut instead of a plain donut and you would've though that the world was ending. Note - he did eat the sprinkle donut - so how bad could it have been?! I don't know what to do. Pray and hope that this unfortunate phase ends sooner rather than later I suppose. Not sure if he needs to sleep more - bedtime is at 7pm for goodness sake and he wakes up between 5-6am - no idea how to make that lengthen out. He probably ought to eat more, but that's also fun trying to get him to stay in his seat and eat whatever it is I have made. And I promise you - whatever it is - he doesn't like or want it. Wit's end. <br />
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<i>it's just how he rolls - super cool kid that he is</i></div>
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We left work Friday at 5 and got home at 6. It was that bad. Usually the fight is over that he wants me to carry him and I am carrying Patrick and then we have to move on to the principle of the matter - so even though snatching him up and carrying him to the car would be the easiest way out - we can't do that - because that would be letting him control the consequences. Not ok. And I know, I know, pick them up when they ask because one day they won't want you to.... And I fully believe that. But, he is also perfectly capable of walking and sometimes, he just needs to. Maybe I've done it all wrong trying to give him a voice. But that just sounds silly even writing it. I just keep remembering that God doesn't just give you something (patience), he provides situations in which to learn it. <br />
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<i>uncanny how alike these two are</i></div>
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Patrick went through another spout of waking up nearly every hour for a couple days. That was not awesome. We have gotten used to only two-three times at predictable hour ranges. But we still only have four teeth to show for all of it. I wish they would hurry up and pop through. So we can move on to the rest of his mouth, slash molars - ick, and just get all of this messiness, exhausted nights, and plain ugliness over with. No one likes being sleep deprived. Patrick gets to take 3 hours naps at school - Mommy and Daddy not so much.</div>
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We were really just in survival mode this week - so it's kinda surprising that we managed family dinners at home every night. Maybe it's because going out to fast food cost entirely too much now and we overspent our grocery budget just making the frig not so depressing... Patrick ate like a champ all week long. I think he's working on getting taller now as well. He literally spent an hour at the table one night and it's safe to say that he's eating more than William is as a general rule. Kid can put away some chicken nuggets. Only four teeth - what?! haha! I love his little belly and chubby thighs - I'm happy for him to stay little and tank-like forever.</div>
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We took the day off from church today to take the boys to Flat Rock Park. Sam called it 'communing with nature family time'. I insisted we atleast take their bible story book and read something. Either way - we had a great time. We walked A LOT, and then the boys played on the playground and played on the rocks. It's funny how clear it is that Patrick understands just about everything we say and can follow directions. He's such a smartie pants. :)</div>
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<i>this is the face we get every time we ask him to smile</i></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eHAL5aB-ZcQ/UQWaGxeAS7I/AAAAAAAAmfo/wlzr90CA0pk/s1600/DSC_0120-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eHAL5aB-ZcQ/UQWaGxeAS7I/AAAAAAAAmfo/wlzr90CA0pk/s400/DSC_0120-001.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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William is growing in to a really great big brother. The playground had one of those suspended bridges and Patrick really isn't big enough to do that by himself. He was slipping on the angles and the movement kinda scared him. I did it with him the first time, but then asked William to hold his hand and take care of him little brother. It was the cutest thing - he did - and was so careful with him. Really warmed my heart. And then, when Patrick came down the slide, William told him he was "so proud of him". Oh my... I feel the tears coming. Sweet sweet boys.</div>
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<i>made Sam take a picture to prove I exist - ha!</i></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eDwgmHS8l-A/UQWaHmljnsI/AAAAAAAAmf0/CQQb4SJR-WM/s1600/DSC_0164-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eDwgmHS8l-A/UQWaHmljnsI/AAAAAAAAmf0/CQQb4SJR-WM/s640/DSC_0164-001.JPG" width="424" /></a></div>
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Loves.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12783684993637667960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3333612180387266376.post-91317673028151350872013-01-19T15:47:00.001-08:002013-01-19T15:48:51.152-08:00My little old menWe've barely taken any pictures (literally seven pictures since the park pictures - oh the shame) and I can barely remember anything that has happened in the past however too many days since I last posted. This will be interesting.<br />
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Patrick slept through the night one night this week (well, he slept from 7pm to 4:30am - which totally counts in my book). Of course, I had to get up at 2:30am to be at work, so it's not like I got to enjoy one ounce of that. <br />
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William is still having very rough mornings. I have no more ideas on how to improve them, except for making every day "donut day", and I'm pretty sure his teachers would kill us for that. I hate leaving crying babies at school. Breaks my heart.<br />
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Patrick has added 'night night' to his vocabulary. And he is just as obsessed as William was with the book "Goodnight Gorilla". Pretty sure I could do that one without the book. Though, truthfully, there are very few words in it, so that makes it pretty easy.<br />
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<i>This is what he will look like when he is 70... minus the paci.. I hope... haha!!</i></div>
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We got rid of Direct TV a week ago, and besides not being able to watch the current season of Downton Abbey (TRAVESTY!!!), we have not regretted it one bit. We never watched any show on the right night anyhow, so the day delay doesn't matter, and with HULU & Netflix - we have a crazy supply of kid shows and movies. William's current favorite - My Little Pony. We are thrilled not to be watching the SAME episode of Super Why for the 70th time.<br />
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We had our first official by a real photographer family pictures taken today. I have agonized for months over outfits, and she loved them! Thank goodness. Hopefully the pictures turn out - I'm still not entirely sure all four of us will be in a single shot - but fingers crossed. She's amazing. Kate Whitmore. Go call her now. I can't wait to see them. They boys were so good. Well, as good as can be expected. Patrick just wanted to wander around without taking a picture with the family. And William, was, William. Sixty miles a minute. The whole time. ha!<br />
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I know it's a boy thing, or maybe it's just a kid thing, but they both LOVE being naked. It's kinda funny. Patrick doesn't put up a single fuss about bathtime. He usually runs to the bathroom to double check that we've started the water and then runs to their room to get his clothes taken off. I don't know if I mentioned this, but he is excellent at following directions, and one of his favorite 'chores' is putting his clothes in the hamper. He's so proud of himself, and loves the high five afterwards. Then he runs to the bathtub. If, by chance, the bath isn't ready, you can pretty much bank on him teetee-ing on the floor. All boy.<br />
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Both boys are in a serious mommy phase, which I don't mind except that they usually both want me at the exact same time. That's a little complicated and usually gets ugly. And now that I think about it, both want to eat their meals sitting in my lap. That's complicated too. I guess it just means that I don't get to enjoy my meals. Oh well. There are worse things than cold food. It's not like I'm a Five Star Chef or anything. haha<br />
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<i>William wanted nothing to do with photos before church. Stinker - the bow ties were so cute!! I should've taken pictures the Sunday he wore a tie and Patrick a matching bow tie... Best laid plans.</i></div>
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We are fairly certain that Patrick has been working on some teeth... I can see them on the top but they just won't pop through. For a couple nights - those stinking teeth were the bane of our existence - but I suppose they've settled down on their movement for a bit - because he's sleeping better now and no longer making us give him IBprofen & Tylenol around the clock. Kid is going to be 2 years old and no need for a dentist!! But he is starting to get some hair in the back - and it's definitely strawberry blonde just like William. <br />
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Sam and I are playing "The Great Big 2013 Rumer Weightloss Challenge". I'm pretty jazzed about it. I like a good competition. And the super cool awesome spreadsheet I made. :) We have until the end of March to see who loses the biggest percent. There's a cash prize. Which isn't really THAT exciting since we have a joint checking account - but by the end of March there are a LOT of things that will probably be on clearance at GAP that I most certainly NEED. Don't mess with me when it comes to GAP. I am going to win. Mama needs new clothes. LOL <br />
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Loves.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12783684993637667960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3333612180387266376.post-85079296132659502412013-01-07T15:32:00.000-08:002013-01-07T15:32:02.533-08:00It's still 2013 at 5am<br />
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif;">We didn’t even bother to pretend that we were going to stay up to ring in the New Year. We were quite sure that it would still be 2013 when the boys woke us up at 500am… At some point we had planned to make a slightly special dinner, but we flaked on that when we forgot to pull out the steaks. Bet I made pasta. Surprise surprise. I had gotten off a little early that day, so we went to an afternoon movie (Taken 2 – loved it) complete with treats, so maybe I didn’t make dinner at all... I don’t know. I should really start writing this stuff down immediately…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif;">New Year’s Day, I made apple pancakes and then we took the boys to Cooper Creek in the morning. Walked the long trails and stopped to feed the ducks. William loves that. Patrick enjoyed eating the bread. Thank goodness it wasn’t really old – just leftover. Ha! The playgrounds out there aren’t quite as ‘safe’ and plastic as the ones they are used to – and William kept saying “I can’t”. Sam wasn’t going to have that – so William had to do whatever it was that he was insisting he couldn’t do. Of course, he was very proud of himself once he succeeded. We can’t be raising a child who says “I can’t”. I understand being afraid of something, but in certain situations, he’ll just have to be a big boy… especially when Daddy is there to help him and catch him if he falls.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif;">Patrick has been a nightmare sleeper – but he now has FOUR teeth to show for it!!! For a couple days (weeks) I thought we might lose our mind, as he was up every hour. No bueno. But now he’s back to waking up at 1000/1100 and then again at 100/200, then up for the day between 500/600. Which, really, is pretty manageable. And he doesn’t always get to nurse in the second wake-up. I don’t think he does anyhow – maybe I’m too groggy to remember. Ha. How many teeth to children have? I think it’s going to be a long year either way though…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif;">Patrick is starting to use words a little more. Sam said he said “all aboard” this morning. And he likes to say “Car”, though he sounds like he’s from Boston when he says it. “Mine” gets a lot of use when he plays with William. And “UhOH” is of course a favorite. Stinker.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif;">William is still having really bad mornings. He goes to bed pretty easily at 730 most nights – but he is just plain FOUL in the mornings. Doesn’t want to do anything. Probably because we are asking or suggesting or it came out of our mouths. Maybe he’s just not a morning person anymore. That is not going to bode well for our family dynamic… We are trying to meld positive parenting aspects with a little more apparent structure. I don’t know if it’s going well or if he’s just very three and needs to get older and outgrow whatever this is. I guess we should just accept that we’ll never have all the answers and can only do what we can do as best as we can. I don’t really find comfort in that though…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif;">William’s favorite word right now is poop. We are firmly into potty humor. It’s great. Seriously, poop gets tacked on to the end of almost every word, sentence, random jibberish, everything. At first, it was legitimately funny (short-lived), then we tried to correct him, but now we are just ignoring it. And praying that every time he goes up with the pastor for Children’s church he doesn’t say poop in to the microphone.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif;">On that note – we are two weeks in to going to church (and Sunday school) every Sunday. William loves going to Sunday school. He wants to be in the four year old class, and since the three year old teacher never seems to be there on time, I might just have to strong arm the 4 year old teacher into letting William go there full time. It’s where he wants to be anyway. And it’s not REAL school – so really what’s the harm? You would think it was Elementary school by the way she acts. Whatever. Last Sunday, when I took the boys by myself, William wanted to go “Big Church” with me (probably because of Christmas services) and I let him. He did great, so as long as he’s on good behavior, he gets to come with us. He does really well for being so young and then goes with the big kids to Children’s Church. So proud. He’s such a neat kid. Patrick falls asleep every Sunday during Sunday School and Church. I don’t think he’s learning very much at all.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif;">I think it’s cool how young children make friends wherever they go. We took them to Chickfila for dinner one night (the chicken still wasn’t thawed out by the time we got home) and he made fast friends with another little boy. They had extensive adventures around running around the playground hiding from monsters… it was so cute. I think I heard that the slide was a waterfall...not entirely sure. Patrick had a good time being in the mix of all the children. He would watch them run by and squeal and laugh. I wonder how long this phase lasts… I’m not looking forward to dealing with bullies and mean children. It’s so much better when they just automatically play together just because.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;">Sam is kinda convinced that Patrick is going to still be ‘bald’ on his second birthday. I might believe it. He only now has enough hair to make it look like he has any at all (slash – his head just looks ‘dirty’). We still can’t confirm the color – somewhere between blonde and red is our best guess. Apparently, he has a friend (or friends) at school who love to rub his head because he doesn’t have any hair. I wish there was some way to catch them in action – I bet it’s adorable. I love to rub his head, makes perfect sense to me. And I’m pretty sure my sister was held back from kindergarten because she was a late hair bloomer and she’s a brilliant surgeon – so there are worse things for sure. Maybe that’s the key to success…. Hmmm.</span></div>
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Loves.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12783684993637667960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3333612180387266376.post-41125589828365069702012-12-31T10:37:00.000-08:002012-12-31T10:37:06.887-08:00It was wonderful ChristmasOk - here goes nothing. Christmas 2012.<br />
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The weekend was a bit of a blur. I tried to go work out after breakfast, while Sam helped his Dad with yard work before the party that evening, but there was no child care. Boo. And I really needed RPM for my sanity that day. Oh well. It did provide extra time at home to get through all the other million tasks that needed to be accomplished that day. Namely - making cookies for the party. William was a big 'help' and Patrick had a great time wandering in and out of the kitchen. I was rolling the dough out on their blue table so it would be at a height they could easily reach. William had fun helping me cut the cookies out, even if he was using the cutters upside down and would move them after half cutting them, etc. God sure does like to teach me patience....</div>
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We decided to go see Santa at Columbus Park Crossing (free!) before we went to the party and William was super psyched!! We let him go by himself first and he had a lot to say. He told Santa he wanted cars, planes, and tractors for Christmas and Patrick wanted trains... (noted - stocking shopping later) Then it was time for Patrick to meet Santa. He was none too pleased about the ten second experience. William tried to hold his hand to make him feel better, but it didn't work. Atleast we got a picture of them with Santa. Success. And plenty memorable.<br />
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The Christmas Party at B&B's was that night and the boys had a super wonderfully wild time. William ran around the house like a banshee and Patrick was just a sweet (sleepy) doll baby. Our friend finally got him to sleep on her shoulder (MIRACLE!! In the middle of the party no less - I couldn't get him to nurse to sleep in the dark!!!) and Sam took him upstairs. It was the perfect amount of friends that we actually got to have conversation with people, instead of just flitting around and not really saying more than hello. I hope William continues to be adorable and charming as he grows up or he is going to have to learn to calm down!! Seriously, rain circles, dodging people, tables, and other children... Hilarious and kinda feeds my anxiety. LOL<br />
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Sunday we went to church. I had never heard the new pastor and he's top notch. I like that he includes an insert in the bulletin to take notes. My church at home used to do that I think, and I liked it. William marched right in to Sunday school and Patrick fell asleep in the swing. Perfection. <br />
After nap time.... I have no idea what we did. Seriously. Probably something fun because I was determined to have a fun Christmas. Or I cleaned the house. It's a toss up really.<br />
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Monday was a good day. We headed out early to pick up the grocery items we needed so we wouldn't run into the masses. Got that done, finished stockings, and hunted down the last present we needed for William. Then we made and painted ornaments for this year's crafty gift (Daddy - I need to mail y'alls...sorry). William though that was the greatest and Patrick enjoyed painting the table...ha! He did get a bit of paint on to the ornaments though.... so that's good. Then we had a pillow pile and played all afternoon until it was time for Christmas Eve service.<br />
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That went pretty well. The boys were relatively well behaved, thanks to some snacks... William of course had to go potty in the middle of the sermon, so I missed all of that because he wouldn't let someone on the end of the pew take him... So I got to squeeze out of the pew and walk in front of the entire church. yay... (whatever, it took me an hour to pick out something to wear and I'm not so confident what I ended up with was a good choice... oh well... ) Anyhow. Patrick enjoyed flipping through the hymnals and bible, William wanted to sing hymns with us, and they were sweet. William even got to hold his own candle during Silent Night at the end, my favorite part, and he was way too cute. And so proud of himself.<br />
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<i>as dictated by William....</i></div>
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Then it was off to B&B's for soup with the family. We had told William that Silly Willy would meet us there with a special present from Santa - so he took off trying to find him. He found Silly Willy pretty easily, but then completely missed the presents...ha! Santa sent the boys new matching 'jamas for Christmas and William found that REALLY exciting!! (Literally - he didn't take them off until maybe 3pm the next day!) The boys stayed up playing with everyone and then when we got home, we wrote a note to Santa, left out some cookies and off to bed they went.<br />
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We were all up at 545 to open presents and William was kinda in a foul mood....until he saw that Santa came. He, of course, commandeered Patrick's Santa presents immediately, completely ignoring his chair for a couple moments. Once he saw the 'horse cowboy' gear, he was all ready to go!!! he galloped around with his horse (who has now been named 'Bullseye' thanks to the hours of Toy Story we have been watching) and his hat on. He's been killing everything in sight with his shooting gun, even though we tried to limit it to just the 'bad guys'... Best laid plans. Patrick was pretty quiet about Christmas morning, but he played with his new trains, cars, and firetrucks. Lots of buzzing around. :)<br />
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Then it was back to B&B's for Christmas there. I think it was raining, so the boys were stuck inside, much to their chagrin, but I'm sure they found something fun to play with. William had picked out a nativity set to buy with his own money the day before, so they played with that.... new legoes that Laura & Kurt gave the boys, and a cool little train set that B&B got Patrick that is living at their house. We put them down for early naps, so they wouldn't miss lunch (not like they ate a lot anyway) and when they got up, most of the family was there. It was a good laid back day... We watched one of their new movies when we got home, skyped with Mima & Grandaddy, and then went to bed. Lucky us still had to work in the morning.<br />
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We are so blessed with such sweet little boys and wonderful families. How could we not have a wonderful Christmas!?!<br />
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Loves.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12783684993637667960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3333612180387266376.post-4771774069267746612012-12-25T04:34:00.000-08:002012-12-25T04:34:04.376-08:00Merry Christmas to All!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">Much love,</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">The Rumers</span></div>
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Loves.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12783684993637667960noreply@blogger.com0