ONE

Baby, you turn one today.

You have brought more joy to this family than you can know. You are a constant stream of smiles, giggles and emphatic blabbering. If you hear someone around you laughing, you join on in, whether or not you know what they're laughing at. You do not hoard your food in your mouth like your brother did. No...you like to throw it all over the kitchen for fun. You like to chuck your sippy cup off your high chair and shake your head at the same time, knowing we are about to say "No no." You love remote controls and scream when they are taken away from you. You are a busy, busy boy. You crawl with purpose at the speed of light, with your head down and your hands slightly turned inward. You get into everything - opening every cabinet and every drawer within reach (including the toilet seat). You love playing with cars and giving them sound effects. You love your big brother, even when he is not necessarily being what we call gentle. When you hear him in another room, you turn his direction and call, "bruber?" It is also the first thing you say when we come to get you in the morning. You love to be a part of waking him up and screech like a banshee when you see him. You can't say "dada" enough when your daddy enters the room, and you still have a special smile that is only for him. You are a serious "mamamama"'s boy and while at times it can be slightly annoying to not get to hand you off, I secretly love that you love to be near me.

This year has gone by too fast and I am struck with the reality that you are almost not a baby anymore. Part of me wants to put the brakes on and keep you this way forever, but I also know that there are such fun times to come. As far as we know, you are our last baby, and while there is some mourning on my part because of it, I have great joy in knowing what sweet babies I was given in you and your brother. I am easily overwhelmed and brought to my knees in thanks for you both.

Daddy, Henry and I love you so much and are so happy to celebrate this first anniversary of your birth.

Yes, you loved your cake. Down to the last reachable crumb.

What a difference a (school) year brings

Remember this little boy?

It is hard to believe this was 9 months ago on Henry's first day of preschool. I felt like I was not ready for such a big change! He has done so well in school, loves his teachers, loves his friends. He loves the things they learn and play each day. He has grown in so many ways and I am so thankful for his teachers, who have loved each of Henry's classmates in such a special way. Henry has come out of his shyness shell SO much this year, thanks to his preschool. I am so proud of all he has learned and accomplished as a 3 year old! He cannot wait to be a big boy in the 4 year olds class come September.

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Here is our big (almost 4 year old) boy today, on his last day of 3 yrs preschool:

I can't believe how much less of a toddler and so much more of a little boy he looks!

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Wyatt was also proud of his big bro and wanted to pose with him:

So blessed!

Water Babies

What a weekend! Jim and I had the privilege of watching Carson and Sydney on Friday and Saturday while Jen and Trent went to adoption classes. To say that Henry and Carson had a good time just doesn't do it justice. All I will say is there was a lot of laughing and a lot of loud. Good times.

On Saturday, we walked over to the new fountains at 53rd street park so the kids could burn off some energy and cool off from the sun. Hurray for warm days! Here is a sample of our time at the water park (yes, there are mostly pics of Wyatt...you try and take pics of older kids running through water spouts at lightening speed...):

At first, Syd was not too sure...

Someone loves him some water!

Sydney = darling

Please note the boy in blue just over Wyatt's head. Nice face!

The Sady's joined us for some play time and we all had lunch together. Doesn't it look like Sam and Jenna are having a blast? Hee.

Wyatt could not get enough of the water. He was all over it! Even though he seemed fine, Jim scooped him out after a long while 'cause the water was cold and his skin was frigid. He loved it, though!

As we were leaving, Jim asked the boys if we should get some chocolate milk to enjoy at home. What do you think they said? Popsicles on Mickey Mouse sticks (thanks, mom!) completed their sugar-free snack.

Such a fun weekend! We love our friends and we love getting to spend time with their kiddos. We can't wait to spend time with ALL THREE in the somewhat near future!

This Kid

Sometimes, I don't know what to do with this kid:

He's at that age (almost 4!) where many things are a daily battle and time-outs are a plenty. He is trying to figure out how life works, what his role is and how much we are truly paying attention. One little slip in consistency and BAM! Back to square one.

The (not so) funny thing is that all the disobeying or talking back, etc. isn't what is getting to me the most right now. It's the screaming. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned it before, and if you have spent any length of time with dear Henry, then you have witnessed it first hand; Henry is a screamer. He is loud when he cries in general, but good grief, if he falls down...it's time to pull out the ear plugs or you might very well end up with hearing damage. I've fought myself with this issue for a long time - I didn't want to be the mom that told my kid to buck it up and stop being so dramatic. I want him to experience emotions. I want him to know it's okay to be sad, heck, it's totally okay if you want to cry. You can even be mad. But child. STOP. SCREAMING. Everyone within a mile thinks that you just had a leg removed. You think I'm exaggerating, but alas, I am not.

Look, isn't he sweet?

You should see him when he's got his head thrown back and mouth open so wide you can not only see his tonsils, you can see about 5 inches down his throat. It's lovely. What's a mom to do? Eat crack (aka Muddy Buddies) of course.

Luckily, Henry is not skinning his knee or getting a splinter or hitting his funny bone every minute of the day. A lot of our day is full of laughter ('cause honestly, kids at this age are hysterical) and proud feelings for my oldest son who is such a kind and loving big brother. I genuinely love to spend time with him. I love how his mind works and puts things together. I love his sense of humor and creativity. His imagination is something so big that not even our house can contain it. I love how excited he gets when we do just about anything together. I love how he wants to be just like his daddy and wants Wyatt to be just like him. He is a good kid. He is a sweet kid.

But gracious, he can scream. How do you make a 3-almost-4 year old understand how to scream on the inside but be tough on the outside? Henry gets very serious when we talk about it and says he understands about how the screaming scares people. How people will think he has broken both arms and possibly his legs when really, someone just stepped on his foot.

If you think those discussions have made any difference thus far, you are mistaken. It's a good thing I love this kid:

If only he knew how much I would give up only to be able to pucker up and kiss this face every day.

But seriously, stop screaming.

PS If you have never had Muddy Buddies, do not look up the recipe. It is highly addictive and my friends, it is not good to be addicted to crack.

Sleeping babes

What is it with sleeping babies that can captivate you for minutes (dare I say hours? for newborns, of course) on end? Jim and I check on the boys every night before we go to bed and always get a good chuckle out of their sleeping positions or just general cuteness. It's one of my favorite moments of the day. No matter how rough the day was, or how whiny and obnoxious, or how sick and snotty my kids were; when they are resting peacefully, I am so easily overwhelmed only by my immense love for them.

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I also love getting my babies from their naps. If they've slept too long and it could impede on bedtime, I get super-excited to experience those waking-up moments. Note that I said "babies." This does not include Henry so much anymore. Woken up in the morning, he is very sweet and suddenly full of energy for the day. Woken up from a nap (which occurs every blue moon these days), it's like we've taken an unexpected trip to Grouchland. Anyhow, Wyatt, like his brother as a babe, is fun to wake up. He is confused at first, and groggy, and then very excited to see you. Of course, when an opportunity presents itself, you must take pictures!

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Rock-a-bye, baby

This is when you have to overcome your intense desire to smooch them into oblivion:

Because I know you're all dying to experience my life first-hand, I got it all on video!

Isn't he sweet? Yes....well....most of the time, anyway! He has become somewhat of a mama's boy and thus slightly burdening as of late. Still sweet, though. And heavy.

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While we're on the subject of waking up, what the morning hair?

One more bit of Wyatt news...he got his first knot on his forehead, compliments of big brother's monster truck. Being flung in his general direction by said big brother. To Henry's credit, it was an accident and he was only flinging the thing to show me the monster truck's cool flipping tricks. Somehow, the truck flung the opposite of intended direction. Henry immediately ran over and said sorry with a hug for his screaming brother- which was very sweet - if only Wyatt cared about such things. Of course, he did still care about putting on the mack for this picture.