Friends and our babies!

Working at Texas Water Resources Institute for 6 years after college was really a wonderful work and social experience. Dr. Harris and Dr. Jones, our bosses, hired people to be a part of a team. They hired people that fit like puzzle pieces to the group. Although we can all laugh about a couple of their hires that didn't work out, it became the perfect group of people to not only do amazing things for TWRI, but to end up as lifelong friends. Although lots of us have moved on from TWRI to other jobs or to be stay at home moms, we were very privileged to work with one another.

The other really fun thing about this group of people is that most of us started working at TWRI during or after college and then got engaged, got married, and had kids while working there. We have thrown one another lots of showers and been to lots of weddings. So, it is very rewarding to now, years later, still be friends and get our little kids together to play. Three of my girlfriends are stay at home moms who still live here in town that I met while we worked at TWRI. We get together throughout the year to play, but also to get some adult time in too! It is so nice to get even an hour or two a week with them to talk about one another's lives, talk each other through tougher times, laugh at one another's parenting adventures and better yet, I always take away good "parenting" skills from them. I look up to all of my mommy friends and really love getting together with Meghan, Megan and Cecilia. Below is the sweetest picture of our kids and us mamas at the splash pad just this week!

 Nathan (16 months), Atticus (3), Grace (17 months), Cole (5), Isabel (4), Lane (3), Lizzie (6), Evelyn (5), Luke (6 1/2 months) and Josie (7).

Me, Megan, Meghan and Cecilia

Quick Memories: Pop & Charley

Daddy and Charley were both here for a couple days each in the month of July. Atticus loves having his family in town to stay at his house. One of the things that he and Charley did while they were here was play "re-memory". Atticus really likes to play games like memory, go fish, and bingo, but we tend to only be able to do this when a 2nd adult is here because Grace can't play yet and she just doesn't understand why. But, with Charley here, they got to play Memory, or as Atticus called it "re-memory". It was cute because not only did he like to play with Charley, but during Charley's stay, while Charley was out and away from the house for a few hours each day, Atticus would ask over and over when he would be back so they could play re-memory.

It was also fun when Daddy was in town for Atticus and he played with his ranch toys. It didn't last very long because Atticus tends to want to get his toys out, set them up or play for a short time and then put them all away again and move to something else. It's part of being 3 years old. But, he loves to have one on one attention so he can play with his barns and fences and animals. I know Daddy has lots of memories of playing with his ranch sets when he was young. And one day, if Atticus becomes truly interested in ranches and cattle, he sure can learn a lot from his Pop (Daddy) and they can set those toys up over and over!

 

Swim Lessons Summer 2014

This year we took swim lessons again. Last year, we put Atticus in swim lessons with a parent at the end of the summer. It was a lot of fun and while he learned a few things, we were really looking forward to him trying it without parents this time around. However, since he was still not super comfortable with water and because he is my reserved child, I decided we would put him in twice. We put him in lessons at the end of June by himself and then again in August with a parent. This way, he would get two chances and if the first time was too hard for him to do alone, then we would just do it with him at the end. I just felt like we needed a backup plan. Also, we put Grace in a class in August with parents.

Overall it went well. The first week of Atticus' lessons without parents did not go well until Day 4. Day 1 was great but on Day 2 & 3, he just cried and wanted me to be with him and would not do anything the teachers asked. It is so tough for me because if he's not ready or comfortable yet, I don't want to force him to do things. But, if it is something such as these lessons that we paid for and that he is perfectly safe doing and will enjoy and have fun if he just tries, I feel like I should push him more. And thankfully, his teachers were great and convinced him by day 4 that it would be fun. So, the 2nd week was good. And while he liked having parents with him on the 2nd round in August, I think that was probably not necessary. I think we were tired of swimming all summer and he didn't really need to be taught by us. His teachers did just fine. Grace, on the other hand, didn't enjoy her lessons much at all. She likes being in the water but was not interested in doing what she was supposed to like kick the water or lay on her back. Where Atticus just gets nervous, Grace seems to sometimes just get stubborn!

And, on top of swim lessons, we swam multiple times at the Rock Prairie pool and once at one in Bryan. Both have great zero entry pools and I could handle both kids easily. We will see how easy it is in the future as they get bigger! So, overall, lessons were great but next year I will just do one round for each kiddo!

 

Grace's Hair

Well, there are days of hope that Grace's hair can be kept under control. It is growing longer in certain areas and I can finally put clips in it! The downside to the clips is that only a few will work; we have already lost some; she will still pull them out; she doesn't love them being put in. But, we are working on it. Here are some cute little girl hair pictures of clips and ponytails!

Grace Update

Just like with Atticus, Grace needs an update as well. In the last month, I feel like she has gone from a baby to a toddler. Here are a few updates:

One of the cutest things about Grace is her walk. She walks as fast as she can and most of the time, her arms bent and are just swinging as fast as they can back and forth. She actually has a tan line where her arms crease because she walks like that all the time.

She is a giggler! I love that belly laugh that comes out when she is tickled about something. She loves to be tickled and currently likes being held, turning your face away from her and then when you turn it back, she just laughs as hard as she can. We do this over and over and over. She loves to be chased and laughs a lot during the chase.

She is into somersaults. Atticus recently learned how to push himself over in a somersault. Well, Grace copied him and will immediately bend over in position and then wait for us to push her over all the way. She will stand up, motion for "more" and we do it over and over again. I think it is so cute because she is so little and so funny to see standing upside down waiting for us to finish her somersault for her.

She loves to dance to music. She will laugh and giggle her way through a song and stomp her feet up and down to dance.

She still loves Frozen. I mean, she seriously loves it. When Vic's family was in town and I was at my scrapbooking weekend, they went to Barnes and Noble. Apparently, there was a Frozen section of books and she was obsessed at looking at them. When GG was in town a week later, we headed there as well. We found the Frozen section and sure enough, she was obsessed. She looked at all the books before deciding to carry around a set of Frozen themed headphones around the children's section for the duration of the time we were there. She has not idea what to do with headphones, but because they had Elsa and Anna on them, she loved them. We went home with a set of 4 Frozen board books and she happily looks through them over and over again.

Speaking of books, she finally enjoys being read to. She has her favorites that she will bring over to read and she already likes flap books that belong to Atticus. I will sometimes find her sitting on the floor in his room looking through whatever books are on the ground.

As we all know, Grace's sleeping patterns are always changing. She finally started sleeping through the night around 10 months. Then, sometime later, she decided to start waking up again at night. On average, it was only once and I think for awhile she was having tummy aches. But, that eventually turned into a habit of just waking up so I could rock her back to sleep. While I don't mind that and actually love a chance to rock her, that routine was getting old. So, now it is only off and on. She will want to do that for 4 or 5 days and then she will sleep all through the night for 4 or 5 days. It's just funny because as soon as I lay her back down, she is fine for the rest of the night. If she truly has a tummy ache, I will know it because she just cannot fall back asleep and does not want to be left alone. Also, up to a couple of weeks ago, she has always happily fallen asleep in her bed on her own. But, recently, I started rocking her for a wind down routine and now she almost demands to be rocked at nighttime to fall asleep. Sometimes she will fall asleep in my arms, but mostly she just wants to be held and rocked. She will talk and giggle and play with my face, but she is calm and just happy to be held. Atticus hasn't ever cared to be rocked past being weaned, so this is a special treat. There are other times though that no matter what, she just wants to be held and will still have to cry for a couple of minutes before realizing she has lost the battle and has to put herself to sleep. I do love those snuggles when I get them though.

Grace is not really talking yet. Atticus did not start saying words for a long time either, so I'm not too concerned. But, Grace is more of a cave woman as she likes to grunt. She knows exactly what I'm saying all the time because if I ask her a question, so tells me yes or no by shaking her head and if it is a yes, she grunts. She will say mama, dada, da, mmmm (cow), baaaa (goat or sheep), dack (quack for duck) and if I prompt her to say thank you or yes ma'am, she will grunt the syllables. But, no talking. I really thought she would be quicker to learn words because she is with Atticus all the time, but so far that is not the case. I am pushing words a lot now because at her 15 month appointment, the doctor said she should be saying 6-8 words and now we are almost to her 18 month appointment. But, I'm sure she will talk when she is ready.

Grace has interesting hair. It is starting to grow out of the mullet stage, but it is a slow process. We can put it into pigtails or a ponytail but she moves so much that I end up pulling her hair which makes her mad. And most of the time, she pulls them out in her carseat before we get to our destination. I also have some little clips I have successfully put into her hair. But, her hair is so fine that if I don't get them in with just the right amount of hair, they slip and come out. She will still wear headbands and bows, but only until she realizes they are there and then she pulls them out. I'm looking forward to more hair on her little head so we have more options. She does have the sweetest, softest, blonde hair that it so fun to brush. She likes to brush it too and when I tell her she is so pretty, she will just smile into her mirror. If you tell her she "looks so pretty!" she will also sometimes look down at what she is wearing! She also loves to brush her teeth and will immediately put her fingers to her teeth each time we walk into the bathroom. She has 10 teeth on top and 10 on bottom, but has the cutest gap between her top two. I love that little toothy smile!

I know I am talking about how cute and sweet Grace is. But, I must also tell of her opinionated, grouchy side. There are days that nothing makes her happy. She will cry every other minute, without reason. She wants to be held all day. She throws things and hits. She just gets mad and can't get over it. It can be tiring to listen to the whining and crying, but it can be hilarious to watch her actions. She will get mad at someone (usually me or Atticus) and will walk all the way across the room with her little hand bent back behind her head ready to hit you. And if I warn her not to hit me or Atticus, she will obey but she will immediately find something else to hit: the couch, the chair, a toy. It's like a spring sometimes - that little arm just flies back ready to hit. And, as soon as she hits, it springs back into place to be prepared to hit again. If I get onto Atticus about something, she will walk across the room and just hit me. I don't know if she's mad that I am getting onto Atticus or if she just knows that when I use my stern voice with her, it is in a situation where she is about to hit. And, her hit hurts! If we are somewhere that she needs to be held and carried and she wants down, she will hit my face as hard as she can over and over. And, honestly it hurts! And she will hit Atticus when they are bothering each other. When I'm really paying attention, I notice that he does not always hit her back unless it really hurts. He just ignores her until the 3rd or 4th time and then he can't help it anymore. And, honestly, who can blame him? I just don't know where she gets this hitting concept from. I have wondered if she has seem me spank Atticus and thinks that is it? But, I use the term "Grace, we do not hit" all the time.

In fact, Grace is getting close to time outs, but not quite there. We have a kid size comfy chair in the living room. So, when she has been unkind, I will take her to it and tell her she is in time out. She will usually giggle but I will make her sit there for 30 seconds or so while I hold her there or keep putting her back when she gets up. I haven't done this much, but one day, I told her we needed to sit in time out and she just walks over there and sits down as if she is being so good for following directions. So funny! And then one day, Atticus told her she needed to sit in time out and she walked over there and he sat exactly where I will sit and told her "we do not hit gwace! you need to sit in time out!". For whatever reason, it mostly worked too. She stayed there for a few seconds and then I had to take over.

And, Grace has an arm on her for throwing as well. She may be softball player or a basketball player in the future because she can throw. Atticus didn't learn the concept of throwing a toy or ball until much older. He would pull it back behind his head and then drop it before throwing his hand out in front of him. But, Grace knows exactly how to throw. And she has hit me a couple of times with heavier toys when I was playing on the ground with them and they hurt! I'm sure having an older brother to watch helps her out a lot.

So, my sweet Grace can be a stinker. But, sometimes I think I notice this more because I'm with her all the time. It will be fun to watch her personality continue to develop as she grows up!

Grace doesn't really have favorite toys yet, but loves them all. She does still carry her pink afghan Melbo made her around and it is her favorite item. When she is cranky or tired, she will find that blanket and pull it through the bed and carry it around. She loves it. She also loves her paci. This summer, with all of the traveling, and other people keeping her from time to time, I didn't have the heart to take away her paci (for her sake and those watching her!). But, we are getting ready to do it. However, we are trying an approach from someone at church. We only give her one paci and we have started to cut the end. I can tell she has noticed a difference, but I'm hoping that eventually she will not be able to hold onto it well and just give it up on her own. We will see. I know I can just take it away cold turkey and deal with some rough sleeping nights and naps for awhile. But, that seems so mean. I taught her to take the paci, so I need to be as kind as possible when I take it away. I think if this first way doesn't work well, we will just drop it to nights and naps. That is typically our routine anyways, but when we are with other people or not at home and she is fussy, I just pop it in to calm her. We will see how it goes. But, it has to be gone soon. I get tired of it being the way to calm her down or please her.

Grace still takes one afternoon nap a day. Although if she gets even 10 minutes in the car, she has a hard time falling asleep for a nap. The good thing is that she will just play in her bed with her babies for awhile and not fuss much

Grace has gotten pickier with her eating. She is now refusing vegetables, unless they are secretly in something. She likes waffles and bananas for breakfast. She will eat eggs and yogurt from my plate. She likes pb&j sandwiches, although they are messy. She likes goldfish, graham crackers, peanut butter, nutella, cheesesticks, cheese, grapes, apples, strawberries, blueberries, tortilla chips, and sometimes casserole or chicken. She usually likes ground beef and sausage. She LOVES beans and rice. They are her favorite meal. So, if we eat out, she is happiest eating Mexican food. The floor after she is done is a disaster, but she is happy and full. She, of course, also loves sweets. She only drinks water. I cannot convince her to drink milk. And I don't like to give her juice yet.

Grace also knows to say "cheese" when I prompt her and ask her to smile for the camera. She will sometimes do it as soon as I get the camera out. It's so cute when she scrunches up her face to show her teeth and squints her eyes. But, while we know she can do this, she REFUSES to have her picture made at the portrait studio. We've now attempted this 3 times and while a couple sweet smiles this last time, we didn't get any of her normal smiles. She cries and whines and refuses to sit or stand or do anything we ask. This is so strange for us because Atticus is wonderful with having his picture made and really always has been. Maybe one day! Until then, I will hope we have really kind photographers who want to take our pictures and maybe we can do it so sneakily, she won't even realize its happening!

She is just growing up very quickly. I can't believe that when Atticus was this age, I was already about 16 weeks along with Grace. And now, she is almost 18 months herself! I sure love this sweet girl!

 

 

Our Destin, Florida Vacation

I'm pretty behind in blogging, but I have to talk about our Florida Trip in an abbreviated version. It was so much fun! We left the kids with Mom and Daddy at their house asleep on Saturday night and Daddy took us to the airport early Sunday morning to meet Ana, Charley and Molly. After an unexpected plane change, we arrived right before lunch. We ate lunch at Fudpuckers and walked the beach for a little bit while we waited for our penthouse! condo to be ready. We stayed in this super nice condo at Destin West Beach Resorts. Our view was the beach and it was so pretty! Got in, went to the grocery store, got settled and everyone was in bed by about 10. I know that I had spent SO much time getting kids packed and ready, getting myself packed and ready, getting the house clean and ready to leave for 10 days, and I really hadn't gotten any sleep, so I think we were all exhausted. Since it was 6 days long and I am late in posting, I'll give a quick summary of each day.

Monday: went to the pool at the Ramada next door; super fun swim up bar; drank 2 delicious buckets of Malibu rum fruit punch; back to the condo and took super long nap; got ready for dinner with Vic and Molly and then after Ana and Charley met up with us and we realized there was no night entertainment on Monday nights, we headed back to our condo to relax in the hot tub.

Tuesday: spent the day at the beach. dinner at the condo and then as soon as we were ready to go out for awhile, it started raining. and raining. and raining. So, we just drank a bunch of wine and played card games and had fun in the condo.

Wednesday: it rained all morning. It was nice because we could lounge around the condo, but then we decided to all get out. 1) we needed toilet paper and 2) I read online about some fun shopping in Fort Walton. Everyone split up for awhile and then we met up later with the boys planning to drink beer in a bar and the girls planning to shop. The shopping was not good, but the company was. Headed back to the condo to put on suits and headed to the Lazy River on the other side of the road of Destin West. Then, back to the condo to get ready for dinner and some fun at Howl at the Moon. Howl at the Moon is a piano bar and while I went to one for my bachelorette party, I think I'd forgotten how crude those singers can sometimes be. Plus, I am terrible about knowing who sings what and lyrics to songs. So, I love to listen but I hate the thought of being singled out to do anything on stage or dance or sing or whatever. However, as long as those things do not happen, it's still a very fun place to go. After that, we headed to The Swamp. Ana had been SOOO excited about this dance club/bar because she has had so much fun there in the past when she went to this same area for a couple of college Spring Breaks. It was completely dead, but it too was fun. Vic actually danced most of the night to lots of hip hop music. So funny!

Thursday: Since this was our last full day, we had decided the day before to do beach, pool, and lazy river. But, for some reason, I slept until 11:30 am! And the rest slept a little late too, although I don't think they slept that late. All but Molly headed back to the swim up bar pool for drinks and lunch. Then, Ana and Vic found hilarious $1 tshirts and bought 10 of them! Then, most of us met Molly that afternoon at the beach, where we also saw a wedding take place. Then, we all went back to get dressed and head back down to the beach to take sunset pictures. We ate a shrimp boil at the condo and then Molly decided to relax in the room, but the rest of us went back to Howl at the Moon and The Swamp. I think I was just tired, so I was less excited about going out. However, I was glad I did because I experienced my first, and probably last, foam party at The Swamp! What is this, you ask? While the live band (I guess they were a band - they were mostly rappers) took a break, a dj played. All of a sudden, from up above, bubbles start coming out of pipes. They are floating around and coming down on top of our heads. It was so fun at first because the music is playing and you can dance and have bubbles everywhere. But, quickly, we realized that all of these bubbles (and by bubbles, I mean like dish soap bubbles - not blow through a wand bubbles) were causing our feet and legs to get soaking wet as they piled up around us on the floor. We stepped aside but watched bubbles for at least 20 minutes pour out of the pipes and watched people become completely soaked! It was crazy. Everyone was slipping and sliding and bubbles were everywhere! It was fun, but since we weren't sure when the bubbles would stop and we weren't sure how they cleaned them up and how the place got dry again, we decided to head back to the condo. Our shoes were squishy with bubbles and water for a long time. What a night!

Friday: This was the day we had to pack up, clean up and head home. We had to be out of the condo around 11, but our flight didn't leave until 6ish that night. So, we did a lot of walking around to eat and hanging out at the airport restaurant to let Charley watch world cup soccer games. We got home late that night and even saw Atticus, who hadn't been able to fall asleep yet.

It was a really fun trip with lots of hilarious memories and lots of relaxing. Vic and I felt like we really wanted a trip without kids just to relax and be with one another. I don't think we came back well rested, but we came back with lots of fun had. I think it took us a week to get back on track with kids schedules and our sleep! See some pictures below!

 

Atticus Update

SO much happens each and every day and we have been so busy this summer that I have not been good to blog updates on the kids. But, I think about it all the time because they are both changing so much! Here are some Atticus updates and phrases he has said recently:

Atticus has started speaking so clearly and saying so much! He has recently started saying his "L's" which I'm so proud, of but also so sad about. We no longer say "Yike, yook, yittle, yuv, pay or chicken fiway". Now we say "like, look, little, love, play and chicken filet". And when I noticed he was saying L's, I would ask him to say "l" words all the time such as "blueberries, Molly, or sleeping". And do you want to know the funniest thing about him practicing words with L's? He follows it up with "loop-dee-loop." So, I ask him to say blueberries, and he will say "blueberries loop-dee-loop". It is hilarious. He will also just say it sporadically here and there. I will hear him talking and then hear a "loop-dee-loop." I don't know where he heard the word or if he made it up or what. But, it is so funny!

Other than the L's, he is just speaking more clearly and most importantly, saying so many words and having so many thoughts. He asks "why" a lot, which can really wear me down because most of the time, there is not an actual answer. So, when I tell him to get in the car, he will ask why. I tell him because we need to go to the park. He will ask why. I tell him because we are going to see our friends. He will ask why. I will tell him because we need to burn some energy. He will ask why. Basically, there is just no end to this conversation. Other times, it makes me crazy because I am instructing him to do something and the only real answer is "because I told you so or because I said no".

He also explains things a lot. Just now, as I was typing this, he ran up to ask me what I was doing and then he told me he "loved playing on the computer and could do it if someone helped him and he also loved doing puzzles with me and helping me vacuum because he is the best helper to vacuum and mop and make beds but he only likes to use the big mop and not the little mop and now he was going to go play with his bathtub toys that daddy got him from when he was a little baby. I kid you not - that was the nonstop sentence he just gave me." Oh wait - here is another one. He just asked me why I was not typing and I said I was thinking so he said: "Some like to work and some like to squeeze the water out (Vic was squeezing water out of a toy for him) and some like to clean and play and go to bed and read books and do things. I'm thinking. That's how daddy is getting all the water out." Does that make any sense? Not all of it, but it makes complete sense to him. And wait - here is another conversation he had a few minutes later. "Look Mommy at my hand. It dropped this dvd case. (he is carrying the Looney Tunes dvd case). I was walking just like this and it fell and look at the corner; the blue is coming off. Oh look at that grouchy bear (Tazmanian Devil) and what are they doing with that little yellow chicky? Are they trying to get the little chicky? Maybe they are. Why does the coyote chase the roadrunner?" and then he runs off. Okay, these go on all day every day, so I'll stop for now.

He is also getting an opinion but it is mostly a naïve, sweet, child-like view opinion. For example, he will tell me when we get home from being out to put on my house dress. I typically wear a cotton dress around the house when we stay at home all day instead of putting on an actual outfit. So, he thinks that is what I should do all the time. Bossy? Yes. But, does he think he is being helpful? Also yes. Or the other day, when Vic and I got home from a dinner date, GG had the kids outside and had been throwing Atticus a ball. As Atticus gave it to her to throw, he scrunched up his face and said "GG is not very good at throwing the ball" and he looked like he felt sorry for her. GG laughed so much! He also has lots of opinions about what Grace can and cannot play with, hold, eat, touch, and do. Unfortunately for him, Grace doesn't go with the flow very well. I'll tell you all about Grace in another post!

Let's see. I know I've said it before, but I have to say it again. He LOVES his stuffed animals. He gets a current group of favorites and has to have them sleep with him and recently puts them into one of his plastic tubs and carries them to around. Currently, his favorites are all of puppy dogs, his donkey named Jack, Grace's giraffe named Sadie, his Paw Patrol puppy Marshall, his big monkey and Grace's giant cow (both of which take turns being tucked into bed next to him at night - just imagine how this looks when I look in the baby monitor in the middle of the night. I have to do a double-take because that giant cow looks like a person!), his dragon named Waffle and usually an occasional other toy that must accompany him to sleep. Oh and of course Simba! He calls them his friends and tells me they protect him. Adorable.

Atticus has also recently started pretending more and mostly by himself. He will gather toys up in bags and tell me he is going to school or the store and carries them around. He will fly animals around through the air or sometimes just set them up at the table. However, recently his favorite toys seem to be the ones that we've put away for awhile. So, note to self - no Christmas toys needed - I just need to hide his current ones! He also will play at the table sometimes by himself - with his ink stamps, doing puzzles, or playing with this animal counting game. This is a big deal. He will always ask me to play with him, but we have days that he is perfectly content playing on his own. We even have moments where he will let Grace play with whatever toys he is and not yell at her, push her, or throw toys are her. They are rare, but they do happen.

Grace and Atticus' favorite things to do are play outside together and play chase. Chase usually ends in her falling down or him getting too excited and pushing her down. but they both love chase. Outside, they will sometimes play together in the sandbox or with chalk. Recently, Grace's favorite thing to do is get into their little red Cozy Coupe and have Atticus push her around. It works for a little bit but then he loses interest. Still - progress!

He really does love Grace. He not only tells me that sometimes, but he also wants to help her or give her certain toys, but you know how that goes. Sometimes it goes well, but other times, he does it too roughly or she just cries or whines for no reason, and ruins his kind-gestured moment. He likes to make her laugh in the car and really does try to play with her sometimes. And the  best part? He still refers to her as "his baby" a lot.

His behavior lately is tough. When he is by himself, he is perfect. Happy, content, sweet, a good helper, etc. Of course, I'm sure this is because he doesn't have to share attention with Grace. But, other times, and not just because he is around Grace, but because he is pushing boundaries and learning his way through being 3 years old, he is really tough to parent. I'm sure it is just like every other 3 year old, but sometimes it does not matter I say, he is going to argue and do the opposite and run from me or yell or scream or do other things that make me crazy. He does not yet realize the difference between acting extra good in public versus at home, although I know they should be the same. This bad behavior happens in public too and we have been so public lately with traveling to hotels, family's houses, swim lessons, church, vacation Bible school, and playdates, that it has been more challenging. I've recently stopped spanking because it just isn't doing any good. We are trying more time outs too, but even those sometimes are more for me to just have a few minutes of quiet. And it's tough because in one way, I want to be patient and explain to him why he can't do something and on the other hand, I want to teach him no means no and not to question things. But, when does no mean no sink in? I try it a lot. And I'm hopeful it is sooner than later. I should be consistent with one way but I don't think every situation gets the same treatment. Yikes. I like this learning curve and figuring out the best way, but sometimes my patience just isn't there. And tantrums have never been an issue with Atticus - they were rare. But, now if he has to go to time-out, he throws a giant tantrum. Screaming, kicking, flailing. Good grief. And he will keep telling me as I put him in his room that "he just wants to be a good boy". Clearly, he forgot that desire when he was throwing a toy at Grace's head for the 3rd time that day.

I think it is worse when we are on the go so much. I love schedules and routines, but I also want my kids to be ready to go with the flow. We'd been traveling constantly for about a month and neither kid wanted to behave. So, I probably push them to their limit sometimes. I need to be better about that.

But, really he is just sweet. Sweet natured and kind and curious and so smart and so silly. He remembers things and people and events. He gives kisses or says "thanks mommy!" or "i love you mommy" or "i love my whole family!" out of the blue. He loves to feel needed or like he is an important part of something. He likes to help me cook and likes to help Vic do projects around the house or outside. And when GG was here last week, he LOVED helping her "Scwapbook" and he truly thought she needed his help. I love, love, love his outlook. I dread the day he worries about what people think or worries that he doesn't do something right or better than someone else. I just want this sweet outlook to last forever!

He is also singing a lot more lately. Atticus has never been much of a singer. But, recently, he will remember words from his car CD's and repeat them and just repeat the regular kid songs we sing.

He is really into monsters, ghosts, and dragons. He likes to tell me one is in the room and then go fight it. He is also into fighting. He will pretend to fight things all day long. And he loves to find sticks to fight with.

He knows the ABC song and can count to 12, but after that he includes 19, 14, and 16. He knows shapes and colors. He doesn't really know what money is but he knows that I pay for things with a credit card. When we were buying a gift recently that he picked out, he told me that he needed my credit card to pay for it. Oh great! If you ask him his favorite stores, he will say "HEB, Hobby Lobby, Michaels, Tawget and Chicken Filet". Clearly, we have too many errands at those stores. He still loves Paw Patrol and Mickey, Doc McStuffins, Jake and the Neverland Pirates and of course all of his movies. His favorite thing to do when I tell him he can watch one is to let me get the big stack down and he goes through them one by one to choose. Currently, he is still into Frozen and Charlotte's Web. His love of book never ceases. He loves the news ones, the old ones, and even Grace's baby ones.

We are trying to teach his manners. He has a really hard time sitting in his chair for long periods during mealtime and is always up. But, he will ask me "can I be excused?" and he will say "Yes ma'am!" quite a bit and lately, more without being prompted. "Please" and "thank you" are pretty automatic. But, he still gets shy in front of new people and it takes him awhile to warm up to friend at a playdate and to warm up enough at church to shake hands and talk to people.

One funny thing he does when he wants my attention is puts his fingers up to his mouth and says "WOOOOO" in a high pitched voice. This is his way of blowing his horn to get my attention. I have no idea where he came up with that idea!

As we prepare for preschool this fall, I've really been working on him putting on his underwear and pants and shirt. This is harder than I ever thought to teach: dressing and undressing. But, we are getting there. Potty training is done, but we still have accidents sometimes. He just gets busy and forgets to tell me until it's happening. Yuck, but it's ok - he is doing great.

He still naps once a day, although sometimes he just has too much energy and I let him stay up. He is still tough to get to bed but on average, by 8:45 we have him in his room to read books and go to bed. Vic is really looking forward to the time change in hopes that if it's darker, it will be easier to get him to bed. He also still comes to our room each and every morning "when the sun wakes up" to crawl into bed with us.

If he asks for random items or toys lately, and I tell him he can't have them, then he will say "Maybe we can get them for Kwipmas!". Santa Claus is going to be even more fun this year!!!

His blankets are still his most comforting companions, along with his animals. He has the afghan Melbo made him and most importantly, his "polkadot blanket" (his words).

He is between 41 and 42 lbs and 41 1/2 inches tall. He is still wearing size 3T clothes, but is about to move to 4T sooner than later. I think he has hit a growth spurt recently. He wears a size 11W shoe. Foods he eats regularly are raisin bran cereal, milk, yogurt, pb&j sandwiches, goldfish, graham crackers, nutella and peanut butter, chicken, rice, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, grapes, apples, mashed potatoes, tortillas and tortilla chips and typically any kind of casserole with cheese or chicken. He will eat vegetables when forced but not on his own. And, of course, he loves the typical carbs - sweets, (especially icing!), granola bars, crackers, chips, and Chicken Filet (yes, that is how he says it) is his favorite place to eat and he typically asks for it each day we are out of the house, as if we will eat there every single day if he just asks me. He also likes slushies from Sonic. He will ask me if we can go to Sonic so I can get a tea and he can have a slushy.

The other wonderful thing about Atticus is how much he loves his family. He LOVES each and every person and will sometimes say "I want my _____" (gg, pop, mommy, daddy, etc.) He loves for each and every one to come to our house to see him or play with him and he loves to be at their houses to visit them. He loves for them to read to him and eat meals with him. He loves to ride in their vehicles. He loves them so much. He loves his Gwanma, Pop, GG, Melbo, Pa, Janny, Gwanpa, Ana, Chawley, Molly, Jill and Geoff.

All in all, Atticus is growing up so much. Everyday is different, but I just had to document a few things. I hope I can remember everything one day and I hope I can remember every expression on his face during all of these events. That sweet, cute, little face that tells me "I love you too" each and every night makes all the frustrating moments that can occur throughout the day go away.

Daddy is her jungle gym! (and some somersaults thrown in)

One of the best parts of our days, is after dinner and baths when kids are happy and we are just trying to wear them out for bed. Sometimes after their baths, they get a second wind and run and play and laugh until they wear out or until we wear out. On many nights, Vic gets the brunt of being played with and is used as the kids jungle gym. We have had to teach Atticus that he may be getting a little big to be bouncing on Daddy, but Grace can still climb all over him, pull his hair, use his ears as her handles, bounce, roll off, and giggle hysterically at herself. And then to top it off, a month ago, both kids started doing somersaults. Atticus can basically do his own, although he pushed over to the side sometimes. But, Grace just immediately gets into position, wait for us to push her over, laughs, stands up and motions "more" and bends over into position again to start the process over and over. These two are too much!

Little Moments: Prayers by Atticus & Grace

For as long as Atticus has had an evening schedule, we have said his bedtime prayers with him. At first they were simple and routine and then as he got older, we added in table prayers and then he would say prayers on his own instead of us saying them. Then, of course, because he is a toddler, he decides he doesn't want to say them anymore so we say them for him. Then, he proceeds to forget his prayer manners and not close his eyes or be still or pay attention to the prayer. So, a couple of weeks ago, I started making him repeat the prayer as I said it. This kept his attention. Well, here is the prayer from one of the first night he started doing prayers this way:

Me: "Okay, Atticus it is time for prayers. Repeat after me."
Atticus: "No, Mommy. You we-peat afta me. Dear God,"
Me: "Dear God,"
Atticus: "Thank you for this butiful day!" (I repeat.)
Atticus: "Thank you for my fwim yessons. I yuv my swim yessons!"
Atticus: "Hep us to be nice to Gwace." (I repeat.)
Atticus: "Hep us to not push Gwace." (I repeat.)
Atticus: "Amen". (I repeat).

Since then, he has had some other hilarious prayer moments including one time when he included, in the prayer, "Help Gwace not to hit; because Gwace is a baby; and babies hit." Sometimes, he gets off on tangents and even stops mid-prayer to clarify something. But, the best part is that at the beginning of  every prayer, as of late, he says "Dear God. Thank you for this Day." And then he continues on. It's just sweet and if nothing else, shouldn't we thank God for giving us another day, each and every day?

Grace, on the other hand, has folded her hands for a long time when saying prayers at the dinner table. She just started copying a few months back and many times, as soon as we all sit down, she immediately folds those sweet little fingers and hands together and grunts to tell us she is ready to say prayers. Also, while she is not really talking lately, she will say "Hmm Hmm" when we say Amen. She is basically our reminder, if we sit down hastily to eat, and haven't said our prayers yet.

Such funny kids!

Rice and Beans

I can't even tell you how much Grace loves rice and beans. We don't eat out much. However, Mexican food restaurants are the easiest place to go with both kids, and especially with Grace. Give that girls some tortilla chips ad then feed her rice and beans and she is happy. The floor is a disaster afterwards, no matter how hard we try to keep it clean. But, she is full and happy. And when we have Mexican food at home? Well the only bad part about that is that Vic and I have to clean the floor!

Grace

Here are just a couple cute pictures of Grace that I took in July. The first is Grace in the bathtub at Grandma and Pop's house. The second is one day when she carried both babies into the living room from her bed to play with. I look forward to the day she wants to play babies all the time. Right now, she just grabs them every once in awhile or plays with them in her bed.