You're THREE! (Now, please stop growing)

First, you were born.  And you were perfect and so beautiful and you looked at me and I looked at you and it was like we both thought "Oh!  It's you!  I've been waiting for you."  And you were tiny and loud and strong willed even on that very first morning.

And then you were one.  And you kind of rocked my world.  You seemed so big to me then, but now, looking back, I can see you were so little.  Still independent, still loud, but with a tiny (actually a very big) personality to go with it.  I remember you careening around the house like a teeny drunken sailor and every day it seemed like you had a new bump or bruise. 

And last year you were two.  And, despite my protests, you had officially left babyhood behind.  You loved Monster Trucks and shaving with Daddy and Lightning McQueen and big trucks.  Always, always, ALWAYS with the big trucks.  That second year was a bit of a challenge as you were testing out toddlerhood and yes, even more independence and still strong willed and (have I mentioned this?) LOUD!

And now, all of a sudden and almost without me noticing it, you're three!

And oh!  You have the attitude to prove it.  You're busy and a blur of energy and you're still LOUD and even more strong willed and there are days when we fight and fight and fight and I think to myself, who is the grown up here?  But also, there are other days when you crawl into my bed early in the morning for a snuggle, or you climb up onto the couch with me after your nap before you're fully awake and you let me rub your back and smell your head and you'll give me as many kisses and hugs as I ask for.

You have an enthusiasm and a zest for life that I hope you always carry with you.  The fun you will have if you allow all the amazing little things to continue amazing you.  You're so excited by birds and flowers and friends and, of course, BIIIIIIIIIIIIG TRUUUUUUUUUUUCKS! 

And you're freaking funny!  Just the other day Ellen was on and Jennifer Aniston came on and first you said "Hey Mommy, she's from your special show."  And then you said, "Ohhhhh, she's cute."  And Daddy was happy.

And then, a few weeks ago, you were having a hard time going to sleep and you asked where Mommy and Daddy where we were going, and I said that we were going out to the living room and you said, "ohhhhhh, so you can kiiiiiiisssssss."  Where do you come up with these things?

But, on top of being funny and strong willed and LOUD, you can be so sweet.  You love to see your friends and are (most of the time) happy to share your toys with them.  You are worried when someone else cries and you love to give hugs and kisses when it's time for your friends to leave.  You've got an excellent memory so even if we haven't seen a certain friend for quite a while, you can pick back up with them right where you left off.

You aren't potty trained yet, a fact which leaves me both frustrated and resigned.  I know it will come in time but, like you, I'm not very patient.  I'm trying to lay off - you'll do it when you do it, right?

This year has been a big year in so many ways not the least of which is you becoming a big brother.

Last year, when I was pregnant with Finley, I wrote that I was worried about how you would react to your new baby sister.  And, frankly, I'd be lying if I said there weren't any hiccups.  We definitely had a few rough weeks but what's interesting to me is that you've never taken your feelings of jealousy out on your sister.  Daddy and I have taken the brunt of that.  But it's been so wonderful to see how sweet you are to Finley.  You are a great big brother and she is so lucky to have you.  You give her the gentlest kisses and when she wakes up from her naps you rush into her bedroom with me and say, "Hi, Beauty Girl" and it's so innocent and loving and I just want to squeeze you both forever.

Conor, I couldn't have asked for a better boy.  If I had made a list when I was pregnant with you I couldn't have listed all the ways you amaze me every day.  We have a book and the last line reads:

And if I had a million days
And time enough for all the praise
I couldn't tell you all the ways
I love you.

You're quite simply perfect.

I love you to the moon, and around the stars, and under the ocean, and on the tram and right back to your bed.

Forever and always,

Mommy

Birthdays and Bathtime

Birthdays are always fun.  Even when you get older (like almost 32, for example) it's hard to not enjoy a time when you get presents and cake.  I don't care how birthday cynical you are, presents and cake are always good.

On a completely unrelated note, it is important to keep your children away from your lipstick.  Because even though the color looks adorable on them, sometimes the natural look is better.  (Just kidding, it's beets)

Which leads us too....

The first tandem bath!  Oh, the cute just doesn't stop around here!

 Look how happy she is!

 Eek!  They are so cute together!

OMG.  How about I just nomnomnomnom your little face right off!

The sickness

I had this post all half typed out about how we're all so sick, so, so, SO sick but it was really just a litany of complaints - and who wants to read about that? - so I deleted it.  Suffice to day, we've been sick.  First a cold, then the flu (which spread like wildfire to literally EVERYONE we came into contact with), then pink eye and finally another cold.  Ugh.

I've had some various appointments and things going on and the kids have been in day care at church, at the hosoital and at the gym and basically, I do not look forward to going back to work and dealing with this stuff as an ongoing problem.

I guess the good news is that their little immune systems are growing stronger but considering the amount of vomitous laundry I've done over the last two weeks, I'll take weak immune systems and just never let them leave the house.

Conor has a birthday coming up (THREE!) and we celebrated with a party with his friends last weekend.  Conor's favorite part was the cake. Smart boy.  We'll be going out to dinner with Opa and Grandma on FRiday to Red Robin (because it is THE BEST place to take kids.  It's so NOISY!), then we'll celebrate a bit with Nana and Papa on Super Bowl Sunday.

While I won't have any candles of my own toblow out, I'll certainly be wishing for healthy kids when Conor blows out his.

Six months!

Dear Baby Clare Bear,

How did you get to be six months old? It seems like just yesterday you were determined to claw your way out of me in less than ten minutes. It's ok, Baby Girl, you're so dang sweet I've already forgiven you for it.

And when I say,so dang sweet, I really mean the sweetest, happiest, most charming baby I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. Man, I love you so much it's nearly beyond comprehension.

You're everything your brother wasn't at your age. You're mellow (among a dozen other nicknames, we frequently call you Mellow Yellow), and happy and perfectly content to just sit and watch the rest of us do our thing. You almost never fuss and when you do it's easily remedied with a diaper change, a nap or a snack. Where Conor's eyes were dark brown at six months, yours are bright blue and we can't go out in public without having people comment on how pretty they are.

And you're quiet. In fact, on several occasions I've had a moment of panic thinking I've left you somewhere. I haven't yet but maybe you could squeak every now and then to put my mind at ease.

Oh, you're just everything I could have hoped my little girl would be and I love you so, so, so much I can hardly stand it.

Keep on growing Little Bit, keep on growing.

Love,

Mama

50 things

AFter being inspired by this post from Niki I decided that I too would declutter 50 items from my home.  I was a little daunted by the thought of getting rid of 50 whole items but once I got started-WOW!  I could have kept going all day.


1. An expired discount card from Jiffy Lube
2. An old comb
3. A stack of envelopes whose cards have long since been sent
4. A ziploc full of broken watch parts
5. Shadow boxes that I received as a shower gift but never hung
6. 5 year old dog treats
7. 16 cookbooks
8. two candles
9. A 10 foot long telephone cord
10. A dead bamboo plant and pot
11. flower seeds
12. nuts, bolts, other assorted junk drawer paraphenilia
13. knobs to Conor's homemade changing table that we never put on and that was given away more than two years ago
14. 2010 advent calendar
15. magazine clippings with great ideas that i will never implement
16. mostly used sticky note pads
17. pens
18. pencils
19. spent hi-lighters
20. breath mints
21. an apron that I've never worn
22. three homemade cans of salmon that I've had for over a year and never eaten
23. A cardboard popcorn box that held only a few packets of popcorn
24. A dog toothbrush
25. 2 finger thing-ys that you use to brush your dog's teeth (we take Tucker to the vet to have his teeth cleaned)
26. A receipt for a pair of shoes that I plan on keeping
27. Expired coupons
29. a thing for bubble blowing
30. lighters
31. Eductional materials that conor is too young for and that I will forget about when he gets old enough
32. an old blush brush that Conor occasionally uses as a microphone but most often ends up under the couch
33. window clings
34. A souvenier pencil
35. A dog nail file
36. a single used ear plug - disgusting
37. OSU coasters
38. UO coasters
39. Old Weight Watchers materials that are no longer useful as the program has been revamped
40. A tape cassette adapter for my ipod
41. A candle shaped like a mini ear of corn
42. wine corks for a cork board that has already been completed
43. a cleaning cloth for sunglasses
44. A golf tee
45. An empty bottle of hand sanitizer
46. A food scraper for the George Foreman Grill we no longer own
47. A bunch of plastic utensils that I have been collecting but not using
48. An extra corkscrew
49. A votive candle
50. A jar of unused relish


The great thing about throwing out or donating these items is that I already feel so much lighter.  I have cabinets with space in them, drawers with room for the next round of junk.  FEeling inspired by my 50 things I went through my bookshelf and was able to weed out what must have been 15 books that I borrowed from other people over the last two years.

Inevitably I will acquire more useless junk over the course of this year, but now, at the beginning of January, it feels so good to be a little bit lighter.

Conor and Finley

My name is Conor.  I think listening is for chumps.

My name is Finley.  I'm so cute even I can hardly stand it.

Into the New Year

The new year has brought some exciting changes and improvements around here.  But first, let's backtrack to Christmas.

This was hte firs year that Conor really "got" Christmas. And all I can say is So. Much. Fun.  Wow!  Christmas really takes on a whole new meaning when you see it through the eyes of your child.  Every strand of outdoor Christmas lights is reason to pull the car over and ooh and ahh. Every Christmas tree is the most beautiful one he's ever seen.  Every man with a beard or a Santa hat is the big guy himself.  In fact, on Christmas Eve Conor got a special call from Santa himself.  He was having a bit of a hard day and,well, Santa just happened to notice and thought a call was warranted.  Strange how Santa's voice was vaguely familiar...

But the best thing about this particular Christmas was a certain trade Conor had to make with Santa in order to get presents.  His pacifier.  Or passie as it's called around these parts.  We've known for quite some time that it was time for conor to give it up but his dentist assured us that most kids naturally give them up around 3.  Well, Conor didn't seem even slightly motivated so an intervention was in order.  So great that Santa was able to do our dirty work for us. 

Conor left his passie out along with the cookies for Santa and, while Christmas Eve and the next couple nights were a challenge, by New Year's Eve he was completely fine without it.  What a great kid.  As usual, we could have taken it away much earlier if we had given him more credit to handle it.

Now!  On to potty training...

As for Finley, my little nap champion/night time not-quite-a-champion has continued with her excellent nap time habits (2 two hour naps, plus 1 short cat nap in the evening) and added the wonderful bonus of 8 to 9 hours of uninterrupted sleep over night.  Now, because I don't happen to go to bed at 7:30 (although, if I'm being honest, I would if I could) I don't yet get a full 8 hours but I'm up to a good solid 6 so I'm pretty happy about that.

Finally, most of our sleep issues have been resolved.  Now that I've thoroughly jinxed myself, I'm sure I'll be awake all night long.

In other new year news, I've decided that I can no longer wish away any extra weight I'm carrying around.  In the past, if I noticed that I was gaining a few pounds I would sort of pay attention to what I was eating, maybe throw in a workout here and there and presto!  Extra pounds gone. No more, my friends, no more.  (I know, I know, cry me a river, right?)  As of New Year's day, I'm attempting to learn how to eat in such as way that I feel full and also lose weight.  Is that even possible?  I'm on day 4 and I've been eating really well and staying on track nicely however I've been freaking HUNGRY all the time!  Is this how it's supposed to work?

I entered a Biggest Loser style weight loss competition and hopefully the weekly weigh ins combined with the potential to win $700 combined with the possibilty of a very public fat-shaming will keep me accountable.  In addition, as a Christmas present I received a membership to Foot Traffic University which will help me to train for the Foot Traffic Flat Half Marathon on 4th of July.  Again, the accountability will keep me...well accountable.  I also looked at joining a gym today but I just don't know if I want to go that route.  The guy who showed me around the 24 Hour Fitness facility felt more like a used car salesman than a gym employee.  Its just so cold outside and sometimes it's a little lonely (and very easy to stay inside) to run alone.  I need to find a running buddy who somehow also comes equipped with a free babysitter. 

I did not come even close to making my goal of posting every day in December.  Basically I ran out of things to say and decided that in some cases (in most cases?) nothing is better than something crappy.

I hope you all had a great Christmas and a new year filled with lots of really great things.