Coming up for breath

My little Max, soon to be 2, has been taking it "to the Max" lately and mom and dad are trying to keep up. It feels like a different ball game with this boy and it's so interesting to compare the two in terms of personality, when milestones are reached, body size, and so on. This week I was asked by someone if Max was ethnic in so many words. First time I've been asked that but it was cool since he is 1/2 Mexican and that a stranger could see that. Turns out she was 1/2 Mexican too :-) Maggie seems to have more features in that department but to each their own.

This week we were also trying to get out the door one morning and while I was brushing my teeth knowing Max might get into trouble, he ended up with a bloody nose and gashed lip in a second. It was a sign to me in that moment that we needed to slow down and stop for a bit, so we did and it all worked out well.

Between figuring out the best route for Maggie with kindergarten and dotting the i's and crossing the t's for that and making transitions into the next stage with Max, I've had my hands full. In the last month with Max, we've discovered a 2 yr molar growing in which caused a few nights of waking, he's gotten a few bloody noses (climbing up on sketchy things and riding his strider downhill), climbed out of his crib over and over after seeing his cousin and sister do it a few times (which resulted in getting rid of the crib way earlier than I had hoped), refused to nap and go to bed some days (good times...I need those mental breaks!), and been pretty clingy with me overall. It's one of those times that you try to cherish the babyness that remains but it's also frustrating making the transition at the same time. I know on the other side of all this I'll have a 2 year old that has shed some of his last layers of baby skin. It's all good though. My little boy is becoming a big boy, learning to sleep in his little bed this week, weaning, starting to talk, and able to get into EVERYTHING.

Maggie has been saying some of the best things lately. My favorite from this week was Maggie climbing into bed with me before Max was up and snuggling up, whispering in my ear "Mom I love you just the way you are." How does she come up with this stuff?

Now that March is here, we're looking forward to birthdays and a road trip to the desert!

Seen and Heard

Seen and Heard: I cleaned house after Christmas and with a need to purge some things, we also went to our children's consignment store nearby to sell and buy. Maggie is really blossoming into such an independent little girl. It just keeps building upon itself and that is a really exciting thing to watch as a parent. She is an amazing helper, pretty well behaved, and she just loves all of us and shows it. When I told her we were going to this store, she asked if she could get a toy and I explained how she didn't need any toys since we just celebrated Christmas but we could make a deal: if she found something unique or that she needed, something from my "mental list" of things I was looking for, then we could talk about it. Right away, she asked if she could go to the back of the store to explore the toys. I started riffling through the shoes in the front with Max. Maggie brought back various purses that she wanted with stuffed animals sticking out of them and I said no (hard to do - they are cute, I agree!). Then she asked for me to come back with her. After scanning the toys, I suggested a backpack since we've had our eye out for one and they had some hanging there. She starts kindergarten this fall so the need for one is coming up and this is a good way to practice. I found a mini-backpack with Rapunzel on the front and it was pink. Maggie is petite and it fit her just right. She was so excited when I found it and for $2.50, we couldn't pass it up. At home that day, she grilled me on what you put in a backpack for school. She is really into learning to read and write and has started accumulating various notebooks and pens/pencils. She stuffed the backpack full with a favorite DocMcStuffins book, notebook, pen from her gymnastics class, comb, hair clips, chapstick, play phone, preschooler camera, and a new Hello Kitty hoodie. I really didn't think it would hold that much and she happily proved me wrong telling people "My mom didn't think it would fit all of this but it does!" beaming afterwards. Maggie and I have our quiet time together when Max naps in the afternoon. It was during this time that she was filling her backpack and she wanted me to come see the contents once she was done filling it. She quietly said to me after showing me everything with satisfaction "You know mom, a backpack is a sign of growing up." These moments kill me! Sigh. Raising my kids has been one of the best gifts I've ever been given. With Max, I know what is ahead for the most part and it's exciting.

Seen: Maggie getting her flu shot so bravely. I waited to tell her we were going until the night before or day of and when I did, she was so calm. The kids before her and after her were crying and nervous. That didn't affect her...she knew it was fine and was a model for all!

Seen and Heard: Max saying the cutest things, repeating all of us. We've made him repeat "Ewwww" a lot. I'm a happy mama watching him beginning to speak!

Life in Pictures

Thanksgiving day 5k-Maggie ran the whole thing!

 

 

Classic "I'm not sure about this" Max face

 

New Year's Day picnic

 

 

The week before Christmas

Every day now Max says something new or Maggie says something funny and unexpected and I would like to write it down but then the moment passes and it doesn't happen. Max is really starting to talk and babble sentences at 20 months old and I love listening to him and see his excitement in discovering things. It's just so cool to be there watching them repeat a word in their own way for the first time while you're realizing they know what you are talking about but they just haven't verbalized it yet.

Every year with Maggie holidays get a little more elevated. I had it more planned out this year but still, once this week hit, I started feeling the pressure. Thank goodness for good friends and my hubby to relieve anxiety, red wine, and honest conversations. Oh, and Parenthood. I'm hooked on it right now and am goofily relating it to all situations I encounter...yep, pretty realistic, I know. Overall though, this holiday season has been enjoyable and in a slightly different way than past years. I feel that I am growing and with our kids growing up, it takes on new meanings. One of the things I failed at this month...not being able to pull off a popcorn and cranberry garland for Maggie to string around our tree. This is something we read about last Christmas in one of her books and it looked easy, even after googling the how-to, but I burnt the popcorn and it said to string on floss and well, I tossed the popcorn and I'd rather buy something pretty at this point :-)

We don't seem to be doing the same things as last year (gingerbread house, family the weekend before with ice skating, all the movie watching and Christmas lights, Nutcracker) and are more mellow this year. The days on the advent calendar seem to be going by very quickly. We ice skated right after Thanksgiving this year, I actually bought and wrapped gifts early (thank you online deals and free shipping), and we've used lots of babysitting to attend a progressive ugly sweater dinner and a couple other holiday parties.

Here is what 4, almost 5, has looked like lately: Maggie constantly asking for one thing or another. If it isn't gum, it's to do a craft or move on to the next best thing immediately and it might be fine if I just had Maggie to worry about but I'm also managing a toddler. So I often have to par it down with "let's just read a book" or "watch a show together" and she seems happy enough with that :-)

Pictures later...happy holidays family and friends!

October S&H

Halloween is here!

Mom's group event



So much is going on in our life constantly - it's a mixture of play, work, travel - then repeat. And, for the most part these days, good sleep, just early waking. And this blog is my one place, since I don't write in journals anymore, to document milestones in the kid's life and share it with family and friends that read it. So here's to my random monthly (or longer) posts!





Seen and Heard

Max is exploding with his words at 18 months. He loves pointing out dogs (da-da) and big trucks (weee!). He hasn't learned more than a couple baby signs and he doesn't care to. He'd rather grunt to get his point across or try out new words when he's up to it. He has used his baby potty once (#1) and has suprised me in the tub a few times recently (#2). Oh joy.

Maggie is a great big sister. Sometimes she snags toys from his hands to probably get back for how physical he is or because she simply doesn't want to share the toys that were once just hers, but I'm pretty sure she is in love with her little brother and they give each other hugs and kisses when they wake up and when they head to bed. Her story changes over time, but most recently she told me she wants to marry Max when she grows up. Hmm...

Maggie was recently talking to her cousin on the phone and I heard her tell her (after talking about nicknames) that her full name was "Maggidalena."

We also taught Maggie how to place a phone call and the next day after "practicing" she snuck the house phone and called my cell phone from the playroom on her own, what a sneak!

1st good rain of the fall season

Seen and Heard

Life is so fun. We have hard days (or parts of days) but I really think those hard bits make the good times better. At the end of the day though, I am quietly thankful for my little ones and my husband because they make my life so full and vibrant. A quiet house is nice once in awhile but the thought of the kids moving out one day makes me kind of nervous :-)

We had a thunderstorm and rain last week. It was really nice to smell wet asphalt, feel the humidity, and the rain suprised the kids. Then we went to Santa Cruz and saw sunshine, fog, and family. And now we are back in the heat.

{Seen and heard}

Maggie referring to a movie theater as a movie feeder. Why we asked? Because they feed people.

A conversation over dinner with Maggie:

What did you do today? We played that I was the mommy. Kellen was the daddy.
Who were the others? Livvy and Lexy were the babies. Kelsey was the babysitter.
What did the mommy and daddy do? Were the babies good? We went on a date.
What did you do on your date? We ate pizza. Lots of pizza. And we had ice cream before dinner.
Did you pay the babysitter? Yep, $10.

Who is your favorite person? (asked to Maggie at bedtime, lights out) Eden...and you, and daddy, and Maxie...but Maxie is a little rough.

Max saying more words: ow-wee, Judi, get down

Maggie being rough with Max (what goes around comes around I guess) - in one night, Max hits the pavement and scratches his face and then finishes the evening by hitting his head on the outdoor fire ring

Max and Maggie getting stung by a bee in our backyard one week apart