March happenings

March has been a much better month for you than it has for your poor brother. He's been sick all month with ear infections, a stomach bug and RSV. Now don't think you escaped the stomach bug, because you didn't. No one was safe from the bug actually. We spent one Saturday night at Grant's house with all of the gang at the beginning of March. You, Abby, Ellie and Grant played outside, and then after Grant went to bed, you and the girls watched a movie together.

Everything was great until the next night. Your daddy got sick in the middle of the night, and I didn't know about it until Monday morning. So we all headed to school and work, when EP e-mailed and asked if anyone else had been sick. She and Uncle Jay had been sick all night too! Well, this thing eventually hit everyone EXCEPT Kate and Jeremy - how does that happen!? You got it on Wednesday, but luckily we were anticipating you were going to get it since almost the whole group had gotten it, so the second you said you weren't feeling well, I armed you with a towel. Luckily you threw up BEFORE we got in the car to go to school - that would have been messy (I think Ellie did that, actually!!).

KK and Granddaddy came up to help us out while Jake was home with RSV, so we celebrated St. Patrick's day and you got to open some early Easter presents from them. Mommy was feeling crafty and made you green pancakes and green milk. I could have been a little craftier and done more, but you'll come to find your Emme got those crafting genes. Mommy just dabbles - Emme excels!!!

You got quite the haul for Easter. Did they confuse this with Christmas?! Emme had made you and Jake matching St. Patrick's Day shirts so of course we had to do the "brother in matching outfits" photo sessions! But you guys were pretty agreeable!

Here's a funny story (at least I thought it was funny - you probably didn't think so at the time). It was one morning before work, and I was getting ready. You and Jake were in our bedroom playing, and I was down the hall. All of a sudden I heard you yell, "Mommy, Jake pooped on me!" Of course, I go in there thinking, how in the world did Jake poop on you? So I ran in there, and there you were sitting with a big lump of poop in your hand (GROSS!). He had had a MAJOR blowout, and I think you were giving him a hug and just got a handful! It was everywhere!!! It was "gusty" as you call it (disgusting!) - but funny now!

One day after I picked you up from school, you were sitting in the front seat (because you love to sit anywhere except your car seat!) while I was putting Jake in the car. It was a hot day so I jad started the car and to turn the air conditioner on. Well you must have been playing with the buttons, because you turned the AC fan all the way up. You turned to look at me with this look of complete shock, and said, "Mommy, I turned on the wind!" I had to laugh - and just agree!!

That was our March. Nothing too exciting. We continued to try soccer. You actually played in a game ONE time, but practices have been a challenge to get you to participate and even hang around in one place. It's not looking good for future games!





I'll tell you all about Easter in the next post. Until then, Kiss Kiss from Mommy!

Soccer!

Well, we're trying anyway. Mommy thought it would be a good idea to sign you up to play soccer. I thought you'd like to meet new friends and enjoy the nice weather outside. So I signed you up for an under-4 league at the Y. Abby signed up to play too, so Miss Nicole and I were hoping you and Abby would be on the same team, and it would just be perfect. Well, the reality is they divide the teams up by boys and girls, so you're on a boys team (so no Abby). But hey, I thought, you'll still be able to run around and have fun. So off to our first practice we went.

It wasn't too bad at first. You kicked the ball around and had fun. But then the coach decided it would be a good idea to play a practice game. Yes, on the first day of practice for 3-year olds that have no clue what soccer is even about! So they lined you guys up and blew the whistle. Well everyone started running for the ball and trying to kick it (pushing and shoving each other along the way). Meanwhile, you just stood there and watched them all. It was like you were thinking, "What in the heck are these people doing?" So after a few plays like that the coach finally figured out that maybe you guys should do some more practicing - like practice kicking the ball into the goal (yes, that the point of the game) and practice running and stopping when the whistle blows (yes, that's why they blow the whistle - not just for the fun of it) and practice not using your hands when you play (yes, that's not allowed - who knew!?).

So the first practice wasn't all bad. But it's pretty much gone downhill ever since. The second practice was a NIGHTMARE! You didn't want to do anything. All you wanted to do was run the length of the soccer fields (not just the field where your team played, but fieldS where the entire Y community plays all of their leagues). So either your dad or I was chasing you pretty much the entire practice. So I told you you needed to sit and watch if you weren't going to participate. Well, after a few somersaults on the ground, I tried to make you sit down. Oh boy, that was obviously NOT what you wanted to do because the screaming tantrum began (we'll get into those in a minute). I had to take you to the car to get you to calm down. Needless to say, that was not the most enjoyable ride home for any of us.

Your first game was canceled due to rain (my prayers were answered!) and you've had one more practice since. We had your dad take you by himself to see if that would work better. He said you still didn't play, but I think you acted a bit better than before. I'll just have to keep you updated on whether or not you actually step foot on your team's soccer field. The coach said they had one boy last year who never played, but just watched on the side. I'm thinking he may have another one this year! But that's OK, at least we're trying!

One funny story about this whole soccer thing - we went to the sporting goods store to pick out your shoes and ball. I had scoped a couple of stores out first so we weren't dragging you around to different stores. Well, on my trips, I found that there were a select number of colors of balls - typically blue, pink and maybe a red or a silver. So I told your dad that I bet you'd want a pink ball (since pink is your favorite color), and he said absolutely you couldn't have a pink ball. Well lo and behold, we go to the store together to get the ball, and which ball did you say right off the bat you wanted - the pink one! I knew it!!! But we were able to convince you to get the red ball instead of the pink one. I'm all for you choosing whatever color is your favorite, but sometimes we just have to put our foot down!! I hope you're not mad at us for that!!!

So back to the tantrums. I really thought we had lucked out and you were just this extraordinary little boy who wasn't going to go through the terrible 2s and who wasn't going to throw tantrums. Well, let me tell you, terrible 2s have NOTHING on what I like to call, When Did the Devil Take Over My Child 3s. Just in the past month or two, if something doesn't go your way, you throw the craziest tantrums. There's lots of screaming, some thrashing around, some rolling on the floor and sometimes there's hitting. Unfortunately I'm usually the recipient of the hitting which, let me tell you, is no fun. But I know this is just a phase and it will be over soon - it BETTER be over soon! I have read online that this behavior is very common for 3 1/2 year olds, so that makes me feel better. I know you've been through so many changes in the past 9 months (new brother, getting rid of paci, potty training, starting preschool) that that probably has a lot to do with it. So we're working on ways to get those frustrations out besides the tantrums. Plus after the tantrums, we talk it out and you always say you're sorry, so I know you just get frustrated and can't quite figure out how to deal with it. We'll figure it out - if we don't kill each other first!!! Only kidding!!!!! No matter how many tantrums you throw, I'll always love you!!!

Until next time, Kiss Kiss from Mommy!

February Fun!

Hey Buddy! Sorry it's been a while since I've updated this, but you've decided that you don't really want to go to bed at night, so it's been a challenge going to bed every night, and Mommy's just been too tired to update the blog at night! Ever since that stupid Santa dream you had, you've been scared to be in your room at night by yourself, so you want either me or Daddy (usually Daddy actually) to lay with you until you go to sleep (which is a whole other problem because it takes you about an hour to go to sleep!). But I've found a few minutes to update as much as I can.

Since we talked last, you went to Ellie's 3rd birthday party! It was a Beauty and the Beast party, so you guys got to make your own crowns at the party. You LOVED your crown and wore it most of the night.

They had Beauty and the Beast playing in the media room, and at one point I went upstairs to check on you and found you in the media room all by yourself watching the movie! It is a good movie, I do agree!!! (I thought I had turned these pictures around but I guess not, sorry they're sideways!!)

Of course, we stayed after most people had left, and the kids played upstairs while the adults hung out downstairs. I went upstairs to check on you at one point, and found a little surprise. You, Abby and Ellie were all in Ellie's bathroom. Abby and Ellie were buck naked, and you were in the process of trying to take off your clothes. I asked what you guys were doing, and Abby told me you guys were taking a pretend bath! I went to go find the closest adult to help me corral you guys and put clothes back on. The nearest one I found was Jeremy. When he came to the bathroom, he took one look at you guys and yelled for Nicole! So all of the adults came up, and we got you all back in your clothes, and told you guys no more pretend baths!! It was so funny!!!

The next morning I tried to take you to church with Mommy's friend Miss Carrie and her little girl Chloe, but it wasn't a successful visit. You screamed when I left you at Sunday school, and when I picked you up you were still whimpering and you'd had an accident in your pants. You did manage to draw a picture and eat come goldfish though! We'll try that again, I promise!

Later that day we went to Abby's house for a Super Bowl party. Nicole and Jeremy had some of their friends over who had kids. You had a hard time sharing your besties with other kids, especially Abby who was way more interested in her friend Chloe (not the same Chloe as Miss Carrie's Chloe). I know that's hard Buddy, but there's plenty of love to go around to everyone!!

For Valentines, we made gifts for your classmates. We had Kool-aid in squeeze bottles and Hershey kisses (a squeeze and a kiss!). You did such a good job at counting the Hershey kisses and putting them in the bags!

In the middle of February, you went to another classmate's birthday party - Morgan. She had her birthday party at Monkey Joe's which is basically a room full of bouncy houses! You had a blast playing with Jameson and Jax. Your favorite part was the hurricane simulator! You and Jameson had the best time in it. Jax wasn't quite as courageous as you guys were, but he got such a kick out of standing outside of it and watching you too!!

That same weekend Emme and Papa had come for a visit. They hadn't seen you since Christmas, so they wanted to come visit. We just hung out at the house and played most of the weekend. We tried to go see a movie, but the web site that Mommy checked had the wrong time, so we had to come up with a Plan B which ended up being watching Bambi at home and popping popcorn. You were totally fine with Plan B (thank goodness!).The next weekend Granddaddy and KK came to visit. Mommy and Daddy were going out for an adult night out so they came up to watch you and Jake. You all had so much fun playing in your playhouse. You also got to see a lot of Grant that weekend. EP's niece Emmeline was born premature, so EP spent most of the weekend at the hospital, and Jay and Grant came over a lot to play. Grant is really into Thomas right now, so he LOVED your train table!!

That same weekend we did a first - you and Jake took your first bath together! I had to try it out first with an extra pair of hands, so KK helped me with it. But you guys did great! Jake LOVES to splash in the water and you were so sweet giving him any toy he wanted. This is going to make my life so much easier now that I don't have to give 2 separate baths anymore!! So that's February in a nutshell. Hopefully I'll be better about updating this, but I'm not making any promises!!! Until next time, Kiss Kiss from Mommy!!!

Birthday Parties are Fun!

Hey Buddy! I just had to tell you about the fun birthday party that you went to last week! It was your school buddy Jax's 3rd birthday, and he had his birthday party at Pump It Up. We'd never been there, so I was excited to check it out. We got there, and you immediately found your BFFs Berkley and Jameson! They had everyone in one room with a bunch of bouncy slides and houses. Then after about 30 minutes we went to another room with more bouncy houses! You guys played your little hearts out!

After about an hour of bouncing it was time for pizza and cake! You ate about one bite of pizza and then started asking about the cake. They had just brought it out, so I told you I'd go get some. Well just as I got to the cake table to get a very small piece, I looked down and there you were right in front of me taking the HUGEST piece of chocolate cake from Jax's mother! How did you get there so fast?! I guess you have your Mommy's sweet tooth, huh?!!

As you were chowing down on the biggest piece of chocolate cake I've ever seen, I was talking with your friend Radley's mom and dad (that's Radley in the blue sitting next to you). We were talking about where we lived and they said they lived in Crieve Hall. Well that's where Jeremy, Nicole and Abigail used to live, so I asked them where in Crieve Hall, and they said on Brentlawn. So I said, well that's crazy, our friends used to live on Brentlawn. I asked them when they moved there, and they said about a year and a half ago. And I said, well that's crazy, our friends moved a year and a half ago. So with a little more comparing notes, we found out that they had bought Abigail's old house!!! How random is that!?!? Such a small world!

We have Ellie's birthday party this weekend, so I'll let you know how that goes! Until then, Kiss Kiss from Mommy!

Tidbits

Hey Buddy - I don't have any pictures this time, just a couple of cute stories and one big event!

First off, I have to tell you about your obsession with a little girl in Jake's class. Little Morgan is one year old and is just so cute! You've always have an affection for her. Every time we drop Jake off or pick him up, you always go straight to Morgan and hug her (and knock her down a lot of times!). But the other day, you saw her across the room and started running to her all puckered up to give her a kiss. Morgan saw you coming and started running! It was the funniest thing watching you chase her around trying to give her a kiss! You finally caught her and she wasn't too happy about it! She just doesn't understand how sweet you're trying to be - but I do!


Last weekend we had Jake's 6 month pictures taken at Miss Laura and Mr. Derrick's. Your dad and I took 2 cars over there - just in case you weren't on your best behavior. But we didn't need them! You were perfect. They had cartoons all set up for you, so you got your first taste of the Pink Panther! You were such a BIG help getting Jake to smile too. You played peekaboo behind the camera, and got him to smile some really good smiles! I was so proud! And Miss Laura and Mr. Derrick were very impressed!


Now for the big event! I think we've finally gotten rid of the paci!!!!! This has been something that I've been trying to get rid of for a while but we've kept them around to get you through some of the other things you've been accomplishing (potty training in particular). Well, Mommy got really worried that the pacis are affecting your teeth, so a few nights ago we "took care of them." Hopefully when you read this you'll understand why I did it, but I had to cut holes in them to make you not want them anymore! You put the 1st one in your mouth and said it was broken. I told you that you had outgrown them and they don't work anymore because you're such a big boy. I asked you if you wanted to throw it away and you did! You just walked right over to the trash can and threw it away! I think it hurt me more than it did you. I know how much you LOVE your pacis (but maybe not as much as I thought if you can throw them away that easily!!) You wanted to find more pacis, and we looked for a minute or two but couldn't find any, so you just went about your business. You went to bed just fine without it. The next night you went looking for another paci and we went through the same thing. The only issues we've had are that you'll wake up in the middle of the night crying a little and asking for Paci, but I just remind you that you got too big for them and we didn't have anymore and you're just fine. I will say though that the going to bed process was a lot easier when we did have them because they really did soothe you and calm you down. The past few nights you've been WIRED at bedtime and it's been hard to calm you, but I'm sure we'll get it figured out.

You're getting to be such a big boy!!! Until next time, Kiss Kiss from Mommy!

Favorite Things

I saw the coolest idea on Pinterest (I wonder if this site will still be around when you're reading this? I'm totally addicted to it right now!). Every year around your birthday, I'm going to try to remember to ask you these same questions, and we'll see how your answers change through the years! Now, let's see if I remember to do this next year!!

Favorite Things - 3 years old

1. Favorite color - pink


2. Favorite toy - trains


3. Favorite fruit - strawberries, grapes, blueberries, raspberries (have I told you before how much you love fruit!?)


4. Favorite TV show - Toy Story


5. Favorite thing to eat for lunch - cheese (that's what you were eating when I asked you this! I promise we eat better than that for lunch!)


6. Favorite outfit - sweaters


7. Favorite game - HiHo Cherry O


8. Favorite snack - cheese


9. Favorite animal - giraffe & elephant


10. Favorite song - ABCs


11. Favorite book - Little Monkey Lost (we had just read that book)


12. Best friend - Daddy & Mommy & Jake :)


13. Favorite cereal - Cheerios


14. Favorite outside activity - Playing on swingset


15. Favorite drink - milk & water


16. Favorite holiday - Christmas


17. Favorite thing to take to bed - Santa blanket & monkey (sock monkey) & dolphin


18. Favorite thing to eat for breakfast - cheese (do you see a pattern here!? And no, we don't eat cheese for breakfast!)


19. What would you want for dinner on your birthday - beans & rice (your favorite thing to eat when we go to Mexican!)


20. What do you want to be when you grow up - I don't know (that's OK, you've got plenty of time to figure that one out!)

Christmas!!

Hey Buddy! Well, we've wrapped up Christmas and New Years! So here's a rundown of what went down!!

We started off by getting you your own tree for your room. We had a little prelit tree, so we put that on your dresser for you to decorate yourself. Uncle Rob and Great Aunt Pam had gotten you a Target gift card for your birthday, so we thought we'd use that for you to buy ornaments. So you and I went to Target one Saturday and picked out ornaments. You picked out Cars, Toy Story and lots of pink ornaments!! After that we went home and you decorated the tree. It was so cute to watch you do that all by yourself. You couldn't reach the top of the tree so all of your ornaments were in the lower 1/4 of the tree! But we kept them all there since that's where you put them!! As long as the tree has been up, you like to sleep with the Christmas lights on too!

In the middle of December, we had a visit from your Uncle Rob, Great Aunt Pam, Cousin Matthew and his little girl Ella. They were so sweet to bring you presents since we weren't going to see them in Ripley for Christmas. You guys loved playing with each other!!

We tried to get your picture taken with Santa one weekend, but once you got up there to him, all you would do is close your eyes. I guess you thought if you closed your eyes, he wouldn't see you!! But we took pictures anyway! We'll have a good laugh at these one day, I'm sure!!!

The week before Christmas I got a text from school (never a good thing). Your teacher said that you had cut your hair with scissors while doing an art project! I kind of laughed it off for a minute and then I got scared at how much you had cut off, so I asked her to text me a picture. She did and it didn't look too bad, so I wasn't too concerned. Well, a couple of hours later Berkley's mom posted a picture on Facebook of you AND Berkley saying that you both had cut your hair!! I had no idea that you had done this with Berkley!!!! Well, Berkley got the raw end of the deal!! She cut hers all the way to the scalp!! Luckily yours wasn't too bad and we were going to get a haircut anyway that week. But ooh my, it could have been so much worse!!! Lately you have become quite fascinated with scissors, so we're having to have lots of talks that scissors are JUST for cutting paper and nothing else!!!!

On Christmas Eve, you and I made Christmas cookies for Santa!! You were such a good helper, helping put the M&Ms and sprinkles on the cookies!! Now, I know you were trying to be sweet and sharing, but you tried to give your baby brother an M&M while I had my back turned!! I appreciated the gesture, but boy did it scare me!!!!

Then on Christmas Eve night, Granddaddy and KK came into town and Uncle Jay, EP & Grant came over and we had dinner and opened presents! Emme had made you and Jake matching shirts so we had to wear those! You guys got so many presents - it was crazy! You got some clothes, some games and puzzles and a basketball goal!! Every time you'd open a present, you'd say "cool!" Then right before bed we set out Santa's cookies, and you put out reindeer food that you'd made at school.

I don't think you're fully aware of how exciting Christmas morning is, because you slept pretty late. Mommy was so anxious for you to get up, I actually had to wake you up!! But once you came downstairs, it was on! You had more presents waiting for you, including the only thing that you had asked Santa for, Sally from Cars! Thank goodness Santa delivers on Christmas Eve or else you would have been one disappointed kid!!

The next day we went to Little Rock for Christmas with Mommy's family. As soon as we got there, it was time for Cookie Day, so you and Emme sat down and started decorating cookies! Your favorite decorations were the marshmallows! I don't even want to know how many marshmallows you ate that day!!

The next morning we opened your presents from Emme and Papa. The best present by far was the playhouse that Emme made you!! It is so cool!! Everyone got in it including Mommy, Emme and TJ!! You also got a cool backpack that looks so cute when you carry it!!! Then we went to Meemo & Beepo's for MORE Christmas presents!! You got some new trains and a new game for your computer! We really tried to get a picture of you with Meemo & Beepo but you were way to busy playing to accommodate!!

So after Little Rock we came back to Franklin to spend New Year's Eve with the Clarks. Granddaddy and KK were nice enough to come up and watch you and Jake while Mommy and Daddy got to spend some adult time with the Clarks. But before we did that, we let you and Grant, Abigail and Ellie play for a little bit, and then we tried to get a group picture. I have to say that even though we had 7 kids this year, we actually got some pretty decent pictures! You guys love your siblings and are so sweet with them, so it wasn't too hard!!

Now for the big news of December - you're pooping in the potty!!!!! It happened just like everyone said it would - one day you'll just do it! And you did. I was giving Jake a bath, and you said you wanted to potty. So you went and said you pooped. Of course, you've said this a million times and nothing has ever "produced" itself, so I just went along with it. Then I looked and you HAD!! I was so excited!!! And you've done it ever since. I feel like I want to shout it from the rooftops!!!! Good job Buddy! You're such a big boy!!!!

Along with you being such a big boy are some funny things you say!! The other day we were in the car, and we saw some diggers and bulldozers. You said "When I turn into a struction (construction worker, I'm assuming) I'm going to drive a digger. I need to do that tomorrow." You're so funny about timing. Everything is either today or tomorrow or last night, but it's usually never in the right context! But it's precious and I love it!!!

So I think that wraps up 2011!!! I'm really hoping I can post these sooner than I have been! That's my New Year's Resolution - we'll see how that works out!!! Until next time, Kiss Kiss from Mommy!!