Cian's Birthday Party

Back in November, Cian turned four and we had a birthday party for him.  I also asked him a set of questions. I did the same thing last year, so it was fun to see how his answers have changed:

• What is your favorite color?  Red
• What is your favorite toy? Jaden (Red Power Ranger)
• What is your favorite fruit? Applesauce 
• What is your favorite TV show? Clone Wars, The Star Wars (it is Star Wars, The Clone Wars, but this is the way Cian says it)
• What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Hot Dog
• What is your favorite outfit? Golden Power Ranger costume
• What is your favorite game? Lego Star Wars
• What is your favorite snack? Fruit Snacks
• What is your favorite animal? Monkey, what says oohh and ahhaha
• What is your favorite song? He proceeded to make up a bunch of works and called it Man Man
• What is your favorite book? A power ranger book. (P.S. We don't have one of these

This is the part of the story where Cian pitches a big fit about answering all these questions and says it it taking too long.

• Who is your best friend? Will (his cousin)
• What is your favorite cereal? Flavors (I think he was done answering questions and just trying to appease me)
• What is your favorite thing to do outside? Catch leaves on the tree
• What is your favorite drink? Chocolate milk
• What is your favorite holiday? Halloween is my guess
• What do you want to take to bed with you at night? George (he has a stuffed Curious George)
• What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Cereal
• What is your favorite thing to eat for dinner on your birthday? *said in a whiny voice* I couldn't know what are my dinner!
• What do you want to be when you grow up? Batman

Since he wants to be a Super Hero when he grows up we had a Super hero/Batman party for him at the Discovery Center.

 We said on the invitation that the kids could come dressed as their favorite super hero.  I think a lot of Cian's friends had fun with this!  This is also the first party where we have invited Cian's friends. He is kind of a social butterfly and really enjoyed having them all there.

Isla and Meme

Isla and Super Sam with his super mom Jenny

Amanda, Maggie and Taryn

Riley and Christopher (friends from Cian's class, I also work out with Riley's mom)

Allen and Elliott (Allen and I have been friends since college and his wife is pretty amazing too)

Noland and Miss Katrina. Cian LOVES Miss Katrina!

Anthony, this kid is exactly like Cian!  He calls him Anfony

 They had a super hero package at The Discovery Center and the kids made super hero masks then got to slide down the big slide super fast.  We were kind of rushed because you don't have much time in the room, but we had a good time!

My nephews, Kyle, Caleb and Luke

Maggie is a speed junkie, she loved the slide!

 I decided not to go crazy with this party since I had just done a big one for Isla but birthdays are too fun not to do something cool!

Cian is Four!!

Four.  Four years since I first met the little guy who would make me a mother.  Four years since my heart started walking around outside my body.  I have loved his voice and the person he is and is becoming for four years.  I have watched him grow from a tiny little mama's boy to a boy who idolizes his daddy and I cherish each stage.

To my Cian Bebop,

You constantly amaze me with your heart and your mind.
I remember as an infant you would pat my back when I held you.  You don't pat my back anymore but you still snuggle up with me sometimes and still need my kisses for boo boos and hugs when your feelings are hurt.
Never before did I share the last bite of my cookie with anyone.  You are worth it.
Never before did I jump happily in mud puddles.  It is so much fun with you.
Never before did I push all that I needed to do aside to lie down and sing a song and say prayers with anyone at bedtime.  This is my favorite part of the day.
Never before did I cry at every single mother-son dance or reference.  I am so thankful to have a mother-son relationship.
Never before did I let someone beat me almost every time in a race.
Never before did I know that this kind of love existed.

You are truly a blessing in my life

Cian, you are an excited, energetic and super four year old boy.  You still love star wars and your legos but you are really into super heroes.  You like to get "bad guys" and will turn pretty much anything into a battle.  You told me the other day that there were no bad guys in real like, just movies.  I love that you haven't met any real life bad guys and I wish so much that were true and bad guys were only made up.  You may pitch fits sometimes and get frustrated when you can't do something but you make up for those with sweet kisses.  You like to cup your hand on my face and it melts my heart.  You used to be a mama's boy but right now you are all about daddy.  I love watching you being so enthralled with your dad.  You truly do want to be like him and be with him all the time.  You said you were daddy's best friend.  You are the best thing we have ever done.


Love, Mommy

Isla is One!!!

An entire year has gone by since I first laid eyes on my baby girl.  An entire year since I saw her little face looking at me for the first time. An entire year since she came into this world with wide eyes, taking in everything around her.  (She hasn't stopped being curious.)  An entire year since I learned that your heart can grow three sizes to make room for more children.

So much happens over the first year of a babies life, contrary to my previous beliefs babies do not just eat, poop and sleep.  (Though those long first few weeks/months feel that way.)  I have watched my daughter grow from a tiny newborn, relying on me (and Steve) for everything to an almost walking, babbling, want to grab it and do it baby girl.  I know the next year will bring even more independence for her and with each passing day she is taking steps further away from the newborn I held and snuggled in my arms.  I love and embrace the independence but "as long as I'm living my baby she'll be".

Isla is still a little girl, she is wearing 6-9 month clothes but loves to eat and is definitely growing!  Her stats at her one year appointment were:

weight: 17lbs (11th percentile)

length: 28.25inches (19th percentile)

Head: 44.5 cm (38th percentile)

Isla,

• You are still mommy's sweet cuddling girl, but your curiosity drive you to want to crawl around and check everything out.
• You are not walking full time but you can take quite a few steps in a row before you plop down on your bootie and start crawling.
• You might be small but you know what you want and you are NOT happy when you don't get it.  In fact, at daycare it has been said you push other kids.  Please keep this mind of your own but refrain from bullying, it will get you nowhere.
• You give sweet, sloppy kisses.  Your brother loves to get kisses before you guys go to bed.
• I sing "I Will" by The Beatles to you nightly and pray that you will grow up to be a loving, caring person who will love people and will shine like the sun with the love of Jesus.  I pray that you will let him shine through in all you do and accept all people, make them feel loved and show them the love of Jesus through your actions.  (Wait, maybe that is what I want for me and you...)
• You love to get in on Cian and daddy's battles on the bed.  You laugh huge belly laughs and like to be tossed around like a big kid.
• You do not like to keep your socks on, even when it is cold outside.  I think we have a lot of tights in our future this winter.
• You love all things soft. That means stuffed animals, jackets, towels, clothes etc.  You love to pick something up and carry it around with you.  You carry it a little while you walk and then will keep holding it when you go down to crawl.
• You still use your right foot to push off when you crawl.  You never crawled "normal" but always used the foot to push off.
• Bedtime is easier now, most nights you go to bed pretty easily and sleep all night.  Occasionally you will wake up looking for your pacifier but will go back to sleep.
• You are not a huge fan of napping, you do fight that. Much like your brother, if there is something going on you want to be awake for it.
• You are not as into being the center of attention as your brother was. You want attention but you don't want everyone in the room looking at you.
• You don't really love to be fed, but want to be a big girl and feed yourself now.

Isla, I am still so thankful that God choose me to be your mommy. I can't believe you have been hanging around with a piece of my heart for a year.  That piece belongs to you now.  I know you will treasure it and you deserve to have a portion of my heart.  One day, I will not be cool (at least in your eyes, I know I am still cool) and I will not have all the answers  but I will wait.  I will watch you go through the years where I am your hero and I will strive to deserve that admiration.  I will stand back, though it may break my heart, when you realize I am human and don't know everything and I will wait.  I will actively wait for the questions about boys and groceries and how to do laundry.  I will wait until the day when you walk down the aisle with your daddy toward your love and then for the day when you look your children in the face and realize there is a love that you never knew existed in the world, the love for your child.  The love of a mother.

Thank you for giving me that love for a second time.  I am very blessed to be called Isla's mom.

Love,
Mommy

Welcome Baby Jake

I have to tell you guys something that will come as quite a shock. Steve and I have another new nephew!!  I know, it seems our families (ok, especially his) are multiplying a lot and it is so much fun.  I mean, who doesn't like an entire army of kids running around and screaming on holidays?  All kidding aside, I am so excited to have so many nieces and nephews and that my kids have so many cousins around their age.

Steve's sister, Amanda and her husband Daniel had their third baby, Jacob Daniel on September 17th.  I was lucky enough to be off work the day he was born so the kids and I were able to go to Birmingham to visit and see them in the hospital.  I LOVE getting to see babies in the hospital.  They are so new and so fresh and the new baby smell (can someone package that please?) is so strong on their sweet little heads.  There is really nothing like a new life, a clean slate, a complete and utter miracle from God.  There is so much beauty in the rise and fall of their tiny little chest, the tiny grunting noises and the meek infant cries.  I think going to the hospital to see a newborn brings back that sweet serenity of the first days of your child's life as you get to know them and they get to know you.  (The feedings every two hours and crying fits, yours not theirs, are completely forgotten.)  Oh, how wonderful it is to reminisce with someone's newborn that you do not have to get up all night to nurse.  (P.S. I am mourning not nursing anymore, but that is another blog post altogether.)

It is also exciting to see your parents (or parent's in law in this case) become grandparents again. You would think that after the first two (or nine) it would lose it luster but it doesn't seem to.  I saw my parents with my nephew Brycen and Steve's parents with Jake and they are just as in love each and every time they get to be called a grandparent.

What am I waiting for, enough babbling, let's see a cute baby!  (Did you guys know there is a facebook app to block people's baby photos?  I know I must be all kinds of blocked!)

Maggie wanted to hang out with her mom.  I think Amanda wanted to sleep.

Belcher family of five

I love the way Will (the blond kid) looks holding his little brother in this picture.  He was so proud!

The proud grandpaerents

Bill and Karen and some of their grandkids at the hospital

Isla and Maggie will be best buds, just wait!

Gulf Shores

Fall is in full force and I am loving the changing winds and leaves.  The chill in the air is incredible (and great for running) but leaves me missing the hot summer sun just a smidge.  What I am really missing is the beach.  We took a family vacation to the beach back in August and oh my, we had a great time!

I learned something about Gulf Shores during the last week of August, it is toddlerville USA.  Yep, everywhere you look (cue Full House theme song) there are babies and toddlers.  This means if you don't want to hear breakdowns on the beach or don't want to eat dinner next to some nap-deprived, sun bleached sweeties I would plan my trip for a different week.  We went to the beach with my parents, we will call them Meme and Grumpa.  It was awesome being at the beach with them because it left me alone at least once with just the beach and my book and  Steve and I were able to go down to the hot tub at night by ourselves a couple times.  We also found out that said toddler's (and preschoolers) parents brought a set of grandparents along too.  We found ourselves in the hot tub with other parents who were excited to be downstairs in the cool beach air while the bedtime battles were raging upstairs.

There were a few discoveries on this trip: Steve really likes Limearitas, as does my dad.  Isla can't stand the sand, she didn't even want her feet in it.  This is difficult at the beach.  Cian did not want to go anywhere near the ocean and wanted to spend all his time at the pool.  I mean I love the pool but there is nothing like the ocean breeze.  Running on sand is like running in quicksand, and I don't mean it makes you quick.  There is a certain serenity about being at the beach and putting all your daily responsibilities aside for a week.

The good news is that Isla warmed up to the sand and would finally sit on it on a beach towel.  For most of the week she wanted to be sitting right on top of you on a chair.  Cian also warmed up to the ocean on our last day there and loved running around and diving into the water.

I did go on a couple runs there, one was an excruciating three mile run on the sand. While it was beautiful to watch the sun come up on the ocean it was difficult to keep my feel from sliding down into the sand and I was constantly playing a game of dodge the craters.

The most amazing thing about being on vacation was just spending time with my family and truly enjoying them each moment of the day for an entire week.

This was Cian's "pirate ship" bed.  He loved it but wanted someone to sleep in there with him every night

Sometimes vacation doesn't bring what we want it to

Our chairs for the week

It did storm quite a bit while we were there but that couldn't stop our fun!

I loved that the trash chutes said rubbish.  I said it in a British accent every time I saw one

baby foot + alligator

Isla loved napping by the water

Playing with Grumpa

Put Put Night

Cian won of course

listening together

I miss this

enjoying a strawberry on the beach

nap time for both kids!

We stopped by the giant shark on our way out and he tried to eat us!