Gametes In Love

S2 is really loving his Legos right now. G got some big-kid sets for his birthday, and while he’s been indifferent about them, S2 is all over them. I wasn’t sure how he’d do with the smaller pieces, but it doesn’t appear to be a blocker and we’re enjoying sleeping-in in the morning thanx to these things 🙂
He doesn’t try to build any of the sets – he likes to build his own creations and I prefer that so much more, to be honest: 1) I don’t have to supervise a toddler that is frustrated with a step: 2) he gets to be as creative as he wants to be.

So here are a couple of his creations:

Pssst! Check this out:

Do you see it? No — not the pout. The jeans! He’s wearing jeans. And the pout is not because of the jeans (it was because he couldn’t take his stuffed horsie toy to school, since it wasn’t a Share Day).

G convinced S2 to try jeans again. S2’s complaint this whole time has been that jeans are cold. Well, he’s not wrong: they are cold at first, but G told him that they’re only cold for a second, and they warm up quick. So S2 dawned on a pair, and he’s been more than willing and interested in continuing the trend.I appreciate this because I only have like a dozen pairs of jeans in his size it would be a shame to waste. He transitioned out of the denim routine right around the time I stocked up on new pants: somehow all of a sudden every pair he had, had big, gaping wholes at the knees. Pretty much as soon as the packages of jeans arrived, he put the embargo on jeans and transitioned into sweat-pants.

So a big kudos to G for getting us through this phase. He’s been awesome of late about little things like that. Somehow he can really get through to S2 in a way that S and I just haven’t been able to. Maybe it’s a big brother thing? Who knows? I’ll take it. I can see how families can start relying on older siblings to help with the younger ones. I’m trying not to get too used to it though. It’s really not his job, and S was really good to tell G that while we don’t expect him to help us parent S2, we appreciate it when he does.

Now, S2 and I now have a little ritual where I rub his pants really fast as soon as they come on him to warm him up. It makes him giggle. I get pants on him. It’s a win-win.

But look! It’s jeans!!!!!!

I’m really struggling to assess 2013. I find myself really regretting this year being over… but maybe not so much because it was such a great year, but because I’m finding myself opening the door to 2014 with a lot of trepidation. As I’m getting older the unknown behind the next corner is getting to me. Some of it is good. Some of it won’t be. It’s the latter that makes me anxious.

The events of Oct. 28th rattled me perhaps much more than I’ve been able to admit. While it didn’t happen to MY family, it hit in my extended “chosen” family, and it’s been making me re-evaluate a lot. Who am I as a mother? What have I accomplished? What is out there that I still want to do? Just HOW MUCH do my children and husband mean to me? The idea of loss in my mind is tearing up a whole in my heart so big that I just can’t even handle facing that, and I fear 2014 because I don’t know what it will bring.

Yet I look back on 2013 with so much positive:
– G made huge strides in how much he’s grown and matured. HUGE! Graduating from therapy was a big milestone for me
– S2 is such a little boy now, and builds like a maniac, while still loving and hugging like the best friend you’d want in life
– G is doing so, SO well in pre-k at his new school
– Zoe came into our lives with all her love for us
– New jobs for both S and I
– Our parents have been in good health
– My little sister is getting married- Gma Piper passed away, and while this in of itself is NOT a positive event, her full life and all her loving family make me very thankful. I fully adopted Gma Piper as my grandmother too, and feel blessed to have gotten to know her too

You gotta admit: it’s a little hard to leave that behind.

So I guess with some trepidation, c’mon 2014.

I leave you with photos of our last family session w/ Corinne McCombs. She did a pretty great job given that I made her work in full sun in the morning.

S2 loves being “cozy”. Today he went to school in a short sleeved shirt. But have no fear: he was wearing a hat and mittens.

The other day, he was so excited about his cozy duds that he even allowed me to photograph him wearing them. I haven’t done a quick photoshoot with him in our living room since he turned two and I tormented him monthly with the stickered onesies. Ah, the good old days!

Oh — that last one? That apparently is what happens when I ask him to look at the butterfly inside my camera. It usually gets kids to look at my lens — not delve into an investigation of the shutter 🙂

It’s been a good Christmas!

My dad spent it with us, which made me happy — looking at these photos as I worked on them and the expression on his face watching the boys enjoy their morning? That was priceless for me too. My mom has been in Bulgaria for the past 6 months, making this another Christmas she hasn’t been with us. It makes me sad, but I’m glad that Skype can bridge the gap a little bit… and at least this way not only could she watch the boys that morning, but also MY grandmother too — something I wouldn’t have if she wasn’t there.

We had two Skype sessions going on, in the two sides of the room: one with my mom/gma, and one with S’ family.

I wish, wish, wish, my camera could capture the sheer joy from S2 opening his loot. The smiles are great, but you just can’t see the jumping up and down at each surprise. He’s such a happy kid. I wish he never looses that joy over the simple things.

This has been our second year of categorizing gifts for the kids. Last year a friend told me about getting 4 gifts for each kid: something they want, something they need, something to wear and something to read. It’s been awesome! And, honestly, has made shopping much easier. I don’t have to wrack my brain over things to buy as much. Each one of them has a list of things they want. S and I each take an item, and distribute the remaining list to families. G (from us) got a Hot Wheels arcade game he’s been obsession over. S2 got a batman costume. My costume loving guy. I wonder if he’ll go in theater some day? For “need”, each kid got a sleeping bag. It’s about time. I see slumber parties in our future this upcoming year. For “wear” they got fuzzy socks. The boys LOVE them some fuzzy socks. To “read” G got a comic novel: Jedi Academy. He likes funny comic novels and it’s been something he and I share at bedtime. S2 got a 5 min stories about Spiderman book. He’s really into superheroes, and has been admiring the 5 min Marvel Superheroes book G got for his birthday. Now he has a book of his own and he’s been a happy clam. Other loot they received included: a goal post for G, Lego for S2 (he’s the builder in our family), a pogo stick, remote control cars, fun shirts, a magazine subscription… and well, I’m forgetting it all. Let’s just say they aren’t left feeling like something was forgotten 🙂

Zoe found a new soul-mate in my dad. And my dad was puddy in her paws. Yeah, he’s a softie when it comes to animals, and they can tell he’s an easy mark (I mean good guy). He got her a gift too: a mouse chaser, that she also has been enjoying.

As all things must go, as much as the kids loved their toys, they enjoyed the boxes they came in equally as much. The huge box G’s favorite gift arrived in became a motor boat. Actually, I think a yacht, because S2 was eager to serve snacks on it (read: take all of the stuff out of the play kitchen and bring it into the “boat”)

Oh — I’d like to thank Amazon for sponsoring our wrapping paper yet again this year. I’ve stopped buying wrapping paper. Most of the packages we receive contain brown paper that is actually perfect for wrapping. It’s perforated (so scissors are no longer a required tool), easy to tape up and recyclable. Drawing on top is optional 🙂 Yeah, yeah, there’s no fun Santa or reindeer design on it, but I can cure that with fun gift labels, which I’ve created a template for

Rose Elf came back to hang out this year. I’ve had a love/hate relationship with her this year. I’ve enjoyed coming up with things for her to do, and seeing the kids look for her every day. But hate because 1) we’ve had to come up w/ something different every day, and 2) actually had to MOVE her before the kids see her. You have no idea how many times we moved her in the morning in an “Oh SHIT!!!” moment. Next year, I gotta remember to come up with ideas before the holidays actually start.
When she left, she wrote a letter to the boys.

My friend M hosts a Santa party every year. Her dad has been dressing up as the jolly dude for years, and now that she has a little girl, the party comes back to her each year. I love spending time with my friends, even in the presence of a red suit. G really wants to believe in Santa. He hears about him at school. It’s hard to keep it away. He’s not really buying my version of the story much either, though.

At the party, G mostly hid underneath the coffee table by “Santa”. He photo bombed probably 90% of all the other kids’ pics. But he wouldn’t talk to the guy. Later he said, he didn’t want to tell Santa what he wanted: he wanted to show him. He was actually worried on the days leading up to Christmas that he never got a chance to ask him for his Hot Wheels arcade game. Our promises that S and I were his Santas were met with great skepticism. At least the cookies were a hit 🙂

S2 had a blast though! When asked what he wanted he replied “A dirty sock!” Luckily for him, it’s something easy to come by.

I finally got around to putting together this year’s collages.

G:

S2:

I’m not especially proud of this fact, but Dr. Brown’s bottles have been a staple in our home. For anyone visiting overnight, you’re might be familiar with the sight of a 3 or a 5 yr old sucking down 8 oz of milk via a  bottle. “Big Milk” is what they called it. Well, no more!!!

I decided that our Disney trip and hotel room stay would be an opportunity to kick the bottle habit and gave it a try. I told the kids (a night before we left, as we were packing) that bottles wouldn’t be coming with us. They were confused, but accepting. The hard part was coming home. I hid them all away the night we returned, and the next morning peeled off the band-aid. It was rough! But it’s over.

I can’t tell you why it’s been so hard to move on. G’s been especially attached, and S2 I think was more or less following his brother. G was the one that named the bottles “Big Milk”, and it was hard to re-brand, and explain to him that “Big kids” don’t drink “Big Milk”. Even though he’s in a taunting phase of calling everyone, or everything, a baby, he wasn’t willing to accept that only babies drank from those bottles.

Warmed milk is still a staple in our home every morning, but now at least it’s from a sippy cup.

So win for mommy. Finally!