New Favorites & Other Sentiments

It's a lot of work keeping up with these two hooligans. I can't wait to put them to bed at night and can't wait for them to wake up again in the morning. It definitely feels weird to say I have a two year old and a one year old. I love watching them play. learn. explore. They are changing so much on a weekly, even daily basis.  

Max prefers walking over crawling now. He continues to run into furniture and fall on his head multiple times a day. It seems as soon as one bruise heals another one appears. The sad part is most of his injuries happen when I'm within arms reach. He is building up a tough and rugged exterior. His vocabulary isn't as developed as Lyla's was at this age. However, I am learning his ways of communication. I can determine the meaning of one grunt over another. He lifts his shirt up when he wants his diaper changed. He "helps" in the kitchen with groceries and loading the dishwasher. He laughs when I say the word boob. We made some progress on the boob weaning, but regressed with his recent teething phase. He is so miserable and sometimes nursing is the only way of comforting him. I really don't mind it though. My main priority right now is making real food his main source of nutrition and getting him to tolerate whole milk. The nursing thing will eventually become obsolete. 

Lyla is two and a half. She continues to amaze me on a daily basis. She speaks sentences and asks questions. I am just waiting for the "why" phase. I try to talk to her a lot about everything. Where we are going. What we are doing. Who people are. The way stuff works. It's amazing how much she understands and when I'm patient with her and take my time, she is a really good listener. She is polite.  She can dress herself and put on her own shoes. She likes to brush my hair, which I love. And her newest phrase is telling me "privacy please" as she enters the bathroom and shuts the door. It's cute, but not that cute since she still needs a little assistance going potty. She loves to perform and knows she is adorable. I'm afraid there is no hope for her ego. 

Lyla is finally sleeping through the night without waking up crying or terrified. It only took two and a half short [<-LOL] years. Kirk is especially happy about it since he was so gracious to always take the Lyla night shift, while I have been the night slave for the little one. After experiencing so many wild nights with Lyla, I was sure my second born would sleep like an angel. I was wrong.  Max continues to be an unsteady sleeper. I actually enjoy snuggling him when he wakes up, but apparently it's a bad habit and he should be soothing himself. I often question if my choice methods have destroyed their sleep habits. On the other hand, everyone is wired differently. Sleep comes easy for some and difficult for others. I would like to thank the internet for easing my pain and comforting me when I felt alone. Believe it or not, there are other parents out there with lousy sleepers. At least I have good nappers. And they always fall asleep easy initially. 

I am a constant a referee. Lyla and Max generally enjoy each others company, but the sibling battles are inevitable.  I try to let them resolve most conflicts on their own. I usually only intervene if there is pushing, hitting, hair pulling, or intentional toy stealing.  My biggest struggle for the moment is explaining to Lyla that because she is the older sister, she should know better. I know it doesn't make sense to her that when she hits she gets scolded and sent to her room, but Max only gets told "no no" and distracted with another activity. Or when she pulls every book off my shelf she has to pick them up, but Max doesn't. It's hard because they are so close in age. Occasionally I put Max in a pretend timeout just to please Lyla.  It seems completely worthless, but at least it seems fair to Lyla. I know this challenging phase will pass soon and they will eventually be on the same discipline platform. Meanwhile I will juggle it the best I can. However, I'm a little worried for when that time comes because Max seems to be a lot more destructive than Lyla ever was. Oh boy. Buckle your seatbelts.

 

Big Boy at the Park

There has been so much rain around here lately. It seems unusual compared to last year. Then again, I am still a rookie Texas resident, so who knows what is considered normal for this climate. Besides the humidity. I know that is a constant around here. This rain definitely intensifies the stickiness my skin feels the moment I walk outside. It's yucky. 

Anyway, the nice thing about the rain is while it remains hot outside, it creates an overcast sky and cooler mornings. We've been able to play at the park again without burning up. This is the first park experience for Max as a walking boy. He had a big grin on his face the entire time. He happily complied with his sister's commands, "Come to this slide, Max." and "Follow me, Max." It was so adorable watching him waddle all around the playground, climb up stairs, and check everything out from a walking prospective for a change.

 

Styled by Dad

I had to write a short post about our shopping adventure with Kirk's family. We went shopping and Kirk hooked up Lyla and Max with some new digs. They all seemed to be on cloud nine with their new merchandise.It cracks me up because if the family wardrobe was always up to Kirk, our babies would wear sports gear and Jordan's on a regular basis.  I was also laughing as Kirk & Rob were unable to reach a hat on a high shelf. Rob grabbed Lyla and their problem was instantly solved. 

Beach Time Baby!

Kirk's parents rounded up all the family in Idaho and flew down to Texas for a few days. We rented a big beach house in Galveston and headed that way as soon as they arrived. This all happened a couple weekends ago, but I'm a little behind on my blogging. Deal with it. 

Lyla was super pumped about going to the beach. It is pretty much all we talked about for the week prior. For a few days anytime we got in the car she asked, "beach house?" I'm not sure if she could comprehend exactly where we were going, but all the talk about the beach and sandcastle building definitely had her excited. We had a blast. It was awesome having everyone under one roof. I think when I win the lottery I will buy a beach house. [on a much nicer beach, however.] 

After returning from Galveston it took a couple  days for me to get back in a normal routine. Then I realized it was the first time we slept overnight anywhere besides our own house since our trip to Idaho during Christmas. That was six months ago. Six months is a long time, considering before the babies Kirk and I would frequently go out of town on the weekends for some fun. Aww, gotta love those nostalgic feelings of reminiscing life before parenthood. Ha. 

Anyway, the problem with people visiting us in Texas is it always puts me in "vacation mode" as well. Oh, they are eating carbs for every meal? I should do that too. Oh, they are shopping for a new wardrobe? I should do that too. Yes, I think I will neglect my laundry. Those dirty dishes can wait. At one point I watched Lyla's little body twitch several times as she tried to fall asleep and that's when I knew I had to cut grandma off from sneaking her pulls of Diet Coke. The caffeine bribes are guaranteed to work like a charm, but let's just stick to obsessing over Frozen songs. 

It's all worth it though. We had so much fun and it was especially wonderful to meet the newest addition to the family, baby Scarlett. She is so sweet, even her cry is so soft and delicate. It's insane how giant Max looks compared next to her tiny body. Max displayed some signs of jealousy when she first arrived. Then he realized she wasn't trying to claim his set of milk jugs and gave her several kisses. It was so cute watching Lyla get to play the role of the older cousin for the first time. She was extra gentle with her and always offered to help out, with the exception of peeing on her in the bathtub. We are sorry about that, Scarlett. As you could assume, there is more to this story and a picture to go along with it. However, I'm not a promoter of kiddie porn so it's staying off the blog. 

We made some great memories during their visit. I can tell Lyla is starting to understand and appreciate spending quality time with family. It's important to me that she recognizes that at a young age. Max grew very attached to his grandpa. He started saying the word "papa" and even cried when he left to go home. I think that made grandpa feel pretty good. It's a good thing we will see them again in less than month when we venture to Idaho!

It's all worth it though. We had so much fun and it was especially wonderful to meet the newest addition to the family, baby Scarlett. She is so sweet, even her cry is so soft and delicate. It's insane how giant Max looks compared next to her tiny body. Max displayed some signs of jealousy when she first arrived. In typical fashion, he started giving nonstop kisses once he learned she wasn't trying to claim his set of milk jugs. It was so cute watching Lyla get to play the role of the older cousin for the first time. She was extra gentle with her and always offered to help out, with the exception of peeing on her in the bathtub. We are sorry about that, Scarlett. As you could assume, there is more to this story and a picture to go along with it. However, I don't promote kiddie porn so it's not going on the blog. 

We made some great memories during their visit. I can tell Lyla is starting to understand and appreciate spending time with family. It's important to me that she recognizes that at a young age. Max grew very attached to his grandpa. He started saying the word "papa" and even cried when he left to go home. I think that made grandpa feel pretty good. It's a good thing we will see them again in less than month when we venture to Idaho!

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to the best dad in the state of Texas!

There are some sketchy dads out there and Kirk is definitely not one of them.

Being a dad comes naturally for him and I'm lucky I get to

 witness the bond grow between him and our babies.

some dad moments that I'm particularly fond of: 

1. The moment Kirk arrives home from work Lyla swings open the front door and runs down the driveway to greet him. She is usually squealing like a hyena and running at full speed, which makes it even more enjoyable to watch. 

2. I love that Lyla truly thinks her dad can fix anything. If a toy or household item breaks, her automatic response is, "don't worry mommy, dad will fix it." 

3. I love watching Max's hands wrap tighter around Kirk's neck as I reach for him to come to me. It's a confusing feeling of rejection mixed with joy whenever it happens. 

4. I love that Kirk lets Max sit on the counter every morning as he gets ready for work. If Max wakes up after Kirk, he will waddle his way into the bathroom and bang on the shower door. I interpret this as Max saying, "hey dad, you started without me!!! Eventually I get my eyes to stay half open and stagger my way in to see Max with a big smile on his face, bobbing his little head to Notorious BIG or some other 90's classic. 

This parenting gig is the most valuable gift life has ever given me. It is so rewarding. challenging. hilarious. stressful. fascinating. chaotic. There is nobody else I would want to share this experience with. I love you, Kirk!

A Few Reasons

a few of my favorite things about being a mom:

Maxwell: Year One Check-up

Weight: 24 pounds 2 oz, 50th percentile

Height: 30 1/2 inches, 85th percentile

Head: 18.5 inches, 75th percentile

Max had his one year check up today. It was our first time seeing a new doctor and I am so impressed with the one I found. Dr. Leass is veteran when it comes to the world of pediatrics. He is definitely old school and as he spoke, it felt like I was getting a lesson in  childhood development 101. He is so wise and I had a comforting feeling of affirmation, as the parenting techniques he suggested are some that I already put into practice. I try to stay pretty informed on my babies developmental stages, but he enlightened me even more on some behaviors that differ from male to female that I hadn't thought of. 

Another thing that I was really impressed with was how fond Max was of him. He let Max sit on his lap and search through all the pockets of his big white doctor coat. He definitely has the grandpa touch and I felt really comfortable with him. However, he is a pusher for the flu shot soooo we might not be as good of friends this Fall when I shut him down on that one.

We didn't have to wait for what usually seems like eternity in the waiting room. His office is decked out in Disney movie posters and had toys to keep older siblings occupied. Oh, and I just remembered one more awesome thing. The nurse was so friendly and delicate. She even told Max she was so sorry for making him cry. In the past nurses have hurried through the poke of the shot and then left the room as quickly as possible. 

It was a really refreshing doctor visit and I am so happy I found Dr. Leass. He is exactly who I have been searching for since Lyla was born, just I was beginning to lose hope that doctors like him do still exist.  

If you want to check out Max's stats from his previous check-up just click here!