Bringin' Home the Bacon

After three posts in a row about Lyla, I figured the blog needed a Max story to balance things out. My brain works in mysterious ways like that. I will take my blog readers back to December of 2016 for this recollection about when Max started his first job. It was tough times and we were in need of money from any sources of income we could salvage, even if that meant sending our three year old into the workforce. Hahaha okay, here is the real story...

It was a few months ago when Jeremy & Charli gifted a few 1488 Collision shirts to Maxwell. The shirts are almost identical to Kirk's daily uniform, including the same logo and even the name "Max" embroidered on the front. Max insisted on wearing this shirt to school every single day for several weeks in a row, which actually worked out fine because they purchased five for him. So yes, he wore a 1488 polo shirt every single day --- which is either really great advertising or just makes him the weird kid at school. Maybe both. Ha! 

Well. The excitement of wearing the work shirt started to fade and eventually it just wasn't cutting it anymore. Max kept wondering when he could start working at 1488 Collision and this quickly became a daily conversation. We tried explaining to him that school is his only job right now and he has many more years of school before he needs to start thinking about a job. I admired his enthusiasm to work...but HELLO...being three is awesome!!! Enjoy it, child. The constant asking turned into pleading and eventually he was begging to go to work. Persistence at its finest until one day Max's dream came true. Kirk finally asked me to drop him off after school one day. As you could imagine, Max was delighted.

Lyla and I decided a quick run to Starbucks would be adequate time for a three year old's first shift of work. We dropped him off and oh geez, he was so happy. I'll never forget him walking into that building with such confidence in his step. Kirk set him up with a phone on his belt clip and a notepad, then walked him throughout the shop to check out the status on all the jobs, just as a manager should do. Kirk's version of this story is much better than mine will be, but basically Kirk introduced Max to everyone as they walked through the shop and it sounds like all the employees were pretty entertained by Kirk's mini-me. They all went along with Max being their temporary boss pretty well. Kirk said one of the guys asked Max his age and Max proudly proclaimed "twenty-phree." Hahaha! Max concluded his shift by helping wash a car and I need Kirk to share that part of the story because, again, his version is way more hilarious. Max felt proud of his new supervisor duties and was upset when we returned to pick him up about thirty minutes later. That was about as much "help" Kirk could make time for, even though we were a little heartbroken as Max kept saying, "it's not over yet!" 

He returned to work for one additional shift since that time. It turns out Max prefers the "late shift" because then he gets to ride home with Kirk in the blue car. He is obsessed with the blue car. I keep telling Kirk he needs to write Max a real paycheck so we can put it in his keepsake box...but who am I kidding...he would probably cash it as soon as he figures out how. Ha! 

It's such a fun experience going to work as a kid, whether it be with parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents. I have such fond memories from my own childhood and feeling so grown up when I had the opportunity to go to work with an adult in my life. I'm grateful Max has that experience already and maybe one day working with dad will be his real first job. I mean...he already has some experience. However, I think he might require a larger polo at that point...

No pics of him at work, sadly, But here are the cutie pies in their matching shirts!

Lyla: Birthday Interview

We recorded Lyla's birthday interview today and I'm so happy that I actually remembered to do it the same month as her birthday! Unlike Max, where as I completely forgot until six months later. Whoops! Anyway, this is just a fun little tradition that I hope I can keep up with. I look forward to watching the answers evolve through all the different stages of adolescence. I am hoping we can get some soul crushing eye rolling at some point. I know it's in her genes somewhere. It will be great fun! I went back and watched the interview we did for her third birthday and I am amazed at how much older she is now. It was two years ago, so of course she has changed, but sometimes the actual realization doesn't sink in until I go back and watch old videos or look at pictures. She still has the same spunk, but I miss that little three year old sometimes! 

I try to ask the same questions in the same order each year. The answers are always so funny to me because they are usually nothing I would expect or responses I would provide if I was answering on her behalf. The on-the-spot answers is what makes it authentic and entertaining though, so we will just keep rolling with it. 

Max sat on my lap for almost the entirety of Lyla's interview this year, which is pretty impressive for his little attention span. I think his commentary and giggles in the background are my favorite part of the interview this year. He is a goof ball. Enjoy!

Lyla: Birthday Party

We celebrated Lyla's birthday this weekend and it was so much fun. The party planning itself got a little extensive, but it's what I like to do. I really truly enjoy it! I like to think birthday number five is a pretty big deal and deserves some celebratory recognition. And we are always looking for any reason to throw a party! Kirk helped me decorate all week and by Saturday it looked like a rainbow puked all over the house. The colors of the rainbow just so happen to be a symbol for gay pride, so Kirk was joking that he was going to surprise all the parents by answering the door without a shirt on and invite them into our gay pride party. It would have made for quite the memorable birthday, but I suppose we really shouldn't be so quick to pounce on people with our creepiness! Plus, we decided Lyla probably likes having friends and might like for them to be allowed over to our house again. Haha!

We had 14 kiddos attend the party, including Lyla & Max, ranging in ages from one to thirteen. The chaos levels were peaked and I loved every minute of it. At Lyla's request, we had a pinata and played "pin the tail on the donkey" --- except technically I changed it to "pin the heart on the rainbow" because... rainbows! Duh! Lyla had a spectacular time at her party! It makes me happy to see her so happy! We are so thankful to all of our family and friends who came to help us celebrate our girl turning five. 

Time to get ready! She says, "this is how Taylor taught me to do it." Funny girl.
That Aunt Taylor certainly left her mark.

The following day served as a recovery day for the birthday girl. She partied hard. I think she really was exhausted from all the social interaction, perhaps a sugar overdose, or maybe her body is still adjusting to being a five year old. Kirk took both kids to a movie in the morning and he said neither of them could stay awake in the theater, so we all participated in Lounge Fest 2017 for the remainder of the day. 

My aunt checked in and asked if Lyla had a birthday hangover, I thought the timing of her question was pretty funny. I took these pictures and sent them to her right after. She was playing legos and making glitter stickers in my bed. Yep. I'm pretty sure this is what a hangover looks like at five years old! 

My aunt also asked if all the guests were pooping rainbows by the time they left...hahahahaha...I just love all this rainbow humor. It's made for an entertaining week!

And that's a WRAP! The house is back to a clean slate yet again. Actually... the rainbow crepe paper display in the entry might still be up. If you are wondering when it's coming down the answer is never. 

This crazy animal was a great help taking down all the other decorations!

Lyla: Five Years Old

It seems the days leading up to my kid's birthdays are always the most revealing of their age. I know this because it's the time of year when I look at them, I mean really stare, and realize how much they have grown and changed over the past year. That's exactly what happened this week for me too. I started watching and listening to Lyla, more intently than I normally do, and it hit me. Holy crap. You are a five year old. She acts like a five year old. She looks like a five year old. She sounds like a five year old, okay sometimes sixteen. 

As you could imagine, I've been doing a lot of reflecting about the past five years. I smile as I think about how many things have changed, yet so many have stayed the same. I will never forget the scowl on Lyla's face as she glanced all around the hospital room the day she was born. That initial scowl transformed into an independent attitude that she's continued to carry throughout her life. That little seven pound baby had a fierceness about her, as if she already had the whole world figured out. And while I know Lyla still has a lot of life to experience and lessons to learn, she has taught me more about life than I ever could have imagined possible. I have been a mom for five years and all my motherhood "firsts" continue to be with Lyla. I think that's pretty special. Along with that newborn scowl was the first moment we made eye contact and my journey as her mom began. I am immensely grateful for the gift of motherhood. It has changed me for the better. And I don't feel like a rookie anymore either! Woo! 

I'll be honest, I was a little concerned during that twoberty phase with Lyla, which carried over to three and even a little into four. I have always encouraged her independent spirit, but that sass has been a little brutal at times. This past year or so she has really matured into such a pleasant little person to be around. There were certainly delightful aspects to her during all the different stages of toddlerhood, of course, I'm just stating she has really bloomed into her own sense of self. At school, she has earned this reputation as being a peacekeeper and nurturer of sorts. She is always so aware of her surroundings, ensuring everyone in her presence is content. She cares about people and it makes me so proud to be her mom. I've watched her behave this way not only among her peers, but when it comes to her little brother as well. She is always thinking of that little boy. We will take a girls only trip to the grocery store and every single time she will ask the cashier a sticker for her brother. And don't even think about going to the bank without getting an extra sucker! I think we can do a lot to influence the behavior of our kids, but that sweet girl has a heart of gold. She was born a helper and the sweetness is just part of her soul.

Well now that I'm crying over how amazing my daughter is, I want to switch gears and share what we did on her birthday! I know I will cherish these first five years forever and I don't even want to think about how quickly the next five are going to fly by. 

I can't tell you what she is doing in the above photo.
The pose is her own invention and she facilitates most
 of our photo shoots now that she is five.

Enjoying her coloring book with some jams on. I love this picture.

We are having a birthday bash on Saturday, so that's when the real fun is going down. As for Lyla's actual birthday, it was a fairly routine day of school. She woke in the best mood, then she was eager to open a couple of gifts Kirk grabbed for her the night before. I didn't even know he was going to have something ready for her by the way --- it was super sweet of him! Anyway, we continued off to school and she wanted to listen to Christmas music. Seriously, stick a needle in my ear. I would have laughed at her had it not been her birthday, instead we sang jingle bells for the entirety of our thirty minute commute. She took cupcakes to school to share with her classmates. We  grabbed them from the grocery store the night before and she passed on the frosting she wanted and picked the kind she thought most of the kids in her class would like instead --- again, so thoughtful.

After school, we decided to get milkshakes. eek! More sugar, I know. Then she requested Chicfila for dinner. That was fine with me, make my life easy. Ha! That girl can put down a full size chicken sandwich these days, which is pretty impressive considering there was a time I could barely convince her to eat a cracker. She also suggested we participate in a "Chicfila Sauce Challenge" during dinner. This is a challenge where you line up the eight different variety of sauce flavors and try to guess each of them after just one dip of a finger, french fry, etc. Well. Miss Birthday Girl is a big chicken when it comes to trying new foods and declined practically every single sauce. She tried ketchup...wow. And Chicfila sauce. Seriously. It was her idea!!!! She is such a dork. Max participated in tasting every single sauce, even the spicy ones, which was super hilarious and made up for Lyla's lack of participation. She wrapped up the night with a little Hansel and Gretel and that concluded the birthday festivities. However, we are so excited to party on Saturday!

Lyla's gifts from us arrived on Thursday and I was originally going to have her open them on party day. Then I decided oh, who cares. She opened a bed set and wardrobe closet to accommodate her new American Girl doll, Avery. I may start referring to the doll by name, just take note. Anyway, after some lengthy assembling we finally had it all set up. Then it occurred to me that Lyla wasn't going to have any space in her bedroom for this new American Girl arrangement. She already had a baby station and the Barbie house station, so I asked if she had any ideas on how to make it work. She thought about it intently for a few minutes, then she said, "Mom, I don't really play with my Barbie house anymore, let's give it to another little girl who will play with it more than me." My initial thought was, ummm but you have only had it two years....and Santa spent two full nights putting it together....and you have a bucket of probably 60 Barbies. Then I remembered how I'm always preaching to my kids about decluttering and donating stuff we don't need to someone else that can use it. So my initial panic of clinging onto the Barbie house for unnecessary reasons, transformed into another proud moment that Lyla has the brains to realize she has more than she needs and more than she can play with. I'm impressed that she isn't emotionally attached to all these materialistic items. I mean...it's hard for me sometimes and she is only five!

We spent the rest of the afternoon organizing her room. She decided to keep her Anna & Elsa dolls in her keepsake box. They are sentimental for sure. Then she picked out a few of the non-frazzled looking Barbies to keep, just in case the Barbie urge ever strikes again. She also kept the Barbie party bus, so they still have a spot to hang. But the adorable Barbie house itself is no longer a staple item in Lyla's room. It made my heart a little sad to close that chapter, but I was also filled with so much joy as Lyla was already thinking out loud about all the different kids she could gift the house to. The Barbie house location is now replaced with Avery's "room" and it's coming along quite nicely. The baby station remains in her room as well, since that's a regular activity between her and Max. It's just change is all it is. And again, I'm so impressed Lyla came up with the idea all on her own. She handled the process with such grace. 

The scenario doubled as a good example to Max, who came out of his room with one toy to give to someone. As he declared his good deed, I could tell he was trying to remember the exact words Lyla used earlier. I love it when he does that, cracks me up every time. He always seems so proud of himself, yet all he's doing is mimicking his big sis. He certainly looks up to her! It's pretty dang cute.

Birthday surprise from the best dad ever!!!! 

The remains of Lyla's Barbie collection.
 The difference is shocking to anyone who knows what her stockpile looked like before!

The new arrangement for Avery!

Don't mind Lyla's solemn expression, I just thought they
looked so adorable in matching pajamas and robes. 

                             Hope everyone has a great weekend! I will blog about the party soon.

Peace Out 2016!

I'm finally getting around to blogging about our Christmas. We are currently enjoying the last day of our 17 day break from school and work. It has been very relaxing and it's surprising how quickly I forgot about all the luxuries included in staying at home. Such as, completing all of our laundry in one day and getting all the beds made in the morning! Woohoo! It's been glorious. I really have been able to get the house organized and attend to a lot of other nuisance chores during the break, which sounds boring but overall eases my sanity. The sane version of myself is much more pleasant, for everyone. And I have so much enjoyed all the extra snuggle time with my babies in the morning. We have spent many days just lounging around the house, any boredom easily cured by a tickle fight. We ventured to the movie theater and spent time with friends, including a play date with one of Lyla's favorite classmates. We also enjoyed our annual Gingerbread House tradition with Charli & Hali. Oh, and Max put in some hours (um 1/2 hour) at his new job. Hehe! I'll have to elaborate on that in a separate post.

I feel like our routine with school has kept us so busy over the last few months, this break has given us the chance to slow down and just enjoy each other. I think that's exactly what the holidays are all about for most of us, anyway. However, as Christmas neared closer and closer, I felt myself pushing away this undeniable feeling of sadness. I adore my little family so much and I'm truly grateful for the time we have been able to spend together, but the quiet holidays always make me miss everyone in Idaho a whole bunch. I miss the experience of BIG family gatherings. I honestly love bouncing around on Christmas to various family members houses. I keep reminding myself that life always comes back around full circle and I know eventually we will enjoy a Christmas in Idaho again... I just have to be patient. And patience is not my strong suit. Ha. In the meantime, I have been trying to appreciate all the aspects of small and quiet holidays. I think it's important to soak up every season of life we experience, or at least give it a good effort. Haha! It's tough for me sometimes, but life could always be tougher.

Okay. Anyway, I wanted to share our Christmas morning. Christmas day could possibly be my most favorite day of the year to be a parent. As cliche as it sounds, it is seriously magical. The best day ever. I freaking love being Santa Claus. Max woke first and was not in the most pleasant mood. Keep in mind, he is only three so a lot of this Christmas business doesn't click for him quite yet. He mostly follows Lyla's lead and/or level of enthusiasm. As always, he made his way into our bed by morning and I exclaimed, "Max, it's Christmas!" His grumpy response, "No it's not. It didn't even snow." I giggled to myself, then reminded him about Santa and finally he remembered. I got out of bed to grab Max some fresh clothes, because of course, Christmas morning he had to pee himself. As I was rushing to his room, he made it clear that he wanted to wake up Lyla. "Don't wake her up Mom. I'm going to do it." We got him all situated in dry clothes and then he bolted out of my room. So much for cute Christmas jammies on Christmas morning, right? Oh well. I watched as he ran into the living room to check their stockings, he gasped, then immediately ran to Lyla's room. I could hear him say, "Lyla Lyla, It's Christmastime. Your dolly!!!" They both darted out into the living room faster than you could imagine. Kirk set up the iPad to record their entrance, but the house was still so dark you can't see the image very well. However, you can definitely hear the little pitter patter of their feet running across the house and I loved that just as well.

We opened presents and by the time we finished the living room was complete madness. I'm always slightly disgusted by how spoiled our entire family is between all the gifts that get shipped from our loved ones in Idaho. But we are lucky they love us so much! We remained busy the rest of the day, playing with new toys and games. Lyla's main gift from Santa was an American Girl doll. And Max asked for a Batman Transformer. Apparently Lyla also asked for a black kitten, but Santa didn't get that memo --- and I'm not so sure he would have fulfilled that request anyhow. Ha! Regardless, the kiddos were very pleased with all their new treasures and we had such a fun morning. We enjoyed french toast for breakfast and set up our new Alexa speaker from Grandma Paula. I only mention this gift because I was cracking up when Lyla asked Alexa to get her a glass of water. She was so impressed with all of Alexa's other abilities, I guess she figured a glass of water shouldn't be too difficult for her to manage. Spoiler: Alexa was unable to fulfill Lyla's request, but luckily Lyla was born with these amazing things called legs.

Later in the afternoon we headed over to Charli & Jeremy's for a delicious meal and more gift opening chaos. Hali received a new trampoline for Christmas and the kids are obsessed with it. I felt tired just watching them. However, it really did the trick to drain their batteries, particularly Max. That boy is an energizer bunny all day long. We had a fun day and I'm grateful to Charli & Jeremy for always inviting us over for Christmas. I think it's obvious I am very devoted to my role as Santa, so my enthusiasm for cooking on Christmas has really been lacking the past few years. Sooo if it weren't for the awesome Stout family, we most likely would have ate..........boxed mac and cheese. Phew! I'm glad we dodged that bullet and were treated to amazing-melt-in-your-mouth ham instead. Plus, I can always count on them for one Christmas Day adventure, and being at their house helps with that irritating "lack of togetherness on Christmas" feeling that's been floating around for me this season. I know, you're sick of me whining. Perhaps I should call the waaaambulance. Is that joke still cool? Idk.

SO! TOMORROW is my baby girl's birthday. Did I mention she is going to be FIVE??!?! Someone pinch me. I know I'm going to be blogging about all that, so I returned to Slackerville to get this Christmas post wrapped up. As for wrapping it up, I don't have many complaints about 2016. It was decent. We are all still here, breathing and whatnot. I am feeling even more hopeful and optimistic about what's to come for 2017. I can still remember a time when I thought the year 2017 seemed so far out of reach, yet here we are. It is the future! I'm looking forward to more adventure, laughter, and LOVE.

Please enjoy these photos that I sloppily attached to this post............................you can mail your complaints to Slackerville, USA.

That one time Lyla wanted "just onion rings" for dinner.
BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU ASK FOR. HAHAHA

I asked them to yell "SANTA"

BLESS THIS MESS?

Sorry Tay Tay, I have a new personal make-up artist now.