Halloween: Part 3

I feel like I created all this anticipation about Halloween on the blog & then failed to deliver when it came to the main event. I apologize to all three of my avid blog followers for any disappointment I may have caused.... heeehehe!

Nonetheless, Halloween was a success! The rain took a break and we were able to take the kiddos trick or treating. It was a pretty simple task this year since they no longer require assistance approaching each doorstep. They know the drill. I was even impressed by Max, who kept up with the big kids --- although he basically had to sprint to do so. He really didn't seem to mind until a few blocks in and we realized he was seriously out of breath & dripping in sweat. Haha! That little dude worked hard for his candy this year. The best part of Halloween was having my momma in town for a visit. She decided to dress up last minute and I thought there was going to be a real crisis when she returned home from the store with Elsa accessories. It definitely took some time for Miss Lyla to come to terms with that one! 

Halloween: Part 2

Wednesday means gymnastics and you better believe we took the opportunity to dress up again. The kiddos are quite fond of their teacher, Mr. Brad, so they were really looking forward to showing off their costumes today. It turns out Mr. Brad is also a superhero fan, as he was dressed as Spiderman. Plus, it was extra fun to have our friend Jordyn accompany gymnastics today as our guest. We think her mom and baby sister are pretty swell too! 

We were preparing for another party later in the day when Lyla randomly decided she wanted to ditch the Robin costume and swap it out for a princess dress found in her closet. The plain ol' princess look seemed a little too ordinary, so I was "heavily encouraging" her to let me add some zombie appeal to her ensemble. I had Aunt Taylor on my team to promote the gory transformation as well. Lyla was finally agreeable once we clarified we weren't going to use real blood. The moment she understood it was fake, she was totally on board. The only other condition was Taylor must be the one to create the masterpiece, of course. That was fine with me, as my artist skills from last year proved my scary make-up abilities resemble more of a raccoon. Lyla was thrilled with the final product. She really got into character and we went outside to scare kids around the neighborhood. Well, technically we could only find one kid....still fun though. 

Kirk got home from work in time for the next Trunk or Treat event with Kurt & Olivia. Kurt planned to dress-up as The Joker and Max was super pumped to take down a real villian. Well. It turns out he is all talk because in reality he was terrified of The Joker mask. I attempted a photo anyway of Batman & Joker, but as you can see it didn't exactly work out. I will make another attempt on real Halloween & hopefully the fear will subside by that time. 

I'm curious what will inspire Lyla's costume choice for tomorrow, maybe Max will venture away from Batman. Who knows! We are lucky to have a costume collection big enough to give us so many versatile options. Personally, I will be on the hunt for a witch nose to complete my costume for Saturday night. 

The zombie started hissing when I requested her participation

 in a family photo, so this is what you get.

Halloween: Part 1

It's an exciting week with Halloween finally being in full effect. Lyla was still undecided on her costume choice up until a few days ago. I think Kirk gave his best sales pitch to convince her that collaborating with Max would be the coolest thing ever. Batman & Robin is the final decision for this years festivities, although Lyla picked out a Wonder Woman costume tucked away in the back of her closet for our first Halloween adventure at the library. We came home afterwards to recharge our batteries before joining Charli & Hali for a carnival at their church followed by a trunk-or-treat. It was a successful day in terms of fun and we have much more planned as we countdown to the main event on Saturday. Fingers crossed the rain chooses a different path of destruction!

Odds & Ends

Lyla & Max are continuing to evolve as they learn & gain more independence. Lyla is nearly four years old and I'm already astonished at how much she has changed in such a short time. I wonder what another four years is going to do to me!? I think that's the incredible thing about parenthood, being the one common denominator as these tiny creatures transform from helpless infants into beautiful beings. It is truly a privilege to be a witness as they experience the world around them. They may not remember these early years, but I will forever. 

Anyway, being on the parenting end of this childhood experience, there are some habits that I can't wait to be kicked to the curb, while there are others I bury in the deepest pit of my heart. These are a few of their most recent quirks. I can only hope that I will continue to find humor in any odd behavior that occurs as we journey through their adolescence. If I think they are feisty now, I can only imagine what will happen when those hormones & emotions start brewing. Umm please stay little. 

1. Although Max's language may still sound foreign to some, I can comprehend what he is talking about most of the time. My very favorite phrase he says is "you're welcome!" The way his voice squishes the sounds together is so adorable. He also says "bo" instead of "no" which I find humorous. I will be sad when he eventually corrects himself, just like when Lyla started referring to herself in the proper context. I miss the days when she called herself "me" no matter what. 

2. There is no denying that Lyla has developed the blood of a true Texan. We left a house a few times recently when the temperature had only reached the mid 60's. The instant we walked out the front door Lyla started in on complaining about how it felt so cold. Her exact words were something like, "It feels like Idaho out here!" I think my tongue started bleeding as I refrained from calling her a wimp and instead went inside to get her a jacket. I haven't even broke 30 years old and already starting with the "back in my day..." stories!

3. One of Max's favorite go-to snacks are these chocolate chip protein bars. It's convenient and simple...or so one would think. If that bar happens to break in half or even if a corner falls off --- watch out. I often find myself repairing the snack just to avoid a meltdown and other times I just let him deal with it. I've explained to him countless times that if he wishes to keep the bar in one piece, he must ease up on the Hulk grip. I think to myself, "Oh my hell. It's broken....so what...just eat it!!!" The two year old brain doesn't seem to grasp that logic and it's a situation that can get ugly real quick! It's madness I tell you!

4. Lyla starts a good portion of our conversations these days with, "Mom, can I ask you something?" She will ask that question regardless if she has something to ask me or not. Sometimes after asking this question she will simply respond with "I love you." She is pretty cute. She knows I think it's cute, so she cleverly added this to her bag of tricks for postponing bedtime. 

5. I tend to sing randomly throughout the day, usually just a handful of lyrics that apply to whatever I am doing at the time. It's like I have singing turrets or something. Well. Max disapproves of this habit and has no problem expressing so. If he catches me singing he will grab my entire face and whisper the words "shh. shh. shh." into my ear. All this does is make me want to sing more because I really really love when his little hands grab my face. I hope he doesn't catch on anytime soon!

Hello October!

October is here. This year is going to be over before we know it. I know I sound like a broken record by now, but the weeks and months just fly by. We still have the occasional day that drags on forever, but I always tell myself not to worry because I know all I have to do is blink and it will be next year. Life is good to us. 

There is much chatter going on in our house lately about Halloween. Max has proven Lyla is the indecisive one, as he made a solid costume choice about a month ago and hasn't changed his mind even once. I've heard ideas from Lyla including Wonder Woman, Rapunzel, Elsa, & a mermaid. It changes on the daily basis, so I told her we're going to wait a couple more weeks before making the final decision resulting in the big purchase. However, these kids are fortunate enough to have so many wonderful grandmas who treat them like royalty. Lyla may have let a costume idea slip during one of many in depth conversations with ol' granny and guess what? Surprise! A mermaid costume showed up at the front door. Max was delighted to find a Captain America costume for him as well. Costumes get used a whole bunch in this house, so they're a wise investment, but those grandmas are pretty sneaky! I hope I'm lucky enough to become one someday.

There has been a lot of Lyla stories on the blog lately and it's honestly by pure coincidence. I don't want anyone getting the idea there is a favorite child or anything...well, actually, it depends on the day. Hehee! I remember always nagging my mom with the question about who was her favorite child. She would always respond that I was her favorite daughter and Jake was her favorite son. That was an easy response considering she only had two kids. I would pressure her more by asking who she loved more, seems a little messed up now that I think of it. She would tell me how she loved us equally for different reasons. I never thought that made much sense but I get it now. I love you Max! I love you Lyla!  

Anyway, a little tidbit about Max to keep the blog balanced. He is really obsessed with Kirk's car lately. I think it's the main reason he chooses blue colored items whenever possible. Kirk gets home from work and Max immediately questions him about his "boooo car" [boooo = blue] He seems to think Kirk will forget to bring the car home one night or something. To Max's surprise, he is always happy to find it in the driveway. After confirming the status of the car, he usually moves onto questions Kirk's work shirt. He points to the "1488" logo and says the numbers in his cute little voice. Don't freak out --- he can't actually read, he was just taught that's what it says. He moves to Kirk's name embroidered on the opposite side of the shirt, he points to the letters and says "daddy." Then he looks to Kirk for confirmation that he got all the information correct. It really cracks me up! I want Kirk to have a real work shirt that has "daddy" embroidered on it instead of "Kirk." That would be great. 

Oh! Also, one more cool fact about Max. I discovered a way for him to eat all kinds of fruit, finally. I simply blend up raw fruit, pour it into a popsicle mold, and voila! It's a miracle! Thank you to Charli for the magical gift of a popsicle mold. Max no longer rejects fruit and he doesn't even know it. Now if we could only make some progress with this potty training gig, which has transformed into a terrifying & disgusting project. We're just going to keep on trying!

The first photo I'm sharing of Max is from the park. It appears his hair is wet --- yes, he is drenched in sweat. Crazy kid! And the second photo I love because it represents Max's versatile fashion choices.

Is It Pumpkin Day Yet?

We have been a busy bunch the past week. I am loving this Fall weather. The Texas heat can be cruel in the summer, but right now it is just perfect for me. I only wish the leaves on the trees would make some changes so I could enjoy Fall colors too. Halloween is on Friday, sharing the day with Max officially turning 17 months old. And that is nothing but surreal.

Max spotted a T-Rex costume at the Halloween store and his dinosaur noises were so adorable that I couldn't possibly force him to wear anything different. Lyla decided on a "scary fairy ballerina" for her costume. I can't wait to share pictures of our final presentation. I'm not even sure how she came up with the idea and I'm still figuring out what exactly the costume consists of. All is I know is that it's pink, it has wings, and it's scary. We had a couple practice runs with her "scary" make up. The only conclusion I have so far is that I am definitely not a make-up artist. Lyla was super impressed with my skills though, so I guess that's all that matters. 

We painted pumpkins. Lyla was so meticulous as she painted her pumpkin. It seemed unusual for her, but I guess that is normal considering she is evolving into a three old before my eyes. Max enjoyed painting as well. However, he was determined to touch all his body parts with the paint brush. It was all fine until he thought the dog needed a splash of color too. I know it's very impolite to disrupt a deeply concentrated artist, but that dang dog already has enough issues. 

Don't mind the lack of clothing in the photos. We have a no pants policy after 3 pm around here.

We are going to carve pumpkins with Kirk one evening this week. I'm curious whether Lyla will be intimidated by the pumpkin guts, as she was last year. I have a feeling Max will dive right in.

Octoberish

I seriously cannot believe it is the middle of October already. It feels like we just had Halloween last week. It's so funny how time seems to pass so slowly as a child. Then suddenly you become an adult and every time you blink it's a new year. Time passes at frightening speeds these days. I admittedly spend some days dreaming of when my babies become self-sufficient creatures and no longer rely on me every second of the day. Then I have days like today when I truly enjoy every moment with them. There are moments when I feel this is all happening too fast. And I feel so sad when I think about them growing up. Why is motherhood so emotional? It occurred to me today that I only have two more years with Lyla before she starts her journey as a school kid. 

I am genuinely excited for my babies to spread their wings. I want them to make their own mistakes, learn lessons, make friends, and discover their independence. I know they are going to be awesome at life, but I am also so scared. They will get hurt and I'm not going to be there. They will get their hearts broken. They will trust someone who betrays them. They will feel disappointment. They will experience failure. Life is brutal. I have such a desire to protect them both from these things, but that would be an unrealistic expectation. I can only hope that I have done enough to help them be brave, be kind, and make smart choices. Above all, I hope they are never afraid to be open and honest with me and Kirk. It's so important to us that they know our unconditional love is present in every situation. 

Their newest request is to "be like dad" when they get out of the bath. 

My friend Laura and her mom, along with other events, have weighed heavy on my heart recently. Laura passed away a little over two years ago and, although her mom has found beautiful ways to honor Laura's memory, it will always be a raw wound for her. For me, even the brief thought of losing a child brings me to tears. I can't imagine how any parent finds strength to even get out of bed after such a tragedy. No parent should ever have to outlive their child. It seems so unfair no matter how I approach it. Lyla and Max have a long life ahead of them and they won't be under my wing for most of it. It scares me. It really scares me. 

Well. I apologize about those last few sentences getting all gloom and doom sounding. I know it isn't healthy to let my mind wander there. I learn a lot by putting myself in other peoples shoes and that is one situation that makes me feel so much heartache. It doesn't help that I have a little bit of that Grandma Paula worry gene. Anyway. Happy thoughts. 

We took Lyla and Max to a pumpkin patch this weekend. It was a fun event for little kids. They had tons of gross germy bounce houses. I was super impressed when Lyla climbed the tallest slide without any hesitation. She is acting so much older over the past few weeks. Max became ecstatic when he saw the choo choo train and went into complete trance mode when we took a train ride. He was also very fond of the baby piglet. Then we attempted the classic pumpkin photo, picked out some pumpkins, and came home. We have more Fall activities planned this week and I will post about them soon.

Maxwell looking for the choo choo train. He could hear it, but couldn't yet see it!

Lyla going up & down the big, intense slide.