Maxwell: Third Birthday

I finally have real internet access again. It was getting a little tricky living off cell phone data only, but clearly it's a manageable lifestyle. Although I still take full advantage of all the luxurious amenities offered to me, first world problems typically get a huge eye roll from this lady. Hopefully I can get in the habit of blogging on a regular basis again. There has been so many fun things happening in our lives, I would probably overwhelm myself trying to blog about all of it. So, with the exception of the birthday bash of sir Max, the past will be left behind and I will start blogging about life moving forward. 

We celebrated Max's birthday shortly after returning from Idaho. I was feeling like the energizer bunny, trying to adjust back to normal life after our trip while simultaneously plan a birthday party. Max requested a dinosaur party and we managed to pull it off, considering the short amount of planning time that went into it. As Kirk pointed out, Max will never remember the small details that I seem to dedicate to party planning. But let's be honest, I love parties! It's a happy kind of stress, for me at least. First world problems. 

We enjoyed an afternoon of swimming, eating cake, and digging up dinosaurs in the backyard. Yes, technically one would dig up fossils, but luckily none of the diggers made that connection. We all watched as Max ripped through his presents in record time. I would normally supervise a more thoughtful present opening process, but he was so incredibly fast and aggressive --- it was too funny to watch. He did stop for one second to read a birthday card. I found his intent focus to be humorous, considering he can't read yet. 

Texas has been on the receiving end of some atrocious amounts of rain lately, but I was grateful it took a short break during the party. I think Max had a fabulous time and enjoyed being the star of the show. Max turning three reminds me of how much he has changed since turning two. He remains pretty easy going most the time, but the layers of his personality are beginning to unfold. He is an adventure seeker and never lets fear stand in his way, which can be a bit terrifying at times. He is funny by nature. I always smile when I can hear a good belly laugh coming from him as he is playing...by himself. It usually involves any predicament he gets his action figures into, but I love a guy who can laugh at his own jokes. [insert Kirk emoji here] And above all, I admire how thoughtful he is, especially when it comes to caring for Lyla. Max is a big piece in our family puzzle and we are so lucky!

It's hard to believe we have a three year old again, for the second time. I'm pretty sure Lyla was just three. Life isn't slowing down and somehow that 17 month age gap just keeps shrinking. My heart does this funny thing when I think about what life was like when they were babies. It seems like yesterday and a lifetime ago all wrapped into one. The reason I try to capture so much of it is because I never want to forget. They are going to grow up tomorrow and their little voices, their laughter, and even their cry will never be the same. I know these are all precious moments, even on the days they make me feel insane. This motherhood business is a lovely experience and I'm looking forward to all the birthdays to come. 

Oh, and speaking of insanity. Max is on day seven of no pacifier. This comforting little item is known as the "baba" in our house. And I'm not sure who misses it more --- me or Max. The withdrawal symptoms have been super pleasant at bed time and I've definitely had to resist picking up another one, but I think we are through the worst of it. I can't blame him, the baba got us through some tough times together. We were building up anticipation for months about throwing away his baba when he turned three. He was even pumped about it, because obviously being three means you are way too old for a baba. I used this theory on Lyla and it worked like a charm, so I was hoping the same would unfold for the second child. Funny enough, I took three baba with us to Idaho and came home with only one lone survivor. We were keeping it around until the official throwing-into-the-garbage ceremony, but it vanished on its own. It was slightly disappointing, but it's gone and over with now. Bravo Max, Bravo!

Christmas Festivities, Etc.

We had such a fun week making memories with family & friends. Charli invited us over on Wednesday to decorate gingerbread houses. She  cut out the house pieces from the scratch-made gingerbread, making her own house smell amazing. We constructed the houses while the little people eagerly awaited the decorating phase. Meanwhile, they tested all the decorating options laid out in bowls in front of them. I think they may enjoy eating candy without restriction more than they actually enjoy decorating the houses. I admired Hali as she meticulously followed a pattern by placing each candy in a specific location on her house. She even designed a rainbow front porch, adding some very nice curb appeal. Lyla & Max aren't quite to that stage of the game yet, but I guess you could say I'm looking forward to it. I should probably just make my own house if I want to be so particular about how it looks. Haha!

We joined our friend Jordyn later on in the week for a Christmas party at her school. This was extra eventful for Lyla because she got to visit a Kindergarten classroom, including real live students and even a teacher who slightly resembled Barbie. As we approached the classroom door, I watched as her bold-excitement became clouded by the undeniable shyness that exists inside. She went from asking if she could tell all the kids she is already four, to a sweet baby clinging to her momma. I have to giggle in situations like this because 1. it can be so baffling watching her disposition completely transform and 2. I know how she feels.

Max tends to have a fearless attitude and no problem adapting to new situations, especially if sugar is involved. However, I could tell he felt confused, as he wavered back and forth between mimicking his big sister [like always] and joining the party! I think Max generally chooses to copy anything Lyla is doing, but he couldn't understand why she wasn't joining the fun. She was simply too busy over-analyzing to realize she was missing out. She was like a leach to my leg for quite awhile, but she eventually warmed up and had a great time sitting at Jordyn's table enjoying the company of the other little people. She is still talking about how great it was. She claims she will be ready for Kindergarten when her time comes under the one condition that I remain in the classroom. I'm afraid that's not how it's going down, my dear child. Luckily we still have more time to build up a little courage!

We went ahead and adopted two extra children on Friday, giving their parentals the night off. It's remarkable how long Lyla & Jordyn can keep themselves entertained when they are together. They have a lot of fun together. My only gripe is Max easily gets left out of any game they are playing. He found me multiple times exclaiming the girls were being mean. Lyla is usually really good at taking her little brother under her wing, so I had to remind her the importance of that job. Poor Max eventually gave up and found more enjoyment out of helping me take care of the baby, Gianna. He is such a sweetheart to her. It sorta makes me want to have one thousand more babies, then my brain gets in a fight with my uterus, blah blah blah. It's interesting to me how jealous he used to act if I was holding another baby, whereas now he just wants to help. To my surprise, now he is very protective of his Dad. Kirk was not allowed to hold the baby. Ha!

This week also included an advent-calendar hijacking by the little brother, commonly known as Hulk Smash. I bought each of the kiddos one of those cardboard countdown calendars revealing a chocolate on each day. It's nothing special, I think we just picked it up randomly at the grocery store one day. Anyway, despite my efforts, Max destroyed his after the first few days and it was game over for him. In contrast, Lyla reminds me every morning about her calendar. We find the next number in the countdown, she enjoys the one little morsel of chocolate and then puts it away. She has been so disciplined with this silly advent calendar...more than she has with anything else in her short four years of life! I've been really impressed. Well. Somehow Max located her calendar and helped himself to every remaining closed door. We caught him red handed in my bedroom, chocolate leaking from each side of his mouth. As you could imagine, Lyla lost her mind over it. You would have thought Christmas was cancelled if we didn't complete the entire calendar properly. She was devastated, while Max basically remained clueless about the crime he committed. I had the idea to fill the empty molds with melted chocolate chips and luckily it worked to reverse Lyla's sadness. The chocolates look nothing like they did before, but for her the world is good again. We really dodged a bullet with that one.

We spent more of the weekend snuggling on the couch, watching Christmas movies. I can't say for sure what makes me happiest about Christmastime, but the assortment of festive movies is definitely high on my list. Then we celebrated [Uncle] Jordan's birthday on Sunday at the notorious Top Golf. Lyla gave him 27 kisses, followed by 27 spankings. He declined  her offer for a foot massage. He's a hater like that. ;)

As always, good times with some of our favorite people!

Be Mine

We celebrated Valentines Day with a little party at Charli's house on Friday. The kids decorated cupcakes, built candy heart towers, had a spoon race, played dress up, and jumped on the trampoline. aka jumpoline in Lyla language.