15 Months

At 15 months Annabelle is a true toddler.  She still has a toddler walk about her, but is growing steadier and faster every day with her walking.  I'm having flashbacks as I watch her pull the books of the shelf and pull every piece of Tupperware out of the cabinet - immediately after I pull some fun toys out for her.  She is content to spend a good portion of her day wandering around the house with random objects in hand.  She also tends to prefer Sam's toys over her own, so we have to keep his door closed a lot to protect her from the Lego's and Playmobile.  When she talks on the phone she holds it directly behind her head at the base of her skull.  Adorable.

In just the past few weeks she has really started recognizing and responding to the routines of our family.   In the morning when I get her bow in and her shoes on, she stands by the back door.  The other day Chris asked if she would like dinner.  She folded her hands, as if to pray, and walked to her high chair.  She also folds her hands to pray, without prompting, when I close the last book at bedtime.

When I ask for a kiss she leans in with a wide open mouth.  Although especially gross when she's snotty, I love every single one.  She still loves to be held, especially first thing in the morning and when she's tired.  I can get her to sit on my lap for a while if I have the correct supply of snacks.  The correct snacks would be anything that she has seen Sam eat.  No baby snacks, please.

I do feel a bit guilty that baby girl is often tired.  Since the move her schedule has been all over the place and if she falls asleep in the car she won't nap in her bed.  Naps have been a huge challenge.  She has been compensating a bit with more overnight sleep, but it has become apparent that she really does still need 2 naps a day.  Next week I aim to help get her back onto a schedule.

We had her latest well visit with the pediatrician on Thursday afternoon.  She got a clean bill of health, in spite of her cold, and she received 3 shots.  Only a few tears from our little trooper - worlds more tolerant than her brother at the same age!  She weighed in at 18lbs 4oz (10th%) and was 30 1/4" (40%).  She is wearing 12 and 18 month clothes and size 3 diapers.

Although she still loves to grunt, point, shake her head and wave her hands to get what she wants, Baby Belle is showing some progress in language development.  She has been blabbing CONSTANTLY for months now, but is starting to pull together some words as well!  So far she successfully and consistently uses the following words:
-Mama
-Dad
-Thank You (Day Doo)
-Down (Doww)
-Ball (Baw)
-All Done (Aw Doo)
-Go (Geww)

She continues to be a laid back girl, even when she is sick and tired.  She loves her family more than anyone else but is getting much better about staying with others.  We're going to have to watch her - given the dynamics of others in our family, she could become a total pushover who gives the other kids their way all the time or a bit too aggressive out of a need to stand up for herself.  Not sure which I prefer, to be honest!

And finally, her list.  At 15 months Annabelle...

Likes:
-Being held and snuggling
-Blankie
-Eating from Sam's bowl, plate, snack cup, etc.
-Playing outside

Dislikes:

-Being tired, poor girl
-Having toys yanked from her hand over and over again
-Leftovers (get over it now little girl, its gonna happen in this house!)

Ahoy, Mateys!

Hey - did you know that Sam had a birthday, and that it was a MONTH ago.  Let's go ahead and document that event, shall we?

I suppose you know that your kiddo is, in fact, a kid when they start planning their birthdays months in advance.  That is Sam now.  Every time he goes to another kid's party, he talks about his own.  Not gonna lie, he talks a lot about the presents he will receive.  But he also talked about theme, location, activities.  He is getting more sophisticated in his ability to anticipate!

So the fact that we had just moved and I wasn't unpacked and was overwhelmed did not release me from the obligation of planning a party for him.  In fact, the week of the party I had to admit my limits and put house work to the side in favor of party prep.

This year, with some guidance from mom, Sam selected a Jake and the Neverland Pirates party.  Don't have little ones?  Jake is a friendly pirate who always makes up with Hook at the end of the episode.  Not scary, but he still carries a sword.  Perfect.  And, I found the perfect location - the Zion playground!  Sam helped with the shopping this year, and picked out some of the supplies.  He insisted on the pinata.  Not sure why the 4 year olds love them so much, they ALWAYS need help from a bigger kid or grown up to get them open!

Chris and I will never forget the way our guests sweat through Sam's first birthday party, and we will plan all of his subsequent parties accordingly.  With the outdoor venue in mind, we planned a morning party.  You'll notice that everyone is in pants, so the temperature didn't turn out to be an issue.  Still glad we did it early, though - it POURED all afternoon on party day!  Anywho, the morning party means easy food: donut holes and cut up fruit!  And a Pirate Ship cake, of course!  Sam insisted that "we" make a cake again.  What a fun tradition its turning out to be - and this year required NO food coloring!

Gommy and Papa came in town for the celebration and were a big help getting everything set up.  Annabelle walked around the playground like she owns it (we play there after school 3 days a week) and we made the mistake of letting her.  She took a spill off of the bouncy bridge while we were hanging balloons.  She was find, but she definitely looks for me before crossing it now.  Honestly, that's just fine!

After some playground time, we started in on the activities.  They grabbed their pirate hooks and played in the pop-up pirate ship.  We played pin the X on the treasure map.  The kids all decorated wooden treasure boxes, which they used to collect their loot from the treasure chest pinata.  Of course the girls loved the craft and turned out some lovey boxes completely covered in jewel stickers.  Sam's put his name on it, two jewels and was done.  Max put all his jewel stickers on the inside, because that's where the treasure goes.  At least one boy collected treasure in a completely undecorated box.  And Gommy couldn't resist and made one of her own, you know, for Annabelle. 

 

 

 

They wore their pirate masks to participate in the treasure hunt.  How do you do a treasure/scavenger hunt with a group of non-readers?  With pictures, of course?  Each time they found a picture, they were to run over to the location pictured to find the next "clue."  Of course, they found them a bit out of order and took a few down ahead of time, but we got it all worked out and they had a good time.  Miles was particularly focused!  And in spite of a few mis-placed clues, they still found the treasure box, with party bags inside!

 

And of course, we ate cake!

 

Sam did throw a fit when he couldn't open his gifts at the party.  That's just not done these days!  I usually don't give in to those things, but I really didn't want him to be miserable for the rest of the party, so I took him inside to open one.  It helped a little, but the anticipation was still torture for him.

All in all it was a fun party.  A good mix of kids (Sam picked the guest list himself.  I read his preschool class list and he said yes or no to each name.  "No, she hits.  No, he's only friends with ___."  He picked the church friends he wanted to include.  I was very pleased with his selections!

Naturally, he was barely in the door when he started opening his gifts, which he carried in from the car himself.  It is fun to see him get so excited, but we are no in a place where we have to balance that with a surprising level of materialism from the little boy.  Hmm...

Gommy and Papa brought some really cool gifts with them, too!

Quite the day for little - I mean big - boy.  He was tired, but happy.  He really thought that the party was his birthday.  That you have to go to a birthday.  Despite our best efforts, he kept telling us that the party was his "actual birthday" (it was not) and that the 30th was his "birthday date."  We'll get there.

The End of the Year - And Time To Say Goodbye

Last Thursday we had the joy of attending the Closing Program at Sam's preschool.  It was darling!  The 4's (Pre-K) graduated, and the other classes put on a performance of Noah's Ark.

The 4's processed into the sanctuary in their graduation caps to Pomp and Circumstance and I got all teary.  Why does that song always do that to me, even when I am not related to a graduate?  They had their names called and received diplomas.  Then they took their places to become the choir for play.  They sang more verses of an old children's song than I knew existed.

..."The Lord said to Noah, There's Gonna be a Floody Floody, Get Those Animals Out of the Muddy Muddy, Children of the Lord.  So, Rise and Shine and Give God the Glory Glory"...

Good Times.  The show started with Noah (played by Sam's BFF Leo!), His Wife (Mrs. Noah, if you ask the children), and his brothers.  Eventually all of the animals joined the show.

Sam was an adorable Lion.  He totally gave us the stink eye as we walked up the aisle.  It was beyond precious to see the little personalities shine through as they entered.  Some were total hams, some embarrassed, others very focused and goal oriented.

It was a long day for Sam - school, swim lesson, dinner at McDonalds and the program.  He was gone from the house for 12 hours.  So when it was over, he was in no mood for pictures.  His Lioness (Piper) was trying, but he'd have none of it.

I got a nice picture of my well-rested lion on another day.

 

Tomorrow is the last day of the official school year at Zion.  It is our last day there, and I am sad.  Leaving Zion is one of the hardest transitions for me as we settle into the new neighborhood, but two hours in the car is hard on us all and just plain unfair to Annabelle.  The school has a true family feel - For real, get this: The director's daughter is the 3's teacher.  The Assistant Director's daughter teaches the 4's (just learned that today!).  The two assistants in the 3's are, I believe, Sisters-in-law.  And one of those assistants - her daughter and granddaughter teach in the 2's and toddler classes.  More importantly, there are so many opportunities to connect with other parents and students.  We have enjoyed playing on the playground after school, and chatting with the teachers before school.  I have volunteered for the auction and as room mom. 

Most of all, they have cared for and taught my son.  He started there as, what seems like, a baby.  Still in diapers, didn't know his shapes, familiar with only some of the letters, unable to sleep without a paci or lovie.  Two years later he walks around like he owns the place, a big kid ready to start reading.  He learned life skills and letters and how to make his own friends. 

I have told Sam that he's changing schools, although the message may not have come out as clear and definitive as it needs to be.  Tomorrow he will not understand that he's never going back.  I think that's for the best, we have all summer to get excited about what awaits him in the fall!  I understand though, and it will be a hard good bye.

Closing Day

(Let's pretend I wrote this on April 11, the day after it all happened.  Instead I was meeting contractors, loading and unloading boxes, welcoming grandparents and accompanying Chris on a 36 hour work trip to Galveston.)

April 10, 2013: The day we bought our second house.  I arrived with my check in hand and we signed our lives away for the second time.  To be honest, it doesn't feel scary to buy a house when the real estate market is so hot - no fears of being stuck with anything.  Whether that's true or not doesn't really matter - I was excited to buy the house.

We never met our sellers.  It was weird, to be honest.  They didn't even plan to show up to closing until 2 hours after we did, and we finished in an hour and a half, so the realtor had to bring over a set of keys for us.  I even took the contractor to the house one day and only met their son.  It was really weird to buy something from someone with absolutely zero communication.  I had all of these strange ideas swimming in my head about them.  Turns out we did meet him eventually - he came to pick up some mail - and the neighbors tell us they were good people.

I called the contractor on the way to the house and he met me there a few minutes later.  He was prepping my kitchen to remove wallpaper and strip cabinets within 90 minutes of my last signature.  Unfortunately, the carpet was still wet as the sellers chose to have it cleaned on closing day.  REALLY glad we weren't planning on moving in that day!  (That would be something you communicate between buyer and seller if they were to ever talk before the sale, right?)

I had visions of a really cute, special family evening at the new, empty house.  We were going to have a pizza pool party to celebrate our next adventure.  I knew the kids would think the empty house was fun, and I was trying to build as much excitement around the move as I could for Sam's benefit (and maybe for mine).  Sam was PUMPED for our little party.

And then the day arrived.  Chris had to go to Galveston right after closing, so our party was down to three.  A cold front came through mid-afternoon and the temperatures were, at most, in the low 50's with a light drizzle.  The kitchen was torn up and the carpet was wet.  Still - a pizza pool party had been promised to a 4 year old boy, and it was going to happen.

I put Sam in his suit, handed him his new squirt gun, and he was ready.  The workers laughed as the pulled their hooded sweatshirts tighter around their faces.  The contractor asked, I asked 4 times - Are you sure you want to do this?!  YES.  Ok then.  We open the door, he shivers.  He presses on.  One toe in the water and..."Its too cold!"

Back in we went, back in to real clothes.  We ordered a pizza and drove around a bit in the warm car waiting for it to be ready to pick up.  The family part was out, the pool part was out, but I could still make pizza happen!

And we did.  The three of us ate yummy, warm pizza in the front hall of our new house while the workers stripped the cabinets and Daddy was at a conference.  It wasn't the celebration I had in mind, but a memorable day nonetheless.

Chris Turns 30!

(Let's pretend I posted this on April 10, the day after Chris turned 30.  I didn't post that day because April 10 was the day we closed on our new house, the day I got the contractor started on the cabinets, etc.)

And just like that, I'm married to an old man!  I know that many of our friends these days are older than us - that happens when you have your first kids at 25/26 - and I know that our childhood peers have been turning 30 since September, but it is still weird to me that my husband is now 30.  It just seems so old!

In spite of his birthday coming at an insanely busy period in our lives, I insisted that the occasion be celebrated.  I had visions of a huge party at a fancy location, but Chris was very specific about what he wanted: a night at Top Golf.

 We ended up having about 12 of us for an evening of "golf games," food and beer.  I do not enjoy the game of golf, but I had a really great time and will gladly go back.  It totally didn't matter that very few of us ladies were any good at golf.  The guys took it a bit more seriously, but were still laughing a lot.

And any night that ends with singing "Happy Birthday" over a round of injectible donuts has to be a good one, right?

Happy 30th Birthday, Chris.  I haven't forgotten about your present, I promise! (Please excuse the awful hair.  It was drizzly that night - my hair is useless.)

Galveston Getaway

  
I haven't blogged in almost 6 weeks.  I have good reason, I promise.  In the last 4 weeks: Chris and I went "away" for 36 hours, he turned 30, we packed our entire house, moved, unpacked our entire house, Sam turned 4, and we've begun settling in to the new place.  We are tired, emotionally and physically.  We are stressed from the move, from work, from the kids (who are stressed from us being stressed - its a nasty cycle).

Which is why it was so fortunate the the little getaway we scheduled a long time ago snuck up on us this weekend.  3 days and 3 nights at a beach-front house on Galveston.  Not only was it a perfectly-timed mini vaca, it was also the first time that all four of us had gone away together.

No unpacking, no work email, no laundry, no door knobs to change out.  Yes to playing and staying up late, no need to say "Mommy's Busy" or "Daddy's working on something!"  The kids needed the break as much as we did - Sam's behavior was better than it has been in a month.

Sam was so excited to be there, when we got there he ran around the house getting the lay of the land.  "And if we grow another baby, she can sleep here!  He or she."  Woa there buddy...

The weather wasn't the greatest, but we still had plenty of beach fun.  Despite the chilly temps, Sam ran in and out of the waves, throwing his whole body into them, practicing the "Peggy Board" (boogie board).  He dug holes and built castles.  When he asked to go home because he was cold, I taught him the art of laying in the sun to warm yourself.  He was there with one of us 2 or 3 times every day.

Annabelle made it down at least once a day.  Friday was WINDY and a bit chilly (for the beach) but she was fascinated with the water and wanted to explore.  Between the wind and the pull of the water, she just couldn't stay up right.  She became frustrated enough to resort to crawling.  And then a wave crashed into her and rolled her over.  She was done.  I took my shivering baby girl back to the house.  I thought a warm bath would cure her, but it took her the better part of an hour to stop shaking.  Poor Girl.

Fortunately it does not look like we have permanently scarred the child.  She was back at it the next day, digging with her shovel.  She was brave enough to touch her toes to the water, but turned and tottled back up the beach as fast as her little legs could carry her as soon as the break of a wave made its way towards her.  Sad, but cute.  I think she'll be find in Hilton Head, where the weather should be 15-20 degrees warmer!

We are recharged.  Hopefully enough that I can blog about everything that's happened recently!