The Very Hungry Caterpillar

One day I came home to find a jar filled with leaves, sticks and a very fat caterpillar.  My boys had spent the afternoon outside exploring and they came across the yellow and black creepy crawly.  Max was completely facinated with it so Dada taught him how to build the caterpillar a "house" in a jar.  I was impressed with Billy's initiative to turn it into a learning opportunity, but in the the back of my mind I was thinking that I didn't want it in the house and that it would probably just die in the jar, poor thing. 

They set it in the window and named it "Little Stinky Face" (after one of Max's favorite books).  Every morning Max would run to the window to look at it in the jar and Billy would report that it was still alive.  I didn't go near the jar.

One morning Billy noticed that it had spun a cocoon.  I couldn't believe it.  Now I was a little intrigued.  It was just a small cocoon that resembled a green pepper.  I thought it was probably just a moth or something, but after a little research we found out that it was a monarch!

I was now a little more accepting of the jar that had been living in my window for the past week.  Billy and Max continued to check it.  I loved seeing them both so excited about their science experiment.  It was definitely "their" thing.  

One morning about a week later Billy reported that the butterfly had "hatched!!!"  Max could barely sit still to eat his breakfast after this exciting announcement.  He wanted the butterfly "OUTTT!!!!", he kept telling me.  

So we went outside to say goodbye and good luck to Little Stinky Face as we watched him fly away... 

Butterflies became the subject of the day.  All day.  Max kept saying " 'flies bye bye??".  So we read The Hungrey Caterpillar a gazillion times and I dug out a butterfly cookie cutter for Max to use with his play dough.  

WARNING...

...mind-exploding cuteness pictured below:

He has so much love in his heart for his cousin Annabelle.

Family Photos

Max asks to watch these slideshows multiple times daily.  He loves to point out Dada and "Van" in the photos and kiss the computer screen. 

I'm glad we did each of their portrait sessions at 5 weeks old.  It's cute to see their similarities and their differences as newborns.

Sullivan Newborn Slideshow

Max Newborn Slideshow

Schoooo!

Max started at the Early Childhood Learning Center last week.  He's just going one day a week from 9-1:30, but by the way I reacted you would think he was going off to college. 

Here's Max in his classroom on "Family Orientation Day".  We got to meet his teachers and the other kids and parents in his class.  It seems like such a small, close community of people.  Most of the kids in his class have older siblings in other classes and everyone already knows each other.  Billy, Max and I were all the new kids on the block :)  The majority of the kids at ECLC will also be going to the same school Max will be attending when he starts Kindergarten which I think is pretty cool. 

Max headed straight to the reading corner of course.  He's obsessed with books.

The night before his big day we gave Max a little gift to get him excited about going to school. 

We read his new book, gave him a bath with his special Elmo fizzy tub colors and packed his monkey lunch bag.   By the time we were on our way to school the next morning Max was yelling "Schoooo!" with excitement in the back seat all the way there.

  

First day of school!

 And he LOVED it.  His teachers are wonderful and I think he's really going to learn a lot. When I came to pick him up he was busy with an activity at the little toddler sized table.  He looked so independent, but as soon as he saw me he yelled "Momma!!" and greeted me with the biggest hug.  I also have to boast a little...both of his teachers commented on how well he communicates and told me that he is one of the most verbal kids they've had in their class.   Yay Max!   We are unbelievably proud of you!!

I'm torn between missing the little baby he was and feeling excited about the little man he's becoming. 

Sullivan: 1 Month

I have a baby named Sullivan.  He is a giant.  He's in the 97th percentile at nearly 13 lbs and 23 inches long.  And he has sideburns. And his hair is getting dangerously close to being categorized as a mullet :) 

I'm head over heels for my squishy, hairy, wonder-baby....

This post is over a week belated and he's changed even since the above picture was taken at 4 weeks.  I swear I can almost see him growing in his sleep.   Also, Sullivan smiled for the first time today.  An honest to goodness smile at us.  I tried to get a photo because he was on a roll flashing his gums at us all morning, but this is the only one that didn't come out completely blurry....

I know all too well how quickly these months and milestones are going to come and go....

Two under 2

Having two under 2 is both easier and harder than I expected. We've all adjusted pretty naturally to Sullivan's arrival. I'm amazed how Max has accepted his little brother with open arms. He seems so grown up to me now.  He makes sure I'm staying on top of my game by letting me know "momma...baby cry"  when Sullivan starts to fuss.  He also offers helpful suggestions...like "baby eat?" he'll ask me when he sees Sully looking for his next meal. And I'll say, "yes, it looks like he's getting hungry..." Max then seems satisfied that he's helped solve the problem.  He's my little sidekick.

But I won't lie...there has been an occasion or two when all three of us are crying at the same time. We all get a little overwhelmed with our new roles in life - momma of two, big brother, newborn baby. It's a lot to live up to for each of us.

Once the "moment" has passed I have to laugh at myself. I have two beautiful, healthy boys and a husband that is a true partner. I've got nothing to do but be with these little loves and mold them into the best people they can be. Yes, there's house work and bills to pay, but my number one job is to focus on these kiddos. That's a pretty great gig when I really think about it and there's nothing else I'd rather be doing.

Besides...the difficult moments, along with the best moments of being a parent, go by so fast.

Here's how we're managing day by day...

1) It used to really bother me if Max's pajamas didn't match.  I'd search the dresser drawers for the top that went to the bottoms or vise versa.  This concern now falls into the "things that definitely don't matter" category.

2) If I want to get a shower in while both boys are awake it turns into a family affair.  Sullivan goes in the bouncy seat outside the bathtub.  And in order to keep Max from poking Sully's eyes out or picking him up by his head I have to put him in the shower with me.  He plays with his bath toys while I wash my hair at record speed.

3) Sullivan spends a lot of time in the sling.  When both boys need me at once this little contraption keeps everyone happy.

4) This shopping cart is both my saving grace and my nightmare on wheels.  It keeps Max thoroughly entertained for however long our shopping trip takes and it leaves the front of the cart available for me to put Sullivan's carseat.  However, its impossible to steer around the store and when the time comes to get Max out of it when we leave I have to mentally prepare myself for the meltdown that will inevitably ensue.

5) We're lucky enough to have a lot of family on both sides living in the KC area.  This is such a priceless luxury.  It gives me a built in support system and extra hands that are ready to help whenever I need it.  Here Max is playing hide-and-seek with GG on the plaza after a nice lunch at Ingredient.

6) My double stroller is the bomb.  I credit it for giving me the courage to get out of the house with these two little misters without feeling too overwhelmed about how I'm going to juggle the both of them.  When they're both safely strapped in I feel like I'm actually in control of my life :)  And the basket in the bottom of the stroller has handled a Target shopping trip...that's pretty impressive capacity if you ask me.

7) I'm thankful that Sullivan was born during a time of year that we're able to spend time outdoors.  The fresh air of our early morning trips to the park keeps us all sane.  Again, using my trusty double-wide, I stroll Sullivan around the playground while Max runs from one thing to another. 

8) Humor always helps.  This little guy is truly one of the funniest people I know.  Two things that make me laugh...the fact that he's all about his "shades" these days and insists on wearing them during meals.  And his dancing (yeah, that's what he's doing in the second pic :).  This boy has some moves. 

9) The number one thing that gets me through each day is Billy.  He does so much to help.  He's my secret weapon for making it seem like I have it all together.  He cooks, cleans and lightens my load in any way he can.  I don't know how it all would be possible without him.

This morning...

The whole little family piled in our bed early in the AM. Momma on one side, Dada on the other, baby boys in the middle. All of us were in a half-awake, sleepy state. All of a sudden Max rolled toward Sullivan and gave him a big open-mouth kiss on the forehead complete with the "mmmwwaah!" sound effects. Then he took Sullivan's tiny hand in his and placed it on his cheek. Sully's little eyes opened wide and eagerly studied Max's face that was just inches from his.  The genuine love was so sweet to see between the brothers. They seem to know that they belong to each other. 

Billy and I just looked at each other and smiled from across the bed. My phone was sitting behind me on the nightstand but the moment was too precious to even glace away for one second so I didn't get a photo. Sometimes I have to force myself to just live in the moment rather than rush to capture it.

Here's a picture of the two of them on a similarly lazy morning a couple weeks ago...

Air Show

Max is always on the look out for airplanes in the sky. He calls them "mare-pains". Every sound he hears when we're playing outside (ie. lawn mower, car, contruction trucks) causes a frenzy of excitement. He runs around pointing to the sky yelling "MARE-PAIN!!!" and I feel so bad when I have to tell him the sound he hears is not an airplane.

But last weekend I knew he would not be disappointed because nearly every "mare-pain" sound he heard outside would almost certainly be an airplane.

On Sunday we watched the show from the back of our car in a random parking lot. We really wanted to avoid the crowds and paying $70 for admission when any number of scenarios (meltdown, diaper blowout, etc) could force us to head back home within minutes of arriving.

Max hanging out in the back of the Volvo waiting for the show to start.

"Coool!"

Max kept signing and saying "more, more" everytime a plane would disappear from view.


Pure happiness.

After the show we went to lunch at Happy Gillis.


Two things that make Max happy besides airplanes: Eating and Coloring.


Sullivan WAS there he just did a whole lot of this the entire time...

Atleast he was wearing his little airplane outfit to show his excitement about the air show too.

the luckiest.

Our anniversary was this past weekend. Six years and two kids later I still feel like the luckiest. Lucky to have someone who knows all of my imperfections and loves me anyway. I'm proud of our relationship and the life we've built together. I wrote about how much things have changed since the day we got married at the end of a recent (extremely long) blog post here .

Over these six years (plus four years dating) I've accumulated a box full of lovey-dovey cards from Billy...most of which are from Hallmark. However, we recently decided that none of them truly capture how it actually feels to be married to one another. Billy would always write "I couldn't have said it better myself" in the cards, but that's really not true. Especially since he considers himself to be the one with the superior writing skills out of the two of us. Which I think is cute ;)

At any rate...for that reason, we've agreed to rule out store bought cards when it comes to celebrations of love in our home. We started on Valentines Day of this year. I don't care if its written on the back of a receipt...it just must be from the heart. Its been fun to see what we can come up with using scraps of paper and old pictures...


Another tradition we started this year is involving the kids in our anniversary festivities. We want them to know from an early age that being married takes hard work and commitment but it’s also something that should be celebrated. So each year from now on we'll spend a portion of our anniversary day with our children doing something special.

Here's what we did this year:

We took the boys to the church where we were married. We let Max splash in the fountain in the courtyard and run around the empty pews. Billy and I sat in the front row holding Sullivan looking at the alter where we stood 6 years ago. I thought about the "blessing of the hands" reading we did during the ceremony and the line that says "...these are the hands that will hold your newborn baby..." and was overwhelmed with the way our lives had changed. I realized every part of that blessing was going to come true and we're still at the beginning of it.




After our outing at the church Billy and I went to lunch at the Blue Grotto and to the record store. My very thoughtful sister volunteered to watch Max so Billy and I could spend a little time together. We gratefully accepted. I've learned to say "yes" to any and all the help that we're offered :)

Sullivan came along with us since I'm still nursing on demand. He wasn't much of a third wheel though. We nearly forgot he was there in the booth with us during lunch and I don't think he even opened an eye until we got to our next destination.

As we were searching the stacks of albums for Al Green ("Let's Stay Together" was our first dance song) Sullivan decided it was his turn to eat. I tried to buy us some time by giving him my pinky...



We ended the day with a homemade meal inspired by our engagement dinner at Capital Grill...steak, lobster, risotto and a Stoli Doli martini. We listened to the Elders just like the night we got engaged (not live this time unfortunately).

And we made Sully do an Irish jig for us. Poor child :)

I'm starting to discover that it truly gets better every year.

Sometimes life...

is

just


so


fun.