Monday, June 25, 2012
Proof I've Lost It
The other day, while I was turning the house upside down looking for ONE piece of paper...I determined that I would love to change two things about myself. Later that evening I was telling Brett about my self discovery and started to list them: First, I would be more organized. Second, I would...wait, what was the second one?!? After a few minutes I started to laugh because the second one was I would have a good memory. Awesome. Well, since I am clearly doomed in the memory department I guess I will start working on being more organized because my filing practices are clearly proof that I need some work. Amen.
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Date Day
My parents offered to take the kids overnight last night and we gladly took them up on it! We had a busy couple of weeks and all I (we) wanted to do was relax and sleep in. We dropped the kiddos off around lunchtime, dined with them and then took off to go fishing. We love fishing and really, what is more relaxing than fishing?!? Oh, did I mention that it was POURING rain? Hmmm, that made it interesting. We almost decided to not go but then my Dad offered up some rain gear. Sold. We headed home, hooked up the boat and drove up to Chain Lake. Boat in the water, check. Rain gear on, check. Brett's manvention "The Rain Chair" in the boat, check. Relaxed? Check. It was most definitely raining. Really raining. But it was warm and under our rain gear we were bone dry. No complaints. AND, we limited in two hours. It was super fun. So fun that we decided to continue our date by grabbing our rain coats and walking down to dinner in the rain. I am not sure why we are so afraid of the rain here in Washington when it rains all the time?!? We had a blast! We ate at a local eatery, Tuscano's. Clearly it was local, we walked there. Duh. It was really delicious. After plenty of carbs, we put up the umbrella and headed back up the hill. A unique and very fun date! Thanks for watching the kiddos Mimi and Papa!
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| Me, in the Manvention Chair. |
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| Try not to be jealous of my chair and rain gear. |
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| Date Day! |
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Mother, Come Quiiiiiick!
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| Bink and Her Tooth Fairy Pillow. |
This morning Brooklyn woke up the entire house (minus Brett - he was at work) at 6 a.m. She flung all doors open while exclaiming, "It's suuuuuuuuuuny!" I was excited too, but didn't quite have her gusto at 6 a.m. After I could fully wake up we all started to get ready to go to the zoo. It was a cluster of mass chaos with a side of cranky. After I had broken up half a dozen toddler vs. baby fights, Brett opened the front door while Brooklyn simultaneously took a digger straight into a blanket in the TV room. She laid there for a minute and then shot straight up, face ghost white, and yelled, "Mother, come quick, I've lost a tooth!" A quote straight from the tooth fairy book we have been reading. I look to congratulate her and then she spies it, the blood on the tooth. She screams and chucks the tooth in to the air. Far. I am pretty sure the fact that she knocked the tooth out instead of letting it come out when it was ready made for a lot more blood. A lot. She is terrified of blood. Once she calmed down, and Brett got the bleeding to stop, it dawned on her that she no longer had the actual tooth to put in her tooth fairy pillow. So, at this point she was laughing and crying at the same time. She was so excited that the tooth fell out but devastated that it was GONE. So, we started in the corner of the room and backed our way out looking for a tiny tooth in tooth colored carpet. Super fun. After half and hour we decided that it could wait. We were late to the zoo and needed to get on the road to meet our friends.
Before we left she wanted to call Mimi to tell her that she finally lost her tooth. As she was talking to Mimi she started sobbing again. This time she was crying because her tooth, that she so carefully brushed every day, would not be able to go in the Hall of Perfect Teeth...also from the book we've been reading. So, we wrapped up the phone call and calmed her down again.
We made it to the zoo and had a blast. So much so that all the kids fell asleep before we were back on the freeway. Ah. Ah, as in deep, relaxing sigh. It was a warmish day and all the animals were super active. We also loved seeing Meggy Moo with Baby Sawyer and Dee Dee with Baby Cooper. Thanks for joining us gals and babies!
The minute we got home the tooth hunt was back on. Brooklyn was determined. Our usual, easily distracted girl was on a mission. She kept mumbling under her breath, "never give up, never give up." Then, she jumped up and exclaimed, "I FOUND IT!" We immediately tucked it in the tooth fairy pillow and put it up on the mantle until bedtime. Story over, right? Not so much.
At bedtime she carried the pillow upstairs, put it on her couch and went in to pick out some jammi's. I went in to help Jameson brush his teeth and when I came back, she looked devastated. She had lost the tooth again. No joke. Apparently she wanted to see it one more time and dropped it, in her long curly pink throw rug. With some help from Brett we found it faster than the last time it was lost. We decided then that the tooth fairy would be able to easily find the pillow OUTSIDE Brooklyn's room. Once the kids were tucked in for the night Brooklyn would shout out a command every few minutes. "Mommy, make sure to open a window for the tooth fairy!" "Mommy, you might want to leave the back door open for the tooth fairy!" "Mommy, has the tooth fairy come yet?" This lasted for about an hour until it finally sunk in, after I told her for the 100th time, that the tooth fairy would not come unless she was asleep. Whew.
Who knew losing a front tooth could make for such a long winded story?!? Me, that's who. I have coped with the fact that anything that happens in this family will never be simple. It sure keeps us on our toes!
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| Trying for a Daddy pic at the zoo... |
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| ...the kids were not so in to it... |
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| ...as you can see. |
Monday, May 21, 2012
A Day in the Life
Watch out, this Momma learned how to post videos! Here is a little diddy I like to call, "A Day in the Life." While looking through last week's pictures Brett and I couldn't stop laughing at this, it is sooo our life in the backyard. Jameson picking on Emmett, Emmett crying, Emmett falling, Brooklyn filthy and digging for worms and then Emmett sneaking in and getting whatever it is he was after from Jameson. It's a daily, make that, hourly cycle.
Big E's 18 Month Check
Today I took Emmett in for his 18 month check-up and surprise, surprise, he's still huge. His stats are as follows:
Height: 35 1/2 inches
Weight: 32 lbs. 9 oz.
Head Circumference: 20 inches
Huge. The doctor said he is easily the size of an above average two year old, as is. Retirement sealed. I can't wait to watch him as a linebacker for the Seahawks. Go, Big, E! He still only says a handful of words: bye bye, hi, hello, uh-oh and wow. The doctor isn't concerned because he will respond to anything you say and clearly understands what he is told to do and/or not do. That there brain is working. He actually talks non-stop...we just have no clue what the hell he is saying. Nonstop. We clearly don't speak the same language. He will make direct eye contact with you and rattle off forever all while looking at you like he is saying, "you getting all this?" We love to keep prompting him by saying, "then what happened?" He will then keep his story going on and on and on. It's pretty adorable. He loves to dance. He really has taken a liking to reggae. Again, adorable. Here is a short video of some of his sweet dance moves the Krache original "Pop That Baby Out":
Emmett still has a head full of wavy, white blonde hair. We are actually growing it out a bit right now to see how curly it actually is. He is still wearing 2T pants and 2T/3T size shirts. He would wear size 3T pants but they are WAY too long. He finally loves shoes. The first thing he wants to put on when he comes downstairs in the morning are his shoes. Minutes after waking up from nap, he'll bring me his shoes to put on. Pretty funny. He still loves to laugh and his cute dimple is constantly plastered on his cheek. He is busy, busy, busy. From the moment he wakes up in the morning until he goes down for his three hour nap at 12:30 p.m. he is nonstop active. Then the fun picks right back up at 3:30 p.m. until he is tucked back in at 7:00 p.m. Makes for very easy nap/bedtimes.
Emmett has also become quite obsessed with Brett. He has always lit up whenever Brett came home after his shifts but lately it as if it is Christmas morning every time Brett opens the door, enters the room, comes back downstairs after being upstairs for a few minutes. He laughs so loud and yells what we think is Emmett's version of, "Hi Da Da!" It's a lot of yelling so we aren't too sure on his intent. We are clear on the fact that he sure loves his Daddy.
Height: 35 1/2 inches
Weight: 32 lbs. 9 oz.
Head Circumference: 20 inches
Huge. The doctor said he is easily the size of an above average two year old, as is. Retirement sealed. I can't wait to watch him as a linebacker for the Seahawks. Go, Big, E! He still only says a handful of words: bye bye, hi, hello, uh-oh and wow. The doctor isn't concerned because he will respond to anything you say and clearly understands what he is told to do and/or not do. That there brain is working. He actually talks non-stop...we just have no clue what the hell he is saying. Nonstop. We clearly don't speak the same language. He will make direct eye contact with you and rattle off forever all while looking at you like he is saying, "you getting all this?" We love to keep prompting him by saying, "then what happened?" He will then keep his story going on and on and on. It's pretty adorable. He loves to dance. He really has taken a liking to reggae. Again, adorable. Here is a short video of some of his sweet dance moves the Krache original "Pop That Baby Out":
Emmett still has a head full of wavy, white blonde hair. We are actually growing it out a bit right now to see how curly it actually is. He is still wearing 2T pants and 2T/3T size shirts. He would wear size 3T pants but they are WAY too long. He finally loves shoes. The first thing he wants to put on when he comes downstairs in the morning are his shoes. Minutes after waking up from nap, he'll bring me his shoes to put on. Pretty funny. He still loves to laugh and his cute dimple is constantly plastered on his cheek. He is busy, busy, busy. From the moment he wakes up in the morning until he goes down for his three hour nap at 12:30 p.m. he is nonstop active. Then the fun picks right back up at 3:30 p.m. until he is tucked back in at 7:00 p.m. Makes for very easy nap/bedtimes.
Emmett has also become quite obsessed with Brett. He has always lit up whenever Brett came home after his shifts but lately it as if it is Christmas morning every time Brett opens the door, enters the room, comes back downstairs after being upstairs for a few minutes. He laughs so loud and yells what we think is Emmett's version of, "Hi Da Da!" It's a lot of yelling so we aren't too sure on his intent. We are clear on the fact that he sure loves his Daddy.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Denial
Serious, serious denial. When I have thought about blogging the last few months I have come up with something, anything, to do other than blogging. I really enjoyed blogging, what went wrong? Well, I finally pin-pointed the cause. Blogging became torture right around February 16th, Brooklyn's fifth birthday. I am in complete and utter denial that we have a five-year-old! I mean, if I don't write it down it didn't happen, right?!? I skipped her birthday party, her cute questionnaire I had her answer, her five year check, Kindergarten orientation, etc. Then it snowballed from there. I just quit writing. Well, thankfully, there have been quite a few things these past few weeks that have motivated me to write it all down again. So, while I haven't updated all things Brooklyn, I will...one at a time and will keep tabs on the present as well. Who knew I'd be such a crazy Mama?!? Well, I did. :)
The Drain
I am not sure where to even start with this post. Ugh. Before I get to the good part, let me backtrack a bit to Jameson's fascination with "drains" or any covered hole. We first noticed it when he was really little during a visit to the zoo. He was somewhat interested in the animals and REALLY interested in every drain we passed on the path. If you haven't taken notice to the drains at Woodland Park Zoo, take a gander next time you are there...they are EVERYWHERE. That was an extremely long and slow tour of the zoo.
So, from that point forward we knew that he would be checking out drains wherever we went. He's not picky, he even loves the bathtub drain. He also considers his heat vent in his room to be a drain. Ever since we moved to this house, over two years ago, he has used his floor heat vent as a form of communication to the downstairs. It started with wailing down the "drain" at bedtime then transformed to him saying harmless, yet unintentionally creepy, things like, "I can hear you eating Mommy." when I snacked on popcorn while watching some TV. His "drain" is situated right about our TV.
We knew he was fascinated but didn't know HOW fascinated he was. Apparently he was fascinated enough to not only climb in his "drain" but put both feet in and proceed to get stuck. Really stuck. Really stuck on Mother's Day. Really stuck on Mother's Day while Brett was on shift at the station 45 minutes away. Stuck, in his drain. Let me walk you through it.
Mother's Day was exhausting. We started the day with a visit to the fire station with some friends and ended it with crazy sprinkler time in the backyard. I thought I was in for a peaceful bedtime. How could they not be exhausted?!? So, I tuck in the little cuties and curl up on the couch with some mindless TV. About an hour later Jameson starts screaming. Really yelling. I immediately think it is a night terror so I run up there but don't turn on his light because we aren't supposed to wake him from night terrors. I crouch by his bed...he is not there. Weird. Then he says, "Hi Mommy." I flip the light on and there he is, in his drain. I think it is funny at first and go over to pull him out thinking he just can't get leverage. Not only does he not budge, he screams out in pain. Brooklyn comes in and starts to panic (not sure where she gets that from?!?) so I tell her to go grab some soap. I try to rub his legs with soap to free him and realize that his shins and ankles are stuck in two different joints in the heat vent tubes. Not sure what the technical terms is, pipes? Anyway, soap doesn't work. I decide it is time to call Brett. I preface what am I about to tell him with, no this is not a joke. After he walks me through all the things I have already tried we decide I am going to need some assistance. We brainstorm and finally decide there is really no choice but to call in the big guns, as in, call 911. Ugh. So embarrassing! I should probably insert the video I took here of Jameson to point out that he was not panicked AT ALL. So, it was a little less unnerving. I know, I took a video. What a horrible parent I am. I actually just wanted to take a picture but my camera was in the car and wasn't comfortable rummaging through the car trying to find it while he was in his drain. Imagine that.
Anyhoo, the call went a little like this, "Hi, this isn't really an emergency but I am not sure what to do, my child is stuck in his heat vent, feet first. No, he doesn't appear to be injured. Yes, he is conscious. Yes, the vent is on the floor. No, I don't need to stay on the phone with you. Thank you."
Low and behold, a few minutes later Brooklyn belts from the window, "The police are here!" Say what? Sure enough, there is a police car in the driveway. I let the very nice policeman in and he takes a look at Jameson and tries to get him out, to no avail. In fact he says, "Whew, he is really in there isn't he?!?" The three firefighters arrive and also give it a try. No budging. After trying several directions and ways, one firefighter decides they need tools. He somewhat whispers this to one of the others and Jameson's eyes light up like it is Christmas and he says, "tools." in complete and utter awe. He should be scared the little booger! They use a crowbar and some spreader tool (not sure on the accurate name) and eventually get his right leg out and then his hip dips down further. It takes a bit more work but eventually the left leg also comes out. They give him a quick once over and determine that he only has a few scrapes and will most likely bruise where his legs and ankles were wedged. Otherwise he looks fine. They tell him to hop on his bed and they give him a "ride" back to where his bed belongs and invite the kids to come and check out their firetruck. The kids climb around for a bit and then we wave good-bye after what felt like a million thank-you's. I tuck Brooklyn back in and sit with Jameson while he calms down. I think the adrenaline wore off and he is a shaky mess. Still no crying but a lot of shaking. He eventually falls asleep and starts snoring, exhausted.
So, that is how I ended Mother's Day 2012. It wasn't boring, that's for sure! I was/am so thankful that he wasn't more injured and am just a teeny bit glad that it took some serious effort to get him out...it helped erase any embarrassment I initially had. I am obviously thankful for all firefighters but was really thankful that they took such care to get him out and didn't once make me feel like the crazy person I felt like. Thank you Monroe Fire Dept!
I would like to end this lovely post by recognizing how bull-headed this boy is. Even after the policeman, fire crew, grandparents, Brett and me lectured him on the dangers of getting in the drain...you guessed it...we caught him trying to go back in the next night! Brett immediately found a way to stop that by rigging up some way of Jameson proofing it. He hasn't been back in since. Are you wondering why he was in there and why he tried to go back in? Well, we are too. When we ask him he responds, "I was trying to get out." After much thought I am convinced that he thinks his drain is a portal to either the downstairs or somewhere WAY more exciting than his room. If I could only be in his brain for a mili-second to find out. Boys. That's all I have to say about that. Boys.
So, from that point forward we knew that he would be checking out drains wherever we went. He's not picky, he even loves the bathtub drain. He also considers his heat vent in his room to be a drain. Ever since we moved to this house, over two years ago, he has used his floor heat vent as a form of communication to the downstairs. It started with wailing down the "drain" at bedtime then transformed to him saying harmless, yet unintentionally creepy, things like, "I can hear you eating Mommy." when I snacked on popcorn while watching some TV. His "drain" is situated right about our TV.
We knew he was fascinated but didn't know HOW fascinated he was. Apparently he was fascinated enough to not only climb in his "drain" but put both feet in and proceed to get stuck. Really stuck. Really stuck on Mother's Day. Really stuck on Mother's Day while Brett was on shift at the station 45 minutes away. Stuck, in his drain. Let me walk you through it.
Mother's Day was exhausting. We started the day with a visit to the fire station with some friends and ended it with crazy sprinkler time in the backyard. I thought I was in for a peaceful bedtime. How could they not be exhausted?!? So, I tuck in the little cuties and curl up on the couch with some mindless TV. About an hour later Jameson starts screaming. Really yelling. I immediately think it is a night terror so I run up there but don't turn on his light because we aren't supposed to wake him from night terrors. I crouch by his bed...he is not there. Weird. Then he says, "Hi Mommy." I flip the light on and there he is, in his drain. I think it is funny at first and go over to pull him out thinking he just can't get leverage. Not only does he not budge, he screams out in pain. Brooklyn comes in and starts to panic (not sure where she gets that from?!?) so I tell her to go grab some soap. I try to rub his legs with soap to free him and realize that his shins and ankles are stuck in two different joints in the heat vent tubes. Not sure what the technical terms is, pipes? Anyway, soap doesn't work. I decide it is time to call Brett. I preface what am I about to tell him with, no this is not a joke. After he walks me through all the things I have already tried we decide I am going to need some assistance. We brainstorm and finally decide there is really no choice but to call in the big guns, as in, call 911. Ugh. So embarrassing! I should probably insert the video I took here of Jameson to point out that he was not panicked AT ALL. So, it was a little less unnerving. I know, I took a video. What a horrible parent I am. I actually just wanted to take a picture but my camera was in the car and wasn't comfortable rummaging through the car trying to find it while he was in his drain. Imagine that.
Anyhoo, the call went a little like this, "Hi, this isn't really an emergency but I am not sure what to do, my child is stuck in his heat vent, feet first. No, he doesn't appear to be injured. Yes, he is conscious. Yes, the vent is on the floor. No, I don't need to stay on the phone with you. Thank you."
Low and behold, a few minutes later Brooklyn belts from the window, "The police are here!" Say what? Sure enough, there is a police car in the driveway. I let the very nice policeman in and he takes a look at Jameson and tries to get him out, to no avail. In fact he says, "Whew, he is really in there isn't he?!?" The three firefighters arrive and also give it a try. No budging. After trying several directions and ways, one firefighter decides they need tools. He somewhat whispers this to one of the others and Jameson's eyes light up like it is Christmas and he says, "tools." in complete and utter awe. He should be scared the little booger! They use a crowbar and some spreader tool (not sure on the accurate name) and eventually get his right leg out and then his hip dips down further. It takes a bit more work but eventually the left leg also comes out. They give him a quick once over and determine that he only has a few scrapes and will most likely bruise where his legs and ankles were wedged. Otherwise he looks fine. They tell him to hop on his bed and they give him a "ride" back to where his bed belongs and invite the kids to come and check out their firetruck. The kids climb around for a bit and then we wave good-bye after what felt like a million thank-you's. I tuck Brooklyn back in and sit with Jameson while he calms down. I think the adrenaline wore off and he is a shaky mess. Still no crying but a lot of shaking. He eventually falls asleep and starts snoring, exhausted.
So, that is how I ended Mother's Day 2012. It wasn't boring, that's for sure! I was/am so thankful that he wasn't more injured and am just a teeny bit glad that it took some serious effort to get him out...it helped erase any embarrassment I initially had. I am obviously thankful for all firefighters but was really thankful that they took such care to get him out and didn't once make me feel like the crazy person I felt like. Thank you Monroe Fire Dept!
I would like to end this lovely post by recognizing how bull-headed this boy is. Even after the policeman, fire crew, grandparents, Brett and me lectured him on the dangers of getting in the drain...you guessed it...we caught him trying to go back in the next night! Brett immediately found a way to stop that by rigging up some way of Jameson proofing it. He hasn't been back in since. Are you wondering why he was in there and why he tried to go back in? Well, we are too. When we ask him he responds, "I was trying to get out." After much thought I am convinced that he thinks his drain is a portal to either the downstairs or somewhere WAY more exciting than his room. If I could only be in his brain for a mili-second to find out. Boys. That's all I have to say about that. Boys.
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