Parties Parties

This was the weekend of birthday parties. We had one on Saturday and one on Sunday. The party on Saturday was at Oak Mountain State Park, and Z got in touch with some animals.

 

Meanwhile, Lu got in touch with me and the MOBY wrap (hallelujah, it's back!) and she got a little nap in too.

 

On Sunday, we partied at a park with one of Z's favorite friends from school. It was chilly, but he had a great time. We got in some good snuggle time with Lu too.

Saturday night we took the kids to the mall for a little outing. I love taking pictures of them in the double stroller, because it's an easy way to get both of them in one shot, until Z decides he enjoys riding with the shade down, which is actually how he likes it, but always with his "seatbelt, so we can be safe!"

To Doctor or Not to Doctor...

If you read this blog much, you probably know I have issues with the pediatrician. I try to avoid going at all costs, which probably won't win me the mother of the year award (which I picture as a medal or maybe a bumper sticker that goes right below the stick figure representations of your family on back of your minivan). But, let's be honest, this day and age, you can get a LOT of information from the internet and after all who knows your child better than you? But, I have struggled EVERY time Z has gotten sick about whether to take him in or not and have been turned away with the 'it's just a virus' diagnosis and nothing but a sucker and some wasted time more than a couple of times. So here we go again with Lu.

She's been a little fussier than usual the past couple of days and even woke up a couple of times at night on Sunday night. She always went right back to sleep after we would go in there and hold her for a few minutes and darn if she didn't smile at us every time too, just to confuse us more. I was ready to take her in on Tuesday, but she slept peacefully through the night Monday night, and the nurse thought it made sense to hold off until her symptoms seemed more definitive too. So, for now I am in a holding pattern, waiting for angels to rain down answers to the age old question, to doctor or not to doctor?

Discipline?

Life with a three year old is a battle of wills, at least in our house it is. Our day goes like this, Wake up! Go to the potty! Stand up! Sit down! Eat your food! Don’t throw! Don’t kick! Go to timeout! You’re gonna get a spanking! Get in the bed! Go to sleep! (And on a side note, I cannot for the life of me understand why it’s so hard for him to do things which are actually quite great to most everyone else, like eating, napping, and for God’s sake pooping.)

I feel like all we do is get on to him these days and most of the time he just looks at us (sometimes laughs) and keeps doing whatever it is we are telling him not to do. The madder we get, the more he just goes on. I have to admit, I have gotten pretty mad, to the point where I kinda scared myself and got nothing, no reaction, no fear. The only thing that seems to work is when we take something away. One night last week, I literally went through every discipline tactic I know, I think I even pinched his ear at one point, and the thing that got him upset was when I took away the basketball bath toy he was playing with. What?  Of all those things I did, including yelling, what upset him most was when I take away a little rubber ball? So, we have restructured our whole plan of attack and now we are going with taking things away, or turning the computer or ipad off (in the middle of his show, the horror!), sending him to bed (which was dually beneficial last night, because it was bedtime anyway, and it saved us 10 minutes of transition time from the table to his room).

Which brings me to my next point. Why does everything take so long? The kid has mastered the art of stalling, especially at bedtime. Before we know it 30 minutes have gone by, and he’s just getting into bed, then we have to sing itsy bitsy spider and twinkle twinkle, he asks for Bingo, we ALWAYS tell him we’ll sing it tomorrow, and we NEVER sing it tomorrow. Then, he goes over the colors his night light emits, asks for a hug and a kiss, then lays down and without fail calls out for one or both of us even after that. What’s up with that?

We were pretty blessed with easy 2’s, so I guess the 3’s are our time, and we will not be defeated, he has no idea who he’s dealing with!

Who me?!

Another Fall Weekend

This past weekend was check things off the list weekend, Boo at the Zoo, check, pumpkin patch, check last soccer game, check. Don’t get me wrong, we had fun too, but it was more about making sure we got these essential fall activities done and pictures taken. I had the baby strapped to me most of the weekend, therefore had to relinquish the camera duties to the hubs. Difficult as that was, it had to be done. I mean, baby-wearing and photographing simultaneously, not in my repertoire. Besides, it’s good for me to not try and control every little thing let go every once in awhile. Plus, I think he did a pretty good job! Don’t you?

Incidentally, this was the same costume Z wore when he was a month old. She fills it out a little better than he did, I must say.

Friday night, we went to Boo at the Zoo. We were aiming to get there by 5, before the crowds, but in actuality arrived about 6:30, close enough, right? We decided not to drop 12 bucks a piece on wristbands, and instead just enjoy the free activities, like games, dancing, and trick or treating. Cousin J came along, and seemed to only want to do the things that cost money. We kept telling him, well no, that costs money and the line is too long. To the point where, when we went to the pumpkin patch the next day, he asked if everything cost money before he would do them, poor thing.

Here is the very threatening (he really did scare Z in that mask) J with his sweet sweet nanny and a picture of all my costumed cuties.

We all had fun. J was all about the candy and made sure every piece was accounted for when we got home. We had dinner at the condo that night, and by the time we got home, everybody was SPENT!

The next morning, we headed to the pumpkin patch. The timing worked out where I stayed in the car to feed Lu and they headed in, then we followed.

We played in cotton, petted animals, climbed hay, corn mazed, ‘hayrode,’ picked out our pumpkins, and then headed straight for the exit. Once again, everybody returned hungry and tired!

That night we ate at our new fav, Pita Stop and came back to our house to watch football. Hanging out with the family on Saturday nights (and Fridays) has to be one of my favorite things in life.

Sunday was Z’s final soccer game! We arrived early for pictures, but man, that photographer was RUDE, so we opted out and felt pretty good about it!

His team played great, and he seemed a little more in tune with the purpose of the sport. In the last few seconds of the game, one of his teammates and the coach set him up perfectly and HE SCORED HIS FIRST GOAL!! It was so great, and we used exactly nothing to capture it, but it is implanted in our heads forever! Z was the youngest player on the team and really hung in there well. We were so proud!

5 Months!

Little Lu is 5 months old! In just one month, she’ll be half a year and starting solids! There is something so captivating about her (at least to her daddy and me). I’m sure it’s because she’s our girl, but she just melts our hearts! Often when she wakes up from the night or a nap, she’s just lying there looking around and she greets us with the sweetest look on her face. When she gets excited, she starts kicking her legs and her whole body rocks back and forth like she’s trying to dance. It’s so her, and I just love it.

She’s doing great, eating 5 times a day. On weekdays she has a nursing sandwich, one nursing session in the morning followed by 3 5.5 oz bottles of breastmilk at school and a nursing session before bed. (Which is also like a pumping sandwich for me, and I gladly do it for that sweet face.

She’s wearing mostly 6 month clothes, and today was picture day at school! We have a LOT of photo sessions coming up, so I guess I can forgive these less than ideal photos. They’re really just for documentation purposes anyway.

Lu has become very grabby. She grabs at her little toys in the bouncy and has even reached out and hugged her little baby baby doll. She’s also started laughing, which is adorable but does remind me of an old man sometimes.

It takes A LOT of work to elicit a laugh. They told me that they were working like crazy to get a smile at her school pictures, and she just looked at them like they were crazy. Meanwhile, the story is that Z smiled so big for his that they could see his tonsils! That should be interesting!

Guest Post

Today’s post is not about my babies or our day to day life. Today’s post is a guest post from one of my most loyal blog reader, my dad! He’s always up-to-date on the blog and is the first to let me know when it starts slacking a bit. He and my mom went to Italy a couple weeks back. They were only gone for a week but it felt like an eternity (especially because we see them at least twice in a week).

While he was there he made some observations and has some bits of advice that he wanted to share with the wonderful readers of this blog. So here goes:

The Airplane:

The instant you board the plane heading to any European country your dollars become yen (pesos or any other currency that has no value).

Adults revert to childlike behavior in airplanes. Everyone sits quietly, obeys all commands, and even has to ask permission to go to the “potty” (a term he learned from me and my sister). And, the airplane meal is devoured as if it is the last supper.

Time moves at a snail’s pace in the airplane. Every minute feels like an hour, which makes the new screens that show the plane’s movement torture especially for someone who can’t even wait in line at the grocery store and thinks McDonald’s drive-thru is too slow (ahem, like him).

The Food:

Who is eating all the gelato? There is a gelato stand on every corner. Do we really need that much of the tasty frozen delight? (I would argue, yes)

The best Italian pizza I’ve ever had is in this tiny little village called Birmingham, Alabama. “Sorry but all Italian pizzeria's suck” (direct quote).

Tourism:

What would Italy be without Leonardo DeVinci or Michelangelo? How many billions of American dollars have been put into their economy because of these men? Also, Michelangelo and Leonardo were gay and they lived to age 90, Rafael was a lover of women and he died at age 37. Conclusion: Women kill you… (his words, not mine)

One incentive to lose weight in Italy is so you can fit in the shower. If you drop the soap, forget about it! They would have to cut you out!

Wi-Fi is a SUPER privilege, not a God-given right. Slow Wi-Fi is definitely relative. And one thing’s for sure, the Wi-Fi at my house is lightening fast (this is kindof an inside joke too, because he always defends the Wi-Fi in Sylacauga, especially as compared to ours, which on a good day is struggling).

I have no interest in learning a new language. So, to all the tour guides, stop trying, English is what I came here with, English is what I’m leaving with! To that point, if you speak to me in Italian, I reply in English:

Random tourist: “Ciao!”

Me: “See ya later!”

Always visit the bathroom when you see it, you never know when you’ll need it again and it may be 2 hours on foot away and cost 1 Euro. Be smart, buy coffee for 2 euros and use the bathroom while you’re there. (That’s hitting 2 birds with one stone, a classic dad lesson!).

There’s just something not right about paying money to go into a church. Does the Big Guy determine the amount? Is it adjusted according to inflation? Do you pay more if you sin more? Discounts for clergymen?

Being frugal could be dangerous for your health (or beneficial), if you decide to climb the tower of the cathedral of Florence, you have to pay 4 Euros a piece. Being the frugal person, I decided to climb it twice to get my money’s worth. That’s 840 steps for 4 Euros! Can’t beat that!

I will NEVER drive a car in Italy and I will never ever drive a bus. Our driver was going too fast and navigating roads that were made for HORSES. He was trimming trees as we passed them by, all the while smiling, while we were all horrified!

The biggest lie you’re told on a European trip is spend all your money and you will get 19% back when you get back to the airport. Turns out the bank is either closed or there are 40 people waiting in line to get theirs, or (even worse) the bank is on the other side of the security gate and you will have to endure intense interrogation to get there and back. So, I considered it a donation to help keep the Euro Nation strong!

Traveling is fun, but one thing’s for sure, there’s no place like home! (I couldn’t agree more).

Fall is Here

I know it, because the leaves are changing colors, the kids have gone back to school, and my baby has had another birthday. The fall is such a wonderful time of the year. You can’t not like the fall. We are hoping to get in the obligatory pumpkin patch and boo at the zoo visits before Halloween. We thought we may be able to squeeze them in this weekend while Nana and Tata were visiting, but alas, there’s just never enough time. We did, however, carve out enough time to go to the Wal-Mart pumpkin patch, where we found this beaut’.

We thought Z may enjoy the pumpkin guts, but really he wanted nothing to do with them.

Z either remembers the pumpkin patch from last year or has seen or heard it from Dora or at school. Either way, he was all excited about going. When we decided we wouldn’t have time, we loaded up and went to Wal-mart to buy a pumpkin. I tried to get him excited about that, but I guess that is only exciting for people who grew up in small towns like Sylacauga (I’m not talking about anyone specific here).

We picked out pumpkins and all the fixings for a perfect fall evening and Nana made chili, grilled cheeses, and we spent the afternoon outside decorating.

I think the Gax’s are officially ready for the fall and Halloween, how ‘bout you?