WHY???

Why is it that a child who doesn't know how to go up and down stairs goes directly to the stairs?

Why is it that a parent of a child who doesn't know how to go up and down stairs always forgets to shut the baby gates to prevent anything serious from occurring?

So far nothing serious has occurred. So far.

Miss M has sort of hit the "why" stage.  She doesn't really ask why about everything but she does ask why about enough things that it's annoying.  If you chose to ignore her she just keeps asking so ignoring her isn't an answer unfortunately.  She seems to want to ask me why stores are named their particular name. Why is it named Costco? Why is it named Jewel? I don't know. At least ask me why the sun is shining so I can make up an answer. I usually tell her someone gave it a random name like I gave her the name Miss M. She will recite this answer back to me but only after I have acknowledged that she has a question.

Why is it that toddlers have to scream at you? I am so tired of being yelled. Some days are more exhausting than others. Why are toddlers argumentative and combative? I ask Miss M to do something and her response is "it's not time for X", "that's your job, not my job", "this is not a joke", "the show is not over (as the credits are rolling)". I know this is just the beginning but seriously it's exhausting.

And when it gets too exhausting…we go to Costco. It's such a happy place. I often wonder if the people who work there are as happy as I think they should be because it's so magical.  There are reports Costco employees are happier than other places of employment due to their benefits and pay.  Maybe I should get a job at Costco.

 How can lunch for the three of us for $4.49 make anyone sad?

We will get through the day. We always do. It's just some days are longer than others. 

We did get our recently taken three year old pictures in the mail.  So everything is good again.

Jack turns 2! Part 2

Here are some pictures from the weekend.

The kids played pretty well together. It is apparent that Jack is more physical than Miss M but she'll figure it out. She'll either start fighting back or she'll just run away and keep to herself. Only time will tell.  She's got a few scrapes from the weekend but she recovered pretty quickly from most of them.

Miss M and Mr. Man both enjoyed having a new space and new toys to play with at Jack's house.

The tunnel was a hit for all kids. Jack and Miss M were playing and Miss M got tackled. I think after this tackle things went south but they are laughing here.

Miss M took quite a liking to Grandma Chris. She kept telling me she was her grandma. I just went with it. It's easier. Chris is so nice to Miss M and plays with her. She even let me take a nap while Mr. Man was sleeping and kept Miss M entertained.

It was so nice to be outside. I feel like a better parent. The kids are happier. It just needs to be warmer for everyone's sake. The pope-mobile has a floor board so Mr. Man could ride in it without falling out. He enjoyed riding up and down the driveway.

 The tunnel again.

Jack also has a tent and the kids went bonkers over the tent.  All of them were playing in and out of it all weekend.

Jack also has an amazing sectional which he received as a present from some amazing people.  Mr. Man got all comfy while we were hanging out outside.

 Me and my troops.

Miss M and Mr. Man hanging out in the truck. Miss M didn't take the truck for a ride with Mr. Man. It wouldn't have been safe.

The kids all seemed content just to sit in the truck. It has a radio which was quite a popular component.

There was one point when Miss M told Grandma and Grandpa H she needed to watch shows. They willingly agreed to turn the channel. We looked over a bit later and found her sound asleep while sitting up. She was kind of wedged between the couch cushions. She was out cold. I have only seen her fall asleep outside of her bed one other time. It always amazes me. Jack and all his toys wore the girl out.

We drove home Sunday morning. It was a bit of a long drive with lots of wind but we made it home. She was so tired from the weekend she took a nap in the car. For about an hour I had two kids sleeping. It felt like a successful weekend until we got an hour from home and the little guy proceeded to scream the rest of the way. The weekend was worth an hour of screaming.

Thanks C & J for letting us come invade your house, destroy your living room, dirty your dishes and create laundry for you to have to do and celebrate Jack's birthday. If you didn't live so far away we'd be there more often!

Jack turns 2! Part 1

The kids and I loaded up the minivan and drove to St. Louis Thursday in preparation for Jack's 2nd birthday party! 

Andrew went to AZ to celebrate the upcoming nuptials of a friend.  

Jack's birthday breakfast!

Grandma Chris made a Thomas cake for the birthday party. She's got quite a talent.  She decorated this cake in less than 30 minutes and Jack destroyed it in less than 30 seconds.  He didn't really destroy it but before anyone could get a picture of the cake Jack stuck his finger in it and gave Thomas a lazy eye!

 Jack had lots of presents to open and he enjoyed opening them.

 I don't know how she really feels.  She tends to hide her feelings well.

 A family picture.

Grandma and Grandpa G. bought Jack a truck for his birthday and had decals put on it to be a mini Ryan truck. It was awesome. The kids loved it once they figured it all out.  Miss M preferred to ride in the 'bed' of the truck while Jack drove. She enjoyed the ride although they both looked like they may have gotten whip lash based on Jack's driving skills.

 Looking innocent and waiting for his cake.

Grandma Chris decorated a cake for Miss M and put so much frosting on it. I am surprised Miss M didn't get a stomachache b/c she ate all of the icing since that's all she eats of the cupcake.  Does it look like she likes icing?!?!

 
The birthday party lasted all day long. It was a great day. The kids were happy b/c there were presents and cake and we could be outside. It was nice to be able to spend the day with Jack and see how much he's changed and grown even since Christmas.

Pictures

We bought Miss M a pink cowgirl hat for her birthday since she loves Sheriff Callie and she likes to ride her rocking horse and me.  She wasn't even excited about it coming out of the box. 

 It made me sad.

She has since found the hat and is more amused with it. You just never know what's going to spark the excitement of a child.  Especially Miss M. 

Mr. Man was having a rough morning so he relaxed and watched some tv. 

As we have approached three years old I see a lot more of this face. It doesn't make me happy. It doesn't excite me. It makes me frustrated. Why is she crying all the time? She was really tired in this picture but seriously stop crying already kid.

We had about a week where she would let herself out of her room between 2-4am and because Andrew and I were too tired to send her back to her room and too old to sleep on the floor we let her in our bed. She would lie awake in our bed for an hour and a half and just toss and turn.  I have started to put her to bed later again and she seems to stay there until morning. I cannot have a little girl sleeping in my space.

I was desperate to get dinner cooked one evening and Mr. Man was being needy so I took off his clothes and threw him in the sink to play.  It worked for a little while.

Then he escaped. He may have wanted to escape because Miss M thought she needed to play in the sink too and there's just not enough room for two kids in one sink.

We had one day of nice weather so we went outside to play for a bit. Everyone enjoyed being outside. The time went fast. The kids were nice. I felt like a better parent. Now we just need it to stick around.

 Miss M got a digger truck for her birthday.

Mr. Man likes to play with it but he needs to be a little bigger so he doesn't fall off.

Miss M emptied the cabinets in the basement and found a new place to take a nap. If only she would really take a nap instead of pretending to take a nap. I need a nap.

Baby gates have been installed by our handy man (Andrew - I didn't pay to have them installed).

There's lots to be done today and minimal hours to do it all. So adios.

Finishing the birthday circuit with Miss M's 3rd Birthday Party

A majority of the moms we hang out had their first child within 6 weeks of Miss M's birthday. This is because most of us met at a new moms group in June of 2011 when we didn't think we were going to make it with our new babies. I just came across the e-mails we originally submitted to the group to introduce ourselves. It makes me laugh. It's amazing how much less stressed out we are with baby #2.

We managed to get a picture of all the ladies. It was the first time we've had a picture taken of us without kids. Alicia is about four weeks from having a baby boy! Katie, Helen, Sinead, Elizabeth and of course yours truly.

Miss M's birthday is at the end of the birthday circuit. We've had four birthday parties in about six weeks with one party being the day before Miss M's party. It's been fun to see the kids all excited about their birthdays.

We hosted Miss M's birthday party at the gymnastics center. I had paid for a reservations then decided to host the party at home. I tried to cancel the reservation but it was too late and I wouldn't have received my money back. It was the best mistake.  We ordered pizza, didn't have to clean the house before or after, it was set for a specific time and the children were entertained by someone other than their parents. A win for everyone.

Aunt Nessie came out to the house Saturday evening and helped me get everything organized to take and make cupcakes.

Sunday morning we loaded up the car and Miss M wanted to sit in the back with Aunt Nessie for her special day. We agreed since it is less than a mile to the gymnastics center. When we arrived we realized we had the time of the party wrong. The party was set for 12:30 p.m. and not 12:00 p.m. so we had to entertain and keep the kids semi quiet for a half hour. It all worked out just fine.

The gymnastics center sets up an obstacle course and the coaches shepherded them through the course. It took four coaches to corral 11 three-year olds. Miss M is the one in the purple hula hoop.  She wore her new leotard (from Aunt Nessie from Christmas) and gray pants.

 They had a blow up bounce house obstacle thing the kids loved.

 Miss M and Annie.  Annie was our neighbor at the apartment we lived in before moving to suburbia.

Annie and Miss M were inseparable. It was pretty cute. Miss M LOVES the parachute. She loves to hold onto it more than anything.

 The kids lined up and Miss M got to sit in the circle and they sang happy birthday to her.

Mr. Man and I hanging out in the party room while we waited for the kids to finish play time. Mr. Man lost his pants after he bit a hole in a water bottle and got all wet.

They set up giant foam mattress-like things in the foam pit to make it easier for the kids to get across the foam pit. Apparently the girls needed a rest.

Here's a picture of most of the people while the kids were eating pizza. All these people (plus the ones not pictured) could have been at my house. Ewww.

 It took Miss M a few tries to get the candle blown out.

All the pictures are courtesy of Aunt Nessie. She was so helpful all weekend (as usual). She figured out the pizzas, set-up, cleaned-up, took pictures. I pretty much stood around and looked good :) or something like that.