to infinity and beyond

We had such a great Halloween. The Mayor was beyond excited when he got into his Halloween costume. So excited that he started running out of gas after just 5 houses of trick-or-treating. The kid goes hard but fizzles out fast. Love Bug could have cared less about Halloween, and could have cared even less than that to be put into her costume. Baby girl was not happy at all about tonight's festivities. Not enough napping today coupled with a tooth about to cut through made for one unhappy ladybug. But she was still super cute.

Bennett joined in on the trick-or-treating and it made the night perfect. Bennett chose to ride the entire time in the wagon, Love Bug chose to be held by D and The Mayor chose to pull the wagon until he got to each house. Then he would go to the door and say "Trick or trick or treat" (you read that right, he asked for the trick twice), said thank you for the candy, went back to pulling the wagon until we got to the next house. This cycle continued for about 20 houses and then he only had enough energy to just get to the house and say "trick or trick or treat". About 6 houses before we got home, he asked to be carried.

As soon as we got home and we dumped out his loot, he started singing a different tune. Suddenly he got a little bit of energy and wanted to chow down. About 1 bag of Skittles, a Tootsie Roll pop, 2 packs of Smarties, a bag of gummy treats, a Take 5 and a dum-dum later we told him the rest would have to wait until tomorrow. I believe he would have eaten himself into a sugar coma if we had let him.

Love Bug made it almost the entire trip. Sweet girl tried to be a trouper but just couldn't hold out. As soon as we hit our street the tears started flowing, so D took her home and put her down while The Mayor and I hit the rest of the houses.

It is 8:30, an hour past his bedtime and he is still in his costume. We are sitting in the dark because we have almost run out of candy to pass out and are watching a Thomas episode. Just winding down before we hit the hay. What a great Halloween.

my little lady bug

Bennett the monkey, the unhappy ladybug and Buzz Lightyear

Buzz working for his candy

my gorgeous girl

you know life has changed...

when you leave a Georgia/Florida party in the 4th quarter after Georgia ties up the game 31-31 because your baby girl is so exhausted and needs to go home and sleep. And even more so when on the way home while attempting to listen to the game on the AM station you turn it to the DVD setting so your son can listen to his newest Thomas & Friends DVD because just seeing the picture alone isn't good enough for him.

We made it home in time to see the end of that despicable game...but it was still a good day.

Gorgeous weather and a super fun time hanging out with friends this afternoon made today a great day. The Mayor wore himself slap out from the hours he spent running around a massive backyard playing with his buddy while D and I took turns running into the house to get a score update. Life certainly has changed...and for the better. Wouldn't have it any other way.

so over it

i loved today

When I woke up after 8:00 this morning and the house was still quiet, I just knew today was going to be a good day. The Mayor used to sleep like his sister...well into mid-morning, but since he has been in his big boy bed, we are usually awake around 7:00. But not the past two mornings...and I am not complaining!

He played quietly in his room until 8:30 which meant I got to stay in bed until 8:30. Sweet Love Bug slept until 10:00 and we weren't done with her breakfast until after 10:30. The Mayor played in his playroom while Love Bug sat in her vibrating chair in our bathroom while I got ready for the day. By 11:15, we were heading out the door for a Target run.

The Mayor's school is participating in Operation Christmas Child this year. Each student is asked to bring in a wrapped shoe box filled with toiletries, small toys, crayons, markers, gum, candy, etc for a boy or girl in a particular age group. I talked to The Mayor this morning about how blessed he and his sister are with all of their toys and how not every boy or girl is as blessed so we were going to buy a little boy some fun items for Christmas. He kept responding with "yes" and "ok" during our conversation, but I am not sure he completely understood. But that is ok...we will continue to do this every year and he will eventually get it.

At Target, I put Love Bug in the cart and let The Mayor walk around the store with me. He helped me pick out toys and items for this special boy...I wanted The Mayor to feel like he was participating. He had such a great time picking toy cars, crayons, toothbrushes, bouncy balls, cards and other items for the box. D and I have always wanted to instill in our children the importance of volunteering and giving back to the community and you can never start too early.

When we got into the car a little after noon, I had a voicemail from D. He was on his way home and wanted to meet us for lunch. What an awesome surprise! We met at one of our new favorite restaurants and had a great lunch together. Lunch was followed by long naps, dinner and playtime.

This weekend promises to be cool and sunny...finally some nice fall weather. We have the Georgia/Florida game tomorrow afternoon and Halloween on Sunday. Can't wait to get our trick-or-treat on!

Funny story about The Mayor: while I was making dinner, I heard Love Bug's convertible car being played with. I turned around to see The Mayor playing with it, which is normal, he usually pushes it around (and asks if he can ride in it...which we tell him 'no' because he is too big for it). Today he figured out how to get into it by himself...and came 'driving' around the corner. He is so big for it that he was 'driving' the car with his knees. Instead of telling him AGAIN he was too big to be in the car, I grabbed the camera. I love this boy.

animals on parade

This morning was the Fall Parade at The Mayor's school. Instead of dressing him in this year's costume (Buzz Lightyear) I decided to put him last year's costume (puppy dog). I did this for two reasons: 1. They asked the kids to be dressed in easy to remove costumes since after the parade the kids would be taking them off. It doesn't get much easier than a bubble costume 2. I am not all that confident in the quality of the Buzz Lightyear costume and need it to be in one piece for Halloween night.

The Mayor did well. He walked with his class and didn't try to run off. I was so proud. But he wasn't wearing his doggy hood and he never smiled. He didn't look like he was all that thrilled to be marching around the school with hundreds of strangers staring at him. As much as I wanted to yell his name and get him to smile at me, I stayed hidden behind my camera. I just knew if he saw me, he would run to me and never agree to go back to his class for the day. I will absolutely show him all of the pictures I took when he gets home so he knows I was there. Can't have my child thinking his mommy wasn't there supporting him!

Now I am enjoying the peace and quiet of our home. Love Bug is napping and I am doing laundry. This morning will be a lazy laundry day. Love the lazy, hate the laundry. But it's a give and take.

waiting to see her brother in the parade

i love this face...he doesn't look thrilled to be in this parade

halloween fun

Our weekly playgroup decided to make today's playgroup Halloween themed. We dressed the kids up in costumes, ate spider PB&Js (PB&Js cut into circles with chocolate covered pretzels as the legs), made crafts, decorated cookies and did a mummy wrap.

The kids could not have had more fun. We let the kids play together before the activities began... lunch, decorating Tootsie Roll pops with black pipe cleaners making the lollipops into spiders, decorating ghost and pumpkin cookies with icing and sprinkles and we ended with the moms wrapping up their kids with toilet paper making them into mummies.

The Mayor had a blast with his buddies and Love Bug had a great time hanging out with Bennett. Tomorrow is a school day and The Mayor's school is having a parade where the kids will be dressed in their costumes. How cute is that? Better believe I will have a front row seat with camera ready to catch my boy marching around in his costume.

my little doggie

sweet girl

decorating cookies (his spider lollipop is next to his plate)

my little mummy

cheeeeeeese...oh, that's toot

Just about every single night after dinner, the 4 of us migrate to the family room for some last minute play before the bath and bedtime routine begins. And just about every single night I grab the camera to catch the adorable pictures of my kiddos playing together. The second I grab the camera, The Mayor starts saying "cheeeeeeeese". And about 9 times out of 10 he isn't looking anywhere in the vicinity of the camera. And as soon as he hears the click of the camera, he looks at me and says "oh, that's toot". And for those of you who do not speak Mayor, toot means cute.

And "toot" they are. I love seeing these two interact with each other and get each other laughing. Now that Love Bug is on the move and crawling, she doesn't have to wait for her brother to come to her...she will get to him and make him notice her. And he loves it just as much as she does.

happy birthday to the mayor

The Mayor is officially 3! And we started off the day just the way I like...by sleeping in. I think the weekend and the rainy Monday morning just caused this household to be flat exhausted and we all slept past 8:00...well, Love Bug slept until 10, lucky girl.

The Mayor enjoyed a birthday cupcake for breakfast (hey, you only have a birthday once a year, so why not?) and then we watched his new Thomas movie. After Love Bug decided to wake up, we fed her and then went to our Monday morning playgroup. 45 minutes later, we were pulling into the pediatrician's office.

Yesterday it looked like The Mayor was having an allergic reaction to some bug bites. So I gave him some Benadryl and an hour after that, he had the weirdest looking rash break out on his legs. This morning he looked completely fine, but by the time we got to the playgroup, he had these welts popping up on his arms and back. 45 minutes later he was covered from head to toe. His arms were covered in welts, his legs were all red, he had welts on his stomach, back and neck. I called the doctor and they could get us in, so we were off. Diagnosis: hives. So weird. He doesn't have a virus or strep (which can lead to hives) so he has unexplained hives. Which just goes along with everything else unexplained in his medical history...so annoying. Anyway, a dose of Benadryl and a good nap helped relieve some of the itching.

We took him to his favorite Mexican restaurant for his birthday and now he is bathed and being read to by D. All in all, a pretty good day.

this is what happened to his legs yesterday...quite scary...but looks worse than it is

it just doesn't get better than this weekend

Although The Mayor doesn't officially turn 3 until tomorrow, this weekend was all about the party! When you have a bunch of 3 year olds getting together in one room you just never know what can happen. And it could not have gone any better. There was not one meltdown, no crying, no fighting...nothing. Everyone got along so well. They played together, ate together, hugged each other...just had a plan ole' good time. It was a perfect way to celebrate The Mayor's 3rd birthday.

MeMe, Big Daddy, Aunt Nat, Uncle Tom, Trey and Luke all arrived Friday night for the weekend. We were so happy they could all get here to celebrate our favorite little guy's day. We had the party about 1/2 mile from the house...and the best part about that...I didn't have to clean up before hand and I didn't have to clean up afterwards. That is my way to celebrate!

My in-laws left this morning and now the four of us are just decompressing from the awesome weekend. All morning we have played in the sea of new toys that are in the family room, watched The Mayor's favorite movies on TV and taken naps. About to head out and enjoy a little bit of sunshine before the rain moves in for the week.

she's crawling!

cute, cute, cute!

what. a. day.

Today is going to go down in Love Bug's baby book as the day she started crawling. She mostly moves backwards (cute as heck!!) but today, she actually got her little legs moving under her and crawled about 4 paces before falling to her belly. She was equally proud and frustrated. Proud she made some movement but frustrated she couldn't go further. Don't worry sweet girl...something tells me you will be moving like lightning before the weekend is over.

Bennett showing Love Bug how it's done

My morning started at 7 AM and has been non-stop until this very moment...and to be honest, I still have a couple of small things left to do to be officially done with my "to-do" list.

7:30 AM The Mayor and I were heading downstairs for breakfast and to get the day started. By 8 AM the first cake was put into the oven (and you read it right...first cake). By 9 AM, when the first cake wouldn't come out of the mold...the second cake started being made. Thank the good Lord the second cake came out of the mold perfectly and we were able to keep trucking through the list.

A HUGE thank you to Meega for coming over today and helping me with this list. She was here from 10 AM until after 4 PM and then she was back at 7:45 tonight and just left. There is no way I would have completed everything that was completed had she not been here. My sister rocks!

Anyway, cake, cupcakes, dips galore are all made and ready for the morning. There are a few items that need to be done in the morning (fruit needs to be cut and train shaped PB&J sandwiches need to be made) but other than that...we are ready to party!

The best part of tonight was when I was putting Love Bug down for night. I was rocking with her in her glider and while I was nursing her, The Mayor sat on the ottoman and sang songs to me and Love Bug. He sang "twinkle, twinkle little star", "ABCs", "wheels on the bus" and the theme song to "Thomas and Friends". It was precious. And totally made my day.

Can't wait for tomorrow...

any day now...

...this little beauty will be mobile. She is a pro at getting up on all fours and rocking back and forth. And I am pretty sure before the weekend is over, she will be an official crawler. Can't believe we have gotten here so quickly. Where has my little wrinkly peanut of a newborn gone?

36 hours until The Mayor's birthday party and tomorrow is going to be insane. I have so much to do that I am having a minor panic attack just thinking about it....

...but that is ok. I actually work better under pressure. Meega is coming over tomorrow to help with the baking and food prep. The extra hands will be great but the company will be even better.

MeMe and Big Daddy are set to arrive tomorrow evening with Aunt Nat, Uncle Tom, Trey and Luke arriving Saturday morning. Gonna be a full house and I wouldn't want it any other way. I love that The Mayor will be surrounded by family and friends this weekend to celebrate the BIG 3!

too tired to keep trying...

sleeping in and catching up

I have a "to-do" list a mile long in preparation of The Mayor's 3rd birthday party this weekend. And if you know me, you know I LOVE making lists. I will write something down on my to-do list that I have already completed just so I can cross it off. Yesterday I made a list and outlined which tasks needed to be completed and on which day. Today's tasks were: grocery shopping, cleaning the house, making a dessert for our small group tonight (which was being hosted at our home) and making cupcakes for The Mayor's class tomorrow for the class snack to celebrate his birthday. I had envisioned getting a start on our grocery shopping by 9:30 AM, but when Love Bug was still sound asleep at 10:30, I knew we would be way behind schedule.

Sweet girl usually sleeps until 9:30 sometimes 10:00...unless I have to wake her up because it is a school day for The Mayor. And because she usually misses her morning nap on non-school days because we are going to play dates, I decided this morning would be about her. She didn't make a peep until 10:30 and that was ok with me.

She was all smiles while being carried around Publix in the Baby Bjorn and ready to go down for her nap the second we got home by noon. She slept right on through lunch and didn't wake up until 5:00. She got up, ate dinner and went back to bed for the night at 7:30. She was tired and catching up on her sleep.

I accomplished all of my tasks for the day. Tomorrow are more tasks to get ready for the party on Saturday...can't wait!

first time they both sat in the grocery cart together...made it to aisle 4 before she went into the Baby Bjorn

love this gorgeous girl

i love this boy

This sweet boy is the love of my life. And I haven't been the same since he came into our lives almost 3 years ago.

The past few weeks have been a little stressful for D and me. The Mayor seems to be embarking on the "terrible 3s" by testing his limits and being defiant. And honestly, I have gone to bed many a nights feeling beaten down. I have gone to bed upset about his behavior, upset at feeling like a failure as a mother, upset about my own behavior in how I may have handled him that day. The other night I spoke on the phone with a friend of mine who has 5 children all under the age of 6. And I was asking her how she does it...everyday, all day with 5 children when I feel like many days I can't get through with just my two. She told me within the past 2 years, she has had 7 friends who have lost a child, either through pregnancy or worse, losing their actual living child. And that when she is struggling with one of her own, she thinks about her 7 friends and how they would give everything in the world to be in her shoes struggling with their child...

And then she said something so profound to me. Our children are a gift from God...actually handpicked for us by Him and giving to us on loan. Our job is to love them, nurture them and raise them so they get to heaven to be back with our Savior one day. We all think of our children as a gift from God, but hearing her put it in this context, well, it literally brought me to tears.

We had this conversation only two days ago, but I have got to tell you these past two days have been two of the best days I have had as a mother. Not to say The Mayor is miraculously no longer testing his limits, there have been spankings and time outs in these two days, but my attitude is so different. And he is picking up on that and he seems to be happier too.

Within the past 48 hours, when I could feel myself starting to get irritated with The Mayor, I have had to remind myself about those 7 families who have lost their babies...and it has been like a "timeout" for myself. My disciplining has been so calm and he hasn't had any tantrums.

I love my gifts from God...and am so thankful that He chose D and me to be the parents of The Mayor and Love Bug. I promise to not take this gift lightly.

she's a rockstar

Love Bug got her driver's license today, and she was rocking it out in her convertible. She cruised around the kitchen until she was so exhausted she was about to fall asleep behind the wheel. I am loving this stage with her...everything is still so new but she is so aware and interactive with us. And I am hoping now that she has her own set of wheels that this will put her crawling on hold. Can you tell I am really struggling with letting my baby grow up?? With The Mayor's 3rd birthday just 8 days away, I really need my baby girl to stay a baby!

this is her new thing...she loves to tilt her head to the side and smile

what a perfect saturday

I could not have asked for a better Saturday. The morning started out cool and sunny...a great start to a fall morning. We knocked out a few errands that had been on our to-do-list and then hit up a Mexican restaurant for some lunch. It was a great lunch. Love Bug devoured her baby food while her brother devoured his plate of nachos. We didn't hear a peep from The Mayor for about 30 minutes while he ate, except when he requested his hands or mouth be wiped clean from the collection of cheese that had accumulated on him.

Because The Mayor took a 20-30 minute cat nap in the car while we were running errands, I made the executive decision that official nap time would be canceled today...due to gorgeous weather. After lunch, we walked around the outdoor mall enjoying the perfect day. Days like today make me so happy. A high of 73, sunny, a cool breeze, not one single cloud in the sky and the leaves starting to change colors on the trees. I just soaked in every single second while we sat in the courtyard and I watched The Mayor run from one end of the fountain to the other while D cuddled with Love Bug.

After running The Mayor ragged around this outdoor mall, we decided to give Love Bug a break and let her come home and take a nap. Poor girl was exhausted and quite the trooper by hanging in there with us and missing her morning nap. Sweet girl fell asleep before she laid her head down in the crib and didn't wake up until we finished dinner. And then went to bed for good an hour after that.

While she napped, we took advantage of one-on-one time with The Mayor and played in the playroom for hours. I think he loved having all of the attention and we loved dishing it out. But missing official nap time this afternoon made for one exhausted boy and he was sound asleep by 7:30.

Tomorrow promises to be the same for weather and we intend on soaking it all in.

toy story

The Mayor doesn't watch a lot of movies...he has his two favorites: "Cars" and "Toy Story" (excluding everything Thomas the Train). So when we had the chance to go see "Disney on Ice: Toy Story 3" we jumped at the chance! D worked from home and watched Love Bug so The Mayor and I could enjoy the morning together.

There was absolutely no traffic in Atlanta today and we were downtown in 30 minutes. We got there almost an hour before the show started so we spent that time walking around the arena and looking at all the Toy Story paraphernalia. See where I'm going with this? I have S-U-C-K-E-R written on my forehead. We rarely give into The Mayor's request for a new toy when we are at the store because we are bound and determined not to raise a spoiled child who expects something every time we are out...but today all rules were thrown out the window. I spent $20 on a Buzz Lightyear that spun around with lights on the end of his wings and $12 on a Rex the Dinosaur. He asked, he received. Luckily this is rare so he didn't know to ask for the whole kit and caboodle.

The Mayor was so interested in the first half...the second half, not so much. The second half really had to do with the Toy Story 3 movie (which he has never seen) and it had a lot of characters that he didn't know. So it lost his interest. And asking an almost 3 year old to sit through an hour and a half ice show with a 10 minute intermission is a lot. But he did great today. When he got bored, he asked to play with his light-up Buzz toy and kept saying "to inrinity and berond"...(he was trying to say "to infinity and beyond" - which is what Buzz Lightyear says in the movie).

Now we are home and he is napping. I love days like this...

with his Buzz toy

saying "to inrinity and berond"!

here comes Buzz!